Der Herr der Ringe - Die Gefährten

Der poetischste Teil der Trilogie... Eine malerische Fahrt durch die Schönheit von Mittelerde, ein Frühstück mit Hobbits, Mittagessen mit Elben, Five-O´Clock-Tea mit einem Haufen Kobolde und ein abendliches Fackelfeuer mit dem ehrwürdigen Herrn Balrog in der besten Gesellschaft, die je auf der Leinwand zu sehen war. Jackson hat das Unmögliche geschafft, es ist keine echte Neufassung von Tolkien, aber es ist ein wunderbarer Film, der im Gegensatz zu den beiden anderen Teilen keine toten Punkte hat und statt großem Schlachtenpathos viele "kleine" Heldentaten bringt. Und natürlich umfasst die erweiterte Fassung die schönste Szene des Films - Gimlis Werben um Lady Galadriel. Warum hat Jackson sie nicht einfach auch in die Kinoversion eingebaut? Der Meisterzwerg verdient es, diese Episode im Visier zu haben, weil sie... ätherisch schön ist. Wie der gesamte Film! (25.01.2004)

One of the few films where I literally fell in love with the main characters and experienced everything good and bad with them. The relaxed performances of everyone involved make me believe that the shooting must have taken place in a perfect atmosphere and the love for the source material oozes out of the film, that is something that is reflected in the final result. Writing how visually stunning this film is, is like bringing wood to the forest. From an acting point of view, I particularly enjoyed Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen, and I was very pleasantly surprised by Sean Bean as Boromir. His performance at the end, when he wants the ring from Frodo, is one of my favourites. (28.06.2002)

Pilgrims in the twilight land, do not despair, for the sun will eventually shine through the forests. Every forest ends, that is certain. And the sun shines over the plains, whether it rises or sets. The key moment for my perspective on the world is connected precisely with this text. When Frodo sang it in the book, I felt a resonance with the character like never before or since. Tolkien has gradually become my brightest literary icon and The Lord of the Rings my favorite book. The film continues this trend and the complete ensemble cast, led by the charismatic Mortensen, the enchanting Wood, and Sean Astin as my beloved Sam, created the most radiant team. The most magical film in history can be fully appreciated in the extended version - only there will you feel the fate of the elves on your own skin, just like in the original. A milestone film for the history of cinema and for my life. (23.12.2004)

If due to some obscure coincidence of fantastical circumstances I found myself in the mid 90s as one of the most powerful Hollywood producers, and I was approached by Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg telling me they want to adapt “Lord of the Rings”, I would throw them out of the office and immediately call Peter Jackson and would tell him to drop everything so he can shoot it “again”… Because I don’t think there’s anyone in film history who would be able to suck the viewer so flawlessly into their own world and make them experience an epic but leisurely built stor, with characters with whom we would immediately go till the end of the world. LOTR is a cinematic gem and The Fellowship of the Ring in particular is the most beautiful heroic ballad that has ever been materialised in front of the camera. PS: I didn’t read the book. (07.11.2019)

The spirit of the original didn’t exactly remain intact. But things like the drastic truncation, changes of character characteristics etc. can’t be criticized much… They are completely understandable. Especially when Peter Jackson’s presented his vision on the screen where, even though it isn’t flawless, the positives heavily overweighed the negatives. The Special Edition is even slightly better, but, unlike with the other episodes, it doesn’t change either the overall character or tone of the movie. It just adds some new scenes for fans and so it doesn’t really matter if you don’t get to see it. Which is the complete opposite of The Two Towers. (20.11.2003)