The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring Widescreen Edition

As the triumphant start of a trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring leaves you begging for more. By necessity, Peter Jackson's ambitious epic compresses J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings, but this robust adaptation maintains reverent allegiance to Tolkien's creation, instantly qualifying as one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. At 178 minutes, it's long enough to establish the myriad inhabitants of Middle-earth, the legendary Rings of Power, and the fellowship of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and humans–led by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the brave hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood)–who must battle terrifying forces of evil on their perilous journey to destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. Superbly paced, the film is both epic and intimate, offering astonishing special effects and production design while emphasizing the emotional intensity of Frodo's adventure. Ending on a perfect note of heroic loyalty and rich anticipation, this wondrous fantasy continues in The Two Towers (2002). –Jeff Shannon

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Awe-Inspiring
"The Lord of the Rings" is nothing short of brilliance. The story, the imagery, and the messages all convey honesty and realism, despite the fantasy elements. As a long time fan of the entire trilogy and of course "The Hobbit", I was looking forward to the release of this first film for several years after hearing a rumor about its production. Lucky enough to attend the midnight showing, I spent the entire three hours completely strapped to my seat, eyes glued to the screen and fingers gripping my chair. The entire theater was silent, perplexed by the visual and emotional treat in front of them. The joy, evil and pain felt by the characters was very real in such a sense that it seemed everyone was frightened for their lives as Frodo and his companions hid from their first encounter with a black rider. I remember I'd felt like I'd held my breath for the entirety of the film.

To this day, the effect is no less intense. There are folks whose taste in movies didn't usually include fantasy adventures, but they enjoy this anyway. In some cases, they're converted entirely and become obsessed fans.

Peter Jackson's interpretation of what has become a classic is close to perfection. The casting, dialogue, costumes, direction, and disposition of the film are exactly what they should have been. Somehow, Peter and his crew crafted a masterpiece that translates every necessary element from book to screen with ease. This movie (and both of its following chapters) is one of the very few films that continually affect the viewer despite how many times you might have seen it. Even though you might know the story, you can't help but be captivated and amazed at the technical and artistic marvel it is.

As others have already so elegantly stated, the special effects are truly top notch and easily blow everything else out of the water. Unlike other recent films, the effects, live action, speeches and comedy mesh seamlessly. One element doesn't overshadow another. You really get the sense this story is more historical than make believe.

This movie was the beginning of a global phenomenon that ended too soon. But its wonderful message of good triumphing over evil is made immortal, thanks to this intensely fabulous film.

5 Stars A Wonderfully Crafted Piece Of Work, 28 Sep 2007
Plot:

Passed to him by his uncle Bilbo, young Hobbit Frodo Baggins becomes the unlikely and unwilling bearer of The One Ring of power, an instrument of unparallelled evil. And so Frodo, along with his three Hobbit chums, the wizard Gandalf and a swordsman named Strider, set out on an epic quest.

My Review:

To be honest and slightly embarrassed, I had never read the 'Lord of The Rings' until mid-last year. I had heard of it, but not knowing much about. With no argument, history should quickly regard/treat Peter Jackson's The Fellowship Of The Ring as the first instalment of the best fantasy epic in motion picture history. This statement is genuine of investigation for many outstanding reasons.

Fellowship is undeniable and merely an opening salvo, and even after three hours in the dark you will likely exit the cinema famished with anticipation for the further two parts of the trilogy. The beginning to a three-part saga, is also forthright and firmly rooted in the fantasy action genre, which takes its part in not being confused with that of the cool and good science fiction.

Unlike the sweet charm of family fare of Harry Potter, usually dialogue consisting of gremlins, goo, goblins and some other less inspiring gibberish. The characters' dialogue in this opening spectacle prefers its aversion to that tacky talkie provide by the Harry Potter and tragic Eragon franchise. "To the bridge of Khazad-d?m!" are as well to stay within the Shire-like comforts of home (their loss).

