The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)
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| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | |
|---|---|
| Image:Fellowship poster.JPG | |
| Directed by | Peter Jackson |
| Produced by | Peter Jackson Barrie M. Osborne Mark Ordesky Tim Sanders Fran Walsh |
| Written by | Novel: J.R.R. Tolkien Screenplay: Frances Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson |
| Starring | Elijah Wood Sean Astin Viggo Mortensen Ian McKellen |
| Distributed by | - USA - New Line Cinema - non-USA - Various distributors |
| Release date(s) | December 19, 2001 |
| Running time | Theatrical: 178 min. Extended Edition: 208 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $94 million |
| Followed by | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is an Academy Award-winning 2001 fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. Among fans, the title is commonly abbreviated as "FotR".<ref>Abbreviations. elvish.org. Retrieved on 2006-08-17.</ref>
It is the opening installment of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, based on the similarly titled first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic literary fantasy, The Lord of the Rings. The Dark Lord Sauron is seeking the One Ring, with which he can use to conquer Middle-earth. The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins, who must destroy it to defeat Sauron and his forces. Forming the Fellowship of the Ring, the fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and his eight companions journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor; the only place the Ring can be destroyed.
Released on December 19, 2001, the film was highly well-received by critics and fans alike, especially as many of the latter judged it to be sufficiently faithful to the original story. It was a box office success, earning over $870 million worldwide, and a close second for the highest grossing film of 2001 in the U.S. and worldwide (right behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). It is the 11th highest grossing worldwide film of all time. The Special Extended DVD Edition was released on November 12, 2002.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The prologue shows the Dark Lord Sauron forging the One Ring which he can use to conquer the lands of Middle-earth through his enslavement of the bearers of the Rings of Power—powerful magical rings given to individuals from the races of Elves, Dwarves and Men. A Last Alliance of Elves and Men is formed to counter Sauron and his forces at the foot of Mount Doom, but Sauron himself appears to kill Elendil, the king of the Mannish kingdom of Gondor. Just afterward, Prince Isildur grabs his father's broken sword Narsil, and slashes at Sauron's hand. The stroke cuts off Sauron's fingers, separating him from the Ring and vanquishing his army. However, because Sauron's life is bound in the Ring, he is not completely defeated until the Ring itself is destroyed. Isildur takes the Ring and succumbs to its temptation, refusing to destroy it, but he is later ambushed and killed by orcs.
The Ring is found centuries later, and eventually it comes to the creature Gollum, who takes it underground for many years. But the Ring leaves him, and is found by the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo returns to his home in the Shire with the Ring, and the story jumps forward in time sixty years. At his 111st birthday, Bilbo leaves the Ring to his nephew Frodo Baggins, and the Wizard Gandalf soon learns it is the One Ring, and sends him to Bree with Sam, whilst Gandalf goes to Isengard to meet the head of his order, Saruman. But Saruman has turned treacherous and imprisons him, and also reveals the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, have left Mordor to capture the Ring and kill whoever carries it.
Frodo and Sam are soon joined by fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin. After encountering a Ringwraith on the road, they manage to reach Bree, and there they meet a Man called Strider, who agrees to lead them to Rivendell. After some travelling, they spend the night on the hill of Weathertop, where they are attacked by the Nazgûl at night. Strider fights off the Ringwraiths, but Frodo is grievously wounded, and they must quickly get him to Rivendell for healing. While chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo is taken by the elf Arwen to the elven haven of Rivendell, and healed by her father Elrond.
In Rivendell Frodo meets Gandalf, who explains how he was rescued by one of the Eagles from his imprisonment on Saruman's tower. In the meantime, there are many meetings between various peoples, and Elrond calls a council to decide what should be done with the Ring. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the lava of Mount Doom, where it was forged, but Mount Doom is located in Mordor, near Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom. He will be accompanied by his hobbit friends and Gandalf, as well as Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful long lost heir to the throne of Gondor. Also travelling with them will be the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli and Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor. Together they comprise the Fellowship of the Ring.
