Search - The Lord Of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Watch With Your Kids Movie Release: 2001 DVD Release: 08/06/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 2 hrs 58 mins Studio: New Line Home Video Total Copies: 273 Genres: Fantasy, Epic, Sword-and-Sorcery, Fantasy Adventure See Also: The Lord Of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Fullscreen], The Lord Of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Widescreen Special Extended Edition], The Lord Of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Collector's Gift Set], Lord Of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Limited Edition], Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Limited Edition], Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Widescreen] [Academy Award Packaging], The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Fullscreen] [Academy Award Packaging]

New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson fulfills his lifelong dream of transforming author J.R.R. Tolkien's best-selling fantasy epic into a three-part motion picture that begins with this holiday 2001 release. Elijah Wood stars as Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit resident of the medieval "Middle-earth" who discovers that a ring bequeathed to him by beloved relative and benefactor Bilbo (Ian Holm) is in fact the "One Ring," a device that will allow its master to manipulate dark powers and enslave the world. Frodo is charged by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to return the ring to Mount Doom, the evil site where it was forged millennia ago and the only place where it can be destroyed. Accompanying Frodo is a fellowship of eight others: his Hobbit friends Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd); plus Gandalf; the human warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean); Elf archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom); and Dwarf soldier Gimli (John Rhys-Davies). The band's odyssey to the dreaded land of Mordor, where Mount Doom lies, takes them through the Elfish domain of Rivendell and the forest of Lothlorien, where they receive aid and comfort from the Elf princess Arwen (Liv Tyler), her father, Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Queen Galadriel (Cate Blanchett). In pursuit of the travelers and their ring are Saruman (Christopher Lee) -- a traitorous wizard and kin, of sorts, to Gandalf -- and the Dark Riders, under the control of the evil, mysterious Sauron (Sala Baker). The Fellowship must also do battle with a troll, flying spies, Orcs, and other deadly obstacles both natural and otherwise as they draw closer to Mordor. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) was filmed in Jackson's native New Zealand, closely followed by its pair of sequels, The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Elijah Wood - Frodo Baggins
Ian McKellen - Gandalf
Ian Holm - Bilbo Baggins
Viggo Mortensen - Aragorn
Sean Bean - Boromir

A tradition of excellence from New Line Home Video continues with the first release of 2001's epic The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, a DVD that quite simply takes sound, and especially picture, to a new level. The image on this disc, framed at the original aspect ration of 2.35:1 (but also available in a separate severely cropped pan-and-scan version) is stunning. Stunning might not even be enough to describe how good it looks. The Oscar-winning cinematography is perfectly realized, with solid and deep blacks and lush, wonderfully saturated colors. The sound is equally impressive with a 5.1 EX Dolby Digital English track that is startling strong. Recorded loudly, this track will certainly put all sound systems to the test with vibrant use of the surrounds and deep bass. Also available are a surround track and subtitles in English. As for supplemental materials, they are a mixed bag. The focus is on three documentaries, but there is far too much repetition among them. The longest, "A Passage To Middle-earth," at 40 minutes, is really the only one that needs to be watched, as all the information, from interviews to behind-the-scenes segments, are basically the same. A real plus are 15 featurettes taken from the original website for the film. Each lasts only a few minutes, but adds in its own distinct way. Also included is a music video from Enya, a preview of the video game for the second film, theatrical trailers and television spots, and a look at the four-disc special extended set, released three months after this two-disc set. In addition to some online DVD-ROM content is a ten-minute preview for the second film in the series, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Granted, there is a supplement-heavy special edition of this film (if you want a commentary track from director Peter Jackson, among others, better look for that one), but this release is still a outstanding presentation of a spectacular film. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide