Well, I'm not going to repeat myself from the other review, I'm still trying to pick up my jaw off the floor. I will sum up this DVD in two words, simply incredible. This has got to be one of the best DVD's ever produced! No, I'm dead serious , and not because I'm a fanboy either. I would easily say this is the DVD of 2002, unless something else comes out that completely blows me away. Fat chance of that happening.

Watching the extended version is like watching a completely different film, totally new. I love it, the new scenes are completely integrated like they were never cut out before and they don't interrupt the flow of the story at all. They add to the story and characters, we get even more character depth, and some lighter moments as well. Peter Jackson expands on the introduction of hobbit life, which would give the first time viewer a more solid grasp of this complex film. Also included are some important scenes which will play a vital role in the next film, The Two Towers. I don't know why Jackson originally cut out the Galadrial gift scene, each of those objects play significant roles later on.

Once again from a technical standpoint the sound and picture are outstanding. I thought the sound mix was much better this time. I remember in the theatre and on the 2 Disc DVD that the dialogue could be hard to hear sometimes. Nice that they went back and fixed that. The sound was so good, my wife had to yell at me a few times to turn it down, and it was already turned way down!

But the main impetus for getting this DVD is the extras. Holy crap, five hours worth! You could watch the film almost twice in the amount of time it would take to get through this mountain of material. I spent several days just watching all the neat stuff. There are also a few hidden cookies to hunt for, and its all beautifully organized on the disc. There is so much to see that they provide a fold out map of the DVD's. OK, now I'm going to wipe the drool off the carpet now, and maybe give the film another spin.

Reviewer's Opinion: BUY IT!!

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