document_title: Casino token

question_text: where do you get chips at a casino

question_tokens: where do you get chips at a casino

text: Casino token

text: Use[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Money is exchanged for tokens in a casino at the casino cage, at the gaming tables, or at a cashier station. The tokens are interchangeable with money at the casino. They generally have no value outside of the casino, but certain businesses (such as taxis or waiters—especially for tips) in gambling towns may honor them informally.

text: Tokens are employed for several reasons. Because of the uniform size, shape, and patterns of stacks of chips, they are easier to tally compared to currency. This attribute also enables the pit boss or security to quickly verify the amount being paid, reducing the chance that a dealer might incorrectly pay a customer. The uniform weight of the casino's official tokens allows them to weigh great stacks or heaps of chips rather than tally them. (Though aids such as chip trays are far more common.) Furthermore, it is observed that consumers gamble more freely with replacement currencies than with cash.[citation needed] A more pragmatic reason for casinos using chips in place of cash at table games is to discourage players from grabbing back their bet and attempting to flee should their bet not win, because chips, unlike cash, must be redeemed at the casino cashier and have no value outside the casino in question. Lastly, the chips are considered to be an integral part of the casino environment, and replacing them with some alternate currency would be unpopular.

text: Many casinos have eliminated the use of metal tokens (and coins) in their slot machines, in favor of paper receipts or pre-paid cards, which, while requiring heavy infrastructure costs to install, eliminate the coin handling expenses, jamming problems encountered in machines which took coins or tokens and can allow more game-specific technology in the space of a machine which would usually be dedicated to coin mechanisms. While some casinos (such as the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas) which installed the receipt system had kept the $1 tokens around for use as $1 chips, most other casinos using the receipts had simply scrapped the tokens entirely. Most casinos using receipts have automated machines at which customers may redeem receipts, eliminating the need for coin counting windows and decreasing labor costs.

text: Casino chip collecting is a part of numismatics, more specifically as specialized exonumia collecting. This hobby has become increasingly popular with the Casino Chips & Gaming Tokens Collectors Club formed in 1988. Some collectors may value certain casino tokens up to $100,000, which are typically traded on online auction websites like eBay. Several casinos sell custom-made sets of chips and one or two decks of cards stamped with the name of the casino on them. Each set is contained in a small briefcase or box.

text: History[edit]

text: The ancestors of the modern casino token were the counters used to keep score in the card games Ombre and Quadrille. In 1752, French Quadrille sets contained a number of different counters, known as jetons, fiches and mils. Unlike modern poker chips, they were colored differently only to determine player ownership for purposes of settling payments at the end of the game, with different denominations differentiated by different shapes that each counter type had.[1]

text: In the early history of Poker during the 19th century, players seemed to use any small valuable object imaginable. Early poker players sometimes used jagged gold pieces, gold nuggets, gold dust, or coins as well as "chips" primarily made of ivory, bone, wood, paper, and a composition made from clay and shellac. Several companies between the 1880s and the late 1930s made clay composition poker chips. There were over 1000 designs from which to choose. Most chips were white, red, blue, and yellow, but they could be made in almost any color desired.

text: Construction[edit]

text: The vast majority of authentic casino chips are "clay" chips but can be more accurately described as compression molded chips. Contrary to popular belief, no gaming chip going as far back as the 1950s has been 100% clay. Modern clay chips are a composition of materials more durable than clay alone. At least some percentage of the chips is of an earthen material such as sand, chalk, and clay similar to that found in cat litter. The process used to make these chips is a trade secret, and varies slightly by manufacturer, most being relatively expensive and time-consuming per chip. The edge spots, or inserts, are not painted on; to achieve this effect, this area of the clay is removed and then replaced with clay of a different color; this can be done to each chip individually or a strip can be taken out of a cylindrical block of material and replaced with the alternate color before the block is cut into chips. Then each chip receives a mid-inlay if desired, and is placed in a special mold that heats and compresses the chip at approximately 10,000 psi (70 MPa) at 300 °F (149 °C), hence the term compression molded chips.

text: The printed graphics on clay chips is called an inlay. Inlays are typically made of paper and are then clad with a plastic film applied to the chip prior to the compression molding process. During the molding process the inlay becomes permanently fastened to the chip and can not be removed from the chip without destroying the inlay.

text: Ceramic chips were introduced in the mid 1980s as alternative to clay chips, and are also used in casinos, as well as being readily available to the home market. The ability to print lettering and graphics on the entire surface of the chip, instead of just the inlay, made them popular. Ceramic chips are sometimes also referred to as clay or clay composite, but they are in fact an injection-molded chip made with a special plastic or resin formula that approximates the feel and sound of ceramic or porcelain. There are less expensive chips for the home market, made from various forms of plastic and plastic covered metal slugs as well.

text: The chips used in North American casinos typically weigh about 10 grams, but are usually between 8 and 10.5 g. Companies that manufacture chips for actual casinos include Gaming Partners International (whose subdivisions include Paulson, Bud Jones, and B&G), Classic Poker Chips, Palm Gaming International, Game On Chip Company and GTI Gaming.

text: Colors[edit]

text: There is no universally standardized color scheme for poker chip values, and schemes not only vary nationally and regionally, but even from venue to venue, or by event type within a single venue.

text: Chip colors found in home sets typically include red, white, blue, and sometimes green and black; however, more recently a wide assortment of colors have become readily available, particularly in lower-cost ABS plastic chips. Common additional colors are pink, purple, yellow, orange, and grey. Newer designs in home chips include three-color designs where a three-step molding process creates a chip with unique base, secondary, and detail colors. As chip sets are tailored to the buyer, the values of various colors vary widely, with less traditional colors either used as very high values such as $500, $1000, $5000, and so forth, common in tournaments, or as special "fractional" values such as $2 or $0.50, common in low-limit games.

text: In casinos, uniform chip colors and sizes are sometimes specified by the local gaming control board for consistency. For example, regulations in New Jersey[2] and Illinois[3] specify similar uniform colors. Notably, Nevada has no regulations regarding color, which is why Nevada casinos may use white, blue, or gray as $1, though $5 and greater are almost always consistently colored. All US states where gambling is legal require that casino chips have a unique combination of edge spots for identification, the name and location of the casino and the chip's value, if any, impressed, printed, or molded onto the obverse and reverse of the token.

text: In 19th-century America, there was enough of a tradition of using blue chips for higher values that "blue chip" in noun and adjective senses signaling high-value chips and high-value property are attested since 1873 and 1894, respectively.[4] This established connotation was first extended to the sense of a blue-chip stock in the 1920s.[5]

text: $2.50 chips (colloquially referred to as "snappers" by chip collectors) are mostly used for blackjack tables, since a "natural" (a 21 on the first two cards dealt to a player) typically pays 3:2 and most wagers are in increments of $5. However, the Tropicana Casino and Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and others, have used $2.50 (pink) chips in $7.50 to $15 and $10 to $20 poker games.

text: $20 chips are used mostly at baccarat and pai gow poker because a 5% commission charged for all winning banker wagers at baccarat and winning wagers at pai gow converts evenly. Bets of $20 are not uncommon in traditional table games such as craps and roulette; a $20 chip, for example, places a $5 bet on each of the "hard ways" in craps and is preferable to passing a stack of chips or making change.

