Peter Jackson directed a movie, released in 2001, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.
This analysis is the first in a series that examines the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, which depicted how various characters were tempted by the Ring of Power.
Leaving the Ring behind
Bilbo was tempted by the ring when he prepared to leave the Shire, following his disappearing act at his 111th Birthday Party.
Gandalf tried to convince Bilbo to leave the ring behind.
Bilbo became angry and he called the ring, “my precious,” as he opened his eyes wide. Gollum, the ring’s previous owner, had referred to the ring the same way.
Bilbo’s voice carried a
tone that demonstrated he was covetous and possessive towards the ring, and
that he was enchanted by it.
When I read the book, this moment, while noticeable, seemed more subtle. A keen reader would notice Bilbo was being tempted by the ring, but it was something that could potentially be dismissed as not particularly significant.
The movie’s portrayal makes the temptation more obvious, which made the scene more dramatic and captivating for the audience.
In the movie, Gandalf and Bilbo’s confrontation escalated, and Bilbo accused Gandalf of wanting to take the ring for himself.
Gandalf’s response showed he took the matter seriously.
“Bilbo Baggins!” he shouted. “Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks. I am not trying to rob you.”
The surrounding light disappeared as the wizard emphasized his power and made clear what he wanted Bilbo to do.
“I am trying to help you,”
Gandalf continued kindly as the light returned to the room.
The confrontation is longer and more drawn out in the book.
In the book, when Gandalf became angry, “he seemed to grow tall and menacing,” as his shadow filled the small room.
As he calmed down, Gandalf, “seemed to dwindle again to an old grey man, bent and troubled.”
The description in the book is potentially ambiguous as to whether Gandalf’s appearance actually changed or if merely Bilbo’s perception of the wizard’s appearance changed.
In the movie, Gandalf’s size doesn’t change, and throughout the encounter he is portrayed as a tall wizard, who would be a force to be reckoned with.
Ultimately, Bilbo chose to
leave the ring behind.
Bilbo in Rivendell
After Frodo arrived in Rivendell, he met Bilbo once again.
Bilbo showed himself to be confident and kind.
But for a brief moment, he once again came under the ring’s spell.
During a private conversation with Frodo, after the Council of Elrond, Bilbo asked to hold his old ring.
Instead, Frodo began buttoning up his shirt, concealing the ring once more.
Bilbo, with his hand
outstretched, lunged at Frodo. Bilbo’s eyes turned grey as they began to bulge
out of his head. His teeth turned pointy and monstrous.
After a moment of madness, Bilbo, frightened of what he had just done, apologized to Frodo.
“I’m sorry I brought this
upon you, my boy. I’m sorry that you must carry this burden. I am sorry for
everything,” Bilbo, clearly distraught, said before crying.
In the book, this interaction took place before the Council of Elrond.
Frodo took out the ring after Bilbo asked to see it.
“Bilbo put out his hand. But Frodo quickly drew back the Ring. To his distress and amazement he found that he was no longer looking at Bilbo; a shadow seemed to have fallen between them, and through it he found himself eyeing a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands. He felt a desire to strike him.
The music and singing round them seemed to falter and a silence fell. Bilbo looked quickly at Frodo’s face and passed his hand across his eyes.
‘I understand now,” he said. ‘Put it away! I am sorry; sorry you have come in for this burden; sorry about everything. Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story. Well it can’t be helped. I wonder if it’s any good trying to finish my book? But let’s not worry about it now—let’s have some real News! Tell me all about the Shire!
Frodo hid the Ring away, and the shadow passed leaving hardly a shred of memory. The light and music of Rivendell was about him again.” (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 1)
In the book, Bilbo’s transformation into, “a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands” appeared to happen primarily in Frodo’s mind.
Bilbo, who appeared not to be nearly as phased by the moment, waved his hand in front of Frodo’s face, before apologizing to Frodo for giving him the burden of carrying the ring.
Bilbo quickly transitioned to talking about developments in the Shire.
