Initial release date: December 19, 2001
Studios: New Line Cinema/WingNut Films
Tagline: The Legend Comes To Life
One Ring To Rule Them All
Plot: The future of civilization rests in the fate of the One Ring, which has been lost for centuries. Powerful forces are unrelenting in their search for it. But fate has placed it in the hands of a young Hobbit named Frodo Baggins, who inherits the ring and steps into the legend. A daunting task lies ahead for Frodo when he becomes the Ringbearer - to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged.
Cast
Elija Wood - Frodo Baggins
Ian McKellan - Gandalf the Grey
Viggo Morenson - Aragorn
Sean Astin - Samwise Gamgee
Sean Bean - Boromir
Billy Boyd - Peregrin Took
Dominic Monoghan - Meriadoc Brandybuck
John Rhys-Davies - Gimli
Orlando Bloom - Legolas
Liv Tyler - Arwen
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel
Christopher Lee - Saramun the White
Hugo Weaving - Elrond
Ian Holm - Bilbo Baggins
Andy Serkis - Gollum
Writers: Fran Walsh/Philippa Boyens/Peter Jackson
J.R.R. Tolkien (novel)
Director: Peter Jackson
Rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images (178 minutes) (extended version - 3 hour 28 min)
Since Fathom Events is showing the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the local theater is showing the extended editions of the trilogy, I finally decided to check out the films.
And, believe it or not, this is actually the first time I am going through the entire trilogy, which is strange since I review films for the local paper and haven't seen what is said to be one of the great trilogies ever. So, let's get started with the 2001 installment, The Fellowship of the Ring.
After going through most of the extended version, I can see why everyone who has seen this film, absolutely loves, not only this film, but the entire trilogy. There are several sequences that are in this film that are visually exhilarating.
Fellowship of the Ring really does a decent job keeping you intrigued, even if you're not a fan of the novels. It did take me a couple nights to get through this version due to my schedule. But, it was worth it!
This first entry is rather compelling and unique in many ways. The visual effects that are featured are simply some of the best I have ever seen in a film and Fellowship can also be rather gripping. There are so many memorable moments scattered throughout and I was shocked when I saw Gandalf falling to his supposed demise. Yes, I didn't read the novels so I wasn't really expecting it at all! Even though I did get a lost a little bit it's still a memorizing watch!
You can currently stream the Lord of the Rings trilogy (both the theatrical and extended editions) on the Max streaming service! And I will have my takes for both The Two Towers and The Return of the King posted by the end of the week!!
Here are quite a few fun tidbits for Fellowship of the Ring!
Christopher Lee read Lord of the Rings once a year until his death in 2015, and had done so since the year it was published. He was also the only cast member of the cast and crew ever to have met Tolkien.
Jackson gave one of the rings used in the films to Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis as a gift when the entire shoot was finished. They both thought they had the only one.
Gandalf's painful encounter with a ceiling bean in Bilbo's hobbit-hole wasn't in the script. McKellan banged his forehead against the beam accidentally.
The cast often had to fly to remote shoot locations by helicopter. Sean Bean was afraid of flying and would only do it when absolutely necessary. When they were shooting the scenes of the Fellowship crossing the snowy mountains he'd spent two hours every morning climbing from the base of the mountain to the set near the top, already dressed as Boromir. The crew, as they were flown up, could see him from their helicopters.
Mortensen kept his sword with him at all times off-set, so that he could remain in character. He was questioned several times by police, after reviewing his training sessions with the sword and being spotted by members of the public.
The Elvish language lines spoken in this film aren't just quotes from the book, they were derived from Tolkien's own limited dictionary of that language. Dialect coach Andrew Jack used recordings of Tolkien's reading his books to guide the actors and actresses' pronunciations.
The entire trilogy was filmed simultaneously. The back to back to back shoot lasted a record 274 days across 16 months, exactly the same time as taken from the principal photography of Apocalypse Now.
The original cut ran for four hours and 30 minutes.
Miramax was the first studio to express an interest in Jackson's interpretation of the books, but wanted to do it all in one movie. Jackson refused, leaving him with four weeks to find another studio for funding. Thinking that no studio would agree to three films, Jackson was prepared to settle, and touted the project as two movies.
Even then, most studios didn't want to take the risk. Calling upon his friend Mark Ordesky, who was a New Line exec, a pitch was set up with then New Line Cinema President Robert Shaye. Shaye's only quibble with the presentation was that it should really be three films.
Sean Connery was offered $10 million per film for the role of Gandalf, but turned it down, reportedly due to "not understanding the story."
The scene of Bilbo finding the Ring in the prologue was the last scene that Ian Holm shot as Bilbo Baggins. This same scene was also the first that Martin Freeman shot as Bilbo for An Unexpected Journey.
If you watched the extended versions of the trilogy back to back to back, it would take you 681 minutes (11 hours and 21 minutes; nearly half a day).
The overall budget for the trilogy was $300 million, plus another $200 million for publicity and marketing.
Development of a live action adaptation had been in the process as far back as 1957, when Hugo Award winning sci-fi magazine editor Forrest J. Ackerman had successful convinced Tolkien to grant him permission to attempt one. In the 40 plus years before Jackson finally managed to film the trilogy, John Boorman, Stanley Kubrick and even The Beatles had all either attempted or expressed interest in filming their own adaptations.
Although Bilbo Baggins' opening scenes are in Hobbiton, Ian Holm never actually worked on the location, His scenes were all done against a green screen.
The extended version was released on VHS (remember those?) and DVD on November 12, 2002, a few months after the theatrical version was released on home media.
On its opening day, The Fellowship of the Ring grossed $18.2 million domestic from 3,359 theaters. It grossed $75.1 million in its first 5 days domestic, including $47.2 million on its opening weekend, placing it at No. 1 at the US box office, setting a December opening record, beating Ocean's Eleven.
In its initial release, it went on to gross $313.4 million domestic and $555 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $868.4 million. Following subsequent re-issues the film has grossed $316.1 million domestic and $567.3 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $883.4 million --- not counting the latest re-releases!
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