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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
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Sharing the Magic
The Fellowship of the Ring: Special Edition
Rated PG-13
2002, New Line
You need expert eyes to catch the new footage and extended scenes in the Special Extended DVD Edition of director Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Only die-hard fans will be able to pinpoint the differences. For the rest of us, the film still maintains a rollicking pace, even at a whopping 208-minute length.
The film tells the story of hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and the powerful Ruling Ring he inherits from his Uncle Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm). Frodo agrees to destroy the ring and Fellowship is the first installment in his adventure.
Special edition DVDs are commonplace, but The Fellowship of the Ring: Special Extended Edition embraces the film's childlike sense of wonder. The package unfolds like some ancient text. Discs one and two contain the extended version of the film. Disc three offers photo galleries, storyboards and documentaries about the pre-production process behind the film. Disc four contains 11 documentaries about the making and marketing of the film. More elaborate than the Pearl Harbor "Director's Cut" DVD, Jackson leaves no stone unturned or production detail unaccounted.
I normally have a problem with how-did-they-do-that features but there is movie magic in The Fellowship of the Ring and its vast collection of photo galleries and storyboards. Jackson leads his cast and crew in detailed commentary. We hear thorough discussions about the designs for Gandalf's arrival in the Shire, the home of the Hobbits, the villainous Uruk-Hai and the battle with the trolls in the Dwarf Kingdom Moria. Jackson does give away many of the secrets behind the incredible images in the film, but it's what fans have come to expect from DVD movie releases.
On-screen, The Fellowship of the Ring recreates an eye-popping fairytale land. On TV, the film loses much of its majesty. Still, it's in the new and extended footage, especially in an early scene that shows a trail of elves walking through a dark forest, that the film expands some of its magical qualities.
Most of the features offer insight to aspiring filmmakers and devoted movie buffs. I can imagine future filmmakers making decisions based on what they saw and heard on The Fellowship of the Ring: Special Extended Edition DVD. Luckily, the storytelling is so rich and imaginative that the film holds its own against the barrage of bonus features that surround it.
The Fellowship of the Ring: Special Extended Edition grade: A.
And the rest
Anthony Hopkins joins Chris Rock in a formulaic action movie that's derivative at best. In Bad Company (Disney) director Joel Schumacher casts Hopkins as a seasoned CIA agent who coaches the street punk Rock in order for him to replace his twin brother on a secret spy mission. Schumacher fails to boost the film with slick photography and quick editing. There's not even one sizable laugh to Rock's credit. ... Judi Dench is the best thing in director Oliver Parker's showy adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 1895 stage comedy The Importance of Being Earnest (Miramax). As Lady Bracknell, the person who keeps all the romantic entanglements in order, Dench takes full advantage of her comic dialogue. Rupert Everett is a close second in laughs as Algernon, one of Wilde's love-stuck leads and a key source of the play's mistaken identity gag. Colin Firth flashes clumsy charm as Algernon's friend, the straitlaced Jack. Frances O'Connor is appropriately flirty as Gwendolyn, the object of Jack's affection. Reese Witherspoon flashes a credible Brit accent as Cecily, Jack's pretty ward who catches Algernon's eye. Parker has an impressive ensemble, but it's Everett and Dench who take center stage.
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