Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A comprehensive and entertaining companion to the films!, May 31, 2002
What an incredible book! At 192 pages, this fantastic work by Gary Russell is chock-full of pictures, sketches, drawings and paintings from the wonderful film The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Rings. I have purchased all of the movie tie-in books available and this is by far my favorite. If you are into visuals (and I am), I couldnt recommend this book enough. The back of the book says contains 500 exclusive paintings and drawings from the spectacular film" and they weren't kidding!The book is divided into 4 chapters - Locations, Costumes, Armory and Creatures. The LOCATIONS chapter is by far the largest - with extensive coverage of Bag End and Hobbiton, Bree, Weathertop, Ford of Bruinen, Rivendell, Moria, Isengard, Lothlorien, the River Anduin, Mordor and Amon Hen. One of my favorites is the sketch of the Bag End floor plan (with its pantries and cellars that we dont get to see in the film). There are also sketches of the interior of the Green Dragon Inn (which we never saw on the film but which will hopefully make an appearance on the Special Extended Edition VHS/DVD to be released in November). The COSTUMES chapter shows the various design sketches by Ngila Dickson and Sylvana Sacco. All the main characters (from Frodo to Galadriel to Sauron - as well Gandalfs pipes!) are featured. Costume designer Ngila Dickson also gives snippets on the influences of the costumes as well as the reasons why certain design themes were chosen (e.g. Boromirs Gondorian costume is drawn from Byzantine influences and how Legolas costume was the most difficult to design). The ARMORY section shows all the various swords, daggers, insignias, shields, etc. carried by the characters. Included are Frodos mithril shirt and the various armor as worn by Elendil, Elrond and GilGalad in the Prologue. The final chapter, and not the least interesting, is the CREATURES section with its sketches, maquettes, paintings and screenshots of Orcs, Urukhai, the Cave Troll, the Ringwraiths, the Watcher of the Water and the spectacular Balrog. One of the most interesting are the various versions of the Balrog (from more human-like to reptilian to the final version with wings). Whats wonderful about this book is that it really gives you the essence of the monumental task of bringing the films to life. So many talented individuals collaborated to breath life into Professor Tolkiens Middle Earth. Mind you, this book isnt all visuals: each picture is accompanied by the description of the picture, the artist and background information on the picture (e.g. how it was used in the film, why it was rejected, Peter Jacksons ideas). For instance, on his sketch of the Balrog, John Howe describes why he chose to give the Balrog wings (and Peter Jacksons response to it). Alan Lee's beautiful paintings and drawings are also showcased in this book. If you are a fan of the books and/or the film, are interested in art, or enjoy books with lots (and I mean loads) of wonderful visuals, then I couldnt recommend this book highly enough. Im already looking forward to The Art of The Two Towers and cant wait to see what Gary Russell has in store for us in the next couple of years!
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely gorgeous book, December 4, 2002
By A Customer
This book is tremendous! Many of the movie-based books out on the market are very dumbed-down and repetitive. For example, The Fellowship and Two Towers Movie Companion books, the Two Towers Creatures book, etc, all show you about the same things. Sure, they may have a few treats but not worth your 10 bucks. But this -- this is worth every penny. It's long - about 200 pages I believe, hardback, and contains beautiful illustrations and interesting info on every page. It mostly deals with the artists of the movie describing how they made Tolkien's books into reality. Thankfully, the main focus is on the art. It's divided into 4 sections: 1. Places -- sketches and full color photos of Lothloien, Moria, and more. 2. Costumes -- detailed pictures of not only the costumes, but alternative designs, pictures of the actors wearing them, etc 3. Creatures -- stunning pics of orcs, trolls, etc 4. Weapons -- I'm not much into this, but it has VERY detailed info about swords and such. Not only is there drawings, but photos from the movie -- some I'd seen before, some were new. Overall, I'd say this one of the best movie-based LOTR books out there. BUY IT!
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Sketchbook Than Art, May 24, 2002
By A Customer
Perhaps this book should have been called "Sketchbook of Fellowship of the Ring" because my one disappointment was that, while it does a lovely job of showing preliminary sketches and how ideas evolved, there is very little shown of the finished art; that is, the film itself. What it does, it does beautifully. However, I am still hungry for a museum-quality book that will show details of sets, props and costumes as they actually appeared, but in still form (as opposed to rushing by on screen) so that we can appreciate the details that even multiple viewings of the film can't completely capture. The film itself is Art; the book seems to limit art to sketches/paintings that, lovely or fascinating in themselves, do not do justice to the breadth of art found in the film. Apparently, we need more specific volumes devoted to cinematography and costuming. However, as a sketchbook, this is a lovingly compiled volume, and the cover and endpaper designs are particularly well-chosen.
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