| When a Hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins inherits a gold ring he is unknowingly put in great danger. Pursued by the dark riders sent by the dark lord Sauron, Frodo turns to friend and wizard, Gandalf. Sauron was searching for the ring called the ‘One Ring’ for years as it gave its owner unspeakable powers. It is decided by a great council that the ‘One Ring’ must be destroyed in the cracks of Mount Doom in Mordor were it was forged before Sauron could use it. Frodo starts on a long quest to the lands of Mordor with a fellowship of 9 different peoples to protect and help him. Gandalf the wizard, Strider the ranger, Boromir the warrior, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Drwaf and Sam, Merry and Pippin, Frodo’s closest Hobbit friends. Together they travel across great lands into the waiting arms of the enemy to destroy the ‘One Ring’. |
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“One Ring To Rule Them All” |
Director Peter Jackson
Writers Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Stephen Sinclair & Frances Walsh
Producers Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders & Peter Jackson
Cast: Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Marton Csokas, and Ian Holms & Christopher Lee as Saruman
| Review by Matthew Noske – Luiniavas |
| Not an easy task it is to bring to life the greatest story ever written. The fans are not easily separated from the books and the film critics eat this sort of giant Hollywood undertaking for breakfast. But it was a big surprise to most when the film version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original book splashed onto cinema screens everywhere in December 2001. All doubts and reservations I had developed during the wait were extinguished at 8:11pm Wednesday night after my first viewing. No film in my time has lived up to greater expectations. Never a second of footage lets you forget that you have finally arrived in a land only imaginable until now: Middle-earth. |
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From the tops of the Misty Mountains to the warmth of Bag End, The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring is an experience like no other. This immense sense of effort and patience comes across every scene will give those who have already read it a secure feeling. For the birth of Middle-earth all the credit goes to director Peter Jackson. The monumental task of bringing The Lord Of The Rings to the big screen has been tried numerous times but never has it been very successful. But this time Peter Jackson, whose credits include Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners, has surrounded himself with the best people for the job, most of whom are big fans of Tolkien. |
| The story only strays slightly here and there from the book to allow elbowroom for interpretation between the different mediums. Nothing dramatically altered but the majority of these comes down to editing certain events to condense the story. The film opens with a short history lesson capping the key events behind the One Ring and how it ended up in the hands of Bilbo Baggins. A very wise idea. Not only puts you in prospective but sets the mood and feel of Middle-earth right from the go. |
| The story continues at the Shire during Bilbo’s 111th birthday preparations then moves along chronologically to the book. But time is the film’s worst enemy and even with three hours you feel uneasy about the pace. Don’t be fooled by the running time it is quick and overwhelming. So quickly does it move from one place to another you get little time to soak it all up and settle in. This means you will probably have to watch it a second time to catch everything. In some cases it seems like scenes got short changed and may have fallen victim to the editing room. On the upside it is the fastest three hours of your life, ever. |
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There is a great amount of information to take in, especially if you have read the book. Certain things are implied in the film that links the information given from reading the book that may not have been fully explored in the movie. As a casual viewer who may never have read The Lord Of The Rings will dismiss this without knowing they have done so, every one else will pic it up straight away. Avid The Lord Of The Rings fans will find this a joy as Peter Jackson has really involved the books in telling parts of the story. |
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Never does the film lean on your knowledge of the books for you to understand it, it just doesn’t dismiss the book. Tolkien has after all created a giant world both complex and historic. Visually spectacular, the movie shows all its cards in some of the best special effects and set designs ever captured on film. Peter Jackson took full advantage of making you feel comfortable in an ancient and fantastic environment. Explicit detail in even the smallest of things (no pun intended) shows the enormous respect for this production and Tolkien himself. The core of The Lord Of The Rings lies around the cultures inhabiting the lands of Middle-earth. The Lord Of The Rings is a rare tale that focuses on several main characters and races that have all collided because of one ring and it’s absolute power. Each race have traits of their own as well as a society and lengthy history. The film tells us of how orcs came about and Peregrin Took briefly talks of his relation to Frodo Baggins. Elves speak in Elvish (with subtitles for us non-Elves) and geographical landmarks are all in place. The film not only covers all the major places along the road but also gives you a good look at the Shire and inside Bag End itself. Peter Jackson has spent a lot of time in perfecting this little sanctuary, so much so that it is a shining achievement on it’s own. Hobbiton is perfect along with every detail, inside and out. A major key to the success of The Fellowship Of The Ring is in the brilliant performances by the entire cast. We get two of the most dazzling performances of the year by Ian Holms and Ian McKellen. Ian Holms plays Bilbo Baggins of Bag End flawlessly. Not only do you feel like he has been to Lonely Mountain and back but you believe beyond a doubt he is the perfect representation of a true Hobbit (if there every was one). But as a smaller roll in the story Bilbo passes his adventure onto his young nephew Frodo Baggins and the ring along with it. |
| Ian McKellen convincingly depicts Gandalf the gray down to the very core. Big shoes to fill but they fit perfectly. Gandalf the wizard acts like a guardian angel watching over the good souls of Middle-earth and when they need answers they turn to him. He is the leader of the fellowship and McKellen looks as if he has taken a similar role on the set. When Gandalf is in the room every one else’s performances are elevated. Note the scenes between Gandalf and Bilbo at the Shire are better than imaginable, you must see it for your self Tolkien fans. This is the way you portray a true wizard on film. |
Young actor Elijah Wood plays Frodo, a clone of Bilbo’s younger self only more adventurous. Elijah Wood never over steps his mark as Frodo the ring-bearer and brings to the screen the conflicting emotion needed on this quest. Gardener and faithful servant Samwise Gamgee (Sam) is played by Sean Astin. As a transition from Tolkien’s book to Jackson’s film Sean is precise. No flaws or doubts, he is Sam in the flesh. Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) and Peregrin Took (Pippin) have a smaller roles in the movie. Dominic Monaghan does a great job as Merry, as does Billy Boyd with Pippin, but they are never fully utilized in The Fellowship Of The Ring. When you get a bit of a laugh these two are usually there. They are characters that evolve on the journey as we watch them in the next installments. The four Hobbits take different paths that see Merry and Pippin depending on each other more as the story develops, and on the other hand we have the One Ring around Frodo’s neck and Sam doing anything to keep it out of harms way and keep Frodo safe. The Hobbits truly have a dramatic effect on all they come accross.
