JRR Tolkien's sweeping epic was considered by many to be the pinnacle of literature. Tolkien described amazing locales, different cultures and even created languages that are being poured over by scholars today. Deeper studies also suggested that Tolkien's tomes was a narrative about the rape and spoilage of the natural world by industralisation, as illustrated by Saruman ordering the goblins to chop down Fangorn forest to manufacture weapons of war and destruction. Many also said that this would be very hard to adapt into a major motion picture, seeing how detailed the fictitious world would be, as intricately described by Tolkien. That was before kiwi horror director Peter Jackson decided to throw down the gauntlet and make this fantastical tale of furry foot Hobbits, greying wizards, mysterious Rangers, stocky Dwarven folk and elegant and athletic elven folk. The sheer scale of the whole production was just awe inspiring. Some of the outdoor sets that they built just for the movie still stand today. The home of the Hobbits, the Shire is open to tourists. This is located at the southern part of the North island. You can also visit other shooting locations, as I have done in the south island. I got to experience Edoras, the sites for the Battle at Helms Deep, the battle at Pelenor Fields and the Misty Mountains. But enough of fanboying. Let's talk about the movies.
The Fellowship of the Rings
This chapter opens in the sunny and cheerful home of the Hobbits. There is a big celebration being planned. It's Bilbo Baggins 111th birthday! His nephew, Frodo Baggins is eagerly waiting for the arrival of Bilbo's old friend Gandalf the Grey. At the party, Bilbo feels slighted by some Brandybucks and pulls out the One Ring, an artifact of intense power. The ring gives the wearer the ability to be invisible to mortal eyes, but also makes the person visible to the original owner of the ring Sauron. Sauron forged nine rings of power and gave them to mortal men, Dwarven folk and elves of Middle Earth. He also created the One Ring to rule over the other rings. It took the alliance of men, led by Isilduir, and elves, led by Lord Elrond to vanquish Sauron. Only his spirit lived on as an all seeing eye at the top of tower of Baradur.
Back to the present, Bilbo tries to run for it but is stopped by Gandalf, who forces Bilbo to leave the ring behind. Bilbo then reluctantly parts with his 'precious' and departs for the elven Kingdom of Rivendell. Unfortunately the burden of carrying the One Ring to Mount Doom falls on the shoulders of Frodo. While discussing the ring with Gandalf, Samwise, Frodo's gardener overhears their discussions and he gets sworn to secrecy by Gandalf. They depart from the Shire to start their quest. Little do they know that Sauron is now aware and has despatched his Ringwraiths to track down the ring bearer.
Gandalf goes off to Isengard to seek counsel from Saruman the white, while Frodo and Sam run into Merry and Pippin who are also curious of Frodo and Sam's exit from the Shire. They encounter the terrifying Ringwraiths on the road and narrowly escape via the river, ending up at The Prancing Pony Tavern. Here they meet a mysterious Ranger of the North, Strider. He warns them of the dangers of the Ringwraiths. He even saves and defends the four Hobbits from the Ringwraiths at Weathertop. Frodo however sustains a mortal wound and has to receive elven medicine to save his life. Arwen, daughter of the elven leader of Rivendell offers to help and speeds away, hotly pursued by the Ringwraiths. She only manages to lose them when they get to a river crossing and she calls upon the powers of the river to wash her pursuers away. Strider leads the other Hobbits to the elven Kingdom.
At Rivendell, Frodo is healed and reunited with his Hobbit brethren. He is also reunited with his uncle Bilbo, who has greatly aged without the influence of the one ring. Bilbo presents his nephew with a chainmail vest made out of impenetrable mitril. He also presents Frodo with Sting, a blade that glows blue when orcs are near. Lord Elrond calls for a meeting to decide who should bear the burden of destroying the ring. Frodo volunteers and is joined by Gandalf, the three Hobbits, Strider, who is revealed to be Aragon, son of Arathorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, a Mirkwood elf Legolas Greenleaf, a dwarf Gimly Son of Gloin, and lastly a warrior from Gondor, Boromir. Gandalf informs the council Saruman is now working with the very enemy they are seeking to destroy. Thus the fellowship of the ring is born. Each individual receives a unique gift from Lady Galadriel to aid them in their quest. Among the elven cloaks and lambas bread, Frodo receives the light of Elindier.
So the journey to Mount Doom begins in earnest. With the knowledge of Saruman's treachery, Gandalf leads the fellowship around Isengard, Saruman's fortress and up the Misty Mountains. Saruman has other plans for them however and creates an avalanche on the mountain top. This forces our intrepid group to take the treacherous route through the Mines of Moria. Gimly is excited at the thought of meeting his fellow Dwarven folks, but Gandalf knows all too well that the once great Balin and the great Dwarven halls have fallen to the goblins as they delved deeper and deeper into the mines. On entering the mines, they are immediately greeted by death and decay.
Gimly, eager to determine what happened to Balin hurries ahead. They find Balin's tomb and itchy fingers Pippin accidentally sends a skeleton down a well, alerting the goblins. They quickly mobilize and attack, with a cave troll. Our heroes make a stand in the crypt and Frodo is once again almost killed when he is cornered and skewed by the troll. Were it not for the mitril vest Bilbo gave him, he would have died. The fellowship survive the initial attack and make a run for it. They are soon overwhelmed and surrounded. Suddenly a low guttural growl reverberates off the walls and the hall is bathed in red. Gandalf instinctively tells them to run. They are being hunted by a Balrog! They make it to the Bridge of Khazad Dum. They make a stand at a bridge and Gandalf successfully stops the Balrog, but is pulled off into the chasm with the dweller of the deep. The broken fellowship has no choice but to press on with their quest.
They get as far as Amon Hen before they are set upon by a new breed of human orc hybrid created by Saruman. They desperately fight against the impossible odds and although Frodo manages to sneak away with Sam in tow, their escape comes with a heavy toll. Merry and Pippin distracted the Uruk Hai, and despite fighting valiantly, with son of Gondor Boromir defending the Hobbits, they are taken hostage. Boromir dies from his wounds. The movie ends with Frodo and Sam making their way ahead, and Legolas, Gimly and Aragon tailing Saruman's army, hoping to save Merry and Pippin.
And there you have it, the first part of my review of one of the greatest trilogies ever made . The Fellowship of the Ring remains my favorite LOTR movie simply due to the emphasis on character development. A big part of this is probably due to the smaller scale of the battles, be it Weathertop, the bridge of Khazad Dum, or the final stand at Amon Hen, we got to see and feel the emotions of the individual characters. Shout out to the incredible cast Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee, Dominic Monaghan as Merry Brandybuck, Billy Boyd as Pippin, Viggo Mortensen as Strider -Aragorn, John Rhys Davis as Gimly, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Christopher Lee as Saruman, Liv Tyler as Arwen and Hugo Weaving as Elrond.
Stay tuned for part 2,The Two Tower and The Return of the King!
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