When it hit theaters last December, New Line Cinema¹s ³The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring² took the cinematic world by storm. Now, the fantasy film that took $109 million and five years to finish is available for home viewing in what is as close to its original, unedited form as can be. The ³New Line Platinum Series² edition of ³The Fellowship of the Ring² features an additional 30 minutes of never-before-seen deleted footage, over 15 hours of commentary, another 10 hours of behind-the-scenes featurettes about every facet of the film, and a library of Tolkien-inspired art, writings and music. On four discs, the ³Platinum Series² edition of ³The Fellowship of the Ring² is thorough without being boring or repetitive.
DISK 1 & 2
The Skinny
Extended version of feature (208 total minutes), anamorphic widescreen and audio commentaries by director Peter Jackson and screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the technical crew, the post-production crew and 10 members of the cast.
Highlights
Of the originally deleted scenes that are included in the extended edition, there are seven new scenes and 20 extended scenes. The ³Concerning Hobbits² segment at the beginning of the film and the speech by Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell (Hugo Weaving) when the fellowship sets out to destroy the ring are the most noteworthy additional scenes. Some of the extended scenes clarify the plot, such as when it is revealed exactly how ³the one ring² ended up in the bottom of the river, more insight to the softer and more musical side of Strider, and a great moment when Gandalf threatens to break down a wall with Pippin¹s (Billy Boyd) head. And if you already liked the final battle scene, especially Legolas (Orlando Bloom), then you will love the added footage of the pale-haired Elvish archer kicking ass.
Of the four commentary featurettes, the one narrated by the cast is the most engaging. It is particularly interesting to hear the young actors like Elijah Wood (Frodo) and Bloom discuss the performances of veteran actors Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Christopher Lee (Saruman).
DISK 3
The Skinny
J.R.R. Tolkien biography, three featurettes that focus on the physical construction of the film and the formation of the script, additional footage that gives a look at the first visual conceptions of the film (such as story boards and early reels), and interactive map and a gallery of ³Lord of the Rings²-inspired art.
Highlights
So what is the characteristic that separates this story from all others? The characters, plain and simple. On this disc, you will find in-depth histories and an analysis of each character as a player in the story, as well as how each of the characters developed physically from pre- to post production. In slide show form, you can see how the characters progressed from sketches on a napkin to full-bleed color form.
DISC 4
The Skinny
Mainly deals with the actual production of the film, sports featurettes about the use of photography, costuming, sound design, camera work and postproduction.
Highlights
On this disc there is a documentary called ³The Cameras in Middle Earth.² While other featurettes are wonderful in displaying and explaining all of the tricks used in the film (such as forced perspective), the section dealing specifically with the cinematography is captivating because it shows not only the cinematic excess, but also the intimacy of being on camera as presented by the actors themselves. This disc ‹ and really the entire collection ‹ shows how, despite the tedious three hours a day of makeup and 25 takes of the same three-word scene, everyone involved with this production was infinitely passionate about their craft and ³The Lord of the Rings.²
This collection is the most comprehensive and evocative DVD on the market and it is priced very reasonably (in fact, if you buy the ³Platinum Edition² and redeem the prepaid ³Two Towers² ticket that comes with it, you have already compensated for the difference in price between this edition and the standard edition that came out months ago). For any film enthusiast or Middle Earth devotee, this is the most economic way to capture the entire chronicle that is ³The Fellowship of the Ring.²