To me, the prologue works in both movie and extended dvd versions. I think it is crucial to explain the importance of the Ring to a non-book person as a story "grabber". It's amazing how well the world of Middle-earth is fitted in. Many
technical critigues above are, of course, warranted. The one I'm most uncomfortable with is the way Sauron lost the Ring. The implication is that without Isildur's lucky swipe all would have been lost, when in ("reality"?
) the Last Alliance had already won with Sauron's personal (one on four- I believe) fight
just essentially a moping up (if nasty one) for the good guys.
P.S. The way PJ briefly put events into a middle-earth historical context was brilliant.
I thin k even CT would appreciate (if he ever deigned to watch the movie) the way depth and legend/myth/history
intermingling was done.
P.P.S. While the extended dvd here is just suppimental to the movie, the next section to be discussed has some interesting variations to each other.