Review Detail

9.3 32 10
(Updated: May 22, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
5.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
(Speaking of the entire set of 6 films) This is by far the best version of Lord of the Rings, in my opinion. For any book fan who despaired at the over-the-top ridiculousness of Legolas surfing on a shield or Gimli talking about the orc's nervous system, or who despised the mischaracterization of Treebeard, Faramir, or Denethor, this is the set of films you need to see.

Yes, there's a minor bit of day/night switching when it comes to the Pelennor fields battle, but the editor had to work with the material he had. Given the way Peter Jackson mangled the storyline more the further on it went, this salvaged most of the major errors amazingly well.

I also personally like the narrative flow better when it comes to the different storylines as regards to Frodo & Sam vs. The Three Hunters (Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli) vs. Merry & Pippin. Rather than constantly cross-cutting and spoiling what happened, by following the book's approach it maintains the same level of anticipation and interest that I loved from reading, and I thought it a major improvement.

I really enjoyed the DVD menus and following the path of the characters through Middle-earth. The choice of alternate music at the end was good, though I do confess missing Into the West just a bit.

I had to rate the video quality low only because it's not hi-def. It's still worth it, and worthy of the title of best LOTR fanedit for any book-loving fan. I'd be curious how it feels to someone who's never read or seen any LOTR before, though!

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