Milaya writes: Local magazine, 8 Days, in Singapore published a ‘Things You Must Know About Lord of the Rings’ today. Not entirely sure whether their facts are all totally correct, but heck.
Category: Old Special Reports
KO writes: Here are some scans I thought you might like. The first is from Toy Review. They interview Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop.
From: Lowes
We are especially excited to offer you the chance to be the first to see The Lord of the Rings at an exclusive advance presentation hosted by Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen.
On Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning (December 18/19) at 12:01AM, Ian McKellen will introduce a special midnight presentation of The Lord of the Rings on the Imax screen at Loews Lincoln Square.
This exclusive opportunity to hear Mr. McKellen speak about the most highly anticipated movie of the year won’t be available anywhere else in the country – only at Loews.
Tickets are on sale now and are sure to go quickly. Follow this link to order yours:
http://www.fandango.com/theater.asp?chain_id=SONY&theater_id=AABQI_LIVE&refresh_date=12/18/01
**PLEASE NOTE: If the date does not default to 12/18/01, you may need to select Dec 18 from the pulldown menu.
Through this link to Fandango.com, our online ticketing partner, you will find a RED underlined showtime indicator (12:01 AM) if seats are available. When all seats are sold out, 12:01 AM will appear in black.
Last night — was it just 12 hours ago? — in the company of an Ent, a Tolkien Scholar, and a wizard of a Webmaster, I tumbled head-over-heals into Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Like many who’ve waited two decades plus for the opportunity to see a new version of LotR play out on the big screen, I was filled with excitement, anticipation, preconceptions, and even a little dread.
The details… the details… oi! the details! There is simply too much to gush about so I’ll save the finer points for emails, chats, or perhaps another review. Jackson’s Fellowship is a visual, auditory, intellectual, emotional, and perhaps even spiritual feast. I left the viewing of that film feeling like a hobbit after Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday party… but OH SO EAGER for the next meal!
Great minds set to work on this script. Wondrous strokes of brilliance transferred key dialogue and character moments into places and situations that were different from the text of FotR, but poignant, appropriate, and in a way that captures the author’s intent. From the (a bit lengthy in my opinion) Galadriel prologue to Gandalf and Frodo discussing Gollum and other character expositions or interactions, Jackson, Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh have made the rich details and layers of ideas and histories thoroughly accessible to the non-Tolkien audience. It’s clear who and what are at risk in Middle-earth, and even the first timers will understand the promise and peril of this Quest.
Also brilliant is the film’s casting. Jackson’s troop of actors deliver command performances and make the story, well… real. I am awed by the work of Ian McKellen, Sean Bean, and Viggo Mortensen. Elijah Wood and Ian Holm are so well cast for their parts that you might think they were born to play these roles. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd were terrific, and Sean Astin made me cry. Liv Tyler –’Xenarwen’ critics, feh!– was excellent, and Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies did very well in the little screen time they ended up with. Christopher Lee is a perfect Saruman, but one detractor for me was Hugo Weaving as Elrond (couldn’t shake his Agent Smith character identification), and I’m still not sure about Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel. The dozens of other characters and their delivery –Barliman, the Ring, Craig Parker’s Haldir– are also spot on.
Ian McKellen virtually was the movie for me on this first viewing. His work is some of the most poignant, versatile, and dexterous I’ve seen. I’m not the world’s most experienced film critic, but I’ve seen hundreds of movies, and this performance ranks right up there with Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch and other perfectly-cast roles. His eyes, his voice, his stature, his wit: Sir Ian brings Gandalf the Grey to life!
The pacing of the movie was also very well done. Although Tolkien’s original storyline takes loads of hits and cuts, I could not believe that I’d been watching the movie for almost three hours. Of course I’m sad to see Bombadil (and many of the author’s other gems) go, but I didn’t really miss him in the viewing. Very intense action sequences are strategically placed throughout the film so the viewer is carried right through to the end without being overwhelmed or peaking too early. And the audience is left wanting more!!
Howard Shore’s score is another facet to FotR that makes it a landmark in movie history. The music of the film adds a depth and body that make the package complete. Shore’s craftwork reinforces, underpins, and brings to fullness Jackson’s vision. Shore’s score doesn’t just fit well like a pair of hobbit prosthetic feet, it adds layers of richness and meaning that capture the joys, dangers, and mysteries of Middle-earth. I’m picking up a copy on my way home from the airport today.
