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

[Terrell]

Dan what are you comparing it to, TPM LD or the DVD? I agree the LD is overcooked and hot, and way too agressive. As for the DVD, I find the mix maybe the most balanced DD mix I've heard on DVD. However, I don't yet have the FOTR DVD(you guys suck). And the dialogue on TPM DVD is perfect. As for the bass, no need to discuss that here. It's staggering.

As for the FOTR DVD, how are the extras? I'd like to know what they consist of and what are some thoughts on them.

 

[Jim Bivins]

I can't hold out any longer...where (in the US) can you purchase this DVD early? PM me if you don't mind.

Thanks
Jim

 

[Vickie_M]

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

Look again. When the group sees the two Argonath from the front, the one on their right (the right side of the screen) has his LEFT arm up ("stop, in the name of love!")
but a couple of minutes later, when they're past the statues and the camera shows them from behind, that one (which is now on the left side of the screen) has his RIGHT arm up.

 

[Sean Moon]

Ok...I see what you are talking about. It looks like the right arm is up, but in the previous shots the mountain behind him is a little high over the shoulder. It could just be an illusion caused by the reverse perspective, and it could be a mistake

 

[Aaryn Chan]

Not only the Agonads have reversed hands, but one of them have the feet finger touching the water in one shot, then is very far away in another shot. If you want to discuss LOTR mistakes, I have hundreds of them.

 

[Dan Brecher]

Dan what are you comparing it to, TPM LD or the DVD?

Both.

I have a more in depth review on Page 1 of this thread where I explore the extras people really wanted to know about. The rest is fluff most have seen before online or on TV. The best thing on disc 2 documentary wise is probably the web documentaries and the sci-fi channel doc.

The 2 disc is essentialy a pleasing stop gap until November. There's good enough extras on disc 2 to make the purchase of this version seem all the more worthy for those of us who really just wanted it to own the theatrical cut.

Dan

 

[Lou Sytsma]

OK - I finally was able to go through all the material yesterday afternoon -took the afternoon off so I could watch this at reference levels - and watched the 2nd disc last night.
Others have posted their thoughts on the audio and video but seeing as I am running this with a NEC LT150 DLP on a 100 inch screen thought I throw in my 2 cents.
Video
This is a very solid transfer for sure. No compression artifacts, grain, or edge enhancement that I could detect. The colour palette is excellent whether it is in the bright sunny Shire, the dark depths of Moira, the ethreal elfen locations of Rivendell and Lothlorien, or the lava lit landscape of Moria.
The detail in many scenes is exquisite - and in some way surpasses the theatrical presentation. The opening battle sequence in the prologue is amazing clear - ie the cliff shot of the Sauron's army as they are felled by arrows has never been clearer.
I also concur with an earlier post that said the SFX shots are better integrated on the DVD as compared to the film. No doubt due in part to DVDs lower resolution. Still troubling film sequences like Legolas jumping on the back of the cave troll no longer appear as blatantly obvious.
In any event a truly reference transfer.
Audio:
Much has been made of the audio and for good reason. Never has there been such a wide sounding NATURAL soundfield. The balance between all the elements - music, dialogue, sound effects has been done with a brilliant touch. Never does one component overpower the others.
The audio mix works wonderfully well during quiet scenes such as in the Shire, in the woods of Lothlorien etc - where one hears the calls and twitters of nearby wildfife.
Of course the real attention comes during the chase and battle sequences where offscreen action is assigned to the appropriate channel. The shriek of the RingWraiths, the sound of an arrow making flight from behind you to the front of the room, and a real nice touch - the sounding of Boromir blowing his horn coming from behind you as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli hear it.
I do have a 6.1 setup and let me tell you the centre rear channel has never been so active. I would estimate that it is active somewhere around 60 percent of the movie. Amazing!
The integration of Shore's score is also well done - usually residing in the surrounds/rear centre during quiet moments and surging forth into the mains during dramatic moments.
Without a doubt a new reference audio soundtrack. I have the TPM LD and DVD and this one eclipses it because of it's expansiveness. Others have mentioned the TPM is a very showy mix and I agree. The TPM comes off as showy - the FOTR comes off as natural.
I understand and have previously posted that the FOTR audio was re-equalized for home presentation by the sound company Mia Casa. Whatever it is they have done it should become the standard for all DVD releases. Going to have to check out Blade2 as it was done by the same company and process.
One can only wonder what improvements the Extended Edition with the DTS-ES soundtrack could have!
Specials
Really the web featurettes and the EE DVD preview and TTT preview are the only things worth viewing. The others are largely comprised of fluff and have a fair deal of shared material between them.
All in all a great set and I cannot wait for the EE release in November.

 

[Grady Hollums]

Anyone ever see Golem hiding in the eye of one of the King statues? It still looks like a bird's nest to me, but I could not tell. And now with the added scene I wonder that it might be him following them even more.

 

[Simon Young]

Hate to point it out, but the two most annoying continuity errors occur right at the very end:

After the battle with Lurtz, Aragorn rushes to Boromir's side. In the shot looking over Aragorn's right shoulder, Boromir grabs Aragorn's left shoulder with his right hand. In the reverse shot, looking up at Aragorn, Boromir's hand is nowhere to be seen. This wouldn't be so bad if they didn't then cut back and forth between the two angles a couple of times!

