The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Blu-ray) (2001)

 

 

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I love Tolkien books. But don't judge the films by the books. Sorry, it's apple's and oranges - the best of each crop. Who says you have to chose? Not me! I have seen this film so many times I could likely apply for Guinness Book of Records. Hey even my cat LOVES this film. Seriously, she will sit and watch this and The Two Tower hypnotised by the film!

It's is NOT a kids film. Parents not paying attention - this is NOT Harry Potter. This is a very complicated story, with very high ideas that are way over a kid's head. There is violence, quite frightening, and you will spend all your time trying to explain it to small ones, so NO it's not a whole family film.

I think Jackson created something everyone needs in this ME-Generation disconnected-from-the-masses computer people. People online connect, but they also are isolated. This film reminds us there are things more important than our immediate wishes. Like fellowship, love and the willingness to sacrifice yourself for the great good of people you care for. It is a theme we needed to be reminded, and it touches our hearts. Tolkien's world, vividly and beautifully created by director Jackson is a place where honour, good and evil are not just words, but are the forces that shape lives.

Brilliant filmed, marvellously acted, it has propelled Viggo Mortensen rightly into the superstar spotlight his talent deserves. Aragorn is the role of a lifetime and he breathes such life into the character. As does wonderful newcomer Orlando Bloom as Legolas. The bond between Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are friendships we all would wish to experience. Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee, John Rhys Davies are as always brilliant. But the hobbit bunch is great with Wood great as Frodo, but more surprisingly Sean Astin (son of Patty Duke and John Astin) as Sam, gives the film such heart. Also, the growth of the jokers Merry and Pippin is deft conceived and acted.

If you are an Ring Addict and cannot get enough, buy the extended version. If you are not a nitpicker who wants all the details, then this is a perfect version for you.

Me, sigh, I have both...and figure I will end up buying the Complete Collectors Edition when Jackson stuff all three into a single box. Most of the time, when they do these repackages, I get ticked begin suckered into buy each incarnation.

NOT with this film.

Generally I'm not a fan of fantasy novels and I must admit to never having had the urge to even try to read JRR Tolkien's epic books, written decades ago. Nor have I read the likes of Terry Pratchett or JK Rowling's Harry Potter books, although I must admit to a childhood appreciation of CS Lewis. A few years ago when I read that they were making The Lord of the Rings into a trilogy of movies and my favourite movie magazines writers were wetting themselves with excitement, I thought 'so what?'. Director Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures) didn't have that much of a track record, sword and sorcery was definitely not my thing and besides I'm an adult and I thought that kind of stuff was for kids. That was until December 2001 when I first saw Lord of the Rings; Fellowship of the Ring and was blown away by this cinematic masterpiece...
So what can you say about Lord of The Rings that hasn't already been said? In my view in 2001 there were two great and I mean GREAT movies made, Lord of the Rings and Moulin Rouge. BUT did Oscar recognise either movie? Of course not because Oscar prefers mediocrity, Oscar prefers cynically made I've got a disability and I'm going to overcome it movies. The problem with Lord of the Rings is that nobody had a disability. None of the major characters was blind, autistic, schizophrenic or could paint with their left foot, and everybody knows to win any of the major Oscars you need a major disability, you need to follow a formula and you need to be popular and previously unfairly overlooked by the Academy for the best work of your life. Then eventually it will become your turn if it happens to be politically correct that year and if the movie studio spends millions of dollars on a publicity campaign. The fact that Lord of the Rings was perhaps the best movie of that year and outstanding Directorial achievement was apparently inconsequential to the Academy but then why should that surprise anybody?