| The Lord Of The Rings was lucky to have actor Viggo Mortensen. He brings Aragorn to life. Some of the best lines in the film are delivered from Aragorn. As the rightful king of Gondor, Aragorn has a most important role in the story that sees him uniting with Frodo and Gandalf to help destroy the One Ring. Legolas and his trusty bow were chosen to represent the Elves and see that the One Ring gets to Mount Doom. Orlando Bloom takes the role on very well and slips right in to the part. There’s an obvious physical match with Bloom and Legolas that makes the two gel. |
| The Dwarf warrior Gimli and his valiant axe were also chosen to join the fellowship and aid in the quest. The film never shows Gimli at his full potential in all three hours, which is a shame, but John Rhys-Davies does his finest and gives Gimli an accurate depiction from the book. Never for a moment does he come off second best but we will see Gimli’s big moments in battle along side Legolas in the next two films The Two Towers and The Return Of The King. That being said Gimli and Legolas forge a friendship besides the differences between the cultures as the story unfolds. |
| The movie gives Saruman the White a larger role making him a bigger threat to the fellowship. The evil wizard is played by non-other than Christopher Lee in a role that transforms throughout the film as we dig deeper into Saruman’s treachery. Other performances from Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler and Hugo Weaving showed they really knew their characters. These roles are vital and are not to be passed up as small and insignificant, though they sometimes glaze over the others like Cate Blanchett as Galadriel (Pure innocent beauty that comes from Elvish lifetimes). |
| But the real credit must go to the great tragedy of the fellowship. The struggle between the men of Rohan and the forces of Sauron’s armies. Boromir becomes a representative from the front line to join the fellowship created in Rivendell. Torn between loyalties, Sean Bean plays the role of his career. Stealing the show in the third quarter Saen Bean gives it all he’s got, lifting the final scene from exiting to exhilarating. This final battle near Amon Hen is a top action sequence that would change the course of the fellowship throughout the rest of their mission. Visually stunning and fast paced we see the fellowship take an army of Orcs head-on to build to a dramatic climax toward the end of the film. Sounds great don’t it. |
The Verdict – The Fellowship Of The Ring offers you a lot in three hours. Takes you on a ride to all your favourite places from Lothlórien to Mordor. The film brings an intelligent and entertaining way of telling this true classic on film and keeps you striving for more. Just to see the places and events that read in the book take life before my very eyes was auspicious. So I can sleep now that I have seen it right? Wrong. I can’t stop thinking about it. Balrogs and Cave Trolls are running through my mind and I have so many questions. The film was outstanding, leaving you wanting more, more, more.
| If you’re not a big fan of the fantasy genre then you may still like what The Fellowship Of The Ring delivers. Adventure, drama, suspense and romance all come to play in the biggest story ever to grace the silver screen. I went to see the film with a few people some of whom had never read the books and they caught everything with ease. For them the most difficult aspect was getting their head around the names and faces, which is totally understandable. With more than nine central characters (the fellowship) many names are in Elvish or Dwarvish and the likes. It wouldn’t be hard to get lost. |
| To make it a little more difficult some characters are referred to by several names e.g.: Strider/Aragorn and Peregrin/Pippin/Pip. This type of confusion can’t be avoided but by the time The Return Of The King rolls it’s end credits you should be an expert. |
With the first chapter locked down we can be assured that the rest of the saga is in good hands. The Lord Of The Rings was a big gamble but Peter Jackson showed us that with the help of New Line Cinema and Weta Digital they know to how to breathe life into an epic and not miss the mark. Everyone involved came out on top. Don’t forget, this movie has not finished yet. The Fellowship Of The Ring is only the beginning. The Two Towers will continue the story in December 2002 and The Return Of The King takes it out in 2003. I’m already anticipating the trip with Frodo down into the land of shadow. See you there.
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It’s a riddle… |
An alliance was forged |
***** (5 out of 5)
by Matthew Noske
November 27, 2001
– Directing, adaptation, acting, music, and enjoyment level all above par. So many factors enter into it’s generous score but the fact remains that this was a great film start to finish.