Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Rings (2001, Fantasy)

Staring: Elijah Wood, Ian Mckellan, Viggo Mortensen, Cate Blanchett Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, and Liv Tyler

This movie gave me the incentive to actually read these wonderful books written by J.R.R. Tolkien. I loved The Hobbit - I was enchanted with this mythical world, and I loved the new diction created by these hobbits. Reading this book is essential to understanding the movie. Comparing the first Lord of the Rings book is not a great thing to do -- books made into movies are never as good as though original book. They added so many romantic scenes between Arwen and Aragom; they made Arwen into this heroine, who miraculously rescues Frodo; and it is just too long! The music was extraordinary -- of course, they received the Oscar for Best Original Score.*Todd Eldridge skated to this magical music in his 2002 Olympic performance.

I have watched this movie a few times, and I like it more and more each time I watch it. I appreciate what the writers did to make Tolkien's masterpieces come alive. There is one particular scene that stands out in my mind. Gandalf is encouraging Frodo, and he says, I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.