Average Rating: 
Rating:  - An astonishing masterpiece.
Considered both as fantasy adventure and as an adaptation of a beloved literary classic, Peter Jackson's film of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" sets new standards for cinematic excellence. Everything about this film feels exactly right, from the casting to the screenplay to the special effects. The last are amazing, putting to shame anything George Lucas has come up with, and yet they always serve to advance the story; unlike Lucas, there's never any hint that Jackson is merely playing with his toys. Jackson shows great respect for Tolkien's text, but not slavish devotion. Certain characters--such as the lovable Tom Bombadil and Frodo's poisonous Aunt Lobelia--are missing, and Tolkien would be chagrined to find that the little poems and songs he loved to write are nowhere quoted. But if Jackson gives short shrift to Tolkien's whimsy, he more than makes up for that by giving us Tolkien's intensity, pathos and moral vision absolutely undiluted. Above all, Jackson never forgets that Tolkien's chief emphasis was always on the characters he created. Jackson casts wonderful actors to play those characters and--again unlike Lucas--he actually allows them to give performances. How wonderful to find the great Sir Ian McKellen, a uniquely commanding and charismatic actor, as Gandalf, or the charming and touching Elijah Wood as Frodo. You can go straight down the list--Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Sean Astin as Sam, Ian Holm as Bilbo, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel--and find nothing but perfection. This is one of the very few big-budget blockbusters that unqualifiedly deserves its success, and all we can do now is look forward with excitement to the release of "The Two Towers" in 2002 and "The Return of the King" in 2003. Like the books they came from, these three fillms will be cherished by future generations.
Rating: - Greatest Literature of the 20th Century & Now Best Movie
I am one of those people who has read "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy at least once a year for more than thirty years. I consider it the greatest work of literature of the twentieth century. The writing shows an complicated world and makes you believe it is so real it could be history.The movie series is incredibly good. It is completely true to the central themes of the book trilogy, and can be completely enjoyed by someone who has not read the books. The special effects and capture of scale for the 4 foot and under hobbits with tall men, elves, and dwarves are visually stunning. Some liberties were taken with the book, and some of the characters are changed considerably (Arwen), but the story is very true to the central themes. The trilogy of movies will become the standard of comparison for future entertainment. The richness of middle earth is captured in the movie. The effects come close to what you see with the mind's eye -- and that is high praise This was a set of movies made by someone -- Peter Jackson -- who loved the books and wanted to bring them to the screen in a way that was worthy of J.R.R. Tolkien. If you like a good story with good special effects, get all three of these as soon as they are available. Get the EXPANDED edition and see the story as envisioned, not shortened for theatrical release. A 4 hour movie makes sense on DVD where it would not in a theatre. The "how we did this effect" sections are quite entertaining as well.
Rating: - a brilliant movie and a brilliant adaptation
The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the best movies ever made. It is a brilliant adaptation of Tolkien's book and just a great movie in its own right. And as good as the theatrical version was, the extended edition is even better. A couple of the added and extended scenes seems like overkill to me but most of the added scenes add a lot to the movie and do not slow it down. The additional scenes also add to the characters as well. The extras included in the four disc set are great, too. I was expecting to be bored out of mind while watching the extras because I usually do not find behind the scenes stuff very interesting. But I was totally engrossed in the extras and watched all six hours of it over two nights. I also have a much deeper appreciation for the movie after watching the extras and seeing how hard everyone worked to make this movie a reality. So I would highly recommend getting the extended edition even if you already own the theatrical version.
|
