Ian McKellen gives first impressions of Lord Of The Rings

Ian McKellen has described the first Lord Of The Rings movie as the film equivalent of "not being able to put it down till I'd finished".

McKellen has attended a special screening of the completed Fellowship Of The Ring in New York with 40 others.

He says although the film is almost three hours, he felt as though it was over in less than an hour.

"Everything on screen honours Tolkien's imagination and cinematically matches it," he tells his official website, www.mckellen.com.

He also revealed the film begins with a prologue where fans will see the forging of the ring and a few glimpses of the Dark Lord, Sauron.

McKellen says as anticipation for the film's release on December 19 increases, he has never been so popular with friends and family, who hope he will be able to get them into advance screenings.

"My advice would be to see it at least once on a really big screen, there is so much detail to look and wonder at," he says.