# [review] Lord Of The Rings - Fellowship of the Ring



## Bob Hubbard (Dec 23, 2001)

Well, I saw it...... and loved it.  Were a few flaws, but overall, I'll be seing it about 6 more times I think 


*First the bad : *
-Sound was washed out in a few spots, voices mufled, and background sounds missing.
-IMAX version seemed washed out visually as well.  I noticed several areas of "dust" and other visual artifacts.  Also, many many of the scenes seemed less intense/bright than others. Like faded photographs.
-Cinematic scenes seemed jerky.  Transitions wern't smooth.

I've read other reviews, and these seem to be a flaw in the IMAX version of the film.  Its a pity, as you would think the larger screen size would allow for a more paneramic feeling.


*Now the Good:*
-Casting : Was perfect, IMHO.  
Frodo was Frodo.  You could seen the feeling behind everything.  Elijah Wood did a fantastic job.  I could feel the inner termoil watching him.  I can't describe it well enough.  He did Good.

John Rhys-Davies as a Dwarf?  All I can say is WOW! If you didn't tell me it was him, I wouldn't have known.   He was a Dwarf.  Perfectlly!

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn:   Some say in the books he was already waiting for his time.  I think the movie actully added some depth to him.  He's fighting his destiny, afraid he will make the same mistakes as his ancestor, all the time knowing he must lead.  You could see inside his mind as he finds the strenght to become the great king he must be.  Viggo fits great!  As Bunny said, he's a much better fit then either of the animated versions.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Christopher Lee as Saruman : PERFECT!  thats all I can say.  The interaction of these 2 first as friends, then the fight scene was what I imagined a Wizards fight should be.  The animated versions didn't really showcase the true powers of the Wizards, and these 2 just fit so well, its scary.

Ian Holm as Bilbo - PERFECT!  I really hope when they do the Hobbit, they get him back.  He -IS- Bilbo.  The anguish on his face when he realizes when he has condemed his Nephew to speaks volumes. 

Pippin and Merry - Never really could figureout the gender in the books or the animated.  Much more depth to these 2 than I thought, and Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan work so well together.  You think they are simple buffoons, yet they also have a sense of nobility, and both actors brought that out perfectly.

Sean Astin as Sam : Took a little time finding the feel, but did great.  The emotion he brought out at the end of the movie was very moving.  He and Elijah gelled quite nicely, and I have a good feeling for the next 2 movies.

Sean Bean as Boromir - The Judas figure of the 1st part, he finds redemption at the end.  The fight scene says it all....the inner fire, the desire to right the wrong, the intestinal fortitude, he pulled it off perfectly.  Its hard not to be moved by his death.  

Orlando Bloom as Legolas - He -was- an elf.  That says it all.  Noble and wise.  He's got the look, and damn, I wish I was an Elf. Again, another Perfect pick.

The rest of the cast also pulled off their parts well.  This films a definate when its out on video.

See it, thats all I can say.  Keep in mind, its a 3 hr film, and some scenes were compressed or omited for the sake of not being an 8 hr film.  Some minor changes for the sake of streamlining were done, but nothing IMO major.  The visuals are breathtaking, giving you a true sence of the scale of the journey.  Simply put -Its very good.


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## meni (Jan 28, 2002)

Youre right it is one of the best movies in the last year.  the way the acting bringing  to life that marvels book is absolutely great!


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## Bob Hubbard (Jan 28, 2002)

I've seen it 3x....friend of mines on double digits.   I keep seeing more each time though.  The nitpickers give ya lots of things to keep your eyes open for.

My bigest LOTR problem now is trying to figure out a way to convince my accountant that the swords are a legit biz expense!


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## Cthulhu (Jan 28, 2002)

I have yet to see that movie   We were able to take our daughter to see Monsters, Inc. because, well, it was Pixar and it wasn't 3 hours long.  Got nobody to babysit for us so we can see LOTR.  Sigh.

Cthulhu


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## Bob Hubbard (Jan 29, 2002)

DVD version due out Aug/Sept with 40 more minutes of footage.


