We’ve seen two sequels, a Hobbit trilogy and a series in the 22 years since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring launched, which is on TV today. The cinematic journeys to Middle-earth seem natural. Back then it looked different. JRR Tolkien’s novel series was considered unfilmable.
What is The Fellowship of the Ring about?
On the 111th birthday of his uncle Bilbo (Ian Holm), the life of young hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) changes dramatically. Not only must he leave his beloved Shire, he is also burdened with to destroy the One Ring that the evil Sauron intends to use to bring ruin to all of Middle-earth. On his dangerous and adventurous journey Frodo finds support from his best friend Sam (Sean Astin), the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), the ranger Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), the combative Boromir (Sean Bean), the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) , the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and the two hobbits Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan).
JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books were considered unfilmable
Plans for the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings date back to 1956, shortly after the release of JRR Tolkien’s trilogy. Directors such as David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia), Michelangelo Antontioni (Blowup) and Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey) have been linked with live-action adaptations. Kubrick referred to the books as “unfilmable” (via Variety).
Warner Bros.
The fellows
The story of hobbits and orcs required the realization of fantasy creatures, shooting in a wide variety of landscapes, elaborate battles and sets, and the telling of an epic story that exceeded the running time of a film.
In 1995, New Zealand director Peter Jackson (Braindead) tackled the film adaptation. After several detours, The Fellowship of the Ring was released in 2001, 47 years after the novel was published. Jackson relied on the latest developments in computer effects and used the diverse landscape of his native New Zealand as a film location.
The companions and the sequels achieve the impossible
So Peter Jackson and his team created a fantasy series that set standards. The Lord of the Rings films were critically acclaimed from the first part and they were also well received by the audience. Here at Moviepilot, the trilogy tops the list of the best fantasy movies of all timemeasured by the amount and number of community ratings.
Before the start of the series, fantasy films were the domain of television and anything but a safe bet in cinemas. But the little hobbit Frodo managed to do the impossible. He made a worthy leap to the big screen and, together with fellow genre member Harry Potter (also in cinemas from 2001), triggered a boom in fantasy films that, in principle, has continued to this day. “Unverfilmbar” is and will always be a label that only applies until someone proves otherwise.
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