Rating: 
Summary: A Good Addition to your Tolkien Collection
Review: '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.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Coffee Table Book
Review: 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>).
Rating: 
Summary: Great Guide
Review: After I watch the movie there were a few things I was confused about and this book helped! It tells about each of the main characters - their life before the ring and after - and about some of the creatures you meet in the movie. The pictures are great and the book is easy to read.Buy it before reading the books and it also helps. This is a great book to have for any Lord of the Rings fan!
Rating:
Summary: A gorgeous book, worth it for the pix alone!!
Review: Any fan of the Tolkien books and film will love this book.
I really bought it for the beautiful pictures -- to help me get through until the DVD is released! It's great!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie Encyclopedia!!!
Review: Being a major fan of the books by J.R.R. Tolkien and loving the first movie of his trilogy, I bought many books that contained information on the movie. Jude Fisher's guide was one of them. This book is only on "The Fellowship of the Ring" movie. This guide contains information on Middle Earth's places and people in an encyclopedia format. If you have read "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy already, most of the information in this book will be known to you. This is still fun to read, nonetheless. The photographs in this book are beautiful and that is just one reason why you would want to buy this. I recommend this encyclopedia to a fan of "The Lord of the Rings" book or the first movie. I enjoyed this guide and I am looking forward towards Ms. Fisher's guides for "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" films. I recommend this very highly. Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: No Balrog. Only four stars. Give us the BALROG
Review: Despite the excellent visual imagery and quality of this book and the companion to the first movie both books lacked one extremely important and somewhat pivotal villain from the first movie, The Balrog. The Balrog also makes an appearance in the second movie and should have been given more detailed treatment. Jude Fisher are you listening. Hey why not add the Balrog in the third book.
Rating:
Summary: A great visual foundation
Review: I actually purchased this book after having received the visual companion to the Two Towers for Christmas last year. As with the second book, the LoTR book provides an excellent overview with pictures of all of the major characters from the first film, giving you a little more insight into the nature of each of the different creatures. A fun book for the whole family, and a great edition for any collector.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional book
Review: I have loved Lord of the Rings forever so when I saw this book, I HAD to have it. My impulses were right, this book was fantastic! It had incredible pictures, wonderful character analysis, and cool, interesting movie tidbits. For a movie as unforgettable as the Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring visual companion is the only book that could possibly do it justice is The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion. This book is a must for any Lord of the Rings Fan!
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional book
Review: I have loved Lord of the Rings forever so when I saw this book, I HAD to have it. My impulses were right, this book was fantastic! It had incredible pictures, wonderful character analysis, and cool, interesting movie tidbits. For a movie as unforgettable as the Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring visual companion is the only book that could possibly do it justice is The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion. This book is a must for any Lord of the Rings Fan!
Rating:
Summary: A great coffee-table book for any fan of the movie or book!
Review: 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.
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