The DVDs also include a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround English track (for those of you without digital 5.1 set-ups), and English subtitles and closed captions support the audio.
Extras:
The extended version of the film has been spread across the first 2 DVDs of this set in order to accommodate 2 full-bodied 5.1 audio tracks and 4 audio commentary tracks. The remaining extras are found on Discs 3 and 4. English closed captions accompany the video footage on Discs 3 and 4.
The "only" extras on Discs 1 and 2 are the audio commentaries. However, 4 audio commentaries for a 3.5-hour movie provide a qualitatively different experience with each fresh viewing of the film. You can watch the movie with 1 audio commentary, or you can switch between the tracks and the primary soundtrack with the audio button. The possibilities are endless.
The extras on Discs 3 and 4 have been organized into sub-sections, but you can also look at all of the extras in long indices. You can watch all the featurettes individually, or you can play them all as long movies. However, there are photo galleries and additional featurettes to experience even if you use the "Play All" function.
Discs 1 and 2:
These days, many DVD releases have audio commentaries, but most of them bore me almost to death. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that none of the 4 commentaries included with the 4-disc "LOTR 1" set bored me the slightest bit. The participants all had something interesting to share with the audience, and their obvious affection for the project and for Tolkien´s writings translated to the kind of enthusiasm that is rarely exuded with audio commentaries. (My one complaint about the new DVD set is that while you won´t hear the exact same words during the commentaries and during the interviews, some of the information feels repetitive.)
1) The Director and Writers: As expected, this track covers the overall artistic vision of translating Tolkien´s books to the screen. The speakers make some apologies for the changes that they made, but they also explain the necessity of writing for a movie rather than being slavishly faithful to the nuts and bolts of Tolkien lore. Whether or not you entirely buy what they say is a matter of opinion, of course, but Jackson and his writers engagingly make it known to the world what they had to do.
2) The Design Team: The participants for this commentary detail what they did during the preparation stages. Basically, they had to create the look of Middle-Earth, from the costumes and the sets to the way the complex action sequences would be shot. You can see their developmental work on Discs 3 and 4.
3) The Production/Post-Production Team: Commentary 3 will give you an idea of how the film began to and did take shape.
4) The Cast: Most of the cast members gathered together to record their comments at the same time. However, you can tell that some participants were recorded separately, like Liv Tyler. This actually works just fine since Tyler was not there for the entire 15-/16-month shoot, so the way her comments have been edited into the commentary reflects the way that she worked on the film. Obviously, Commentary 4 provides the most fun since you feel as if you´re part of one big group hug.
Disc 3:
The extras on Disc 3 deal mainly with the pre-production stage of the project. The titles of the featurettes are basically self-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Suffice it to say that the featurettes are very thorough, leaving no stone unturned. While the filmmakers do praise each other as geniuses and swell fellas, I commend them for also tackling difficult subjects (such as why Miramax refused to finance Peter Jackson´s financially risky endeavor). Since he´s all over the place anyway, Peter Jackson filmed an introduction for Disc 3.
--"J.R.R. Tolkien--Creator of Middle-Earth"
--"From Book to Script"
--"Storyboards and Pre-Viz: Making Words Into Images"
--"Designing Middle-Earth"
--"Weta Workshop"
--"Costume Design"
--"Early Storyboard Sequence: The Prologue"
--"Abandoned Storyboard Sequence: Orc Pursuit Into Lothlorien"
--"Abandoned Storyboard Sequence: Sarn Gebir Rapids Chase"
--"Pre-Viz Animatic: Gandalf Rides to Orthanc"
--"Pre-Viz Animatic: The Stairs of Khazad-dum"
--"Storyboard to Film Comparison: Nazgul Attack at Bree"
--"Pre-Viz to Film Comparison: The Bridge of Khazad-dum"
--"Bag End Set Test"
--"Middle-Earth Atlas": An interactive map that follows the Fellowship on its journey from Hobbiton to Amon Hen.
