Watch The Hunt for Gollum For Free

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Absolutely Fantastic

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is a short film written and directed by Chris Bouchard that cost £3,000 to produce which begs the question how does the average Hollywood cost thousands upon thousands of times thus ? Okay it's an amateur film with a run time of 38 minutes but even so if it was three times longer this would mean it would cost £9,000 . There's shockingly good about a bunch of amateurs getting together to make something so impressive or the other school of thought is it's absolutely disgraceful that Hollywood productions are so expensive in comparison and seems to illustrate how over paid a great number of people are over at the LA dream factory . The technical merits of THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM are every bit as impressive as those seen in the Jackson movies Of course there's a serious fly in the ointment and that is if you're having a film with Aragorn and Gandalf , even if it's a fan made non profit film for the internet then it's going to be a major disappointment if you can't get Viggo Mortensen or Ian McKellen in the roles . Aragorn and Gandalf aren't James Bond or the Doctor from DOCTOR WHO and no offence to Adrian Webster or Patrick O'Connor but they're not in the same league and you're fully conscious that Aragorn is played by an entirely different actor from the Jackson movies . Likewise there seems to be a contrived element that the audience don't get to see Gollum fully until the end of the film since he spends much of the story bundled inside a sack and one suspects his one full appearance at the end is courtesy of a clip from Wingnut Films Not to be too scathing and cynical THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM shows what can be achieved on an absolute shoestring budget and the entire look of the film totally convinces it was shot on location in Middle Earth . I'll repeat it again - what have Hollywood producers been spending their money on if a small fan made film like this that puts Hollywood to shame ?

I have to say this short film surprised my quite a lot and that being after I heard good things about it. It actually was extremely well done for a free internet film. The premise is taken from The Lord of The Rings appendices where in Gandalf tells Frodo that Aragorn had been trying to capture Gollum before the Quest of the Ring began. Basically we see Gandalf ask Aragorn to find Gollum and thereafter how Aragorn track him down and capture him. Not a very intricate story. Which it appears the filmmakers have realised. Because they have in the Spirit of Peter Jackson & Co added some romance to the story in form of Arwen (much like The Two Towers added appendix material to the story)What one can not help but notice is the similarities with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. The visual side as well as the narrative and audio side lifting much from Jacksons work. And as the film is a fan made film about a subject only true Ringer fans would find interesting this works very well for the film and helps us just come to term with the universe in which it takes place since we already know it.The production value is incredible, everything from the action, the cinematography, the make-up to the few glimpses we get of Gollum. And how everything is carried out just makes the film so much stronger. What is the films only weak point I would have to say is the story. As mentioned there has been added romance to give some meaning to the film and with a story the ultimately doesn't lead to many revelations one can come to think of the films as a "why" thing. But the strength comes in the effort and love for the project that is clear to see in the whole film. And how it with no effort actually just manage to fit right in with the films it so long to be part of. It is well worth the hour it takes to watch it!

"The Hunt For Gollum" (THFG) is an extraordinary, spectacular fan film. Without a doubt, THFG is one of the top 10 fan films (through the end of 2009). Perhaps if I had paid $10 at a theater to watch this, and knew it cost $40,000,000 to create, I would be less impressed. But I still would have enjoyed watching it, and still would have considered it professional quality cinema... albeit rather short. It certainly leaves us wanting more, that's for sure.I am not a big fan of the "Lord Of The Rings" books or movies, though I did go watch the movies at the theater and enjoyed them. Truth be told, I'm not a fan of the "fantasy" genre - I'm primarily a fan of "realistic sci-fi", followed by "sci-fi", followed by "anything that unexpectedly knocks my socks off".This fan film "vaporized my socks", so I'm a fan of THFG on that score.Oh, and I must admit that I am also a fan of extraordinary fan films, and anything that is extraordinary. I suspect the reason I so appreciate extraordinary fan films is... their creation is almost like "sci-fi becomes real" --- almost like "seeing the impossible happen".To make this flick for $4000 USD is amazing. Frankly, I suspect few pros could make a movie like this for $4,000,000 --- 1000 times more.The casting and acting was excellent, the cinematography was excellent, the story was well conceived and extraordinarily well matched to available assets. For example, we see Gollum 3 times during the film created with very difficult, very time-consuming CGI (computer graphics). Between those 3 views, Gollum is very convincingly carried in a very convincing sack - which any rational human would do in those circumstances. This allows them to interact verbally, and Gollum struggles mightily and craftily to escape the sack by any means he can imagine.I'm fairly sure this fan film is in the top 5 of all fan films through 2009, though one or two other great ones might have escaped my view. Perhaps the best are:#1: Star Trek - "World Enough and Time" by www.StarTrekPhase2.com #2: Star Wars - "Revelations" #3: Lord of the Rings - "The Hunt For Gollum" #4: Star Wars - "Reign of the Fallen" #5: hmmmmmmmm - too many vying for fifth place to decide.Watch www.thehuntforgollum.com and enjoy. Especially if you've ever tried to create even 1 minute of professional cinema, you'll socks will be blown off by what these talented and dedicated artists created for a a mind-boggling, amazingly frugal $4000.

First off, I'm not a die hard LOTR fan. I enjoyed the trilogy and consider them a notch above most Fantasy films out there. I was surprised by all the positive reviews here about this little "Fan Film" online. I guessed they were all coming from the LOTR geeks out there who invade the web with positive reviews for anything with the word Gollum in it. In the first 30 seconds of watching this film I was instantly transported back to Peter Jackson's Middle Earth, I was shocked. In fact, I was so shocked that I couldn't really enjoy it the first time through because I was too confused by the quality of this film in all its aspects. The acting is great, the cast is great, the cinematography is great, the fight scenes are some of the best in the entire LOTR series, the pacing and attention to detail are at a level that has been lacking in Hollywood for some time. I've now watched this film 3 times and it seems to be getting better with each viewing. My only gripe with "The Hunt for Gollum" is that it ended so soon. I could have very well sat for another 2 hours watching this skilled director spin his web. Forget about Guillermo del Toro, hand "The Hobbit" over to Chris Bouchard. He is the only director out there who has proved himself worthy of the task.