My All Time Favorite

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2004)

I had not read the books before I saw the movie the first time. I had no idea what to expect. I was absolutely floored by that first experience of viewing it in a theater. The prologue sets up the film at an epic scale, then the view of The Shire brings it down to a more personal, human (and Hobbits are really stand ins for average humans) scale.
This movie succeeds on all levels: as a small-scale adventure featuring a group of men (like The Seven Samurai), as an epic where the very fate of the world is involved, as a special-effects masterpiece. The special effects are not an end in themselves (like The Matrix), but serve the purpose of creating an alternate world where Elves and Balrogs are just as real as humans.
This movie inspired me to read the books and see the other two movies in theaters, all wonderful. Also, as a final note: I do have the DVD extended version, and it adds a couple of nuances which help fill in the details of Tolkien's wonderfully realized world. A fitting start to what became one of the most impressive accomplishments in the history of movies.