The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Academy Award × 4·AFI #50·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer and make sure that the ring arrives at its final destination: Mt. Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.
What critics thought
Broadly celebrated on release and still commanding fierce audience loyalty, Jackson's adaptation won over most critics with its scale, emotional grounding, and a cast that inhabited Tolkien's world without apparent strain. The minority who resisted tended to find the pacing front-heavy and the tone oppressively earnest — less a fantasy epic than a very serious exercise in myth-building that demanded a leap of faith not every viewer was willing to make.
“Brooking no argument, history should quickly regard Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring as the first instalment of the best fantasy epic in motion picture history... Putting formula blockbusters to shame, Fellowship is impeccably cast and constructed with both care and passion: this is a labour of love that never feels laboured. Emotional range and character depth ultimately take us beyond genre limitations...”
Colin Kennedy·Empire
“His movie achieves what the best fairy tales do: the creation of an alternate world, plausible and persuasive, where the young — and not only the young — can lose themselves. And perhaps, in identifying with the little Hobbit that could, find their better selves”
Richard Corliss·Time
“It's emotion that makes Fellowship stick hard in the memory... Jackson deserves to revel in his success. He's made a three-hour film that leaves you wanting more”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“there is a strange paucity of plot complication, an absence of anything unfolding, all the more disconcerting because of the clotted and indigestible mythic back story that we have to wade through before anything happens at all”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“full of scenic splendors with a fine sense of scale”
Chicago Reader
Genres
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
DirectorPeter Jackson
StarringElijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Ian Holm
ComposerHoward Shore
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Academy Award × 4·AFI #50·National Film Registry
Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer and make sure that the ring arrives at its final destination: Mt. Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.
What critics thought
Broadly celebrated on release and still commanding fierce audience loyalty, Jackson's adaptation won over most critics with its scale, emotional grounding, and a cast that inhabited Tolkien's world without apparent strain. The minority who resisted tended to find the pacing front-heavy and the tone oppressively earnest — less a fantasy epic than a very serious exercise in myth-building that demanded a leap of faith not every viewer was willing to make.
“Brooking no argument, history should quickly regard Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring as the first instalment of the best fantasy epic in motion picture history... Putting formula blockbusters to shame, Fellowship is impeccably cast and constructed with both care and passion: this is a labour of love that never feels laboured. Emotional range and character depth ultimately take us beyond genre limitations...”
Colin Kennedy·Empire
“His movie achieves what the best fairy tales do: the creation of an alternate world, plausible and persuasive, where the young — and not only the young — can lose themselves. And perhaps, in identifying with the little Hobbit that could, find their better selves”
Richard Corliss·Time
“It's emotion that makes Fellowship stick hard in the memory... Jackson deserves to revel in his success. He's made a three-hour film that leaves you wanting more”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“there is a strange paucity of plot complication, an absence of anything unfolding, all the more disconcerting because of the clotted and indigestible mythic back story that we have to wade through before anything happens at all”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“full of scenic splendors with a fine sense of scale”
Chicago Reader
Genres
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
DirectorPeter Jackson
StarringElijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Ian Holm
ComposerHoward Shore
Rent/Purchase