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

A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

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

Stars:

Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom

Top Rated Movies #11 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 114 wins & 124 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Howard	...	Voice of the Ring (voice)
Noel Appleby	...	Everard Proudfoot
Sean Astin	...	Sam
Sala Baker	...	Sauron
Sean Bean	...	Boromir
Cate Blanchett	...	Galadriel
Orlando Bloom	...	Legolas
Billy Boyd	...	Pippin
Marton Csokas	...	Celeborn
Megan Edwards	...	Mrs. Proudfoot
Michael Elsworth	...	Gondorian Archivist
Mark Ferguson	...	Gil-galad
Ian Holm	...	Bilbo
Christopher Lee	...	Saruman
Lawrence Makoare	...	Lurtz

Storyline

An ancient Ring thought lost for centuries has been found, and through a strange twist of 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 | quest | hobbit | elf | orc | 

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Taglines:

You will find adventure, or adventure will find you.[teaser trailer]

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Der Herr der Ringe - The official German Site New Line Productions

Country:

New Zealand USA

Language:

English Sindarin

Release Date:

19 December 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: The Motion Picture

Filming Locations:

Fort Dorset, Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$93,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$47,211,490, 23 December 2001

Gross USA:

$315,544,750

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$872,491,916

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, WingNut Films, The Saul Zaentz Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

178 min 208 min (Special DVD Extended Edition) 228 min (Blu Ray Extended Edition) 171 min (DVD Widescreen Edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.40 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

About twenty-eight separate Hobbit holes had to be built for the Shire. Each one had to be different.

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Goofs

When Gandalf and Frodo are first discussing the history of the ring in Bag End, Frodo is pouring the drink. In the next shot, he's already sitting down with a drink in his hand.

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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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Alternate Versions

In the extended DVD, the discussion Gandalf and Frodo have in Moria about Gollum has several more lines. In particular, Gandalf tells Frodo Gollum's original name, Sméagol, and that Gollum was once a Stoor Hobbit. Frodo's knowledge of this becomes important in the next film, The Two Towers.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Alec Baldwin/Missy Elliott (2003)

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Soundtracks

To The Bottle I Go
(uncredited)
Written by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens
Performed by Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan and Elijah Wood

User Reviews

An absolutely incredible film!

Simply incredible. Never before have I seen a 3 hour movie that didn't seem like 3 hours. I read the Lord of the Rings very recently and I was surprised at how similar Peter Jackson's vision was to my own.

Now about the omissions and alterations. I'm not a crazed fanatic who gets worked up over every little detail. I didn't mind Arwen's inflation and I'm actually glad Tom Bombadil was scrubbed (I felt Tom Bombadil was an unnecessary addition to the book). Despite these minor changes, the screenplay stays extremely close to the book and flows very very well (and the prologue was a nice touch).

The acting was flawless. As I've read many many times in other reviews, McKellen doesn't play Gandalf, he IS Gandalf. Wood, Mortensen, Holm, Astin, everyone was fantastic. My hat's off to Sean Bean who delivers an excellent performance as Boromir, a character who's intentions are good but wrestles with the corrupting power of the Ring. Bean portrays it VERY well. Oh, and Andy Serkis does a PERFECT Gollum voice. It's EXACTLY as I imagined it myself.

The special effects were incredible, the cave troll, the balrog, Gollum, and Sauron's Eye all looked amazing. I was also very impressed by the seamless shrinking of the vertically challenged characters.

What's wrong with this movie? I have no idea... I thought everything was perfect. MY biggest gripe is having to wait an entire year to see The Two Towers!