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

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{{Infobox Film | name =The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring | image =LOTRFOTRmovie.jpg | caption =Poster for the film. | imdb_id =0120737 | writer =J.R.R. Tolkien (novel)
Frances Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Peter Jackson | starring =Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Viggo Mortensen
Liv Tyler
Sean Astin
Sean Bean | director =Peter Jackson | producer =Peter Jackson
Michael Lynne
Mark Ordesky
Robert Shaye
Bob Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein | distributor =- USA -
New Line Cinema
- non-USA -
Warner Bros. | released =December 19, 2001 | runtime =178 min. (theatrical) 208 min. (special extended edition) | language =English | budget =$93,000,000 USD (est.) | followed_by =The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers }} The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a film, released on December 19, 2001, directed by Peter Jackson, with a runtime of 178 minutes. It is the opening installment of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and relates the adventures of the Fellowship of the Ring that are contained in the similarly titled first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic literary fantasy, The Lord of the Rings. The screenplay was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson. It was filmed in New Zealand simultaneously with its two sequels, having a combined budget of U.S. $270 million. Principal photography took 15 months and post-production continued for a year afterwards.

Contents

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Cast

Role Actor
Frodo Baggins Elijah Wood
Gandalf the Grey Ian McKellen
Aragorn (Strider) Viggo Mortensen
Samwise Gamgee Sean Astin
Galadriel Cate Blanchett
Boromir Sean Bean
Arwen Evenstar Liv Tyler
Gimli son of Glóin John Rhys-Davies
Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) Dominic Monaghan
Peregrin Took (Pippin) Billy Boyd
Legolas Orlando Bloom
Saruman the White Christopher Lee
Sauron Sala Baker
Elrond Hugo Weaving
Bilbo Baggins Ian Holm
Rosie Cotton Sarah McLeod
Celeborn Marton Csokas
Haldir of Lórien Craig Parker
Lurtz Lawrence Makoare
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Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Image:Trip taken fellowship of the ring middle earth.PNG

Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, has awakened and threatens to conquer Middle-earth. To stop this ancient evil once and for all, Frodo Baggins must destroy Sauron's One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Men, hobbits, a wizard, an elf and a dwarf form a fellowship to help him on his quest.

He travels from his home in the Shire with Sam, Merry and Pippin to Bree where they meet Aragorn. Pursued by Black Riders, they must get to Rivendell where they decide to take the ring to Mordor, and where they are joined by Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas and Boromir. They try to cross the mountains but are defeated because of Saruman's magic and travel underneath, through the mines of Moria, where Gandalf falls into a chasm while fighting a Balrog. They then travel to the country of the elves in Lothlórien, and down the Great River on boats, where the company splits during an attack by Uruk-hai. Boromir is killed, and Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas split off to track the Uruk-hai who have captured Merry and Pippin. Frodo and Sam head east in the direction of Mordor. Template:Endspoiler

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Special effects

The Fellowship of the Ring makes extensive use of digital, practical and make-up special effects throughout. One noticeable illusion that appears in almost every scene involves setting a proper scale so that the characters are all the correct height. Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, is 5ft 6in (1.68 m) tall in real life, but the character of Frodo Baggins is barely four feet in height. Many different tricks were used to depict the hobbits (and Gimli the Dwarf) as being of diminutive stature. (As a matter of good fortune, John-Rhys Davies — who played Gimli — is as tall compared to the hobbit actors as his character needed to be compared to theirs, so he did not need to be filmed separately as a third variation of height.) Large and small scale doubles were used in certain scenes, while entire duplicates of certain sets (including Bag End in Hobbiton) were built at two different scales, so that the characters would appear to be the appropriate size. At one point in the film, Frodo runs along a corridor in Bag End, followed by Gandalf. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were filmed in separate versions of the same corridor, built at two different scales, and a fast camera pan conceals the edit between the two. Forced perspective was also employed, so that it would look as though the short hobbits were interacting with taller Men and Elves. Surprising the makers of the film, the simple ruse of kneeling down was used to great effect.

For the battle between the Last Alliance and the forces of Sauron that begins the film, an elaborate CGI animation system, called Massive, was developed by Stephen Regelous that would allow thousands of individual animated "characters" in the program to act independently. This helped give the illusion of realism to the battle sequences.

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Filming locations

Image:Fellowship-River.jpg A list of filming locations, sorted by appearance order in the movie:

Fictional
Location 		Specific Location
in New Zealand 		General Area
in New Zealand
Hobbiton Matamata Waikato
Gardens of IsengardHarcourt ParkUpper Hutt
The Shire woodsOtaki Gorge Road 
Bucklebury FerryKeeling FarmManakau
Forest near BreeTakaka HillNelson
TrollshawsWaitarere Forest 
Ford of BruinenArrowtown Recreational ReserveQueenstown
RivendellKaitoke Regional ParkUpper Hutt
EregionMount OlympusNelson
Dimrill DaleLake AltaThe Remarkables
Dimrill DaleMount OwenNelson
LothlórienLake WakatipuQueenstown
River AnduinRangitikei River 
River AnduinPoet's CornerUpper Hutt
Parth GalenParadiseGlenorchy
Amon HenMavora LakesMilford Sound
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Deviations from the source material

A small but vocal minority of admirers of the original book raised some concerns when the film was released, complaining that the movie's screenplay made a number of changes to Tolkien's work. Many of these protests seemed to be rather minor concerns and were largely ignored by general movie-going audiences. However, more than a few people expressed surprise when the movie diverged from the book in what might be considered more fundamental ways.

