Archive for the ‘The Two Towers’ Category
March 12, 2013 at 6:26 pm by Demosthenes
In this two-part feature, Norse mythologist Dr Karl Seigfried writes about Éowyn as an exemplar of Nordic literary tradition and a feminist icon. It’s interesting stuff.
TOLKIEN’S deep love for the literary heritage of northern Europe can be felt throughout his works. I teach a semester-long course teasing out the many elements of Norse myth that permeate The Hobbit alone. In this article, I will focus on a close reading of a single bit of dialogue in The Lord of the Rings to show how powerfully the pre-Christian philosophy resonates in Tolkien’s fantasy.
In “The Passing of the Grey Company”, the second chapter of The Return of the King, Aragorn tells Éowyn that she may not ride with him to battle, but must remain behind as the men go off to war. Her response immediately shows her allegiance to heathen ideals.
‘You are a stern lord and resolute,’ she said; ‘and thus do men win renown.’ She paused. ‘Lord.’ she said, ‘if you must go, then let me ride in your following. For I am weary of skulking in the hills, and wish to face peril and battle.’ (more…)
Posted in Green Books, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Return of the King, The Two Towers
March 7, 2013 at 1:50 pm by Demosthenes
| Source: Midgardsmal| No Comments »
David Salo who you may know from his work as a linguist, language constructor and translator for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies has recently started his own language blog called Midgardsmal. Salo intends to blog about his thoughts about his work on the films, as well as the new languages he created for The Hobbit. (more…)
Posted in Crew News, Fellowship of the Ring, Hobbit Movie, Languages, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Other Tolkien books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Two Towers, Tolkien
March 6, 2013 at 3:23 pm by Demosthenes
This piece by Tolkien scholar Michael Martinez attempts to shed some light on the ultimate source of the ancient enmity between elves and dwarves.
MANY strongly-worded opinions have been written about the apparent enmity between Elves and Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings, although there is hardly any reference to such enmity in the story. Legolas and Gimli get off to a poor start but eventually become such close friends that it is considered remarkable. (more…)
Posted in Fellowship of the Ring, Green Books, Hobbit Book, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Two Towers
January 11, 2013 at 12:13 pm by Demosthenes
| Source: The Telegraph| No Comments »
A dilapidated tower thought to have been the inspiration for the fortress of Isengard in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, is to be renovated and opened to the public.
Perrott’s Folly in Edgbaston, Birmingham, will be permanently opened if enough money can be raised for its restoration, its owners have said. JRR Tolkien grew up in the area and would have passed the old hunting lodge every day on his way to and from school. Historians believe Tolkien would also have seen the gothic tower dominating the horizon from his bedroom window as a boy. (more…)
Posted in J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, The Two Towers, Tolkien
January 5, 2013 at 2:44 am by elessar
“Then at last his gaze was held: wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black tower of adamant, he saw it: Barad-Dûr, Fortress of Sauron. All hope left him.”
—The Fellowship of the Ring
How do you follow-up one of the coolest environments you’ve ever produced? Well, you go ahead and produce one of the next most coolest environments of course! Shortly after Comic-Con 2011 senior model maker David Tremont began the momentous task of transforming the original model of Barad-Dûr for The Lord of the Rings into a collectible we could all own. Finally, after a year of slaving, fans of Middle-earth got to see the result at Comic-Con 2012 when Barad-Dûr was unveiled to the world.
Sauron began work on Barad-Dûr during Middle-earth’s Second Age, when he chose Mordor as the place his dominion over Middle-earth would begin. Barad-Dûr was finished in the year 1600 of the Second Age and during that period Sauron would go on to create The One Ring, which would only help to make the fortress even stronger. During the War of the Last Alliance fortress was destroyed with the exception of the foundations as they could not be destroyed as long as The Ring was around. In 2951 of the Third Age Barad-Dûr’s reconstruction was started, but it would not last when Gollum fell into the lava of Mt. Doom destroying the Ring and the fortress.
