The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Blu-ray) Blu-ray, 2001

Part one of the fantasy trilogy adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien. Frodo (Elijah Wood) is a hobbit living in the Shire, a quiet, peaceful part of Middle Earth. When it turns out that his elderly relative Bilbo (Ian Holm) is harbouring the ultimate Ring of Power and the evil Nazgul riders of Sauron are coming to find it, Frodo is entrusted by wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to deliver the Ring out of the Shire without it falling into their hands. Frodo leaves the Shire aided by his cousins Merry, Pippin and trusty friend Sam Gamgee, but they soon realise that the agents of Mordor are everywhere and that their trip is far from over. Once they reach the Elvish realm of Rivendell the Hobbits form part of the anti-Sauron fellowship, which includes Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Boromir (Sean Bean), Legolas Greenleaf (Orlando Bloom), Gimli the dwarf and of course Gandalf. Together they must battle across Middle Earth to destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom, the fiery chasm in the centre of Mordor.

Jackson pulled a very large rabbit out of his hat in making this wonderful adaptation of Tolkien’s seminal and singular epic fantasy novel. Hugely enjoyable, satisfying and impressive - the finest film of its genre.