Astonished!

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2001)

The greatest story ever told, by the greatest book ever written, has become the greatest film ever made.
My mind is still in shock - by the time of the scene of the 'flight to the ford', I was really beginning to wonder whether I could make it through to the end! It was such an incredibly rich, overwhelming experience - almost too much. All I could think during the 3 hours was "It's alive! They've done it! The Lord of the Rings is alive on film - finally." I have been so nervous ever since I heard that a film of LOTR was being made - would it be another wasted opportunity and sell-out of Tolkien's vision? Thankfully I saw today a true masterpiece of that vision. I disagree with Peter Jackson that this is just a film - I have never experienced anything like it - it was an incredible work of art. At this stage I must draw attention to the score by Howard Shore - it truly is the theme of LOTR - I will have it in my mind forever whilst reading the books. I have the CD soundtrack and I strongly recommend it to everyone. It is yet another fantastic piece of art to have come from this endeavour. I also was stunned at how many of the settings from LOTR jumped straight out of the screen - my favourite was Amon Hen and the Argonath. The sense of haunting of the past great civilisation really struck me. What a backdrop to the vicious and desperate fight. The casting and acting of this film instantly makes it a classic. The depth and feeling of the acting has succeeded in bringing forth the heart of Tolkien's masterpiece. It is about a Fellowship. That little used word in the English language has been delivered beautifully and in great depth by the actors. What more can be said about the Hobbits or Gandalf or Aragorn - they are perfect. But I loved Sean Bean's portrayal of Boromir even within this screenplay. The sense of his desperation and his failure on behalf of the Race of Men is totally convincing in his death scene - you understood how this gave a pivotal moment for Aragorn's future. Liv Tyler was excellent - Tolkien fans should rejoice at the fact that the Elven language has been brought to life in a mainstream film. Who would have thought! John Rhys-Davies and Orlando Bloom gave their characters such realism that I can't wait to see Gimli and Legolas expand in The Two Towers. I loved Cate Blanchett's portrayal of the arrogant and (in my view) treacherous nature of the Elven race. So full of themselves and dismissing of other races and yet of little courage to really fight for Middle Earth and they're always so close to corruption. In terms of the screenplay, I understand how difficult it is to convey the deeper world of Tolkien's Middle Earth. How do you show a movie audience that there are many more forces, both good and bad, at work than just Sauron. Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, Old Man Willow and the Barrow Wights would just add a layer of complexity that would require 9 films in order to explain to most people. However, I still missed Smeagol and Deagol - I think this is a crucial part of the story to show how evil The Ring is and why having pity on Gollum is possible. I am running out of space to keep heaping on praise, except to say THANK YOU ALL for a wondrous gift. I still don't know how anyone can see the film again so quickly - it'll take me days to regain the strength to re-live this masterpiece.