The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Directed by	Peter Jackson
Produced by	Peter Jackson Barrie M. Osborne Tim Sanders Fran Walsh
Written by	Screenplay: Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson Novel: J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring	Elijah Wood Ian McKellen Viggo Mortensen Sean Astin Liv Tyler John Rhys-Davies Orlando Bloom Billy Boyd Dominic Monaghan Cate Blanchett Christopher Lee Hugo Weaving Ian Holm Sean Bean
Music by	Howard Shore
Cinematography	Andrew Lesnie
Editing by	John Gilbert
Studio	WingNut Films The Saul Zaentz Company
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	10 December 2001 (2001-12-10) (United Kingdom premiere) 19 December 2001 (2001-12-19) (United States) 20 December 2001 (2001-12-20) (New Zealand)
Running time	Theatrical Version: 178 minutes Extended Edition: 208 minutes
Country	New Zealand United States
Language	English
Budget	US$ 93 million
Gross revenue	US$ 870,761,744[1]
Followed by	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 fantasy-adventure/sword and sorcery film^[2] directed by Peter Jackson based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). Set in Middle-earth, the story tells of the Dark Lord Sauron, who is seeking the One Ring. The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). The fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and eight companions form the Fellowship of the Ring, and begin their journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor: the only place where the Ring can be destroyed.

Released on 19 December 2001, the film was highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike, especially as many of the latter judged it to be the most sufficiently faithful adaption of the original story out of Jackson's film trilogy. It was a major box office success, earning over $870 million worldwide, and the second highest-grossing film of 2001 in the U.S. and worldwide (behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) which made it the 5th highest-grossing film ever at the time. Today it is the 20th highest-grossing worldwide film of all time. It won four Academy Awards and five BAFTAs, including Best Film and Best Director BAFTA awards. The Special Extended DVD Edition was released on 12 November 2002 and is now discontinued. In 2007, The Fellowship of the Ring was voted number 50 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest American films. The AFI also voted it the second greatest fantasy film of all time during their AFI's 10 Top 10 special.

Plot

In the Second Age of Middle-earth, the One Ring is forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in order to conquer the lands of Middle-earth. A Last Alliance of Elves and Men is formed to counter Sauron and during a battle on the foot of Mount Doom, Prince Isildur, son of King Elendil, who is slain by Sauron in the battle, picks up his father's broken sword and slashes at Sauron's hand, separating him from the Ring and vanquishing his army. However, due to Sauron's "life force" being bound to the Ring, the Dark Lord is not completely defeated unless the Ring itself is destroyed, but Isildur, corrupted by the Ring's power, refuses to do so. Sometime later, Isildur is ambushed and killed by Orcs and the Ring is lost in a river. Thousands of years later, the Ring is claimed by the Hobbit Sméagol causing him to obsess over it. Finally, the Ring abandons Sméagol, who has turned into the creature Gollum under the influence of the Ring, and is found by Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit from the Shire.

Sixty years later, following his 111^th birthday party, Bilbo leaves the Ring to his nephew, Frodo Baggins. Meanwhile, the Wizard Gandalf the Grey rides to Minas Tirith to search for answers regarding Bilbo's magic ring only to learn that it is, in fact, Sauron's One Ring. Gandalf returns to Bag End and tells Frodo to leave the Shire immediately with the Ring. Gandalf catches Samwise Gamgee eavesdropping by a window and decides to send him along with Frodo. Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with Saruman the White who reveals to Gandalf that the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, have left Minas Morgul to capture the Ring and kill whoever carries it. Gandalf attempts to flee to warn Frodo, but Saruman, having already been corrupted to Sauron's cause, imprisons Gandalf atop his tower Orthanc. Gandalf is then forced to watch as Saruman, following Sauron's orders, commands the Orcs of Isengard to construct weapons of war and produce a new breed of Orc fighters called the Uruk-hai.

While travelling to Bree, Frodo and Sam are soon joined by fellow Hobbits, Merry and Pippin. After encountering a Ringwraith on the road, they manage to reach Bree only to discover that Gandalf hasn't arrived. Instead, Frodo meets a man called "Strider", a friend of Gandalf who agrees to lead them to Rivendell. They continue travelling and spend the night on the hill of Weathertop, where they are attacked by the Nazgûl. Strider fights off the Ringwraiths, but Frodo is grievously wounded with a morgul blade which will cause him to turn into a wraith if not attended to with the proper care. While chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo is taken by the elf Arwen to the Elven haven of Rivendell, and healed by her father, Elrond (the leader of the Elves at the battle of Mount Doom 3,000 years before). Arwen also uses her magic to cut off the pursuing Ringwraiths at the Ford of Bruinen, summoning a surge of water that sweeps the Ringwraiths away.

