“One ring to rule them all”, the prologue said. This sentence put you on he way: it is going to be intense. I don’t usually particularly care for this kind of movie, but I have to say that these two charmed me. Lord of the Rings… What an epic title! When I heard this word before, I kind of got the general meaning: I was expecting something with adventures and suspense. It is actually lots more than that! Let’s see what I learned about epic gender, watching the two first episodes of this superb trilogy.
I first found out that an epic movie needs a hero, supernatural forces and a vast geographical setting. Of course The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers covered even lots more than that with Frodo’s adventures bringing the Ring to the Mordor and ending war(s). Helped by magic creatures or humans, he goes o, braver than ever, in these wonderful landscapes, little worlds within the World. All of them are a surprise.
Just like Harry Potter in Poudlard, Frodo makes us dream and actually feel things, the more he progress in his quest. I guess that is a big part of why I loved watching it and learn more about epics: I was really into it. Plus the filming we learned (camera-angles, lighting... made me appreciate these movies even more: I was amazed because it was the first time I even paid attention to this kind of things.
The first epic characteristic I would want to discuss here is the hero. Every epic movie has to have a hero; it is a necessity. The success of the movie is basically up to him and how he will touch the spectators. He is usually very unique; he has special qualities that other people in his community don’t have, which makes him the only one able to accomplish the quest. He has to be very brave because it can cost him his life, and because most of the time, the hero has a huge responsibility since the world would depend on his success. The main point of and epic movie is testing the hero’s courage. The big question is “Will he make it?”Off course our hero is Frodo, a hobbit. He’s special in a lot of ways but I think the main difference between he and everybody else is how pure he is. Nobody but him could have carried the ring. That is why Gandalf picked him at the beginning of the first movie to go and destroy the Ring in the Mordor. Gandalf know Frodo won’t be tempted by the Ring’s extreme power like his uncle Bilbo was. Indeed, even after he was separated from the Ring for a long time, there was still this attraction between Bilbo and the Ring. It is pretty clear when Frodo visits him at the Elves’. His uncle is like possessed when he sees the Ring on Frodo’s neck. Frodo’s courage is tested every second, either in the first movie or in the second one. When Gandalf fall, trying to kill the creature, Frodo tries to save him, but he has to go on: he must aim for his quest, whatever it costs him. In this case, Frodo lost a very close friend… Most of the people would be devastated, but the little hobbit is strong and keeps going.
In the second movie we don’t see Frodo as much as in the first one, because the characters go different ways, to do different things, so the filming is kind of dividing between all of them too. Still, the Ring is always calling Sorrow, Frodo is in pain, and doesn’t know if he really can trust Gollum. The Ring starts to belong with him, and to change his personality. He starts to be in a bad mood all the time, and to talk bad to Sam, whom is the best friend everyone could whish for. He has important choices to make; a good example is when he meets Faronir. Should he trust him?
The second epic characteristic very obvious in these two movies is the vast geographical setting. It is very important in an epic movie because the hero actually needs lot of space. Indeed his quest involves a long way to travel. That is when he meets different people, and learns a lot of things about life and even about himself. Plus it warns the spectator about what is going to happen in this place, because at the first sight you can totally know if there is going to be any danger or if something bad is going to happen…
The first movie sets up several places. The first one we see is the Mordor, during the prologue. This how we know the Ring’s story. It is very dark and bloody; there is a lot of anger. We learn that this is the place where the One Ring was created; it will also be the one she will be destroyed at. Another very important one is the Shire, which is the complete opposite of the Mordor. This place is peaceful; it even makes me think about heaven, because that is exactly how I would picture it: lots of colors, everybody’s laughing… The hobbits seem to be very happy here. It is where Frodo, Gandalf, Bilbo, Pippin, Merry and Sam are introduced to us. Another important one – then I am going to stop for the first movie – is Rivendell, the Elves place. Even more than the Shire, this place is heavenly. We also can feel the magic everywhere, and all the people there have certain wisdom. It is noticeable even if they don’t talk. IT is an important place because it is where everyone involved in the fellowship of the Ring meet, where the “team” is set up.
The second movie is even bigger, about geographical setting. Indeed, all the characters are divided in different places. It gives us greater scenery to watch the characters going on in the quest. One of them is the wood, where Pippin and Merry meet the Trees. There are great filming and special effects in these scenes. They made the tree look so real; and it doesn’t even look weird when he is carrying the two hobbits in his “hand”, it is just amazing. All the shots where the hobbits look up at the tree, or the full shots of them under all the trees in the wood, watching what Saruman did, are awesome too. Dunharrow, in the White Mountain, is of the hugest importance. It is where the battle takes place. It lasts all night, and kills a lot of people in both sides. There are a lot of establishing shots, showing are massive Saruman’s armies are. Spectators can also be really moved seeing all the close-up of the woman saying goodbye to their husband, father, and son because they are going to fight. Their face expression shows a lot of sadness and desperation… It is a touching scene.
The last point I want to cover about epic characteristics is the supernatural forces. It wouldn’t be an epic movie without it. That what makes it so special, and makes the spectator dream. In an epic movie magic is supposed to help the hero progress in his quest. Off course you will also find bad characters exerting magic to prevent the hero to progress and try to kill him.
In the Fellowship of the Ring, the best example of the magic guide for Frodo is Gandalf. He is the one that trusted him and believed in him from the beginning. He helps Frodo for sure, for example when they are in the Moria, he tries to protect the Fellowship and to kill the Balrog using his magical powers, which is a success, except he falls with him. A good example is, before that, even before the “team” was set up, when Arwin changes the calm and peaceful water in angry waterhorses that kill the men who were purchasing Frodo. The camera angle at this point is terrific since it makes the spectator thinkin the horses are running on him, I liked it a lot. Saruman represents the bad side of the supernatural forces. He was supposed to be a friend of Gandalf but we discover in the first movie of the trilogy that he sided with Sorron when Gandalf goes to see him to ask help. There is this battle between the two wizards, it is very impressive. Both of them are very powerful, but Saruman ends up being the best one, throwing Gandalf on the ceiling of this huge tower they were fighting in. The low camera angle at this moment increases how high the building appears and makes the scene way stronger.
In the second movie, Gandalfe comes back, even though he was supposed to be dead. He comes back as Gandalf The White, to help Fredo in his quest. He is even more magically powerful, we can see it when he exorcises the King Theodus. Saruman took control of him, being inside of him. Gandalf is basically kickin him out of Theodus’ body. The close up of his face at this point enforces the effect: the King’s face goes from old and tore down to young and nice in five seconds. It was just incredible. Then the Trees are a big part of this second movie. They help Pippin and Merry, when the two hobbits go to hide in the wood. At first then Ents don’t want to be a part of the huge fight going on, and be neutral, but when the Ent helping the two hobbits realizes how mean Saruman is to his friends, he decides to react. At the end, all the trees help a lot making Fredo’s quest progressing by flooding Saruman’s territory.
To conclude, I would say these two first movie are incredibly rich in filming, the story is awesome and keeps the spectator going out of breath all along. How did Tolkien come with all those great ideas? I actually think his influences were a lot about fairy tales, but also religion, and mainly philosophy. Beyond the magic, and the quest, exists a lot of existential questions Fredo and his friends are wondering. It makes the specator think about general things, and how he would react in Fredo’s position. I can’t wait to watch the third movie.