The Lord of the Rings starts by explaining the history of the rings, how they were forged, how the forces of evil were defeated and how through the greed of man the one ring that could control all survived and eventually ended up in the possession Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), one of the diminutive peace-loving hobbits who live in the Shire. On the occasion of his 110th birthday Bilbo, overcome with wanderlust, sets off on a journey across middle earth and at the behest of the good wizard Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen), he entrusts the ring to his young nephew, Frodo (Elijah Wood). However, it is not long before the forces of evil are in hot pursuit of the ring, led by another wizard, Saruman (Christopher Lee), under the influence of the abominable Sauron, the evil force that originally created and controlled the ring and that previously had plunged middle earth into darkness. This leads to Frodo having to flee the shire to the elf city of Rivendell, with three of his fellow (and rather mischievous) hobbits for company, hotly pursued by Sauron's evil cloaked nightriders. On eventually, and not so safely, arriving at Rivendell and after much debate it is decided that the ring must be destroyed, in the only place possible, in the fires of Mount Doom (where it was originally forged) and the quest to destroy the ring sets out in earnest, with a multi-nationed (although apparently not multi-racial) fellowship of wizards, Hobbits, elves, humans and dwarves. Once again however, danger is not far behind in the shape of the hideous and unbelievably ferocious Orcs and in the hearts of the fellowship themselves.

Parents beware!!! The Lord of the Rings is punctuated by action scenes that lift the tempo of the movie and get the audiences adrenalin flowing but they do feature some a lot of violence - torture, mutilation, decapitation, death and I have to say that I was very surprised at the rating given to it in the UK, which allowed very young children to see it. For this is not a children's movie and despite it's mythic, swords and sorcery basis, it is certainly not Harry Potter.

At the heart of Tolkien's story is that evil and hatred lurks in the heart of every person and that the ring draws these feelings to the surface and apparently, much of Tolkien's inspiration behind the moral tone of Lord of The Rings was the rise of the Nazi's prior to and during the Second World War. Hence, unlike most great mythological quests where the object is to attain some great treasure or object that will provide its bearer with some great power or wealth, at the centre of the Lord of the Rings is the quest to destroy an object of great power in the fires of Doom in order to vanquish evil and bring peace for all eternity).

Although a posterior-numbing (nearly) three hours long, at the end of The Fellowship of The Ring I was left frustrated and desperate for more. I wanted to stay seated and for the movie theatre to immediately start showing the second part of the trilogy, The Two Towers. I didn't want to have to wait a year for the sequel or eight months for the DVD, such was my enjoyment of this movie. For Peter Jackson has achieved what supposedly could not be achieved in providing us with a fast-moving and totally enthralling tale, set against the beautiful backdrop of the New Zealand landscape; snow-capped mountains, beautiful lakes, rivers and valleys, idyllic farmland, great expanses of woodland and beautiful and exotic flora. The New Zealand tourist board will forever be in his debt. The sets and special effects are all excellent, as is the cast magnificently led by Sir Ian McKellen as the great wizard Gandalf, who does a magnificent job steering well clear of the ham. He is brilliantly supported by the likes of Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin and in particular (in what might well be a breakthrough performance) Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn (aka Strider). Whilst Frances Walsh's screenplay must also be given much credit.

Like many millions of other people across the planet I eagerly await the second part of the trilogy, The Two Towers, being released on DVD. As for The Fellowship of The Ring it fully deserves five stars, if not six (five stars are all too often too easily dispensed by Amazon reviewers). Movie entertainment doesn't get any better!!!

Der Herr der Ringe (1) - Die Gefährten

Zunächst die fundamentale Unvereinbarkeit zwischen der Botschaft des Films und dem Christentum: Das Böse und die Sünde gehen immer vom Menschen aus, nicht in den Menschen hinein.

Neutestamentliche Begründung: Evangelium nach Markus, Kapitel 7, Vers 15 (Nichts, was von außen in den Menschen hineinkommt, kann ihn unrein machen, sondern was aus dem Menschen herauskommt, das macht ihn unrein.)

