| 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 |
| Screenplay by | Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson |
| Based on | The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Starring | Elijah Wood Ian McKellen Viggo Mortensen Sean Astin Orlando Bloom Liv Tyler John Rhys-Davies Sean Bean Billy Boyd Dominic Monaghan Cate Blanchett Christopher Lee Hugo Weaving Ian Holm |
| 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 (United Kingdom premiere) 19 December 2001 (United States) 20 December 2001 (New Zealand) |
| Running time | 178 minutes[1] |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $93 million[1] |
| Box office | $870,761,744[1] |
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 fantasy 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 who form the Fellowship of the Ring begin their journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed.
Released on 10 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 25th 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.
Contents |
In the Second Age, the Dark Lord Sauron attempts to conquer Middle-Earth using his One Ring. In battle against the Elves and Men, Prince Isildur cuts the Ring from Sauron's hand, destroying his physical form and vanquishing his army. However, Sauron's "life force" is bound to the Ring, allowing him to survive while the Ring remains. Isildur, corrupted by the Ring's power, refuses to destroy it. When Isildur is killed by Orcs, the Ring is lost in the river for 2,500 years. The Ring is found by Gollum, who possesses it for centuries until it is found by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
Sixty years later, Bilbo leaves the Ring to his nephew, Frodo Baggins. Upon learning that the Ring belonged to Sauron, the Wizard Gandalf the Grey warns Frodo that Sauron's forces will come for him. Gandalf catches Frodo's gardener Samwise Gamgee eavesdropping underneath a window and sends him with Frodo to leave the Shire. Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with the head of his order, Saruman the White, who reveals that Sauron's servants, the Nazgûl, have been sent to capture the Ring. Saruman reveals himself to be in service to Sauron, and imprisons Gandalf atop his tower. Saruman commands Sauron's Orcs to construct weapons of war and produce a new breed of Orc fighters: the Uruk-hai.
While traveling to Bree, Frodo and Sam are joined by Merry and Pippin, and are nearly captured by the Nazgûl. At the Inn of the Prancing Pony, Frodo meets the mysterious ranger Aragorn, who hides them from their pursuers and agrees to lead them to Rivendell. During the journey they are attacked by the Nazgûl. Aragorn fights off the creatures, but Frodo is wounded by their morgul blade, which will turn him into a wraith. While chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo is saved by the Elf Arwen who uses her magic to summon a surge of water that sweeps away the pursuing Nazgûl. Arwen takes Frodo to Rivendell where he is healed by her father, Elrond. Gandalf escapes Saruman's tower with the aid of Gwaihir the eagle and travels to Rivendell. Elrond calls a council of the races still loyal to Middle-Earth to decide what should be done with the Ring. It is revealed that 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, accompanied by Samwise, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, and Aragorn. They are joined by the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli, and Boromir, man of Gondor, to form the Fellowship of the Ring.
The Fellowship set out but are hindered by Saruman's magic. They travel through the dwarf Mines of Moria. Inside, they find that Orcs have overrun the mines and slain the Dwarves; they also realize that Gollum is following them, determined to reclaim the Ring. The Fellowship is attacked by Orcs and a Balrog, an ancient demon of fire and shadow. Gandalf confronts the Balrog, allowing the others to escape, but both Gandalf and the Balrog fall into an abyss. Mourning Gandalf's death, the group flees to Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, the Elves Galadriel and Celeborn. That night, Galadriel informs Frodo that it is his destiny to destroy the Ring. The Fellowship continue their journey. Meanwhile, Saruman assembles a force of Uruk-hai to hunt the Fellowship.
After arriving at Parth Galen, Boromir gives in to the Ring's corruption and tries to take it from Frodo, believing that it is the only way to save his realm. Frodo manages to escape by wearing the Ring and becoming invisible. Boromir realizes what he has done, and attempts to find Frodo, who decides to continue his journey alone, heeding Galadriel's warning that the Ring will eventually corrupt the other members of the Fellowship. The Uruk-hai arrive and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli attempt to hold them off while Frodo escapes. Merry and Pippin lead the Orcs away from Frodo and are nearly killed. Boromir tries to save them, but in the process suffers mortal wounds. The Uruk-Hai capture Merry and Pippin. Aragorn tends to a dying Boromir, and promises him that the world of men will not fall. Boromir dies with Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas by his side.
