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[tattooed_dwarf]

As the language remained unfinished, the history of the Dwarves did too. It wasn't intentional, although he did seem to favour the Children of Iluvatar over the stepchildren. There simply wasn't enough time for Tolkien. Christopher Tolkien did however include much of the unfinished work relating to the Dwarves in the History of Middle-earth series.

Do you have any good recommendations for us interested in dwarven fantasy, maybe books from other writers outside of realm of Middle-earth?

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Do you have any good recommendations for us interested in dwarven fantasy, maybe books from other writers outside of realm of Middle-earth?

There's the Gotrek and Felix set of stories set within the Warhammer mythos.

Dwarf Home and Dwarven Nations set within the Dragonlance mythos.

A series of novels by Markus Heitz: The Dwarves.

And of course; tales you'll find in Norse lore via the Eddas.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

A child reviews The Lord of the Rings

I love it so much I've done presentations about it at school, talked about it for hours on end with friends… and it definitely is the best book I have ever read! The book is a whole lot better than the film because you can imagine it however you like. Even so, it's the best!

Full review

Absolutely spot-on.

 

[Vashetti]

A child reviews The Lord of the Rings


Full review

Absolutely spot-on.

Adorable.

I'm thinking of becoming a teacher, and I hope to one day introduce LOTR to children.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Adorable.

I'm thinking of becoming a teacher, and I hope to one day introduce LOTR to children.

Yes, it's nice to see younger generations reading Tolkien books and entering the Legendarium.

 

[timetokill]

Love these threads. So much lore and information. I feel like I learn something new every time.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

The Art of The Lord of the Rings

Due: October 2015.

A companion to The Art of the Hobbit

 

[Turin]

I like how they got this in the cover.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

I like how they got this in the cover.

Yes, it's nice to see Sauron depicted on a cover for once, rather than the usual Tengwar/Ring depictions.


More info on the book from the highly respected (within the Tolkien community) Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull

In discussion with HarperCollins, we chose to document Tolkien’s art for The Lord of the Rings in its entirety, as we had earlier his art for The Hobbit, to the extent that it survives and is known to us or to its curators. It was always clear that The Art of The Lord of the Rings would be a longer book than The Art of The Hobbit, though when we began we couldn’t guess how long it would be, and as we worked, more images came to light than were on our initial list. Our new book will be 240 pages long, compared with 144 pages for The Art of The Hobbit, and will contain 182 pieces of artwork (plus 11 details), all of it in colour, versus 104 pieces (with 2 sets of details) for our earlier book. In appearance, the new volume will be similar in design to The Art of The Hobbit, in a large square format, but this time with no gatefolds as they didn’t seem warranted. HarperCollins are working on a handsome binding and slipcase design, shown here in mockup.

Of the art in the new book, 101 images are previously unpublished, and of the other 81 pictures, 42 will be published in colour for the first time. These range in size from a tiny coil-like drawing within a manuscript, just two lines of script high, which depicts the overlapping walls of Caras Galadhon, to the ‘First Map’ of Middle-earth, an elaborate working copy made with several sheets glued together and measuring 455 × 499 mm. The resolution of the scans we received from Marquette and from the Bodleian Library, Oxford – the two primary collections of Tolkien’s art – is uniformly high. And since we tend to show artwork in context, our reproductions will present new examples of Tolkien’s handwriting, of the Elvish languages, and of variant inscriptions in Tengwar and Cirth.

 

[Tizoc]

The Art of The Lord of the Rings

Due: October 2015.

A companion to The Art of the Hobbit

Wait is this based on the books or the movies?
There's another book I ordered off amazon that's coming in October guess I'll go pre-order both when I get back home :V

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Wait is this based on the books or the movies?
There's another book I ordered off amazon that's coming in October guess I'll go pre-order both when I get back home :V

It's artwork by Tolkien himself.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Some examples of Tolkien's artwork for The Lord of the Rings. This is his own vision of the world depicted in the book. There is no higher authority on this matter.

 

[Tizoc]

Is this the amazon page for the artbook?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0544636341/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Silly amazon ain't got the cover =_=

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Is this the amazon page for the artbook?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0544636341/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Silly amazon ain't got the cover =_=

Yes, that's the one.

 

[ActuallyHulk]

Is this the amazon page for the artbook?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0544636341/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Silly amazon ain't got the cover =_=

Preordered. I love this kind of stuff.

