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This first in a trilogy of movies based on the best-selling novels by J.R.R. Tolkien wowed audiences around the world and left fans waiting with anticipation for the next movie, The Two Towers, scheduled for release in December 2002.
This movie relates the finding of the One Ring — an evil ring that gives the dark Lord Sauron the power to dominate all of the peoples of Middle Earth — and how the peoples of Middle Earth set aside their suspicions of each other and come together for the common good of Middle Earth. They decide that the only thing to do with the One Ring is to destroy it in the fires Mount Doom, deep in the lands of Mordor, the land of Sauron.
I saw this movie four times in four different theaters because I had a feeling that the DVD experience would be disappointing. I was right. The movie is still good on television, but the grandeur of the landscape is not the same. The DVD does include English subtitles, though, and it was interesting to discover that the Eye of Sauron does speak at various times — and the subtitles allowed me to see what I couldn’t hear.
The second DVD contains an exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview of The Two Towers; three in-depth behind-the-scenes documentaries; 15 featurettes exploring the locales and cultures of Middle Earth; interviews with cast members; Enya’s “May It Be” music video; an inside look at the Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; preview of Electronic Arts’ video game, The Two Towers, and other DVD-ROM features. These are interesting but become a little redundant if you watch them all at once.
It may not be necessary to say this, but I will. The movie is not the book. The movie does a good job of telling the story of the book, but the book is a different experience altogether.
Still… I love this movie! Director Peter Jackson and his crew did an excellent job of making the
viewer believe that New Zealand is Tolkein’s Middle Earth. The special
effects add to the excellent cast of characters and do not overwhelm the
viewer, as is true in some other fanasy films. The studio is going to
release an extra thirty minutes of film when they release a special edition DVD
in November (Ed. Note: You can already order it at Amazon). I can’t wait to see what they add.
Ed. Note: Interested in the book on which the movie was based? Check out Deborah’s review.