text: Because eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture, chips denominated 8, 88, and 888 (e.g., $8 in the US) are common in casinos catering to a Chinese clientele, often as a promotion for the Chinese Lunar New Year. They will sometimes contain an image of the animal associated with the year and are issued in a variety of colors.

text: Low-denomination yellow chips vary in value: $20 in Atlantic City and Illinois (which also uses "mustard yellow" $0.50 chips); $5 at most Southern California poker rooms; $2 at Foxwoods' poker room in Ledyard, Connecticut; Running Aces Harness Park and Canterbury Park, both in Minnesota; and at Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona; and $0.50 at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Blue chips are occasionally used for $10, most notably in Atlantic City. In Las Vegas and California, most casinos use blue or white for $1 chips, though many Las Vegas casinos now use $1 metal tokens in lieu of chips.

text: Chips are also available in denominations of $1000 or more, depending on the wagering limits of the casino. Such chips are often yellow or orange.[clarification needed]. Casinos in Nevada, Atlantic City, and other areas that permit high wagers typically have chips available in $5000, $10,000, $25,000, and more; the colors for these vary widely.

text: Denominations above $5000 are almost never encountered by the general public; their use is usually limited to "high limit rooms" where bet sizes are much greater than on the main floor. Casinos often use gaming plaques for these denominations: These plaques are about the size of a playing card, and must be marked with serial numbers. The greatest value placed on a plaque to date is $10 million, used at the London Club in Las Vegas.[6]

text: Televised poker tournaments and cash games sometimes use bundled paper bills for high denominations, though the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour use round chips exclusively with denominations up to $250,000; tournament chips, however, are not redeemable for cash.

text: European casinos use a similar scheme, though certain venues, such as the Aviation Club de France, use pink for €2 and blue for €10. European casinos also use plaques rather than chips for high denominations, usually in the €1000 and higher range.

text: Security[edit]

text: Each casino has a unique set of chips, even if the casino is part of a greater company. This distinguishes a casino's chips from others, since each chip and token on the gaming floor has to be backed up with the appropriate amount of cash. In addition, with the exception of Nevada, casinos are not permitted to honor another casino's chips.

text: The security features of casino chips are numerous. Artwork is of a very high resolution or of photographic quality. Custom color combinations on the chip edge (edge spots) are usually distinctive to a particular casino. UV markings can be made on the inlay. Certain chips incorporate RFID technology, such as those at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas. Also, makers' marks are difficult to reproduce. Also being used by one manufacturer, Palm Gaming, is an audible taggant incorporated into the ceramic chip blank. A simple handheld reader will beep if the gaming chip is authentic. Palm Gaming is even manufacturing custom made molds for their ceramic gaming chips- adding yet another high level of security to its gaming chip.

text: Counterfeit chips are rare. High levels of surveillance, along with staff familiarity with chip design and coloring, make passing fake chips difficult. Casinos, though, are prepared for this situation. All states require that casinos have a set of chips in reserve with alternate markings,[citation needed] though they may not be required to have exactly the same number of reserve chips as they do on the floor. The most notable instance of counterfeiting chips was broken up in 2005, when two men were caught falsely converting $1 chips into higher denominations.[7]

text: Casino chips used in tournaments are usually much cheaper and of much simpler design. Because the chips have no cash value, usually chips are designed with a single color (usually differing in shade or tone from the version on the casino floor), a smaller breadth, and a basic mark on the interior to distinguish denominations; however, at certain events (such as the World Series of Poker or other televised poker), chips approach quality levels of chips on the floor.

text: Variations[edit]

text: Several casinos, such as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, issue "limited edition" varied-designed chips, commemorating various events, though retaining a common color scheme. This encourages customers to keep them for souvenirs, at a profit to the casino.

text: In certain casinos, such as the Wynn and Encore Casinos in Las Vegas, chips are embedded with RFID tags to help casinos keep better track of them, determine gamblers' average bet sizes, and to make them harder for counterfeiters to reproduce. However, this technique is costly and considered by many to be unnecessary to profit. Also, this technology provides minimal benefits in games with layouts that do not provide gamblers with their own designated betting areas, such as craps.

text: In television[edit]

text: The first game show to use them, Duel, had a variation in which the contestants answer questions using oversized casino tokens. The World Series of Poker at one time actually used its casino tokens for the poker tournaments, but in more recent years has had special Paulson WSOP clay sets made for the tournaments.


document_title: Smokey and the Bandit

question_text: who played the son in smokey and the bandit

root

text: Smokey and the Bandit

text: Plot[edit]

text: Wealthy Texan Big Enos Burdette (Pat McCormick) and his son Little Enos (Paul Williams) seek a truck driver willing to bootleg Coors beer to Georgia for their refreshment. At the time, Coors was regarded as one of the finest beers in the United States,[3] but it could not be legally sold east of the Mississippi River. Truck drivers who had taken the bet previously had been caught and arrested by "Smokey" (CB slang for highway patrol officers, referring to the Smokey Bear–type hats worn in some states).

tag: p

text: The Burdettes find legendary trucker Bo "Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) competing in a truck rodeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta; they offer him $80,000 to haul 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas back to Atlanta in 28 hours; Big Enos has sponsored a driver running in the Southern Classic stockcar race and "when he wins I want to celebrate in style." Bandit accepts the bet and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) to drive the truck, while Bandit drives the "blocker", a black Pontiac Trans Am bought on an advance from the Burdettes, to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo.

text: The trip to Texas is mostly uneventful except for at least one pursuing Smokey whom Bandit evades with ease. They reach Texarkana an hour ahead of schedule, load their truck with the beer and head back toward Atlanta. Immediately upon starting the second leg of the run, Bandit picks up runaway bride Carrie (Sally Field), whom he eventually nicknames "Frog" because she is "kinda cute like a frog" and "always hoppin' around". But in so doing, Bandit makes himself a target of Texas Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), a career lawman whose handsome but slow-witted son Junior (Mike Henry) was to have been Carrie's bridegroom. Ignoring his own jurisdiction, Sheriff Justice, with Junior in tow, chases Bandit all the way to Georgia, even as various mishaps cause his cruiser to disintegrate around them.

text: The remainder of the film is one lengthy high-speed chase, as Bandit's antics attract more and more attention from local and state police across Dixie while Snowman barrels on toward Atlanta with the contraband beer. Bandit and Snowman are helped along the way via CB radio by many colorful characters, including an undertaker with his hearse driver and their funeral procession, an elderly lady, a drive-in waitress and all her customers, a convoy of trucks, and even a madam who runs a brothel out of her RV. Neither Sheriff Justice nor any other police officers have any knowledge of Snowman's illegal manifest.