PACKAGING
The graphics on the front of the box for Barad-Dûr have kept virtually the same design we’ve seen with previous environments from Weta. On the front of the box a screencap of Mordor with an image of Barad-Dûr completes the scene. Of course, you also have the beautiful The Lord of the Rings logo in the upper right-hand corner with the name of the environment under the picture of Barad-Dûr. One side of the box contains images of Barad-Dûr while the other side features images of other Weta Workshop products. The back of the box contains a great picture of the environment along with a background story about the collectible.
SCULPTING
Over 1,500 hours were put into Barad-Dûr to ensure the collectible on your shelf matches what you saw during The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I believe fans, once they have a chance to see the detail in this piece, will agree all of those hours paid off in spades. David Tremont and his team made very sure every window, spike, tower, ledge, bridge, and rock is included on this piece. Gazing upon this collectible, you can almost imagine Sauron or any number of his minions looking out upon Mordor from any of the many ledges and balconies. It truly is a great representation of the model we saw on film. What’s even more amazing is because of the material used it allowed these details to be captured and safely arrive to our homes. Rivendell had its beautiful river running through it and Barad-Dûr has something similar with its lava river flowing from Mt. Doom into the cavern surrounding the fortress. Even the rock areas of Barad-Dûr are exceptionally realized with the plains of Gorgoth looking like a place you don’t ever want to visit. Like Rivendell, this collectible is an achievement for Weta in showing off the amazing talent of their artists.
PAINT
The paintwork on Barad-Dûr is fairly simple compared to say Rivendell, and much more in-line with that of Orthanc. It’s all black and the shading for the different levels in different places are all really well done. The color of the tower does not match the color of the rock within the piece. That was going to be the toughest part of the paint I think and they were able to create the proper level of separation. The lava looks really good and stands out like lava would with an all-black world of Mordor.
Overall
Barad-Dûr costs $700 but the level of detail you get and the size of this piece allows you to truly get value for money. This piece is a limited edition piece with only 1,000 of the fortress being produced. Barad-Dûr does not come with a flaming eye but if that is a potential issue for you all you have to do is download the iPhone or iPad app. Then you will have the eye of Sauron. Finally, I cannot implore you enough if you are a The Lord of the Rings collector to find a way to get this piece into your collection.
Also, if you’re truly interested in what it took to bring this collectible to life check out the three articles by David Tremont. In these articles he explains the ups and downs of making sure we got one of the best environments ever created.
Article One
Article Two
Article Three
SPECIFICATIONS
Barad-Dûr is limited to 1000 pieces world-wide.
Barad-Dûr’s specs are as followed: 20.9″ x 18.1″ x 12.2″ (H x W x D)
53 cm x 46 cm x 31 cm Weight: 22 lbs
PHOTOS
Posted in Collectibles, Collectibles, Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Merchandise, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Return of the King, Shop, The Two Towers, Weta Collectibles, WETA Workshop
December 28, 2012 at 4:20 am by Earl
| Discuss |
Christmas brings to mind the timeless, poignant image of a mother cradling her newborn child.
At this rather apt time of year then, TORn’s music geeks are pleased to bring you an exclusive interview with Hilary Summers.
An alto hailing from Wales, UK, Hilary recorded “Gilraen’s Song” that plays over the scene where Aragorn kneels in reverence before his mother Gilraen’s memorial in Rivendell, and whose lyrics hark back to the words once spoken by Gilraen herself.
Little boy, little one, night is falling, come into my arms, let me hold you safe.
But still you run through the twilight, lost in your play, slaying demons in the shadows.
Little boy, little one, full of grace, full of joy, oh, my heart will break,
For I see it in your eyes… you are your father’s son, not your mother’s child.
Join us in this exclusive interview as we talk to Hilary about her experience recording the song for The Lord of the Rings.
(more…)
Posted in Crew News, Fellowship of the Ring, Howard Shore, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, LotR Production, Music, Production, The Two Towers
December 27, 2012 at 9:34 pm by elessar
Today marks the final contest in the ‘contest extravaganza’ brought to us by our friends at The Noble Collection. The final collectible giveaway is a sterling silver version of The One Ring from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The ring has been laser inscribed with the elvish writing that only fire can tell. The ring comes in a beautiful wooden box and sports a 20″ chain that will allow you to show it off as a proud fan of Middle-earth. You can grab this ring now from The Noble Collection for a stellar price of only $129, or you can enter the contest and try your luck. This final contest starts today and will run through December 28th at midnight PST.
