The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
File:Fellowship poster.JPG
Directed by	Peter Jackson
Written by	Novel: J.R.R. Tolkien Screenplay: Frances Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson
Produced by	Peter Jackson Barrie M. Osborne Mark Ordesky Tim Sanders Fran Walsh
Starring	Elijah Wood Sean Astin Viggo Mortensen Ian McKellen
Distributed by	- USA - New Line Cinema - non-USA - Various distributors
Release dates	December 19, 2001
Running time	Theatrical: 178 min. Extended Edition 208 min.
Language	English
Budget	$93,000,000 USD (est.)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is an Academy Award-winning 2001 fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. It is the opening installment of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, based on the similarly titled first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic literary fantasy, The Lord of the Rings. Among fans, the title is commonly abbreviated as "LotR".

The Dark Lord Sauron is seeking the One Ring, with which he can use to conquer Middle-earth. The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins, who must destroy it to defeat Sauron and his forces. Forming the Fellowship of the Ring, the fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and his eight companions journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor; the only place the Ring can be destroyed.

Released on December 19, 2001, the film was highly well-received by critics and fans alike, especially as many of the latter judged it to be sufficiently faithful to the original story. It was a box office success, earning over $870 million worldwide, and a close second for the highest grossing film of 2001 in the U.S. and worldwide (right behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). It is the 11th highest grossing worldwide film of all time. The Special Extended DVD Edition was released on November 12, 2002.

Plot

The prologue reveals that the Dark Lord Sauron has forged the One Ring, which he can use to conquer the lands of Middle-earth through his enslavement of the bearers of the Rings of Power—powerful magical rings given to individuals from the races of Elves, Dwarves and Men. In response to this danger, a Last Alliance between Men and Elves is formed to counter Sauron and his forces. They engage Sauron's army in a fierce battle at the foot of Mount Doom, but after Sauron himself appears the battle turns against their favour. He kills Elendil, the king of the Mannish kingdom of Gondor, and many others besides. Just afterward, Prince Isildur grabs his father's sword Narsil, and slashes at Sauron's hand, though Sauron first breaks it (Narsil). The stroke cuts off Sauron's fingers, separating him from the Ring and vanquishing his army.

However, because Sauron's life is bound in the Ring, he is not completely defeated until the Ring itself is destroyed. Isildur takes the Ring and succumbs to its temptation, refusing to destroy it, but he is later ambushed and killed by orcs. The Ring is found centuries later, and eventually it comes to the creature Gollum, who took it underground for many years. But the Ring leaves him, and is found by the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo returns to his home in the Shire with the Ring, and the story jumps forward in time sixty years. At his 111st birthday, Bilbo leaves the Ring to his nephew Frodo Baggins, and the Wizard Gandalf soon learns it is the One Ring, and sends him to Bree with Sam, whilst Gandalf goes to Isengard to meet the head of his order, Saruman. But Saruman has turned treacherous and imprisons him.

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Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin hide.

Frodo and Sam are soon joined by fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin. After encountering one on the road, the hobbits learn they are being hunted by the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, servants of Sauron looking for the Ring. They manage to reach Bree, and there they meet a Man called Strider, who agrees to lead them to Rivendell. After some travelling, they spend the night on the hill of Weathertop, where they are attacked by the Nazgûl at night. Strider fights off the Ringwraiths, but Frodo is grievously wounded, and they must quickly get him to Rivendell for healing. While chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo is taken by the half-elf Arwen to the elven haven of Rivendell, and healed by her father Elrond.

In Rivendell Frodo meets Gandalf, who explains how he was rescued by one of the Eagles from his imprisonment on Saruman's tower. Elrond calls a council to decide what should be done with the Ring. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the lava of Mount Doom, where it was forged, but Mount Doom is located in Mordor, near Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom. He will be accompanied by his hobbit friends and Gandalf, as well as Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful king of Gondor. Also travelling with them will be the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli and Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor. Together they comprise the Fellowship of the Ring.

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Gandalf confronts a Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.

The Fellowship set out and try to pass the mountain Caradhras, but they are stopped by Saruman's wizardry. They are forced to travel under the mountain through the Mines of Moria. After journeying through the Mines and defeating several enemies, including orcs and a cave-troll, the Fellowship encounter a Balrog, an ancient demon, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf confronts the Balrog on the bridge, allowing them to escape the mines, but he falls with the creature into the abyss below.

The group flees to the elven realm of Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. After resting, they decide to travel on the River Anduin towards Parth Galen. Before they leave, Galadriel gives Frodo the Phial of Galadriel, and Celeborn warns Aragorn that they are being tracked by Saruman's orcs. After landing at Parth Galen, Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo, who manages to escape by putting on the Ring. Knowing that the Ring's temptation will be too strong for the Fellowship, Frodo decides to leave them and go to Mordor alone. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fellowship are attacked by orcs. Merry and Pippin, realizes that Frodo is leaving, distract the orcs, allowing Frodo to escape. Boromir, regretting his attack on Frodo, rushes to the aide of the two hobbits. At the end of the battle, Boromir is mortally wounded by the orc commander Lurtz, and Merry and Pippin are captured. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli decide to pursue the orcs and rescue the hobbits. Sam joins Frodo before he leaves, and together the two head to Mordor. Template:Endspoiler

Cast

Principal cast members of The Fellowship of the Ring.

• Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: Frodo is a hobbit who inherits the One Ring from his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. He is mostly accompanied by his best friend and fellow hobbit, Samwise Gamgee.

• Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee: Sam is a hobbit who accompanies his "master" Frodo on the quest to destroy the One Ring. He is a very loyal gardener.

• Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn: Aragorn, also called Strider, is a Dúnadan and the heir to the throne of Gondor. He travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor. He is unsure of whether to become King following the failure of his ancestor, Isildur, to destroy the Ring.

• Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: Gandalf is a wizard and mentor to Frodo Baggins, who helps him decide what to do with the Ring. He becomes the leader of the Fellowship after it is decided to take the Ring to Mount Doom and destroy it.

• Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck: Meriadoc, better known as Merry, is a friend of Frodo and travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor, along with his best friend Pippin.

• Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took: Peregrin, better known as Pippin, is a friend of Frodo, and travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor, along with his best friend Merry. He is a prankster, yet loyal too.

• Sean Bean as Boromir: Boromir is a prince of the stewards of Gondor, and journeys with the Fellowship towards Mordor, although he is tempted by the power of the Ring.

• John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: A Dwarf, Gimli accompanies the Fellowship to Mordor after they set out from Rivendell.

• Orlando Bloom as Legolas: Legolas is an elven archer from the Forest of Mirkwood, North of Mordor, who accompanies the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor.

• Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: Saruman is the corrupted head of the order of wizards, who becomes jealous of Sauron and seeks to conquer Middle-earth for himself. After capturing Gandalf, he breeds an army of Uruk-hai to find and capture the Ring from the Fellowship.

• Sala Baker portrays Sauron: Sauron is the main antagonist and title character of the story, who created the One Ring to conquer Middle-earth. He lost the Ring to Isildur, and now seeks it in order to initiate his reign over Middle-earth. He cannot yet take physical form, and is spiritually incarnate as an Eye.

• Hugo Weaving as Elrond: Elrond is the lord of Rivendell, and leads the Council of Elrond which ultimately decides to destroy the One Ring.

• Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: Galadriel is the co-ruler of Lothlórien, along with her husband Lord Celeborn. She shows Frodo a possible outcome of events in her mirror.

• Liv Tyler as Arwen: An elf, Arwen escorts Frodo to Rivendell after he is stabbed by the Witch-king. She is the daughter of Elrond and lover of Aragorn.

• Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins: Bilbo is the uncle of Frodo, and gives him the Ring after he decides to retire to Rivendell. At Rivendell, he gives Frodo a mithril mail-shirt and his own sword, Sting, which can detect the presence of nearby orcs.

• Lawrence Makoare as Lurtz: Lurtz is the commander of Saruman's orc forces, and leads the hunt for the Fellowship as they head to Mordor.

Production

For greater context, see The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

Screenplay

There are numerous changes, omissions and expansions to the storyline as presented in the book, mostly for plot structure and character development.

The events of the prologue are modified. The Last Alliance that has been besieging Sauron's stronghold for seven years has been constructed from various narratives in Hobbiton and at the Council of Elrond and is never shown in the book. Gil-galad and Elendil perish as they fight Sauron, and Elendil's sword Narsil breaks (in two, not into many fragments) beneath him. However, Sauron's body is also overcome and slain by them, though his spirit only flees after Isildur cuts off the Ring. (He only loses one finger.) Isildur kept the One Ring as a kind of war trophy or commemorative, but was never corrupted by it to the extent shown in the film. He was advised to destroy the Ring, but nothing is said of him and Elrond actually going to the Cracks of Doom.

Events at the beginning of the film are skimmed or omitted altogether. A key difference is that Gandalf is unaware that Bilbo is preparing to leave the Shire. In the book, the time between Gandalf leaving the Ring to Frodo and returning to reveal its inscription is 17 years, which is compressed for timing reasons. Frodo also spends a few months preparing for his journey to Bree which is compressed to a day, to increase dramatic tension.

The film also compresses storylines in the book up to when Frodo and Sam leave Bag End and the meeting of Merry and Pippin. Characters such as Tom Bombadil are left out for plotting reasons as well as increasing the threat of the Ringwraiths. Such sequences are left out to make time for Saruman, who only appears in flashback until The Two Towers. Gandalf's capture is also expanded with a fight sequence, and Saruman also claims Sauron cannot take physical form, which is an misinterpretation on Jackson's part due to Sauron never appearing in the book despite physical descriptions.

A significant new addition is that Aragorn must overcome his self-doubt to claim the kingship. This element is not present in the book, where Aragorn intends to claim the throne at an appropriate time. He reforges Narsil immediately when he joins the Fellowship, but this event is held over until The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film. All this was done because of Peter Jackson's belief in "character growth", the idea that every character must change or learn something over the course of the story.

Arwen Evenstar also has a greater role in the film, replacing the book's character of Glorfindel in rescuing Frodo. She actively conjures up the waves and horses of water at Bruinen with an incantation, whereas in the book the magic is more complicated, and controlled by Elrond and Gandalf. Elrond is subjected to "character growth" also, that he doubts the strength of Men to survive without a King.

The characterization of Boromir is expanded somewhat, and his final stand at Amon Hen is included on-screen (in the books, it occurs "off-camera").

In the book, the fighting at Amon Hen is also not depicted but is described by the characters instead after they've been separated and then rejoin the group. Aragorn never fights Lurtz in the book and only reaches the dying Boromir after the Uruk-hai have gone. However, in the movie it is shown as a climactic battle, where all members of the Company except the hobbits slay several of the creatures. In addition, only the elite Uruk-hai are shown, rather than the mixed band of common orc and Uruk-hai who appear in the book.

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. Since The Lord of the Rings was not written as a trilogy but as a single work, the reader is intended to continue directly into the next book. In the movie, the screenwriters felt the need to create a cleaner and more satisfying ending, as not to frustrate a theatrical audience who would not see the sequel for a year. Therefore, the characters' knowledge and decisions are made clearer: Frodo takes his leave, 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. Boromir's death scene is taken from the first chapter of the second volume, The Two Towers, done once more for a linear ending.

A complete list of the changes from book to film are found at The Nitpicker's Guide to The Lord of the Rings.

Design

Alan Lee and John Howe were the primary conceptual designers for the film trilogy, having had previous experience as illustrators for the book, and various tie-ins. For example, Howe designed the Bag End interior, expanding a cover he had done for a Middle-earth Map collection. Lee designed Rivendell, Moria and Lórien.

Filming locations

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 Isengard	Harcourt Park	Upper Hutt
The Shire woods	Otaki Gorge Road	Kapiti Coast District
Bucklebury Ferry	Keeling Farm, Manakau	Horowhenua
Forest near Bree	Takaka Hill	Nelson
Trollshaws	Waitarere Forest	Horowhenua
Ford of Bruinen	Arrowtown Recreational Reserve	Queenstown
Rivendell	Kaitoke Regional Park	Upper Hutt
Eregion	Mount Olympus	Nelson
Dimrill Dale	Lake Alta	The Remarkables
Dimrill Dale	Mount Owen	Nelson
Lothlórien	Lake Wakatipu	Queenstown
River Anduin	Rangitikei River	Rangitikei District
River Anduin	Poet's Corner	Upper Hutt
Parth Galen	Paradise	Glenorchy
Amon Hen	Mavora Lakes	Milford Sound

Special effects

Arwen faces the Ringwraiths at the Fords of Bruinen (Arrowtown Recreational Reserve).

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. Even the simple ruse of kneeling down, to the film makers' surprise, turned out to be an effective method in the making of this illusion.

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. The "Making of" of the Lord of the Rings DVD reports of some interesting initial problems: In the first execution of a battle between groups of characters, the wrong groups attacked each other. In another early demo, some of the warriors at the edge of the field could be seen running away. The reason was not that they were programmed for cowardice (or survival) and couldn't see the enemy so they just ran away, but that they were initially moving in the wrong direction, and had been programmed to keep running until they encountered an enemy.

The digital creatures were important due to Jackson's requirement of biological plausibility. All were scanned from large maquettes before numerous digital detail of their skeletons and muscles. In the case of the Balrog, Gary Horsfield created a system that copied recorded imagery of fire.

Score

Main article: Music of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

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.

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). Despite its praise by fans, the other nominated categories of Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Music (Best Song) (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Writing (Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) were not won.

The movie won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. It also won Empire readers' Best Film award, as well as five BAFTAs, including Best Film, the David Lean Award for Direction, the (voted for) Audience Award, Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up.

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).

Extended Edition

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. Additional scenes included:

• Bilbo's opening narration "Concerning Hobbits".
• Frodo and Sam seeing Wood Elves making their way to the Grey Havens on their first day of their journey across the Shire.
• Aragorn singing "The Lay of Lúthien".
• Gandalf reciting Black Speech at the Council of Elrond.
• Aragorn visiting his mother's grave.
• The Fellowship given a goodbye at Rivendell.
• Gandalf warning Frodo about Boromir near Moria.
• Lothlórien massively recontextualised, with extra lines by Boromir and the gift giving ceremony.
• Aragorn and Boromir seeing Gollum on a log.
• Fan Club credits.

An Easter Egg is present on the first DVD of some editions of the extended edition. It doesn't appear in the UK version because the film was only rated a PG, however this spoof was rated a 12. It can be accessed by going to the final page of the chapter menu and then scrolling down until a golden ring appears. The Easter Egg is a parody of the Council of Elrond scene and stars Jack Black and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Additionally, on the second disk of the extended edition, there is another easter egg. It can be accessed by going to the final page of the chapter menu and scrolling down under the chapter numbers (like 30-33). Go to the bottom and a silhouette of two towers will appear. It is a special trailer for the "The Two Towers" that was added on during the end of the theatrical run of the movie.

Limited Edition

On August 29, 2006, a Limited Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring was released. This Limited Edition contains two discs. The first is a two-sided DVD (also known as DVD-18) that contains both the Theatrical and Extended editions of the film. At the beginning of each side of the disc, the viewer can choose which version to watch. The second disc is a bonus disc that contains a new behind-the-scenes documentary.

See also

• The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

External links

• Official Site of the Movie Trilogy
• Trailer for the movie
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at IMDb
• US Box Office Takings for the movie
• Complete list of actors who turned down roles
• Filming locations on Google Earth