Middle-earth itself still awes me in the echoes of FotR playing in my mind. It was as if I WAS THERE!! The unbelievable sets and film locations are almost easy to take for granted because they are so well done. Bag End looked every inch the proverbial (wealthy) hobbit hole, Rivendell’s grace and beauty enchant, Moria is stunning, and the timelessness of Lothlorien made me want to linger there for a great while. Even though I know this is fantasy literature on a movie screen, the realness and authenticity of these places and sets were able to penetrate and imprint themselves in the nooks of my mind as well as Tolkein’s own text.
The incredible details and minutiae painstakingly obsessed over by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger’s Weta team complete the Jacksonian Middle-earth package. Realia of the lives, times, and cultures of the varied peoples in the story bring the viewer deep into Tolkien/Jackson’s world. It’s as if someone just showed up with a film crew and started recording the story as it took place in a Middle-earth that exists. Special effects are a key component — hobbits and humans interact seamlessly — but the ‘simple’ effects like Boromir’s costume and equipment, tobacco pipes, Minas Tirith’s dusty, cluttered library, ancient statues and icons standing and fallen… these subtle elements are another component that make Jackson’s FotR seem so real.
Special effects are also phenomenal in this film. Even though I’d seen so many spoilers over the years, I was still on the edge of my seat in many sequences. The Ring effects were creatively well done, and the cave troll kicked me in the teeth too. Dramatic Orthanc/Isengard footage, back history battle scenes, the Fords of Isen… it’s hard to do the special effects justice without getting into too many spoilers, so I’ll quit here.
I know this story well. It’s been with me since I was 12 years old. I don’t speak Elvish, but this is a tale I know. Seeing it last night, however, was almost a wholly new experience for me. Jackson’s vision/production of LotR is decidedly not Tolkien’s. Instead, it’s a new Lord of the Rings to fall in love with and relive again and again. Tolkien’s world is all about the text, the interplay of language and teasing-out of ideas and images; Jackson’s is boldly different, yet deliciously the same. I was worried that the film would spoil future readings of the story, but I believe that Jackson has purposely left out things that could have easily been included, which will still make reading LotR the amazing experience that it is. In contrast, Jackson and company have intentionally reworked bits of plot, brilliantly transplanted vital dialogue, and taken some liberties with characters to bring Tolkien’s passion to life.
I’m not so blind with ecstasy that I didn’t find a few faults in the movie. When I compared my mental notes with my colleagues, I found that the things that bothered me were mostly unnoticed by others. In contrast, Quickbeam pointed out some smart observations where there was a bit of inconsistency that never occurred to me. However, there was consensus on a few points (for instance, Galadriel’s temptation by the Ring) that were less than stellar. Still, in sum, the minor negatives that popped up for me did not bring down the movie at all.
What I love the most about LotR: FotR is that in my lifetime I have had another opportunity to be immersed in another real vision of Middle-earth. The Jacksonian touch is everywhere, from subtle beauty to grotesque darkness. I am pretty sure I saw a nod to King Kong in Balin’s Tomb and Quickbeam nearly jumped out of his bark a dozen times thanks to the Jackson magic. I am astounded by the all-encompassing vision and force of will that it took to create The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I’d wager to say that even The Professor himself –technophobe and all– would be pleased.
*Tookish bows low.
Peter Jackson, I am forever at your service!
Now can’t you bump up that DVD release date just a few months??!! And how about a summer release date for The Two Towers… 🙂
O, and by the way, THANK YOU PJ, and THANK YOU to all who had a hand in creating this incredible film.
News from Decipher’s Trading Card Game and Fan Club Studios . . .
GET IN LINE WITH DECIPHER AND THEONERING.NET DECIPHER ANNOUNCES ITS OFFICIAL SPONSORSHIP OF THEONERING¹S OPENING NIGHT LINE PARTIES
(NORFOLK, Va. December 11, 2001) gather to celebrate the launch of the movie they have awaited for decades. ‘Line Parties’ are being organized across the world for The Lord of the Rings fans who plan to get in line early for tickets to ensure that they see The Fellowship of the Ring the day it hits theaters. Decipher and theonering.net will be there to make sure the party is a success.
