The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings)

Rating:
Summary: Not quite what I was looking for
Review: I reccomend buying the book, "The Art of The Lord of The Rings, Fellowship of the Ring" instead. Why? It is amazing, and has way more information inside it. This book here, is slim, small and has some good pictures, it is a solid collectors item. If you are into costume re-recreation, you would be happier buying the LOTR "art of" book because it has great drawings inside of it, that plus get yourself the LOTR FOTR extended edition DVD 4 disc set for more costume research needs. Overall, This book here has mostly fluff, good pictures, not the information I needed for my costume research needs.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful introduction to the movie
Review: I was given this book at an office Christmas party as a "different" gift from somebody who knows I love this series and can't wait for the movie.

Being a children's book, of course, I can't review it in the same way I've reviewed the other books I've done. What I can say about this, though, is that it would be a perfect introduction for a child before going to see the movie. It has so many stills from the movie, and many of them are exciting. Especially good are the shots of Hobbiton, the town where Frodo has grown up. I always wondered how they were going to make a set for the holes that hobbits live in, and there were a few photos that showed me how they look in the movie. They look *really* good. There are pictures of all the major characters, pictures of orcs (which many kids will find really neat). There are a couple pictures of fight sequences.

The accompanying text is simple, straightforward, and gives a summary of what the movie will be about. It mentions that the ring was forged by Sauron, who then lost it in battle and has been trying desperately to find it again. The forming of the Fellowship is shown with a few other stills from the movie, showing each character.

If anything, the photos have whetted my appetite for the movie even more. I can't wait to go see it. If you're thinking of taking your children to see the movie (and I'll leave aside for the moment whether or not that's a good idea, because that's an issue in itself), this book would be a great way to get them started.

Rating:
Summary: Essential for LOTR fans of all ages
Review: This book is apparently intended as the equivalent for children of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion." Both that book and this one have pages devoted to the various characters and settings of "The Fellowship of the Ring" with color photographs of them as they are depicted in the upcoming movie. However, this does not mean that adult fans of "The Lord of the Rings" who already have the "Visual Companion" will not want this book as well, since each book has many beautiful photos and quotations from the movie's script not included in the other.

Unlike the "Visual Companion," this book is arranged more as a bare-bones synopsis of the film's story, so that the action sequence on Weathertop, for example, is represented by a two-page photograph. The book nonetheless avoids major spoilers for young people who have not read Tolkien's book, saying only that the Fellowship "pays a terrible price for their escape from Moria" and not revealing anything that happens after the Fellowship leaves Lothlorien.

Unfortunately, many of the copies of this book I saw at my local bookstore had some sort of printing problem on the first page devoted to Lothlorien, with dark ink spattered over the page. If you buy this book in a bookstore, I suggest that you check whether the books have this problem and, if so, search for one in which the problem is as minor as possible. (The copy I finally bought only had this problem in a minor way.)

Rating:
Summary: Essential for LOTR fans of all ages
Review: This book is apparently intended as the equivalent for children of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion." Both that book and this one have pages devoted to the various characters and settings of "The Fellowship of the Ring" with color photographs of them as they are depicted in the upcoming movie. However, this does not mean that adult fans of "The Lord of the Rings" who already have the "Visual Companion" will not want this book as well, since each book has many beautiful photos and quotations from the movie's script not included in the other.

Unlike the "Visual Companion," this book is arranged more as a bare-bones synopsis of the film's story, so that the action sequence on Weathertop, for example, is represented by a two-page photograph. The book nonetheless avoids major spoilers for young people who have not read Tolkien's book, saying only that the Fellowship "pays a terrible price for their escape from Moria" and not revealing anything that happens after the Fellowship leaves Lothlorien.

Unfortunately, many of the copies of this book I saw at my local bookstore had some sort of printing problem on the first page devoted to Lothlorien, with dark ink spattered over the page. If you buy this book in a bookstore, I suggest that you check whether the books have this problem and, if so, search for one in which the problem is as minor as possible. (The copy I finally bought only had this problem in a minor way.)

Rating:
Summary: read me!
Review: this book is fabulous! I loved the movie so much and you can see some great pictures here! I love Elijah Wood and all the other hobbits, and if you love the movie, you'll love this book I think! Well I hope you liked my review, and by the way, if you saw the movie, you should read the books! They are really good too, and you'll want to know whats gonna happen in the next movies!

Rating:
Summary: Not really worth it
Review: This book may have been worth it three years ago, before the first movie released, to get previews of who looked like what. But it is not very helpful now, and plot-wise, it wasn't helpful back then. It is just a collection of pictures from The Fellowship of the Ring, with a smattering of text about the plot. The pictures, actually, are out of order. The front cover is also not very enticing, which was fixed for the photo guides of the next two movies.

