Film Details:

Directed by Peter Jackson (Dead Alive, The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures, Lord Almighty of All Indy Filmmakers)

Written by
Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, Forgotten Silver, Jack Brown Genius)
Frances Walsh (Dead Alive, The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures)
Philippa Boyens (The Two Towers, The Return of the King)
J.R.R. Tolkein (novel)

Starring
Elijah Wood (I still can't get over the fact that he was the kid in Flipper.)
Sean Astin (He looks more and more like Patty Duke every day, don't you think?)
Viggo Mortensen (G.I. Jane, Carlito's Way)
Ian McKellen (Any guy who can portray James Whale with both grace and flamboyance can have my silk scarf collection any day.)
Christopher Lee (Yet another old genre actor whose popularity has increased fourfold! Yeehaw!)

Review: by Melissa (e-mail your faithful reviewer)

Note: This is a review of the extended director's cut of the film. Click here for a review of the theatrical DVD release.

The first thing I thought when I finished watching the extended cut of The Fellowship of the Ring was, "You can't tell me four hours just went by. No way. That was astounding!"

My second thought was, "Wow, my ass is really numb."

The extended cut is amazing. There are a few scenes where I can fully understand why Peter Jackson cut them from the film (i.e., either do something with the Wood Elves or leave them out entirely -- don't just show us 30-seconds of them walking through the woods without any reason for it). However, almost all of the 40 minutes worth of additional footage is wonderful. The expanded opening sequence actually improves upon the original theatrical cut of the film. Other added scenes served to expand the secondary characters, especially Aragorn and Boromir.

The best part about this edition, though, is that even though you still get the sense that the original theatrical cut of the film is the ultimate version of the film, the extended cut doesn't feel "fat". This behemoth of a movie now clocks in at just under four hours, and it still barely feels like a two-hour film. Fellowship's perfect pacing wasn't thrown in the slightest by the additional scenes. The new stuff flowed with the original scenes flawlessly, like it had always been there. In fact, Jackson had Howard Shore re-score the newly-cut film, so even the music track flows exactly like it should.

I've seen this film six times in the last 11 months, and it still sweeps me off my feet every time I see it. This new edition, while it doesn't necessarily replace the theatrical cut, is an excellent treat for fans of the film.

DVD Details:

The 4-disc set includes:

The extended cut of Fellowship of the Ring
Dolby Digital 6.1 EX
2.0 Surround
English subtitles
4 full-length audio commentaries
4 hours of brand-new supplements on two additional DVDs

In addition to the above, the 5-disc set includes:

Collectible Decipher game cards
Two bookends statues of the Argonath
An additional DVD that contains the National Geographic Lord of the Rings documentary

When I saw the 4 audio commentary tracks, I just about needed to change my underwear. Enough said.

Note that there are absolutely no features that have been duplicated between the 2-disc and the 4/5-disc sets, right down to the cut of the film. If you want both the theatrical cut and the director's cut of the film, you will have to buy both the 2-disc set and one of the other two sets. Yes, it's expensive, but you get all new stuff with each purchase. I think that's pretty damn groovy.

Click here for my discussion of the 2-disc edition of The Fellowship of the Ring.

Further Information:

Internet Movie Database

Official Site

In Brief

11252006: First update in two years! Unfortunately, the update says that this site will no longer be updated. Click here for more details.