  • The final scene is actually taken from the first chapter of the second volume, The Two Towers.
  • Bilbo's birthday party was actually a combined birthday party for himself and Frodo (who was 33) since they share the same birthday. The (controversial) number of guests invited to the party (144) was determined by adding their ages together.
  • In the book, the Fellowship's adventure takes place about twenty years after Bilbo's birthday party. In the film, this time period was eliminated, requiring various characters to have their ages changed at the beginning of the film. (It should also be noted that in the book Frodo is a good deal older than Merry, Pippin and Sam, but in the film they are all about the same age.)
  • Saruman is only mentioned in one chapter in the book, but his character is brought forth as the chief adversary to the Fellowship in the film. In addition, a new character, Lurtz, was created to be Saruman's minion. The filmmakers made these changes partly because Saruman is a very important character in the second volume, and they felt he needed to be properly introduced and explained before then, and partly because they needed more villains in the first film.
  • The hobbits' adventures on the way from the Shire to Bree, which occupy over five chapters of the novel, were drastically cut, implying that the journey took place over a much shorter period of time. This material includes their interaction with Tom Bombadil, who is completely absent from the film. The time they spend in Bree itself is also significantly shortened, and their acquisition of the pony, Bill, is missing. Also missing is an entire subplot in which Frodo pretends to be moving back to his ancestral home in Buckland, with the help of his hobbit friends (who, in the book, turn out to be Sam's co-conspirators and are introduced quite differently).
  • Arwen Evenstar has a far greater role, and her replacement of the character of Glorfindel from the novel raised the ire of many dedicated Tolkien fans.
  • The characterization of Boromir is expanded somewhat, and his final stand at Amon Hen is included on-screen (an event which happens in the next volume of the books, though it takes place chronologically at the same time as the events in the last chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring).
  • Certain battle scenes are exaggerated. In the book the Fellowship only slays a couple of orcs in Moria, while in the movie it battles a whole league of them and a cave-troll. Similarly at Amon Hen, Legolas, and Gimli slay few orcs and Aragorn doesn't even see one alive. However in the movie it is shown as a climactic battle, where all members of the company except Frodo and Sam slay several of the creatures. Also in the book, there are few of Saruman's Uruk-hai at the battle (the Fellowship doesn't even see one at the time). The book states that the army mainly consists of orcs, whereas in the movie it comprises Uruk-hai.
  • The dynamics of the ending of the film differ greatly from its source material. The book ends in chaos. Frodo and Sam have no idea there's an orc attack, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli know some hobbits have been captured but not which ones, and Merry and Pippin are unaware that the rest of the company has divided. (The idea being that the reader then plunges right into the next book, as The Lord of the Rings was written as a single novel.) In the movie, the screenwriters felt the need to create a cleaner and more satisfying ending, as not to frustrate a theatrical audience that won't see the sequel for a year. Therefore, the characters' knowledge and decisions are crystal clear: Frodo says his goodbye to the company (to Aragorn), Merry and Pippin realize he's leaving and give themselves up so he can have a safe getaway, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli realize they've done their part for Frodo and must attempt to rescue Merry and Pippin. These changes also allowed the second film to begin with immediate action and a forward-moving story, as opposed to exposition and picking up the pieces of the ending of the first film.
  • Many of the characters do not match their descriptions in the book, from their appearance (e.g., in the film, Aragorn's hair is not "flecked with grey" and Boromir's hair is not "shorn about his shoulders" as described in the book) to their costumes (such as the footwear of Legolas, which differs greatly from what Tolkien had in mind) to their personalities (Elrond perhaps being the most changed in the first film).

Some fans explain that, compared to the many film adaptations of literary works over the years, many of which bear little or no resemblance to the source material (e.g., Blade Runner), this film and its sequels are still very faithful versions, with some changes necessary due to the nature of the medium. (Books can explain their characters' motivations through thoughts and musings and advance the plot through internal struggles, whereas films can only use external visual and audio within set time and budget limitations.)

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Linguistic elements

Some fans also felt that movie producers missed the linguistic basis of the work (as Tolkien invented the world to bring his languages alive and not the other way around):

In particular, Namárië, Galadriel's lament in Lórien that begins "Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen", did not appear in the film, although Tolkien considered it one of the highest points of The Fellowship of the Ring. A few lines of the poem do, however, make it into the soundtrack at the departure from Lórien. Other samples of Elvish language from the books are treated similarly. However, Elvish (most often Sindarin) is spoken extensively in the film, with and without subtitles. The Elvish lines were, for the most part, devised specifically for the film version, sometimes based on English text written by Tolkien.