Face it, you can find these pictures and tons more all over the internet. If you are the ultimate, die-hard fan who has to have every bit of LotR-related stuff, then go ahead and buy it, but otherwise, I would not recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Skimpy info, lovely photos
Review: This is an interesting new children's photo guide for the hit fantasy epic "Lord of the Rings"'s movie adaptation. Not quite the same as the adult ones, which have more complete info about places and people, but if your kid has never read LOTR and needs some basic info, this is the right book.

It has an excellent array of photos, of such characters as Legolas, the hobbits, the Uruk-Hai, Aragorn, as well as pictures of places: Bag End, Bilbo's birthday party, the tower of Orthanc, Lothlorien, Moria, and so forth. Some of the photos are unsatisfying -- we see only snippets of Rivendell, for example. Some of the pictures are so widely circulated that I wasn't interested, like Gimli kneeling at his cousin's grace, Arwen glancing at the camera, and the I've-seen-it-so-many-times-I'm-sick-of-it photo of Frodo staring at Sting, the sword given to him by Bilbo Baggins.

But there are photos not generally shown, like the picture of the four hobbits solemnly holding their swords, blades pointing down; Legolas holding his quiver, and a great still of Aragorn attacking the Nazgul on Weathertop. One slight disappointment is that the many amazing CGI effects (with the exception of shrinking John Rhys-Davies and the hobbit actors) go completely untouched. But perhaps they did not translate well to photo stills, or they didn't want to spoil the effect.

Often there are movie quotes (many of them taken out of the final cut) are near the photos, either quotes from the characters themselves, or relating to them. The text itself seemed a little dumbed-down, but as this appears to be a kids' book for new watchers, perhaps that isn't such a bad thing. It gives the basics on the characters' physical traits, brief biographical info (like Sam being the youngest son of the Gaffer) and their relationships with the other Fellowship members.

Spoilers are not given away. Major plot developments are hinted at but never stated; in addition, there are no spoilers for the finale, after they leave Lorien. Minor spoilers about some of the characters (like Aragorn) are given away, tho.

Overall, a nice little picture book, for either major Tolkien fans or for people who need to know just who these people are and what is going on.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite what I was looking for
Review: This Photo Guide to The Fellowship of the Ring is a lovely collection of pictures from the first Lord of the Rings movie. The captions and text are minimal, but appropriate. Although designed for children, anyone who would like an inexpensive book that can tease your memories of the movie, this is an excellent one.

Beginning with Suaron's tower in Mordor and Frodo sitting in a tree, to the battle in Moria, ending with The Fellowship leaving Lothlorien, the photos are good representations of the story line. Colors are clear and crisp. Only two pictures were omitted which should have appeared here: Arwen with Frodo on horseback at the river, with the horse rearing, and the guardians carved into the cliffs on either side of the river.

Anyone who enjoys this book would also be interested in the Photo Guide for The Two Towers, also published by Houghton-Mifflin.

Rating:
Summary: Pictures to take you back
Review: This Photo Guide to The Fellowship of the Ring is a lovely collection of pictures from the first Lord of the Rings movie. The captions and text are minimal, but appropriate. Although designed for children, anyone who would like an inexpensive book that can tease your memories of the movie, this is an excellent one.

Beginning with Suaron's tower in Mordor and Frodo sitting in a tree, to the battle in Moria, ending with The Fellowship leaving Lothlorien, the photos are good representations of the story line. Colors are clear and crisp. Only two pictures were omitted which should have appeared here: Arwen with Frodo on horseback at the river, with the horse rearing, and the guardians carved into the cliffs on either side of the river.

Anyone who enjoys this book would also be interested in the Photo Guide for The Two Towers, also published by Houghton-Mifflin.

Rating:
Summary: "LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide"
Review: With over 70 terrific and colorful pictures, this is a must have for "Lord of the Rings" fans. Since I have not yet been able to go see the movie since the movie won't be coming out till April here in Japan, I must satisfy myself with books that are out on "The Lord of the Rings".

This is not necessarily what I would call a "Photo Guide" but it's like a story book with plenty of pictures. Though it is said that this book is for ages 9-12, this book can be enjoyed by any ages of people. Not only does it have over 70 amazing color photos, it also includes previously unseen images and direct quotes from the movie. My favorite part of the book is probably page 33, "The Nine Companions", which shows pictures and quotes from Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir.

Very enjoyable and mesmerizing, I can recommend this book to anyone! I love this book very much and it was a great Christmas present for me!