Oh man. 15 years, already? This makes me feel even older than usual.
I adored this movie, and mostly still do. I don't think I've watched it since we binged all three before the Hobbit came out, but I have most of it memorized still. I got the Bluray EE set, so I think it might be time to revisit the trilogy this month.
Like some others had said, the first trailers had me hooked, I was all up on TheOneRing.net and AICN.. always looking for something new, or cool, or whatever. Back then it felt so 'new' and 'cool' to be learning things over the internet, or seeing set photos.. or whatever. At that time you usually had to wait for a (PRINT!) magazine to do an article or wait for a behind the scenes book to come out long afterwards. I'd read the books a couple years prior, in High School, so the material was all pretty fresh in my head. In August of 2001, I got a fancy hardbound copy of The Hobbit, and re-read that for good measure.
My friends were all moderately excited for the movie, and they committed to reading the books.. but most of them didn't get past Bilbo's Birthday party (losers). We planned to get in line early for the evening show (wow, how 2001) at one of the big LA theaters (Stadium Seating!). I knew I wanted to experience the movie differently though, so I took the day off work and went to the 11AM screening (first showing) at the local theater, by myself.
Holy moly. I was not prepared. I remember sitting there, transfixed, amazed, crying big manly tears when
Gandalf dies (lol spoiler)
. The picture was beautiful, the music was enchanting, everything was perfect. The build up to the final fight, and Boromir's death, and the splitting of the Fellowship made me feel all of the feels before that was a thing. Enya? Yeah, more tears.
I went out to my car, and sobbed. Not really tears of sadness, not really tears of joy, somewhere in-between. This was barely two months after 9/11, and everyone was still on edge about everything, and while the material on-screen couldn't be further from what was going on, something about it was equally comforting and emboldening. It provided some kind of escape from the real world, while also being a 'pressure release' for some of the emotion I had built up.
At some point, I ordered this poster and had it framed. I thought I'd lost it during one of my many moves in my 20's, but this past summer my Dad asked me if I still wanted it. I guess it'd been in his basement all this time. I happily took it home, and the message seems just as apt today as it did in December 2001.
[Edit: listening to "Breaking of the Fellowship" again.. who's cutting onions here at work?!]
I find it amazing how they just made technical solutions up as they went along. During the post production of Fellowship for example they had no idea how they'd be able do the mass battles in later movies but they always came up with some crazy solutions.
Yet another thing on the long list of things to love about these movies is that the behind-the-scenes documentaries are incredible movie experiences in their own right.
Then we got the movie, and it changed the landscape forever. High Fantasy was ridiculed till then, and then FotR happened and raised the stakes to impossible standards. Lord of the Rings was seen as passionate drama, not fantasy action.
You need to remember that this was the early days of the Internet. I would lurk Onering.net and Aintitcoolnews all day and try to find even a snippet of information.
But even reading about it... I was not aware how important Lord of the Rings was, for so many people. I saw grown men cry in the theater (I was 20 back then) and it was nothing sort of a life-changing experience.
Oh man. 15 years, already? This makes me feel even older than usual.
I adored this movie, and mostly still do. I don't think I've watched it since we binged all three before the Hobbit came out, but I have most of it memorized still. I got the Bluray EE set, so I think it might be time to revisit the trilogy this month.
Like some others had said, the first trailers had me hooked, I was all up on TheOneRing.net and AICN.. always looking for something new, or cool, or whatever. Back then it felt so 'new' and 'cool' to be learning things over the internet, or seeing set photos.. or whatever. At that time you usually had to wait for a (PRINT!) magazine to do an article or wait for a behind the scenes book to come out long afterwards. I'd read the books a couple years prior, in High School, so the material was all pretty fresh in my head. In August of 2001, I got a fancy hardbound copy of The Hobbit, and re-read that for good measure.
My friends were all moderately excited for the movie, and they committed to reading the books.. but most of them didn't get past Bilbo's Birthday party (losers). We planned to get in line early for the evening show (wow, how 2001) at one of the big LA theaters (Stadium Seating!). I knew I wanted to experience the movie differently though, so I took the day off work and went to the 11AM screening (first showing) at the local theater, by myself.
Holy moly. I was not prepared. I remember sitting there, transfixed, amazed, crying big manly tears when
Gandalf dies (lol spoiler)
. The picture was beautiful, the music was enchanting, everything was perfect. The build up to the final fight, and Boromir's death, and the splitting of the Fellowship made me feel all of the feels before that was a thing. Enya? Yeah, more tears.
I went out to my car, and sobbed. Not really tears of sadness, not really tears of joy, somewhere in-between. This was barely two months after 9/11, and everyone was still on edge about everything, and while the material on-screen couldn't be further from what was going on, something about it was equally comforting and emboldening. It provided some kind of escape from the real world, while also being a 'pressure release' for some of the emotion I had built up.
At some point, I ordered this poster and had it framed. I thought I'd lost it during one of my many moves in my 20's, but this past summer my Dad asked me if I still wanted it. I guess it'd been in his basement all this time. I happily took it home, and the message seems just as apt today as it did in December 2001.
