This blog post is part of The Film That Started It All Blogathon on Let's Go To The Movies. Getting people to really have a look at a film that they believe started a true love, passion and obsession towards films. I wanted to make sure we focus on the good and get away from the negative comments mainly on Twitter, love film!
When I was thinking about this Blogathon something I actually had a similar draft saved from a couple of years ago, only one film was in my mind. That being Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. I guess I could have combined the whole trilogy but I am going to only focus on that first part and the start of a truly epic journey for cinema watching and then the extended edition released on DVD and now I own on Blu-Ray as well, hoping for 4K UHD one day!
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It all started with the cinema release and I do remember going to see the film back in 2001 with my friends at the age of 14! That actually seems rather scary to think about now, but anyway. Watching a truly amazing film like this on the big screen for the film time at that age is really something else and something I am so pleased I had the chance to do, comparing to films that are released now nothing has ever been on the same level as Lord of the Rings. Yes, all the Marvel films are nice to watch but nothing epic. I am partly going to say that is because the way they were shot.
The whole trilogy was shot in 150 real world locations which were used to create the different places in Middle Earth. It took 274 days to film the trilogy from 11th October 1999 to 22nd December 2000. But each year between 2001-2003 pickup shots were done during those three years which added 6 weeks each year. So come on that is on a whole different level!
Middle Earth
A very unique place with many different races living in different parts of the complex world. The fact that they have very different features and sizes would have made the filming process even tougher! Hobbit's being very small in particular, that is why I have included the above photos from on set just to show that each actor had to have many different doubles for the filming. I think it helps to put into perspective just how important the filming really became. It was groundbreaking!
The One Ring
The opening scene gives the viewer some background on the rings of power and who has them, also the One Ring to rule them all the ultimate ring of power. Forged by Sauron and we know that this is going to become the main focus of our story. Going from that to the peaceful Hobbiton with a carefree Frodo Baggins. Little does he realise that Gandalf returning for Bilbo's birthday is about to change everything when he comes to realise that his old friend found the one ring many years ago!
The Fellowship
When Gandalf was aware that it was indeed the One Ring that Frodo now had in his possession he had to get to Rivendell and warn Lord Elrond who is an Elf. This leads to a secret council meeting after The Hobbits attempted to meet Gandalf but instead came across Strider also known as Aragon. The council meeting brings together different races from Middle Earth who all vow to protect not only the ring but Frodo as well. When the young Hobbit offers to destroy the ring in Mordor, something Gandalf did not want to happen. The ring was already starting to consume Frodo as he felt bound to destroy it! We then get Sam, Merry and Pippin all willing to join on the quest that they actually don't know very much about. Legolas the Elf from the woodland realm, Gimli from the Dwarfs, Boromir of Gondor who is not happy to learn of Aragon who is the rightful King. Along with Gandalf the wizard they must all attempt to get to Mordor to destroy the One Ring.
Sense of Adventure
This is probably the thing I love the most about this film, that it has such a quest and adventure to it all. The beginning of friendships with the most unlikely people, which I guess we can take in so many different ways which show that even something a complete fantasy of this Middle Earth world can still be relevant to any period of time for different nations and people who do not get on with each other. The adventure really does begin in this film, something that I throughly enjoy watching from start to finish. The character development really starts as well, you care about these characters who we will spend a lot of hours with over the three years of the films being released. Or I guess even longer when the Extended Editions were also released. I have watched those versions so many times I actually notice the missing scenes if I watch the theatrical versions now!
Visually Stunning
So many scenes are just so breathtaking and that is something I truly adore about this masterpiece of a film. I truly believe that this and the other two in the trilogy are some of the greatest of all time. I just wish we could have a wide cinema re-release as I would love nothing more than the honour of seeing them all on the big screen again. Also allowing people who might not have ever actually watched them experiencing them in the best possible way. It really is visually stunning!
The Film That Started It All
Don't get me wrong I had always enjoyed and liked films before this one but Fellowship started my true obsession with films. On the DVD I watched every single feature about how the film was made, watched the whole film with cast commentary and truly found myself engaged and lost in Middle Earth. I fell in love with the cast and have currently been lucky enough to meet two of them now, Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom. I even have my very own Evenstar necklace which I don't believe I have ever actually worn, I think I felt that it was then too geeky to wear. I guess I could get away with it now right as hardly anyone will actually remember what it is from? So I owe my film obsession to this film and Peter Jackson, I guess Let's Go To The Movies wouldn't really exist without it either.