In Rivendell, Frodo finds Gandalf, who explains why he didn't meet them at Bree and that he had escaped Orthanc and Saruman's clutches with the help of an eagle. Later, Elrond calls a council to decide what should be done with the Ring. Elrond warns against keeping the Ring in Rivendell for long, knowing that the Elven realm could come under attack from both Mordor and Isengard. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom and is accompanied by his Hobbit friends and Gandalf, as well as Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. Also travelling with them are 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. At Gimli's insistence, they decide to seek safety and travel under the mountain through the Mines of Moria. Frodo agrees, but while travelling through the mines, they are attacked by Orcs and a Cave Troll, and encounter a Balrog, an ancient demon of fire and shadow, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf confronts the Balrog on the bridge, allowing the others to escape the subterranean realm, but the monster drags him into the abyss below. The group flees to the Elven realm of Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. That night, Frodo meets Galadriel, who tells him that it is his destiny to handle the Ring and ultimately destroy it. Before they leave, Galadriel gives Frodo the Phial of Galadriel, and the other members also receive gifts from them. Taking the straight path to Mordor, they travel on the River Anduin towards Parth Galen.

After landing at Parth Galen, Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo, believing that it is the only way to save his realm. Frodo manages to escape by putting the Ring on his finger and vanishing. Aragorn encounters Frodo, but unlike Boromir, Aragorn chooses not to take 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 Uruk-hai, who Saruman had ordered to hunt down the Fellowship and take back the Ring. Merry and Pippin, realising that Frodo is leaving, distract the Orcs allowing Frodo to escape. Boromir rushes to the aid of the two Hobbits, but is mortally wounded by the Orc commander Lurtz. Before Lurtz can finish Boromir, Aragorn arrives and decapitates Lurtz after a swordfight. Boromir regrets having attempted to steal the Ring, but is forgiven by Aragorn before he dies. Merry and Pippin are captured, prompting Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to begin their pursuit of the Orcs with the intent of rescuing the Hobbits, leaving Frodo to his fate. Frodo returns to the banks of the river and begins rowing across when Sam appears and swims out after Frodo, insisting to keep his promise to Gandalf to look after Frodo. Frodo accepts Sam's presence as together they continue their journey through the hills of Emyn Muil.

Cast

The eponymous Fellowship from left to right: (Top row) Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, (bottom row) Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Gimli.

Before filming began on 11 October 1999, the principal actors trained for six weeks in sword fighting (with Bob Anderson), riding and boating. Jackson hoped such activities would allow the cast to bond so chemistry would be evident on screen as well as getting them used to life in Wellington.^[3] They were also trained to pronounce Tolkien's verses properly.^[4] After the shoot, the nine cast members playing the Fellowship got a tattoo, the Elvish symbol for the number nine, with the exception of John Rhys-Davies, whose stunt double got the tattoo instead.^[5] The film is noted for having an ensemble cast^[6], and some of the cast and their respective characters include:

• Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: 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. Elijah Wood was the first actor to be cast on 7 July 1999.^[7] Wood was a fan of the book, and he sent in an audition dressed as Frodo, reading lines from the novel.^[8] Wood was selected from one-hundred-and-fifty actors who auditioned.^[9]
• Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: An Istari wizard and mentor to Frodo, 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. Sean Connery was approached for the role, but didn't understand the plot,^[8] while Patrick Stewart turned it down as he disliked the script.^[10] Before being cast, McKellen had to sort his schedule with 20th Century Fox as there was a two-month overlap with X-Men.^[9] He enjoyed playing Gandalf the Grey more than his transformed state in the next two films,^[5] and based his accent on Tolkien. Unlike his on-screen character, McKellen did not spend much time with the actors playing the Hobbits, instead working with their scale doubles.^[3]
• Sean Astin as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee: A Hobbit gardener and friend of Frodo. When caught eavesdropping, Sam is made to become Frodo's companion and from then on becomes very loyal. Astin, then a father of one, bonded with the eighteen-year old Wood in a protective manner similar to Sam and Frodo.^[3]
• Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn: Dubbed Strider, he is a Dúnedain ranger 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. Nicolas Cage turned down the role because of "family obligations",^[11] whilst Vin Diesel, a fan of the book, auditioned for Aragorn. Stuart Townsend was cast in the role, before being replaced during filming when Jackson realised he was too young.^[8] Russell Crowe was considered as a replacement, but he turned it down after a similar role in Gladiator.^[8] Producer Mark Odesky saw Mortensen in a play and it was Mortensen's son, a fan of the book, who convinced him to take the role.^[3] Mortensen read the book on the plane, received a crash course lesson in fencing from Bob Anderson and began filming the scenes on Weathertop.^[12] Mortensen became a hit with the crew, method acting by patching up his costume^[13] and carrying his "hero" sword around with him offscreen.^[3]
• Sean Bean as Boromir: A prince of the Stewards of Gondor, he journeys with the Fellowship towards Mordor, although he is tempted by the power of the Ring. He feels Gondor needs no King, but becomes a friend of Aragorn. Bruce Willis, a fan of the book, expressed interest in the role, while Liam Neeson was sent the script, but passed.^[8]
• Orlando Bloom as Legolas: Prince of the Elves' Woodland Realm and a skilled archer who accompanies the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor. Bloom initially auditioned for Faramir, who appears in the second film, a role which went to David Wenham.^[8]
• Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took: A Hobbit who travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor, along with his best friend Merry. He is loyal but a prankster, often being a nuisance for Gandalf. Together with Meriadoc Brandybuck (see below), he serves as a comic relief.
• Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck: A Hobbit and a friend of Frodo. He helps him find a ferry to escape the Nazgûl, travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor, along with his best friend Pippin. Monaghan was cast as Merry after auditioning for Frodo. Together with Pippin (see above), he serves as a comic relief.^[8]
• John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: A Dwarf who accompanies the Fellowship to Mordor after they set out from Rivendell. He is initially xenophobic towards Elves, but changes his attitude in the course of the story, particularly after meeting Lady Galadriel. Billy Connolly was considered for the part of Gimli.^[8] Rhys-Davies wore heavy prosthetics to play Gimli, which limited his vision, and eventually he developed eczema around his eyes.^[3]
• Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: The fallen head of the Istari Order, who succumbed to Sauron's will via his use of the palantír. After capturing Gandalf, he creates an army of Uruk-hai to find and capture the Ring from the Fellowship. Lee is a major fan of the book, and reads it once a year. He has also met J. R. R. Tolkien.^[12] He originally auditioned for Gandalf, but was judged too old.^[8]
• Sala Baker portrays Sauron: 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: The Elven master of Rivendell, who leads the Council of Elrond which ultimately decides to destroy the One Ring. He lost faith in the strength of Men after witnessing Isildur's failure 3,000 years before. David Bowie expressed interest in the role, but Jackson stated, "To have a famous, beloved character and a famous star colliding is slightly uncomfortable."^[9]
• Marton Csokas as Lord Celeborn: An Elf and the co-ruler of Lothlórien along with his wife Galadriel.
• Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: An Elf and the co-ruler of Lothlórien along with her husband Lord Celeborn. She shows Frodo a possible outcome of events in her mirror and gives him the Light of Eärendil. Tilda Swinton was also a possibility to the role, but she turned it down, since she was going to play a similar role as Jadis, the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
• 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 Aragorn's lover, to whom she gives the Evenstar necklace. The filmmakers approached Tyler after seeing her performance in Plunkett & Macleane, and New Line Cinema leaped at the opportunity of having one Hollywood star in the film. Actress Helena Bonham Carter had expressed interest in the role.^[8] Tyler came to shoot on short occasions, and bonded most with Bloom.^[3]
• Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins: Frodo's uncle who 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 by emitting a bluish glow. Holm previously played Frodo in a 1981 radio adaption of The Lord of the Rings, and was cast as Bilbo after Jackson remembered his performance.^[8] Sylvester McCoy was contacted about playing the role, and was kept in place as a potential Bilbo for six months before Jackson went with Holm.^[14]
• Lawrence Makoare as Lurtz: The commander of Saruman's orc forces who leads the hunt for the Fellowship as they head to Mordor.
• David Weatherley as Barliman Butterbur: Owner of the Inn of the Prancing Pony
• Martyn Sanderson as the Gatekeeper of Bree

