*** Official 'Fellowship of the Ring' DVD member review & discussion thread (1 Viewer)

[Brian Fineberg]

sorry to pipe in late but WOW!!!this soundtrac is unreal!! The bass is so heavy and deep it is not even funny. It is completely for the entire 3 hours and does not let up. Also to mention the center rear speaker, it is the most active I have EVER heard it!! ususally I have to strain to hear it but not this time. I give this the nod as the best I have ever heard hands down. I can't imagine the dts-es being any better. Anyhow I am glad to have it and not have to be jelous. Anyone in the RI area need to know where to find it let me know I will let you in on the source.

-B

Oh yeah and I HAVE the canadian version and it seems identical and yes it has the alliance trailer and the logo on the spine. That should be the only difference.

 

[Aaron Garman]

Hello all. Reading all these reviews is really starting to get to me and I need to get this disc ASAP! Anyone that knows of where I can get it early, feel free to PM me. Just think of where we would be without the internet?

Aaron Garman

 

[Sean Moon]

The dialogue is not out of sync. It is how mckellan speaks. If you look REALLY closely when he says the bridge line, you can see his tongue moving in his open mouth before he moves his mouth to say the rest of the sentence.

 

[Aaryn Chan]

Check this out: http://www.crosswinds.net/~aarynchan/fotrdvd.html
to see where the car is. I posted this before.
Btw, even tho I live in Canada, i think i'll get the USA version, since I prefer the New Line logo over the Alliance. Especially for the Extended Book.

 

[Craig S]

although it appears that what was once thought to have been a car is, in fact, a chimney stack.

The plume of dust from the car appears to the left of the chimney stack. When you see the smoke from the chimney, track to the left and you should see it. I don't know if freeze-frame will help, it actually became visible to me because I saw it moving.

I don't have the DVD yet, but I would not be surprised if this is MUCH harder to find on the DVD (it was pretty hard to spot on the big screen).

 

[Marshall Alsup]

Marshall, you do know that, according to the published photos of the 5-disc box, the entire 4-disc 'book' edition is one of the components of it, so it doesn't look like there is any packaging you'll be missing if you were to only buy the 5-disc one?

I know, I collect LOTR stuff however and I'm going to add the 5 Disk set to the collection (unopened). I'm going open the 4 disk set to watch every couple hours
-Marshall

 

[Tom Ryan]

I know, I collect LOTR stuff however and I'm going to add the 5 Disk set to the collection (unopened). I'm going open the 4 disk set to watch every couple hours

Hey Mr. Moneybags, are they paying you triple time at SCS or something? Toss some of that cash my way

 

[Marshall Alsup]

Well I graduate shortly after they come out. I'm hoping I'll have the dinero then.
Besides, its LOTR man, I'd sell my soul

 

[Sean Oneil]

In the earlier thread about the sound mix, someone asked if it is better than that of Phantom Menace (DVD version).

That would be me
Glad to hear your opinions on the mix, Dan.

 

[Dan Brecher]

That's cool, Sean. I had to state my thoughts on TPMs mix in my FOTR DVD review just to make it clear why I rate FOTRs as the superior in mix and presentation.

I do like the TPM mix, I love it in fact, but it still feels like they were just showing off. The fact Attack of the Clones' mix was more restrained seemed to confirm that for me, that even they looked back thinking TPMs sound was too much. I feel this is maybe why Matrix took the Oscar over TPM in sound as it happens.

A lot of people like too much going on in a mix, it makes for great HT demos, and that's true, but there comes a point where I'm watching the film from the studio logo right through to the last credit and my tastes overall are more demanding. The presentation of the mix on the TPM DVD did not impress me much I must admit. It's good to say the least, but I was looking for something that was in between the audio presentation of the TPM LD and what we got on the DVD.

For me, the Fellowship of the Ring DVD instantly reminded me of the seemingly endless expansive soundstage, detail and depth the TPM LD had, only FOTR had all that and was not overcooked in ANY department like the TPM LD was. Everything runs at a perfect level, dialogue and music were never muted beneath sound effects and the LFE was spot on in both slam and depth. Nothing is uncalled for in the presentation of FOTRs mix on the DVD.

Dan

 

[greg_t]

This is off topic, but if you had to compare the soundtracks on "fellowship of the ring" and "black hawk down", which would you think is best, seeing as "black hawk down" won the oscar for sound over FOTR?

 

[Rich Romero]

I can, it always is.

 

[DustinC]

Oh god, here we go again.

 

[Brian W.]

Where is the car then?

In the upper right-hand corner of the screen, along the crest of the hill. It took me a while to see it, too, but I assure you it is not an urban legend. Once you spot it, you'll see it every time you watch.

