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 Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Rated: PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images.
Runtime: 178 mins.
Director: Peter Jackson
Writer: J. R. R. Tolkein (novel), Peter Jackson (screenplay)
Tagline: Power can be held in the smallest of things.
Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler....complete cast
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Most memorable quote: "You must remember, the Ring is trying to get back to its master. It wants to be found"
Awards:
2002 Academy Awards: Best Cinematography
2002 Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects
2002 Academy Awards: Best Makeup
2002 Academy Awards: Best Picture nominee
2002 Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor nominee: Ian McKellen
2002 Academy Awards: Best Director nominee: Peter Jackson
2002 Academy Awards: Best Writing Adapted Screenplay nominee
2002 Academy Awards: Best Film Editing nominee
2002 Academy Awards: Best Sound nominee
2002 Academy Awards: Best Art Direction nominee
2002 Academy Awards: Best Music Score nominee
2002 Academy Awards: Best Music Song nominee
2002 Academy Awards: Best Costume Design nominee
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Review by Frank Wilkins
I must first admit that somehow I missed the experience of reading any of J.R.R. Tolkein's books during my educational years. I'm sure they were required reading somewhere along the way and being the creative individual that I am, I'm sure I found some highly imaginative way of receiving a passing grade without having read them. I mention this partly to rid myself of any self-guilt and partly as an explanation of why I perhaps didn't make as strong a connection with this movie as I had hoped. Don't get me wrong; The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is an incredible epic adventure that must be mentioned in the same breath with any of the great epics of all time such as Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, and of course the Star Wars stories. But I have never been much of a fan of mythology, sorcerer's tales or science-fiction.
In the words of actor Ian McKellen who portrays the wizard Gandalf, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a mythology, a fairy-tale, an adventure story that never happened, except somewhere in our hearts". In the first book of Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring tells the story of Frodo, a Hobbit of the Shire, who inherits a darkly, magical ring from his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. Under the guidance of Gandalf, Frodo sets out on a quest to return the ring to Mt. Doom, where it will be destroyed to save the world from evil. They are accompanied by their band of cohorts, Samwise, Strider, Gimli, Pippin, Merry, Legolas and Boramir. They encounter many triumphs and tragedies along the way, fighting off Saruman's (Christopher Lee) evil orcs who, if they could capture the ring, would enslave the world in their evil-doings. Throughout their journey, we are immersed in the environment of Middle-earth, a vision of our Earth pre-dating history, where the way of life is under attack by forces of evil, bent on destruction.
Director Peter Jackson has created a monumental, big-screen masterpiece of epic proportions, with unimaginable characters, incredibly realistic settings and stunning cinematography that are all melded together with seamless special effects. I can't even begin to imagine the mammoth undertaking of this project, especially considering that the filming of all three stories of The Lord of the Rings trilogy was done within a two-year period. The costumes, make-up and set designs are some of the best I have ever seen on film. Jackson employed WETA studios to create the prosthetics, costumes and weaponry. The depth of WETA's attention to detail is clearly obvious in many of the close-ups of the facial features and swords of the film's many players.
I have never been a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, tales of wizards and elves or sword-and-sorcery movies and The Fellowship of the Ring is a bit heavy on all three, but I must admit that Tolkein's literary imagination coupled with Jackson's innovative movie-making techniques has left me breathless if not awestruck. I would prefer a bit less screen-time spent on backgrounds, sets and surroundings and a bit more spent on dialogue, characters and the deeper discussion of the legend of the ring. But Tolkein fans and those unfortunate souls who've never read a Tolkein book, myself included, must make a point to not miss this one.
Fellowship of the Ring will probably be a bit too violent for most women, hence the low Julia Roberts factor, but it receives the maximum score in the macho factor due to the violence, fighting and cool weapons. Off-limits for children younger than 13 not only due to its violence but also because there are many quite scary characters and the fighting and violence is very realistic. Very low wrap-up factor due to its abrupt ending while we wait for the second installment. I would give The Fellowship of the Ring a maximum score in the Reel Rating category if not for the selfish fact that the subject matter of Swords and Sorcery is not necessarily my cup of tea.
Fellowship of the Rings really excels in its DVD composition with 2 discs that include many special features and "making of" featurettes. See "DVD Information" section below for details.
Frank Wilkins
Read viewer comments about this movie here
Check out these photos from the next installment from the series - The Twin Towers
Screen formats: Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1
Subtitles: English. Closed captioned
Sound: English: Dolby Digital 5.1; English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Other Features: Disc 1: Set-up and sound options - 5.1 Dolby Digital EX Surround Sound; 2.0 Stereo surround sound; Special features - tells you to insert disc 2 for special features; scene selections.
Disc 2: Welcome to Middle-earth: Houghton Mifflin In-store Special; Quest for the Ring: Fox TV special; A Passage to Middle-Earth: Sci-Fi channel - contains the following - Details of Middle-Earth, Aragon - Mortal Man, The Elves, Languages, The Dwarves, The Forces of Evil; The Ringwraiths - black riders; Theatrical trailers; TV Spots; Enya "May it Be" video; Special Extended DVD Edition Preview; Behind the Scenes Preview of The Two Towers; The Two Towers Video Game by EA.
Hidden Features: MTV Movie Awards Spoof: On disc 1, from the Main Menu, select 'Scene Selection' Navigate to the last page. Now, highlight the real 'Council Of Elrond' scene and press DOWN. An image of the 'Ring' will now be highlighted. Select it to view the entire 2002 MTV Movie Awards spoof, including the introduction from Peter Jackson!
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Complete Cast:
| Elijah Wood......... |
Frodo |
| Ian McKellen.......... |
Gandalf |
| Liv Tyler.......... |
Arwen |
| Viggo Mortensen.......... |
Aragom |
| Sean Astin.......... |
Sam |
| Cate Blanchett.......... |
Galadriel |
| John Rhys-Davies.......... |
Gimli |
| Billy Boyd....... |
Pippin |
| Dominic Monaghan.......... |
Merry |
| Orlando Bloom.......... |
Legolas |
| Christopher Lee......... |
Saruman |
| Hugo Weaving......... |
Elrond |
| Sean Bean.......... |
Boromir |
| Ian Holm......... |
Bilbo |
| Andy Serkis.......... |
Gollum |
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