Holy shit, I never actually thought of the films in the context of 9/11. As I was only in 2nd grade when it happened I couldn't imagine being the age I am now and watching Fellowship only a few months after it happened. Shit.
It always amazed me they picked one of the worst shots of the whole movie to use in the trailer. I mean that shot is one of the worst lit, worst framed shots in the whole film.
Just rewatched these for the first time since probably 2007. I went in expecting it to looked dated as fuck like the Star Wars prequels but I'll be damned if the special effects still don't hold up today. The shit they pulled off in these movies and had them released only a year apart is absolutely mind blowing.
Fantastic piece of filmmaking these movies are. Its such a shame to see what they did with the Hobbit given that those movies had almost (if not more than) double the budget of the LOTR films.
Holy shit, I never actually thought of the films in the context of 9/11. As I was only in 2nd grade when it happened I couldn't imagine being the age I am now and watching Fellowship only a few months after it happened. Shit.
LOTR coming out nearly right after 9/11 is a very important aspect of its popularity at the time. After suffering such a terrible attack and gearing up for war against a foreign, seemingly beyond evil enemy here came this movie that happened to be a simple tale about the classic battle between good and evil. It was exactly what people needed at the time.
You know the funny thing about the original release is that I can't for the life of me remember when I saw the first two movies. I must have seen them in theaters, I was probably 11 or so at the time, but I can't remember actually going out to see them. I do however remember seeing ROTK in theaters mainly because I balled my eyes out at the time, the fucking Shelob fight forever solidified my arachnophobia, and my mother who took us all to see it answered her phone in the middle of the FUCKING MOVIE. I remember giving her the stink eye real hard and her actually getting annoyed with me.
Don't EVER answer your phone in the theater, especially during such a masterpiece.
It always amazed me they picked one of the worst shots of the whole movie to use in the trailer. I mean that shot is one of the worst lit, worst framed shots in the whole film.
It always amazed me they picked one of the worst shots of the whole movie to use in the trailer. I mean that shot is one of the worst lit, worst framed shots in the whole film.
So I finished it last night and I've got to say I liked it monumentally more than my original viewing.
Still wouldve liked to see something a bit more faithful to the books events though. But I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Holy shit, I never actually thought of the films in the context of 9/11. As I was only in 2nd grade when it happened I couldn't imagine being the age I am now and watching Fellowship only a few months after it happened. Shit.
Yeah, it was dark times. Being a young adult (21) was really weird, it was like the whole world just flipped on its head. FOTR was some kind of escape and catharsis I guess.
Helped with dealing with a huge (emotional) loss and still moving on, doing what you had to do, etc.
On a different note.. it's still weird when I see the Hobbit actors from Fellowship, and they're all "old" now.
Yeah, it was dark times. Being a young adult (21) was really weird, it was like the whole world just flipped on its head. FOTR was some kind of escape and catharsis I guess.
Helped with dealing with a huge (emotional) loss and still moving on, doing what you had to do, etc.
On a different note.. it's still weird when I see the Hobbit actors from Fellowship, and they're all "old" now.
I was 18 when this came out and got completely baked ahead of watching it at the cinema. Unfortunately my altered state left me feeling like I'd been watching a low-budget Scandinavian public access interpretation - I was disappointed to say the least!
Immediate and subsequent repeat viewings gave me the correct opinion - it's bloody brill isn't it?!
I did like his "Last Goodbye" video from the last Hobbit movie, and I especially enjoyed how they made the video a farewell song to Jackson's Middle-Earth.
I find myself re-watching these every year around Christmas time. They are full of Christmas nostalgia for me, and I love it. Can't wait to start up here this weekend!
You sit around and think "oh yeah LOTR movies I remember them" and they were such a big part of everything they still feel close and recent. Then people say "hey they came out 15 years ago" and you think... the fuuuuuuuuuck.
I did like his "Last Goodbye" video from the last Hobbit movie, and I especially enjoyed how they made the video a farewell song to Jackson's Middle-Earth.
This made the Hobbit trilogy worth it. That and the Bag End scene, Galadriel's scenes in Rivendell, the Eagles and Smaug. And the acting was generally great, it was just everything around the acting (all the dwarf pachinko, for example) that held it down.
Anyway, as for Fellowship of the Ring, it's the first third of probably the best movie ever. I agree that it made Boromir much more relatable, especially after the EE. I remember the Bakshi movie where he was a freaking viking and has villain written all over him. Him and Sam are probably my favourites, alongside Eowyn, Theoden and Eomer. Funnily enough I didn't really care for any of them in the books.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa.... I'm watching Fellowship right now (instead of studying for finals) and just how in the hell did Gandalf get his staff back after escaping Saruman? Worst movie ever!
Whoa whoa whoa whoa.... I'm watching Fellowship right now (instead of studying for finals) and just how in the hell did Gandalf get his staff back after escaping Saruman? Worst movie ever!
