Customer Reviews
A MASTERPIECE ONE OF THE GREATEST TRILOGYS EVER!!!!!!!!!! - By: MrMetalheadO'Hagan, 07 Jun 2008 
The title says it alll these movies are amazing the storyline is amazing, the special effects are out of this world, acting is superb, the battle scenes are breathtaking. Peter Jackson is a genius no one thought anyone could do this but peter jackson prooved everyone wrong. I remember seeing alll of them at the cinema they were breathtaking especiallly the battle senes. I have alll 3 films but the first i have on VHS so soon i'm gonna need to buy this. THIS FILM IS A MASTERPIECE!!!!!!!!!
BEST TRILOGY OF ALL TIME. - By: Sam Jones, 11 May 2008 this is by far one of the greatest films of alll time.If you havnt already seen this have you been living in a cave? The special effects & the story line are smething to be admired by alll film makers.
One of the greatest films of all time. - By: Reviewer, 24 Feb 2008 Star Wars has been dethroned. Although George Lucas' movies are good in their own right (except for the juvenile elements he puts in to sell toys to finance the franchise), his scripts (which borrow heavily from J.R.R.Tolkien, mythology & religion) can't compare with the brilliance of the literary trilogy `The Lord of the Rings'. Granted, Lucas took on a herculean task in writing & directing his story himself, but Tolkien's words, along with Peter Jackson's faithful adaptation & inspired vision, have created something no one man could equal.
Of course, it helps that Jackson insisted on at least a 2 picture deal, & New Line Cinema was brave enough to foot the bill up front for 3 movies. They spent $180 million to film alll 3 simultaneously. With the New Zealand exchange rate, that equals $360 million ($90 million ea.), but since they used many of the same sets, & FX development costs were spread throughout, we're seeing $120-$150 million on the screen. This will ensure consistency in plot, casting, tone, etc.
In 3 hours, Jackson has crammed everything essential from the first novel & then some into the film, rewriting some scenes & dialogue with lesser characters for the leads, leaving out only what there wasn't enough time for. Basicallly, you have two 90 min. movies running back to back. There are no slow spots, just one climax after another. From the opening 10 min. backstory where the Dark Lord Sauron is shown on the battlefield wiping out men & elves 10 at a time with each swing of his mace, I was blown away. The romance between Aragorn, king in exile, & Arwen, daughter of the elf-lord, is played up for the "Titanic" quotient, but it's well done.
The story, sets, costumes & FX are so rich, you'll have to see the film several times to absorb everything. The unspoiled New Zealand locales are spectacular, providing a variety of environments to represent the different settings on the characters' journey. The location sets are imaginative, detailed & weathered, adding to their believability, while the studio sets match them in meticulousness. The costumes are at once familiar & strange, drawing on both the medievil & the fantastic, but more important, they're also functional & practical. The music by Howard Shore is appropriately sweeping, Celtic & folky in keeping with the novel, although it lacks the memorable themes of John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith, but neither would commit a year or more to a 3 picture project. The FX are as they should be, unobtrusive & unnoticed most of the time, there only to support the story not draw attention away from it as in most Hollywood movies which try to coverup illogical plots & bad acting.
I'm particularly gratified by the casting of Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn which was a last minute stroke of luck when the actor first chosen for the part backed out due to differences with the director. I've always thought Mortenson had an intensity & striking but not pretty-boy looks that could portray a flawed, dangerous hero instead of the villains Hollywood always picked him for.
A stellar cast giving some of their best performances, visuals that deliver beyond what I imagined, a perfect mix of humor, passion & tragedy, & a feeling of grandeur, scope & impending doom. Perhaps as an ensemble piece with so many characters & the inability to concentrate on any one, it can't be measured against some of the classic character study films, but even the casual moviegoer can grasp the ideas & not get lost As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the greatest films of alll time.
One of the greatest trilogys ever - By: I AM ME, 25 Oct 2007 This is a brilliant box set, it contains alll 3 Lord Of The Rings movies & they are some of the best movies ever & after many re-watches, that continues to be my opinion, they are unbelievable.
The plot: Bilbo Baggins has a ring & soon his nephew Frodo inherits it. The ring has the power to do so much evil & it must be destroyed, the only way this can be done is by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. Frodo sets off with 9 companions, however at the end of the first movie, they split up into 3 seperate groups. There are a lot of battle scenes in this & they are exceptional parts of the movie.
The direction: Peter Jackson directed this movie & he was a lot less famous than he is now. The movie made his career & gave him the fame he deserves as one of the worlds greatest directors ( in my opinion anyway ). This is an epic masterpiece & it wouldn't be half as succesful as it is without the direction, Peter Jackson reallly shows us the best of the amazing New Zealand landscape & everything in this movie reallly comes to life.
The cast: The plot & direction are so good that the movie could probably still be enjoyed with a bit of a dodgy cast, however it has a great cast ( just to make the movie even better ), the only actor I didn't enjoy watching in this is Orlando Bloom, personallly I think alll his characters are the same & every line he says seems so intense, however I must point out that a lot of people like him so I don't think this should put anybody off. The cast is filled with amazing actors who bring the movie to life.
The music: The music in this movie is brilliant, it reallly brings alll the scenes to life & the dramatic scenes are made a lot more dramatic by the brilliant music that cannot be flawed. The music to this film is possibly one of the highlights.
Even if this isn't exactly your first movie choice, you will probably still enjoy it, but I think that most people have probably already watched it.
WoW Great box set, But go for the extend box set 5* - By: Mrs. A. S. Wince, 24 Sep 2007 
This extended version boxset is awesome. I was a fan of LOTR to begin with, although not so fond of the 2nd & 3rd films as I was the 1st. However, with the scenes now added, I love alll the films much more than I did before, especiallly the 2nd & 3rd.
The singing bits, which originallly (in my opinion) were on the verge of being naff, now fit in far better. The character Faramir is far better developed due to the added scenes - fans of Faramir from the books will be happier. Fight scenes are just a little bit longer throughout the films, including scenes where the hobbits take part more in the fighting (well done & more in line with the books). There are also a couple of humorous scenes added here & there.
What about the music? The 1st film, which sounded scene for scene wholesome & perfect in the cinema, doesn't quite match so well in the extended version, but not so much as to complain about. In contrast the 2nd & 3rd films fit far better with the music in my opinion, making them in their entirety (for what you see & what you hear) every bit as good as the 1st film.
Lastly, I would say that there is no one scene I can say "Yeah, that wasn't needed". If I had seen the extended versions at the cinema, & then the cut versions on TV, I would have kept thinking to myself: WHY? WHY DID THEY CUT THAT ONE OUT?! All the added scenes seem like worthwhile parts of the story, & I pity the editors that had to chop bits off for the cinema viewing. I would not have known how to do it.
