Rent The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Cut (2001)

Modern Masterpiece - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Cut review by GI

Whatever your film preferences or where you stand on the fantasy genre this is a remarkable achievement. Director Peter Jackson's finest film and it will retain it's place in film history, not only for putting the fantasy genre into the mainstream of serious film making but also for the magnificence of the whole experience. Adapting the complexities and convoluted world of Tolkien's Middle-earth with such panache and beauty was a challenge but Jackson and his team aided by a stunning special effects department and a cast of actors who took the whole thing seriously achieved it. The story and world in which it is set is actually very involved and Jackson cleverly and wisely didn't feel the need to over explain, he left it to the audience to understand. This is a film for adults, a dark tale set in a mystical and legendary world inhabited by different peoples from men to elves, dwarves, hobbits and orcs. A land of evil, courage and with a complex history it's the story of the Ring of Power forged by a Dark Lord who returns after 3000 years to dominate the land but requires the Ring, long since lost, to do this. It's essentially a mythological story, a story of flawed heroes, unlikely heroes and evil monsters; of sword fights, strange creatures, peculiar peoples all with a history that the viewer quickly buys into too. This is a modern masterpiece and with it's sequels these are films to enjoy time and time again, indeed when you see a bad film this is a film to turn to to remember what magnificence cinema can do. My advice is always look to the Extended Edition its a more complete film and experience.