Comparison with the source material

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens made numerous changes to the story, for purposes of pacing and character development. Jackson said his main desire was to make a film focused primarily on Frodo and the Ring, the "backbone" of the story.^[15] The prologue condenses Tolkien's backstory, in which The Last Alliance's seven year siege of the Barad-dûr is a single battle, where Sauron is shown to explode, though Tolkien only said his spirit flees.^[16]

Events at the beginning of the film are condensed or omitted altogether. 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.^[17] 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 the time between Frodo and Sam leaving Bag End and their meeting Merry and Pippin. Characters such as Tom Bombadil are left out to simplify the plot and increase the threat of the Ringwraiths. Such sequences are left out to make time to introduce Saruman, who in the book only appears in flashback until The Two Towers. Saruman's role is enhanced: he is to blame for the blizzard on Caradhras, a role taken from Sauron and/or Caradhras itself in the book. Gandalf's capture by Saruman is also expanded with a fight sequence.

The role of Barliman Butterbur at the Prancing Pony is largely removed for time and dramatic flow.

The events at Weathertop were also altered. The location of the fight against the Ringwraiths was changed to the ruins on top of the hill rather than a campsite at its base. When Frodo was stabbed in the book, the party spent two weeks travelling to Rivendell, but in the movie this is shortened to less than a week, with Frodo's condition worsening at a commensurately greater rate. Arwen was given a greater role in the movie; she accompanied Frodo all the way to Rivendell, while in the book Frodo faced the Ringwraiths alone at the Ford of Bruinen. The character of Glorfindel was omitted entirely and his scenes were also given to Arwen. She was tacitly credited with the river rising against the Ringwraiths, which was the work of her father Elrond with aid from Gandalf in the book.

A significant new addition is Aragorn's self-doubt, which causes him to hesitate to claim the kingship of Gondor. This element is not present in the book, where Aragorn intends to claim the throne at an appropriate time. In the book Narsil is reforged immediately when he joins the Fellowship, but this event is held over until The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in film to symbolically coincide with his acceptance of his title. These elements were added because Peter Jackson believed that each character should be forced to grow or change over the course of the story.

Elrond's character gained an adversarial edge; he expresses doubts in the strength of Men to resist Sauron's evil after Isildur's failure to destroy the ring as depicted in the prologue. Jackson also shortens the Council of Elrond by spreading its exposition into earlier parts of the film. Elrond's counsellor, Erestor—who suggested the Ring be given to Tom Bombadil—was completely absent from this scene. Gimli's father, Glóin, was also deemed unnecessary.

The tone of the Moria sequence was altered. Although in the book the Fellowship only realises the Dwarves are all dead once they reach Balin's tomb, the filmmakers chose to use foreshadowing devices instead. Gandalf says to Gimli he would prefer not to enter Moria, and Saruman is shown to be aware of Gandalf's reticence, and also reveals an illustration of the Balrog in one of his books. The corpses of the dwarves are instantly shown as the Fellowship enter Moria.^[18]

In terms of dramatic structure, the book simply ends; there is no climax, because Tolkien wrote the "trilogy" as a single story published in three volumes. Jackson's version incorporates the first chapter of '"The Two Towers" and makes its events, told in real time instead of flashback, simultaneous with the Breaking of the Fellowship. This finale is played as a climactic battle, into which he introduces the orc referred to as Lurtz in the script. In the book, Boromir is unable to tell Aragorn which hobbits were kidnapped by the orcs before he dies; in the film, Aragorn and Frodo have a scene together in which Frodo's intentions are explicitly stated, so the Fellowship's motivation to hunt down the orcs is simple loyalty rather than fear for the Ring.

Production

Jackson began working with Christian Rivers to storyboard the trilogy in August 1997, as well as getting Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop to begin creating his interpretation of Middle-earth.^[19] Jackson told them to make Middle-earth as plausible and believable as possible, to think of Middle-earth in a historical manner.^[20]

In November,^[20] Alan Lee and John Howe became the primary conceptual designers for the film trilogy, having had previous experience as illustrators for the book and various other tie-ins. Lee worked for the Art Department creating places such as Rivendell, Isengard, Moria and Lothlórien, giving art nouveau and geometry influences to the Elves and Dwarves respectively.^[20][21] Though Howe contributed with Bag End and the Argonath,^[20][21] he focused working on armour having studied it all his life.^[22] Weta and the Art Department continued to design, with Grant Major turning the Art Department's designs into architecture, and Dan Hennah scouting locations.^[20] On 1 April 1999, Ngila Dickson joined the crew as costume designer. She and 40 seamstresses would create 19,000 costumes, 40 per version for the actor and their doubles, ageing and wearing them out for impression of age.^[13]

Filming locations

Arwen faces the Ringwraiths at the Fords of Bruinen (Arrow River, Skippers Canyon).