The Fellowship set out and try to pass the mountain Caradhras, but they are stopped by Saruman's wizardry. They are forced to travel under the mountain through the Mines of Moria. After journeying through the Mines and defeating several enemies, including orcs and a cave-troll, the Fellowship encounter a Balrog, an ancient demon, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf confronts the Balrog on the bridge, allowing them to escape the mines, but he falls with the creature into the abyss below. Image:Gandaflandbalrogpic.JPG The group flees to the elven realm of Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. After resting, they decide to travel on the River Anduin towards Parth Galen. Before they leave, Galadriel gives Frodo the Phial of Galadriel. After landing at Parth Galen, Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo, who manages to escape by putting on the Ring. Knowing that the Ring's temptation will be too strong for the Fellowship, Frodo decides to leave them and go to Mordor alone. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fellowship are attacked by orcs. Merry and Pippin, realizes that Frodo is leaving, distract the orcs, allowing Frodo to escape. Boromir rushes to the aide of the two hobbits but is mortally wounded by the orc commander Lurtz, and Merry and Pippin are captured. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find Boromir, who regrets attempting to regain the Ring and dies. They decide to pursue the orcs and rescue the hobbits, leaving Frodo to his fate. Sam joins Frodo before he leaves, and together the two head to Mordor.
[edit] Cast
- Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: Frodo is a hobbit who inherits the One Ring from his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. He is mostly accompanied by his best friend and fellow hobbit, Samwise Gamgee.
- Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee: Samwise, better known as Sam, is a hobbit who accompanies his "master" Frodo on the quest to destroy the One Ring. He is a very loyal gardener.
- Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn: Aragorn, also called Strider, is a Dúnadan and the heir to the throne of Gondor. He travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor. He is unsure of whether to become King following the failure of his ancestor, Isildur, to destroy the Ring.
- Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: Gandalf is a wizard and mentor to Frodo Baggins, who helps him decide what to do with the Ring. He becomes the leader of the Fellowship after it is decided to take the Ring to Mount Doom and destroy it.
- Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck: Meriadoc, better known as Merry, is a friend of Frodo and travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor, along with his best friend Pippin.
- Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took: Peregrin, better known as Pippin, is a friend of Frodo, and travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor, along with his best friend Merry. He is a prankster, yet loyal too.
- Sean Bean as Boromir: Boromir is a prince of the Stewards of Gondor, and journeys with the Fellowship towards Mordor, although he is tempted by the power of the Ring.
- John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: A Dwarf, Gimli accompanies the Fellowship to Mordor after they set out from Rivendell.
- Orlando Bloom as Legolas: Legolas is the prince of the Woodland Realm, North of Mordor, who accompanies the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor.
- Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: Saruman is the fallen head of the Istari Order, who becomes jealous of Sauron and seeks to conquer Middle-earth for himself. After capturing Gandalf, he creates an army of Uruk-hai to find and capture the Ring from the Fellowship.
- Sala Baker portrays Sauron: Sauron is the main antagonist and title character of the story, who created the One Ring to conquer Middle-earth. He lost the Ring to Isildur, and now seeks it in order to initiate his reign over Middle-earth. He cannot yet take physical form, and is spiritually incarnate as an Eye.
- Hugo Weaving as Elrond: Elrond is the master of Rivendell, and leads the Council of Elrond which ultimately decides to destroy the One Ring.
- Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: Galadriel is the co-ruler of Lothlórien and a mighty member among the Elves, along with her husband Lord Celeborn. She shows Frodo a possible outcome of events in her mirror.
- Liv Tyler as Arwen: An elf, Arwen escorts Frodo to Rivendell after he is stabbed by the Witch-king. She is the daughter of Elrond and lover of Aragorn.
- Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins: Bilbo is the uncle of Frodo, and gives him the Ring after he decides to retire to Rivendell. At Rivendell, he gives Frodo a mithril mail-shirt and his own sword, Sting, which can detect the presence of nearby orcs.
- Lawrence Makoare as Lurtz: Lurtz is the commander of Saruman's orc forces, and leads the hunt for the Fellowship as they head to Mordor.
[edit] Comparison with the source material
Jackson, Walsh and Boyens made numerous changes to the story, for purposes of pacing and character development. The prologue skims down Tolkien's backstory, in which The Last Alliance's seven year siege of the Barad-dûr is a single battle, where Elendil is simply killed by Sauron, and his defeat as a quick swipe from Isildur using the broken Narsil. Sauron is shown to explode, though Tolkien only said his spirit flees.<ref name = "letters">Tolkien, J.R.R. (1981). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-05699-8.</ref> Isildur keeps the One Ring as a commemorative, but is not corrupted by it as described in the narration. He is advised to destroy the Ring, but nothing is said of him and Elrond actually going to the Cracks of Doom as shown later on with Elrond and Gandalf's discussion.
