IMO, the best part about this box set were the Special Features. I watched most of the documentaries and enjoyed all of them very much.
I agree with Essex that the first one concerning Tolkien was one of the best ever - it had lots (but not too much) valuable information and it was beautifully presented and commented upon by people who were obviously great admirers of the Professor.
I too loved the one about the horses...
very funny it was. I thought that was beautiful, that they gave their due to the horsies, because it was obvious they played a very important part in the movie. After watching this and the sound effects documentary (where they were describing various animal sounds) it did feel like I was watching Discovery Channel!
Not that I'm complaining, though.
Second to that, my favourite was the one (I forget the name) in which the crew and PJ recall the hellish days immediately before they had to hand in the completed, edited and cut ROTK movie right before the premiere...They actually came this close to not completing it and they were working under amazing pressure, days and nights on end to complete the damn thing.
I laughed out loud at the part when PJ said in an interview that 'Everything was under control". Oh my. If there was an inspirational piece put together for movie makers (and not only) this is it! Sort of echoes the Fellowship's task. In the end it makes you wonder if they achieved what is still (despite some flaws) a wonderful movie, the likes of which I've yet to see accomplished - by sheer luck, by the kiss of fate or simply hard work was all it took...
The end had me all in tears, with Viggo saying Namarië and all... It's touching, isn't it, to see how difficult it was for everyone involved in this project to let go... especially since now we know exactly how they felt...