The Lord of The Ring: The Fellowship of The Ring

Introduction
I have chosen to analyze the film The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring (2001). This film won 4 Academy Awards and received 13 nominations including Best Picture. I will be analyzing the summary/history, genre, two scenes that explain why this film has been put into this specific genre, and one scene that pushes the genre to the extreme. Summary/History

The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The ring is the first instalment of an Epic trilogy and was written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens. Peter Jackson also directed the film. The film was released December 19, 2001and the main actors/actresses include Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Sean Astin (Samwise ‘Sam’ Gamgee), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Orlando Bloom (Legolas Greenleaf), Billy Boyd (Peregrin (Pippin) Took), Dominic Monaghan (Meriadoc (Merry) Brandybuck), and Sean Bean (Boromir). (1990-2014 IMDb.com).

The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The ring is about a little hobbit, who has never left his home in the Shire. Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) is set on an adventure after he is left a very special ring by his uncle Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) to ultimately destroy it. Throughout his quest, he is joined by eight friends/allies such as, Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Aragon (Viggo Mortensen), Samwise (Sam) Gamgee (Sean Astin), Arwen (Liv Tyler), Legolas Greenleaf (Orlando Bloom), Billy Boyd (Peregrin (Pippin) Took), Meriadoc (Merry) Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan), and Boromir (Sean Bean). (1990-2014 IMDb.com) Along the journey, these eight friends encounter countless dangerous events that test their courage, strength, and loyalty. Genre

“A genre is a type, or category, and genre films are usually easily recognizable as part of a certain genre. This is because they tend to use familiar story formulas, character types, settings, and iconography (visual imagery with symbolic implications), all of which lead viewers to have certain expectations about what the movie will be like before actually watching it.” (Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. 2011) The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The ring is clearly in the fantasy and action-adventure genre. Fantasy is a genre that allows many different genres to come together. For example, horror, science–fiction, and comedy. A fantasy film is where characters may live in imaginary settings and/or experience situations that break the limitations of the real world. The Action adventure genre tends to get you pumped up and ready to see intense situations. (Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. 2011). Scene One: Fantasy

In this clip, Frodo (Elijah Wood) has been stabbed in the chest by a Ringwraith poisoning him and Arwen (Liv Tyler) is racing on horseback to get Frodo to her elfish people at Rivendell, so that they might be able to heal him. At the end of this scene, you see Arwen stop on the other side of a river and start chanting something in the elfish language. When the river suddenly turns into a racing stampede of horses taking out the Ringwraith’s that were following them. Clearly this is a play on the fantasy genre, I mean there are elves, Ringwraith’s, and rivers that turn into a racing stampede of horses. I only wish that in real life we could have something so cool. Scene Two: Action-Adventure

In this clip, Frodo (Elijah Wood) has just about had enough of the ring and tries to give it to Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) who is very tempted to take it, but chooses not to. Before they know it, they are over run by Orc and an epic battle takes place. There are arrows flying and swards clinking, but at the end of the battle Frodo and his friends come out the victor. With swards drawn and arrows flying through the air, this is a classic example of an action-adventure scene. Scene Three: Pushing the Genre to the Extreme

In this clip, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) stays behind on the bridge so that his friends (The Fellowship) can escape from the fire breathing Balrog (dragon). Gandalf stands on the bridge and yells at Balrog, “You Shall Not Pass!” and hits the bridge with his staff, breaking the bridge right at his feet. (This is probably the most remembered scene in this film.) Balrog falls into the darkness below, but not before whipping his tail up and snatching Gandalf off the bridge, insuring Gandalf’s would be joining him in the darkness. I think this scene takes the fantasy genre to the extreme because of the fire breathing Balrog. I think this creature was just a tad too “made up” for my taste. I think it would have been better to use a dragon creature that most people are familiar with, rather than the one they dreamed up for the film. Conclusion

In conclusion, The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring (2001) was written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens. Peter Jackson also directed the film. This film is the first installment of a trilogy (3 parts). This film won 4 Academy Awards and received 13 nominations including Best Picture. The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The ring is clearly in the fantasy and action-adventure genre. I have analyzed two clips from the film to showcase why I believe this film is in the fantasy and action-adventure genre and one clip to showcase why I think this film went to the extreme on some parts of the fantasy aspect.

References
1990-2014 IMDb.com, Inc. Character’s List; Retrieved from; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm Battle of Amon Hen LOTR 1.26 [HD 1080p] retrieved from; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4jz1yaGFms Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring – Arwen & Black Riders retrieved from; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NllOWlaGPx4 The Lord of the Rings – You Shall Not Pass – (HD) retrieved from; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJZZNHekEQw