The birth of a new era

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2003)

And, thus, it happened. Deemed "unfilmable" by Stanley Kubrick himself, the trilogy of probably the most powerful non-mythological mythology, came to the screen, spawned by probably the most unlikely crew: a bunch of new zealand-born people who eventually put the world at their feet. Announced as a three-installment saga, filmed back-to-back, this movie came to announce that such a beloved story was in good hands and, even better, that the best was yet to come. Because, after seeing "The Two Towers" and before seeing "Return of the King", this movie still inspires awe and the best thing is to know that the following chapter is so much bigger and fantastic and, as everyone is talking about, that the final one is better than the other two combined. The fact that a collection of three hour epics, filmed at the same time and released with a time window of one year manages to always be considered by many the movie of the year is memorable, and rare, if not a first time. "Fellowship" was the one that started it all. Considering that most stories have three parts, it is visible that this movie is clearly the first one: as complete and eye-filling as it is, the movie expands little on its vast arc, and it's incredible to see that a three hour movie covers only a segment of the path. But this "segment" became, on its release, a worlwide phenomenon, as masses of tolkien followers and also people who never heard about the books went to the cinemas and marveled at such an alternate and complex, but also seductive world. The result was New Line and Peter Jackson sighing with relief. It had been too much of a gamble, but it had been worth it. The secret to its success? No secret. Just the pure magic of movies. Here, we are introduced to such a fantastic world, that it almost embodies all the things we read and saw in all the fantasy pictures ever released. One can only surrender to such an amazing and addictive universe. The result is an awe-inspiring experience, one that brings you everything movies have to offer: laughter, scares, joy and tears; great characters, great acting, great directing; unbelievable art direction, never-before-seen CGI and a music score that raises the hair on the back of your neck. A sheer landmark of a movie, so right in everything about it that it feels like it was touched by the very magic it produces.