text: The chase intensifies as Bandit and Snowman get closer to Atlanta; moments after crossing back into Georgia, Bandit comes to the rescue when Snowman is pulled over by a motorcycle patrolman, and state and local police step up their pursuit with more cruisers, larger roadblocks, and even a police helicopter to track Bandit's movements. Discouraged by the unexpected mounting attention, and with just four miles left to go, Bandit is about to give up, but Snowman refuses to listen and takes the lead, smashing through the police roadblock at the entrance to the fairgrounds. They arrive back at Lakewood Speedway (while the Southern Classic race is being run) with only 10 minutes to spare, but instead of taking the payoff, Frog and Bandit accept a double-or-nothing offer from Little Enos — a challenge to run up to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. They quickly escape in one of Big Enos' Cadillac convertibles, passing Sheriff Justice's badly damaged police car by the side of the road. Bandit first directs Sheriff Justice to Big and Little Enos, but then in a gesture of respect, reveals his true location and invites Justice to give chase, leaving Junior behind.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Burt Reynolds as Bo Darville ("Bandit")
Sally Field as Carrie ("Frog")
Jerry Reed as Cledus Snow ("Snowman")
Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice ("Smokey")
Mike Henry as Junior Justice
Pat McCormick as Big Enos Burdette
Paul Williams as Little Enos Burdette
Macon McCalman as Mr. B
Susan McIver as Hot Pants
George Reynolds as Sheriff George Branford
Laura Lizer Sommers as Little Beaver
Michael Mann as Branford's Deputy
Lamar Jackson as Sugar Bear
Ronnie Gay as Georgia Trooper
Quinnon Sheffield as Alabama Trooper
Alfie Wise as Alabama Patrolman
Pat Hustis as Tow Truck Driver
Ingeborg Kjeldsen as Foxy Lady
Ben Jones as Trucker #1
Joe Klecko as Trucker #2
Hank Worden as Trucker #3

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Director Hal Needham originally planned the film as a low-budget B movie with a production cost of $1 million,[2] with Jerry Reed as the Bandit. It was not until Needham's friend Burt Reynolds read the script, and said he would star, that the film was aimed at a more mainstream release; Reed would now portray Bandit's friend Snowman (Reed would eventually play the Bandit in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3). At that time Reynolds was the top box office star in the world. In the original script Carrie was called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey. Bandit's car was a second generation Ford Mustang and the prize for completing the run was a new truck rather than $80,000.[4]

text: Burt Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. Upon showing it to his friend, Reynolds told Needham that it was the worst script he had ever read but that he would still make the movie. Most of the dialogue was improvised on set.[5]

text: Universal Studios bankrolled Smokey and the Bandit for $5.3 million, figuring it was a good risk.[2] Just two days before production was to begin, Universal sent a "hatchet man" to Atlanta to inform Needham that the budget was being trimmed by $1 million. With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. Needham and assistant director David Hamburger spent 30 hours revising the shooting schedule.[2]

text: "Buford T. Justice" was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to Reynolds' father, who was once Police Chief of Riviera Beach, Florida. His father was also the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the film, a variation of the phrase "son-of-a-bitch" that, according to Reynolds, he uttered quite often.

text: Jackie Gleason was given free rein to ad-lib dialogue and make suggestions. It was his idea to have Junior alongside him throughout. In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly encounters the Bandit in the "choke and puke" (a roadside diner) wasn't in the original story, but rather was Gleason's idea.

text: Before Gleason was cast in the film, Richard Boone was originally considered for the role of Buford T. Justice.[5]

text: Sally Field only accepted the part after her agent advised her that she needed a big movie role on her resume. Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised.

text: Reportedly, Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, as in the film industry, he was better known as a stuntman. He managed to obtain studio attention after his friend Reynolds agreed to portray the Bandit in the film.

text: The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro and Lithonia. The scenes set in Texarkana were filmed in Jonesboro and the surrounding area, and many of the chase scenes were filmed in the surrounding areas on Highway 54 between Fayetteville and Jonesboro for a majority of the driving scenes, Mundy's Mill Road, Main Street in Jonesboro, Georgia State Route 400, I-85 (Pleasant Hill exit), and in McDonough. However, the scene where they drive through the Shell gas station was filmed in Ojai, California on the corner of Ojai and El Paseo. Much of the surrounding scene comes from that immediate vicinity. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on the south side of Atlanta. The roller coaster seen in the movie was the Greyhound. It had not been used for some time and was repainted for the film. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and a flashback scene in Part 3.[6]

text: The film's theme song, "East Bound and Down", was written virtually overnight by Jerry Reed. He gave Needham a preview of the song, and when initially he got no reaction from the director, offered to rewrite the song. Needham, however, liked the song so much he assured Jerry not to change a word. It became one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature number.[7]

text: The area around Helen, Georgia was also used for some locations. The scene where Buford T. Justice's car has the door knocked off by a passing semi truck was shot on Georgia State Route 75, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Helen. The tow truck driver was a local garage owner, Berlin Wike.

text: The film features the custom clothing and costuming of Niver Western Wear of Fort Worth, Texas.[8] Niver provided much of the western attire worn in the film, as well as the custom-made sheriff's uniforms (waist size 64 inches) that Jackie Gleason wore throughout the film.

text: Reynolds and Sally Field began dating during the filming of Smokey and the Bandit.

text: While made to take advantage of the ongoing 1970s CB radio fad, the film added to the craze.[9]

text: Though the film Moonrunners (1975) is the precursor to the television series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985), from the same creator and with many identical settings and concepts, the popularity of Smokey and the Bandit and similar films helped get the Dukes series on air. Three actors from the main cast of The Dukes of Hazzard appear in small uncredited roles in Smokey and the Bandit: Ben Jones, John Schneider and Sonny Shroyer (who played a police officer in both). In return, Reynolds portrayed the Dukes character Boss Hogg (originally portrayed by Sorrell Booke) in the film adaptation The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). Reynolds is also referenced by name in several early episodes of the series.

text: Vehicles[edit]

text: Needham saw an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans 4-door sedans would be provided for the movie.[10] The Trans Ams were actually 1976-model cars with 1977 front ends. (From 1970 to 1976, both the Firebird/Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro had two round headlights, and in 1977, the Firebird/Trans Am was changed to four square headlights, while the Camaro remained unchanged.) The decals were also changed to 1977-style units, as evidenced by the engine size callouts on the hood scoop being in liters rather than cubic inches, as had been the case in 1976. The hood scoop on these cars says "6.6 LITRE", which in 1977 would have denoted an Oldsmobile 403-equipped car or a non W-72, 180 hp version of the 400 Pontiac engine. All four of the cars were badly damaged during production,[11] one of which was all but destroyed during the jump over the dismantled bridge. The Trans Am used for the dismantled bridge jump was equipped with a booster rocket, the same type that was used by Evel Knievel during his failed Snake River Canyon jump. Needham served as the driver for the stunt (standing in for Reynolds) while Lada St. Edmund was in the same car (standing in for Sally Field during the jump). By the movie's ending, the final surviving Trans Am and LeMans were both barely running and the other cars had become parts donors to keep them running. The Burdettes' car is a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible painted in a "Candy Red" color scheme, and is seen briefly at the beginning of the movie and as Bandit, Snowman, Fred, and Frog make their escape in the final scene.

