Best of the three?

[cornelius]

In my opinion, TTT is higly underestimated (said Cornelius, the n00b)
Bombadil doesn' appear in the versions I've seen. I watched them all three, over fourteen hours of LOTR , in one day. Too bad it wasn't in the movie-theather. Bombadil intregues me in a large extent. Seems a cool character to me. Too bad the Battle in the shy isn't included, but it probably would have upset a lot of people, since the Shy is a happy place

[Alicia]

I've seen the theatrical releases and I hated them. The Extended Editions I LOVE (yes, I do own them). There was so much that had been cut in the theatrical releases that the externded versions were a LOT more enjoyable! I thought all three were fantastic! If I had to pic a favorite it would be Return of the King - I loved how they did the Mouth of Sauron. I've seen it a hundred times and he still makes me quesy.

But still...all 3 Extended Editions - The FellowShip of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King - ROCKED!

[Marky Lazer]

Best was the Fellowship to me, but I like quests and tension in the party with Boromir. Though, I'm not going to pick that one... Simply because there's no Gollum in it (except for the three seconds in Moria). Not only are the special effects amazing, Andy Serkis did a great job. Also, the scenes where Slinker talks to Stinker, just classic.

[Psychogirl]

I liked the Return of the King the best...
It was just so emotional and that I couldn't help but love it!

[SukiTrek]

I liked The Two Towers the best. They were in the worst trouble at that point which made it more dramatic for me.

[Marbh]

I remember hating TTT when I first saw it in the cinema. The reintroduction of the Ringwraiths paled to their original intro in the Fellowship. 'Wraiths! CGI wraiths on big flappy wings!'

Fellowship on the other hand blew me away - its smaller scale made scenes like the long tracking shot of Barad-dur and the Balrog all the more impressive. The extended version of RotK is also great, and left me wondering why they didn't remove the 'bed scene' in the theatrical release where they all jump around laughing and hugging each other (or one of the other endings) and replace it with The Mouth of Sauron, in my opinion one of the best scenes in the trilogy.

[pokernut951]

As individual movies I would have to say that The two Towers was the best just because the battle of Helm's Deep was more of an accomplishment against incredible odds. I do think all of them together is awesome as one.

[purple_kathryn]

I'm going to say the first one, because I had never read lotr, went in with no expectations (saw a couple of cast interviews and thought it sounded interesting) and ended up sitting with my mouth open the entire film in total astoundment. Even the guy who coughed all the way through didn't put me off.

[Space Elf]

The Fellowship .... its where it all started, its the most faithful, it had Sean Bean in, the EE film is an incredible experience too, the emotion of Boromirs death is magnified ten fold with the extra scenes, the Start prologue is jaw dropping etc.

Though I think it was just the event of seeing this for the FIRST time, after so long of waiting, a stunning film.

[creslin_black]

Well, I thought that all three were very noteworthy(i.e. good) movies, but I have to say that out of the three the Return of the King was my favorite. It just left me wanting more, something which I've designated movie euphoria. It simply leaves you with a feeling of wonder and amazement, for lack of more precise terms, after you've seen it. I don't see why everyone thought the Two Towers sucked so bad, since I really think it was at least ok.

[Stuart Jaffe]

TTT suffers from being the middle child. For me, though, FOTR was the best. That was the one that blew me away and that when it was over, I could not believe 3hrs had passed by. I was so upset it was over. I just wanted more and more and more. ROTK is fantastic as well, but it has something like 4 endings, and while I loved the move (even the 4+ hour DVD version), it didn't breeze through me with the same sense of excitement that FOTR did.

[Nesacat]

I've been thinking about this since I saw the thread and watched all three films again. I guess I really don't have a firm favourite, because there were pieces of each that I really liked.

The whole Shire in Fellowship for instance. I'm glad they spent so much time and effort on it because it provides such a contrast to the terrible things that came later.

I think Two Towers is the one I liked least because it seemed like one endless battle sequence. I did like Saruman's monologue where he mentions the name of the movie and the battle at Helm's Deep for the hopefulness and tenacity in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

Return of The King provided closure and that was a good thing. I liked the beacons of Gondor being lit and the scenes with Theoden. His lines seemed to bring everything all together somehow. He's an amazing actor.

In the end I think I see the three as a whole and not separate pieces so it's hard to make a definite choice but if really pressed I'd go with Fellowship for it's faithfulness to the book.

[Paige Turner]

I'd echo Nesa's final sentiment. The more the movies made up a new, different story, the less I liked them. (the hang-gliding sequences and the adding of Glubdo the fifth hobbit were just pointless) I've deliberately avoided chances to see the extended versions. Now I only hope that it's within my lifetime that someone commits a fathful version of the story to the screen. Maybe a TV series could pull it off.

[gethsemane]

the two towers (extended version) is my favourite, that said there all great for different reasons.

[lea27]

My fave of the three films would have to be FOTR!
I loved the development of the characters and the realisation of these characters as to just what they have let themselves in for as they began to understand the true power of the Ring.
I loved that they all set off on a Quest for good and was sad to see them all go their separate ways at the end of the film.
Plus one of my fave characters was Boromir and he featured mostly in this film than any of the other films (extended versions). I loved his scene with Aragorn towards the end when he recognised him as his King and Captain, beautiful!