Reviews from Customers
An astonishing masterpiece.
Considered both as fantasy adventure and as an adaptation of a beloved literary classic, Peter Jackson's film of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" sets new standards for cinematic excellence. Everything about this film feels exactly right, from the casting to the screenplay to the special effects. The last are amazing, putting to shame anything George Lucas has come up with, and yet they always serve to advance the story; unlike Lucas, there's never any hint that Jackson is merely playing with his toys. Jackson shows great respect for Tolkien's text, but not slavish devotion. Certain characters--such as the lovable Tom Bombadil and Frodo's poisonous Aunt Lobelia--are missing, and Tolkien would be chagrined to find that the little poems and songs he loved to write are nowhere quoted. But if Jackson gives short shrift to Tolkien's whimsy, he more than makes up for that by giving us Tolkien's intensity, pathos and moral vision absolutely undiluted. Above all, Jackson never forgets that Tolkien's chief emphasis was always on the characters he created. Jackson casts wonderful actors to play those characters and--again unlike Lucas--he actually allows them to give performances. How wonderful to find the great Sir Ian McKellen, a uniquely commanding and charismatic actor, as Gandalf, or the charming and touching Elijah Wood as Frodo. You can go straight down the list--Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Sean Astin as Sam, Ian Holm as Bilbo, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel--and find nothing but perfection. This is one of the very few big-budget blockbusters that unqualifiedly deserves its success, and all we can do now is look forward with excitement to the release of "The Two Towers" in 2002 and "The Return of the King" in 2003. Like the books they came from, these three fillms will be cherished by future generations.
Fantasy Heaven
Tolkien's classic is reborn in a spectacular movie of epic proportions in the start of a trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings brings Tolkien's beloved literary classic to life with scenes of sheer beauty and darkness. You are invited to view the mystery of the deep caves and the spectacular wide open spaces in New Zealand. Breathtaking!
The special effects are amazing in this movie. There is a dragon that appears from a firework display. How creative. Now, those are what I call fireworks.
At the entrance to the Mines a menacing creature that is a cross between a giant octopus and a squid attacks the Fellowship and threatens their mission. A huge flock of black birds was also completely computer generated. The tower of Orthanc and the fiery mines of Isengard where Saruman is building an Army "worthy of Melkor" seem to be the breeding place of evil.
In this ultimate fantasy land, you meet the inhabitants of Middle-earth. The wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) fight a terrifying war against evil. From the eire screams as the faceless Ring Wraiths approach on their pitch black steeds to the absolute horror of being dragged into hell by a dragon-like demon, this movie displays the threat of evil in a way that makes the mission to destroy the ring even more intense.
The Fellowship of the ring is a band of characters who realize it is their mission to defeat evil. The "Fellowship of the Ring" tries to destroy a powerful ring forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the first of Mount Doom to control all other rings. He seeks the 'Ruling Ring' as the key to unlimited power, and final domination of Middle-earth. It brings out a fierce hunger for power and definitely has evil intentions.
If ever an object had a mind of its own, the ring does. It wants to make its way back to the original source and it has the power to rule the world. As they struggle towards land of Mordor and do battle with various creatures almost as evil as Sauron.
When Gollum, the pitiful creature first discovers the great Ring (his "Precious") he lives in dark places under the earth possessed by the ring which wants to be found by its original owner. Frodo's uncle Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) find and then relinquishes the ring to his nephew Frodo and leaves to stay with the Elves. Gandalf advises Frodo to leave with the ring immediately as the evil Ring Wraiths are fast approaching.
As Frodo and his friends escape they plan to meet Gandalf at the Prancing Pony Inn. Frodo also has to recover from the wound inflicted by the Morgul blade of the chief Ringwraith and without assistance he could have changed into one of the faceless creatures.
At the end, the hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) did capture my heart (hard to resist those dreamy eyes streaming with tears, enough to bring out the mothering instinct in any woman) when you witness the "promise" scene.
He just seems so deep in thought that you want to know what he is thinking of doing next.
This is a serious war between "good" and "evil." Although, it seems "good" also gains power from magic.
This is definitely a movie to watch in October because it does have some elements of horror. Yes, I look forward to the "Two Towers", mostly for the special effects and to know what happens next.
TheRebeccaReview.com
A Grand Epic That Falls A Wee Bit Short
With all the hoopla surrounding this film and recommendations from friends that had seen it, I couldn't wait to get in the queue and see what all the fuss was about.
Well, I recently saw that flick and believe that is has its merits, as well as its detractions.
The pluses are many: 1) sweeping panoramic images of lush country sides, snow-capped and treacherous mountains, unearthly and ominous caverns, and majestic and deadly towers; (2) good computer effects that bring life to the words of Tolkein; (3) impressive camera tricks that allow the "Hobbits" to appear very diminutive in relation to the other inhabitants of this mystical world; (4) great performances from Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean and Ian Holm, (5) a rousing score by Howard Shore, featuring vocals by Enya; and (4) remaining true to the classic novel.
Credit for all the above must be given to director Peter Jackson.
It is also great to see horror film legend Christopher Lee in the plum role of Saruman the white, the wizard that succumbs to the will of the Dark Lord.
On the downside, though, is the pacing that I find to be a little slow. The battle scenes seem to drag on endlessly and are filmed in a style reminiscent of Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" of two years ago. There are also times when the audio is unclear, especially in pivotal moments of significant revelation. The latter could have been the result of a poor sound system at the theater showing the movie. As earlier stated, the computer-generated effects while effective can't hold a candle to the stop-motion and technical wizardry of Ray Harryhausen or even "a cast of thousands" assembled by DeMille.
But, the movie is still worth a look, and upon its release on video, a purchase.