text: The film also made use of three Kenworth W900A short-frame semi trucks, which Jerry Reed can be seen driving, each equipped with 38-inch sleepers. Two units were 1974 models as evidenced by standard silver Kenworth emblems on the truck grille, and one unit was a 1973 model as evidenced by the gold-painted Kenworth emblem on the truck's grille signifying Kenworth's 50 years in business. The paint code for each truck was coffee brown with gold trims, and the 48-foot (15 m) mural trailer used was manufactured by Hobbs Trailers in Texas with a non-operational Thermo King Refrigeration unit. This is obvious, because there is no fuel tank on the underside of the trailer to power the refrigeration unit, and the unit is never heard running.[12]

text: Legal status of Coors beer[edit]

text: In 1977, Coors was unavailable for sale east of Oklahoma. A 1974 Time magazine article explains why Coors was so coveted that one would be willing to pay the Bandit such a high price to transport it. Coors Banquet Beer had a brief renaissance as certain people sought it out for its lack of stabilizers and preservatives. The article says that future Vice President Gerald Ford hid it in his luggage after a trip to Colorado in order to take it back to Washington. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a steady supply airlifted to Washington by the Air Force. The article also mentions Frederick Amon, who smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[13] The lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors had the potential for spoiling in a week if it were not kept cold throughout its transportation and in storage at its destination. This explains the 28-hour deadline.[14]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text:
Smokey And The Bandit: Music from the Motion Picture

Soundtrack album by Various artists

Released
1977 (1977)

Genre
Truck-driving country
country rock
country
bluegrass
rock

Length
41:11

Label
MCA Records

Producer
Sonny Burke

Singles from Smokey And The Bandit: Music from the Motion Picture

"East Bound and Down"
Released: August 1, 1977

tag: table

text: The theme music, "East Bound and Down", was sung and co-written by Reed (credited under his birth name, Jerry Hubbard) and Dick Feller. It became Reed's signature song and is found on multiple albums, including Country Legends and his live album Jerry Reed: Live Still. In 1991 it was arranged for orchestra by Crafton Beck and recorded by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for their album Down on the Farm. Several other groups, such as US rock band Tonic, have also covered it. Reed also penned and performed the song for the opening credits, entitled "The Legend", which tells of some of The Bandit's escapades prior to the events of the film, and the ballad "The Bandit", which features in several versions in the movie and on the soundtrack. Reed's hit not withstanding, Bill Justis is the first name on the credits for the soundtrack as he composed and arranged original music throughout the film. Musicians such as Beegie Adair and George Tidwell played on the soundtrack as part of long careers in music. Legendary five-string banjo player Bobby Thompson is also heard prominently towards the end of "East Bound and Down." The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette and 8-track through MCA Records.[15]

text: Track listing[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length

1.
"The Legend"
Jerry R. Hubbard
2:09

2.
"Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["bandit"] – Burt Reynolds, Voice ["snowman"] – Jerry Reed)

0:28

3.
"West Bound And Down"
Jerry R. Hubbard, Dick Feller
2:45

4.
"Foxy Lady"
Bill Justis
2:51

5.
"Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["bandit"] – Burt Reynolds, Voice ["smokey"] – Jackie Gleason, Voice ["snowman"] – Jerry Reed)

0:56

6.
"Orange Blossom Special"
Ervin T. Rouse
2:40

7.
"The Bandit"
Dick Feller
3:00

8.
"March Of The Rednecks"
Bill Justis
2:22

9.
"If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry"
Gerald Sanford, Hal Mooney
2:47

10.
"East Bound and Down (Incidental CB Dialogue Included)" (Voice ["bandit"] – Burt Reynolds, Voice ["snowman"] – Jerry Reed)
Jerry R. Hubbard, Dick Feller
4:42

11.
"The Bandit"
Dick Feller
2:48

12.
"And The Fight Played On!"
Bill Justis
2:22

13.
"Ma Cousin Plays Steel"
Bill Justis
3:11

14.
"Hot Pants Fuzz Parade"
Bill Justis
4:48

15.
"Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["bandit"] – Burt Reynolds, Voice ["snowman"] – Jerry Reed)

1:05

16.
"The Bandit (Reprise)"
Dick Feller
2:17

Total length:
41:11

text: Reception[edit]

text: Smokey and the Bandit was a smash hit at the box office. With an original budget of $5.3 million (cut to $4.3 million two days before initial production),[2] the film grossed $126,737,428 in North America,[16] making it the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977. The worldwide gross is estimated at over $300 million.[2]

text: Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film a good rating (3 stars out of a possible 4) and characterized it as "About as subtle as The Three Stooges, but a classic compared to the sequels and countless rip-offs which followed."[17]

text: Gene Siskel, in his review in the Chicago Tribune, gave the film two stars and complained that the film failed to tell the audience when the clock started on the beer run, thus removing suspense throughout the film concerning how long remained to them. He also claimed that Bandit is never made aware of Frog's leaving Junior at the altar, which is why the Bandit continually asks why a Texas sheriff is chasing him. However, this is inaccurate: within seconds of Bandit picking her up, Frog tells him "there is a wedding in search of a bride", and goes on to explain her ill-advised romance with Junior, as Bandit holds up the CB mic for Snowman to hear.

text: The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. It currently holds an 81% "Fresh" rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews.[18]

text: Burt Reynolds rated the film as the one he most enjoyed and had the most fun making in his career.[19]

text: Legendary film maker Alfred Hitchcock stated that the movie was one of his favorites.[20]

text: Upon meeting Burt Reynolds, Billy Bob Thornton told him that the picture was not considered as such in the south, and was considered more of a documentary.[21]

text: Smokey and the Bandit was released in the United Kingdom on August 28, 1977 and was a sizeable success there, garnering positive reviews.[22]

text: American Film Institute Lists

text:
AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – Nominated
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:

Bandit (Bo Darville) – Nominated Hero

text: Cultural impact[edit]

text: Trans Am[edit]

text: After the debut of the film the Trans Am became wildly popular with sales almost doubling in two years of the film's release, to the delight of General Motors; in fact, it outsold its Camaro counterpart for the first time ever.[23] Reynolds was given the 1977 vehicle used during promotion of the film as a gift, though the car itself never actually appeared in the film. Because of the popularity of the movie and the sales success of the Trans Am, then President of Pontiac Alex Mair promised to supply Reynolds with a Trans Am each year. Owing to his financial difficulties, in 2014 Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. High estimates for the car were up to $80,000, but that was dwarfed by the actual sale price of $450,000. Also up for auction was a go-kart replica of the car, which sold for nearly $14,000.[24] In 2016, Trans Am Depot, a Florida-based automobile customization company, announced that it would build 77 Trans Ams that would be modeled after the car that Reynolds drove in the 1977 original, despite Pontiac having been discontinued by GM in 2009. These new models were built off the Camaro platform (the very same one that the real Firebird and Trans Am used), came with Pontiac arrowhead, flaming bird and Bandit logos, as well as instrument panels, center consoles and hood scoops emulating their 1977 counterparts, and were signed by Reynolds. Some differences included the use of a supercharged 454-cid (7.4-liter) Chevrolet-sourced engine that put out 840 HP, and four round headlights, which appeared on the 1967-69 Firebirds/Trans Ams only; the actual 1977-81 models had square headlights.[25]

text: Diablo sandwich[edit]

text: The diablo sandwich ordered by Sheriff Justice in the Arkansas barbecue restaurant scene has entered popular culture as a minor reference to the film. While no authoritative source identifies the composition of the sandwich, there are several possibilities. A segment of the CMT program Reel Eats used a sloppy joe-style recipe consisting of seasoned ground beef, corn and sour cream.[26] Another proposal, based more closely on images from the film and the shooting location of the scene (at an Old Hickory House restaurant in Georgia), is pulled pork and hot sauce on a hamburger bun.[27]

text: The Bandit Run[edit]

text: First run in 2007 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the movie, The Bandit Run was the brainchild of Dave Hall, owner of Restore A Muscle Car. A group of Trans Am owners and fans of the movie take part in an annual road trip from Texarkana to Jonesboro, Georgia, recreating the route taken by the characters in the film.

