Near perfect movie, one small flaw

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2002)

This is in my top 5 movie list of all times, equal, I believe, only to the elder Star Wars trilogy.
As I said this is a near perfect movie, had it been perfect it would be the unchallenged #1 for me. I think it would be perfect if I hadn't read the Lord of the Rings trilogy numerous times before, but having done that there are a couple of things I am missing or, more correctly, should have been explored deeper in the movie.
Especially the period in the land of the elves was not totally complete for me, but then again it was probably cut down to shorten the movie to livable lengths for the crowds. I wouldn't mind if the movie was an hour longer, but it might not have been such a box office smash hit. What do I know?
Anyway, if it was possible to split grades here, it would have been given a 9,9 by me. As it is not, I give it the 9..