Reacquaint yourself with the ground-breaking first film in Peter Jackson's landmark multi-Oscar-winning trilogy based on JRR Tolkien's classic fantasy novels.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring silenced the naysayers who doubted a New Zealander primarily known for directing splatter films could pull off one of the most ambitious cinematic endeavours of all time.

Jackson (with considerable help from co-writers Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens, not to mention stellar design and effects teams) infused Tolkien's world with his personal vision, masterfully morphing a literary story into a cinematic one.

Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen head the superb cast. They're all big stars now, but a few eyebrows were raised when Jackson cast them, not being superstars and all that. His instinct for casting actors instead of stars was later vindicated by their amazing performances across the board.

The Fellowship of the Ring features a massive amount of special effects shots, but unlike certain modern directors (George Lucas, I'm talking to you), Jackson didn't rely solely on CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), often employing such tried and true methods as forced perspective, miniatures and model work.

The special effects are incredibly impressive throughout, and provide numerous moments of visual splendour, but it's to Jackson's credit that they never overwhelm the story, which maintains a remarkable (considering the scope of the project) humanity.

The Lord of the Rings cemented Wellington's place in cinematic history, and lent our tourism industry a whole new angle.