# Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of LOTR: FOTR. Some reminiscing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth, movies\ **Created:** [December 19, 2021, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320 "2021-12-19T19:08:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320/21 "2021-12-23T21:19:57Z")
I took my wife to watch it ( we had been married 10 months) , I am a huge fan of Tolkein, my wife was not at all into the genre. When it finished she was ’ wait what I need to see the rest, when can we see them?. …Not amused by the response, but after one kid, and one more on the way we finished them all up. I think I bought about 4 different versions of the movies , DVD, extended DVD, blue ray theatrical, extended blue ray and have the digital copies they came with. The kids all love them and I have lost count of the number of times we have all piled up on the sofa, and our dear departed Mac ( the dog) recognized the DVD cupboard being opened and would preemptively get his spot on the sofa.my daughter has a map of middle earth on her wall, but despite being a voracious reader, she never managed to finish the books. My daughter and I also went though all the makings off additions several times as well, fully stunned at everything that had to come together to make the movies. No its not a 100% faithful reconstruction of the books , but as a film telling of the story, I can’t really fault it and it looked just as I imagined it, although what I imagined was probably heavily influenced by John Howe and Alan Lee , so that isn’t surprising. For my money , which they now have a lot of, it will stand the test of time for many more decades both from a technical visual effects and story telling point of view. Well the only thing I might change is to not have Saruman die , end the theatrical version of ROTK on the line " my friends you bow to no one" zoom out roll credits . Then just make a whole new film for the joiney home, the shire and the ending. But that’s a minor change 😉 I didn’t know about the FOTR blue ray and the green issue, I did think it looked a little odd and wondered if it was just the high res showing up some issues in the original recordings , good to know, and I guess the 4K is another version I can go and buy! Did they add anything else to that version? . ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320/22 "2021-12-23T22:33:09Z")
Instant classics are rare. I think Fellowship was a classic movie by the end of its first weekend in theaters. I’m trying to think of something as “classic” as this that became a classic so instantly. I didn’t see Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark in their original openings, but I have heard similar comparisons. I’m hard pressed to think of anything like it since then(except Two Towers and Return of the King). Possibly Avengers: Endgame? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320/23 "2021-12-23T22:45:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I didn’t see Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark in their original openings, but I have heard similar comparisons. I’m hard pressed to think of anything like it since then(except Two Towers and Return of the King). I think _Star Wars_ would definitely qualify. Prior to its initial release, it really wasn’t all that highly anticipated: it was an unknown franchise/story, from a director with only two movies under his belt (one of which few people had seen), and a mostly-unknown cast. But, it pretty much immediately became a sensation, and a cultural phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320/24 "2021-12-23T23:03:38Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m trying to think of something as “classic” as this that became a classic so instantly. If you mean it in the sense of gamechangers in the industry, _Jurassic Park_ and _The Matrix_ would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320/25 "2021-12-23T23:22:40Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > If you mean it in the sense of gamechangers in the industry, _Jurassic Park_ and _The Matrix_ would qualify Yeah, I mean more like “movies everyone will be nostalgic for in the future”. I do agree that Matrix came to my mind immediately. Jurassic Park? Possibly. I think Avengers Infinity War and Endgame will be very much looked back on fondly in the future. Kind of instant classics, especially the last 60 minutes of Endgame. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320/26 "2021-12-23T23:51:28Z")
When I was a kid, I never read _The Hobbit_ nor _Lord of the Rings_ - too nerdy for my tastes, I thought. Only the kids who played _Dungeons and Dragons_ read those books. Of course, younger me was an ignorant terd who did not read anything at all for pleasure. In late 2001 I was on a business trip to a small town in Northern California with nothing else to do in the evening, so decided to take-in a movie - _Fellowship of the Ring_. Remember, I had no exposure to any works of Tolkien as a youngster (other than looking down on it). I was drawn in from the get-go and did not want it to end - I was bummed that I had to wait a whole year to see what happened next! And then again the next year. Now I watch the LotR trilogy once or twice a year; usually once around the holidays on successive evenings over a long, rainy weekend. Even after watching them probably 10-15 times, I still find them hypnotic and engaging. I realized as well these films were going to be 20 years old this year. Some of the actors are gone now, and others have grown older, but every time I see someone from these movies in something else, I cannot help but think about the character they played in LotR. Masterpieces, one and all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-marks-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-lotr-fotr-some-reminiscing/956320.md?page=1)