The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001
epic1 fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). It was followed by The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), based on the second and third volumes of The Lord of the Rings.
New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson
fulfills3 his lifelong dream of transforming author J.R.R. Tolkien's best-selling fantasy epic into a three-part motion picture that begins with this holiday 2001 release. Elijah Wood stars as Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit resident of the medieval "Middle-earth" who discovers that a ring bequeathed to him by beloved relative and
benefactor4 Bilbo (Ian Holm) is in fact the "One Ring", a device that will allow its master to manipulate dark powers and enslave the world. Frodo is charged by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to return the ring to Mount
Doom5, the evil site where it was forged
millennia6 ago and the only place where it can be destroyed. Accompanying Frodo is a fellowship of eight others: his Hobbit friends Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd); plus Gandalf; the human
warriors7 Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean); Elf
archer8 Legolas (Orlando Bloom); and
Dwarf9 soldier Gimli (John Rhys-Davies). The band's
odyssey10 to the
dreaded11 land of Mordor, where Mount Doom lies, takes them through the Elfish
domain12 of Rivendell and the forest of Lothlorien, where they receive aid and comfort from the Elf princess Arwen (Liv Tyler), her father, Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Queen Galadriel (Cate Blanchett). In pursuit of the travelers and their ring are Saruman (Christopher Lee) -- a
traitorous13 wizard and
kin2, of sorts, to Gandalf -- and the Dark Riders, under the control of the evil, mysterious Sauron (Sala Baker). The Fellowship must also do battle with a troll, flying spies, Orcs, and other deadly obstacles both natural and otherwise as they draw closer to Mordor. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was filmed in Jackson's native New Zealand.
Released on 10 December 2001, the film was highly
acclaimed14 by critics and fans alike, especially as many of the latter judged it to be the most
sufficiently15 faithful adaptation of the original story out of Jackson's film series. It was a major box office success, earning over $870 million worldwide, and the second highest-grossing film of 2001 in the U.S. and worldwide (behind
Harry16 Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) which made it the fifth highest-grossing film ever at the time.
In 2002, the film won four Academy Awards out of thirteen
nominations17. The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best
Makeup18, and Best Original Score. Despite its praise by fans, the other nominated categories of Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Gethin Creagh and Hammond Peek), Costume Design and Best Adapted Screenplay were not won.