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| The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring - 2001 |
Coming up next is the first installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, 2001's "The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring", in which we see how the fabled ring of power is created and must now be destroyed before darkness can cover the world for eternity.
The excellent cast includes Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellan, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Sarah McLeod, and Craig Parker.
We begin with how the ring was created in the fires of Mount Doom in the land of Mordor by the dark lord Sauron. The ring was created to rule all in Middle Earth. Eventually, Sauron is defeated and the ring is brought with the one who destroyed him, the young King of Gondor, who is later killed.
The ring comes to Gollum. It brought him unnatural long life, and he owned the ring for five hundred years.
It was later found by Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire. He put it in his pocket and kept it quiet for many years.
Sixty years after he found it, Bilbo has a 111th birthday party. One of the guests is the wizard Gandalf the Grey, who is met by Bilbo's nephew, Frodo.
Bilbo is thrilled to see Gandalf. He tells the wizard that his party will be a night to remember.
Gandalf provides the fireworks for the party, and they are nothing short of spectacular.
When it's time for Bilbo to give a thank you speech, he gets up in front of the crowd and tells them he's going, and that he's put it off for far too long. He slips his hand in his pocket, and the ring goes on his finger. Instantly, Bilbo disappears. Everyone is alarmed, no one more so than Gandalf.
Gandalf is waiting for Bilbo when he returns home. Bilbo wishes him farewell and says he's leaving everything to Frodo. After some hesitation, he decides to leave the ring to Frodo as well. Bilbo sets off down the road to go and stay with the elves so he can have quiet and finish his autobiography.
Meanwhile, Sauron's forces have captured Gollum. They torture him and elicit the words "Shire" and "Baggins" from him. Armed with those clues, the servants of Sauron, or ringwraiths, set off in search of the ring.
After Gandalf does some research on the ring, he tells Frodo its history. Although Sauron was destroyed, his spirit endured, and with the ring, he can once again take physical form. He also tells him that it must be taken somewhere it can be kept safe. Gandalf tells Frodo that the ringwraiths are after him and the ring cannot stay in the Shire. Frodo is also instructed to never put the ring on his finger, because the agents of the dark lord would be drawn to its power.
After catching Samwise Gamgee listening to their conversation, Gandalf decides he will be a good companion for Frodo as he takes the ring to safety. They immediately set out on their journey.
Gandalf leaves them, saying he must see the head of his order, and tells them a time and place to meet him later. After he gallops away, Frodo and Sam head off on their own.
Gandalf rides to Isengard, the residence of Saruman, who is the head of the wizards. Gandalf tells Saruman that the ring of power has been found, and Saruman takes him inside and tells him some of the things he has seen of the enemy's plans.
When Gandalf asks Saruman how he knows so much, Saruman shows him a palantir, where he glimpses parts of the enemy's plan. He tells him of Sauron's eye that is watching everything.
When Gandalf tries to cover the palantir, he sees a glimpse of Sauron's eye. Gandalf starts to realize that Saruman has switched allegiances, and is on the enemy's side.
After he confronts him, Gandalf and Saruman engage in a fight. Saruman takes Gandalf's staff and holds him prisoner on the roof of the tower of Isengard.
Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam have met up with Merry and Pippin, two of their friends, who travel with them. They narrowly escape the ringwraiths on several occasions.
At the place where Gandalf told them to be, the four hobbits meet up with a man called Strider. He tells them they cannot wait for the wizard and helps them elude the ringwraiths. Strider and the four hobbits make their way to Rivendell, the home of the elves.
Saruman, meanwhile, has been in communication with Sauron. He begins to breed an army of orcs at Isengard.
On top of the roof of Isengard, Gandalf continues to resist all Saruman's attempts to get him to join the enemy.
During their travels, Strider and the hobbits take a break at an abandoned watch tower called Weathertop.
The ringwraiths track them there and surround the fortress as the hobbits watch helplessly from above. Strider is not there as he has gone scouting.
They quickly manage to surround the hobbits. When the ring appears on Frodo, one of the wraiths moves forward quickly. Frodo runs and stumbles.
Frodo attempts to hide from them by slipping on the ring. Unfortunately for him, the wraiths can see him anyway. When he resists, the lead wraith stabs him with a blade that will eventually turn him into a wraith like them.
As Frodo becomes sicker and sicker, an elf appears and says that Frodo must be taken to her father so he can help him. The ringwraiths give chase and nearly catch them several times. The elf stops in the middle of a river and taunts the wraiths by telling them to come and get Frodo.
As they do, the elf speaks to the river and a mighty rushing wall of water comes and sweeps the wraiths away.
