Alright, bad news first. The Fellowship of the Ring hobbles out of the Black Gate of Mordor with a pudgy 1080p/VC-1 transfer that will leave the most ardent videophiles shaking their heads. The image is inconsistent from the outset, a persistent (albeit slight) instability affects the credits and other early elements in the film, colors are a tad overcooked at times, and fine detail is occasionally undermined by some rather obvious digital noise reduction. That's not to say all is lost -- entire sequences, primarily those in the Mines of Moria and the landing (and subsequent battle) at Parth Galen, still manage to make a reasonably strong impact, and the whole of the presentation handily bests its DVD counterparts