‘These Line Parties are a way for fans from all over the world to organize, plan, and meet Tolkien fans in their cities before the release of The Fellowship of the Ring,’ says Michael Regina of theonering.net. ‘The response to this concept has been fantastic. We currently have 341 lines with 2,618 members on board, and the numbers are growing daily.’
Line party events vary per city and theater. Events include charity fundraisers, trading card game demos, costume contests, trivia contests, exciting Decipher Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game and Fan Club giveaways, and more!
To join or create a line party, log on to theonering.net/movie/lineparty.
It is easy to join a pre-established line or create one of your own.
For more information about the Line Parties, go to
http://theonering.net/movie/lineparty.
For more information about The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game, go to decipher.com.
To join The Lord of the Rings Fan Club, go to LOTRfanclub.com
From: Sharon
Okay, I saw the film. I have to admit, by the time the credits started I had to run to the restroom – even though I had nothing to drink for hours before. So here’s a woman’s slant on the movie.
Enough people have given almost a frame by frame review, but after having read the books countless times (I stopped counting after the 20th time), I was ravenous for the visual edition. I was not disappointed. The first thing that was so unexpected was the downright evil of the Ringwraiths. We’ve seen the clips of them on their snorting black horses, but the true depth of their evil comes out at first in drips and drops – they ride down some poor hobbit in the lane. But more, much more was to come.
The scene at the Prancing Pony where Frodo accidentally dons the ring was incredible! We suddenly see the world as he does – as the wraiths do and the moment it’s on his finger, the Ringwratihs know it! When they burst through the gates of Bree and, in the process, knocked the gate on top of the gate-keeper and just kept riding over him, I sort of jumped in my chair. Coldly they stand over the beds of the hobbits, their long blades raise in unison, then wham, wham, wham. If the hobbits really had there, they’d be in pieces.
I had not expected to like Arwen much. I am a Glorfindel fan. I had heard she took his role of rescuer for the ride to the Ford of Bruinen and I wasn’t really thinking I’d like this new Arwen. I was totally wrong. She’s fantastic. The first thing we see of her is her blade, but I won’t tell you how this scene plays out. It’s just too good to spoil.
We get brief glimpses of Rivendell. I could have watched it for an hour. Being a long-time Elf-fan, I was thrilled to see the way the Elves are handled. And it’s very clear that Legolas has know Aragorn, and of his past, for he jumps to Aragorn’s defense when Boromir says something against him.
We’re rather hastily rushed out of Rivendell and we don’t get to see wargs attacking the Fellowship, but I could live without that. The movie is so compelling, the viewer is transported with the party on to Caradhras. It was so nice to see Legolas walking on top of the snow there. I knew they couldn’t capture the Elven light Tolkien describes, but this began to make up for it – and the speed, accuracy, and sheer brilliance of Legolas as an archer later in the film helped really give us a feel for his character: All business, not quite understanding how the other races see the world, his emotions barely fleeting across his features. He talks to Sam about the Elven Lament for Gandalf, refusing to translate because the pain is too deep. Very well done. The other races are allowed to show their emotions – especially the hobbits, but the Elves obviously emote differently, more subtlety.
Enough has been said about the brilliant scenes in Moria – but I have to say, the Balrog was incredible. Smoke. Shadow. Fire. All with intense hatred toward Gandalf. Wow.
After all the trailers and commercials, I was expecting a longer, more drawn out stay in Lorien. I guess we’ll get that in the Director’s Cut. I think Peter was going for the feeling of Galadriel’s power and magic. There’s a lot of voices in heads – especially between Frodo and Galadriel. We barely get to see Celeborn or Haldir. Before I was ready for it, the Fellowship were in boats and heading away. We never even got to see Galadriel in the swam boat. Heavy sigh.
What I haven’t heard much about is the battle at Amon Hen. It was incredible, and we finally get to see the power beneath the surface of Aragorn. He and Sean Bean are wonderful in their very poignant scene together. The cuts during the battle were so fast, it was hard to follow who was where – which is they way it can get in real life.
When the movie ended, the audience in the screening room I was in sat in stunned silence for a moment, before few people applauded. We’re left wondering how on Middle Earth Frodo and Sam can make it to Mordor (Gimli has given a list of obstacles), and how Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli could ever hope to rescue Merry and Pippin.
Speaking of Merry and Pippin – their comic relief was so well timed, so cute, so hobbit-like. The audience falls in love with them at once.