The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

“Much that once was is lost” is the poignant opening phrase in Peter Jackson’s long-awaited, mega-million-dollar production of LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Absent fidelity may be less the issue than temps perdu – there’s an elegiac tone to this lavish first installment of J.R.R. Tolkien’s cult trilogy. Robustly ranging from the cozy nook of a hobbit’s parlor to the blasted pitch-pots of darkest Mordor, visualizing Nordic elves and subhuman, blue-faced orcs, staging wizard wars with the panache of a Hong Kong master and building slowly to a boffo ending, Peter Jackson’s adaptation is certainly successful on its own terms. Like the animated skeletons in a Ray Harryhausen adventure flick, the relics have come to life. With the release of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, american critics of a particular age (and possibly gender) have their own HARRY POTTER. (Jim Hoberman, “Village Voice”, 2001)