964. The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002 and 2003)

Running Time: 557 minutes
The Fellowship of the Ring: 178 minutes
The Two Towers: 179 minutes
The Return of the King: 200 minutes
Directed By: Peter Jackson
Written By: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Stephen Sinclair (only The Two Towers), based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien
Main Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee
Click the titles above to view each of the trailers

Well here we are. If you count it as a whole, "The Lord of the Rings" is one of the longest films in the book at a walloping 557 minutes. However, it sure doesn't feel like nine hours has passed when you come to the end. In fact, I left the film still salivating for more. Be warned, spoilers abound!

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

Our tale begins with the forging of the great rings, most notably the “One Ring”, forged by the Dark Lord, Sauron. Eventually Sauron is defeated and the ring passes to different bearers – Isildur, King of Gondor and Gollum, the creature. Fast forward sixty years later and the ring finds itself being housed in The Shire, in the home of Bilbo Baggins (Holm), a hobbit. It is Bilbo’s 111th birthday and when the festivities end, he plans to depart The Shire and seek adventure. In doing so, he wills the ring to his nephew Frodo Baggins (Wood), but not without consequences. Gandalf the Grey (McKellen), a wizard is present and comes to the realization that the ring Bilbo posseses is the One Ring. Gandalf informs Frodo that the ring MUST be destroyed, for it carries far too much power to exist. With Sauron’s life force bound to the ring, Sauron still exists in the form of a great eye that watches over Middle Earth from Mordor. Sauron and his forces are drawn to the ring, therefore Frodo falls under attack at the hands of Ringwraiths. Frodo is sent away, accompanied by Samwise Gamgee (Astin), Pippin and Merry, fellow hobbits, where he will later meet up with Gandalf to discuss the fate of the One Ring and Middle Earth. When Gandalf rides to meet his mentor, Saruman the White (Lee), he finds that Saruman has turned to the dark side. Meanwhile, the four hobbits travel to Bree expecting to meet up with Gandalf, but instead are introduced to Strider a.k.a. Aragorn (Mortensen), a ranger, who offers his assistance to the little fellows. Later, when Frodo is badly wounded, the group head to Rivendell, the city of elves, where Frodo is nursed back to health and Gandalf reunites with the hobbits. It is here that the Fellowship of the Ring is formed, a group of nine who will travel to Mordor and destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, the very fires where it was created. The nine are composed of Frodo Baggins (the ring bearer), Samwise Gamgee, Pippin, Merry, Gandalf the Grey, Aragorn, Boromir of Gondor, Legolas – an elf and Gimli – a dwarf. Together the nine travel, freqeuently attacked by orcs (creatures who used to be Elves and are forged from trees). The height of the action in this volume comes when the Fellowship travel through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by many orcs and a creature called Balrog. Gandalf falls while in the mines and the eight must continue without him. When this installment comes to a close, Frodo and Sam break off from the others, because the six cannot control themselves when it comes to being tempted by the ring. Pippin and Merry are captured by orcs and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli set out to find them.

THE TWO TOWERS

This installment picks up right where “Fellowship” leaves off. Frodo and Sam are still traveling through the hills, making their way to Mordor. Eventually they discover that they’re being followed by Gollum, the creature. At first, Gollum is hostile toward the two hobbits, wanting back his “precious” power ring, but eventually decides to travel with the hobbits, helping them find Mordor. When the hobbits and Gollum do arrive at the gates of Mordor, they find it guarded by thousands of Sauron’s soldiers. Gollum tells them that there’s a back way in and offers to help them get there. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are still on the hunt for Pippin and Merry. They never do find them, but do find tracks that suggest that the hobbits are safe. In fact, Pippin and Merry are safe, being held by the Ents (a race of walking, talking trees), particularly Treebeard. Also while in Fangorn Forrest, Pippin and Merry find that Gandalf survived his fall in the Mines of Moria and is now Gandalf the White. The film also puts focus on the city of Rohan, where their King, Theoden, is being mind controlled by Saruman. Later, Gandalf reunites with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli and together they ride to Edoras and free King Theoden from his spell. Upon Theoden’s awakening, he realizes the dire situation of the times and decides to take his people and flee to Helm’s Deep. Gandalf, fearing Helm’s Deep will not hold and knowing the forces that Saruman will bring, rides to find reinforcements. At Helm’s Deep, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli plead with the King to reach out for help, but the King assures them that there is no help – even Gondor won’t come to their aid. What follows is the Isengard portion of the war, as Saruman sends 10,000 orc soldiers to Helm’s Deep where only the people of Rohan (including children, who are forced to fight), a brigade of elves, Aragorn and his companions stand with swords and bows drawn. As the film ends, Frodo, Sam and Gollum are back on the road to Mordor, after escaping captivity by the men of Gondor. Gollum’s darker side seems to be taking a firmer hold on him, not being able to withstand the temptation that the ring holds. Meanwhile, Gandalf informs us that while the battle for Helm’s Deep is over; the battle for Middle Earth is about to begin!

