Magic, movies and The Lord of the Rings
Cinefex writer Graham Edwards examines what magic in movies should look like, and lists some of his favourite depictions of magic in movies through the years. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Category
Own the Remastered Deluxe Editions of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Return of the King’ on July 22
On July 22nd, Warner Bros. will be reissuing remastered, deluxe editions of the Rankin/Bass animated classics ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Return of the King’.
The Hobbit Deluxe Edition Synopsis: [Amazon.com]
The place is Middle Earth. The time is long ago, when humans shared their days with elves, wizards, goblins, dragons, heroes…and hobbits. Bilbo Baggins is a hero and a hobbit, a roundish, peaceable homebody going on a dangerous quest – even though adventures make hobbits late for dinner!
In this enchanting adaptation of the first installment of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bilbo the hobbit is asked to recover a fabulous treasure stolen from friendly dwarfs. All he must do is brave dark forests, towering mountains, hobbit-eating trolls, huge spiders, a fiery dragon and more. Fun and amazement await – so join the quest!
Special Features:
- J.R.R. Tolkien Facts & Trivia
- Cast & Crew credits
- From the Vault: 3 WB classic cartoons: ‘Knight-mare Hare’, ‘Knighty Knight Bugs’, and ‘Rabbit Hood’
- Trailers: ‘Tom and Jerry & The Lost Dragon’, ‘LEGO: Legends of Chima’, ‘LEGO: Hobbit’, ‘Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy’
Format: Multiple Formats, Animated, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Run Time: 78 minutes
[Buy on Amazon.com]
My Thoughts: It’s been many years since I last saw this, and I had forgotten how much I loved the voice talent: Orson Bean as Bilbo, John Huston as Gandalf, Otto Preminger as a very German Thranduil/Elvenking, and (my favorite) 1960′s Surrealist comic Brother Theodore as Gollum. Picture and sound are both superb. A great soundtrack by Glen Yarbrough.
‘The greatest adventure is what lies ahead
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said
The chances the changes are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break”
The Return of the King Deluxe Edition Synopsis: [Amazon.com]
Frodo the Hobbit, the remarkable hero of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, battles more evil forces plaguing Middle Earth in The Return of the King.
The Magic Ring of The Hobbit has now become the Ring of Doom – and to restore peace it must be destroyed in the raging fires in which it was made. Chosen for the task, Frodo and faithful servant Samwise face grave perils – the worst of which is the ring’s terrible power to possess its wearer. Will Frodo give in to the madness of the ring….or will he fulfill his quest?
Special Features:
- J.R.R. Tolkien Facts & Trivia
- Cast & Crew Credits
- From the Vault: WB cartoon shorts ‘Good Knight Droppy’ and ‘Jerry Hood & His Merry Meeses’
- Trailers: ‘LEGO: Hobbit’, ‘Tom and Jerry & the Lost Dragon’, ‘LEGO: Legends of Chima’, ‘Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy’
Format: Multiple Formats, Animated, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Run Time: 98 minutes
[Buy on Amazon.com]
My Thoughts: It’s a shame Rankin/Bass didn’t have the chance to do ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ and ‘The Two Towers’, as ‘The Return of the King’ doesn’t do a great job of filling in the story for those that may be unfamiliar with the first two books. The mispronunciations are a little annoying, too. Still, the film is a lot of fun to watch; the Ringwraiths are fantastic, as is Eowyn’s confrontation with the Witch King of Angmar. As with ‘The Hobbit’, the picture, sound, and voice talent are all top-notch. Orson Bean, John Huston, Otto Preminger, and Brother Theodore reprise their roles; new additions include the great Roddy McDowell as Samwise Gamgee, and Casey Kasem as Merry. Best of all, ‘The Return of the King’ includes (in this writer’s humble opinion) one of the greatest Tolkien-inspired songs of all time:
“Where there’s a whip, there’s a way.
Where there’s a whip, there’s a way.
We don’t wanna go to war today,
But the lord of the lash says nay, nay, nay!
