Overview
With THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, director Peter Jackson has achieved a meticulous and captivating adaptation of the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy. The setting is Middle-earth, a mythological land populated by elves, dwarves, humans, and the gentle, diminutive hobbits upon whom the story centers. One hobbit, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), unexpectedly comes into possession of an ancient magical ring so powerful it invariably corrupts anyone who wears it. In order to prevent the ring's erstwhile owner, the dark lord Sauron, from reclaiming the ring and taking over Middle-earth, a motley band of comrades set out to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Included in the group are Frodo and hobbits Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monoghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd); the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen); human warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean); the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies); the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom). Along the way, they wage battle with monsters, demons, and Sauron's evil minions, all brought to life by spectacular digital technology. Jackson's grandiose production represents the first of three films that he wrote and directed, derived from Tolkien's beloved novels. Fourteen months in the making, at a cost of $270 million, all three installments were filmed at once in New Zealand where diverse landscapes lend themselves particularly well to the mystical realm of Middle-earth. The trilogy also includes THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS and THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING.
Awards:
2001 - Academy Awards - Best Original Score - Winner
2001 - Academy Awards - Best Cinematography - Winner
Main Cast & Crew:
Peter Jackson - Director
Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Viggo Mortensen
Sean Astin
Liv Tyler
Cate Blanchett
John Rhys-Davies
Billy Boyd
Dominic Monaghan
Orlando Bloom
Details
- Format: DVD (Widescreen)
- Run Time: 165
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 794043554223
- Genre: Fantasy
- Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) (epic battle sequences and some scary images)
- Release Date: August 2002
Movie Reviews
Notes:
Theatrical Release Date: December 19, 2001
Other elves include Arwen (Liv Tyler), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), and Eldrond (Hugo Weaving), but they are not part of the core band of nine who set out to destroy the ring at Mount Doom.
Reviews:
"...The playful spookiness of Mr. Jackson's direction provides a lively, light touch..." - 12/19/2001 New York Times, p.E1
"...A faithful and visually spectacular adaptation of the first volume in Tolkien's trilogy....RINGS has moment of edge-of-the-seat excitement..." - 12/21/2001 USA Today, p.8E
"...FELLOWSHIP is the real deal, a movie epic that pops your eyes out, piles on thrills and fun, and yet stays intimately attuned to character..." - 01/17/2002 Rolling Stone, p.55-6
"...[The film] looks to please the book's legions of fans with its imaginatively scrupulous rendering of the tome's characters and worlds on the screen....McKellen delivers Gandalf with great relish and gusto..." - 12/10/2001 Variety, p.31-6
"...Jackson has captured something of the depth, breadth, and melancholy grandeur of Tolkien's vision. And that is magic, indeed..." - 02/01/2002 Box Office, p.59
"...Jackson has translated the best-loved fantasy novel of our age into a commanding screen adventure, one with a sense of human terror and danger and grit under its nails..." - 02/01/2002 Sight and Sound, p.49-52
"...Well-made and well-cast....Masterfully paced and one of those rewarding movies that seems to get better as it progresses..." - 12/04/2001 Hollywood Reporter, p.8-82