--"New Zealand as Middle-Earth"
Though I did not actually make my own counts of the total number of stills in the galleries, I would not be surprised if Disc 3 had more than a 1,000 pictures alone. In "The Peoples of Middle-Earth", you will find conceptual drawings and photos of Aragorn, Arwen, Balrog, Bilbo Baggins, Boromir, The Cave Troll, Celeborn, Elendil, Elrond, Frodo, Galadriel, Gandalf the Grey, Gil-galad, Gil-galad´s Army, Gimli, Isildur, Legolas, Merry, Moria Orcs, Numenoreans, Orcs, Pippin, The Ringwraiths, Sam, Saruman the White, Sauron, Uruk-hai, and The Watcher (the octopus-like creature in the lake in front of the Moria entrance). In "The Realms of Middle-Earth", you will find conceptual drawings and photos of The Second Age (prologue), The Shire, Bag End, Bree, Isengard, Weathertop, Trollshaw, Rivendell, Rivendell--Frodo´s bedroom, Rivendell--Elrond´s chamber, Moria, Lothlorien, The Silverlode & the Anduin, and Amon Hen.
Disc 4:
The extras on Disc 4 deal mainly with the production (filming) and post-production stages of the project. Once again, the titles of the featurettes are basically self-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Elijah Wood, the Ring-bearer of the story, replaces Peter Jackson in Disc 4´s introductory video segment.
--"The Fellowship of the Cast"
--"A Day in the Life of a Hobbit"
--"Cameras in Middle-Earth"
--"Scale"
--"Big-atures"
--"WETA Digital"
--"Editorial: Assembling an Epic"
--"Digital Grading"
--"The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth"
--"Music for Middle-Earth"
--"The Road Goes Ever On...": Footage of the cast and crew at various premieres around the world.
The "Editorial Demonstration: The Council of Elrond" is an interactive bonus in which footage from 6 cameras play while the final edited version plays, too. You can choose to watch different cameras´ vantage points to get a sense of how the sequences can be assembled for different artistic effects.
Disc 4 also has more stills than you could care to view in a single day. They have been collected in the following galleries: Production Photos, Orthanc Miniature, Rivendell Miniature, Moria Miniature, Lothlorien Miniature, Hobbiton Factories Miniature, and The Argonath Miniature.
--DVD-ROM--
For now, online content is limited to links to film-related websites. However, there might be web-exclusives in the future, as with the "Star Wars 1" DVDs.
--Miscellaneous--
With everything housed in a book-like package, a glossy booklet provides chapter listings and information about the set´s bountiful extras.
Entertainment Value:
The key question for most people will be, is it worth the time and money to buy both of the "LOTR 1" DVD sets? My answer is yes because not only do they contain different extras, they also contain different cuts of the movie. I suppose that one could have wished for 1 release that offered everything, but then you´d have a 5- or 6-disc set anyway. In the end, you´d be buying the same thing, the difference being paying one lump sum or paying for 2 products.
Ultimately, the 4-disc set of "The Lord of the Rings 1" presents so much information that it becomes a bit difficult to digest the material. Personally, I prefer the elegance of the "A.I.--Artificial Intelligence" release, not the brute-force approach taken by New Line with "LOTR 1" 4-disc (and by Buena Vista with "Pearl Harbor" VISTA). However, a bounty of substantive extras should be appreciated for what it is, and barring a last-minute surprise, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" Special Extended Edition Platinum Series is probably the best DVD release of 2002.
Easter Egg Alert:
Disc 1--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the horizontal picture of Chapter 27, the last chapter on Disc 1. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight a ring icon. Click on the ring icon to watch the MTV version of Elrond´s secret council.
Disc 2--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the number for Chapter 40, the last chapter on Disc 2. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight an icon of two towers. Click on the two towers icon to watch the preview of "The Two Towers" that appeared in theatres towards the end of the first film´s theatrical run.
Discs 3 and 4--Go to the Main Menus, and move the menu cursor to the diamond-shaped icon at the bottom of the page. Click on the icon to access the DVDs´ production credits.
