The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 film, released on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, directed by Peter JacksonIt is the first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. The film tells the adventures of the members of the "Fellowship of the Ring" that are contained in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings. The final scene is actually taken from the first chapter of the second volume, The Two Towers. The screenplay was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson. It was produced as the first of three films based on the novels, filmed simultaneously on location in New Zealand. It had a budget of $180 million U.S. dollars, principal photography took 14 months, and postproduction continued long after that.
RiffTrax released their riff in November 2006.
Synopsis and Preview[]
RiffTrax - Fellowship of the Ring Trailer
[Spoilers Begin]
At his 111th birthday party, Bilbo gives the Ring to his nephew, Frodo Baggins. After some time, the wizard Gandalf the Grey begins to suspect Bilbo's magic ring may be The One Ring, lost for over 3000 years, and rides to Minas Tirith to search for answers. After pouring over old documents for months, he finds the account of the finding of The One Ring. Gandalf learns that The Ring has several lines of Black Speech written on it that are only visible if The Ring is heated with fire. He returns to Bag End only to learn that the ring Frodo has been holding onto is, in fact, Sauron's One Ring. Gandalf tells Frodo to leave the Shire immediately with the Ring. Gandalf catches Samwise Gamgee eavesdropping by a window and decides to send him along with Frodo. Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with Saruman the White who reveals to Gandalf that the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, have left Minas Morgul to capture the Ring and kill whoever carries it. Gandalf attempts to flee to warn Frodo, but Saruman, having already been corrupted to Sauron's cause, imprisons Gandalf atop his tower Orthanc. Gandalf is then forced to watch as Saruman, following Sauron's orders, commands the Orcs of Isengard to construct weapons of war and produce a new breed of Orc fighters called the Uruk-Hai.
While traveling to the town of Bree, Frodo and Sam are soon joined by fellow hobbits, Merry and Pippin. After encountering a Ringwraith on the road, they manage to reach Bree only to discover that Gandalf hasn't arrived yet. Instead, Frodo meets a man called "Strider", who agrees to lead them to Rivendell. They continue travelling and spend the night on the hill of Weathertop, where they are attacked by the Nazgûl. Strider fights off the Ringwraiths, but Frodo is grievously wounded by one of the wraiths that stabbed him with a morgul blade which will cause him to turn into a wraith if not attended to with the proper care. While chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo is taken by the Elf Arwen to the Elven haven of Rivendell, and healed was by her father, Elrond (the leader of the Elves at the battle of Mount Doom 3,000 years before). Arwen also uses her magic to cut off the pursuing Ringwraiths at the Ford of Bruinen, summoning a surge of water that swept the Ringwraiths away.
In Rivendell, Frodo finds Gandalf, who explains why he didn't meet them at Bree and that he had escaped Orthanc and Saruman's clutches with the help of an eagle. Later, Elrond calls a council to decide what should be done with the Ring. Elrond warns against keeping the Ring in Rivendell for long, knowing that the Elven realm could come under attack from both Mordor and Isengard. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom and is accompanied by his hobbit friends and Gandalf, as well as Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. Also travelling with them are the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli and Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor. Together they comprise and become the Fellowship of the Ring.
The Fellowship sets out and tries to pass over the Misty Mountains by the mountain pass of Caradhras, but they are stopped by Saruman's wizardry. At Gimli's insistence, they decide to seek safety and travel under the mountain through The Mines of Moria. Frodo agrees, but while traveling through the mines, they are attacked by a Watcher in the Water, Goblins and a Cave Troll, and encounter a Balrog, an ancient demon of fire and shadow, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf confronts the Balrog on the bridge, allowing the others to escape the subterranean realm, but the monster drags him into the abyss below. The group flees to the Elven realm of Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. That night, Frodo meets Galadriel, who tells him that it is his destiny to handle the Ring and ultimately destroy it. Before they leave, Galadriel gives Frodo the Phial of Galadriel, and the other members also receive gifts from them. Taking the straight path to Mordor, they travel on the River Anduin towards Parth Galen.
After landing at Parth Galen, Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo, believing that it is the only way to save his realm, but Aragorn stopped Boromir from taking the ring. Aragorn encounters Frodo, but unlike Boromir, Aragorn chooses not to take the Ring. Knowing that the Ring's temptation will be too strong for him or anyone else that is in the fellowship, so Frodo decides to leave them and go to Mordor alone. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fellowship are attacked by Uruk-hai, who Saruman had ordered to hunt down the Fellowship and take back the Ring. Aragorn and the rest of the fellowship faught together to make the Uruk-hai distracted so Frodo can escape, Merry and Pippin, also realizing that Frodo is leaving, distract the orcs allowing Frodo to escape. As Boromir rushed to the aid of the two hobbits, he got mortally wounded by the Uruk commander Lurtz. Before Lurtz could finish Boromir, Aragorn arrives and decapitates Lurtz. After a swordfight, Boromir regrets having attempted to steal the Ring, and is forgiven by Aragorn before he dies. Merry and Pippin got captured, prompting Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to begin their pursuit of the orcs with the intent of rescuing the hobbits, leaving Frodo to his quest. Frodo returns to the banks of the river and begins rowing across when Sam appears and swims out after Frodo, insisting to keep his promise to Gandalf to look after Frodo. Frodo accepts Sam's presence as together they continue their journey through the hills of Emyn Muil. [Spoilers End]
Cast and Crew[]
- Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
- Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey
- Liv Tyler as Arwen
- Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
- Sean Astin as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee
- Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
- John Rhys-Davies as Gimli
- Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took
- Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck
- Christopher Lee as Saruman the White
- Hugo Weaving as Elrond
- Sean Bean as Boromir
- Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins
- Andy Serkis as Gollum
- Orlando Bloom as Legolas