Good fantasy literature can make for great fantasy films

Rating: 10/10 (28 March 2004)

Quite simply, this is the height of an excellent blending of literature and film making. Most adaptations are either so faithful to the written material that you wonder why you bothered to go to the film or you watch the movie and wonder to where the original story disappeared. Every aspect of this movie is a joy to experience. The language, the beauty of the locations, the solidity of the cast and the soaring grandeur of the music combines to make a film that is largely faithful to the text and, yet, transcends the written word to bring the heart and the soul of the trilogy to life. I am amazed at how I fall into each of the films every time I watch them. It is tribute to Peter Jackson that these movies can pull us into the story and the lives of the characters no matter if you have seen the film once, twice or twenty times. I remember thinking when the first film opened, "Please don't let this be crap." Not only was it not butchered, it can hopefully become the standard from which other fantasy literature can be adapted for film. I hope that the Trilogy will be re-released periodically in the theaters because the big screen is truly the best format for watching these movies. Thank you Peter Jackson and everyone associated with the three films, for creating a moving and memorable movie experience. I am truly grateful that this happened in my lifetime.