 

[bengraven]

A series of novels by Markus Heitz: The Dwarves.

Anyone read these? I've seen them dozens of times, but never picked them up.

 

[Mego Thor]

My original copies of The Return of the King and The Two Towers had these pictures as their covers, respectively.

 

[Loxley]

Catching up to do!

Who here has used the The Lord of the Rings as training wheels before moving on to superior fantasy and literature in general?

I actually haven't found any fantasy series/stories out there to be a wholesale improvement over The Lord of the Rings, personally. Sure there authors out there who are superior in their development of characters or have a more palatable way of delivering a linear narrative - but nothing has topped The Lord of the Rings sense of scale and world-building, which is what endeared me to it to begin with. Part of that comes down to Tolkien's unabashed love for describing everything in often-times excruciating detail.

Tolkien's Greatest Hits - The Most Impressive Wordplay from our Favorite Author

Man I love these so much.

Man builds Doors of Durin in his house

Tolkien’s drawing of the Doors of Durin in The Fellowship of the Ring, recreated in the films, is a well-known scene in The Lord of the Rings – now imagine building it in your own home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1ZS43Vt8G8

I...I need this.

As the language remained unfinished, the history of the Dwarves did too. It wasn't intentional, although he did seem to favour the Children of Iluvatar over the stepchildren. There simply wasn't enough time for Tolkien. Christopher Tolkien did however include much of the unfinished work relating to the Dwarves in the History of Middle-earth series.

The lack of a fleshed out history for the dwarves is something I'm always saddened by. Oh well, I can appreciate that Middle-earth still has plenty of mysteries and unanswered questions, be they intentional or not.

The Art of The Lord of the Rings

Due: October 2015.

A companion to The Art of the Hobbit

Absolutely gorgeous. This will look great next my "Art of The Hobbit" and "JRR Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator". Really excited.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Anyone read these? I've seen them dozens of times, but never picked them up.

They're passable, conveyor belt fantasy novels that lack the quality of higher tier fantasy novels, but they do entertain and have a good amount of world-building and expand upon Dwarves in fantasy literature.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Middle-earth: ranking Peter Jackson's films in quality order

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
3. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
6. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mid...ranking-peter-jacksons-films-in-quality-order



I don't really treat them as separate films anymore, just two chapters of a grand saga. His order of ranking can certainly be regarded as the 'consensus' ranking, thus the 'safe' ranking.

I would place ROTK above TTT though, in spite of its issues and some of TTT's moments of splendour.

 

[Loxley]

Middle-earth: ranking Peter Jackson's films in quality order

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
3. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
6. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mid...ranking-peter-jacksons-films-in-quality-order



I don't really treat them as separate films anymore, just two chapters of a grand saga. His order of ranking can certainly be regarded as the 'consensus' ranking, thus the 'safe' ranking.

I would place ROTK above TTT though, in spite of its issues and some of TTT's moments of splendour.

Yep, I agree. For me it just comes down to The Lord of the Rings > The Hobbit trilogy. I too would place ROTK above TTT, but I do agree with ranking AUJ above the other two Hobbit films.

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

Yep, I agree. For me it just comes down to The Lord of the Rings > The Hobbit trilogy. I too would place ROTK above TTT, but I do agree with ranking AUJ above the other two Hobbit films.

Hmm, I still think the EE of The Two Towers is still better than the EE of RotK. Simply because of how improved it is over the theatrical cut.

 

[SiegfriedFM]

1. Return of the King
2. The Fellowship of the Ring
3. The Two Towers
4. An Unexpected Journey
5. The Desolation of Smaug
6. The Battle of the Five Armies

Even though there's plenty to love in Fellowship, the charge of the rohirrim is one of the most epic scenes in cinema ever. And while there's plenty of interesting stuff in TTT (rohirrim again, mostly) the two hobbit stories tend to drag on.

AUJ is pretty good and works better on second or third viewings. BoFA feels like an impossible case but I still have some hope that the extended edition will add some sorely needed heart to it, so it might still get higher.

 

[Vashetti]

Trilogies: LOTR > Hobbit

LOTR:

ROTK > FOTR > TTT

Hobbit:

DOS (EE) > AUJ (EE) > TBOTFA

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Yep, I agree. For me it just comes down to The Lord of the Rings > The Hobbit trilogy. I too would place ROTK above TTT, but I do agree with ranking AUJ above the other two Hobbit films.

