here is One Ring that will rule them all—and the quest to eliminate the threat posed to Middle-earth by the Ring begins in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's masterful The Fellowship of the Ring. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, Fellowship was nothing short of an epic visual feast. Jackson's faithful interpretation of Tolkien's classic fantasy tale earned the respect and accolades of audiences and critics alike—and introduced countless new fans to the intricate world of Middle-earth that Tolkien created more than 50 years ago.
Just as Fellowship's theatrical release was eagerly anticipated by fans, so too is the DVD. However, New Line has confused matters by pre-announcing two versions of the film on DVD. The first of two DVD releases, this set is centered around the theatrical version, and includes a host of promotional spots that were screened in the weeks and months leading up to the debut of Fellowship.
First up are three documentaries: "Welcome to Middle-earth," a 16-minute piece designed for in-store use by publisher Houghton Mifflin; "Quest for the Ring," a pushy 21-minute Fox TV special; and "A Passage to Middle-earth—The Making of Lord of the Rings," a 42-minute special made for the SCI FI Channel. Then, there are 15 two-to-five-minute-long featurettes originally produced for the film's official Web site; Enya's music video, "May it Be"; an assortment of three trailers and five 30-second TV spots, and a three-minute preview of Electronic Arts' video game for PlayStation 2.
Completists who insist on having a copy of every last interview, TV special and theatrical spot revolving around the object of their affection will appreciate this DVD. So, too, will film-buff purists who want to see the original cut of Fellowship in all its digital glory on their home-theater screens. Image quality is superb, as is sound quality (the disc supports both Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Surround Sound and Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound).
Tolkien gets an extra touch of magic
In spite of being chock-a-block full of extra features, they're often poorly organized and tend to be repetitive. If you listen to all of the interview content included on disc two, you'll hear many of the same anecdotes and quotes—and even see identical interview footage spliced and diced different ways (one spot with Cate Blanchett pops up several times). For example, the Houghton Mifflin piece is interesting for its discussion of some of the literary history behind Tolkien's work; but once it launches into behind-the-scenes snippets from the film, it steps into familiar territory seen in the other documentaries on the disc.
There are a few odd design decisions, too. While the SCI FI Channel's piece offered a substantial and generally well-presented inside look at the making of the movie, it has no chapter breakdowns listed in a submenu—in spite of there being eight chapters, each clearly labeled at the outset. The varied selection of lordoftherings.net featurettes are wonderful to see in their full-screen, full-color glory (and not on a postage-stamp-sized screen on a computer); however, it would have been nice to have seen a play-all option, just like there was for all five of the TV spots.
Of all the content on the disc, the 10-minute look at The Two Towers—the second installment in this trilogy—is perhaps the most engaging. Jackson provides viewers with a personal tour behind the scenes, showing off such production secrets as how he used CGI to command armies of thousands in some of the fight sequences, and how he achieved Gollum's realistic movements through motion capture. The finished footage shown here is more than enough to whet the appetite for more LOTR—and soon.
The second DVD, a four-disc set due out in November, will consist of an extended version of the film with 30 minutes of additional footage cut from the nearly three-hour theatrical release; plus, purchasers will get two discs of behind-the-scenes material produced and prepared specifically for the DVD release. Presumably, that means the material won't seem recycled and trite, as it did on this first DVD release. Jackson provides a three-minute preview of the Extended Release, revealing some of the contents (such as detailed storyboards and documentaries covering all of the minutiae of creating the film). The added footage, which will feature new original music by composer Howard Shore, includes many establishing shots that viewers will recognize from the books (such as Gimli's infatuation with Galadriel and an expanded sequence in Hobbiton, including a look at Bilbo as he sits down to start his book).
As much as I love Star Wars, there are times are I prefer to rewatch the original theatrical release, and not the "improved" Special Edition version. Likewise, there will be times when I'll want to revisit the theatrical version of Fellowship. After all, that is the film of record, so to speak, and there's a reason that version of the film received a slew of Academy Award nominations. On that basis alone, I strongly recommend this DVD—in spite of my somewhat harsh letter grade. However, there's no question that Jackson's glimpse of the Special Extended Edition release is simply tantalizing.