With those admonitions in place, it bears repeating the ideal that fantasy does not come finer. There are electrifying moments — notably the computer-assisted swooping camera through Isengard as it transforms into a factory for evil — when Jackson's flight of fancy approaches the sublime as the romantic poets would understand it: inspiring awe.

Aside the increasing thorny issue of Tolkien' die-hards and their foreseeable gripes, 'Tom Bombadil", as an intellectual example; Jackson's screenplay (written with Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens) is far, both bolder and more astute than Steven Kloves' surprisingly timid interpretation of Harry Potter. Interestingly, resurrecting the romance of Arwen and Aragon from the footnotes of various appendices, to the escalation of Saruman to the all-action evil wizard, that actually has a corrective influence on J.R.R Tolkein's frequently slanted and female-sparse source material.

There aren't many problems, though; that most would complain about; being the three-hour running time. Fans knowing a good adaptation of the first novel would be anything but short. Though it may feel dragged, it doesn't fail to reprise in excellence and explosive action scenes supported by wonderfully crafted script and lusciously exploited characters. Some of the recent fantasy genre films may be too short to some discernible form. However, personally I enjoy the three-hour long and faithful adaptation. It is anything but short, making it a very good thing.

The largely seamless SFX is showcased in the best possible light — total darkness — but the narrative demands a different, downbeat and sad ending. Indeed, but for some fine emotional playing from Bean, Mortensen, Astin and Wood, but then, the real battles are yet to come…

Verdict:

Bearing the unlikeness of fellow fantasy and other war drama spectacles, Fellowship is flawlessly cast and constructed with passion; a labour of love that never feels heavily influenced. Setting current standards for blockbusters to shame. Emotional range and character depth ultimately take us beyond genre limitations, unlike the if not slightly lacking in depth, Mr. Potter. 10/10

2 Stars It Bombed
I remember when Peter Jackson was known for his originality as a director and Christopher Lee's films were not full of cliche. Instead, this is one sword and sorcery cliche of another. It was going to be rated G but they made it PG13 as a joke that most people wouldn't be able to see it. I'm not going to tell you what the joke was. They've been raised Muslim their whole life. You can g et this 3 movies 3 days 3 dollars at the movie store or free at the library. Instead, it's still laggering in the G movies over produced and bombed category so common in the early-mid-late 90s. To its merit, the cliches are accurate and the G rating does hold true as you unlock differant parts with each viewing and not the Jackson horror gore fest. I want this to be a semi retired keepsake for me.

1 Star Perhaps one day someone will make a movie of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".
Perhaps one day someone will make a movie of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Mr. Jackson, if one takes the general outline of Hamlet and adds some random dialog from Othello, King Lear and Twelfth Night you have not presented a Shakespearian play, you've created a worthless abortion. Examples abound; from the needless destruction of Faramir's character to the absence of Merry and Pippin as developed characters to the addition of gratuitous scenes and the absence of "real" and lovely ones; it all points to the absence of understanding of the value of the work. Almost none of the characters of the book are presented as written; while it looks like the books, it's really not Tolkien at all.

Mr. Jackson, if you have the work of a master why not attempt to display it ? Why bother if not to bring it to the screen ? Did you think your actors could not realize Faramir ? Did you really feel your sense of pacing and your sense of the dramatic were superior to the author's ? This is a study, in part, of indulgence in mere Hollywood sensibilities of exaggeration and simplification. The geography was simple and so it was held to. The worth of the book was more complex and so abandoned.

I've have seen the extended addition and it's as fundamentally worthless as the original releases. If you care about the books don't bother with the film and keep the images you've created pure in your head.

Perhaps one day someone will make a movie of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".

5 Stars A MUST HAVE
Everyone should have a copy of the LOTR movies in their collections. I have all of the movies and all of the books in my collection. I am looking forward to The Hobbit movie which is supposed to be released in 2010. Movies or books don't get any better than this. Every time I watch these movies, I discover something new that I had not noticed before. Someday, when the urge hits me just right I will buy the extended editions.

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