Extras:
The extended version of the film has been spread across the first 2 DVDs of this set in order to accommodate 2 full-bodied 5.1 audio tracks and 4 audio commentary tracks. The remaining extras are found on Discs 3 and 4. English closed captions accompany the video footage on Discs 3 and 4.
The "only" extras on Discs 1 and 2 are the audio commentaries. However, 4 audio commentaries for a 3.5-hour movie provide a qualitatively different experience with each fresh viewing of the film. You can watch the movie with 1 audio commentary, or you can switch between the tracks and the primary soundtrack with the audio button. The possibilities are endless.
The extras on Discs 3 and 4 have been organized into sub-sections, but you can also look at all of the extras in long indices. You can watch all the featurettes individually, or you can play them all as long movies. However, there are photo galleries and additional featurettes to experience even if you use the "Play All" function.
Discs 1 and 2:
These days, many DVD releases have audio commentaries, but most of them bore me almost to death. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that none of the 4 commentaries included with the 4-disc "LOTR 1" set bored me the slightest bit. The participants all had something interesting to share with the audience, and their obvious affection for the project and for Tolkien´s writings translated to the kind of enthusiasm that is rarely exuded with audio commentaries. (My one complaint about the new DVD set is that while you won´t hear the exact same words during the commentaries and during the interviews, some of the information feels repetitive.)
1) The Director and Writers: As expected, this track covers the overall artistic vision of translating Tolkien´s books to the screen. The speakers make some apologies for the changes that they made, but they also explain the necessity of writing for a movie rather than being slavishly faithful to the nuts and bolts of Tolkien lore. Whether or not you entirely buy what they say is a matter of opinion, of course, but Jackson and his writers engagingly make it known to the world what they had to do.
2) The Design Team: The participants for this commentary detail what they did during the preparation stages. Basically, they had to create the look of Middle-Earth, from the costumes and the sets to the way the complex action sequences would be shot. You can see their developmental work on Discs 3 and 4.
3) The Production/Post-Production Team: Commentary 3 will give you an idea of how the film began to and did take shape.
4) The Cast: Most of the cast members gathered together to record their comments at the same time. However, you can tell that some participants were recorded separately, like Liv Tyler. This actually works just fine since Tyler was not there for the entire 15-/16-month shoot, so the way her comments have been edited into the commentary reflects the way that she worked on the film. Obviously, Commentary 4 provides the most fun since you feel as if you´re part of one big group hug.
Disc 3:
The extras on Disc 3 deal mainly with the pre-production stage of the project. The titles of the featurettes are basically self-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Suffice it to say that the featurettes are very thorough, leaving no stone unturned. While the filmmakers do praise each other as geniuses and swell fellas, I commend them for also tackling difficult subjects (such as why Miramax refused to finance Peter Jackson´s financially risky endeavor). Since he´s all over the place anyway, Peter Jackson filmed an introduction for Disc 3.
--"J.R.R. Tolkien--Creator of Middle-Earth"
--"From Book to Script"
--"Storyboards and Pre-Viz: Making Words Into Images"
--"Designing Middle-Earth"
--"Weta Workshop"
--"Costume Design"
--"Early Storyboard Sequence: The Prologue"
--"Abandoned Storyboard Sequence: Orc Pursuit Into Lothlorien"
--"Abandoned Storyboard Sequence: Sarn Gebir Rapids Chase"
--"Pre-Viz Animatic: Gandalf Rides to Orthanc"
--"Pre-Viz Animatic: The Stairs of Khazad-dum"
--"Storyboard to Film Comparison: Nazgul Attack at Bree"
--"Pre-Viz to Film Comparison: The Bridge of Khazad-dum"
--"Bag End Set Test"
--"Middle-Earth Atlas": An interactive map that follows the Fellowship on its journey from Hobbiton to Amon Hen.
