Thoroughly valid interpretation of the story

Rating: Null/10 (2 December 2002)

These comments concern the DVD extended version. The original, as others have noted, was a little too rushed and not quite fleshed out enough. Mild spoilers.
I really enjoyed this movie. I had no difficulty with the length - in fact, could've taken even more. The mood, scenery, acting and visualizations all came close to my own mental imagery derived from the book. I would have liking an even more faithful rendering of the story than was given; I really missed the episode of the barrow-wight. Nonetheless, the cuts and changes were made relatively seamlessly although some, such as the introduction of the Palantir at the Orthanc tower in the first scene with Saruman will undoubtedly require some finessing in later episodes of the Two Towers. But the main spirit and line of the story were preserved and this made the changes palatable.
So all was satisfying with the possible exception of the soundtrack - an intrusive lush orchestral score that unfortunately reminded me of really sub-par Ralph Vaughan Williams or Arnold Bax and could have been a whole lot better. Too many cliched tunes, harmonies and orchestral colorations - this was a movie that deserved a more innovative and progressive score to match the visual splendor.