As the release of the third and final Hobbit film approaches, which presumably means the final film of any kind by Peter Jackson involving Middle Earth, I decided this would be an excellent time to give my Lord of the Rings trilogy blu rays a spin and go on the grand, sweeping journey with these characters once more...and what a journey it is indeed. The first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring, is a brilliantly paced blockbuster that manages to make every minute of its three hour running time feel vital and joyous rather than ponderous. For me, all three of these films still feel like an event rather than just another movie.
The other day I revisited the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence for the first time since it was released in 2001, and I mentioned that I didn't recall much from that year and that is a very truthful statement, but I do remember the magical cinematic experience The Fellowship of the Ring provided me each and every time I went back to the theater to be swept away into the majestic fantasy land beautifully crafted by Jackson. I am a sucker for work that is this epic in scope, especially those that value storytelling rather than merely an assault on the senses.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is perfectly casted, and thus the performances enhance the magic of the entire experience. It was an ambitious project, adapting such an iconic work by J.R.R. Tolkien, and yet I can't imagine it could have been handled any better with every single aspect working in harmony with one another. The direction of Jackson, the photography of Andrew Lesnie, and the score by Howard Shore that suited the tone of every single scene so well, it is a beautiful film that is worthy of the adoration it still receives to this day.
Viewing these films has become essential for me to do on an annual basis, mostly because I love the feeling of relaxing inside on a cold night and letting the warmth of epic cinema wash over me. My 2014 quest to Mordor is off to a wonderful start.
5/5
Next time you watch the LOTR trilogy again, take some time and go through the Behind the Scenes extras. I have heard many a story of young filmmakers who were inspired by those and how they showed how to make movies. For one example, checkout www.theunderwaterrealm.com to see what it inspired.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Nathan, I will absolutely do that. I often times love to enjoy the extras, for some reason I have never done so with the Lord of the Rings though.
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