The Hunt for Gollum

I was truly surprised and very happy to realise that this film was actually very good!

Expecting a well meaning but very flawed fan piece, I have to say my presumptions proved to be nonsense. The hunt for Gollum is a masterpiece in what can be done with talent and determination, regardless of money. It looks good, sounds good, is well written and even has a great fight scene with an Ork war-band.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM BEHIND THIS! Excellent job, thanks a lot for all your hard work!

BTW. for anyone who doesn't know, you can watch it on the official website in HD for free: http://thehuntforgollum.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html

I just watched this film and I'm totally blown away by the quality and production value by a non-professional crew. I had a smile on my face through the whole thing thinking that these guys (and girls) had the audacity to try this and then actually pull it off...

For me the best thing was the cinematography. The shots and locations were amazing! There was a lot of variety in scenes which hinted at the different locations Aragorn was traveling through in his search.

The music and sound effects was another highlight for me. I found it seemed to borrow some elements from Howard Shore's soundtrack, so that I could still remember being in that world but it was still original. Really awesome job on the effects and 3d sound, especially with the orcs and the fight scenes...

Such a tough job to follow up on Viggo and esp. Ian Mackellan and I think the lead actors can hold their heads high.

For some constructive criticism I would really like to see a 'directors cut' (please?) with more time given to the outdoor scenes, especially in the first half of the film. It seemed like the director/editor wanted to cut them short so that the movie wasn't boring, but I think if you are a fan of the book, then this shouldn't be an issue. There are many parts of the book that are slow and really descriptive, but it's part of the mood to take time and establish the scenes. The photography is so gorgeous and there must have been a lot of video taken that's not in the final cut so why not see more of it?? I think it would also help the viewer get into the story more by drawing you more into middle earth.

Thanks for the inspiring and well made film!

This movie was made for $3,000 and is being offered for FREE! around the internet. Simply it has unbelievable production values for a budget of only three grand.

It tells the brief story of Strider as he treks across Middle Earth to find Gollum and unveil the mysteries behind the ring of power.

Story aside the movie was very professional, cinematography, fight choreography, editing, sound, and the acting all have giant check marks by their side. The whole movie I was thinking, "no way this was made for $3,000, no way." The volunteers who worked on this movie must have worked very hard to get the finished product as polished as it is.

Many technical elements of the film are borrowed from other films (mostly Lord of the Rings but there was also some music borrowed from Clint Mansell's Requiem for a Dream score,) but don't let that turn you away, after all it's for fans, by fans.

An absolute must see for anyone who wants to be entertained, 40 minutes and it's free. Watch the first few minutes or the trailer and you'll be hooked.

Kudos to these guys, lots and lots of kudos. I hope we see more films produced like this.

I have watched the LOTR films, and read The Hobbit. I have not even read the LOTR books, although I do have them in a pile of waiting to be read books...I read quite a bit, but...eh to be honest I never got into LOTR. I'm sorry. I like the fantasy genre, I like the story, I've read so many series within this type of genre. But I've just never gotten deep into LOTR. I will say I did enjoy the movie series and the original book that started it all.

Why do I say this? Because I want people to know I'm not just some die-hard fan of the genre period. I don't really follow it except as a media thing.

My point? This short movie was damned impressive. I hear it was done on a shoe-string budget by honest fans of the film, and damn it...this thing looks legit. This is seriously talent being played out here. I enjoyed the camera work, I enjoyed the acting, I enjoyed the scenery, the story, the casting...well I couldn't find something wrong with it.

Look at my past reviews and comments on movies. I am not an avid reviewer or commenter on this genre...and lets be honest, a lot of my reviews plain out suck. But I caught this short, and I was impressed. I honestly would not mind seeing fans like this be allowed to write and direct an entire shot-by-shot series, or movie franchise. They just flat out did it well.

I give this two-thumbs up, if you are a fan of LOTR, then this is a must see. If you're like me, just a casual fan...this is still a super fun thing to watch.

Like I've said...I'm impressed. I've seen so many indie films that have been such garbage, with much larger budgets than this. This is just properly done.

Nuff sed.

An extremely well made film by the fans of The Lord of the Rings, both the book & Peter Jackson's film, The Hunt for Gollum is a 40 minute fan-made feature that showcases the 17 years between Gandalf the Grey leaving the Shire to his return to save Frodo Baggins after learning about the magical ring of Bilbo that Frodo has now inherited. It presents the events that was presents in the book but was skipped over by Jackson's film and concerns Gandalf meeting with Aragorn to hunt for the creature Gollum before the enemy finds it & learns the truth.

The direction is very impressive & the amateur cast does put up a performance that is much more improved from what one generally expects from a fan film. Also, the shoe-string budget this film was made at retains an artistic fluidity of its own & is an admirable homage to Jackson's film & its production design, including the rendition of Gollum. On an overall scale, The Hunt for Gollum, apart from a different cast, very much looks like the missing part of Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring that didn't make it to the final print and is a remarkable work by the entire production team.

P.S. The movie is free for all & is available on YouTube as well as their site. So if you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings, I suggest you give it a try. The Hunt for Gollum will surprise you in ways fan-films rarely do.