The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

A meek hobbit of The Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring and the dark lord Sauron.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Fran Walsh (screenplay),

Stars:

Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom

Top 250 #12 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 80 wins & 89 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Howard	...	The Ring (voice)
Elijah Wood	...	Frodo Baggins
Noel Appleby	...	Everard Proudfoot
Sean Astin	...	Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee
Sala Baker	...	Sauron
Sean Bean	...	Boromir
Cate Blanchett	...	Galadriel
Orlando Bloom	...	Legolas Greenleaf
Billy Boyd	...	Peregrin 'Pippin' Took
Marton Csokas	...	Celeborn
Megan Edwards	...	Mrs. Proudfoot
Michael Elsworth	...	Gondorian Archivist
Mark Ferguson	...	Gil-Galad
Ian Holm	...	Bilbo Baggins
Christopher Lee	...	Saruman

Storyline

An ancient Ring thought lost for centuries has been found, and through a strange twist in fate has been given to a small Hobbit named Frodo. When Gandalf discovers the Ring is in fact the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo must make an epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it! However he does not go alone. He is joined by Gandalf, Legolas the elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Aragorn, Boromir and his three Hobbit friends Merry, Pippin and Samwise. Through mountains, snow, darkness, forests, rivers and plains, facing evil and danger at every corner the Fellowship of the Ring must go. Their quest to destroy the One Ring is the only hope for the end of the Dark Lords reign!

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Plot Keywords:

ring | hobbit | doom | middle earth | quest | 

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Taglines:

Middle Earth comes alive...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images

Details

Official Sites:

Allocine (French) Aurum [es]

Country:

New Zealand USA

Language:

English Sindarin

Release Date:

19 December 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Fellowship of the Ring

Filming Locations:

Arrowtown Recreational Reserve, Arrowtown, Otago, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$93,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,163,034 (Italy) (18 January 2002)

Gross:

$36,116,967 (Europe) (19 December 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, WingNut Films, The Saul Zaentz Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

178 min 208 min (special extended edition) 228 min (including extended credits)

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Bilbo makes his farewell speech at the party, Dominic Monaghan read the speech for the reaction shots of the hobbits.

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Goofs

Boromir's shield continually disappears and reappears during the battle at Balin's tomb.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Galadriel: The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of men, who, above all else, desire power. But they were, all of them, deceived, for ...

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, the DVD and Blu Ray editions of the extended cut feature a list of "Lord of the Rings fan-club members" who contributed financially to the project in exchange for a credit. This additional credit sequence lasts 20 minutes.

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Connections

Spoofed in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Return of Harmony, Part 1 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Flaming Red Hair"
Music Composed and Performed by David Donaldson, David Long, Steve Roche (as Stephen Roche), Janet Roddick with Peter Daly, Chris O'Connor, Ruairidh Morrison, and Grant Shearer
Courtesy of Mana Music

User Reviews

One of the greatest films of all time.

Star Wars has been dethroned. Although George Lucas' movies are good in their own right (except for the juvenile elements he puts in to sell toys to finance the franchise), his scripts (which borrow heavily from J.R.R.Tolkien, mythology & religion) can't compare with the brilliance of the literary trilogy `The Lord of the Rings'. Granted, Lucas took on a herculean task in writing & directing his story himself, but Tolkien's words, along with Peter Jackson's faithful adaptation & inspired vision, have created something no one man could equal.

Of course, it helps that Jackson insisted on at least a 2 picture deal, & New Line Cinema was brave enough to foot the bill up front for 3 movies. They spent $180 million to film all 3 simultaneously. With the New Zealand exchange rate, that equals $360 million ($90 million ea.), but since they used many of the same sets, and FX development costs were spread throughout, we're seeing $120-$150 million on the screen. This will ensure consistency in plot, casting, tone, etc.

In 3 hours, Jackson has crammed everything essential from the first novel & then some into the film, rewriting some scenes & dialogue with lesser characters for the leads, leaving out only what there wasn't enough time for. Basically, you have two 90 min. movies running back to back. There are no slow spots, just one climax after another. From the opening 10 min. backstory where the Dark Lord Sauron is shown on the battlefield wiping out men & elves 10 at a time with each swing of his mace, I was blown away. The romance between Aragorn, king in exile, and Arwen, daughter of the elf-lord, is played up for the "Titanic" quotient, but it's well done.

The story, sets, costumes & FX are so rich, you'll have to see the film several times to absorb everything. The unspoiled New Zealand locales are spectacular, providing a variety of environments to represent the different settings on the characters' journey. The location sets are imaginative, detailed & weathered, adding to their believability, while the studio sets match them in meticulousness. The costumes are at once familiar & strange, drawing on both the medievil & the fantastic, but more important, they're also functional & practical. The music by Howard Shore is appropriately sweeping, Celtic & folky in keeping with the novel, although it lacks the memorable themes of John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith, but neither would commit a year or more to a 3 picture project. The FX are as they should be, unobtrusive & unnoticed most of the time, there only to support the story not draw attention away from it as in most Hollywood movies which try to coverup illogical plots & bad acting.

I'm particularly gratified by the casting of Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn which was a last minute stroke of luck when the actor first chosen for the part backed out due to differences with the director. I've always thought Mortenson had an intensity & striking but not pretty-boy looks that could portray a flawed, dangerous hero instead of the villains Hollywood always picked him for.

A stellar cast giving some of their best performances, visuals that deliver beyond what I imagined, a perfect mix of humor, passion & tragedy, and a feeling of grandeur, scope & impending doom. Perhaps as an ensemble piece with so many characters & the inability to concentrate on any one, it can't be measured against some of the classic character study films, but even the casual moviegoer can grasp the ideas & not get lost As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the greatest films of all time.