Hey all!

A couple weeks ago I realized that The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring turns 20 years old tomorrow, December 19.

I'll be doing a marathon session of the original trilogy this weekend, along with some family, to commemorate the anniversary.

I figured it would be fun to share some memories of when we first watched Fellowship, and what it meant to us! Sound off below!

I distinctly remember the build-up to Fellowship. I had never read The Lord of the Rings, so I made a point to borrow the three volumes from my high school library and read them all before December 19, 2001.

I also remember going to the theater near my home town to see Fellowship, on a date with a high school classmate.

The fact that Fellowship is now 20 makes me feel ancient

I’m feeling old…

Going to see all three films at the movie theater are still among my favourite movie-going experiences. I actually got the books for Christmas that same year, and read the first one through very fast to get through it before seeing the film.

The extended trilogy is my favorite. I read the books in the 80's and was initially a bit disappointed with the theatrical version. The extended version makes up for it, still not complete but better. The movies weren't quite able to bring over the same level of dread and despair I got from the books.

My oldest recently got into Lotr, about at the same age as when I got into the books which my dad had sitting on the shelf. He watched the extended trilogy, now on to the hobbit while also reading the books. (I instantly bought them for him when he asked, didn't have a copy laying around)

It was kind of weird for me, because I completely miss the first two movies in the cinema, it was until some of friends rented a DVD and I watched the two towers, it was like some days before the premier of the return of the king. So I watched first The two towers, then the return of the king and the fellowship of the ring at the end. And I love them.

I have watched several times after that. Actually, I think I rewatched them this year. It's my favorite movie franchise I suppose.

In honor of the movie, should I share my gollum/smeagol impersonation? I've been told for years it sounds just like the movie.

I can appreciate that disappointment to some degree. I reread The Lord of the Rings this past year, and was surprised at how the movies and book diverge from each other. 

That said, I think there are areas where the movies surpass the book. In my mind, the action scenes in the movies are superior; I was shocked at how few pages were committed to Helm's Deep and the Pelennor Fields in the book. The movies also make Aragorn a more interesting character, I think. In the book, he's more or less perfect: handsome, wise, chivalrous, imbued with almost preternatural abilities due to his lineage. Mortensen's Aragorn feels a little more vulnerable, although still without many flaws. There's a line in the extended version of Fellowship where Boromir says "Have you so little faith in your own people?" I wish they had pulled on that string more throughout the trilogy.

I cannot believe it has been 20 years.
Fellowship is my favourite (though I love all of them).
Boromir is my favourite character- made me a huge Sean Bean fan (on a side note, GoldenEye was my favourite Bond movie because I loved 006 so much, my mind was blown when I discovered it was the same actor), also the best death in cinematic history. Should have been nominated for supporting actor.

As to the poll, Return of the King takes the cake for me as the best of the trilogy. They are all absolutely amazing, but RotK is the most epic and the most poignant.