Posted on 11/27/2001 8:56:31 PM PST by sourcery
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Cast (Major Roles Only)
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
Sir Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins
Sean Astin as Sam Gamgee
Billy Boyd as Pippin Took
Dominic Monaghan as Merry Brandybuck
Orlando Bloom as Legolas
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli
John Rhys-Davies (voice) as Treebeard
Sean Bean as Boromir
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
Liv Tyler as Arwen
Christopher Lee as Saruman
Brad Dourif as Grima Wormtongue
Andy Serkis (voice) as Smeagol (Gollum)
Director:
Peter Jackson
A review by Ronald Epstein
One ring to rule them all,
One ring to find them,
one ring to bring them all and in
the darkness bind them.
Published in 1954-1955, J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece Lord Of The Rings trilogy still remains one of the
most definitive works of imaginary fiction ever written. The extraordinary efforts to get this trilogy to
the screen is a testament of how popular these stories are today. New Line has taken a gamble and risked
everything by filming all three movies back-to-back without knowing the fate of the original release.
The Fellowship of the Ring is the very first of the Tolkien trilogy. It will be followed up with
The Two Towers (2002) and Return of the King (2003).
As release date slowly draws nearer, everyone is holding their breath. Will this film live up to expectations?
Will this movie make a strong enough impact that audiences will anxiously want to remain loyal to the
films that will follow? The answer is a definitive YES on all accounts.
Lord Of The Rings will make its mark in film history. Fans will embrace this film and newcomers will
be in complete awe of one of the most visually entertaining films ever made....and this is only the beginning!
The film begins with lengthy female narrative that tells the story of Middle Earth - the ancient land of elves,
dwarves, hobbits, wizards and other creatures. We are told of the creation of the individual rings that
were handed down to the wisest and most noblest creatures of Middle Earth. We are then told of the ONE
ring that was forged out of Mount Doom -- the ring that controlled all others -- worn by the dark and
evil Lord Sauren. We are told of a battle and the defeat of Sauren and how his ring is eventually lost
only to be found by Gollum, a lowly creature that gets poisoned by its power. The ring is eventually
stolen by hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. And so, this is where the trilogy begins.....
It's a beautiful day in the Shire, the peaceful home of the Hobbits. A carriage rolls through a lone road
that parts meadows of lush grass and farmland. It is Gandalf the Wizard visiting his old Hobbit friend,
Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm). It is Bilbo's birthday, and the old hobbit is more concerned about leaving the
Shire rather than partake in any party. Something is very heavy on Bilbo's mind, and Gandalf is watching
him closely. That evening, Bilbo's party is in full swing with some of the most amazing and beautiful firework
displays ever seen on film. When Bilbo makes a daring announcement to his party guests, Gandalf realizes that
Bilbo is in possession of a very important ring. Gandalf convinces Bilbo to give up the ring, and give it to
the very young Frodo (Elijah Wood). When the secret of the ring is finally revealed to the old Wizard, Frodo
is warned to leave the Shire at once. Hence, the adventure of a lifetime begins.
Clocking in at about 3 hours running length, Lord Of The Rings doesn't waste time. Every minute of
the film is used to remain as faithful to the book as possible. The most important aspect of this film is
that it had to properly tell the story as written. The end result is that this film becomes a definitive
and accurate recreation of the story.
Though it had been 20 years since I last read the trilogy, the film brought back every single memory I had
of the story with visuals that exceeded my own imagination. You will see visuals in this film that go beyond
anything you have seen before. The film is visually beautiful as we travel through the lush green grasses
of the Shire with the huts built into the hills, or, the beautiful mountain village of Rivendell, inhabited
by the Elves. With so much beauty also comes the darkness of Mordor and Mount Doom so grimly recreated
with cameras that swoop into the lowest depths of these locations as we watch armies of death manufacturer
weapons as they grow, amass, and hunt the one that holds the ring.
Make no mistake about it, this film is very dark. The most terrifying creatures of Middle Earth are
realistically brought to life. Whether it be the Ringwraiths, dark riders who are neither dead or alive
or the armies of orcs who inhabit the Mountains of the Dwarf kingdom, this movie manages to keep your
heart racing with scene after scene of edge-of-the-seat battles set to sweeping music of Howard Shore.
I have two favorite sequences in this movie. One involves a duel between Gandalf (Ian Holm) and the
elder wizard, Saruman (Christopher Lee). With each Wizard testing their powers against each other,
the duel becomes one of the most memorable scenes of the film as we see Gandalf helplessly spinning
around the floor. Another favorite sequence involves Frodo putting the ring on his finger and not
only becoming invisible to the outside world, but being visible to the inner world of darkness. These
effect sequences are creatively reproduced on screen to the point where you get chills running down
your spine.