text: The Bandit Run quickly caught on and has become a fixture, most recently celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie with a special screening of the film attended by Burt Reynolds and a recreation of the jump undertaken by Bandit and Frog across a river.[28]

text: Mobil 1 commercial[edit]

text: In 2014, petroleum company Mobil 1 produced television commercials, featuring NASCAR star Tony Stewart, closely based on the film. Called Smoke is the Bandit playing on Stewart's nickname, the commercials featured him as the Bandit opposite Darrell Waltrip who played Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. The story replaced the Coors beer with Mobil 1 products. The adverts poked fun at the film and even featured a Pontiac Trans Am and a cover version of the song East Bound and Down. The commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites.[29]

text: Television censorship and alternative versions[edit]

text: When Smokey and the Bandit first aired on American network television in the early 1980s, censors were faced with the challenge of toning down the raw language of the original film. For this purpose, they overdubbed dialogue deemed offensive, which was (and remains, to an extent) common practice. The most noted change made for network broadcast was the replacing of Buford's often-spoken phrase "sumbitch" (a contraction of "son of a bitch"; usually in reference to the Bandit) with the phrase "scum bum". This phrase achieved a level of popularity with children, and the 2007 Hot Wheels release of the 1970s Firebird Trans Am has "scum bum" emblazoned on its tail. The TV prints of the first two Bandit films are still shown regularly on television, although a few TV stations aired the unedited version in recent years as some of the phraseology (i.e. "(son of a) bitch", "ass", etc.) became more acceptable on TV.

text: The original actors mostly redubbed their own lines for the television version, except for Gleason. Actor Henry Corden, who voiced Fred Flintstone after original performer Alan Reed died, was used to replace a considerable amount of Sheriff Justice's dialogue. This is fitting, as Fred Flintstone was a parody of/homage to Gleason's character Ralph Kramden and The Flintstones was a parody of/homage to The Honeymooners.

text: In the UK, the heavily dubbed version was shown for a number of years, particularly by the BBC. However, in more recent years, the original version has been shown (on ITV, a commercial channel), usually with the stronger language edited out, often quite awkwardly and noticeably.

text: The theatrical release itself had a few lines deleted, including a creative edit in which Sheriff Justice tells a state trooper to "fuck off." His expletive is obscured when a passing big rig sounds its horn. At the time, using the 'F' word would immediately require an R rating which the producers were looking to avoid. This clever self-censorship allowed the film to avoid this rating and reach a much larger audience.

text: In 2006, a DVD re-release was issued of Smokey and the Bandit featuring a digitally-remastered audio track with 5.1 Dolby-compatible surround sound. It should be noted however that many of the film's original sounds were replaced. For instance, the diesel engine start and run up sequence in the opening sequence of the film was completely dubbed over with a totally new sound. A few other examples of "sound effect replacement" occur when Bandit takes off after managing to get a reluctant Cledus involved in the bet, and after he comes to a screeching halt on a roadway moments before picking up Carrie. Some of the original sound effects (such as Cledus' dog Fred's barking) and music (such as the final chase to the Southern Classic) were removed and not replaced. (Note: earlier DVD releases and the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray of the film have the original soundtrack intact.)[30]

text: Major portions of the audio 'background' have been modified with different engine sounds or tire squeals from the original film. The updated version of the film features sounds inaccurate for what would be produced by the Trans Am or the numerous other Pontiac vehicles in the film. The original film had correct sounds that were usually recorded live as the action took place.

text: Some TV versions also feature a longer version of the scene where Cledus wades into the pond after Fred.[31]

text: Spinoff[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2013)

text: A series of television movies aired in 1994. The car featured was a Dodge Stealth.

text: Reboot[edit]

text: In late 2017, Universal Pictures acquired Edgar Wright to direct a reimagining/reboot of the first film, due to the summer of 2019 release.


question_text: who dies first in lord of the rings

question_tokens: who dies first in lord of the rings

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the Second Age of Middle-earth, the lords of Elves, Dwarves, and Men are given Rings of Power. Unbeknownst to them, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring in Mount Doom, infusing into it a great part of his power to dominate, through it and at a distance, the other Rings, so he might conquer Middle-earth. A final alliance of men and elves battles Sauron’s forces in Mordor, where Prince Isildur of Gondor severs Sauron's finger, and the Ring with it, thereby destroying his physical form. With Sauron's first defeat, the Third Age of Middle-earth begins. Unfortunately, the Ring's influence corrupts Isildur, and, rather than destroy the Ring, Isildur takes it for himself. Isildur is later killed by Orcs, and the Ring is lost for 2,500 years, until it is found by Gollum, who owns it for five centuries. The Ring is then found by a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins.

text: Sixty years later, Bilbo celebrates his 111th birthday in the Shire, reuniting with his old friend, Gandalf the Grey. Bilbo reveals that he intends to leave the Shire for one last adventure, and he leaves his inheritance, including the Ring, to his nephew, Frodo. Although Bilbo has begun to become corrupted by the Ring and tries to keep it for himself, Gandalf intervenes. Gandalf, suspicious of the Ring, tells Frodo to keep it secret and to keep it safe. Gandalf then investigates the Ring, discovers its true identity, and returns to warn Frodo. Gandalf also learns that Gollum was tortured by Orcs, and that Gollum uttered two words during his torture: "Shire" and "Baggins." Gandalf instructs Frodo to leave the Shire, accompanied by his gardener Samwise Gamgee. Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with fellow wizard Saruman the White, but learns that he has joined forces with Sauron, who has unleashed the Ringwraiths to find Frodo. After a brief battle, Saruman imprisons Gandalf. Frodo and Sam are joined by fellow Hobbits, Merry and Pippin, and they evade the Ringwraiths, arriving in Bree, where they are meant to meet Gandalf. However, Gandalf never arrived, and they are instead aided by a ranger named Strider, a friend of Gandalf's, who escorts them to Rivendell.

text: The Hobbits are ambushed by the Ringwraiths, and one stabs Frodo with a cursed Morgul blade. Arwen, an elf and Strider’s lover, comes to Frodo’s aid and successfully takes him to Rivendell, where he is healed. Frodo meets Gandalf, who escaped Isengard on the back of a giant Eagle. Arwen’s father, Lord Elrond, holds a council that decides the Ring must be destroyed in Mount Doom. While the members argue, Frodo volunteers to take the Ring, accompanied by Gandalf, Sam, Merry, Pippin, elf Legolas, dwarf Gimli, Boromir of Gondor, and Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur’s heir and the rightful King of Gondor. Bilbo gives Frodo his sword, Sting. The Fellowship of the Ring sets off, but Saruman’s magic forces them to travel through the Mines of Moria, much to Gandalf's displeasure.

text: The Fellowship discovers that the dwarves within Moria have been slain, and they are attacked by Orcs and a cave troll. They defeat them, but are confronted by an ancient demon called a Balrog. Gandalf casts the Balrog into a vast chasm, but it drags Gandalf down into the darkness with it. The rest of the Fellowship, now commanded by Aragorn, reaches Lothlórien, home to elves Galadriel and Celeborn. Galadriel privately informs Frodo that only he can complete the quest, and that one of his friends will try to take the Ring. Meanwhile, Saruman creates an army of Uruk-hai to track down and kill the Fellowship.

