To start with, I had never read any of the books and knew very little of the story. I am now converted and I am working my way through the books. I saw this at the cinema first and thought it was a fantastic film to start with. This Extended edition adds more scenes and embelishes on other parts that the original cut did not. This version is slightly closer to the book. Obviously it does not stay true to the book because if it did it would be 9 hours long rather than the 3 that it is.
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Story:
The story is based on the J.R.R. Tolkien's classic book trilogy. This is the first part and follows the story of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) who comes into possession of an ancient magical ring so powerful it invariably corrupts anyone who wears it. In order to prevent the ring's erstwhile owner, the dark lord Sauron, from reclaiming the ring and taking over Middle-earth, a motley band of comrades set out to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Included in the group are Frodo and hobbits Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monoghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd); the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen); human warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean); the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies); the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom). Along the way, they wage battle with monsters, demons, and Sauron's evil minions.
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Direction:
Fantastically directed by Peter Jackson (Who has directed the up and coming KING KONG). The amount of time, energy and passion put into creating this film can clearly be seen. The vastness and scope is awsome. The cinematography is brillant with wide angles and panoramic shots showing the landscape. The special effects are groundbreaking. The monsters and demons ets are exceptionally done with CGI being pushed to the max but it is done so well that it is hard to see sometimes where the CGI is and reality begins. In this extended version he has basically done the movie how it should have been released at the movies. There are extended and new scenes which Jackson could not put it the original cut.
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Disk features:
The Extended version is on 2 disks and you change half way through, a bit of a gripe but it just shows how much longer it is!
On the extra disks there are:
Audio Commentary By Peter Jackson And Crew And Cast ,
Six Documentaries Covering The Adaptation Of The Book And Planning Of The Film, Interactive Map Of Middle Earth, Art Galleries, Slide Shows,Storyboards, Eleven Documentaries Covering All Aspects Of The Making Of The Film , Behind The Scenes. So there are plenty of things to watch.
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Overall:
I watch this for the 10th time the other weekend and with every film the more you watch it the more you appreciate the quality and desire that Peter Jackson had when creating the this trilogy. The acting is superb and with a star studied cast you would not expect anything else. The second film after this is The Two Towers.