The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings 1978

Summary for The Lord of the Rings, Part One 1978

A prologue relates the history of the Rings of Power, which were dominated by the One Ring, made by Sauron with the intention of overpowering Middle-earth. Elves and Men fought a great war to defeat Sauron and in the end he was vanquished, but Isildur refused to destroy the One Ring. It was subsequently lost for a very long time, only to be discovered by two hobbits, one of whom (Smeagol) killed his friend in order to gain the Ring. In time, Smeagol lost the Ring and it was found by Bilbo Baggins, another hobbit. In the meantime, Sauron has returned to Middle-earth, and he has enslaved nine men with Rings of Power, turning them into Ringwraiths, the Nazgul.

Bilbo retires and passes the Ring to his heir, Frodo Baggins. Gandalf the Grey tells Frodo the history of the Ring, and warns him that Sauron is looking for it. Frodo agrees to leave the Shire and only just barely escapes in time, avoiding capture by the Nazgul. He goes to Bree with his faithful servant, Samwise, and two friends: Merry and Pippin.

In Bree, Frodo meets Aragorn, a mysterious Ranger, who offers to guide Frodo to Rivendell, where he hopes to meet Gandalf again and get help from the Elves. Before the party leaves Bree, five Nazgul enter their inn by night and attempt to slay Frodo, but Aragorn has deceived them with a clever ruse. In the morning, the group leaves Bree and heads through the wilderness for Weathertop.

At Weathertop, the Nazgul overtake Aragorn and the hobbits. They wound Frodo and withdraw. Aragorn leads the party on toward Bree, and eventually they meet his Elven friend Legolas, who helps them reach the Ford of Bruinen. The Nazgul are waiting there, and they nearly capture Frodo, but the waters of the river rise up to foil them.

Frodo awakens some days later in Rivendell. He has been healed by Elrond. Elrond convenes a council where Aragorn reveals that he is Isildur's Heir. Another man, Boromir, has come from Gondor in the south, seeking help against Sauron. The council agrees to destroy the Ring, and Frodo offers to take it to Mordor. Elrond appoints eight companions to go with him: Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli (a dwarf), Sam, Merry, and Pippin.

The Fellowship of the Ring set out for Mordor. Along the way, they attempt to cross the mountains but are driven back by bad weather. Gandalf then leads them into Moria, where they find a Balrog, an ancient demon, has assembled an army of Orcs. Gandalf buys time by fighting the Balrog while his companions flee.

Emerging from Moria, Aragorn leads the party to Lothlorien, where the Elves mourn Gandalf's passing. There Queen Galadriel offers to help Frodo, though she tests him. The Elves send the Fellowship down the river Anduin by boat. In time, the party are forced to decide whether to continue on toward Mordor in the east or to go to Minas Tirith in the west. But they are attacked by Orcs and Frodo secretly crosses the river with only Sam by his side.

Orcs capture Merry and Pippin. Boromir is slain. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the Orcs to the edge of Fangorn Forest, but they arrive too late. Eomer of the Rohirrim has overtaken the Orcs and destroyed them. He does not find the hobbits and returns to his home in the south.

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are reunited with Gandalf in the forest. Gandalf is now Gandalf the White. He leads his companions to Rohan, leaving Merry and Pippin to confer with Treebeard, leader of the Ents of Fangorn Forest. The Ents, angered by Aruman's incursions into the forest, rise up and attack Isengard after it has sent out a great army to assault Rohan.

In Rohan, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli help the Rohirrim defend their land against the Orcs. A great battle is fought and Aruman's forces are defeated.

In the east, Frodo and Sam come to the hills of Emyn Muil, where they set out on what they believe is the last leg of their journey to Mordor.

Cast for The Lord of the Rings, Part One 1978
Christopher Guard	Frodo Baggins (voice)
William Squire	Gandalf (voice)
Michael Scholes	Samwise Gamgee (voice)
John Hurt	Aragorn (voice)
Simon Chandler	Meriadoc (voice)
Dominic Guard	Pippin (voice)
Norman Bird	Bilbo Baggins (voice)
Michael Graham Cox	Boromir (voice)
Anthony Daniels	Legolas (voice)
David Buck	Gimli (voice)
Peter Woodthorpe	Gollum (voice)
Fraser Kerr	Saruman (voice)
Phillip Stone	King Theoden (voice)
Michael Deacon	Wormtongue (voice)
André Morell	Elrond (voice)
Alan Tilvern	Innkeeper (voice)
Annette Crosbie	Galadriel (voice)
John Westbrook	Treebeard (voice)
Michel Caccia	Frodon (french version) (voice)
Jean Davy	Gandalf Stormcrow (French Version) (voice)
Serge Lhorca	Samwise Gamgee (French Version) (voice)
Bernard Dhéran	Aragon (french version) (voice)
Georges Poujouly	Merry (french version) (voice)
Gilles Guillot	Peppin (french version) (voice)
Jacques Balutin	Bilbon (french version) (voice)
William Sabatier	Boromir (french version) (voice)
Pierre Arditi	Legolas (french version) (voice)
René Arrieu	Gimli (french version) (voice)
Louis Arbessier	Saroumane (french version) (voice)
Jean-Henri Chambois	Theoden (french version) (voice)
Denis Savignat	Elrond (french version) (voice)
Jean Topart	L'aubergiste (french version) (voice)
Tania Torrens	Galadriel (french version) (voice)
Henri Poirier	Treebeard, l'homme-arbre (french version) (voice)
Stan Barrett	Additional Voices (voice)
Hank Calia	Additional Voices (voice)
Louie Elias	Additional Voices (voice)
Leonard P. Geer	Additional Voices (voice)
Chuck Hayward	Additional Voices (voice)
Eddie Hice	Additional Voices (voice)
Loren Janes	Additional Voices (voice)
Gary Jensen	Additional Voices (voice)
Terry Leonard	Additional Voices (voice)
Dennis Madalone	Additional Voices (voice)
Walter Robles	Additional Voices (voice)
Mic Rodgers	Additional Voices (voice)
Felix Silla	Additional Voices (voice)
Mel Smith	Additional Voices (voice)
Jack Verbois	Additional Voices (voice)
Greg Walker	Additional Voices (voice)

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