--"New Zealand as Middle-Earth"
Though I did not actually make my own counts of the total number of stills in the galleries, I would not be surprised if Disc 3 had more than a 1,000 pictures alone. In "The Peoples of Middle-Earth", you will find conceptual drawings and photos of Aragorn, Arwen, Balrog, Bilbo Baggins, Boromir, The Cave Troll, Celeborn, Elendil, Elrond, Frodo, Galadriel, Gandalf the Grey, Gil-galad, Gil-galad´s Army, Gimli, Isildur, Legolas, Merry, Moria Orcs, Numenoreans, Orcs, Pippin, The Ringwraiths, Sam, Saruman the White, Sauron, Uruk-hai, and The Watcher (the octopus-like creature in the lake in front of the Moria entrance). In "The Realms of Middle-Earth", you will find conceptual drawings and photos of The Second Age (prologue), The Shire, Bag End, Bree, Isengard, Weathertop, Trollshaw, Rivendell, Rivendell--Frodo´s bedroom, Rivendell--Elrond´s chamber, Moria, Lothlorien, The Silverlode & the Anduin, and Amon Hen.
Disc 4:
The extras on Disc 4 deal mainly with the production (filming) and post-production stages of the project. Once again, the titles of the featurettes are basically self-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Elijah Wood, the Ring-bearer of the story, replaces Peter Jackson in Disc 4´s introductory video segment.
--"The Fellowship of the Cast"
--"A Day in the Life of a Hobbit"
--"Cameras in Middle-Earth"
--"Scale"
--"Big-atures"
--"WETA Digital"
--"Editorial: Assembling an Epic"
--"Digital Grading"
--"The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth"
--"Music for Middle-Earth"
--"The Road Goes Ever On...": Footage of the cast and crew at various premieres around the world.
The "Editorial Demonstration: The Council of Elrond" is an interactive bonus in which footage from 6 cameras play while the final edited version plays, too. You can choose to watch different cameras´ vantage points to get a sense of how the sequences can be assembled for different artistic effects.
Disc 4 also has more stills than you could care to view in a single day. They have been collected in the following galleries: Production Photos, Orthanc Miniature, Rivendell Miniature, Moria Miniature, Lothlorien Miniature, Hobbiton Factories Miniature, and The Argonath Miniature.
--DVD-ROM--
For now, online content is limited to links to film-related websites. However, there might be web-exclusives in the future, as with the "Star Wars 1" DVDs.
--Miscellaneous--
With everything housed in a book-like package, a glossy booklet provides chapter listings and information about the set´s bountiful extras.
Entertainment Value:
The key question for most people will be, is it worth the time and money to buy both of the "LOTR 1" DVD sets? My answer is yes because not only do they contain different extras, they also contain different cuts of the movie. I suppose that one could have wished for 1 release that offered everything, but then you´d have a 5- or 6-disc set anyway. In the end, you´d be buying the same thing, the difference being paying one lump sum or paying for 2 products.
Ultimately, the 4-disc set of "The Lord of the Rings 1" presents so much information that it becomes a bit difficult to digest the material. Personally, I prefer the elegance of the "A.I.--Artificial Intelligence" release, not the brute-force approach taken by New Line with "LOTR 1" 4-disc (and by Buena Vista with "Pearl Harbor" VISTA). However, a bounty of substantive extras should be appreciated for what it is, and barring a last-minute surprise, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" Special Extended Edition Platinum Series is probably the best DVD release of 2002.
Easter Egg Alert:
Disc 1--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the horizontal picture of Chapter 27, the last chapter on Disc 1. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight a ring icon. Click on the ring icon to watch the MTV version of Elrond´s secret council.
Disc 2--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the number for Chapter 40, the last chapter on Disc 2. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight an icon of two towers. Click on the two towers icon to watch the preview of "The Two Towers" that appeared in theatres towards the end of the first film´s theatrical run.
Discs 3 and 4--Go to the Main Menus, and move the menu cursor to the diamond-shaped icon at the bottom of the page. Click on the icon to access the DVDs´ production credits.
Avearage user rating (1-5):