The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

In what will be remembered as the quintessential modern saga of our generation, The Lord of the Rings trilogy begins with 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring. Peter Jackson’s enormous project sparkles with detail, depth, and grandeur. It is safe to say that the epic scope of the series has gone unmatched, with other movie series matching similar filming patterns. The Harry Potter series, which started in the same year as Fellowship with the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, would also help usher back the fantasy film to the big screen.

Jackson began storyboarding The Lord of the Rings in 1997, plotting the massive undertaking of making J.R.R. Tolkien’s incredible world into a reality. Locations like Isengard, Moria, and Lothlórien needed to be created. The various creatures of Middle Earth, such as elves and dwarves, would also need concept designs. The process, as you might imagine, was immense. The series was filmed in New Zealand, using computer effects to augment some of the gorgeous locations to give the film a more fantastical feel.

The Fellowship of the Ring starts it all off and it is absolutely dazzling. The introduction of Jackson’s interpretation of Middle Earth is no less than spellbinding, with the appearance of the characters from the books seeming larger than life. After a stylish and massive introduction outlining the Dark Lord Sauron forging the One Ring, Prince Isildur separating Sauron from the Ring, the Ring falling into obscurity, the creature Gollum getting hold of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) finding it, and the notion of Sauron’s power being bound to the ring, we’re underway.

Bilbo lives in The Shire and is on the doorstep of his 111^th birthday. It’s a big celebration and he wants to see mountains again, so he plans to flee at the birthday party. Bilbo’s old friend Gandalf (Ian McKellen) arrives for the celebration and soon learns that Bilbo has passed the Ring on to his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood) as part of his departure plan. Gandalf suspects something is off about the Ring and begins to research it, only to discover that it is indeed the One Ring and that Sauron’s power is bound to it. The only way to rid Middle Earth of Sauron’s power and to stop the process of evil advancing on the land is to destroy the One Ring. And of course, the only way to do that is to take it to the fires of Mount Doom.

Things are further complicated when it is discovered that the head of Gandalf’s order, Saruman (Christopher Lee), is actually serving Sauron and reveals that Nazgûl have been sent to grab the Ring from Frodo. There are also Orcs and all sorts of other evil creatures at Saruman’s disposal, helping him serve Sauron by bringing home the Ring. Frodo decides to do what he must and heads out with his best friend Sam (Sean Astin) to take the One Ring to Mount Doom. Two other Hobbits, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) go along as well.

The group needs help, of course, and Gandalf arranges for them to meet at Rivendell, the haven of the elves. There’s plenty of trouble along the way, of course, and it was a bloody good thing Strider (Viggo Mortenson) is around to help protect the Hobbits. A company is formed at Rivendell that includes the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), a man from Gondor (Sean Bean), and a dwarf named Gimli (John Rhys-Davies). The crew, dubbed the Fellowship, heads out to start the massive undertaking of getting the One Ring to the fires of Mount Doom.

I had the pleasure of watching the Extended Version of The Fellowship of the Ring, clocking in at around 208 minutes. The original cut, at around 178 minutes, doesn’t drag for a second. Jackson keeps things moving, directing beautifully with a combination of surprising close-up shots and sweeping panoramic shots. He covers the scale of the project with humility, granting the audience a hell of a picture thanks to his patience and poise behind the camera. Scenes unfold gracefully, without hurry, and the battle sequences are carefully choreographed and elegantly shot.

The creature design is flat-out impeccable. The orcs and other creatures fit seamlessly with the real backdrop of New Zealand and the character actors, making the combat scenes all the more breathtaking. The cave troll battle in Moria, for instance, stands out as one of the most jaw-dropping sequences to be created in recent memory. The characters interact, hop on top of the creature, and take it down all without ever looking out of the cut or out of the scene. Jackson never takes the easy way out, either, shooting the sequence at breakneck speed with realistic movements.

The Fellowship of the Ring is visually stunning, of course, and matchless in scale. That alone makes it a marvellous achievement, but Jackson’s people have actually been able to do Tolkien’s story justice as well. By dividing it up into a trilogy and allowing the stories and characters to exist realistically and breathe is quite the achievement. With an overall budget of $280 million and a project time of 8 years with all three films shot simultaneously, it is safe to say that this may be the most impressive saga ever made. If, for whatever reason, you haven’t experienced the glory of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring should be first up on your to-see list.

Trailer: