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What is the best Lord of the Rings movie?
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JimmyRustler
Gold Member
Fellowship, no question. Saw it 4 times in cinema back in the day. What an epic adventure. Best part of the story too. Two Tower and Return of the King are both great too but you kinda get fairly early that they both head towards to this epic end battle. Fellowship on the other hand doesn't and is full of mystery, which makes it so great.
ScaryShark
Banned
I love them all but I think it's ROTK by a nose. I'd probably be more likely to put on Fellowship but ROTK is the best third chapter in a film trilogy ever.
Matrix XII
Member
I love all of them so much but if I were to choose....
.... Fellowship of the Ring Extended.
Its just such a consistent and wonderful movie experience. Return of the King is a close second though
.... Fellowship of the Ring Extended.
Its just such a consistent and wonderful movie experience. Return of the King is a close second though
Extended Fellowship.
That said, Fellowship is the only extended version I like more than the theatrical. Extended Two Towers and Return of the King have too much nonsense that has nothing to do with anything. Looking at you, "Merry and Pippin drank some water and got taller but then later they were short again" side plot.
So,
Extended Fellowship > Theatrical Return of the King >= Theatrical Fellowship > Theatrical Two Towers > the rest
That said, Fellowship is the only extended version I like more than the theatrical. Extended Two Towers and Return of the King have too much nonsense that has nothing to do with anything. Looking at you, "Merry and Pippin drank some water and got taller but then later they were short again" side plot.
So,
Extended Fellowship > Theatrical Return of the King >= Theatrical Fellowship > Theatrical Two Towers > the rest
DiscoPower
Member
Fellowship of the Ring.
Extended
BigWeather
Member
Fellowship.
Loved the journey aspect, the exploration, and I really enjoyed seeing a fantasy movie where the characters looked like they were actually equipped realistically -- carrying pots, pans, cloaks, etc.
Loved the journey aspect, the exploration, and I really enjoyed seeing a fantasy movie where the characters looked like they were actually equipped realistically -- carrying pots, pans, cloaks, etc.
tonysidaway
Member
I like it most of the three, though the CGI stuff in the Bilbo and Galadriel scenes seemed like an insult to the acting abilities of Ian Holm and Cate Blanchett.
The relative dearth of tedious battle scenes is faithful to the novel, and Sean Bean has never had his obligatory death scene in a film used to greater effect.
And yes, the Council of Elrond scene in The Martian was a lovely payoff over a decade in the making. I smiled.
MisterAnderson
Member
Fellowship by a long shot.
While I don't think the other two were quite so bad, I'd have to agree with Fellowship of the Ring, with a large gap between that and the Two Tower and another large gap for Return of the King.
The Two Towers felt overlong, and the final cavalry charge at the end never felt very convincing. The Return of the King was even worse because the battle scenes were a lot less cool than they were on paper and I couldn't wait for that thing to end. I understand why they decided to expand Arwen's role in the films, but while it was cool in Fellowship, it wasn't any good in the other two.
tonysidaway
Member
Still here. Incredibly, The Hobbit trilogy grossed more than the original, so it's hardly fair to dismiss it. Taste is not absolute. Both are fine works, but only one was the work of a more experienced film maker.
PixelatedBookake
Junior Member
Like many have said before, Fellowship. Best book, best movie, best story, best everything.
Gonna go with Return of the King Extended simply because when I watch Lord of the Rings (which is about once a year) I marathon the extended editions and for me the end of the whole affair feels like you have been on an adventure and the ending of the trilogy has the highest emotional pay off to me personally.
Perhaps, but it's worth it for the scene when they march on Isengard
My favorite part is the Ent that's on fire putting himself out after they break open the dam.
If you mean what I think you mean then the opposite is actually true. Half of Return of the King is Two Towers (or more like a quarter). The Two Towers book ends with Frodo captured at Cirith Ungol. Jackson had to stretch things out since he knew he was cutting the Scouring of the Shire from RotK, so he created the Osgiliath subplot for the second film and moved Shelob to RotK.
Sorcerer
Member
Very interesting. Read the books so long ago. Thanks for clearing that up!!!
DrunkShogun
Member
Favourite was the first one. Boromir was a great character, best Gandalf and found the slower parts more enjoyable than the action scenes. Later sequels would have more action than story so felt they were weaker.
ZackieChan
Member
The battle at the end of FOTR, particularly with Boromir, has some awful editing. Weird sword swipes that have no power yet knock orcs down. Then there's the ridiculous rock throwing Hobbits. I love the movie, and think it's the best one, but it has some less than great directing.
That Aragorn v Lurtz battle tho
This.
Nope. Fellowship is good, then the rest isn't worth bothering with.
No.
Shelob is moved to ROTK because that's how the chronology works. They explain this in the special features. When Frodo and Sam are climbing the Cirith Ungol steps, Pippin and Gandalf are looking at Mordor from Minas Tirith.
They can't have Frodo and Sam climbing the steps if Gandalf and Pippin are still stuck back in their respective TTT storylines.
The Fellowship of the Ring' is my favourite for sure. The very first 8 minutes of the prologue alone are an example of masterful world building a world you'll fall in love with during its course. Together with Howard Shore's soundtrack and the fantastic set design you'll never feel as comfortable as in the peaceful Shire enjoying every single minute of your stay. What impresses me the most though with this movie is how effective the shift in tone is - suddendly filling this world with a shadow - and how much excitement I get from the wonderfully crafted sequences with the black riders. The excitement probably peaks in Moria when genuine feelings of loss and fear creep into the picture.
I love watching these characters act together as one group and it's for this reason the 'Empire strikes back'-esque ending is so powerful as the audience gets to understand how high the stakes exactly are.
I love watching these characters act together as one group and it's for this reason the 'Empire strikes back'-esque ending is so powerful as the audience gets to understand how high the stakes exactly are.
DarkJediKnight
Member
Fellowship easily. It's the best of the bunch. It has some crazy WOW moments for book readers seeing some of our fav moments brought to life.
IMO, nothing in the series brings as much joy as seeing the Shire and how it looked!
That behind the back shot of Gandalf and Frodo arriving in the shire with Bilbo's voiceover narration was jawdropping.
Boromir being far more awesome than the books. Meeting Galadriel and seeing the Balrog!!!
This was a proper fantasy adventure movie. A lot happens in this movie, and Peter Jackson masterfully kept it moving.
Love, this first one.
IMO, nothing in the series brings as much joy as seeing the Shire and how it looked!
That behind the back shot of Gandalf and Frodo arriving in the shire with Bilbo's voiceover narration was jawdropping.
Boromir being far more awesome than the books. Meeting Galadriel and seeing the Balrog!!!
This was a proper fantasy adventure movie. A lot happens in this movie, and Peter Jackson masterfully kept it moving.
Love, this first one.
NullPointer
Member
fierrotlepou
Member
Fellowship without a doubt. I could watch that movie every week for the rest of my life, and I'd still love it.
SurrenderDorothy
Banned
It has to be Fellowship.
ZackieChan
Member
Hmm. I was at a talk that Peter Jackson gave in NYC after FOTR came out. He specifically said that Shelob was moved to ROTK because otherwise they wouldn't have anything to do in that movie.
Yep. Fellowship extended is a masterpiece.
They scenes were shot by second unit and it shows
