The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

For decades, the words above have ignited imaginations and shaped the dreams of more than 100 million readers around the globe. They were first read in 1954, when J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of The Ring, the first volume in his towering three-part epic, The Lord of The Rings, was published.

Tolkien’s work was to have a profound effect on generations of readers, defining for many the archetypal struggle between good and evil, and was voted in many world-wide polls as the "Book of the Century". It set the benchmark for the fantasy genre in its creation of an entirely new and thrillingly believable universe. It introduced an unforgettable hero — the hobbit Frodo Baggins — caught up in a war of mythic proportions in Middle-earth, a world full of magic and lore. Most of all, it celebrated the power of loyal friendship and individual courage, a power that may hold at bay even the most devastating forces of darkness.

Now, the legend that Tolkien wrought is finally being brought to life on the motion picture screen, an undertaking that has required nothing less than one of the most colossal movie productions ever embarked upon. The mythos, landscapes, and creatures Tolkien created are so awesome that it has taken more than four decades for cinema technology to reach the necessary level of sophistication to bring them to life. Such a vast project would require nothing less than a visionary to mastermind it. That visionary is Peter Jackson, who has embarked upon an unprecedented fete to make three motion pictures simultaneously to capture Tolkien’s soaring epic in its entirety.

For the past several years, Jackson and his devoted production team have been filming all over the spectacular landscapes of New Zealand. The result has been the deployment of a logistical operation reminiscent of a military campaign. A veritable army of artists — including digital wizards, medieval weapons experts, stone sculptors, linguists, costumers, make-up designers, blacksmiths and model builders — as well as an internationally-renowned cast of actors and literally thousands of extras have gathered to make this ambitious dream come true.

The result will be three separately released installments that will mark the return of "cliffhanger cinema" for the first time since the serial adventures of decades past.

The adventure begins on December 19, 2001 with The Fellowship of The Ring, which introduces to movie audiences the enchanted world of Middle-earth and its memorable inhabitants — men, hobbits, elves, dwarves, wizards, trolls and orcs.

In this part of the trilogy, the shy young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits a ring; but this ring is no mere trinket. It is the One Ring, an instrument of absolute power that could allow Sauron, the dark Lord of Mordor, to rule Middle-earth and enslave its peoples. Frodo, together with a loyal fellowship of hobbits, men, a wizard, a dwarf and an elf must take The Ring across Middle-earth to the Crack of Doom, where it first was forged, and destroy it forever. Such a journey means venturing deep into territory held by the Dark Lord, where he is amassing his army of orcs. And it is not only external evils that the Fellowship must combat, but also internal dissension and the corrupting influence of The Ring itself. The course of future history is entwined with the fate of the fellowship.

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