text: The Fellowship leaves Lothlórien by river to Parth Galen. Frodo wanders off and is confronted by Boromir, who tries to take the Ring in desperation. Afraid of the Ring corrupting his friends, Frodo decides to travel to Mordor alone. The Fellowship is then ambushed by the Uruk-hai. Merry and Pippin are taken captive, and Boromir is mortally wounded by the Uruk chieftain. After slaying the chieftain, Aragorn watches Boromir die peacefully. Sam follows Frodo, accompanying him to keep his promise to Gandalf to protect Frodo, while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli go to rescue Merry and Pippin.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Before filming began on 11 October 1999, the principal actors trained for six weeks in sword fighting (with Bob Anderson), riding and boating. Jackson hoped such activities would allow the cast to bond so chemistry would be evident on screen as well as getting them used to life in Wellington.[8] They were also trained to pronounce Tolkien's verses properly.[9] After the shoot, the nine cast members playing the Fellowship got a tattoo of the English word "nine" written in Tengwar, with the exception of John Rhys-Davies, whose stunt double got the tattoo instead.[10] The film is noted for having an ensemble cast,[11] and some of the cast and their respective characters include:

text:
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: a young hobbit who inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo. Wood was the first actor to be cast on 7 July 1999.[12] Wood was a fan of the book, and he sent in an audition dressed as Frodo, reading lines from the novel.[13] Wood was selected from 150 actors who auditioned,[14] including Jake Gyllenhaal.[15]
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: an Istari wizard and mentor to Frodo. Sean Connery was approached for the role, but did not understand the plot,[13] while Patrick Stewart turned it down as he disliked the script.[16] Before being cast, McKellen had to sort his schedule with 20th Century Fox as there was a two-month overlap with X-Men.[14] He enjoyed playing Gandalf the Grey more than his transformed state in the next two films,[10] and based his accent on Tolkien. Unlike his on-screen character, McKellen did not spend much time with the actors playing the Hobbits; instead he worked with their scale doubles.[8]
Sean Astin as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee: a hobbit gardener and Frodo's best friend. Astin, who had recently become a father, bonded with the 18-year-old Wood in a protective manner, which mirrored Sam's relationship with Frodo.[8]
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn II Elessar: a Dúnedain ranger, the descendant of Isildur, and heir to Gondor's throne. Daniel Day-Lewis was offered the part at the beginning of pre-production, but turned it down.[17] Nicolas Cage also received an offer, declining because of "family obligations",[18] while Vin Diesel, a fan of the book, auditioned for Aragorn. Stuart Townsend was cast in the role, before being replaced during filming when Jackson realised he was too young.[13] Russell Crowe was considered as a replacement, but he turned it down after taking what he thought to be a similar role in Gladiator.[13] Day-Lewis was offered the role for a second time, but declined again.[17] Executive Producer Mark Ordesky saw Mortensen in a play. Mortensen's son, a fan of the book, convinced him to take the role.[8] Mortensen read the book on the plane, received a crash course lesson in fencing from Bob Anderson and began filming the scenes on Weathertop.[19] Mortensen became a hit with the crew by patching up his costume[20] and carrying his "hero" sword around with him off-camera.[8]
Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took: a hobbit who travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor.
Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck: a distant cousin of Frodo. Monaghan was cast as Merry after auditioning for Frodo.[13]
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: a dwarf warrior who accompanies the Fellowship to Mordor after they set out from Rivendell and a descendant of Durin's Folk. Billy Connolly, who was considered for the part of Gimli, later portrayed Dáin II Ironfoot in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy.[13] Rhys-Davies wore heavy prosthetics to play Gimli, which limited his vision, and eventually developed eczema around his eyes.[8]
Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf: a prince of the elves' Woodland Realm and a skilled archer. Bloom initially auditioned for Faramir, who appears in the second film, a role which went to David Wenham.[13]
Sean Bean as Boromir: a prince of the Stewards of Gondor who journeys with the Fellowship towards Mordor. Bruce Willis, a fan of the book, expressed interest in the role, while Liam Neeson was sent the script, but passed.[13]
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins: Frodo's uncle who gives him the Ring after he decides to retire to Rivendell. Holm previously played Frodo in a 1981 radio adaption of The Lord of the Rings, and was cast as Bilbo after Jackson remembered his performance.[13] Sylvester McCoy, who would later play Radagast the Brown in The Hobbit, was contacted about playing the role, and was kept in place as a potential Bilbo for six months before Jackson went with Holm.[21]
Liv Tyler as Arwen Undomiel: a beautiful half-elf princess of Rivendell and Aragorn's lover. The filmmakers approached Tyler after seeing her performance in Plunkett & Macleane, and New Line Cinema leaped at the opportunity of having one Hollywood star in the film. Actress Helena Bonham Carter had expressed interest in the role.[13] Peter Jackson wanted to cast Uma Thurman as Arwen, but Thurman pulled out due to pregnancy, Tyler came to shoot on short occasions, unlike the rest of the actors. She was one of the last actors to be cast, on 25 August 1999.[22]
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: the elven co-ruler of Lothlórien alongside her husband Celeborn. Peter Jackson wanted to cast Lucy Lawless as Galadriel, but she declined due to pregnancy.[23]
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: the fallen head of the Istari Order who succumbs to Sauron's will through his use of the palantír. Lee was a major fan of the book, and read it once a year. He had also met J. R. R. Tolkien.[19] He originally auditioned for Gandalf, but was judged too old.[13]
Hugo Weaving as Elrond: the elven Lord of Rivendell who leads the Council of Elrond, which ultimately decides to destroy the Ring. David Bowie expressed interest in the role, but Jackson stated, "To have a famous, beloved character and a famous star colliding is slightly uncomfortable."[14]
Sala Baker as Sauron: the Dark Lord of Mordor and the Ring's true master who manifests as an Eye after the destruction of his physical form. Originally hired as one of the several stunt performers for the film trilogy, Baker ended up landing the role. In addition, he went on to play several Orcs as well.
Andy Serkis as Gollum voice and motion capture: a wretched hobbit-like creature whose mind was poisoned over centuries by the Ring.
David Weatherley as Barliman Butterbur, proprietor in Bree
Lawrence Makoare as Lurtz: the commander of Saruman's Orc forces;
Marton Csokas as Celeborn: the elven co-ruler of Lothlórien alongside his wife Galadriel;
Craig Parker as Haldir: the leader of the Galadhrim warriors guarding the border of Lothlórien;
Mark Ferguson as Ereinion Gil-galad, the last Elven-King of Noldor;
Peter McKenzie as Elendil the Tall: the last High King of Arnor and Gondor;
Harry Sinclair as Isildur: Elendil's son and Aragorn's ancestor who originally defeated Sauron.
Peter Jackson as Albert Dreary: a man of Bree.