It's a very tiny MOVING silver dot -- reflected sunlight -- with a trail of dust behind it, moving slowly from left to right along the crest of the hill. You can very clearly see it on the National Geographic LOTR disc...once you find it. It's not really noticable unless someone points it out.

I don't think there's much dust behind it in the first shot, but when they cut back to the long shot of Frodo and Sam moving into the field, that's when the dust behind the car is really noticable...if you're looking for it.

If you can't see it on the DVD then they may have painted it out, but it is most definitely visible on the National Geographic disc.

 

[Sean Moon]

Black Hawk Down is one of the most aggresive mixes I have ever heard. Like Dan was saying about Star Wars, it is almost overpowering how active the mix is. I understand how with star wars it is a little showy and overactive, maybe just to show how cool Dolby EX would be.
Black Hawk Down's mix is exhausting, just like the film is. It seems natural and representive of what that environment must be like. It definately deserved the Oscar for sound.
But I prefer Lord Of The Rings. As Dan was saying, this is an incredibly expansive mix. Almost seems to stretch infinitely into the distance. After watching several sequences over and over again over the last day, I think this is now better than Star Wars. It just had to grow on me. The sound in this just fills every corner of your room and is so booming I am afraid to watch it too late at night for fear of waking the neighbors.
While I think that LOTR is an amazing sound mix and now possibly the best mix to date, I am in no way detracting from Black Hawk Down, as it is an amazing achievement in sound.

 

[Tom Ryan]

I've heard that they actually have removed the car from LOTR for the DVD...I think theonering.net reported this.

 

[Vickie_M]

I'm starting to think it [the car] is all an urban legend.

I had a feeling this would happen, especially once the DVD was released and it was taken out. Also, imagine if the film is re-released to theaters at some point and it's taken out of the re-release. People who think that those of us who say we saw the car are crazy are going to be convinced of it.

Sigh.

I saw the car the 3rd or 4th time I saw the movie. Every single viewing after that (10 total), my eyes were drawn to that spot and it was impossible NOT to see it. Maybe because I ALWAYS sit right in the front row, I could actually see the car itself, and not just the plume of dust it kicks up on the dirt (or gravel) road.

Though, if it is taken out of the DVD, good. Maybe I can finally get my head back into the picture itself and quit saying to myself "there it is!" at that point (though there will be a few "oh, it's not there anymore" viewings). That's the problem with goofs and errors, it takes you out of the movie, and I want to be totally immersed in the experience.

Now, if they'd only fix that damn switched-hand Argonoth! That's the only other thing that took me out of the movie, because once I noticed it, I couldn't help but see it every time.

 

[Sean Moon]

Found another editing mistake while watching this again. Will leave it as spoiler because of situation how it happens.When Aragorn rescues Boromir from Lurtz(the big nasty Uruk Hai), Lurtz throws Araforn into a tree then throws his shield at him. The mistake is when there is a medium shot of Aragorn slamming against the tree the first time the sword in his right hand clearly flys out of his hand as he hits. Then, when Lurtz throws the shield at Aragorn in the wider shot, the sword is back in Aragorns hand, only to be dropped again.
That may sound like nitpicking, but the last two days that little mistake has stuck out to me for some reason.
And for the Argonath thing. I cannot see a switched hand on it. All looks correct to me. I just watched the scene five times, looking for a switched hand and notice no inconsistencies. I dont know if they changed it or what, or if the mistake is just grasping for straws.
(anyone notice that more flaws seem to be found in great, popular films such as this? I guess we are so caught up in the wonderment of the film we have to look for the mistakes and tear the films apart.)

 

[Nick Sievers]

I've noticied that one before Sean, the only goof that bugged me though was the Argonath on the reverse side. How did this slip by in Post Production?

 

[Sean Moon]

There is no Argonath on the reverse side. I have just watched that scene five times to check. Maybe I am blind.

I found some more mistakes too. This time in Moria. These are a little tough to find at first. I notcied something off in this scene and then went through in slo-mo just to make sure. When Legolas shoots the arrow at the orc from across the mine(you know, the one the camera follows into his head in the trailer). Well, when they cut to beside the orc getting hit and he falls, there are two mistakes. You see the arrow actually pass behind the orcs head and stick to the wall, then he falls without an arrow in his face like there should be. Unless of course the arrow simply ripped the poor orcs head clear in half then stuck into the wall. Also, in the same shot if you look very closely in the distance where Legolas fired from, it looks like Legolas, gandalf, and someone else(a hobbit it looks like) are on the other side of the gap, when no one other than Gandalf and Legolas have jumped by this point. Or at least there is a shape that could be mistaken for a person.

OOOOHHH. Getting lots of good stuff for IGN's spot the glitch area!