3.1 The Fellowship of the Ring

This section is concerned with the first part of the movie trilogy.

3.1.1 Theatrical
The Fellowship of the Ring opened on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, but I did not as far as I can remember take much notice about it. A week later, on December 26, a friend asked me if I would like to come with him to the theater and see The Fellowship of the Ring. He had already booked two tickets, before he had checked with me if I wanted and could go with him. I was not that enthusiastic, but I somewhat reluctantly agreed to see it, something for which I was very grateful afterwards.

We walked to the theater through a snowy Lidköping for the late (20:30) run. My initial impression after seeing the movie was that it was great with good cast, script, and music, but I did not then really feel that it was a special movie; that would come after I had watched the DVD edition. The movie did leave me with a certain stiffness in my legs; it was probably the longest movie I had seen in a theater.

3.1.2 DVD
Tuesday, August 6, 2002, was a big day: the release of the Fellowship of the Ring DVD edition. I saw the DVD release the first time with the same friend I originally saw the movie in the theater with, and then not even from the beginning, and immediately many memories of the movie came back to me and I began to see the movie in a new light. Soon thereafter I ordered the DVD so that I would have this masterpiece in my possession. When I received it I watched it a couple of times in a short period of time: I think I saw it three times during one week.

The next big day was Tuesday, November 12, when the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring was released. I had already booked the Collector's Edition online in advance so that I would get the movie as soon as possible. I got it on November 14. A couple of days after that, I watched the extended edition for the first time. I really enjoyed the new and the extended scenes that made the movie even better. It was at this point that the other languages spoken in the movie began to interest me a little. I think the Elvish languages are beautiful.

By now my impression of The Fellowship of the Ring was no longer the initial one I had after seeing it in the theater. I thought the cast members were great and filled their roles perfectly. The work of the crew was just astounding: there were so many people involved, and I was sure that they all contributed in one way or another to the movie. When I realized the extent of work put into the movie (from the DVD bonus discs and TV documentaries) I viewed it in a whole new light. The music was fantastic and I truly did feel transported to Middle-earth when I heard it. It fit perfectly with the movie and helped to tell the story. Now I fully realized that this was not just any movie, but something really big and special.

3.1.3 Specific Scenes
A character I missed very much was Tom Bombadil. I can understand why he was not in the movie, but I very much would have liked to see him (and Goldberry) in it. Tom is important because he is a mysterious character over whom the Ring has no power, and he is one of my favorite characters in the book.

I am not altogether happy that in the movie it seems to be Arwen who makes the Loudwater/Bruinen river rise against the Nazgûl; in the book it is the Elrond who commands this river. Furthermore, the movie never mentioned that it was Gandalf who made the white horses (with white riders in the book) appear in the rushing water.

In the book, it is Caradhras itself that defeats the fellowship; in the movie, it is obvious that it is Saruman that is causing the defeat.

The scene with Gandalf and the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm is one my favorite scenes in the movie. The Balrog looks so menacing and terrible; its sounds and the wave of heat that flows from its mouth when it roars are great.

Another great scene is in Lothlórien when Galadriel is tempted by the Ring and changes dramatically for a brief moment of time. I really like the words she says during this brief moment. When I saw this the first time it made me unsure about Galadriel's character (good or evil) since I did not know the story at that time.

The gift-giving scene in Lothlórien where Galadriel gives the members of the fellowship parting gifts was one scene that was not in the theatrical edition, so I was very happy to see it in the extended edition.

One emotional scene is the one where Frodo stands alone on the shore of Anduin and hears Gandalf's voice before he takes one of the boats and sets of across the river.

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3.1.4 Poster and Soundtrack
I tried hard in September and October to get hold of the theatrical poster of The Fellowship of the Ring, but it obviously was very popular and could not be found anywhere (for free at least). Fortunately, thanks to a remote acquaintance who works in a bookstore that sold the DVD, I was able to get the poster. (A big thank you goes out to this acquaintance.)

I ordered the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack together with the soundtrack of The Two Towers in December of 2002. With the music being so good I wanted to have these soundtracks.

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