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Summary: The Best Lotr Book I've seen
Review: I just picked up this book yesterday and it is absolutely wonderful. The book shows mostly concept sketches and paintings showing the evolution of ideas for Fellowship of the ring. I greatly enjoyed the concept material for Sauron and the armory section of the book. The costuming section of the book was quite comprehensive. I can not reccomend this book highly enough, though I finished it wanting so much more. Fortunately on the last page of the book they say they will continue with "The art of the two towers" so I have something to look forward to.
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Summary: Stunning book, instant collector item
Review: I love all things LOTR related. I am very interested in the aspect of costume design, and I enjoy creating my versions of costumes from the LOTR movies, especially those worn by Arwen the Elf. I have purchased "The LOTR Visual Companion", "The Art of LOTR FOTR", and "The LOTR FOTR Photo Guide" books from Amazon.com, and I have to say that the "Art Of" book is the most thorough of the lot. In all three books Arwen is not featured enough for me, to truly study. Even in the 4 disc special extended edition DVD set the costume galleries do not show the "chase scene" outfit. So, my advise to anyone like myself who is into costume re-creation: get yourself the special edition extended DVD set, plus the "Art Of" books. They seem to have the best information out there. The rest, just collectable items with pictures and "fluff". In this book, for example it has drawings of the Hobbit costumes WITH fabric swatches in the photos next to the drawings..how cool is that. That's my 2 cents. =0)
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Summary: Nice addition to my fantasy art shelf . . .
Review: I loved THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, not only for the story itself but for the way Peter Jackson brought it into being as faithfully as possible to the book, within the bounds of cinematic necessity. This meant a great deal in the way of SFX that would not have been possible even a very few years ago. The second disk of the DVD set handles that subject very nicely, but there's also the more traditional part of behind-the-scenes, which is the design, costuming, prop-making, and makeup art of the picture. This volume is a very nice collection of drawings, matte paintings, models, and other art work, from early concepts to final choices. In fact, my only complaint is that it should have been at least three times as long! There will be a second companion volume for THE TWO TOWERS, and I shall buy that one, too.
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Summary: Great insight into a great movie
Review: I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in art (John Howe, Alan Lee and Christian Rivers' pencil sketches and illustrations are just beautiful!), how movies are made (you will not believe what a painstaking process they went through drawing and drawing for almost 5 years just to give us a 3 hours long movie), or just looking for enhancing the pleasure they got from Peter Jackson's beautiful movie, by learning a little more of the details that make Mr. Jackson's movie and J.R.R. Tolkien's book great.I am not even listing LotR die-hard fans, as I know they wouldn't be able to call themselves die-hard without having this book and be able to sleep at night. I have a complaint though, altough the book has incredible paintings that will get you excited, after I finished it, I had the feeling that it was not complete. I expected more drawings, more insight from the creators. It also ends abrubtly, you turn a page of Balrog sculpture and it ends. I at least expected a word from the author. I try to be understanding as I imagine the amount of material they must have and the limitations of putting them together in a readable book, but I can't stop from thinking that this was another marketing strategy, making us buy the latest 5 disc Dvd edition...
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Summary: An interesting compilation, but less comprehensive than AOTC
Review: If you take out the screenplay, Del Rey's 'The Art of Attack of the Clones' is shorter than Houghton Mifflin's 'The Lord of the Rings: The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring.' However, the former is a more satisfying compilation than the latter. Not because of the artwork... Jackson's team of conceptual artists included famed Tolkien illustrators and cover artists Alan Lee and John Howe. Russell's selection of images matches Mark Cotta Vaz's blow for blow. It's the book around the images that's inferior. Where as Cotta Vaz wrote a whole book which lines up with the presented artwork, telling a running narrative of the entire-preproduction, Russell only supplements the artwork with short blurbs stating what is clearly visible in the artwork. Cotta Vaz's narrative paralleled the artwork. Gary Russell's blurbs simply summarize it. One thing that Russell did do well was have the artist's full participation. Where as the Episode II book just featured a quote here and there about a particular thing, the LOTR artists sat down with the compiled images in there final form, giving antidotes to almost all of them. Every page has atleast one quote from one of the artists. Many have several such quotes. And since they're refering to their artwork in it's current form on the page, it clearer as to which drawing or painting or sculpture is being referred to. While I prefer the Art of Episode II book in terms of written content, I recommend both books without hesitation and eagerly await 'The Lord of the Rings: The Art of The Two Towers' next year.
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Summary: The Lord of the Rings The Art of the Fellowship of the Ring
Review: In this book you wiil see & understand why The Fellowship of the Ring is a true masterpiece with it's magnificent pencil sketches & conceptual drawings & it's beautiful paintings from that fantastic film
it is truly a must own
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Summary: The perfect coffee table book !
