The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition)

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Written by: J.R.R. Tolkien (book); Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens (screenplay)









Being the first part of "The Lord of the Rings"...

Peter Jackson was ambitious enough to take on Tolkien's much-loved epic "The Lord of the Rings," and darned if he didn't get it right.  He was so ambitious, in fact, that he had to shorten the film for theatrical and release the "Extended Edition" later.

Middle-Earth comes to life in this first part of the trilogy.  We are quickly, but thoroughly, introduced to a brief history of the ring, and then set about on our journey.  The great design in the way Jackson presents "The Fellowship of the Ring" is that we are essentially bound to Frodo Baggins.  Both Frodo and the audience have little experience in the world of Middle-Earth, and so as he goes forth on his adventure, we go with him.  We learn and experience the world as he learns and experiences the world.  There are only a handful of scenes that do not center on Frodo.

For those looking for loyalty to the text of the book - word-for-word - you will not find it here.  But Jackson does a good job of axing out some of the unnecessary sequences, morphing some characters and sequences for cinematic effect, all while staying true to the spirit of Tolkien's book.  (My only regret is that Tom Bombadil never made an appearance, even as a passing reference, in any of the versions.)

There are a million summaries out on the internet, as well as the source book which, ideally, should always be read before viewing the film, so I will not waste your time with all that here.

I do want to make a quick comment on Howard Shore's amazing score.  After the casting (which I may touch on in a later post), I firmly believe that the background score is what made the film so memorable.  It is, when it needs to be, large and epic.  It is, when it needs to be, mysterious and dark.  It is, when it needs to be, folksy and simple.  The recurring musical motifs help to tie together this film to the others in the trilogy, while never stopping to become anthemic or cliche.

Lastly, the Blu-Ray transfer is pretty fantastic, and so I highly recommend it.