[[ASIN:B000654ZK0 The Lord of the Rings - The Motion Picture Trilogy (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)]

I recently purchased this Box Set as a birthday gift for my husband. This was such a great buy! We have seen the movies many times but looking at the extended version really did make us feel like we were looking at it for the very first time.

The deleted scenes were fantastic and made my husband and I constantly exclaim "why did they delete that?".

Great buy and most importantly...great value for the price as this is a collectors classic!

Quite simply, the best movie trilogy I have ever and probably will ever buy. Enough said.

Great collection lots of commentaries and extra stuff, will take a long time to go through. The movies were great and long, the extended versions of each movie makes them longer but not necessarily entertaining.

In the opening years of the 21st century, J.K. Rowling and Peter Jackson, acting separately, delivered fantasy storytelling out of the shadows to the centre of popular culture. Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels and the films based on them were a new phenomenon, but Jackson's part was the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic "Lord of the Rings" book series for the big screen. This series of three blockbuster films, the last of which captured the Best Picture Academy Award, is here collected in the legendary "extended editions" format, which have much additional footage that had to be cut from the already absurdly long theatrical additions.

I'll not recap the plot, which has been done here many times already, and begin by discussing some points about the films. The main criticism that might be lodged against the Extended Editions of the series is that, with each running circa 4 hours, it is physically exhausting to watch this series. It is seldom dull, but the length takes its toll nonetheless (I generally watched one DVD per night in my initial viewing). This matches my experience with the books to an extent. For all that, the films are a marvelous experience scene-to-scene, and as a whole; just, as I said, long.

The first film chronicles the foundation of the Fellowship of the Ring and their eventual dissolution, at which point they split into three plot plotlines, two of which run throughout the rest of the story, which are of unequal entertainment value:

1) Frodo and Sam's journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring is arguably the "main" plot of the series. It can be a bit dull at times, since neither character is much of an action hero (or particularly lively), though it features Smeagol/Gollum (Andy Serkis), perhaps the series' most fascinating and iconic character. Actors Wood and Astin generate a powerful oscreen bond (which is important, given how many of the scenes are just them).

2) The two comic relief hobbits, Merry and Pippin, are separated from the others, first by Orcs, and then by Ents. This folds into the third plot by the third film, but the Ent story in the second film is, I must say, sleep-inducing. Until the siege of Isengard, at least. Actors Monaghan and Boyd take their initially comical hobbits into some very dramatic and mature plaecs later on without losing the initial spark of the characters.

3) Finally, the plot that would be a great movie on its own, the story of Aragorn's ascent to the throne of Gondor, and the great battles at Helm's Deep and Pellinor Fields. The trio of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are fantastic action heroes; also to be found here are Gandalf, Theoden, Elrond, Eowyn, Arwen, Eomer, and Saruman. The action scenes that Jackson orchestrates here are revelatory, and the martial virtues on display evoke the best of our culture's heroic tales.

One of hte major issues ot consider is the difference in story between the theatrical and extended editions. Some of the scenes added are comic, but the latter two films are very much improved by the things that Jackson adds. Chracter-wise, Eowyn and Faramir, especially, benefit from the extra time. The extended scenes also explain more fully what happens to Arwen in the third film. And, perhaps most significantly, they provide closure to Saruman and his pet quisling Grima Wormtongue.

For any concerns about length, this series is truly the epic of our time.

I'm not much of a fantasy movie watcher but I LOVE these movies. Maybe because the original books by JRR Tolkien or just the quality of the movie. No better movie out in my opinion but in 20 years, I'm sure it will not be so good. Love it...