Voice of the Ring
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Dec 19, 2001 · The first film of the epic fantasy trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels. Follow Frodo and his companions as they embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring and save Middle-earth from Sauron.
- (1.9M)
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Peter Jackson
- 2001-12-19
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson, based on 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
- $898.2 million
- Howard Shore
- $93 million
A film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Viggo Mortensen. See critics' reviews, ratings, trailer, and streaming options for this epic adventure.
- (80.6K)
- Peter Jackson
- PG-13
- Elijah Wood
- Overview
- Synopsis
- Plot
- Special effects
- Memorable quotations
- Deviations from the source material
is a fantasy adventure film, directed by Peter Jackson. It is the first part of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, based on the best-selling novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. The film tells the story of young hobbit Frodo Baggins who, accompanied by eight companions, embarks on a journey to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.
The screenplay was first started by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson in 1997, and eventually it was reaching completion in tandem with its filming, on location in New Zealand. The film had a budget of about $180 million U.S. dollars, principal photography took 14 months, and post production continued long after that. It was also a great box office success, making over $871 million worldwide and was the fifth highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release (behind Titanic, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Jurassic Park). After the 2011 re-release of The Lion King and the 2012 re-release of Finding Nemo, it is currently the 68th highest-grossing film of all time.
Sauron, the Dark Lord, has awakened and threatens to conquer Middle-earth. To stop this ancient evil once and for all, Frodo Baggins must destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Men, Hobbits, a wizard, an Elf, and a Dwarf form a fellowship to help him on his quest.
He travels from his home in the Shire with fellow hobbits Sam, Merry, and Pippin. They go to the town of Bree, where the group meets a shadowy figure known only as Strider. Pursued by Black Riders, they must get to Rivendell. Upon their arrival a council is convened, which decides the only course of action must be to take The Ring to Mordor and destroy it. Frodo is joined by his friends Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, and Gandalf; and newcomers Gimli, Legolas, and Boromir. They try to cross over the Misty Mountains by way of the Pass of Caradhras, but Saruman's magic forces them to turn back and travel underneath, through the mines of Moria. It is here that the Fellowship encounters a Balrog. Gandalf challenges the Balrog, and falls from the Bridge of Khazad-dûm into a chasm, presumably to his death. The Fellowship (excluding Gandalf) then travel to the country of the Elves in Lothlórien, and down the Great River on boats, where the company splits during an attack by Uruk-hai. Boromir is killed, and Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas split off to track the Uruk-hai who have captured Merry and Pippin. Frodo and Sam head east in the direction of Mordor.
Following his 111th birthday party, Bilbo Baggins gives the Ring to his nephew, Frodo. After some time, the wizard Gandalf the Grey begins to suspect Bilbo's magic ring may be The One Ring, lost for over three-thousand years, and rides to Minas Tirith for discernment and confirmation of this suspicion - he is taken to a small room filled with many books and historical documents. After poring over old documents for months, he finds the account of the finding of the One Ring. Gandalf learns that the Ring has several lines of Black Speech written on it that are only visible if the Ring is heated with fire. He returns to Bag End only to learn that the ring Frodo has been holding onto is, in fact, Sauron's One Ring. Gandalf tells Frodo to leave the Shire immediately with the Ring. Gandalf catches Samwise Gamgee eavesdropping by a window and decides to send him along with Frodo. Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with Saruman the White who reveals to Gandalf that the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, have left Minas Morgul to capture the Ring and kill whoever carries it. Gandalf attempts to flee to warn Frodo, but Saruman, having already been corrupted to Sauron's cause, shuts the doors and attempts to sway Gandalf into joining him and Sauron. Angered at Saruman's betrayal, Gandalf refuses, which leads to a fight between the two. Saruman defeats Gandalf and imprisons him atop his tower Orthanc. Gandalf is then forced to watch as Saruman, following Sauron's orders, commands the Orcs of Isengard to construct weapons of war and produce a new breed of Orc fighters called the Uruk-Hai.
While traveling to the town of Bree, Frodo and Sam are soon joined by fellow hobbits, Merry and Pippin. After encountering a Ringwraith on the road, they manage to reach Bree only to discover that Gandalf hasn't arrived yet. Instead, Frodo meets a man called "Strider", who agrees to lead them to Rivendell. They continue traveling and spend the night on the hill of Weathertop, where they are attacked by the Nazgûl. Strider fights off the Ringwraiths, but Frodo is grievously wounded by one of the wraiths that stabbed him with a Morgulblade, which will cause him to turn into a wraith if not attended to with the proper care. While chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo is taken by the Elf Arwen to the Elven haven of Rivendell, and healed by her father, Elrond (the leader of the Elves at the battle of Mount Doom three-thousand years before). Arwen also uses her magic to cut off the pursuing Ringwraiths at the Ford of Bruinen, summoning a surge of water that sweeps the Ringwraiths away.
In Rivendell, Frodo finds Gandalf, who explains why he didn't meet them at Bree and that he had escaped Orthanc and Saruman's clutches with the help of an eagle. Later, Elrond calls a council to decide what should be done with the Ring. Elrond warns against keeping the Ring in Rivendell for long, knowing that the Elven realm could come under attack from both Mordor and Isengard. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom and is accompanied by his hobbit friends and Gandalf, as well as Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. Also travelling with them are the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli, and Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor. Together they comprise and become the Fellowship of the Ring.
