The film that I have selected for my first blog post for ENG225: Introduction to Film is The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This full-length film runs 178 minutes and is categorized as a Fantasy Film. The writers of the film include Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. Peter Jackson was the main director of the film. Some of the major actors in this film include Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Bean, and Liv Tyler. This film was released on December 19th 2001.(American Film Institute, 2014)
The story of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring actually begins many years before the plot of the movie picks up. The story includes many things that happened many years previous, while the plot begins with what we see on screen(Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). The story begins ages before the plot of the story opens in what is known as the Shire. We see brief glimpses of the opening to the story from the previous age. The story begins with a dark lord named Sauron who creates magical rings that are supposed to help rule over each race in the film including Elves, Dwarfs, and Men. However, Sauron called “the deceiver” created a master ring that would be able to control all the others. His goal was to take over Middle Earth, which is where the story takes place. The free races then rallied and fought against Sauron. Isildur who was the son of the king of men fought Sauron and was able to cut free the Master ring. Loosing the Master ring caused Sauron to no longer be able to take a physical form, and his power was gone. Had the Master ring been destroyed then Sauron’s power would have ended, but Isildur was overcome by the power of the ring and kept it for his own use ensuring that Sauron’s evil lived on. Isildur was later killed and the ring disappeared from living memory. Then 50 years prior to where our main plot begins Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit finds the ring and wins it in a game of riddles in the dark from a creature named Gollum. The ring passes to Frodo and then he and 8 others set out on a quest to destroy the ring, which can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom where it was created.
The plot begins after Bilbo keeps the ring for the next 50 years. After years of living contently in the Shire where all the hobbits live, Bilbo decides to revisit the elves he had once met on his previous adventure. He leaves the ring, which was very difficult to do, and all of his things to his nephew Frodo Baggins. Gandalf the Grey Wizard helps him leave the ring behind, and promised to look after Frodo. He is suspicious of the ring and so tells Frodo to hide it, which Frodo does. Gandalf leaves for a time and after much research he discovers the ring will show writing in the dark tongue of Mordor if exposed to heat. He returns to test his theory and discovers that the ring Bilbo left to Frodo is in fact the Master ring. Sauron has awakened and began searching for the ring, which causes Frodo to have to leave the Shire. His dear friend Sam was listening at the window, and so is sent on the journey to Rivendell to meet the elves. Gandalf leaves them to consult the white wizard Saruman. On the way out of the Shire Sam and Frodo run into their old friends Merry and Pippin, and the four of them escape the Shire together after being hunted by Ring wraiths. They go to an Inn where they are supposed to meet Gandalf, but he does not show because he is actually imprisoned by Saruman who has chosen the dark side. At the Inn the group meets Aragorn who they know as Strider. He agrees to lead them to Rivendell. On the way the Ring wraiths attack again and mortally wound Frodo who is saved by a Female Elf who is the daughter of the high Lord Elrond, and who loves the mortal Aragorn. She uses her magic and the magic of her people to heal Frodo, although the wound never fully heals. After reaching Rivendell Gandalf is reunited with the hobbits. A council is held by Lord Elrond, which includes the rulers of Men, Elves, and Dwarfs to decide the fate of the ring. The council decides that the ring must go to Mount Doom to be destroyed. Frodo volunteers to bear the ring, and 8 others volunteer to go with him and help him complete the task. These 8 include Gandalf, 2 men Aragorn, and Boromir, 1 Elf Legolas, 1 Dwarf Gimli, and the other 3 hobbits. This group of 9 becomes the fellowship of the ring. They set out on their journey and are faced with many hardships including fighting orcs, which are evil distorted creatures. In Moria, which is a Dwarfish mine that is over run with orcs, they loose Gandalf to a dark creature made of fire. The company continues, but Frodo begins to see that some in the company are beginning to covet the ring, especially Boromir who is the son of the Stewart of Gondor. Frodo begins to fear Boromir and the others as well. His fear only increases when they visit an Elvish wood and the Lady Galadriel is tested and tempted to take the ring, she passes the test and leaves the ring with Frodo, but warns him that Boromir will try to take the ring. The elves also warn Frodo that he is being hunted by a hybrid orc called Urak-Hai, which Saruman created for the war. After leaving the safety of the Elves the company travels by river. They bank of the river side and it is here that Boromir finds Frodo alone and tries to take the ring. Frodo uses the rings ability to cause the wearer to become invisible to escape. He decides to set out on his own to avoid any more of his friends falling to the rings evil. The Urak-Hai catch up to the company on this bank and in order to allow Frodo to escape Merry and Pippin sacrifice themselves and are taken capture by the Urak-Hai. Boromir who is over come with guilt dies trying to defend the 2 hobbits. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas reach him in time to say goodbye and give him a proper send off down the river before deciding to follow the Urak-Hai to rescue Merry and Pippin. Sam follows Frodo and the two set off together to finish the task of destroying the ring. This is where the plot line of the movie ends. The story actually continues on in 2 other films.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is mostly seen in Chronological Order. There are some parts that are non-linear including flashes of the past, and future, but for the most part it is chronological from when the plot starts. The characters see these flashes as they see the future, or remember the past, and they are small moments in the movie. Having the movie progress in chronological order helps the audience understand what is happening. It keeps the already complex story from becoming confusing by jumping around too much. The character development benefits from how the story is told, because it allows the audience to really see the character and get to know them a little better. You can really focus on the character because the storytelling is not taking away from the character development. You also see characters grow and develop, or begin to fall to the evil of the ring while the story progresses in chronological order. The film would have suffered had it been presented in another way. The audience may have become confused with the hard to follow presentation, and it would not have been nearly as entertaining.
Bibliography
American Film Institute. (2014). AFI’s 10 Top 10 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Retrieved from American Film Institute: http://www.afi.com/10top10/moreDetails.aspx?id=5326&thumb=1
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film:From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc.
By: Dusty Blossom
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