The movie features numerous books and artifacts with Tengwar inscriptions. Even though they were researched for accuracy, they still show a couple of peculiarities and inconsistencies not found in Tolkien's own Tengwar samples.

Another idiosyncrasy of the films is that hobbit writing is shown in the Latin alphabet, while the books state that the hobbits used the Tengwar. However, the Latin calligraphy is written in such a way that it bears resemblance to the Tengwar, including tehtar above their corresponding vowels. This refers visually to the Tengwar while allowing the audience to immediately recognise the text.

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Time Allotment

One can perform a comparative analysis of the film and the book by comparing scenes to chapters and comparing time to pages. Those chapters that have low pages per minute values are chapters that have been given focus in the movie.

Section Pages Minutes pages/minute
Book One 180pp 64:10 2.8ppm
 Chapter I - A Long-expected Party 22pp 19:30 1.1ppm
 Chapter II - The Shadow of the Past 23pp 9:40 2.4ppm
 Chapter II - Three is Company 21pp ~4:20 ~4.8ppm
 Chapter IV - A Short Cut to Mushrooms 13pp ~4:20 ~3.0ppm
 Chapter V - A Conspiracy Unmasked 12pp ~4:20 ~2.8ppm
 Chapter VI - The Old Forest 14pp 0:00 ∞
 Chapter VII - In The House of Tom Bombadil 12pp 0:00 ∞
 Chapter VIII - Fog On The Barrow-downs 15pp 0:00 ∞
 Chapter IX - At the Sign of The Prancing Pony 14pp 5:30 2.5ppm
 Chapter X - Strider 13pp 0:30 26.0ppm
 Chapter XI - A Knife in the Dark 21pp 10:00 2.1ppm
 Chapter XII - Flight to the Ford 18pp 6:00 3.0ppm
Book Two 180pp 95:10 1.9ppm
 Chapter I - Many Meetings 21pp 12:50 1.6ppm
 Chapter II - The Council of Elrond 33pp 6:50 4.8ppm
 Chapter II - The Ring Goes South 23pp 9:40 2.4ppm
 Chapter IV - A Journey in the Dark 27pp 10:00 2.7ppm
 Chapter V - The Bridge of Khazad-dum 12pp 17:40 0.7ppm
 Chapter VI - Lothlorien 21pp 2:30 8.4ppm
 Chapter VII - The Mirror of Galadriel 15pp 10:10 1.5ppm
 Chapter VIII - Farewell to Lorien 13pp 0:50 15.6ppm
 Chapter IX - The Great River 15pp 3:10 4.7ppm
 Chapter X - The Breaking of the Fellowship 12pp 21:30 0.6ppm
extra in movie 0pp 4:00 0.0ppm
Total 375pp 170:00 2.2ppm
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Score

Template:Main

The musical score for the Lord of the Rings films was composed by Howard Shore. Two original songs, including the end title theme, "May It Be", were composed and sung by Enya, who allowed her label, Reprise Records, to release the soundtrack to this and its two sequels.

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Awards

In 2002 the movie won four Academy Awards out of thirteen nominations. The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Effects, Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Best Music, Original Score. The other nominated categories were Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Music, Song (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

The movie won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

After the close of its theatrical run, it ranked in the top ten highest grossing movies worldwide, with takings of $860,700,000 USA dollars from world-wide theatrical box office receipts (movie ticket sales). (Source: IMDB Top Movies Chart).

The success of the theatrical cut of the film brought about an Extended Edition (208 minutes), with new editing, added special effects and music. This version was released on DVD November 12, 2002 along with four commentaries and hours of supplementary material. It was so successful that the sequels were each given similar releases.

Notable among the restored scenes is a new beginning to the film (following the prologue) and many character-building elements, showing sides of various protagonists (notably Aragorn and Galadriel) that were absent from the theatrical cut, which was largely edited around the character of Frodo.

The extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring had limited theatrical runs before each of its sequels were released.

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See also

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Following movies

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Previous versions

Template:Middle-earth portal

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Other articles


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External links


The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Books: The Fellowship of the Ring | The Two Towers | The Return of the King
Movie trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring | The Two Towers | The Return of the King
Animation: The Hobbit (TV special) | The Lord of the Rings Part 1 | The Return of the King (TV special)
Miscellaneous: The History of The Lord of the Rings | Lord of the Rings radio series
Characters: Frodo | Sam | Merry | Pippin | Bilbo | Gandalf | Aragorn | Legolas | Gimli | Boromir | Sauron | Saruman | Arwen | Elrond | Galadriel | Théoden | Éowyn | Éomer | Wormtongue | Treebeard | Faramir | Denethor | Gollum | Witch-King
Template:Link FA

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