We both agree that AUJ, despite its flaws, captures the spirit of the first few chapters of The Hobbit. Much of that spirit is lost in the subsequent films.

Hmm, I still think the EE of The Two Towers is still better than the EE of RotK. Simply because of how improved it is over the theatrical cut.

Indeed. The Boromir scene certainly elevates TTT and frankly, it should have been included in the theatrical release. There are many people who have only ever watched the theatrical editions and their understanding of Boromir's character, his reasoning, is incomplete because of this.

1. Return of the King
2. The Fellowship of the Ring
3. The Two Towers
4. An Unexpected Journey
5. The Desolation of Smaug
6. The Battle of the Five Armies

Even though there's plenty to love in Fellowship, the charge of the rohirrim is one of the most epic scenes in cinema ever. And while there's plenty of interesting stuff in TTT (rohirrim again, mostly) the two hobbit stories tend to drag on.

AUJ is pretty good and works better on second or third viewings. BoFA feels like an impossible case but I still have some hope that the extended edition will add some sorely needed heart to it, so it might still get higher.

BOFTA does seem like an impossible case, but you never know.

 

[Vashetti]

I feel as though I can't 'move on' from the series until I see TBOTFA EE and the subsequent Appendices.

I hope they go all out and go above the suggested 30 minutes of extra footage. I know quantity does not equal quality, but it's really short.

I just can't get on board with a 'brief' Jackson Middle Earth movie.

 

[tryagainlater]

I'd probably put Return of the King above The Two Towers and Five Armies above Desolation but I agree that Fellowship and Journey are easily the best of their respective series. I have never watched any of the extended editions though so that might change my mind when I get around to seeing them.

 

[Vashetti]

I'd probably put Return of the King above The Two Towers and Five Armies above Desolation but I agree that Fellowship and Journey are easily the best of their respective series. I have never watched any of the extended editions though so that might change my mind when I get around to seeing them.

Please watch these ASAP and post extremely detailed impressions. Love seeing people experience them for the first time.

 

[Loxley]

BOFTA does seem like an impossible case, but you never know.

The extended edition is going to have be somewhat of a miracle. At this point the best I'm hoping for is that the EE for BOFTA manages to - at the very least - elevate it above DOS.

I will say the auction scene does stand out as one of the best moments in the whole trilogy.

 

[tryagainlater]

Please watch these ASAP and post extremely detailed impressions. Love seeing people experience them for the first time.

Oh, I will. I've been waiting for the sweet 6 movie boxset bluray. I'll assuredly post in here when those are released. Speaking of which, anyone living in the UK, I've heard GAME has the extended LOTR trilogy on bluray for £5 instore just in case that's relevant to anyone. I actually likely would have picked those up at that price if Ireland had the same deal.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

The extended edition is going to have be somewhat of a miracle. At this point the best I'm hoping for is that the EE for BOFTA manages to - at the very least - elevate it above DOS.

I will say the auction scene does stand out as one of the best moments in the whole trilogy.

I'll be content with a good funeral sequence and something more of Beorn.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

The Bakshi Interview: Uncloaking a Legacy

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2015/04/20/97766-the-bakshi-interview-uncloaking-a-legacy/

A very illuminating interview.

 

[Vashetti]

I'll be content with a good funeral sequence and something more of Beorn.

Both have been confirmed for the EE.

Are we getting any more Dol Guldur material? I wish they embellished on that storyline more.

 

[Turin]

TTT and RotK are about equal for me. Fellowship is my favorite for reasons I'm sure many others have stated numerous times.

I do think Unexpected Journey probably tops the other two because it had some of the charm I expected for a Hobbit adaption, particularly in the Shire. The "Good morning" scene was almost perfect(I would have preferred they let it breathe a little more but that's a problem the whole trilogy had).

Are we getting any more Dol Guldur material? I wish they embellished on that storyline more.

That really went nothing like how I wanted. It's one area that I'm certain Del Toro would have excelled at.

 

[Vashetti]

That really went nothing like how I wanted. It's one area that I'm certain Del Toro would have excelled at.

I wanted Galadriel to tear down the walls as is in the canon.

 

[Turin]

I wanted Galadriel to tear down the walls as is in the canon.

Didn't she do that some years after they banished the Necromancer? It doesn't matter though. With all the liberty's already taken it would have been great to see her do that.

