Product Description
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The Lord of the Rings, the highest grossing adventure film
franchise to ever be created, was born with the release of The
Fellowship of the Ring, followed by The Two Towers and The Return
of the King. The Trilogy’s Blu-ray release captures the enduring
Fellowship and ultimate sacrifice while enhancing the chaos and
destruction of Middle-earth, delivering a visual feast that will
not soon, if ever, find its equal. Of the 30 total Academy Award
nominations the three The Lord of the Rings movies received, they
won a record 17 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, Best
Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and 8 others for the third
film. Based on the best-selling novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter
Jackson’s movie trilogy is an epic journey of men, hobbits,
elves, dwarves and the rest of Middle-earth’s creatures and
cultures. The films chronicle the struggle of good versus evil
with fantastic special effects and a strong emotional centre.
The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy contains the
original theatrical versions of the three films on Blu-ray Disc,
with more than seven hours of special features.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy tells the story of Frodo Baggins
(Elijah Wood), a hobbit who battles against the Dark Lord Sauron
to save his world, Middle-earth, from the grip of evil. In the
films, Frodo and his fellowship of friends and allies embark on a
desperate journey to rid Middle-earth of the source of Sauron's
greatest strength, the One Ring--a ring that has the power to
enslave the inhabitants of Middle-earth. The trilogy tells tales
of extraordinary adventures across the treacherous landscape of
Middle-earth and reveals how the power of friendship, love and
courage can hold the forces of darkness at bay. Beside Wood, the
films star Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin,
Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan,
Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, featuring Sean
Bean, and Ian Holm, with Andy Serkis as Gollum.
.co.uk Review
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As the triumphant start of a trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring leaves you begging for more. By necessity,
Peter Jackson's ambitious epic compresses J.R.R. Tolkien's
classic The Lord of the Rings, but this robust adaptation
maintains reverent allegiance to Tolkien's creation, instantly
qualifying as one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. At 178
minutes, it's long enough to establish the myriad inhabitants of
Middle-earth, the legendary Rings of Power, and the fellowship of
hobbits, elves, dwarves, and humans--led by the wizard Gandalf
(Ian McKellen) and the brave hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood)--who must
battle terrifying forces of evil on their perilous journey to
destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. Superbly paced, the
film is both epic and , offering astonishing special
effects and production design while emphasizing the emotional
intensity of Frodo's adventure, and ends on a perfect note of
heroic loyalty and rich anticipation.
After the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo and Sam journey to
Mordor with the creature Gollum as their guide in The Two Towers.
Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom),
and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) join in the defense of the people of
Rohan, who are the first target in the eradication of the race of
Men by the renegade wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) and the dark
lord Sauron. Fantastic creatures, astounding visual effects, and
a climactic battle at the fortress of Helm's Deep make The Two
Towers a worthy successor to The Fellowship of the Ring, grander
in scale but retaining the story's emotional intimacy.
With The Return of the King, the greatest fantasy epic in film
history draws to a grand and glorious conclusion. The trilogy
could never fully satisfy those who remain exclusively loyal to
Tolkien's expansive literature, but as a showcase for physical
and technical craftsmanship it is unsurpassed in pure scale and
ambition, setting milestone after cinematic milestone as Frodo
and Sam continue their mission to Mordor to destroy the
soul-corrupting One Ring. While the heir to the kingdom of Men,
Aragorn, endures the massive battle at Minas Tirith with the
allegiance of Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf, Frodo and Sam must
survive the schizoid deceptions of Gollum, who remains utterly
convincing as a hybrid of performance (by Andy Serkis) and subtly
nuanced computer animation. Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and
Philippa Boyens have much ground to cover; that they do so with
intense pacing and epic sweep is impressive enough, but by
investing greater depth and consequence in the actions of fellow
hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), they
ensure that The Return of the King maintains the trilogy's
emphasis on fellowship and remains faithful to Tolkien's
overall vision. By ending the LOTR trilogy with noble integrity
and faith in the power of imaginative storytelling, The Return of
the King, like its predecessors, will stand as an adventure for
the ages. --Jeff Shannon and David Horiuchi