We’re gonna march all day, all day, all day,
Cause where there’s a whip, there’s a way.”
TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – July 20, 2014
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!
Today in Middle-earth, July 19
The following event(s) took place in Middle-earth on July 19th:
- Bilbo’s lost in the caves (1341)
- Riddles in the dark (1341)
- Bilbo finds the dwarves and the wizard (1341)
- The Company is trapped in the trees (1341)
- The funeral escort of King Théoden sets out (1419)
Happy Hobbit: Blackberry Whiskey – Episode 44
Join Kili (who seems to be possessed by Martha Steward of Gondor) for an extra wacky episode and learn how to make whiskey from the store a little more exciting. Oh, and please drink responsibly.
Posted in Fans, Happy Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, TolkienHappy Hobbit: Fantasy-Con 2014
Join us on our favorite convention adventure yet in the magical madness that was Fantasy-Con 2014! Elves, dragons, castles, goblins, and many a familiar dwarf or hobbit abound!
Posted in Conventions, Fans, FantasyCon, Happy Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Tolkien
Tolkien book to Jackson script: the medium and the message
In this 50-minute lecture at at Swarthmore College, Professor Tom Shippey, the author of J.R.R. Tolkien, Author of the Century, charts the creative reshaping of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings into Peter Jackson’s award-winning trilogy of films. (more…)
Del Toro praises Jackson’s Fellowship: “rarely been as transported in a movie theater”
Guillermo del Toro dropped into Reddit today to conduct an Ask Me Anything to promote his new vampire horror–drama television series The Strain which is debuting on US telly this Sunday.
While he was there, he had this to say when asked which he preferred, The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. (more…)
Posted in Director news, Guillermo Del Toro, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson, TolkienThe ghosts of trailers past: revisiting The Lord of the Rings
While everyone is waiting for the promised teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, I thought folks might enjoy revisiting trailers past. So I’ve spent a bit of time delving into our archives to dig up the details of all the trailers for The Lord of the Rings that I could find.
When did they come out? What movies were they attached to? Did you know one actually debuted on US telly with the Joss Whedon series Angel? I had forgotten that!
Posted in Headlines, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, TrailerFantasyCon 2014 Full Recap!
Fantasy-Con’s official mascot!
These dwarves aren’t afraid of Smaug!
The first annual FantasyCon was an amazing weekend! Tens of thousands of fans from around the country and many actors from around the world traveled to beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah for an engagingly fun weekend of group panels, signings, photo ops and fireside chats. Here is a recap of some of the fun from several TheOneRing.net staff members who made the journey there.
Elijah Wood Hosts Kickoff Party
Starting off the week was an amazing dance night hosted by Frodo himself DJ ElWood!
Elijah Wood is on the right in the center of the stage. Frodo has some groovy tunes!
Official Fantasy-Con photographers got better shots than we did ;)
Middle-earth Kick-Off!
To start FantasyCon with a celebrity blast, an all-star group of Tolkien guests took the stage including:
- Sean Astin (Samwise)
- Adam Brown (Ori)
- Billy Boyd (Pippin)
- Jed Brophy (Nori)
- John Callen (Óin)
- Peter Hambleton (Glóin)
- William Kircher (Bifur)
- Sylvester McCoy (Radagast)
- Graham McTavish (Dwalin)
- Mark Ordesky (Executive Producer LOTR)
- John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)
- Ken Stott (Balin)
- author Doug Adams (‘The Music of The Lord of the Rings’)
- artist Donato Giancola
- Badali Jewelry
- …and the staff of TheOneRing.net!
Collecting The Precious – New Items from Weta Workshop
In the last two days we’ve had three new items pop up from Weta Workshop as we head into Comic-Con 2014.
