Hi there - I've not been around much lately (this internet poker thing is really addictive and thank...
Hi there - I've not been around much lately (this internet poker thing is really addictive and thankfully not for real money or I would be in serious trouble) but will get around to returning all rates in time. Cheers.
Member since:28.02.2008
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For those of you out there who have spent the last ten years holed up in a cave without any contact with the outside world then you probably don't know that Tolkien's mammoth book was eventually turned into three mammoth movies. The rest of us are split into two groups - those that probably want the film shown at their funeral and those that want it burned/buried instead of them at their funeral.
The box-set contains all three pieces that make up the Lord of the Rings trilogy -
The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King
Anyway, let's get the preliminaries out of the way.....Middle Earth is suffering under the hand of Sauron. It has been many years since he walked the land but his power is returning. All he needs is the one ring to help restore him to his former glory and in turn to walk the world of man and raise it to the ground. He is a really evil bloke who you see for the first five minutes at the start of the first film.
Frodo Baggins, along with his two friends and his portly gardener, sets off on a journey to deliver the aforementioned ring to the elfs council in the kingdom of Rivendell. Along the way they manage to collect Stryder (or Aragorn - you choose) and, with the odd upset or two, they arrive at the elfish headquarters and deposit the ring in the safe hands of the pointy-eared folk.
The council sits in progress and it is decided upon that the only way to truly destroy the ring and keep it out of Sauron's grubby little hands(?) is to cast it into the fiery heart of Mount Doom. However, drwarfs and elfs being how they are together (like chavs and common decent folk), and man's
greed in the shape of Boromir, a decision as to who gets the task of carrying such a heavy burden is not so easy to come by. Eventually Frodo, the small fool, says he'll take the ring into Mordor and there cast it into the fires, returning it from whence it came. And so begins the fellowship of the ring as Frodo, Sam the gardener, Merry and Pippin (two more foolhardy hobbits), Boromir the human, Gimli the dwarf, Legolas the elf, Aragorn the ranger (or Stryder - you decide) and the old wizard Gandalf set out on an epic journey spanning....well....6 discs in total.
That is the diluted synopsis of the movie and such a long way from actually describing everything the film has to show you. What's more, with the extended editions, you are granted an even greater detailed realisation of what is regularly regarded as the greatest book ever written.
'The Fellowship of the Ring' contains an extra 30 minutes of footage, 'The Two Towers' has an extra 32 minutes and 'The Return of the King' has nearly 50 fifty minutes of additional content which staggeringly makes a total of almost two hours. Compared to the theatrical releases these extended editions really bring the story to life. I have seen both versions of the film and can honestly say the original episodes are a pale reflection alongside their bigger brothers and feel very disjointed.
Peter Jackson went out on a limb to create these films - with the advent of computers he tried to find the most diffcult thing to film he could - and with the aid of an excellent team of behind him he pain-stakingly made all three films silmultaniously and was awarded 17 Oscars and 247 other awards worldwide for the final part alone.
The New Zealand landscape is beautifully filmed and adds some wonderful colour to the many faces of Middle Earth. From the large, expansive fields of Rohan to the white, snow-covered Misty Mountains the sights are just magnificent.
WETA Digital must really be applauded for producing effects shots in such quantities and with such detail and clarity. They had never undertaken a project of the size and scope of the LOTR trilogy and in some of the bonus material you begin to see only a small part of the work they had to accomplish in order to bring the films in on time and looking magnificent.
Each part of the trilogy comes with its own two discs of bonus material - called 'The Appendices' - which really delve into the whole process of bringing Tolkiens world to life. Not only do all the appendices contain documentaries and galleries relating to the associated film but 'Fellowship' has a special program detailing the life and times of Middle Earth's creator John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. 'Return of the King' also has a film made by a young New Zealand film-maker, introduced by Peter Jackson himself, who has since died, having a great effect on Jackson and his wife who had both supported him during his days as a director.
The sound is also brilliant. You get the standard stereo mix but the 5.1 is amazing. The fight scenes just rattle 'round your head as axes clang and swords clash and the louder you push your system the deeper into the action you get. It also comes with a 7.1 setting but that is too rich for me at the moment. Oh well, it's nearly christmas.
The cast is a great mix of renowned actors -
Frodo Baggins - Elijah Wood (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, Flipper) Sam Gamwise - Sean Astin(The Goonies) Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck - Dominic Monaghan (Lost) Peregrin 'Pippin' Took - Billy Boyd (Master and Commander) Aragorn - Viggo Mortensen (Daylight, Crimson Tide) Gandalf - Ian McKellen (X-Men, Jack and Sarah) Legolas - Orlando Bloom (Kingdom of Heaven and that pirate thing with Johnny Depp) Gimli - John Rhys-Davies (Never Say Never Mind: The Swedish Bikini Team - not sure what this is but it sure sounds intriguing!) Boromir - Sean Bean (The Island, Flightplan) Elrond - Hugo Weaving (The Matrix trilogy) Saruman - Christopher Lee (Star Wars prequels and anything by Hammer Horror)
I could go on boring you with the cast details but to be quite frank it's boring me too.
Each episode of the trilogy comes in its own box with a fold-out DVD container with its own booklet detailing the extras on the appendices and a list of all scenes - the new scenes and those with additional footage are marked accordingly.
I really love these films and have watched them more times than I care to remember. The truly great story, some wonderful acting, fantastic (old-school) optical effects and amazing digital effects these are the greatest things ever comitted to celluloid running for a total of 654 minutes (that's just short of 11 hours! And that's without the commentaries from Jackson and his crew and the cast). And then, add on top of that all the bonus material and your looking at over twenty hours of quality DVD.
Amazon are currently selling this box set for £26.97 which breaks down at over 3/4 of an hour for just over 40p. Now that's a bargain if ever I saw one!
I can't believe that the option to direct Tolkiens other classic 'The Hobbit' has not been offered to Peter Jackson and his team when you can see that the man not only loves the book but goes out of his way to transfer its magic onto the big screen. If Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pans Labyrinth) does direct this prequel then it will be in safe hands but it will be a shame that someone who put his heart and soul (and many years of his life) into this trilogy doesn't get the chance to show how it all began.
Also posted on Dooyoo.
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Hi David. Excellent review of something I hate.
dave
missydoc 29.03.2008 14:06
I'm one of them who would prefer it buried at my funeral. My husband has the Triology and makes me watch it. Good graphics and a good way of putting me to sleep. You have written the review well. an 'E' from me Hx
Soho_Black 29.03.2008 11:52
I got my copy in Virgin last December for £19.99. I was so shocked at how cheap the price was that I had to check they hadn't put the wrong sticker on it.
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