Customer Reviews

The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion (The Lord of The Rings)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The "Lord of the Rings" movie recently was probably the best movie I've seen, and Jude Fisher's accompanying visual companion is a good piece of work.

It gives a concise, good summary of people, places and different races in Middle-Earth. It'll tell moviegoers background tidbits not in the movie: why Sam is fascinated by Elves, what happened to Frodo's parents, that Legolas is a prince, what Elrond's ancestry is, and Gandalf's true nature.

We are filled in less so on places: Lothlorien itself gets only four paragraphs. Individual species get more space: We hear about the history of the human Men of Middle-Earth, about the habits of the hobbits, and the "leaving these shores" comment about the Elves.

I would like to remind some of the other reviewers that many people -- adults and children -- have not read the books and this book is probably for them. So to give away massive spoilers concerning Moria would be very bad news. (Just as this book doesn't let us know what happens to certain characters) So it's inevitable that some parts of the plot, especially those that hinge the plot, will not be revealed. Some clues about events in "Two Towers" are given -- look carefully. The pictures are very good, very well chosen -- the ones of Frodo and Sam in particular.

Overall, if you have never read the LOTR trilogy (or "Hobbit") then this is definitely the book to pick up. It won't clue you in on every exquisite detail, but it will get rid of much of your confusion.

This is a beautiful visual companion to The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

All of the major races and many of the major characters are profiled with gorgeous color photographs...many of which I haven't seen in my 2+ years of collecting these photo's on a daily basis.

The first chapter deals with history of the rings and the last alliance of elves and men. Hobbits, Men, Elves, Dwarves, Istari, Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and the Nazgul follow with each profiling major figures and/or locations associated with that particular race.

The book is just what is says, a visual companion. There is very little in the way of textual information...you should buy the Official Movie Guide for that.

All in all, well worth purchasing.

I love the Lord of the Rings series and movie - I've read the books many times since I was young, and have seen the movie several times already. This is a fantastic companion book to both. It gives organized information on each of the main characters, describes some of the key plot elements in the story, and has large, full color photos that aren't found anywhere else.

The pictures are great - they show just how much incredible work went into the details on the movie. While other movies use blue-screen and just computer-generate everything, with LotR they fabricated thousands and thousands of items by hand. Every race was thought out - what would an elf fork look like? How about a hobbit pipe? The armor was individually made, the mail shirts constructed from thousands of individual links. Even tiny fragments of parchment on the ground in the Mines of Moria had tiny runes on them. You can see that awesome attention to detail in these photos.

One of the best features of the book for me was the great fold-out map in its middle. Far better than the small ones you get in the books! On the downside, they bound the book right through its center, instead of offsetting the map so it could be hung, or at least binding in white space. The result is that Gondor turns into Gndor and Rohan into ohan, and a lot of key features like Moria are lost in that binding. Such a simple thing to have done differently! But other than that gripe, this is definitely a must-have for any fan of the series.

Normally these sorts of books haven't really appealed to me since I was a child, seeing the first two Star Wars movies as they were released.

This visual guide, though, is a cut above: It's an abridged (intended as the first of three, naturally) visual encyclopedia of the films' version of Middle-Earth, and explains, in brief, everything that one would need to know about the people, places and things in the first movie. I was surprised by the level of detail: There were facts about wizards that are only known to readers who go beyond the trilogy to the Silmarillion. Pretty impressive!

It should be noted that not everyone in the movie is in here: Gollum is notably absent, as his appearance in the film is being kept as a surprise for film-goers.

Definitely worth buying for anyone who enjoys the books or the movie.

This book is highly recommended for almost anyone who plans on seeing the upcoming movie version of "The Fellowship of the Ring." For those previously unfamiliar with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, it offers a convenient, easy-to-follow reference to the important characters, places and things that will be featured in the movie. For Tolkien fanatics it serves as both a visual and literary preview of the movie, with its gorgeous photographs and brief quotations from the movie's script. It also confirms a few of the rumors about the changes made to the story in the movie (e.g., Rosie Cotton appearing as a barmaid in the Shire sequence or the hobbits getting their swords from Strider rather than from the Barrow-wight, who is omitted from the film) and informs the reader of one or two more changes of which I was previously unaware (such as the Dwarves' Rings being kept safe rather than seized by Sauron or destroyed by dragons as in the book). In short, this book is a wonderful preview of the movie before it comes out and will be an excellent souvenir of the film after you have seen it.

This book is full of great pictures, and that's the obvious reason to buy it. For the fan of the movie, this is a must-have. For a fan of Tolkien in general, this is a must-have. Our house has two whole shelves dedicate to books by, about, or inspired by, Tolkien.

Purists will note that where the movie departs from the book, this visual guide follows the movie (ie the visual guide furthers the myth that Saruman creates the Uruk-hai, names Arwen's jewel the Evenstar instead of Arwen herself, etc). Purists will also note that there appears to be a great deal of dialogue here that was cut from the theatre release (including Boromir's Dream & Galadriel's presenting of the gifts)--one can only hope they will be reinserted for the Director's Cut version on a DVD!

