I love the whole Lord of the Rings series – both books and movies – and I really think the Fellowship of the Ring is just a beautifully made movie. This movie was the first that popped into my head when thinking of a movie to analyze.

One reason why it appeals to me so much is the music. It is very elegant and beautiful music, which always perfectly fits the scene. For a lighthearted, comical scene with the Hobbits, the music dances along lightly, while the scene where Aragorn almost single-handedly fights the Uruk-Hai for Frodo to escape has very epic music. The music blends in so well that you hardly notice it, and that is what makes it so good. It adds just enough to the scenes so that it affects how you view the scene, but not enough to distract you from watching the movie.

For example, the light bouncy music that plays while Bilbo is writing the “Concerning Hobbits” part of his book.

And Aragorn fighting at Amon Hen, where the sound effects of sword blades, etc are also very good, and fit in seamlessly:

Another great part of The Fellowship of the Ring is the strength of the supporting actor, Sean Astin, playing Samwise Gamgee, Frodo’s faithful gardener. Without Sam, Frodo would not have been successful in his quest to destroy the ring. This may seem like an important detail, but I feel that it could have easily been underplayed if Sean Astin’s role had not been developed as well as it was. He also played the role very well. So although you always knew that Sam was a supporting character, the development and acting of the role made clear that Sam was critical to the story. It is the subtlety of Sam’s significance that could have made it difficult to play him, but Astin does an amazing job.

The film is clearly in the fantasy genre; the existence of a mythical world with beings such as elves and dwarves makes that clear. According to the Television Tropes and Idioms article, The Fellowship of the Ring is a Fairy Tale “Quest” trope. Quest stories involve the main character (Frodo) and a bunch of supporting characters (the Fellowship) undertaking a difficult quest (destroying the ring).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VhkPJM7WEQt=6m35s

Of course ultimately Frodo splits away from the main group, but he still has Sam to carry him in to Mount Doom at the end!

The end of that last clip also demonstrates the perfect use of comic relief, which the movie also does very well. The Hobbits are a frequent source of comedy throughout the movie, which helps relieve a lot of the tension over the whole end-of-the-world scenario.

I can’t get this last video to embed properly, any suggestions??