Whoa whoa whoa whoa.... I'm watching Fellowship right now (instead of studying for finals) and just how in the hell did Gandalf get his staff back after escaping Saruman? Worst movie ever!
He'd know super secret ways that the whole Fellowship, grown men among them, wouldn't be able to fit into. He'd slide through a crack in a wall like a cat, probably.
The actual answer;
It seems clear that pursued both by Elves and Orcs Gollum crossed the Anduin, probably by swimming, and so eluded the hunt of Sauron; but being still hunted by Elves, and not yet daring to pass near Lorien (only the lure of the Ring itself made him dare to do this afterwards), he hid himself in Moria. That was probably in the autumn of the uyear, after which all trace of him was lost. What then happened to Gollum cannot of course be known for certain. He was peculiarly fitted to survive in such straits, though at cost of great misery; but he was in great peril of discovery by the servants of Sauron that lurked in Moria, especially since such bare necessity of food as he must have he could only get by thieving dangerously. No doubt he had intended to use Moria simply as a secret passage westward, his prupose being to find "Shire" himself as quickly as he could; but he became lost, and it was a very long tme before he found his way about. It thus seems probable that he had not long made his way towards the West-gate when the Nine Walkers arrived. He knew nothing, of course, about the action of the doors. To him they would seem huge and immovable; and though they had no lock or bar and opened outwards to a thrust, he did not discover that. In any case he was now far away from any source of food, for the Orcs wer mostly in the East-end of Mria, and was become weak and desperate, so that even if he had known all about the doors he still could not have thrust them open. It was thus a piece of singular good fortune for Gollum that the Nine Walkers arrived when they did.
Fellowship is a masterpiece and in the same company as pop-culture cinematic milestones like The Empire Strikes Back. It is an important landmark picture.
The other two films in the trilogy are epic in their own right, but Fellowship is the one true masterpiece of the bunch.
Moments before lending his axe to Frodo, Gimli had attempted to destroy the ring of power himself with a blow from his axe. The ring shattered his axe. How did he have such a pristine looking axe to offer to the fellowship?
I didn't know they about the Ring of Fire, pretty neat. Staff stash is the only thing I could think of as well, if only it was a little different than the staff from earlier.
Oh well, I don't care about small nitpicks like that anyway, just wanted an excuse to brag about rewatching this amazing movie.
Edit: I've decided that the answer to all possible plot holes is that the elves did it.
Moments before lending his axe to Frodo, Gimli had attempted to destroy the ring of power himself with a blow from his axe. The ring shattered his axe. How did he have such a pristine looking axe to offer to the fellowship?
I know it's a bit cliché to say sequel/s aren't as good and the original is the best but it's definitely true in this case. Fellowship is by far the best of the trilogy.
I should also mention I bumped into Dominic Monaghan acouple weeks back (Vancouver). He walks in-front of me as I'm exiting the movie theater, I did a double take but he looked like he had to go somewhere. I just shout "Merry!" He looks back, holds up his cup of coffee like "Eyyyyy!" We nodded and parted ways.
Remember watching Fellowship of the Rings 3-4 times in cinema. Loved this movie to bits. Perfect cast, perfect mix of real live sets and special effects, just amazing all around. To this day my favourite fantasy film.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa.... I'm watching Fellowship right now (instead of studying for finals) and just how in the hell did Gandalf get his staff back after escaping Saruman? Worst movie ever!
As hard as it is to believe for many of us, this coming Monday, December 19th, marks the 15th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring opening in theaters. To help celebrate, well be looking back all this week at the news on TORN and other sites from before, during and after the release of this incredible movie that changed many of our lives and that, together with the other two films in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has become a classic.
This made the Hobbit trilogy worth it. That and the Bag End scene, Galadriel's scenes in Rivendell, the Eagles and Smaug. And the acting was generally great, it was just everything around the acting (all the dwarf pachinko, for example) that held it down..
The Hobbit only really suffers when compared to LOTR because holy shit is The Hobbit better than the vast plethora of fantasy/book adaptations since LOTR. Shite like Twilight or Divergent or Hunger Games, or fantasy stuff like Warcraft or Eragon.
Warcraft in particular really suffers from existing in a post LOTR cinematic world.
-Aragorn then fights Sauron at the Black Gate, but this was replaced with the giant CG troll as to make the final battle more of a sacrifice in service of Frodo rather than something personal.
Im missing something here. Isn't the only way Sauron can get "whole" again like in the pictures with the ring and not be "the eye" all the time? So Frodo must have failed and Sauron gotten the ring.
This thread and the Shadow or War news has made me want to pick up the LOTR trilogy extended edition boxset on Blu-Ray and....I can't? Either used or absurdly high new prices on Amazon UK (not a proper listing either) and other UK sites are iffy too. Is there some sort of stock problem?
I still think FOTR is a great movie (and before that Heavenly Creatures showed a lot of promise), and the other two LOTR films are pretty good. Most of his work past that is dire though. I do kind of like the first Hobbit movie, the other two are terrible.