Review: Not only will it fascinate your guests with its breathtaking scenery and intriguing character/creature sketches, but it'll claim YOU for many delightful hours, as well. I was tremendously excited to find this book, as I have long been John Howe's greatest fan of Tolkien art and this faithfully renders many of his conceptions to life (ah...the balrog...*shudder*). In my opinion the movie's greatest strengths lie in its visual cinematics (utilizing New Zealand and the expertise of talented artists like Lee and Howe) but this book allows you to enjoy delving into Tolkien's Middle-Earth without encountering the infidelity to the original text that has emerged in the film. Besides the red leather collector's edition, this has become my most valued and adored LOTR piece.
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Summary: More Sketchbook Than Art
Review: Perhaps this book should have been called "Sketchbook of Fellowship of the Ring" because my one disappointment was that, while it does a lovely job of showing preliminary sketches and how ideas evolved, there is very little shown of the finished art; that is, the film itself. What it does, it does beautifully. However, I am still hungry for a museum-quality book that will show details of sets, props and costumes as they actually appeared, but in still form (as opposed to rushing by on screen) so that we can appreciate the details that even multiple viewings of the film can't completely capture. The film itself is Art; the book seems to limit art to sketches/paintings that, lovely or fascinating in themselves, do not do justice to the breadth of art found in the film. Apparently, we need more specific volumes devoted to cinematography and costuming. However, as a sketchbook, this is a lovingly compiled volume, and the cover and endpaper designs are particularly well-chosen.
Rating: 
Summary: The art of the Fellowship of the ring has limited offerings
Review: The art of the fellowship of the ring focuses primarily on background / environmental rough concepts and creature designs, with only brief sections covering costume and armory. Many of the most wonderful and unique artistic contributions to the film are bypassed completely; including any detailed drawings or photos of Jewelry, props, and furnishings (looking for an image of that nouveau chair at Rivendell, or the elven rings? You're out of luck)! The small format doesn't do the images any favors either; New Line and Mr. Russell would do well to look into the designs of the Disney "Art of" books for future volumes. Bottom line; great book for a teenage boy whose tastes run towards "Dungeons and dragons" and comic books. But for older Tolkien fans and serious artists, this book falls far short of the mark.
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Summary: A sensational start to a wonderfull epic
Review: The Lord of the Rings;
The fellowship of the Ring By, J.R.R Tolkien "It's a strange business walking out your front door; you step out onto the path, and if you don't keep your feet on the road there's no knowing where you'll be swept offto." To Frodo Baggins of the Shire, these words had relatively no significance, but when he found himself in a crucial position in the salvation of Middle Earth; he came to comprehend the meaning of this proverb more thoroughly. In J.R.R Tolkien's epic novel The Fellowship of the Ring, readers are propelled into the breathtaking fantasy world of Middle Earth and introduced to young Frodo Baggins of The Shire. Throughout this spellbinding epic, readers accompany Frodo on his rugged road of hardships and dilemmas leading up to the destruction of the ring of power and the liberation of Middle Earth.
Frodo Baggins was just a typical Hobbit who coexisted peacefully and quietly in his secluded environment in the Shire. He was a normal citizen who was very naive with regard to the many happenings of Middle Earth. However, Frodo's serene life was short-lived, for he soon discovered that the all mighty ring of power was in his household. This book is about how Frodo most leave behind his beloved home and set out to destroy the ring of power once and for all. Along his quest, he faces many arduous circumstances and he sometimes longs for his familiar home. Often, IR.R Tolkien makes the readers really ponder whether Frodo has enough willpower to continue his quest and if he will ever truly overcome affliction. The author does an outstanding job creating this believable yet surreal world and making you really get interested in the characters and events. In my opinion, he is one of the most innovative authors of all time.
Perhaps even more alluring than the predominant storyline are the strong underling themes and messages that permeate the book. Even though this book is a fantasy, it has some extremely important messages that are universally significant. For instance, one of the most dominant themes of this book (and the whole trilogy) is the concept of small people being strong enough to overcome great adversity. At some instances, you can really see that Frodo is a brave person and that he has enough determination to overcome the malice and hatred of the enemy. Another central theme is the notion that fate intervenes with an individual's life. For instance, when the ring of power fell into the hands of Frodo, was it really misfortune or was he meant to be the destroyer of the ring and savior of Middle Earth? I found myself pondering such questions over and over again in my mind and definitely think that this added great intrigue to an already outstanding book.
All in all, you can see that I enjoyed exploring Middle Earth and experiencing the many thrilling events described in this amazing piece of literature. I think that this is an essential read for anybody who is interested in fantasy stories and I strongly recommend it to everyone who has the stamina to persevere through some of the more complicated and confusing parts. This is my favorite book that I have read thus far and I believe that J.R.R Tolkien is one of the most creative and gifted authors of American literature.
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