Lord Of The Rings, The: The Fellowship Of The Ring

"The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring" is the first part of an epic trilogy to tell J.R.R. Tolkien's tale in its entirety, tackled by the capable director Peter Jackson. Thankfully, the film begins with a brief history of the rings...namely the ring that falls into the hands of a humble Hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Wood). The ring has the ability to enslave the world if it falls into the hands of any tainted inhabitant of Middle-earth. Frodo is commanded by the wizard Gandalf (McKellen) to cast the ring into the fires at Mount Doom in the dreadful land of Mordor, the evil site where it was created and the only place where it can be destroyed. Accompanying Frodo is a brave Fellowship, sworn to protect Frodo and the ring: three Hobbits (Astin, Boyd, and Monaghan), Gandalf, two human warriors (Mortensen and Bean), an elf archer (Bloom), and a Viking-like dwarf (Rhys-Davies). The quest is a dangerous one, with the Fellowship under constant pursuit by the evil forces who want possession of the ring. Despite the deadly obstacles that the Fellowship must face, Frodo has an additional fear: will anyone in the Fellowship betray him on his perilous journey? The movie nears three hours in length and ends with a tremendous void of what is to come...in part two: "The Two Towers." (Suzanne Hodges)

Special features on Disc One include six trailers: two teasers, the final trailer, "The Lord Of The Rings" Trilogy Supertrailer, "The Lord Of The Rings" Aragorn's Quest Videogame trailer, and "The Lord Of The Rings" War In The North Videogame trailer; and BD-Live™ capabilities. Disc Two is the special features disc and includes "Welcome To Middle-earth: Houghton Mifflin In-Store Special" (SD 16:44); "Quest For The Ring" Fox television special; (SD 21:26) "A Passage To Middle-earth" SCI-FI channel special (SD 41:36); 15 featurettes created for lordoftherings.net, which explore the locales and cultures of Middle-earth and include interviews; six TV spots; Enya's "May It Be" music video (SD 03:37); a special extended DVD edition preview (SD 03:04), and a behind-the-scenes preview of "The Two Towers" (SD 10:42). Also included is a digital copy of the film.

This new 2.42:1 1080p VC-1 Blu-ray Disc presentation is far superior to the previous anamorphically enhanced 2.40:1 DVD reviewed in Issue 64. Director Peter Jackson and Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie adjusted the film's color timing before approving the new master use for this release. The contrasting total balances are extremely cinematic and enhance the visual weight of this stylish, epic, Oscar®-winning picture with nicely rendered images. Hues are rich and vibrant, with color schemes that suit individual locations throughout. While The Shire is filled with inviting, fully saturated greens and golds; Moria has a dank, dark, and cold feeling with lots of blue and grays; and Rivendell glows with golden autumn hues under a soft, hazy light, offering an appearance that is easy on the eyes. Of course, a softer focus is used at times, along with lighting and smoke effects, to create an aura specific to scenes dedicated to the Elves of Rivendell and the High Elves of Lothlórien. At times, minor smearing is evident, but detail is nicely rendered throughout. In fact, resolution is dramatically improved, revealing nuances in facial features and object textures. Contrast and shadow delineation are nicely depicted, also depending on the mood and setting of the scene. While edge enhancement is not noticed in all scenes, its subtle presence is noticed at times. Still, edge enhancement is not to be confused with digitally composited shots, which reveal a soft ring around a character in full shots shared by a short Hobbit and a tall human or Elf. The source element is revealing of occasional artifacts and film grain, but these are such minor instances. Overall, the filmmakers have managed to deliver a stunning presentation that is immensely satisfying and sure to enthrall fans. (Gary Reber/Suzanne Hodges)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack, as with the previous DVD Dolby® Digital Surround EX™ audio rendering, which was the result of a new remix for the DVD at MiCasa Studio, is superb. Still Warner should have provided the 6.1-channel Surround EX remix. The center back imaging is not as distinct as is evident on the DVD. Still, the soundtrack presentation is superb, with an open, airy soundstage presence throughout and exemplary fidelity. An outstanding aspect of this production is Howard Shore's music score, which has been very well recorded, and has a dimensional character that just seems to convincingly encircle you, providing for a downright effective visceral foundation to each setting. In Chapter 37, there is a key moment for which sound effects actually take a back seat to the music, and it is here that you can really appreciate the emotional momentum imparted through both the melodic theme and the spatial character. The dialogue is also a fine recording, with voices having particular distinctiveness. Spatial integration of the dialogue is remarkable throughout. Overall, this is a very dynamic, loud, and powerful soundtrack, with caution advised at or near reference level, as there are instances of extreme sound pressure levels and energy at the lowest frequencies. The deep bass comprises extension to well below 25 Hz in all channels. In addition to the many effects that call for substantial low-end content, the music score also has a very generous, rich, articulate deep bass character. The myriad sound effects throughout have all been very well crafted and recorded, with those that are poignant, imparting a particularly visceral presence through their sheer creativity (such as the nearly fatal arrow "hits" in Chapter 37). Their distribution throughout the listening space should speak for themselves, abundantly enveloping the listener and at other times creating an effective world of expansiveness. These are particular standout features of this soundtrack, as you should really be able to perceive a holosonic® environment that fully encircles. While the back surround channel played a major role in the creation of that wide, open, airy soundstage all around you on the DVD, and as well, there are some instances where, by itself, it become a creative asset, such as in the beginning of Chapter 18, which is less effective in this restricted version. Still, this is a wonderful, splendid soundtrack presentation and an essential element in the full experience of this epic. Hopefully, Warner will provide with the release of the special extended editions, DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1-channel presentations, which should sound slightly more open and refined with spatial coherence better defined for a greater feel of holosonic spaciousness. The team at MiCasa Multimedia, who worked with the remix and mastering of the first DVD release, as well as the original creators of the soundtrack, did an excellent job with the new segments relevant to the special edition, and dovetailing them into the original film version. Fans deserve this treatment on the next Blu-ray Disc installments, which will be the definitive version of the trilogy. (Gary Reber/Perry Sun)