Revisiting the Malchus video archives.
It's been at least ten years since I've watched the extended edition The Fellowship of the Ring. Back in 2001, when the director Peter Jackson’s original, shorter film hit theaters, I fell in with his adaptation J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. I'm a sucker for tales of heroes coming together to save the world, and this film remains one of the best. When Jacob finally expressed interest in watching this one, my heart leapt. My son has particular tastes, although they are broadening, but I felt deep down – hoped – that he would enjoy the three Lord of the Rings films.
The rich themes of The Fellowship of the Ring – loyalty, family, human fallibility, good vs. evil, lost love, betrayal – all must all be attributed to Tolkien’s book. I've never read the book, nor is it high on my list (sorry Colbert). Whether the Jackson epics, which he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh, and Phillipa Boyens, hew closely to them I don't know. Nor, do I care. What I do care about is how beautifully made this movie is, how wonderfully acted it is, and the flawless blend of practical effects, miniatures and CG. Despite its size and the numerous plots to track, this is a character driven story that is allowed to breathe, especially in its extended form. The most confusing parts are the similar sounding names, which you eventually figure out. This remains a five-star film in my mind.
For the uninitiated, The Fellowship of the Ring follows the journey of Frodo (Elijah Wood), a hobbit living in Middle Earth. He is burdened with destroying the one ring to rule all before an evil presence can reclaim it and begin a reign of terror. As Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel narrates in the ominous prologue, the rings of power were forged for the leaders of men, elves and dwarves. Unbeknownst to all, the creature Sauron forged his own ring, one full of all his evil. After a devastating battle between men, elves, dwarves and Sauron’s forces of evil, Sauron is defeated, His ring is thought lost. However, a creature named Gollum discovers the ring and keeps it as “his precious.”
The ring corrupts Gollum’s heart and mind, and one day he loses. It’s found by a explorer named Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), a hobbit from the shire. Bilbo keeps the ring, unaware that it slows his aging, or that its evil force has taken hold of his heart. As the film’s first act gets underway, the shire is celebrating Bilbo’s birthday with an enormous party. It’s such a big deal that the wizard, Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellan), attends.
Once Gandalf finds out that Bilbo possesses the ring of power, he forces his old friend to give the ring to his nephew, Frodo, who may have the purest heart in all Middle Earth. Gandalf quickly learns that Sauron’s spirit has reawakened and is seeking his ring to regain a body and rule the world. The fate of everyone falls of the smallest possible hero.
Why can't Frodo just hand over the ring to Gandalf or some other man? Because the hearts of men are easily corrupted. Frodo's heart is so pure, the hope is he can withstand the ring’s grip longer than anyone else. Frodo’s trek takes him away from his home, farther than he’s ever been. Accompanying him is Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), a simpler hobbit whose loyalty to Frodo is boundless. They are inadvertently joined by their friends, Peregrin (Billy Boyd) and Meriadoc (Dominic Monaghan), two loafing hobbits whose skills include stealing crops and smoking weed. This quartet are pursued by the deadly Nazgul, hunters of the ring who wear black cloaks and ride tar covered black steeds. The hobbits are no match for these nine riders. Fortunately, they are taken under the protection of Aragon (Viggo Mortensen), a friend of Gandalf’s who understands the gravity of Frodo’s mission. Later, these five are joined by Boromir (Sean Bean), elf archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and axe wielding dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies). Together with Gandalf, this fellowship of the ring sets off for Mordor, where the ring must be thrown into a volcano and destroyed.
Before you think, “Dude, you gave away the entire plot!” don’t. Those are portions of the first act! There is so much more. If you’re willing to invest, you’ll be rewarded, even if you are generally indifferent about fantasy stories of dragons, elves and wizards. The Fellowship of the Ring may have more plot than three movies, and last over three hours, but it’s never boring. Its pacing is one of its greatest strengths. Editor John Gilbert and Jackson keep the film moving, skillfully ramping up the action, and pulling back to allow for the emotional moments. The type of one-liners that plaque so many action and super hero movies, are limited, which is a relief. Together with Howard Shore's lush score, The Fellowship of the Ring is never sluggish, even in its extended version. Besides the ground breaking efx by Weta, and Andrew Lesnie’s stunning cinematography the film is grounded by a cast of recognizable faces, including Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.
When the film ended, Jacob declared "Wait, it's over?" I took this as a good sign. Later, he gave it five stars and we plotted when we would view the two Lord of the Rings sequels (but not The Hobbit movies; once was enough for me). Revisiting the film with Jacob by my side was such a joy. That he responded to it so well really tickled me. It’s always cool when you introduce your kids to a work of art that means so much to you. My hope is that someday we can see The Fellowship of the Ring on the big screen together. Until then, it’s on to some talking trees and The Two Towers.
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