If you’re a fan of The Hobbit Trilogy then this item is for you. We see Bard checking this out in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and fans can now purchase their own copy of the Line of Durin art print. This replica, in smaller scale, looks just like the tapestry that Bard looks at as he figures out just who these Dwarves are. You can get this print right now for just $30 and it’s even in-stock! Also, from The Hobbit Trilogy fans can get a set of postcards with various moments from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for only $22.50.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings won’t feel left out either as we also get a great set of postcards capturing moments from one of the best trilogies of all-time. The postcards for The Lord of the Rings also come in at $22.50 and are in-stock.
Posted in Collectibles, Hobbit Movie, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Merchandise, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Posters Prints, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Weta Collectibles, WETA WorkshopAll things TORn at San Diego Comic Con 2014
It is now just a little over 2 weeks from the start of San Diego Comic Con International, the biggest and most talked about Scifi/Fantasy convention on the geek calendar. We at TheOneRing.net have been busily planning for an epic week of Hobbity goodness to share with all of you, attendee and stay-at-home fans alike. This is your handy dandy little guide to when and where you can find us throughout the convention.
This year we will only be at one location on the Exhibit Hall floor, sharing space at the WETA booth #3613. We won’t have a huge amount of room in this booth, but then that is because WETA is pulling out all the stops for the final Hobbit film and ‘Bringing It’. You will want to make Booth #3613 a ‘must see’ location, even your non-Tolkien fan friends will want to visit WETA. So stop by the booth, say hello to TORn and WETA folks alike, buy some stuff, have your camera ready and enjoy the geekiness of all things Hobbit.
The full SDCC panel schedule will officially be announced beginning this Thursday, but here is advance notice of when our panel will take place.
An Unofficial look at the final Middle-Earth Film “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Thursday, 7/24/14, 5:00p.m. – 6:00p.m., Room: Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront
The Hilton Bayfront is next to the Convention Center down near Hall H, and the Indigo Ballroom is probably the biggest room we have yet had at SDCC, so don’t be late and risk missing our sneak peek at the final film in the series.
Edited to Add 7/8/14: Warner Bros. has announced their slate of films for SDCC and The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies will be among them. Their panel will be at 10am on Saturday, July 26 in Hall H. Peter Jackson was confirmed to be attending, and will be joined by Director George Miller with Mad Max Fury Road. Also mentioned was Jupiter Ascending and there will be a sneak peek screening of Richard Armitage’s Into the Storm on Wednesday, July 23 at 10pm at the Reading Gaslamp Theater, but no word yet on how to snag tickets for that.
Throughout the weekend TORn staffers will be tweeting, posting pics and videos to Facebook, posting stories here, live streaming, and giving you as much Hobbit news as we possibly can. This will include some of the new projects the actors are working on that are also at SDCC, such as “The Strain” with Sean Astin, “Legends” with Sean Bean and “Outlander” starring Graham McTavish. See the video below for a message from Graham regarding SDCC:
Graham McTavish has confirmed he will be at SDCC, so consider this your official invite to our Laketown Luau on Friday night, beginning at 7pm at the Kona Kai resort on Shelter Island. The SDCC website has finally posted the shuttle routes and we can now announce that the Kona Kai is on the Teal shuttle route. You can find the shuttle schedule here and remember to click on the PDF link at the bottom for the map of the hotels and route information. The Teal route is set to take about 30 minutes to get you between the convention center and the hotel, but if you have a car, the distance is only 6 miles away. 
You can only attend the Laketown Luau by purchasing a ticket at our Eventbrite page. With loads of games and a relaxed, outdoor environment, this will be a family friendly party, so bring the kids.
We will update this post or make a new one as soon as we have confirmation of what Warner Bros. might be doing for film previews, including “The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies” and whether PJ will put in an appearance. Same goes for confirmation on other film projects, such as Richard Armitage’s ‘Into the Storm” and Luke Evans’ “Dracula Untold”. We already know Outlander will have a premiere event during SDCC.
Posted in Characters, Comic Rumors, ComicCon, Conventions, Events, Fans, Graham McTavish, Headlines, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luke Evans, Meet Ups, Other Events, Richard Armitage, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, Tolkien