The Fellowship sets out and tries to pass over the Misty Mountains by the mountain pass of Caradhras. Saruman creates an enormous storm, triggering avalanches and heavy snowfall, which nearly wipes out the Fellowship. At Gimli's insistence, they decide to seek safety and travel under the mountain through The Mines of Moria. Frodo agrees, but while travelling they are attacked by the Watcher in the Water, forcing them to travel through the mines. Inside, they encounter Goblins and a cave troll in the Chamber of Mazarbul, and encounter a Balrog, an ancient demon of fire and shadow, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf faces the Balrog on the bridge and manages to send it plunging into the abyss below, but the monster drags him down with it. The group escapes the underground realm and flees into the Elven realm of Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. That night, Frodo meets Galadriel, who tells him that it is his destiny to handle the Ring and ultimately destroy it. Before they leave, Galadriel gives Frodo the Phial of Galadriel, and the other members also receive gifts from them. Taking the straight path to Mordor, they travel on the River Anduin towards Parth Galen.
makes extensive use of digital, practical and makeup special effects throughout, as well as computer effects harnessed by Weta Workshop's sibling group Weta Digital, which Jackson helped found. Many documentaries found in "Part Two" From Vision to Reality" (the fourth disc of the Extended Edition release) cover this area of the production process.
Personnel who worked on the special effects included Andrew Lesnie, Stephen Regelous, Paul Lasaine, Jeremy Bennett, Jon Labrie, Alex Funke, Brian Van't Hul, Gray Horsfield, Mark O. Forker of Digital Domain, and overall creative supervisor Richard Taylor.
One noticeable effect appearing in most scenes involves setting a proper scale so that the characters are all the proper height. Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) tall in real life; but the character of Frodo Baggins is barely four feet tall. Many different tricks were used to cast the hobbits and Gimli as diminutive. Large and small stunt doubles were used in certain scenes, while entire duplicates of certain sets (especially Bag End in Hobbiton) were built at two different scales, so that the characters would appear to be the appropriate size. At one point in the film Frodo runs along a corridor in Bag End, followed by Gandalf. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were filmed in separate versions of the same corridor, built at two different scales, and a fast camera pan conceals the edit between the two. Forced perspective was also employed so that it would look as though the short hobbits were interacting with taller Men and Elves. Kneeling was used to great effect for size compensation, to the surprise of many, as were over-sized body costumes (called "Big Rigs") and midget actors wearing masks of the Hobbits' faces.
For the battle between the Last Alliance and the forces of Sauron that begins the film, an elaborate CGI animation system, called Massive, was developed that would allow thousands of individual animated "characters" in the program to act independently. This helped give the illusion of realism to the battle sequences.
"(I amar prestar aen.) The world is changed. (Han mathon ne nen.) I feel it in the water. (Han mathon ne chae.) I feel it in the earth. (A han noston ned 'wilith.) I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it."
—Galadriel
"Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death, and many that die deserve life. Can you give that to them, Frodo?"
—Gandalf speaking to Frodo in Moria
"One does not simply walk into Mordor."
—Boromir to the Council at Rivendell
A small but vocal minority of admirers of the original book raised some concerns when the film was released, complaining that the movie's screenplay made a number of changes to Tolkien's story. Many of these protests seemed to be rather minor concerns and were largely ignored by general movie going audiences. However, more than a few people expressed surprise when the movie's plot diverged from that of the book in what might be considered more fundamental ways.
•Bilbo's birthday party was actually a combined birthday party for himself and Frodo (who was 33) since they share the same birthday. The (controversial) number of guests invited to the party (144) was determined by adding their ages together.
•The Hobbits' adventures on the way from the Shire to Bree, which occupy over five chapters of the novel, were drastically cut, implying that the journey took place over a much shorter period of time. This material includes the Hobbits' interaction with Tom Bombadil, who is completely absent from the film, along with Goldberry. The time the Hobbits spend in Bree itself is also significantly shortened, and their acquisition of the pony, Bill, is missing. Also missing is an entire subplot in which Frodo pretends to be moving back to his ancestral home in Buckland, with the help of his Hobbit friends (who, in the book, turn out to be Sam's co-conspirators and are introduced quite differently).
•The character of Saruman has a significant presence within the film. In the novel, Saruman was only mentioned by Gandalf at the Council of Elrond, but in the film his encounter with Gandalf is shown in full. The book does not explain how Gandalf was held captive, but the film shows Gandalf and Saruman engage in a rather violent wizard duel which results in Gandalf's capture. Saruman is also credited with influencing the storm on Caradhras, which in the film is more dangerous and almost results in the Fellowship's death.
•The character Radagast is absent, meaning that Gwaihir is summoned to Isengard by a different means; Gandalf communicates with a small moth which alerts Gwaihir.
•Old Man Willow was transplanted to Fangorn Forest (in the extended version of The Two Towers).
The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by British author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).
- Total (3 films):, $2.993 billion
- 2001–2003
- Total (3 films):, $287 million
- Howard Shore
A Hobbit named Frodo inherits the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron and must destroy it in Mount Doom with the help of a fellowship of nine companions. The web page provides three different summaries of the plot, as well as historical and mythical background information about the world of Middle-earth.
Feb 2, 2023 · The name The Fellowship of the Ring refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see The Fellowship of the Ring (disambiguation). The Fellowship of the Ring. Information. Director. Peter Jackson. Writer. Novel: J.R.R. Tolkien. Screenplay: Frances Walsh. Philippa Boyens. Peter Jackson. Stephen Sinclair. Producer.