Es gibt zwar Versuchungen von Außen, aber diese sind noch nicht die böse Tat selbst. Sünde und das Böse konstituieren sich erst, wenn sie als fertige Entscheidungen aus dem Inneren des Menschen ausströmen, seien es auch nur Gedankenströme. Ein Ring, Ding oder Sache kann somit nie eine böse Macht in sich innehaben. Die Fokusierung auf den Ring als ein Objekt, das in sich (böse) Macht besitzt und deshalb zu vernichten wäre, ist von daher antichristlich. Die christliche Weltanschauung vertritt die Souveränität der einzelnen Person über alles Dingliche. Der menschliche Geist steht über dem Universum. Es kann nichts außer Gottes geben, das stärker als der menschliche Geist wäre.

Die Problematik einer Zuweisung der Macht in das Objekt eines Dinges (Ringes) bedingt die menschendiskriminierende Botschaft, dass ihr die Menschen unterlegen und ausgeliefert sind. Die Botschaft sagt aus, dass die Menschen mittels ihrer geistigen Kräfte schwächer als der Ring sind. Das heißt sogar, dass sie in ihrer Qualität des Guten dem Bösen unterlegen und ausgeliefert sind. So sieht man gleich am Anfang des Films, dass die Ritter des Guten durcht die Macht des Ringes auf dem Finger des bösen Herrschers Sauron scharenweise in die Luft geschleudert und getötet werden. Hier offenbart sich schon im Anbeginn, wie radikal der Geist des Menschen heruntergekurbelt wird.

Der Ring muß also vernichtet werden, weil er stärker als der Mensch selbst ist. Das ist die Aussage - welche vom human-ethischen Standpunkt aus auf wackligen Beinen steht und die menschliche Anlage völlig herabmindert.

Nebenbei erwähnt: die Szene, als der Königssohn dem bösen Sauron den Finger abhackt, auf dem der Ring getragen wird, ist ziemlich plump gemacht. Denn wie soll ein mit solch einem machtvollen Ring ausgestatteter Titan durch einen Schwenk eines am Boden liegenden Mannes zur Strecke gebracht werden können, nachdem er scharenweise Soldaten hinwegfegte?!

Was dem Film fehlt, ist echte Tiefe und die ausreichende Durchlichtung der menschlichen Wesenheit. Die Handlung verkommt in äußeren Stress- und Nervositätsmustern, die einem den Schweiß auf die Stirne treiben. Ein hin und her an Videospieleffekten, ein Gezerre und Geschubse zwischen schönem Edelmut und hässlichem Grölen.

Wenn die Physis nicht ausreicht, hilft Zauberei aus. Wenn die Zauberei nicht ausreicht, hilft der Mut der Verzweiflung, also auch Physis. Es ist ein sich ständig wiederholendes und widersprechendes Mühlrad von ich hau Dir in die Nase, Du haust mir in die Nase zwischen Gut und Böse bis zum Exzess und dem finalen Wurf des Ringes in den Abgrund im dritten Teil. Dass manche Guten und Edlen der Versuchung der Macht erliegen, und sich auf die Seite des Bösen stellen, verleiht der Geschichte ein etwas bunteres Profil. Ansonsten ist es das Mittel und Klischee vieler Filmgeschichten in allen möglichen Genres. Der Einschub des Verrätertums als eine der vorhersehbaren Pointen wird auch hier gründlich durchgezogen.

Für eine Tiefengeschichte zu spektakelgeil. Die Tiefendimension versinkt in den allgemeinunverbindlichen Allerweltsweisheiten und pathetischen Flüsterungen. Die kopflose und bisweilen grauslich ausufernde Action, die eher der Hauptsinn des Filmes zu sein scheint, kann den Mangel an geistiger Tiefe auch nicht kompensieren.

Ein durchschnittlicher Film in Überlänge, plapperverliebt und actionbombastisch.

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5.0 von 5 Sternen Eine absolut gelungene DVD
Die DVD des ersten Teils von Der Herr der Ringe ist absolut gelungen! Der Film läuft wie im Kino Widescreen, sodass nichts verzerrt wird. Lesen Sie weiter...

Am 9. September 2002 veröffentlicht

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