Review Detail
9.5 44 10
(Updated: September 16, 2012)
Enjoyment
10.0
Review by Brumous — June 7, 2011 @ 1:30 am
This series is in my opinion the best fanedit made to date, and it fully deserves its sky-high reviews. There are three main things that make it great. One, The Lord of the Rings is the best epic fantasy movie ever. When a good faneditor can improve outstanding source material the end result is powerfully impressive. Two, Kerr’s technical skills are quite good; the visual quality is fine and the sound edits are smooth with only a few tiny noticeable cuts. The work with added text is especially professional.
Three, and most important, this edit is all about rearranging scene sequences, and Kerr’s choices are fantastic. This edit restores the structure of the book, emphasizing the arc of the whole trilogy with a less hyperactive, non-intercut six-book structure, each book focused on a group of characters in their own adventure.
In Book I, my favorite change is moving the prologue to a later book. This creates much firmer audience identification with the idyllic Shire and its endearing hobbits. The pacing and flow are very good, lively but not rushed, and the story unfolds more naturally. My complaints are very minor: Frodo’s run to the ferry is drawn out a bit, and Arwen being chased by the Black Riders has a little too much discontinuity and repetition.
This may be the most powerful hour of high fantasy put to video; but knowing five books are yet to come helps it a lot!
This series is in my opinion the best fanedit made to date, and it fully deserves its sky-high reviews. There are three main things that make it great. One, The Lord of the Rings is the best epic fantasy movie ever. When a good faneditor can improve outstanding source material the end result is powerfully impressive. Two, Kerr’s technical skills are quite good; the visual quality is fine and the sound edits are smooth with only a few tiny noticeable cuts. The work with added text is especially professional.
Three, and most important, this edit is all about rearranging scene sequences, and Kerr’s choices are fantastic. This edit restores the structure of the book, emphasizing the arc of the whole trilogy with a less hyperactive, non-intercut six-book structure, each book focused on a group of characters in their own adventure.
In Book I, my favorite change is moving the prologue to a later book. This creates much firmer audience identification with the idyllic Shire and its endearing hobbits. The pacing and flow are very good, lively but not rushed, and the story unfolds more naturally. My complaints are very minor: Frodo’s run to the ferry is drawn out a bit, and Arwen being chased by the Black Riders has a little too much discontinuity and repetition.
This may be the most powerful hour of high fantasy put to video; but knowing five books are yet to come helps it a lot!
B