How to begin this, I am in danger of ranting, my love of this book began over 20 years ago and I sat every Sunday and recorded the excellent BBC radio 4 dramatisation (which incidentally had Ian Holm as Frodo, nice touch me thinks to be promoted to Bilbo). I had already read the book then, twice, but it is the community of imagination such masterpieces deliver which is the secret to their success, I wanted to know how other people had ‘seen it’, what the words of Tolkien’s conjured in their minds as they read it. Well now, thanks to the massive developments in CGI and film techniques we can see yet another’s interpretation, but this time more of a meeting of minds or a ‘Moot’ if you like, for this maybe the direction of one man but it is the work of many. See, I’m clearly ranting now so I’ll stop.
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What you won’t get from this opinion An outline of the story, if you’re reading this you already know it and if you don’t, others tell it better than I. A breakdown of every single feature on the DVD, too many, too many, too many A critique of every performance, the film is fabulous, buy it. I would have not wanted this version otherwise, as an extra 30 minutes and 2 DVD’s of a poor film would
be more like torture than pleasure.
What you will get My personal view of this presentation and production Why I think this worth the purchase
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My experience When I saw the film at the cinema I was blow away by the quality and size of it (forgetting they missed Tom out, and poor Glorfidel, who knows maybe a 6 DVD version looms). I found this interpretation to mirror that of my own but on many occasions better it (The Mines or Moria and the Argonath, pure scale) and up on release of the 2 DVD pack my lips began to water, but a little bird (or elf) told me that a 4 DVD pack was coming and I made the decision, the very hard decision to wait for it. I felt, and still do to a point, that this was an unnecessary ‘cash-in’ strategy by the distributors. This of course does not distract from the quality and depth of this collection or the film at all, just a ‘personal issue’.
The film itself fits onto the first 2 DVD’s with an extra 30 minutes added and a rerecorded sound track. I loved this, the extra 30 minutes added more depth to the film, a difficult task I would have thought, and characters really do benefit. It also contains what for me is one of its most valuable features, multiple commentaries, 4 in all, from the director and writers, the cast, the design team and the production team. This is nothing short of a hand held trip by the story tellers, and allows the viewer the privilege of invaluable insight into the feelings and intimacy each member felt for the project, wonderful is the term I think.
The additional DVD 3: From Book to Vision and DVD 4: From Vision to Reality contain appendices, much as the book did but they are not from the book, these are in-depth documentaries, interviews and artwork about the production process and the development from book to screen; you will find just about everything you can think of about story boarding, costume design and process, weapon manufacture etc, and offers explanations as to why paths in the film sometimes stray from that of the book. I think there is something on these disks for everyone but at between 6 to 7 hours long I doubt everything here is for everybody. On the other hand if you are a college student doing new media, 3D design, etc you need this in your life, get it, it’s as insightful as it gets. I loved all this extra information.
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Questions Yes is the answer to the question “Does the 30 minutes make a difference”, but I think more so to a LOTR fan rather than a film fan. The extra footage fortifies certain characters and just adds the cream to an already rich cake. The question “Should I bother with this if I already have the 2 DVD set isn’t so clear to me, I’ve never had the 2 DVD set. I imagine if you’re more of a film fan, the set will offer little more to the film experience you already possess but if you are a LTOR fan or a media student (I’m both) the 4 DVD set would be a shame to miss. If you have not seen either film firstly “You’ve missed out, get this, watch it and go and see The Two Towers at the cinema NOW” and secondly, get this version, it’s only about £5 more than the 2 DVD set( I actually have the one with the bookends in it, yes I’m a geek).
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How was it for me? The easiest way to express this was on December 25th we all sat down to watch my Christmas present, this DVD set on my old TV with cheap DVD player, no wide screen, no surround sound. I’m writing this on the 30th, I now have a 28” wide & flat screen TV with a Dolby 5.1 surround-sound DVD player/decoder. I was thinking about upgrading and this film demanded greater respect so I did. I have many other DVD’s but never before has the shear lack of quality been so apparent, so the DVD is cheap at £735.00, and I don’t regret a penny. I’m now ready for The Two Towers, bring it on.
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How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
"DVD is cheap at £735.00" - not sure what you meant by this. Do you mean the DVD set is £735 or the player or what.
Apart from that MINOR detail, this was a very good review! :D
werewolf 04.07.2004 22:47
An excellent op, with plenty of information on price, extras, how you personally enjoyed the experience, etc. Very well written.
rishibave 02.01.2003 23:06
great op m8-wello written and informative!...rishi
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