I was hoping for a much more haunting experience than what we got and a more physical Necromancer.

 

[Vashetti]

Didn't she do that some years after they banished the Necromancer? It doesn't matter though. With all the liberty's already taken it would have been great to see her do that.

I was hoping for a much more haunting experience than what we got and a more physical Necromancer.

Yes, that occurred during/after the War of the Ring. But I expected them to consolidate the 'satisfying' elements of the Dol Guldur story into the Hobbit movie story.

Galadriel tearing the walls down would have been electrifying on screen.

 

[Loxley]

Didn't she do that some years after they banished the Necromancer? It doesn't matter though. With all the liberty's already taken it would have been great to see her do that.

I was hoping for a much more haunting experience than what we got and a more physical Necromancer.

Some of us were theorizing prior to the release of BOFTA that they were just going to combine the Battle of Dol Guldur and the its ultimate destruction by Galadriel into a single event. The Dol Guldur sequence met my expectations, more or less. The highlights for me were the designs of the Nazgûl. Though I'll admit, I did enjoy Saruman's line, "Do you need assistance, my lady?". Elrond's whole "You should have stayed dead" bit was a bit too Hollywood and felt corny.

I feel like we almost got a a taste of old-school horror Jackson during Dol Guldur, particularly when Sauron appears. There's almost a...I don't know...cheesy B-movie 'Haunted Mansion' visual style in the way that whole sequence plays out. I found it oddly charming. It was also nice to actually hear Morgoth's name mentioned.

 

[Vashetti]

Some of us were theorizing prior to the release of BOFTA that they were just going to combine the Battle of Dol Guldur and the its ultimate destruction by Galadriel into a single event. The Dol Guldur sequence met my expectations, more or less. The highlights for me were the designs of the Nazgûl. Though I'll admit, I did enjoy Saruman's line, "Do you need assistance, my lady?". Elrond's whole "You should have stayed dead" bit was a bit too Hollywood and felt corny.

I feel like we almost got a a taste of old-school horror Jackson during Dol Guldur, particularly when Sauron appears. There's almost a...I don't know...cheesy B-movie 'Haunted Mansion' visual style in the way that whole sequence plays out. I found it oddly charming. It was also nice to actually hear Morgoth's name mentioned.

Think I've said it before, but Elrond's "You should have stayed dead" would have seemed much more authentic if it was spoken in Elvish with subtitles.

 

[Jacob]

The Bakshi Interview: Uncloaking a Legacy

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2015/04/20/97766-the-bakshi-interview-uncloaking-a-legacy/

A very illuminating interview.

I've never particularly enjoyed Bakshi's film (and don't think he deserves credit for "experimental" visuals that were in truth simply unfinished), but you do have to respect his ambition and his desire for fidelity. Though it's kind of weird that an article that's all about giving credit to overlooked accomplishments makes absolutely no mention of Rankin and Bass, who beat Bakshi to the title of first commercially released Middle-earth film, even if it was a TV movie. Definitely an article worth reading though, especially for the insight into Bakshi the man.

 

[Turin]

Some of us were theorizing prior to the release of BOFTA that they were just going to combine the Battle of Dol Guldur and the its ultimate destruction by Galadriel into a single event. The Dol Guldur sequence met my expectations, more or less. The highlights for me were the designs of the Nazgûl. Though I'll admit, I did enjoy Saruman's line, "Do you need assistance, my lady?". Elrond's whole "You should have stayed dead" bit was a bit too Hollywood and felt corny.

I feel like we almost got a a taste of old-school horror Jackson during Dol Guldur, particularly when Sauron appears. There's almost a...I don't know...cheesy B-movie 'Haunted Mansion' visual style in the way that whole sequence plays out. I found it oddly charming. It was also nice to actually hear Morgoth's name mentioned.

Clearly my imagination had me craving something that just wasn't going to happen.

Christopher Lee's presence delighted me in the last movie regardless. I don't suppose I should expect him to be in any extended edition scenes?

I did like hearing "servant of Morgoth" and in a scene that wasn't cut. Legolas' mention of him in Fellowship would have meant anything/nothing to the majority of viewers.

 

[tattooed_dwarf]

Clearly my imagination had me craving something that just wasn't going to happen.

Christopher Lee's presence delighted me in the last movie regardless. I don't suppose I should expect him to be in any extended edition scenes?
.