A list of filming locations, sorted by appearance order in the movie:

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 5 ft 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 use of kneeling down, to the film makers' surprise, turned out to be an effective method in creating the 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; it allowed 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" Lord of the Rings DVD reports 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 could not see the enemy so they 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. Their surface was scanned from large maquettes before numerous digital details of their skeletons and muscles were added. In the case of the Balrog, Gary Horsfield created a system that copied recorded imagery of fire.

Score

The musical score for the Lord of the Rings films was composed by Howard Shore. It was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The London Voices, and featured several vocal soloists. Two original songs, Aníron, and 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. In addition to this, Shore composed "In Dreams", which was sung by Edward Ross of the London Oratory School Schola.

Reception

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was released on 19 December 2001 in 3,359 cinemas where it grossed $47.2 million on its opening weekend. It went on to make $314.7 million in North America and $555.9 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $870.7 million.^[23]

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring received universal acclaim from most major film critics, receiving 92% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "Peter Jackson ... has made a work for, and of, our times. It will be embraced, I suspect, by many Tolkien fans and take on aspects of a cult. It is a candidate for many Oscars. It is an awesome production in its daring and breadth, and there are small touches that are just right".^[24] USA Today also gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "this movie version of a beloved book should please devotees as well as the uninitiated".^[25] In his review for The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell wrote, "The playful spookiness of Mr. Jackson's direction provides a lively, light touch, a gesture that doesn't normally come to mind when Tolkien's name is mentioned".^[26] Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the film an "A" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, "The cast take to their roles with becoming modesty, certainly, but Jackson also makes it easy for them: His Fellowship flows, never lingering for the sake of admiring its own beauty ... Every detail of which engrossed me. I may have never turned a page of Tolkien, but I know enchantment when I see it".^[27]

In her review for the Washington Post, Rita Kempley praised the cast, in particular, "Mortensen, as Strider, is a revelation, not to mention downright gorgeous. And McKellen, carrying the burden of thousands of years' worth of the fight against evil, is positively Merlinesque".^[28] Time magazine's Richard Corliss praised Jackson's work: "His movie achieves what the best fairy tales do: the creation of an alternate world, plausible and persuasive, where the young — and not only the young — can lose themselves. And perhaps, in identifying with the little Hobbit that could, find their better selves".^[29] In his review for the Village Voice, J. Hoberman wrote, "Peter Jackson's adaptation is certainly successful on its own terms".^[30] Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "It's emotion that makes Fellowship stick hard in the memory ... Jackson deserves to revel in his success. He's made a three-hour film that leaves you wanting more".^[31] However, in his review for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote, "In the end, signing up to the movie's whole hobbity-elvish universe requires a leap of faith ... It's a leap I didn't feel much like making — and, with two more movie episodes like this on the way, the credibility gap looks wider than ever".^[32]

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, Costume Design and Best Writing (Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) were not won.

As of June 2010, it is the 19th highest-grossing film worldwide, with takings of US$870,761,744 from worldwide theatrical box office receipts.^[1]

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 Audience Award (voted for by the public), Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up.

In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was acknowledged as the second best film in the fantasy genre.^[33][34]

Home video

Theatrical and Extended release

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was released on VHS and DVD on 6 August 2002.

A few months later, on 12 November 2002, an Extended Edition was released on VHS and DVD, with 30 minutes of new material, added special effects and music. The DVD set included four commentaries and hours of supplementary material.

On 29 August 2006, a Limited Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring was released on DVD. The set included both the Theatrical and Extended editions of the film on a double-sided disc along with all-new bonus material.

Blu-Ray edition

The theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings was released in the United States on 6 April 2010.^[35]

Peter Jackson has said that the Extended Editions were in development for Blu-ray and would be released in conjunction with the theatrical release of The Hobbit in 2012.^[36] In July 2009, Jackson announced that the Blu-ray version of the Extended Editions might include newly created special features.^[37]

Notes

External links

• Official Site of the Movie Trilogy
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Allmovie
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Box Office Mojo
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Metacritic
• Filming locations on Google Earth

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