THE RETURN OF THE KING

The longest of the three installment begins by showing us the back story of Gollum; once named Smeagol, he was a hobbit who was corrupted by the power of the ring. When we jump back to present day, he is still traveling on the road to Mordor, guiding Frodo and Sam. At least they think he's guiding them, but in reality he plans to walk them into a trap. Meanwhile, the Rohirrim celebrate after their victory at Helm's Deep. Their victory is cut short when they realize they may have to come to the aid of Gondor. King Theoden questions whether he'll answer Gondor's call, since Gondor didn't come to Rohan's aid at Helm's Deep. Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, to warn them that the battle will soon come to their doorstep. At Minas Tirith, Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, welcomes Gandalf with reluctance. Gandalf sends Pippin to light the beacons, signaling Rohan to prepare for battle - Rohan answers the call. On the ride to Minas Tirith, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli make a detour into the Paths of the Dead to summon an army from the mountains. There the Army of the Dead are held captive, having never fulfilled their promise of battle to Isildur. Now, Aragorn (Isildur's heir) has the power to release them of their captivity, but only if they join him in battle at Minas Tirith. As war is prepared to be waged at Minas Tirith, with all the essential races and characters in play, Frodo, Sam and Gollum draw closer to Mount Doom. This entire film is basically one giant climax to the entire series, as the intensity here just does not stop!

WHEW! That was a mouthful!

Where do you start with such a masterpiece? Yes, "The Lord of the Rings" (and when I say "The Lord of the Rings" I'm talking about the three films as a whole) is a masterpiece, in every sense of the word. Not only is it a big budget blockbuster, but it's also a beautifully told story - both artistically and otherwise. I don't know about you, but when I hear about the latest big budget blockbusters, I'm not the type to get excited. Visual effects, 3D and James Cameron's magic movie making machines have never been effective in luring me to the theater. In fact, in the last ten years, I've probably only been out to the movies approximately 25 times, but one of those times was to see "The Two Towers". After seeing "The Fellowship of the Ring" and being swept into the created world of J.R.R. Tolkien, I just couldn't resist seeing the next installment. The one thing that really sticks out to me about "The Lord of the Rings" is how quickly it flies by, at least for me anyway. I can't imagine being one of the loyal BOOK watchers and not digging "The Lord of the Rings", for that would be a chore! The time of each film is approximately three hours, with "The Return of the King" being the longest at 200 minutes and it flies by like nothing. Jackson really used his time wisely, making the appropriate cuts, I'm sure and knowing what to include to keep the films chugging along. For the curious, I've never read the books, so I cannot speak on unnecessarily cut characters and storylines; I only speak about the films themselves.

To those of you who think that "The Lord of the Rings" is merely nine hours of a hobbit walking and culminating with a ring toss into a fire pit, I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry that you will never be able to experience this nine hours like I did - with wide eyed amazement, feeling like a child again and getting pumped up during such scenes as Gandalf leading the Riders of Rohan down the mountainside, at the end of "The Two Towers". It's not only a road movie about a ring, but it's a movie about the total collapse of Middle Earth, a very intricate created world, complete with city names, made up races and detailed characters. Apparently Tolkien wrote the books during the years of World War II, so perhaps his vision of a world on the brink of destruction was what he thought was happening to this world. In "The Lord of the Rings" destruction is on the doorstep. There are many scenes where the characters give up hope and prepare themselves for death. In fact, I nearly cried during this exchange between Gandalf and Pippin:

Pippin: I didn't think it would end this way.
Gandalf: End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it.
Pippin: What? Gandalf?... See what?
Gandalf: White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Pippin: [smiling] Well, that isn't so bad.
Gandalf: [softly] No... No it isn't.

It's a film about hope, loyalty, companionship, the choices we're forced to make and the journeys we're forced face, despite not wanting to. It's an epic tale of war and the end of a world. It's a tale of love, as we see with Aragorn and Arwen. It's a tale of a war within oneself, as we see with Gollum. It's everything you've ever wanted in a motion picture. It appeals to the masses; whether you're a typical moviegoer or a film snob, there shouldn't be any doubting the greatness that is "The Lord of the Rings".

RATING: 10/10 If my scale went to '20', I'd give it a '20'. It's going to be hard to dethrone this from the #1 spot when it comes TOP 20 time and if it happens, then I can't wait to see the movie that I deem better than "The Lord of the Rings". No, it's not my favorite film, but it's damn close and it's one of them!

MOVIES WATCHED: 424
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 577

April 14, 2012 2:55pm