I was bit disappointed how Sarumans last line used in trailer implied that he would take stand against Saruman. It would have been great to see Saruman being kinda leader and heroic, so his downfall in LotR would make even bigger impact. And Gandalf's line in Fellowship about Saruman being wisest more impactful too.

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

Can anyone elaborate on the character of Glorfindel in Fellowship of the Ring?

He seems to be a very high status elf within Rivendell however we
are only introduced to him for a few pages before he sends Frodo to the Ford on his stead.

 

[Loxley]

Can anyone elaborate on the character of Glorfindel in Fellowship of the Ring?

He seems to be a very high status elf within Rivendell however we
are only introduced to him for a few pages before he sends Frodo to the Ford on his stead.

Glorfindel was one of the most powerful elves in the entire Legendarium. He was killed while fighting a Balrog during the Fall of Gondolin in the First Age. But for his valor, he was reincarnated by the Valar and sent back to Middle-earth as their emissary. He was largely responsible for the defeat of the Witch King at the Battle of Fornost. He was also the one to make the proclamation that the Witch King would not be killed "by the hand of man":

"In his final stand, the Witch-King sat upon his black horse before us... As we rode forward, he realized that all hope is lost... His terrifying scream of rage sent the chills of winter to our spines as he turned and fled into the shadows... Earnur struck out to chase him down... But I then realized his power... We thought him as a powerful Black Númenórean but he was a Nazgûl... First of the nine and most fell of the servants of the Dark Lord Sauron... I put up my hand and call out for Earnur... Do not pursue him, he will not return to this land... Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall."

He's one of my personal favorite characters, and part of me is still bummed out that he was excluded entirely from the adaption of Fellowship.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Can anyone elaborate on the character of Glorfindel in Fellowship of the Ring?

He seems to be a very high status elf within Rivendell however we
are only introduced to him for a few pages before he sends Frodo to the Ford on his stead.

Glorfindel was almost equal to the Maiar after his time in Valinor and was most probably the mightiest Elf that ever lived after his reincarnation. Gandalf was still more powerful though.

But is was decided that Glorfindel's might wouldn't be as effective as the bond of friendship between the hobbits, which is why Merry and Pippin were chosen. Glorfindel continued in his fight against Sauron via the skirmishes that took place during the War of the Ring.

 

[hunnies28]

Some of us were theorizing prior to the release of BOFTA that they were just going to combine the Battle of Dol Guldur and the its ultimate destruction by Galadriel into a single event. The Dol Guldur sequence met my expectations, more or less. The highlights for me were the designs of the Nazgûl. Though I'll admit, I did enjoy Saruman's line, "Do you need assistance, my lady?". Elrond's whole "You should have stayed dead" bit was a bit too Hollywood and felt corny.

I feel like we almost got a a taste of old-school horror Jackson during Dol Guldur, particularly when Sauron appears. There's almost a...I don't know...cheesy B-movie 'Haunted Mansion' visual style in the way that whole sequence plays out. I found it oddly charming. It was also nice to actually hear Morgoth's name mentioned.

With all it's shortcomings it still is my favorite scene from that movie. But I may be biased by my admiration of Galadriel.

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

Thank you, Loxley and Edmond. I agree that he, and not Arwen, should have been included in the scenes after Weathertop. It's a shame PJ decided to not use it, in favor of pushing the Aragorn/Arwen relationship early on.

 

[tryagainlater]

As cool as Glorfindel is, I absolutely see the reasoning behind replacing him with Arwen in the movie. I think making Frodo appear so much weaker than he was in the books during the ford scene was the real crime.

 

[Loxley]

As cool as Glorfindel is, I absolutely see the reasoning behind replacing him with Arwen in the movie. I think making Frodo appear so much weaker than he was in the books during the ford scene was the real crime.

Yeah, while I'm sad he was omitted, I do understand why it was done.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Yeah, while I'm sad he was omitted, I do understand why it was done.

Plus, it would mean the inclusion of another character that would need to be developed to an extent, only to be dropped from the narrative. Or developing Glorfindel's character beyond Tolkien's writing and having him play a more significant role in the story, which would add a significant amount of runtime to the trilogy.

It could have been done via the exclusion of Arwen. Eowyn and Galadriel would have sufficed as the strong female characters (that Peter and co are so fond of), as in the novel.

Another issue would be the reasoning behind Glorfindel in general; an Elf out of time in terms of power.