Frodo blacks out. When he awakes, he is in a strange bed. He sees Gandalf's smiling face. When he asks Gandalf why he didn't meet them, Gandalf tells him that he was delayed.
We find out that a giant eagle came to rescue Gandalf just as Saruman was again trying to turn his allegiance.
As Frodo is given the opportunity to explore Rivendell a bit, he meets up with his uncle Bilbo, and the two are very glad to see each other.
We also find out that the elf who rescued Frodo is named Arwen, and she and Strider are in love and have pledged themselves to each other.
The next day, a special council is held to discuss what the fate of the ring should be. People from all over Middle Earth have come to take part in it. During the course of the meeting, it is revealed that Strider's real name is Aragorn, and he is the heir to the throne of Gondor.
Eventually, the Fellowship of the Ring is created by the nine companions that will travel in hopes of destroying the ring in the fires of Mount Doom to rid the world forever of Sauron.
Before the set out on their quest, Frodo visits Bilbo again. Bilbo gives him his old sword, Sting, which glows blue when orcs are near. He also gives him a shirt that will protect him. Its material is as hard as a dragon's scales.
The travelers begin their long journey. Over the course of their trip, Boromir, son of the Steward of Gondor, picks up the ring after Frodo loses it when he stumbles. He becomes mesmerized by it. He gives it back to Frodo, but the ring is never far from his mind.
After trying several different ways, it becomes clear that the only route they can now take is through the dwarf mines of Moria. When they get there, they find it is deserted and there are hundreds of dead bodies strewn about.
Frodo realizes that something is following them. Gandalf tells him that it is Gollum, who has been following them for three days. Gandalf says that his heart tells him that Gollum still has some part to play for good or ill before their task is done.
Eventually, they come to the deserted halls of the underground dwarf city.
The halls don't stay deserted for long as they are quickly surrounded by a great host of orcs and goblins. As they prepare to fight, a light in the distance sends the enemy scattering. Gandalf tells the company that this foe is beyond any of them. It's a Balrog, a demon of the ancient world.
Gandalf faces it alone, shouting those iconic words "You shall not pass!" As the Balrog moves closer, the ground gives way and it falls into a dark chasm.
Sadly, Gandalf falls with it. The rest of the company is devastated by the loss of their leader, but they need to make it to shelter before more orcs come.
They come to the woods of Lorien, where they are greeted by its rulers, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. They are invited to rest before they continue on their journey.
During the course of the visit, Frodo offers the ring to Galadriel. She's intrigued, and utters "In place of a dark lord you would have a queen. Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn. Treacherous as the sea, stronger than the foundations of the earth!" She refuses the ring.
Before leaving, Galadriel gives Frodo the Light of Earendil, their most beloved star. "May it be a light for you in dark places when all other lights go out," she tells him.
She wishes the travelers farewell as they leave Lorien by boat.
Unknown to the travelers, Saruman has bred a special pack of orcs to hunt them down and bring the hobbits back to him. As they leave Lorien, the orcs are hot on their trail.
As they travel, the companions see many wondrous sights, including statues of Aragorn's ancestors.
When they come ashore, Frodo wanders off and is followed by Boromir, who tries to take the ring from him. When Frodo disappears, a broken Boromir apologizes.
The pack of orcs overtakes them and Boromir is killed. Merry and Pippin are taken by the orcs.
Realizing that this burden is his alone, Frodo sets off on his own for the opposite shore. Sam follows him, telling Frodo that he promised Gandalf he wouldn't leave him.
The remaining members of the fellowship, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, give Boromir and honorable burial and then decide to go and save Merry and Pippin, disappearing into the forest.
Frodo and Sam look towards Mordor, and the path they must take that will bring them on a journey that will test them in ways greater than ever before.
Cast rundown:
Elijah Wood....................................Frodo Baggins
Sean Astin.....................................Samwise Gamgee
Sean Bean.....................................Boromir
Cate Blanchett................................Galadriel
Orlando Bloom................................Legolas
Billy Boyd.......................................Peregrin "Pippin" Took
Ian Holm........................................Bilbo Baggins
Christopher Lee...............................Saruman
Andy Serkis....................................Gollum
Ian McKellan...................................Gandalf
Dominic Monaghan..........................Merry Brandybuck
Viggo Mortensen.............................Aragorn
John Rhys-Davies............................Gimli
Liv Tyler.........................................Arwen
Hugo Weaving................................Elrond
Sarah McLeod................................Rosie Cotton
Craig Parker...................................Haldir
And that's all for The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. It's the first part in this sweeping epic series. It's nearly three hours long. The original cut was four and half hours. This film does a great job introducing us to the world of Tolkein, and it definitely leave us wanting more.
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