(2001) 4.5 Ryan Shriver Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is certainly the grandest and most skillfully made cinematic spectacle in recent memory, surpassing even Star Wars -- perhaps the most venerated science fiction series in cinematic history -- in terms of creativity, adventure, and sheer enjoyment. Swift, economical (in spite of a nearly three-hour running time), and extremely engrossing, Jackson starts his tale with a brief and essential history of Middle-earth and its inhabitants to bring moviegoers unfamiliar with J.R.R. Tolkien's epic novel up to speed, while greatly impressing Tolkien's longtime fans with great flourish and a bit of inside humor. And so it goes from the lush and rolling meadows of the Shire to the bleak and infernal wasteland of Mordor, all vividly realized by Jackson's team of screenwriters and special-effects technicians who are all well on their way to receiving a bevy of awards for their amazing work. As for the cast, one would be hard-pressed to assemble a more perfectly suited ensemble. The three main characters -- as portrayed by Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, and Viggo Mortensen -- are the real life force of the film's narrative, each giving astonishing performances with characters that could have very easily been made into caricatures had they been essayed by lesser actors. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring does have some very minor narrative problems, mostly involving some very brief explanations of certain plot elements, while a handful of the secondary characters -- particularly Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) -- are not quite fully characterized. These issues, however, have more to do with the audacity of attempting to cover the entirety of a 400-page novel in three hours than with some deficiency of the script. As it stands, Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring is the ultimate fantasy film, thereby making the next chapter of the saga, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, one of the most anticipated films of 2002.

cast-crew for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on AllMovie

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

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genres

Fantasy
Epic

sub-genres

category

Feature

directed by

Peter Jackson

countries

New Zealand, USA

release date

December 19, 2001 (USA)
December 5, 2003 (USA - Rerelease)

run time

165 min.

produced by

WingNut Films

released by

New Line Cinema

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cast

Elijah Wood: Frodo Baggins

Ian McKellen: Gandalf

Ian Holm: Bilbo Baggins

Viggo Mortensen: Aragorn

Sean Bean: Boromir

Sean Astin: Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee

John Rhys-Davies: Gimli

Billy Boyd: Pippin

Cate Blanchett: Queen Galadriel

Liv Tyler: Arwen

Orlando Bloom: Legolas

Hugo Weaving: Elrond

Christopher Lee: Saruman

Dominic Monaghan: Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck

Andy Serkis: Gollum

Marton Csokas: Celeborn

Craig Parker: Haldir

Lawrence Makoare: Lurtz

Brian Sergent: Ted Sandyman, Mill Owner

Peter Corrigan: Otho [Extended Version]

Sala Baker: Sauron

crew

Peter Jackson: Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Barrie M. Osborne: Producer
Fran Walsh: Producer, Screenwriter
Tim Sanders: Producer
J.R.R. Tolkien: Book Author
Philippa Boyens: Screenwriter
Andrew Lesnie: Cinematographer
Enya: Songwriter
Howard Shore: Composer (Music Score)
Nicky Ryan: Songwriter
Roma Ryan: Songwriter
John Gilbert: Editor
Grant Major: Production Designer
Joe Peter Bleakley: Art Director
Mark Robins: Art Director
Philip Ivey: Art Director
Rob Otterside: Art Director
Jamie Selkirk: Co-producer
Rick Porras: Co-producer
Ellen M. Somers: Associate Producer
Bob Weinstein: Executive Producer
Harvey Weinstein: Executive Producer
Mark Ordesky: Executive Producer
Michael Lynne: Executive Producer
Robert Shaye: Executive Producer
Dan Hennah: Set Designer
Ngila Dickson: Costume Designer
Richard Taylor: Costume Designer, Makeup
David Farmer: Sound/Sound Designer
Gethin Creagh: Sound/Sound Designer
Hammond Peek: Sound/Sound Designer
Ken Saville: Sound/Sound Designer
Malcolm Cromie: Sound/Sound Designer
Michael Semanick: Sound/Sound Designer
Carolynne Cunningham: First Assistant Director
Amy MacLean: Casting
Ann Robinson: Casting
John Hubbard: Casting
Liz Mullane: Casting
Victoria Burrows: Casting
Alex Funke: Visual Effects
Allen Guilford: Additional Cinematography
Alun Bollinger: Additional Cinematography
Ethan Van der Ryn: Supervising Sound Editor
Geoff Murphy: Second Unit Director
George Marshall Ruge: Stunts Coordinator
Jim Rygiel: Visual Effects Supervisor
Jo Priest: Additional Editing
John Cavill: Additional Cinematography
John Howe: Conceptual Design
John Mahaffie: Second Unit Director
Mike Hopkins: Supervising Sound Editor
Nigel Bluck: Additional Cinematography
Peter Owen: Makeup
Richard Bluck: Additional Cinematography
Simon Raby: Additional Cinematography
Taylor/WETA Workshop Ltd.: Makeup Special Effects
Weta Digital: Visual Effects