A masterpiece of movie making!

Rating: 10/10 (14 August 2002)

Absolutely the finest movie ever made. After having read the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy at least 20 times, I had been nervously anticipating the release of the movie, and hoping it would not portray the characters in a cheap, comical method as many artists have done so in still paintings. Upon my first viewing of the movie, I was blown away with the settings, acting, costumes, cinematography, music, and screenplay. All of these were far better than I could have imagined! Many Tolkien hardliners did not like the liberties with the changes in story and characters, but I saw a better movie because of it. How would Tom Bombadil have been added without destroying the intensity and dramatic chase scenes? I saw the movie 8 times in theaters and bought the DVD on opening day and am anxiously awaiting "The Two Towers". I was sadly disappointed when it did not win the oscar for best movie of the year, considering it won the award from the American Film Institute, and had much better reviews from professional critics and fans alike than the winner. Maybe "The Two Towers" will do better!