A movie woth seeing

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2002)

I have been waiting for the movies since I read Tolkien's trilogy. I'm not a hard core fan of Tolkien's world but still I liked many aspects of his creation such as the detailed description of the settings in which the story takes place. I see Tolkien as a fiend who spent numerous hours in spinning details to a world which in it self is an endless task. Although his story was a bit longwinded at times it had a wholesome picture of his imaginative world. Not only is it picturesque but also full of references taken from various literature works and folklore. In my opinion this picturesque complexity makes his books an ideal movie material although difficult to handle. As with other great literature graphic images have been developing threw artists such as painters. The legacy of Tolkien's books has been great on other fields such as fantasies and computer games. I consider it luck that a movie wasn't made earlier on Tolkien's trilogy, which could have ruined the image of Tolkien's books. It looks like the movie script was written under influence of former matured ideas of Tolkien's work. I think the script is well written. There are a few unexplained instances in the movie which only those who have read the books would understand such as when Sam is saying goodbye to his horse at Minas Tirinth which came out of the blue and when Arwen suddenly used her magic on the ringwraths. I don't agree with others that think that every person should be introduced in the beginning such as the Hobbits Mary, Pippin and Sam. There is only time to introduce Frodo and Gandalf who play the key roles in this story. The introduction of the others must come as the story enfolds. Some say that to much attention is on Ian McKellen, Gandalf, even more than on Elijah Wood, Frodo. I don't agree with that argument, firstly Gandalf plays a big part in the book and secondly Frodo seems to be more on the screen than old Gandalf even though Ian McKellen is very memorable in his role. Some say that the role of John Rhys is cut to short, maybe, but still his personality shines in those scenes where he speaks and his attributes are clearly seen. All in all the manuscript is well written with few minor debatable flaws, which are understood if you read the books. The décor in the movie is superb. I've seen the movie three times and the last time I spent in examining the well-crafted props. All the little things make a difference such as the three ravens sitting on the scarecrow, the superb home of Bilbo Baggins with the cut bread on the table, and papers everywhere. The computer graphics worked well, better than ever before. In my opinion it is because that the images were often shown from distance and in darkness so the obvious characteristics of computer animation was faint. The blend of computer animation with real actors also shift the attention of the animation details to the real actors. I agree with some others who say that the troll was the worst animated creature of the film, It was too obvious. Before I saw the movie I was worried about the animation of Gollum, which in my opinion is the most exiting character in the books. I was hoping he would be played by an actor, not animated. Well he came out well but was either seen from distance or hiding in the shadows. I'm concerned with how he will be displayed in the coming movies. The top of the computer animation for me was animation of the mines, Minas Tirinth, what an atmosphere. I may be wrong but someone must have taken an idea or two from the computer game Ultima Underworld. In my opinion every frame in the movie is a work of art, landscape, animated castles, scenes full of prop, actors and computer animation. The music in the movie was well made. There was no catching theme played over in the movie as was done in Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Titanic. In stead it was atmospheric for every place shown on the screen. The music was often symphonic but often it bore resemblance of Irish folk music. Music was used to get some of Tolkien's poems through and that was a good idea for those who want them in the movie. If a catching song would have played over and over I think the atmosphere of each place would have been lost. Though I would have preferred a well-written theme which would have been played at the end with a small hint of it in the beginning. The movie is well acted, not unexpectedly. The actors are well chosen and fit their roles nicely. My highest applause goes to Ian McKellen, who played Gandal flawlessly, Christopher Lee who was born to play Saruman, especially in the dramatic scene upon Isengard when he is casting a spell on the fellowship, Ian Holm who played Bilbo well especially when he put on his addictive face every time he saw the ring and finally Cate Blanchett who is extremely memorable in her role as the fair telepathic elfin queen, especially when she is tempted by the ring. Other memorable performances are Elijah Wood who plays Frodo very well and you can see how he changes from a cheerful behaviour in the beginning into a more grave and sad appearance when the story progresses, just as in the book. Sean Bean's portrayal of Boromir was very good and he was able to create sympathy with his character. Other good performances were made by Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Hugo Weaving, John Ryhs Davies, Orlando Bloom and Wiggo Mortensen though there is one lame scene with him where he is comforting Sam before they enter the mines. Marry played by Dominic Monaghan and Pippin played by Billy Boyd were portrayed as clowns and were mostly associated with misadventure and they seemed alike, their act was also good. In all the actors in the movie did a good job and so did the Peter Jackson the director. The action scenes were good even though some don't agree. The first scene of the classing armies is one example, it is magnificent and the scene where Gandalf and Saruman fought. The piercing arrows in Minas Tirinth and well co-ordinated sword combats. Though there is one thing which could have gone better, when a battle is fought the tempo of the editing suddenly increases and the camera movement also as if this was a dogma. This is just the director's style but not an attempt to hide details of the battle. It is though good that he didn't show the action scenes in slow motion. The fellowship of the rings has all the elements of a good movie: good manuscript, good directing, excellent acting, excellent filming and animation, excellent props, atmospheric music, good lighting and exciting action scenes.