Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy set a bar for fantasy that has yet to be surpassed, even after ongoing developments in the fields of visual effects and cinematography. The movies flawlessly encapsulated the vision established by J.R.R. Tolkien, whose fictional world was so elaborate and complex that it would have been indistinguishable from reality if not for the presence of non-human sentient races. In comparison, The Hobbit trilogy and Prime Video’s Rings of Power series struggled to achieve even a fraction of LotR‘s quality and recognition.
The Lord of the Rings‘ success came from many factors, from authenticity to innovation, but most fans agree that the first fifteen minutes of The Fellowship of the Ring were enough to guarantee the trilogy’s ultimate triumph. In fact, the prologue alone compresses decades of Tolkien lore into a few minutes, effectively balancing immersion with exposition. Meanwhile, the transition into the subsequent Shire sequence highlighted how Middle-earth had changed. In such a short span of time, The Lord of the Rings managed to capture the viewers’ attention and keep them invested for the rest of the story.
Tolkien Always Started His Stories on the Perfect Note
Many great Hero’s Journeys across fiction have started with an underdog protagonist. Tolkien had already created the framework for his expansive world and dense legendarium by the time he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. At the same time, the author realized that the heroism of Elves, Dwarves, and Men — while significant enough to shape Middle-earth — would not feel as natural to readers. Tolkien needed to begin both his iconic stories with the most innocent creatures in the world, the Hobbits of the Shire. They were a recent development among the sentient species of Middle-earth — and though their origins were lost to history, it can be assumed that the Hobbits were an offshoot of Men.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings each begin with Bilbo Baggins’ introduction, immediately revealing his nature in comparison to other, mostly similar Hobbits. Readers learned that these tender beings preferred food, song, and comfort to the horrors of war and greed, although Tolkien made them realistic by giving them certain flaws. Despite a few Hobbits’ tendencies toward unscrupulous behavior, however, the entire race was basically classified as peace-loving and generally happier than all the others. The Hobbits never had to face Morgoth, Sauron, and the evils of Middle-earth for the vast majority of their history. As such, it was time to force even the gentlest species through the gauntlet of nightmares that haunted the rest of their world. However, the story would only matter if the Hobbits won.
Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Began with a Spectacular Flourish
Adapting Tolkien’s grand epic that ushered in the age of high fantasy was daunting, to say the least. That said, Peter Jackson’s vision demonstrated a deep understanding of the narrative currents reinforcing the two most important themes of the story. The first was spectacle — a fictional universe with a better-record history than many real-life places was obviously going to feature earthshattering events. Wars and plagues had devastated Middle-earth for thousands of years, with the last major conflict taking place at the end of the Second Age. The Dark Lord Sauron’s forces gradually deteriorated while fighting the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, an event that’s offhandedly mentioned by Elrond in the novels.
Since The Lord of the Rings is the culmination of Isildur’s grave error at the end of the War of the Last Alliance, audiences needed context before going into The Fellowship of the Ring. In fact, the opening scene of the film briefly and spectacularly summarizes the backstory through the Siege of Barad-dur, the final battle of the war. Isildur saw his father felled by Sauron in his only appearance, before he managed to defeat the Dark Lord by cutting the One Ring off his finger. Fans then watched Isildur fall under Sauron’s spell and refuse to destroy it in Mount Doom. The backstory concluded with Isildur’s death and the One Ring’s disappearance for thousands of years, until its discovery by Gollum and later Bilbo.
Considering the overarching importance of the One Ring and its master — as exemplified in the literal title — Jackson’s flashback sequence was brilliant on multiple levels. Not only was it visually sumptuous, but the War of the Last Alliance also highlighted the incomparable scope of the stakes involved in the Fellowship’s subsequent journey. After seeing what Sauron and the One Ring were capable of, viewers instantly realized the uphill struggle facing Frodo and the others. The prologue sequence was narrated by Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel, one of the few Middle-earthers who knew its entire history, cementing Galadriel’s role long before her on-screen appearance. That said, it was the staggering contrast between the backstory and the next few minutes that set the ideal narrative stage.
The Shire Formed the Bedrock for the Fellowship’s Ultimate Goal
Transitioning into the idyllic Shire after such a violent sequence briefly minimized the stakes in favor of underscoring the power of simple living. The first scene shows Bilbo’s Hobbit hole before panning to reveal the Hobbit jotting down his adventures. The very next scene takes the viewer into the heart of Hobbiton, a paradise of nature featuring Hobbits sweetly milling about, almost as though they were living in a small English village. This similarity was by design, as the climate and landscape of the Shire were based on real-life British counties like Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
Fans saw rolling fields and gorgeous skylines as Sam Gamgee was introduced, innocently picking a bouquet, and the scene shifted to the preparations for Bilbo’s birthday. Frodo is consequently seen sitting and reading a book by himself, under a tree with nobody around to disturb him, until an offscreen humming takes him straight to Gandalf. Ian McKellen’s introduction is pitch-perfect as he tells Frodo that “A wizard is never late… nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.” Gandalf’s subsequent conversation with Frodo reintroduced the stakes with the revelation of Bilbo’s increasing oddness, and an intercut scene shows Bilbo desperately searching for the One Ring.
Within the span of the first movie’s first fifteen minutes, Jackson painted an unforgettable picture. A Middle-earth scarred by hatred and injustice had been soothed by time, resulting in a world where the Hobbits could live freely and joyously. But the danger had yet to pass, with Gandalf’s arrival serving as both a celebration and a portent of things to come. The innocence and simplicity of the Hobbits were painfully juxtaposed against the terrors of Sauron, making them the perfect underdogs to root for against an overpowered villain who thought himself better than everyone else in Middle-earth. The rest of the trilogy was deeply shaped by The Fellowship of the Ring prologue and Shire sequences, establishing both the impossibility of the mission and the heroes’ drive to protect the innocent.
The Scouring of the Shire Would Have Brought Things Full Cycle
Tolkien’s storytelling was elaborate yet basic at its core: a Hero’s Journey that completed its original mission. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out from Hobbiton not just to protect the world at large, but also because they wanted to save their friends and loved ones. In fact, Frodo got a glimpse of what would happen if he failed to complete his goal as Ringbearer — Galadriel’s Mirror showed him a vision of enslaved Hobbits and a burning Shire, the exact event he had set out to stop. Unfortunately, Peter Jackson only included this scene as a potential flash-forward, whereas the novels have an entire chapter dedicated to the so-called Scouring of the Shire.
Saruman, who was stabbed by Wormtongue before falling to his death in the Extended Edition DVD release of The Two Towers, doesn’t meet this exact end in the books. He’s actually responsible for the Scouring of the Shire, having involved gangs of brutes to throw the Hobbits out of their own homes. When Frodo, Merry, Sam, and Pippin return to the Shire, Hobbiton has experienced significant devastation. It takes yet another bout of intense effort to seize control from Saruman, who’s later killed by Wormtongue in the same way.
The heroic Hobbits help the others slowly rebuild, including planting trees that were felled under Saruman’s tyranny. It is only after this that Frodo leaves Middle-earth along with Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond. Excising The Scouring of the Shire from the movies may have been better for runtime, but it failed to capture the cyclic nature of Tolkien’s stories. The very fears that viewers expressed after seeing the Shire actually came to pass before peace was restored once again. As a result, the Scouring’s absence conflicted directly with the perfect first 15 minutes of the trilogy. On the other hand, there are few fantasy movies capable of setting such lofty standards with mere exposition.
- First Film
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The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
- Latest Film
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Latest TV Show
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The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power
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