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## Ronin (Mar 27, 2002)

that truly was a great movie  i look forward to the next one on dec 19th of this year.  its suppose to have even more action in it


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## Ronin (Mar 27, 2002)

Ian mckellen really got the shaft on oscar night i felt he totally deserved it.


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## Ronin (Mar 27, 2002)

I thought Ians potrayal was the best of any wizard  i've seen on screen.


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## Bob Hubbard (Mar 27, 2002)

I agree.

They are planning several different DVD set ups! 

See http://forums.rustaz.com in the Fantasy forum for more info.


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## daniel_r (Apr 4, 2002)

Def my fav film of the last few years id say


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## kickyou (Apr 6, 2002)

Well I was very surprised by the movie.They marketed it as a childrens movie with all the toys and everything.I took my 5 year old to see it and WOW it was no where near a children's movie but he loved it he actually sat still for the whole 3 hours.Now he wants to go see the sequel I hope I can make it through another 3 hours.


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## Aikikitty (Apr 22, 2002)

Hi!

  Saw The Lord of the Rings 5 times!  Loved it!  My mom saw it 7 times!  Trailor looks awesome!  Only saw the trailor once.   Can't wait for The Two Towers!  Going to be awesome!!!!!!

   Robyn


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## Ty K. Doe (Apr 26, 2002)

I'm a big star wars fan and I expected LOTR to be better than star wars.  It met my expectations.  Can't wait for the next one.  It'll come out a day before my b-day.  I think it'll make a good b-day present.


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## Baoquan (Aug 6, 2002)

I bought Fellowship on DVD last night...is great. Haven't checked out the extra footage yet, but the movie is as good (better than??) it was the first 3 times i saw it.


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## Kenpo Wolf (Aug 6, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz _
> 
> *DVD version due out Aug/Sept with 40 more minutes of footage.   *



Actually, the one that comes out Aug 6 does not have the deleted scenes. The one with the deleted scenes comes out later this year. I can't decide which edition to get so I might get both. Although I loved the movie, I thought it was a little slow. I think that was because it was more of a introduction to the characters and plot. The other two parts of the trilogy are bound to have more action in them


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## Jay Bell (Aug 6, 2002)

I picked up my copy tonight at Blockbuster.  A local radio station was having a midnight deal thing.  The additional footage version comes out in November... I can't wait


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## Aikikitty (Aug 13, 2002)

We rented it from Blockbuster when it came out since we are going to wait for the extra 30 minutes or whatever on DVD in November.

>sigh<  I love Lord of the Rings!  It's so great!  I can't wait for The Two Towers!

Robyn :asian:


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## Bob Hubbard (Aug 13, 2002)

I bought mine the other day...have the nov release on advance order....  yup..I'm gettnig both. 

I admit it...

"Hi, my names Bob...I'm a geek."


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## Kenpo Wolf (Aug 13, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz _
> 
> *I bought mine the other day...have the nov release on advance order....  yup..I'm gettnig both.
> 
> ...



I'm glad I'm not the only one buying both. I'm just not going to buy the other edition until I have my vehicle paid which will be in January


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## Rich Parsons (Aug 14, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz _
> 
> *I bought mine the other day...have the nov release on advance order....  yup..I'm gettnig both.
> 
> ...




Bob,

It is ok. You are among friends here.
We will get you through your problems.

BTW - Hi I am Rich and I am a geek also.


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## tonbo (Aug 14, 2002)

Rich, Bob.......glad to meet you.

Heh....I see that I am in good company.

Yes, I am truly a geek, and admit to being so.  I bought the original Star Wars boxed set, and then, a few months later, bought the remastered set.  Then I bought the Phantom Menace, on both tape (VCR, for the kids) and DVD (for the adults--the DVD was in the living room).

I made a bargain with my wife to let me buy the DVD for Lord of the Rings (I was going to buy it anyway, but the deal was so that I could watch it prime time).  While we were watching the bonus disk the other night, I saw the preview for the "additional footage" edition.....my wife sighed kinda heavily and laughed....she could see that I was already writing out the check......

Well, ya know......I just can't help it.

It's okay, though.  My citizenship in Middle Earth has not been revoked yet.....

Peace--


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