The book is divided into sections: History, The Free Peoples of Middle-Earth (Hobbits, Men, Elves, Dwarves) The Istari, and The Dark Powers. All in all, a wonderful visual companion for a visually stunning movie!

'The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion' is obviously a very beautiful, well concieved and put-together companion to Peter Jackson's adaptation of the books, and would work best with either people who have not seen the movie and have limited knowledge of the plot, or those who have seen the movie and want to find some little extra details on the characters and locations. Apart from adding it to their collection, I can't see any seasoned Tolkien-fans finding any new information in his book, especially if they've been tracking the progress of the movies on television documentaries or in magazines.

The book is divided into sections, starting with a brief history of the One Ring and the Last Alliance, and continuing with the species of Middle Earth, followed by characters of this particular race and the places in which they live. For example, Chapter Three begins with a brief introduction to Elves, then follows with biographies of Elrond, Arwen, Legolas and Galadriel, with Lothlorien added in. The last segment is dedicated to 'The Dark Powers', in particular the Ringwraiths and the various types of orcs.

Jude Fisher obviously knows her stuff, and somehow manages to stay true to both the movie and the books without contradicting one or the other. She adds in small details and features of the places and characters that were not (and presumably will never) be mentioned in the movies, such as Sam's father's name, the nature of the Istari, Elrond's ancestry and the symbolic nature of the Evenstar, and how it is also Arwen's second alias. There are also many insights into the character's personalities that may not have been entirely obvious to the average movie-goer, such as Elrond being Arwen's father (believe it or not their relationship was never specified fully in the movie - though Arwen mentions 'my father', she does not name him) and Pippen's innocent nature as the youngest of the hobbits. Also, weapons of each characters and their different attributes and strengths lent to the quest are described.
Furthermore, there are several quotes scattered throughout the book in italics, some directly from the movie and some from the books (although these ones may have come from deleted scenes).

The real reason for getting this book however, is for the photographs. Most (not all) are entirely crisp, clear beautiful movie stills or publicity shots of the characters and locations that cover either a whole page, are spread over two pages, or are clips added within the text. Features such as make-up, set design and costuming become even more awe-inspiring when seen up close. However, some are a little fuzzy - mostly the screen shots that cover two pages, and the one of Lothlorien (in my edition at least) has a strange violet print in the lower right hand corner. It doesn't effect any important details, but it still shouldn't be there.

Finally, there is a fold out map in the centre of the book, which is a little difficult to fold back into the book since the edges of the map must be carefully slipped into the spine lest the pages fold. However, the map is useful and the pictures lovely.

Just for interest's sake, owners of this book might want to turn to page 29 and the picture of Boromir. He is clearly wearing a different outfit from the one he wore throughout the entire 'Fellowship' movie - is this perhaps a picture from the Two Towers when he features in a flashback? There are many other pictures within the book that also might either belong to deleted scenes or the next two installments of the trilogy, such as Arwen standing in Rivendell on pages 40-41 and the Fellowship readying the boats in Lothlorien on pages 44-45.

This is the best of the many books trying to be 'visual companions' to the film. I appreciated not only the quality of photo selections from the movie, but also the small details such as the dust cover photo also being on the hard cover. (I removed my dust cover to save wear and tear!)

The character descriptions are complete, very insightful, and geared more toward the novice aficionado of the LOTR story. They also provide in wonderful brevity much helpful background information for those who may not have read the book. This book centers on the film--not the making of the film.

While my seventh graders loved this thing, I found myself also looking through the beautiful color stills time and time again. Action is captured with breathtaking realism from the movie, and especially vivid is the ferocity the Orcs!

I've seen many 'picture books' which have attempted to visualize and summarize this wonderful story. None were as good at both as this one. It captures it all, and The Two Towers companion work is on its way!

A good coffee table book with photos from the "Fellowship of the Rings" movie. It would make a great present of a Lord of the Rings fan. Along with the pictures, the book has back ground information on Middle Earth and the characters involved in this epic drama. I found the short summaries of the characters and places to be quite interesting. Having a set a pictures from the movie adds a new dimension to the book.

Of course, a coffee table book with pictures is not a substitute for the real thing...it is a pleasant diversion with interesting pictures of hobbits, wizards and Middle Earth scenery (now that we know Middle Earth is located in New Zealand <g>).

Over all,I think this is
a very great book. It is telling details that I did not even knew afte reading the books,about the characters - what`s their real names (if they`re called something else),their personality,their origin,etc.
It is also a great information resource on the different cultures of Tolkien`s Middle Earth (the hobbits,the elves,the dwarfs,etc),and what makes them different from each other.
With lots of good photographs from the film,as well as citations that describes the characters,it becomes an interesting and entertaining read.
But is it complete?
The answer is NO!
Where are Gollum,Balrog,King Celeborn,the Misty Mountains,and the mines of Moria?
They`re not here,anyway!At least not much info about them. The two first guys are not included at all. And more info about them would have been very nice.
Let`s hope Gollum is included in the companion volume of "The Two Towers". Balrog is still left forever. A pity!
Therefore,my rate on this book is four stars and not more. Still,it is the best visual guide to Peter Jackson`s film available.