The biggest hurdles that New Line faces with Lord Of The Rings is the 3-hour running time and
the fact that this is not a film that is going to appeal to all audiences. While the fans who read
the original books are going to be enthralled with its faithfulness to the book, I couldn't help but
hear many women of the audience talking afterwards about how much they were unimpressed by the whole
film. Fans of the books and Fantasy films alike are in for the treat of their lives. Lord Of The Rings
has accomplished what many thought was the impossible -- to bring a live-action film to the screen
that accurately portrays the books as written, with enough visual eyes candy and engrossing battle scenes
that could very well make this the STAR WARS trilogy of the new century.
On a scale of 1-5, I give this film a 5.
Opens December 18th, 2001
Whereas Tolkein had to work hard to make Aragorn a worthy mate for the Lady Arwen.
But then, in that world, worthiness was not always determined by heroic deeds. Ask Eowyn.
Shalom.
You brought me out of my self-imposed lurking-mode with THAT one!
Hahaha!
I hope you're wearing your flame-resistant undies today...
Regards,
Ohhhhh!!!! I couldn't agree more. I am a female who has been in love with LOTR's for years and years, and everytime I read it I love it all the more. I can't wait to see the movie. I'll probably be reported as "missing" by some of my family, as I "move in" at the local theatre, LOL!!! Yes, if anyone has a LOTR bump list, add me too. And by the way:
SAMWISE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, my FRiend, I didn't say I agreed with it, I was just trying to figger out HollyWeird's motives.
Shalom...MUD
LOL...MUD
Oh honey, just wait til you meet up with the 'Lady of the Golden Wood', Galadriel. You want power, you got it!!
I wasn't much interested in these books even 10 years ago when Sir SuziQ read them to our two oldest boys, but we're now reading them to our two younger kids (13 and 11) and I am enjoying them immensely. Tolkien writes so beautifully that it is a pleasure to read aloud. We have finished 'Fellowship' and had started 'Two Towers', but decided to backtrack and read 'The Silmarillion' to get the back story of Middle Earth and the lives of the Elves and Men. I'm not sure if some of it in icluded in the movie, or not, but just in case.... We can't wait for the movie, either!
Aragorn does not have one of the Rings. The Rings are not magical, they are powerful. There is a huge difference. At one point Aragorn does use a Palantir. We might call that magic but Tolkein never does. The Palantir is powerful, but it is not presented as magical.
The men do not posess magic. But the age of the magicians is drawing to a close and the age of men is beginning precisely because the men do not posess magic. They posess something much more.
That is a huge part of what the Trilogy is about.
Shalom.
Just trying to have a little fun. Someone handed me this crank, and you know the saying:
"If all you have is a crank, the entire world starts to look like a hurdy gurdy." :^)
It is a thrilling story to be sure, but one of the key proofs that the action isn't the point is the very long resolution. There are many loose ends that actually have more to do with the plot of the story than the action, and Tolkein carefully sews them all up. This is in sharp contrast to most stories where the big battle happens and it's over - leaving you with lots of questions. Just one more reason why LOTR is head and shoulders over most of what you read today.
Shalom.
Why does everybody ignore the fantastic power of Goldberry, the River's Daughter?
Shalom.
doesn't Aragorn have one of the Rings?
Not to my knowledge.
The rings are magical.
Not in today's sense or maybe the Harry Potter sense
Oh, I think they are quite magical. However, these are the three elven rings that the elves of Eregion made, Nenya, Narya, and Vilya. Vilya was used to cause the flood at the river Bruinen when Frodo was in trouble at the ford, Galadriel used Nenya to create her barrier that surrounded Lothlorien, seen in Fellowship. Gandalf had Narya, which he used to fire the hearts and mind of the enemies of Sauron. Each of these rings are shown explicitly at the end of book 4 being worn by their owners. They were subject to the will of Sauron, IF he were to regain the One Ring. It could be said that Narya is the ring of Fire, Nenya is the Ring of Air, and Vilya is the ring of Water, depending on what you read into Tolkeins later works.
The seven rings of the Dwarves are not featured in the books, but the nine rings of the humans perverted the humans who became the Ringwraiths. Sauron has the Nine and the Seven when the Fellowship starts.
And, of course, the group depends on Sting's magic throughout the epic, as well as the magic of the Phial of Galadriel. There is also Gandalf's sorcery which features very prominently during the first book. Certainly sorcery has a decent sized part of Lord of the Rings.
They are not in the sense that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is Christian, but they are in the sense that a Christian worldview and morality pervades them. Consider this one (badly quoted) exchange.
Bilbo: They should have killed him. He doesn't deserve to live.
Gandalf: And there are many who are dead who deserve life. Can you give it to them? No? Then don't be so quick to take life away. Gollum may yet have a part to play in this story.
Shalom.
Men do not use magic. Gandalf is not a man. Elves and orcs are not men. Sauron may be a man, that part wasn't clear, but I think he was of the same race as Gandalf.
And, again, the rings are powerful, not magical. There is a huge difference. Galadriel didn't like the term magic because, to her, it was nothing unusual. It was just life as normal for elves. It was only magical to the men and hobbits because they could not do it.
Shalom.
Im scared for my childrens safety. I heard that at a pre-screening in Hollywood, all of the viewers were turned into newts during the wizards duel and then Satan put all the newts in a bucket and ran off with them!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.