The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) [DVD] [2001]

I am extremely happy to report that the Special Edition DVD release has all but silenced my doubts. The additional 30 minutes or so make a world of difference to the movie, making the tale more 'human' (Dwarven, Elven, Hobbitish, if you hate to anthropomorphism). Almost all of the excised material was character development, and the result of replacing it makes this DVD release the definitive version of the movie. Peter Jackson may prefer it to be considered as an additional release of the movie, where the theatrical version and this extended cut can co-exist, but I disagree. After watching the extended version I find the theatrical release even more lacking - so much so that I can't bring myself to watch it anymore.

All of the characters receive more attention: Bilbo becomes the slightly eccentric but shrewd forever-changed-by-adventure hobbit I always imagined him to be; Frodo the young nephew who has a deep love and respect for his old Hobbit uncle, and who himself can be seen enduring the change that unsettled Bilbo for life; Sam is the plant-loving yet love-shy gardener (more Rosie Cotton!) who's friendship with Frodo promises to be heartbreaking; Gandalf's love for the world and it's people shines through (especially in a new sequence with Pippin) making his ultimate sacrifice a truly tearful moment; Aragorn benefits greatly and his insecurity made so apparent and yet without apparent reason in the theatrical version now has it's background and we see him as the exiled King torn by the guilt of his forefathers, and yet the very strength he seeks to find to do what he must is bound up in his love for Arwen - love that will literally kill her (his small exchange with Frodo in the newly added Midgewater Marsh sequence is painfully poignant, and Elrond's hinted at disdain for the Ranger makes more sense); Boromir is revealed a the man who secretly and perhaps unknowingly craves strong leadership, and scenes between he and Aragorn adds to the deep sadness of the films extended climactic battle against the Uruk-Hai; both Gimli and Legolas receive more attention and we feel we know them better and their initial exasperation with one another (that look on Legolas' face when Gimli pledges his axe to help them during the Council of Elrond is a gem) turns to grudging respect and (as we know later) to great friendship; last but not least, Pippin and Merry are also given more screen time and are no longer the "idiotic comic relief" they were made to appear in the theatrical cut.

Character development aside, there are other additions to popular sequences like the Cave Troll battle, that needed to be inserted (ever wondered why in the theatrical release Boromir disappears from the action early in the Balin's Tomb fight with the Cave Troll, never to appear again until the end? Well, this sequence now restored answers that question and, boy!, must that have hurt!). There are also significant additions to the latter half of the movie. The gift giving sequence as the Fellowship depart Lorien is a mystery to me. How could that possibly have been left out? So much depends on those gifts, and not least the lembas (I love Legolas' "bread advertisement" speech) and Sam's rope, which was set up when he was checking his pack in Rivedel and muttered something about forgetting something...

The DVD transfer itself is quite beautiful and I have never see better. The picture is sharp, well delineated, the colours rich and natural and I saw not one imperfection. The sound is also worthy of praise, with the newly scored Howard Shore pieces melding perfectly with the old (some of which have been subtly altered, and to their bettering in my opinion).

The 'extras' cover 2 DVDs and are similarly of exceptional quality. Essentially and without going into too much detail, you can follow the history of Tolkien's book from the authors birth right through to post production and marketing of the movies - and everything in between! It really does make some recent DVD releases embarrassing by comparison and certain companies (you know who you are!) should hang their collective heads in shame and go stand in the corner.

In summary, no adaptation of this move was ever going to be perfect, and all will stand as pale and incomplete shadows cast by Tolkien's bestriding masterpiece. But this DVD release remains a wonderful rendition of an essentially unfilmable-as-written work of pure genius. Everything is top-notch, from the movie transfer and sound to the extras that are not mere padding but enhance one's enjoyment of the movie to the point of being essential viewing in themselves. This is how DVD should be done. Pay attention.

Finally, I cannot recommend this extraordinary piece of film-making history highly enough. For anyone with a passing interest, it a truely great movie. For those who are Tolkien fanatics, as long as you are open-minded and can accept that the book is unfilmable as written, then you will be delighted to see that a truely great book has been adapted into a truely great film.

First the major one - Lothlorien. In the cinema, like a lot of people, I came out mumbling about the wasted opportunity of presenting Lothlorien in a film. I felt that it was rushed, squeezed in as though Jackson didn't really like that part of the book and wanted to get past it as quickly as possible. Not so here - the sequence is extended greatly and to the benefit of the whole film which now feels more balanced because of it. You aren't left wondering why they bothered getting an actress of the quality of Cate Blanchett for a role which in the theatrical release was a relatively minor one - as he performance in the extended scenes truly justifies her presence. Fans of the book will be particularly delighted with the inclusion of the gift-giving and the excellent comedy moment provided by the way-bread.

The extended Shire sequences are also a joy and are well worth the inclusion (if only for the fact that not only do you get to see more of the wondrous set that Weta created but you also we get a scene inside the Green Dragon complete with Gaffer!). But where this version of the movie comes into its own is in the extra space it gives the characters in the Fellowship time to develop. Gimli particularly benefits from this (his character becoming far more rounded and three-dimensional) as do Pippin and Merry. This, combined with the extra time developing and setting up plot points (an addtional scene with Aaragon and Boromir makes the former's death have much more impact, for example) means that the film is just more balanced and is a far more satisfying experience. Although Peter Jackson has claimed this isn't a director's cut and that it's just a "different" rather than "better" version, the booklet provided with this set is slightly telling when it mentions that "With no constraints on the film's running time, Peter Jackson

The quality of the transfer and the sound are second to none (although I haven't had a chance to check out the DTS track) and the only problem with the range of extra features is that they are so extensive and in-depth that you might run the risk of removing some of the mystique of this film. The packaging is superb and the

The only major flaw with this release is the fact that you have to swap disks half-way through the film. This could have been made far less jarring if they had faded out at the end of the first disk rather than just blacking out - but they at least choose a natural place in the film to have the break (just after the Fellowship is formed at Elrond's council).

Quite frankly, if that's the only flaw on this truly amazing package then it's a sacrifice that is more than worth the benefits you get over the theatrical release DVD.