10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Here we see the transformation of brilliant fantasy novel, into the first instalment of an epic series of films. A humble hobbit from the modest Shire along with the company of eight other compatriots undertake a quest to destroy the One Ring, which is all powerful, to rescue Middle Earth from the clutches of Sauron.

As with all the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) films, the Fellowship of the Ring (2001) is directed by Peter Jackson who is versatile and has produced films from King Kong to the Lovely Bones. The Fellowship of the Ring stars Elijah Wood as the burdened lead, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen. In his role as Aragorn, Mortensen stayed in character by always having his sword on him even off-set, because he felt the sword was integral to his role (IMDb). He had also been trained by former Olympic fencer Bob Anderson, who believed Mortensen to be “the best swordsman [he has] ever trained”. Anderson’s claim to fame is wearing the Darth Vader suit when duelling Luke Skywalker in the Empire Strikes back and Return of the Jedi (the Guardian, 2012)!

This film is so good because of the attention to detail. Gimli is the shortest of the companions in the fellowship; however, his actor John Rhys-Davies was 6ft1. To overcome the challenge of Gimli looking taller than Legolas or Aragorn a body double was used, along with adapting film techniques, such as wider shots, to reduce the height of the actor. Further, the memorable music is composed by Howard Shore and adds to the distinction of the film.

The Shire scenes, which were filmed near Matamata in northern New Zealand, still hosts a part of the set which LOTR fans can tour (IMDb). You can even treat yourself to an ale at the Green Dragon inn.

I ranked this film 83/100. My only fault with this film is the length, at 2h58m it far exceeds the ideal 1h30m film length that I enjoy so much.

Judging Criteria

SCRIPTURAL INTEGRATION - 20 points: 17

STORY/SCREENPLAY - 10 points: 9

DIRECTOR - 10 points: 8

CINEMATOGRAPHY - 10 points: 8

EDITOR - 10 points: 7

PRODUCTION DESIGN - 10 points: 9

ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE or SCORE EFFECTIVENESS (if not original) - 10 points: 8

SOUND DESIGN - 10 points:8

ACTING - 10 points: 9

TOTAL SCORE 100 POINTS. : 83