Events at the beginning of the film are skimmed or omitted altogether. A key difference is that Gandalf is unaware that Bilbo is preparing to leave the Shire. In the book, the time between Gandalf leaving the Ring to Frodo and returning to reveal its inscription is 17 years, which is compressed for timing reasons. Frodo also spends a few months preparing for his journey to Bree which is compressed to a day, to increase dramatic tension. Also compressed is up to when Frodo and Sam leave Bag End and the meeting of Merry and Pippin. Characters such as Tom Bombadil are left out for plotting reasons as well as increasing the threat of the Ringwraiths. Such sequences are left out to make time for Saruman, who only appears in flashback until The Two Towers. Gandalf's capture is also expanded with a fight sequence, and Saruman also claims Sauron cannot take physical form, which is an misinterpretation on Jackson's part due to Sauron never appearing in the book despite physical descriptions. Saruman's role is amped up: he is to blame for the blizzard on Caradhras, a role taken from a spirit in the book.
A significant new addition is that Aragorn must overcome his self-doubt to claim the kingship. This element is not present in the book, where Aragorn intends to claim the throne at an appropriate time. He reforges Narsil immediately when he joins the Fellowship, but this event is held over until The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film. All this was done because of Peter Jackson's belief in "character growth", the idea that every character must change or learn something over the course of the story. Arwen Evenstar also has a greater role in the film, replacing the book's character of Glorfindel in rescuing Frodo, a surviving element of her earlier warrior princess incarnation in the script that survived due to being shot early on. Elrond is subjected to "character growth" also, that he doubts the strength of Men to survive without a King. Jackson also skims the Council of Elrond into establishing the Ring quest, by moving exposition from the chapter into earlier parts of the film.
The book simply stops in terms of dramatic structure, as Tolkien wrote it as a single story published as three. Jackson's finale is played as a climactic battle, to which he introduces the antagonist of Lurtz. Boromir's dying body is simply found by Aragorn and company, setting up their chase for Merry and Pippin. Adding to a satisfactory ending before the wait for the next film, Aragorn is aware of Frodo's decision to leave, whereas in the book the Fellowship is in chaos.
[edit] Production
[edit] Design
Alan Lee and John Howe were the primary conceptual designers for the film trilogy, having had previous experience as illustrators for the book, and various tie-ins. For example, Howe designed the Bag End interior, expanding a cover he had done for a Middle-earth Map collection. Lee designed Rivendell, Moria and Lórien.
[edit] Filming locations
A list of filming locations, sorted by appearance order in the movie:
| Fictional Location | Specific Location in New Zealand | General Area in New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Hobbiton | Matamata | Waikato |
| Gardens of Isengard | Harcourt Park | Upper Hutt |
| The Shire woods | Otaki Gorge Road | Kapiti Coast District |
| Bucklebury Ferry | Keeling Farm, Manakau | Horowhenua |
| Forest near Bree | Takaka Hill | Nelson |
| Trollshaws | Waitarere Forest | Horowhenua |
| Ford of Bruinen | Arrowtown Recreational Reserve | Queenstown |
| Rivendell | Kaitoke Regional Park | Upper Hutt |
| Eregion | Mount Olympus | Nelson |
| Dimrill Dale | Lake Alta | The Remarkables |
| Dimrill Dale | Mount Owen | Nelson |
| Lothlórien | Lake Wakatipu | Queenstown |
| River Anduin | Rangitikei River | Rangitikei District |
| River Anduin | Poet's Corner | Upper Hutt |
| Parth Galen | Paradise | Glenorchy |
| Amon Hen | Mavora Lakes | Milford Sound |
[edit] Special effects
The Fellowship of the Ring makes extensive use of digital, practical and make-up special effects throughout. One noticeable illusion that appears in almost every scene involves setting a proper scale so that the characters are all the correct height. Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, is 5ft 6in (1.68 m) tall in real life, but the character of Frodo Baggins is barely four feet in height. Many different tricks were used to depict the hobbits (and Gimli the Dwarf) as being of diminutive stature. (As a matter of good fortune, John-Rhys Davies — who played Gimli — is as tall compared to the hobbit actors as his character needed to be compared to theirs, so he did not need to be filmed separately as a third variation of height.) Large and small scale doubles were used in certain scenes, while entire duplicates of certain sets (including Bag End in Hobbiton) were built at two different scales, so that the characters would appear to be the appropriate size. At one point in the film, Frodo runs along a corridor in Bag End, followed by Gandalf. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were filmed in separate versions of the same corridor, built at two different scales, and a fast camera pan conceals the edit between the two. Forced perspective was also employed, so that it would look as though the short hobbits were interacting with taller Men and Elves. Even the simple ruse of kneeling down, to the film makers' surprise, turned out to be an effective method in the making of this illusion.
