Tenth Anniversary: IGN's Lord of the Rings Memories

It was 10 years ago this month that New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment in director Peter Jackson's blockbuster trilogy adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic. Here are a selection of IGN editors' memories of the great event and how it affected us.

I have fond childhood memories of the Ralph Bakshi animated LOTR movie and its beautiful, hardcover storybook tie-in, but I must admit to having never read the original Tolkien books when the Peter Jackson trilogy came out. I was raised on the original Star Wars trilogy, so by the time Fellowship of the Ring was opening I'd endured the shattering disappointment that was The Phantom Menace. Needless to say, I was not going to get my hopes up again for another much-hyped genre epic/trilogy starter.

Imagine then my great relief and joy upon walking out of Fellowship and realizing I was in love with a whole new thing. Indeed, I realized that Lord of the Rings was the "new Star Wars," if you will, the fanboy film saga that would inspire and thrill a whole new generation of kids as Lucas' originals had done for mine. Here's hoping The Hobbit won't be their Phantom Menace (it won't).

Jim Vejvoda, Movies Executive Editor (@StaxIGN)





I'm in the minority on this, I know, but I'm not a huge Lord of the Rings fan. Sure, I read the books in high school and I like the movies just fine, but I've never felt the need to revisit them (books or movies) in any great depth since. So when I look back at the release of Fellowship 10 years ago, the main thing that comes to mind is… Spider-Man.

Yep, what I recall most from that first LOTR movie experience was the trailer for Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man that ran before the film. The Internet was, of course, still relatively young in terms of video back then, so my memory is that this was my first real look at the live-action Wallcrawler in motion. But what I saw was enough to stick (ahem) with me all this time. Spider-Man in the flesh and blood (mostly)! Oh, and the Hobbits were pretty cool too, I guess.

Scott Collura, Movies Editor (@ScottIGN)





Fellowship came out during my junior year of high school, and at that time, I admit I knew little of Middle-earth beyond the animated Hobbit movie from back in the day. I went to see it on a whim during winter break, sometime after the New Year. I left the theater – which was in the mall in my hometown – and went directly to the bookstore and bought the massive tome that collected all three LOTR books. Later in college, I took one of the best classes that I would ever have – Lord of the Rings and Ideology, comparing Tolkien's ideas with real-world politics.

While some fans may have balked at the adaptation of their favorite books to film (as we so often do), I happily found myself something new to love. Not to mention that the film came out in the months following 9/11, giving us all some much-needed escapism.

Joey Esposito, Comics Editor (@joeyesposito)





Embarrassed as I am to admit it, I was a J.R.R. Tolkien virgin back in 2001, thinking hobbits, dwarves and orcs were for the terminally single or terminally marooned in their parents' basement. Then I saw Fellowship of the Rings, and all that changed.

Seldom does a film perfectly capture the essence of a novel, but Peter Jackson - alongside long-time collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens - did just that, distilling a mighty tome into 178-minutes of spellbinding film. The effects were jaw-dropping, it was paced to perfection, and the cast was inspired, the filmmakers ignoring big-name stars in favour of a superb ensemble who truly embodied the heart and soul of the book's larger-than-life characters.

The Fellowship of the Rings inspired me to devour Tolkien's trilogy, as well as the fantasy novels that both followed and preceded it. I didn't go so far as to move back in with my parents, but the film introduced me to a genre I'd never previously taken seriously, and allowed me to venture into amazing worlds I didn't know existed. For that I'll be eternally grateful.

Chris Tilly, IGN UK Entertainment Editor (@TillyTweets)