April 13, 2001
Quest for the
Ring: Fox LOTR Special
Harry Knowles
I slid the vcd into the front loading disc slit of this wondrous G4... And with startling G4 speed the screen went black, then filled with the image of THE ONE RING spinning slowly before a black screen as a voice spoke out, "ONE RING...." well, you know how that goes.... Meanwhile the inscription in the interior of the ring shone brightly... During each spin a different image from LOTR appeared... a shot from Weathertop.... Gandalf on the wagon... The Black Riders hacking apart pillow stuffed beds... These glimpses were split seconds as this entire opening only took about 30-40 seconds.
It ends with strong LORD OF THE RINGS-esque lettering spelling out... QUEST FOR THE RINGS.... Suddenly Liv Tyler welcomes us to the 'Quest for the Rings' as she is moving towards camera we begin to notice the 'one true ring' sitting bare next to her on a pedestal. She comments with a certain amount of... Awe and bemusement about how so much power and trouble could be started with something so small, she then begins to set up the whole basic concept of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, about how the entire series is about trying to destroy and/or possess this tiny ring. Then, rather quickly she introduces us to the concepts of Hobbits, Wizards, Dwarves, Elves, Man and the forces of darkness... We see some designs and maquettes briefly.