Samwise finds Frodo, who reluctantly lets Samwise join him. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli set out to rescue Merry and Pippin. As Frodo and Sam gaze out at the land before them, they grieve over the others. Frodo says that he is glad that Sam is with him and the two Hobbits set off towards Mordor.
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:
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.[16] 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.[17]
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, which is 17 years, is compressed for timing reasons.[18] Frodo also spends a few months preparing to move to Buckland, on the eastern border of the shire. This move is omitted and combined with him setting out for Rivendell. 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 doesn't appear until a flashback told at the Council of Elrond. 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 film 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 film, accompanying 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 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.[19]
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 Uruk-hai 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. From there, Aragorn deduces Frodo's intentions when he notices that a boat is missing and Sam's pack is gone. In the film, Aragorn and Frodo have a scene together in which Frodo's intentions are explicitly stated.
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.[20] Jackson told them to make Middle-earth as plausible and believable as possible, to think of Middle-earth in a historical manner.[21]
In November,[21] 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.[21][22] Though Howe contributed with Bag End and the Argonath,[21][22] he focused working on armour having studied it all his life.[23] Weta and the Art Department continued to design, with Grant Major turning the Art Department's designs into architecture, and Dan Hennah scouting locations.[21] 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]
A list of filming locations, sorted by appearance order in the film:
| 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 |
| Flight to the Ford | Tarras | Otago |
| Ford of Bruinen | Arrow River, Skippers Canyon | Queenstown |
| Rivendell | Kaitoke Regional Park | Upper Hutt |
| Eregion | Mount Olympus | Nelson |
| Dead Marshes | Kepler Mire | Southland District |
| Dimrill Dale | Lake Alta | The Remarkables |
| Dimrill Dale | Mount Owen | Nelson |
| Lothlórien | Paradise | Glenorchy |
| River Anduin | Upper Waiau River | Fiordland National Park |
| River Anduin | Rangitikei River | Rangitikei District |
| River Anduin | Poet's Corner | Upper Hutt |
| Parth Galen | Paradise | Glenorchy |
| Amon Hen | Mavora Lakes, Paradise and Closeburn | Southern Lakes |
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. (In a happy coincidence, 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, and is quite taller than Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas.) 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 filmmakers' 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.
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.
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.[24]
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring received nearly universal acclaim from major film critics and was one of the best reviewed films of 2001, receiving 92% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.[25] 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".[26] 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".[27] 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".[28] 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".[29]
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".[30] 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".[31] In his review for The Village Voice, J. Hoberman wrote, "Peter Jackson's adaptation is certainly successful on its own terms".[32] 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".[33] However, in his review for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote, "there is a strange paucity of plot complication, an absence of anything unfolding, all the more disconcerting because of the clotted and indigestible mythic back story that we have to wade through before anything happens at all. .[34]
In 2002, the film won four Academy Awards out of thirteen nominations.[35] The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, and Best Original Score. Despite its praise by fans, the other nominated categories of Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Gethin Creagh and Hammond Peek), Costume Design and Best Adapted Screenplay 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 film 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. The film was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight between Gandalf and Saruman.
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.[36][37]
American Film Institute recognition
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, plus 20 minutes of fan-club credits. The DVD set included four commentaries and over three 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.
The theatrical Blu-ray version of The Lord of the Rings was released in the United States on April 6, 2010. There were two separate sets: one with digital copies and one without.[38] The individual Blu-ray disc of The Fellowship of the Ring was released on September 14, 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, except there was no digital copy.[39]
The Extended Editions for Blu-ray were released in the U.S. on June 28, 2011. [40]
| Book: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy | |
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