The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (special extended edition)

Directed by: Peter Jackson | 200 minutes | action, drama, horror, war, family, romance, fantasy | Actors: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis

Peter Jackson. At the beginning of 2000, this name was barely known to the general public and no one would have thought it possible that this sympathetic, down-to-earth filmmaker from New Zealand could become responsible for the greatest epic in film history. An epic that has proved extremely successful, both at the box office and with the critics, and which, not unimportantly, concerns a genre that had never been considered complete before. New Line Cinema took a big risk by financing the film project of the hitherto small-scale Jackson, who had already shown with ‘Heavenly Creatures’ that he could handle serious drama, but in fact mainly specialized in the so-called “splatter horror genre. However, Jackson did not disappoint: his vision and ambition have blossomed in an outstanding way. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ became a mega hit and Peter Jackson has put the fantasy genre (and himself) on the map for good.

An important reason for the success, and one reason the films manage to appeal to such a diverse group of viewers – including viewers who are normally not fans of fantasy – can be found in Jackson’s underlying philosophy. He instructed all employees to approach the film(s) as if it were real history, just like Professor Tolkien did when writing the book. This meant that a year before shooting, for example, planting and hoeing had to be done in the future Shire and Hobbiton, so that everything would have a natural appearance. The costumes and weapons were examined in great detail and made consistent with the respective cultures. And the characters had to behave like real people in Middle Earth, and not, as was often the case, as a (bold) cliché or with a half wink at the audience because of the fantastic nature of their characters or the story.

Gandalf, for example, is not a stereotypical wizard firing lightning bolts from his staff, but an apparently ordinary old man who stands by our heroes and happens to wear a pointed hat and walk around with a stick. His magic is very subtly expressed, for example by darkening the environment or spontaneously detonating some fireworks for some hobbit children. He even defeats the gigantic, devilish Balrog in surprisingly understated fashion in the mines of Moria; namely by placing his staff in the ground and causing the bridge to collapse when the beast takes a step in his direction. Gandalf does not come across as an exalted being. Like every other creature on (Middle) Earth, his personality has different facets. For example, he too may be inattentive or lose his temper. The latter becomes even more apparent in the long DVD version of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’. When Pippin asks Gandalf at Moria’s entrance what they are going to do now that he can’t open the door right away, the latter reacts annoyed that he will smash Pippin’s head against the door. But it is not only Gandalf’s character that is more richly exposed in the ‘Extended Edition’ in terms of character; many characters and their relationships improve in this regard. In the beginning of the film we immediately spend more time with Bilbo, who, after the action-packed prologue, we see in Hobbiton working on a book about his adventures (which is told in Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’). Through his voice-over, we as viewers learn a bit more about the habits of Hobbits, while we get to see quite a few of them in an amusing montage. This extra time in the Shire is welcome, as this is ultimately what Frodo is fighting for. At the same time, the opening from the theatrical version, with Frodo sitting in the lawn, is slightly more catchy and, because of the focus on this central character, makes more sense. Furthermore, in the beginning we see more interaction between Frodo and Bilbo, which makes their special bond more evident. We also get to know Pippin and Merry before, who we see doing a table dance in café ‘De Groene Draak’; a dance that will come back later (as well as a reference to the cafe) in ‘The Return of the King’. We also see some more of Frodo and Sam, for example when they try to sleep and eat in the woods on their way to Bree. But the characters who benefit the most from the extended playtime in the ‘Extended Edition’ are Aragorn and Boromir.

From Aragorn we learn more about his history – he was once left in Rivendell by his mother to grow up there among the elves – and his doubts about his possible future kingship. Elrond approaches Aragorn with the suggestion that he have the King’s Sword reforged for him, as he is the only one who can wield it, but Aragorn replies that he never wanted that power. It provides nice continuity and drama when he actually receives Elrond’s sword in ‘The Return of the King’. Boromir emerges in this DVD version as a proud but good-natured person who only wants the best for his people. In some beautiful scenes with Aragorn we notice how much he loves Gondor and Minas Tirith and dreams of arriving there together with Aragorn, when they will say: “The lords of Gondor have returned!”.

But initially there is mainly distaste for Aragorn at Boromir noticeable. After all, Boromir is the son of the present ruler of Gondor, governor Denethor, and his land wants, and needs no king, as he plainly declares at the Council of Elrond. The tensions between Aragorn and Boromir are reflected in several scenes in the ‘Extended Edition’ along the way. This improved dynamic in their relationship makes Boromir’s exquisite death scene even more effective.

Fortunately, one of the most regretted deleted scenes by the fans is back in the ‘Extended Edition’. This is the scene in Lothlórien in which Galadriel gives the traveling companions all kinds of gifts. Here we see, for example, how they are all dressed in Elven cloaks (which will save Frodo and Sam’s life in ‘The Two Towers’), but also how dwarf Gimli, of course, falls in love with Elven queen Galadriel and to remove a hair from her “golden head”. asks.

Pretty much every addition in the ‘Extended Edition’ of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ is an improvement. The “EE” pays (much) more attention to what was missing in the cinema version, namely some resting points between the action scenes that sometimes seem hasty and more depth in and between the characters, which were sketched fairly basic in the shorter version. . One of the biggest challenges for Jackson for this film was to (quickly) introduce a multitude of main characters without losing too much momentum. However, for this DVD version, Jackson didn’t have to stay within three hours, which turns out to be an advantage on almost all fronts. We get to know the characters better and the episodic, run-and-fly nature of the film has diminished.

Small criticisms notwithstanding (some added rest points are a bit too quiet, the structure remains episodic, and Sauron as a screen-filling eye is not very threatening), after seeing this long version it must be concluded that there is little that could be improved on this excellent film adaptation of Tolkien’s fantasy classic. An already very good film has become almost flawless with this DVD version. An absolute must for every film lover, this “Extended Edition” of the first chapter of ‘The Lord of the Rings’.