040 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Retro Grade Podcast

“EVEN THE SMALLEST PERSON CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE FUTURE.“

On this episode, we cover the one high fantasy film franchise to rule them all, The Lord of the Rings. Specifically, The Fellowship of the Ring, directed by Peter Jackson released in December of 2001. Yeah, this movie came out 20 years ago (feel old yet?) We talk about how we both liked this movie as kids, but missed so much of what it was about and what individual journeys the characters were on. Looking back on the film we fill in those gaps from past and current experiences that gives us an enriched experience in watching this film again. But one question eludes us. What does the One Ring do other than turn you invisible?

Does the film still succeed in transforming the very real landscape of New Zealand into the fictional Middle-Earth? The 5’6” Elijah Wood into a 3’6” hobbit? How about computer generated image from 2001 into the Balrog of Morgoth? Does the cinematography, stage blocking and computer still hold up enough to take us on this journey to Mordor?

We also talk about how Peter Jackson’s film language fits in with J. R. R. Tolkien’s writing. After all, this is the same director that gave us the kung-fu preacher from Dead Alive and gave a handful of audiences nightmares (or laughs) about Orson Wells in Heavenly Creatures. How does a “campy“ director make a film adaptation of a beloved high fantasy series? By not being afraid to get a little silly sometimes.

We also talk about the dedication put in by the “size doubles” that stood in place of the principle cast playing the dwarves and hobbits. Sophisticated camera tricks and sets were constructed to trick audiences into believing the varying heights of our characters, but for some of the shots, children and little people were called upon to stand in for the typically-sized stars of the film. We talk about the dedication from one size double in particular, Brett Beattie, and how his co-stars chose to honor him.

One does not simply talk about Lord of the Rings. Thankfully, we are joined by Lord of the Rings super-fan, Becky Kralle! She gives us great insight onto the hard labor on the production set, the extensive pre-production on the Peter Jackson trilogy, knowledge on why the Hobbit prequel trilogy wasn’t as kindly looked upon by fans, behind the scenes trivia, what we might expect (or be worried about) from the upcoming Amazon series, and some LOTR hot takes!

Hope you enjoy the episode!

PS - Sorry to any LOTR fans that get annoyed by us calling Aragorn, Aragon.

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o