text: Comparison with the source material[edit]

text: Jackson, Walsh and Boyens made numerous changes to the story, for purposes of pacing and character development. Jackson said his main desire was to make a film focused primarily on Frodo and the Ring, the "backbone" of the story.[24] The prologue condenses Tolkien's backstory, in which The Last Alliance's seven-year siege of the Barad-dûr is a single battle, where Sauron is shown to explode, though Tolkien only said his spirit flees.[25]

text: Events from the book are condensed or omitted altogether at the beginning of the film. The time between Gandalf leaving the Ring to Frodo and returning to reveal its inscription, which is 17 years in the book, is compressed for timing reasons.[26] Frodo also spends a few months preparing to move to Buckland, on the eastern border of the Shire. This move is omitted, and associated events, including the involvement of Merry and Pippin, are changed and combined with him setting out for Bree. Characters such as Tom Bombadil and the incidents in the Old Forest and the Barrow Downs are left out to simplify the plot and increase the threat of the Ringwraiths. Such sequences are left out to make time to introduce Saruman, who doesn't appear in the book until Gandalf's account at the Council of Elrond. While some characters are left out, some are referenced such as Tom, Bert, and William to show how The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series intertwine. Saruman's role is enhanced: he is to blame for the blizzard on Caradhras, a role taken from Sauron and/or Caradhras itself in the book. Gandalf's capture by Saruman is also expanded with a fight sequence.

text: The role of Barliman Butterbur at the Prancing Pony is largely removed for time and dramatic flow. In the film Pippin is seen to identify Frodo explicitly with the phrase "why there's Baggins over there" whereas in the book Pippin is only telling the tale of Bilbo's disappearance when Strider tells Frodo to create a distraction, which he does by singing a song.

text: The events at Weathertop were also altered. The location of the fight against the Ringwraiths was changed to the ruins on top of the hill rather than a campsite at its base. When Frodo was stabbed in the book, the party spent two weeks travelling to Rivendell, but in the film this is shortened to less than a week, with Frodo's condition worsening at a commensurately greater rate. Arwen was given a greater role in the film, accompanying Frodo all the way to Rivendell, while in the book Frodo faced the Ringwraiths alone at the Ford of Bruinen. The character of Glorfindel was omitted entirely and his scenes were also given to Arwen. She was tacitly credited with the river rising against the Ringwraiths, which was the work of her father Elrond with aid from Gandalf in the book.

text: A significant new addition is Aragorn's self-doubt, which causes him to hesitate to claim the kingship of Gondor. This element is not present in the book, where Aragorn intends to claim the throne at an appropriate time. In the book Narsil is reforged immediately when he joins the Fellowship, but this event is held over until Return of the King in film to symbolically coincide with his acceptance of his title. These elements were added because Peter Jackson believed that each character should be forced to grow or change over the course of the story.

text: Elrond's character gained an adversarial edge; he expresses doubts in the strength of Men to resist Sauron's evil after Isildur's failure to destroy the ring as depicted in the prologue. Jackson also shortens the Council of Elrond by spreading its exposition into earlier parts of the film. Elrond's counsellor, Erestor—who suggested the Ring be given to Tom Bombadil—was completely absent from this scene. Gimli's father, Glóin, was also deemed unnecessary. In addition, the movie makes it seem by chance that the Fellowship is made of nine companions, whereas in the book Elrond suggests there be nine in the fellowship in response to the nine Nazgûl.

text: The tone of the Moria sequence was altered. In the book, following the defeat on the Caradhras road, Gandalf advocates the Moria road against the resistance of the rest of the Fellowship (save Gimli), suggesting "there is a hope that Moria is still free...there is even a chance that Dwarves are there," though no one seems to think this likely. Frodo proposes they take a company vote, but the discovery of Wargs on their trail forces them to accept Gandalf's proposal. They only realise the Dwarves are all dead once they reach Balin's tomb. The filmmakers chose instead for Gandalf to resist the Moria plan as a foreshadowing device. Gandalf says to Gimli he would prefer not to enter Moria, and Saruman is shown to be aware of Gandalf's hesitance, revealing an illustration of the Balrog in one of his books. The corpses of the dwarves are instantly shown as the Fellowship enter Moria.[27] One detail that many critics commented upon is the fact that, in the novel, Pippin tosses a mere pebble into the well in Moria ("They then hear what sounds like a hammer tapping in the distance"), whereas in the film, he knocks an entire skeleton in ("Next, the skeleton ... falls down the well, also dragging down a chain and bucket. The noise is incredible."[28])[29][30][31][32]

text: In terms of dramatic structure, the book simply ends; there is no climax, because Tolkien wrote the "trilogy" as a single story published in three volumes. Jackson's version incorporates the first chapter of '"The Two Towers" and makes its events, told in real time instead of flashback, simultaneous with the Breaking of the Fellowship. This finale is played as a climactic battle, into which he introduces the Uruk-hai referred to as Lurtz in the script. In the book, Boromir is unable to tell Aragorn which hobbits were kidnapped by the orcs before he dies. From there, Aragorn deduces Frodo's intentions when he notices that a boat is missing and Sam's pack is gone. In the film, Aragorn and Frodo have a scene together in which Frodo's intentions are explicitly stated.

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: Peter Jackson began working with Christian Rivers to storyboard the series in August 1997, as well as getting Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop to begin creating his interpretation of Middle-earth.[33] Jackson told them to make Middle-earth as plausible and believable as possible, to think of Middle-earth in a historical manner.[34]

text: In November,[34] Alan Lee and John Howe became the film trilogy's primary conceptual designers, having had previous experience as illustrators for the book and various other tie-ins. Lee worked for the Art Department creating places such as Rivendell, Isengard, Moria and Lothlórien, giving Art Nouveau and geometry influences to the Elves and Dwarves respectively.[34][35] Though Howe contributed with Bag End and the Argonath,[34][35] he focused working on armour having studied it all his life.[36] Weta and the Art Department continued to design, with Grant Major turning the Art Department's designs into architecture, and Dan Hennah scouting locations.[34] On 1 April 1999, Ngila Dickson joined the crew as costume designer. She and 40 seamstresses would create 19,000 costumes, 40 per version for the actor and their doubles, ageing and wearing them out for impression of age.[20]

text: Filming locations[edit]

text: Filming took place in various locations across New Zealand. A list of filming locations, sorted by appearance order in the film:[37][38]

text:
Fictional
location
Specific location
in New Zealand
General area
in New Zealand.

Mordor (Prologue)
Whakapapa skifield
Tongariro National Park

Hobbiton
Matamata
Waikato

Gardens of Isengard
Harcourt Park
Upper Hutt

The Shire woods
Otaki Gorge Road
Kapiti Coast District

Bucklebury Ferry
Keeling Farm, Manakau
Horowhenua

Forest near Bree
Takaka Hill
Nelson

Trollshaws
Waitarere Forest
Horowhenua

Flight to the Ford
Tarras
Central Otago

Ford of Bruinen
Arrow River, Skippers Canyon
Queenstown and Arrowtown

Rivendell
Kaitoke Regional Park
Upper Hutt

Eregion
Mount Olympus
Nelson

Dead Marshes
Kepler Mire
Southland

Dimrill Dale
Lake Alta
The Remarkables

Dimrill Dale
Mount Owen
Nelson

Lothlórien
Paradise
Glenorchy

River Anduin
Upper Waiau River
Fiordland National Park

River Anduin
Rangitikei River
Rangitikei District

River Anduin
Poets' Corner
Upper Hutt

Parth Galen
Paradise
Glenorchy

Amon Hen
Mavora Lakes, Paradise and Closeburn
Southern Lakes

text: Special effects[edit]

text: The Fellowship of the Ring makes extensive use of digital, practical and make-up special effects throughout. One noticeable illusion that appears in almost every scene involves setting a proper scale so that the characters are all the correct height. Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) tall in real life, but the character of Frodo Baggins is barely four feet in height. Many different tricks were used to depict the hobbits (and Gimli the Dwarf) as being of diminutive stature. (In a happy coincidence, John-Rhys Davies – who played Gimli – is as tall compared to the Hobbit actors as his character needed to be compared to theirs, so he did not need to be filmed separately as a third variation of height, and is quite taller than Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas.) Large- and small-scale doubles were used in certain scenes, while entire duplicates of certain sets (including Bag End in Hobbiton) were built at two different scales, so that the characters would appear to be the appropriate size. At one point in the film, Frodo runs along a corridor in Bag End, followed by Gandalf. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were filmed in separate versions of the same corridor, built at two different scales, and a fast camera pan conceals the edit between the two. Forced perspective was also employed, so that it would look as though the short Hobbits were interacting with taller Men and Elves. Even the simple use of kneeling down, to the filmmakers' surprise, turned out to be an effective method in creating the illusion.

text: For the battle between the Last Alliance and Sauron's forces that begins the film, an elaborate CGI animation system, called MASSIVE, was developed by Stephen Regelous; it allowed thousands of individual animated "characters" in the program to act independently. This helped give the illusion of realism to the battle sequences. The "Making of" Lord of the Rings DVD reports some interesting initial problems: in the first execution of a battle between groups of characters, the wrong groups attacked each other. In another early demo, some of the warriors at the edge of the field could be seen running away. They were initially moving in the wrong direction, and had been programmed to keep running until they encountered an enemy.

text: The digital creatures were important due to Jackson's requirement of biological plausibility. Their surface was scanned from large maquettes before numerous digital details of their skeletons and muscles were added. In the case of the Balrog, Gray Horsfield created a system that copied recorded imagery of fire.

text: Score[edit]

text: The musical score for The Lord of the Rings films was composed by Howard Shore. It was performed by the 100-strong New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices, The London Oratory School Schola, and the Maori Samoan Choir, and featured several vocal soloists. Shore wrote almost four hours of finalised music for the film (of which just over three hours are used as underscore), featuring a number of non-orchestral instruments, and a large number (49-62) of leitmotives.

text: Two original songs, "Aníron" and the end title theme "May It Be", were composed and sung by Enya, who allowed her label, Reprise Records, to release the soundtrack to this and its two sequels. In addition to these songs, Shore composed "In Dreams", which was sung by Edward Ross of the London Oratory School Schola.

text: Release[edit]

text: A special behind-the-scenes trailer was released in 2000. Two teasers were shown before Spy Kids and Pearl Harbor (film). The final trailer was with the television premiere of Angel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and on the DVD and VHS of Rush Hour 2.

text: Home media[edit]

text: The Fellowship of the Ring was released on VHS and DVD in August 2002.

text: Theatrical and extended release[edit]

text: In November 2002, an extended edition was released on VHS and DVD, with 30 minutes of new material, added special effects and music, plus 20 minutes of fan-club credits, totalling to 228 minutes.[39][40] The DVD set included four commentaries and over three hours of supplementary material.

text: In August 2006, a limited edition of The Fellowship of the Ring was released on DVD. The set included both the film's theatrical and extended editions on a double-sided disc along with all-new bonus material.

text: Blu-ray edition[edit]

text: The theatrical Blu-ray version of The Lord of the Rings was released in the United States in April 2010. There were two separate sets: one with digital copies and one without.[41] The individual Blu-ray disc of The Fellowship of the Ring was released in September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, except there was no digital copy.[42]

text: The extended Blu-ray editions were released in the US in June 2011.[43] This version has a runtime of 238 minutes[40][44] (the extended editions include the names of all fan club members at the time of their release; the additional 9 minutes in the Blu-ray version are because of expanded member rolls, not any additional story material).

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The Fellowship of the Ring was released on 19 December 2001 in 3,359 cinemas where it grossed $47.2 million on its opening weekend. The world premiere was held at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. It went on to make $314.7 million in North America and $555.9 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $870.7 million.[45] Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 54 million tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run.[46]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The Fellowship of the Ring was acclaimed by film critics and was one of 2001's best reviewed films.[47] The film holds a 91% approval rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes based on 227 reviews and an average score of 8.2/10. The site's main consensus reads "Full of eye-popping special effects, and featuring a pitch-perfect cast, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring brings J.R.R. Tolkien's classic to vivid life".[48] The film holds a score of 92 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 34 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[49]

text: Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and stating that while it is not "a true visualization of Tolkien's Middle-earth", it is "a work for, and of, our times. It will be embraced, I suspect, by many Tolkien fans and take on aspects of a cult. It is a candidate for many Oscars. It is an awesome production in its daring and breadth, and there are small touches that are just right".[50] USA Today also gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "this movie version of a beloved book should please devotees as well as the uninitiated".[51] In his review for The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell wrote, "The playful spookiness of Mr. Jackson's direction provides a lively, light touch, a gesture that doesn't normally come to mind when Tolkien's name is mentioned".[52] Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the film an "A" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, "The cast take to their roles with becoming modesty, certainly, but Jackson also makes it easy for them: His Fellowship flows, never lingering for the sake of admiring its own beauty ... Every detail of which engrossed me. I may have never turned a page of Tolkien, but I know enchantment when I see it".[53]

text: In her review for The Washington Post, Rita Kempley praised the cast, in particular, "Mortensen, as Strider, is a revelation, not to mention downright gorgeous. And McKellen, carrying the burden of thousands of years' worth of the fight against evil, is positively Merlinesque".[54] Time magazine's Richard Corliss praised Jackson's work: "His movie achieves what the best fairy tales do: the creation of an alternate world, plausible and persuasive, where the young — and not only the young — can lose themselves. And perhaps, in identifying with the little Hobbit that could, find their better selves".[55] In his review for The Village Voice, J. Hoberman wrote, "Peter Jackson's adaptation is certainly successful on its own terms".[56] Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "It's emotion that makes Fellowship stick hard in the memory... Jackson deserves to revel in his success. He's made a three-hour film that leaves you wanting more".[57] However, in his review for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote, "there is a strange paucity of plot complication, an absence of anything unfolding, all the more disconcerting because of the clotted and indigestible mythic back story that we have to wade through before anything happens at all".[58]

text: In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[59]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: In 2002, the film won four Academy Awards from thirteen nominations.[60] The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Gethin Creagh and Hammond Peek), Best Costume Design and Best Adapted Screenplay.

text: As of January 2014[update], it is the 31st highest-grossing film worldwide, with US$871,530,324 in worldwide theatrical box office receipts.[3]

text: The film won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. It also won Empire readers' Best Film award, as well as five BAFTAs, including Best Film, the David Lean Award for Best Direction, the Audience Award (voted for by the public), Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up. The film was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight between Gandalf and Saruman.

text: In June 2008, AFI revealed its "10 Top 10"—the ten best films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. The Fellowship of the Ring was acknowledged as the second best film in the fantasy genre.[61][62] The film was also listed as the 50th best film in the 2007 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition).