- Directed by: Peter Jackson
- Cast: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian Holm
- Based on: The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
from the movie
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.
It is always interesting to see a movie adaptation of well-written (or legendary) novels. The Lord of the Rings is the book that sets how a fantasy novel should be like. Adapting well-known stories can be a double-bladed knife, which can be a chance that cannot be missed but might end as a disaster.
Peter Jackson did a really great job of converting the world of Tolkien to the movie screen. It is the magic balance of characters, settings, actions, screen writings, and the camera works. Even Jackson cannot accomplish the same level of directing in his later movies, notably hobbits that is very disappointing.
My review of The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
I highly recommend you go ahead and read the book to fill the gaps that did not explained in the film. It is a rare pleasure to see the image of each race (?) – Men, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, Orcs, and Hobbits – but the film has to skip some small episodes that connect the big events. I do not blame the director or the screenwriters. We might need 10 or 20 hours to show everything of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” only one-third of the whole story. But it is inevitable for viewers to notice the story is jumping without proper links.
The best part of the film can be the out-of-world scenery of Middle Earth, which is filmed in New Zealand. Hobbiton is an ideal image of a country town that Tolkien has dreamed. Also, the portrait of elf towns – Rivendell and Lothlórien – is what the movie should be supposed to accomplish. It fills the imagination of viewers with real images. At the same time, the film is distracted with typical Hollywood-style melodrama, which tries to elicit strong emotions – love, friendship, and loyalty.
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of the 3 part series, just like the book, which consists of three parts and six (sub) books. It starts with the birthday party of Bilbo (111 years old) and Frodo (33 years old) and ends with the formation and break of the fellowship to destroy the ONE ring. The prologue of the film shows the history of the ring, but it was too much spoiler to me, and a viewer knows too much before the story unfolds.
The final point of watching is the scaling. Almost every scene needs a proper scale of characters due to the height difference of humans and hobbits. It is wonderful to see how a movie can bring new experiences to viewers.
Scriptorium 