For the battle between the Last Alliance and the forces of Sauron that begins the film, an elaborate CGI animation system, called Massive, was developed by Stephen Regelous that would allow thousands of individual animated "characters" in the program to act independently. This helped give the illusion of realism to the battle sequences. The "Making of" of the Lord of the Rings DVD reports of some interesting initial problems: In the first execution of a battle between groups of characters, the wrong groups attacked each other. In another early demo, some of the warriors at the edge of the field could be seen running away. The reason was not that they were programmed for cowardice (or survival) and couldn't see the enemy so they just ran away, but that they were initially moving in the wrong direction, and had been programmed to keep running until they encountered an enemy.
The digital creatures were important due to Jackson's requirement of biological plausibility. All were scanned from large maquettes before numerous digital detail of their skeletons and muscles. In the case of the Balrog, Gary Horsfield created a system that copied recorded imagery of fire.
[edit] Score
The musical score for the Lord of the Rings films was composed by Howard Shore. Two original songs, including the end title theme, "May It Be", were composed and sung by Enya, who allowed her label, Reprise Records, to release the soundtrack to this and its two sequels.
[edit] Awards
In 2002 the movie won four Academy Awards out of thirteen nominations. The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Effects (Visual Effects), Best Makeup, and Best Music (Original Score). Despite its praise by fans, the other nominated categories of Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Music (Best Song) (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Writing (Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) were not won.
The movie won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. It also won Empire readers' Best Film award, as well as five BAFTAs, including Best Film, the David Lean Award for Direction, the (voted for) Audience Award, Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up.
After the close of its theatrical run, it ranked in the top ten highest grossing movies worldwide, with takings of $860,700,000 USA dollars from world-wide theatrical box office receipts (movie ticket sales). (Source: IMDB Top Movies Chart).
[edit] DVD release
[edit] Extended Edition
The success of the theatrical cut of the film brought about an Extended Edition (208 minutes), with new editing, added special effects and music. This version was released on DVD November 12, 2002 along with four commentaries and hours of supplementary material. It was so successful that the sequels were each given similar releases.
Notable among the restored scenes is a new beginning to the film (following the prologue) and many character-building elements, showing sides of various protagonists (notably Aragorn and Galadriel) that were absent from the theatrical cut, which was largely edited around the character of Frodo. Additional scenes included:
- Bilbo's opening narration "Concerning Hobbits".
- Frodo and Sam seeing Wood Elves making their way to the Grey Havens on their first day of their journey across the Shire.
- Aragorn singing "The Lay of Lúthien".
- Gandalf reciting Black Speech at the Council of Elrond.
- Aragorn visiting his mother's grave.
- The Fellowship given a goodbye at Rivendell.
- Gandalf warning Frodo about Boromir near Moria.
- Lothlórien massively recontextualised, with extra lines by Boromir and the gift giving ceremony.
- Aragorn and Boromir seeing Gollum on a log.
- Fan Club credits.
An Easter Egg is present on the first DVD of some editions of the extended edition. It doesn't appear in the UK version because the film was only rated a PG, however this spoof was rated a 12. It can be accessed by going to the final page of the chapter menu and then scrolling down until a golden ring appears. The Easter Egg is a parody of the Council of Elrond scene and stars Jack Black and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Additionally, on the second disk of the extended edition, there is another easter egg. It can be accessed by going to the final page of the chapter menu and scrolling down under the chapter numbers (like 30-33). Go to the bottom and a silhouette of two towers will appear. It is a special trailer for the "The Two Towers" that was added on during the end of the theatrical run of the movie.
[edit] Limited Edition
On August 29, 2006, a Limited Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring was released. This Limited Edition contains two discs. The first is a two-sided DVD (also known as DVD-18) that contains both the Theatrical and Extended editions of the film. At the beginning of each side of the disc, the viewer can choose which version to watch. The second disc is a bonus disc that contains a new behind-the-scenes documentary.
[edit] Aftermath
The lawyers of Peter Jackson have stated that he was underpaid as much as $100 million for The Fellowship of the Ring, and Peter Jackson is suing New Line Cinema as a result. This made New Line refuse to hire him on the prequel, The Hobbit.<ref>Peter Jackson dropped from ‘The Hobbit’ dated November 21 2006</ref>
[edit] Notes
<references/>
[edit] See also
- The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
[edit] External links
- Official Site of the Movie Trilogy
- Trailer for the movie
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at the Internet Movie Database
- US Box Office Takings for the movie
- Complete list of actors who turned down roles
- Filming locations on Google Earth
| Films Directed by Peter Jackson |
|---|
| Bad Taste • Meet the Feebles • Braindead • Heavenly Creatures • Forgotten Silver • The Frighteners • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King • King Kong • The Lovely Bones |
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