Also, when Frodo is standing on the banks of the river Anduin (sp?), holding The Ring in the palm of his hand, you see in a close-up a two tears roll down his face - one on his left cheek, which has reached the bottom of his chin, and the other on his right cheek which is halfway down his face. There follows a close-up of Gandalf, then another close up of Frodo - except this time, the shot looks like it's reversed, meaning that the tear on the left cheek is now halfway down his face and the one on his right cheek has reached his chin.

Oh, Boromir doesn't blink when Aragorn kisses his forehead. It's not true.

BTW, I checked my HT calibration, and there's no delay (I'm in a fairly small room). To make sure it wasn't my player, I spun the disc on my DVD-ROM, and found exactly the same results. Here are my findings: the early scenes have no synch problems, other than a couple of obviously looped lines; the problem I found starts in Moria, when Gandalf says "We have but one choice left..." or some such thing. I'm watching it now, and his words are definitely behind his lip movements. Another poor bit of looping? Possibly. Next, when Gandalf and Frodo are talking about Gollum's fate, nearly every line is visibly out of synch - even Elijah Wood's, when he says "I wish The Ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened". Look carefully at this and then tell me if I'm dreaming it! Next, when Sam says "There's an eye opener and no mistake!", he's behind. The next segment is fine, until after the battle in Balin's Tomb. From when Sam says "he's alive" up until Gandalf says "To the bridge of Khazad Dum!", every line is out - in particular, "Mithril!" and "that spear should have skewered a wild boar". After that, I noticed no synch errors. These ones just really stand out!

 

[Dan Brecher]

Anyone ever see Golem hiding in the eye of one of the King statues? It still looks like a bird's nest to me, but I could not tell. And now with the added scene I wonder that it might be him following them even more.

It's not Gollum, it's a birds nest. Birds FLY OUT OF IT! In the extended version, Gollum WILL officialy be in this scene, we'll see him clinging to a log following the fellowship up stream (as was the case in the novel as I recall). You get to see this shot in the Extended Cut preview and it had me so excited I was like a five year old on Christmas day.
Dan

 

[Matt Stone]

It's not Gollum, it's a birds nest. Birds FLY OUT OF IT! In the extended version, Gollum WILL officialy be in this scene, we'll see him clinging to a log following the fellowship up stream (as was the case in the novel as I recall).

Yep...much was made of this in the FOTR discussion last Jan and there's no way it's Gollum.

 

[Grady Hollums]

Ha! I knew I was right, but I was told time and time again I was wrong!!! Whooo HaaaHAAAHAAA! I rarely miss my perception roles.
(I threw that one in there for all the D&D and Rolemaster lovers out there. Man, I love being a nerd!)

 

[Dan Brecher]

If you zoom that shot on the DVD in a DVD Rom drive you can make out that its a nest of twigs, theatricaly it was more obvious. It's a motiona=less pile of twigs. The fact they had the bit with Gollum following them on the log (but cut it) proves that was never Gollum on the Argonath since we would have seen him following them on the log at this moment in time.
The shot of him in the extended cut featurette on the current FOTR DVD is wonderful and is probably slightly longer in the actual film. In the featurette you see the log floating down stream, you see his hand clinging to the log and you see the top of his head bob down behind it, hiding as he floats along.

I threw that one in there for all the D&D and Rolemaster lovers out there. Man, I love being a nerd!))

Dan

 

[Kami]

Hmmm, I just found out the covers I made are being sold at dv-depot:
http://www.dv-depot.com/catalog/coverscans.php
The thing that irks me is that they said it's with my permission but they never even asked me. I think I will have to email them.....i mean, at least an email link or something would be nice. It's a compliment to have them up there but sheesh. I don't care about the money either.. $1.95 basically covers materials and cost of business, but this gets to me. What do you guys think?

 

[Nick Senger]

I searched through this thread and couldn't any info about the placement of the layer change in FOTR. Could anyone who already has the dvd comment on this? Thanks!

Nick

 

[Dan Brecher]

Nick,

The layer change is at Rivendell and it's not brilliant, it's ok, but it was obvious (to me at least). After he council scene it cuts to a nice shot of an exterior, it freezes there and cuts out the sound of the waterfall ever so slightly before picking up and continuing with Legolas walking down the steps before we cut to the scene where Bilbo presents 'Sting' to Frodo.

Obviously some players will handle it better than others. I like to think my Sony is pretty good at changes, it's a quick change to be sure, I just didn't care for the placement.


Kami,

DEFINATELY contact Depot. I use them sometimes and the folks who work there are decent people, you won't have issues sorting this problem out with them I am sure.

Dan

 

[Allan Petersen]

Dan, is your version the Canadian release? I got my copy (Canadian) today and the change happened just as you described.
Just curious.

 

[Kami]

Dan, yeah I just did contact them. All I want is a link or something, that's all

 

[Dan Brecher]

Allan,

No I was sent the US version.

Dan

 

[Allan Petersen]

Okay. Thank you for the info.
I had completely forgotten just how beautiful this film is. The colours are outstanding.
I noticed that some of the fight scenes are easier to follow than in the cinema. I remember feeling lost every time I watched the fight in Balin's Tomb on the big screen. Have anyone else experienced this?