As the triumphant start of a trilogy,
The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring leaves you begging for more. By
necessity, Peter Jackson's ambitious epic compresses J.R.R.
Tolkien's classic
The Lord of the Rings, but this robust
adaptation maintains reverent allegiance to Tolkien's creation,
instantly qualifying as one of the greatest fantasy films ever
made. At 178 minutes, it's long enough to establish the myriad
inhabitants of Middle-earth, the legendary Rings of Power, and the
fellowship of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and humans--led by the
wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the brave hobbit Frodo (Elijah
Wood)--who must battle terrifying forces of evil on their perilous
journey to destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. Superbly
paced, the film is both epic and intimate, offering astonishing
special effects and production design while emphasizing the
emotional intensity of Frodo's adventure, and ends on a perfect
note of heroic loyalty and rich anticipation.
After the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo and Sam journey to
Mordor with the creature Gollum as their guide in The Two
Towers. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando
Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) join in the defense of the
people of Rohan, who are the first target in the eradication of the
race of Men by the renegade wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) and
the dark lord Sauron. Fantastic creatures, astounding visual
effects, and a climactic battle at the fortress of Helm's Deep make
The Two Towers a worthy successor to The Fellowship of
the Ring, grander in scale but retaining the story's emotional
intimacy.
With The Return of the King, the greatest fantasy epic
in film history draws to a grand and glorious conclusion. The
trilogy could never fully satisfy those who remain exclusively
loyal to Tolkien's expansive literature, but as a showcase for
physical and technical craftsmanship it is unsurpassed in pure
scale and ambition, setting milestone after cinematic milestone as
Frodo and Sam continue their mission to Mordor to destroy the
soul-corrupting One Ring. While the heir to the kingdom of Men,
Aragorn, endures the massive battle at Minas Tirith with the
allegiance of Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf, Frodo and Sam must
survive the schizoid deceptions of Gollum, who remains utterly
convincing as a hybrid of performance (by Andy Serkis) and subtly
nuanced computer animation. Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and
Philippa Boyens have much ground to cover; that they do so with
intense pacing and epic sweep is impressive enough, but by
investing greater depth and consequence in the actions of fellow
hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), they
ensure that The Return of the King maintains the trilogy's
emphasis on intimate fellowship and remains faithful to Tolkien's
overall vision. By ending the LOTR trilogy with noble
integrity and faith in the power of imaginative storytelling,
The Return of the King, like its predecessors, will stand
as an adventure for the ages. --Jeff Shannon and David
Horiuchi
Our Review of the Extended
Edition on DVD (Dec. 14, 2004):
The extended editions of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the
Rings present the greatest trilogy in film history in the most
ambitious sets in DVD history. In bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's nearly
unfilmable work to the screen, Jackson benefited from extraordinary
special effects, evocative New Zealand locales, and an
exceptionally well-chosen cast, but most of all from his own
adaptation with co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens,
preserving Tolkien's vision and often his very words, but also
making logical changes to accommodate the medium of film. While
purists complained about these changes and about characters and
scenes left out of the films, the almost two additional hours of
material in the extended editions (about 11 hours total) help
appease them by delving more deeply into Tolkien's music, the
characters, and loose ends that enrich the story, such as an
explanation of the Faramir-Denethor relationship, and the
appearance of the Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor. In
addition, the extended editions offer more bridge material between
the films, further confirming that the trilogy is really one long
film presented in three pieces (which is why it's the greatest
trilogy ever--there's no weak link). The scene of Galadriel's gifts
to the Fellowship added to the first film proves significant over
the course of the story, while the new Faramir scene at the end of
the second film helps set up the third and the new Saruman scene at
the beginning of the third film helps conclude the plot of the
second.
To top it all off, the extended editions offer four discs per
film: two for the longer movie, plus four commentary tracks and
stupendous DTS 6.1 ES sound; and two for the bonus material, which
covers just about everything from script creation to special
effects. The argument was that fans would need both versions
because the bonus material is completely different, but the
features on the theatrical releases are so vastly inferior that the
only reason a fan would need them would be if they wanted to watch
the shorter versions they saw in theaters (the last of which,
The Return of the King, merely won 11 Oscars). The
LOTR extended editions without exception have set the DVD
standard by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three
films together and further embraces Tolkien's world, a
reference-quality home theater experience, and generous,
intelligent, and engrossing bonus features. --David
Horiuchi