The movie’s version of
this interaction is more dramatic and portrays the ring’s power over those who
seek it as intense and unmistakable.
Isildur fails to destroy the ring
Of course, Bilbo wasn’t the first person to be tempted by the ring.
In the movie, during a conversation with Gandalf before the Council of Elrond, Elrond recounted Isildur’s earlier encounter with the ring. After the previous defeat of Sauron, Isildur had chosen not to destroy the Ring of Power by casting it into Mount Doom.
Isildur and Elrond were
shown on a bridge inside Mount Doom, where the ring could be destroyed by a
single toss of the hand.
Instead, Isildur chose to keep it, against Elrond’s advice.
In the book, during the Council of Elrond, Elrond recounted advising Isildur to destroy the Ruling Ring by casting it into Mount Doom.
Isildur decided to keep it, instead.
But in the book, Elrond never said that he and Isildur had made it as far as Mount Doom before Isildur chose to keep the ring.
The movie’s version once
again shows the intense power of the ring over those who possess it. Isildur
had been so close to destroying Sauron forever. Instead, he chose to keep the
ring himself, with disastrous results for both himself and Middle Earth.
‘Beautiful and terrible’
The ring also tempted Lady Galadriel during another memorable scene.
Galadriel used her psychic abilities to read Frodo’s mind after Frodo used Galadriel’s magic mirror.
“If you ask it of me, I will give you the One Ring,” Frodo thought.
Galadriel was surprised by Frodo’s offer.
“You offer it to me freely,” she said. “I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this.”
Galadriel turned into a silhouette of white, black, and green as her voice boomed in discordant tones.
“In place of a Dark Lord,
you would have a queen,” she said. “Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the
dawn. Treacherous as the sea. Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All
shall love me and despair.”
The ring’s power passed, and Galadriel’s appearance and voice returned to normal.
“I pass the test,” she
said. “I will diminish and go into the West — and remain Galadriel.”
Galadriel’s consideration of whether to accept the ring, and the dialog surrounding it, are longer in the book.
I explored the book’s portrayal of this scene at length in an analysis last year.
In the book, Galadriel, who already wore one of the Elven Rings, appeared to grow as she considered whether to accept the Ring of Power.
“She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful.
Then she let her hand
fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was
shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was
soft and sad.” (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 7)
Galadriel’s size doesn’t change in the movie.
Nonetheless, the movie’s depiction of the scene does a good job showing the power of the ring and its affect on those who are tempted to use it.
I believe the movie did a good job adapting the scene for film, and I’m sure the movie’s special effects team had fun adding the scene’s visual and audio effects.
Differences between the book and the movie
There are a few notable differences between the book and the movie. Here are some of the differences I haven’t covered in earlier posts.
In the movie, Saruman begins on Sauron’s side, whereas in the book, he is originally working independently to gain the ring for himself.
Gandalf tells Frodo that Gollum will likely have an important role to play in the future. In the movie, this conversation takes place in the abandoned mines of Moria. In the book, it takes place in the Shire when Gandalf tells Frodo about the origin of the Ring of Power.
In the movie, Galadriel
warns Frodo that Boromir will try to take the ring, although she doesn’t
mention Boromir by name. Galadriel makes no such warning in the book.
Additional thoughts
Howard Shore composed the soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings, which adds emotional depth to the movies. Shore’s music is iconic and memorable.
The movie does a masterful job imagining what a fight between two powerful wizards might look like. Gandalf and Saruman both used their staffs to cast magic to thrust their opponent forcefully into the air, without even touching each other.
In my next analysis, I will examine the movie’s portrayal of Boromir’s death and the separation of the Fellowship of the Ring.
Prominent Actors
The following actors played major characters mentioned in this analysis of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Bilbo Ian Holm
Gandalf Ian McKellen
Frodo Elijah Wood
Elrond Hugo Weaving
Isildur Harry Sinclair
Galadriel Cate Blanchett
Saruman Christopher Lee
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