To enter, simply fill out this FORM.
NB: One entry per person per email for this contest. Alas entry is for US residents only. Good luck!
Posted in Collectibles, Collectibles, Fellowship of the Ring, Hobbit Movie, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Merchandise, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Return of the King, Shop, The Hobbit, The Two Towers
December 22, 2012 at 8:36 am by Garfeimao
It is widely known that the novel called The Hobbit is supposed to be the journal, or autobiography of Bilbo Baggins, and his recollections of his adventures with Gandalf and the Company of Dwarves. In the beginning of both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo is seen writing his story. That book is then passed along to Frodo to include his grand adventure, The Lord of the Rings, and then finally given to Sam to finish. But where does this love of storytelling come from?
Again, in the FOTR in the chapter called “Concerning Hobbits” not only does Bilbo describe every little detail of just what is a Hobbit, but he mentions their love of genealogy, biographies, nature studies and maps. And while it is made clear Hobbits do not like going on Adventures, they are not opposed to listening to stories of adventure. Later on in FOTR, in Rivendell, there is a Hall of Fire, where songs are sung and stories told and thus, it becomes clear that Elves love storytelling as well. And finally, in The Hobbit during the Unexpected Party, the Dwarves sing their own songs tell some tales of their own history. It is clear that while Professor Tolkien is telling us a tale, to make each culture richer and seem more real, he is giving them individualized stories of their own within his greater story.
(more…)
Posted in Characters, Fellowship of the Ring, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Movie, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, LotR Movies, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Return of the King, The Hobbit, The Two Towers
October 15, 2012 at 11:18 pm by Altaira
| Source: WBShop.com| No Comments »
| Discuss |
Ringer Owain alerted us to a great deal at the Warner Bros. Shop site: they’re now offering the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Edition at 40% off the regular price. The deluxe 15-disc set includes 9 special features DVDs with over 26 hours of behind-the-moviemaking material including the rare Costa Botes documentaries. The sale price of $65.85 compared to the original price of $119.98 is a great deal. If you don’t own the extended edition blu-ray set yet, this would be a great time to buy, or throw out a few hints for your holiday wish list!
Posted in Blu-Ray, DVDs, Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Merchandise, Return of the King, The Two Towers
May 21, 2012 at 12:51 pm by Garfeimao
| Discuss |
Here at TheOneRing.net, we are very proud of the community we have helped create, and like any community, we experience losses. One such loss occurred this weekend in Los Angeles, where the Tolkien fan community, and the costuming community as a whole, lost one of its brightest and most creative individuals. Kent Elofson died on May 18 of an apparent suicide in his Pasadena home, leaving behind a huge community of fellow costumers, all mourning his passing.
More behind the break. (more…)
Posted in Costuming, Creations, Fans, Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, LotR Movies, Meet Ups, Miscellaneous, Return of the King, The Two Towers
May 8, 2012 at 7:59 am by Earl
| Discuss |
It’s been more than a decade since the first of the films in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was released, and although fans are now eagerly anticipating a return to Middle-earth with his upcoming Hobbit films, well, one does NOT simply walk away from where it all began.
Today, we feature an article written for TheOneRing.net by guest author Leslie Martinka, Marketing Manager at Hark.com, the world’s largest platform for pop culture quotes and images, on the phenomenon that is Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and the top 20 quotes from Peter Jackson’s films:
“My Precious“, says Gollum through missing rotted teeth. His emaciated body is evidence of his life in Middle-earth as a slave to the One Ring. For the past 60 years, people have devoured the pages of The Lord of the Rings reading about characters such as Gollum, Frodo and Gandalf. Fans of the trilogy have made it one of the most beloved literary works of all time.
(more…)
Posted in Fans, Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Peter Jackson, Return of the King, The Two Towers, Uncategorized
April 21, 2012 at 9:48 am by Altaira
| Discuss |
Discussion board member Modtheow reminds us of this annual event where discussion board members N.E. Brigand, visualweasel and Indigo Istar will be among the presenters!
Every year about 3,000 medievalists descend on Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI for the International Congress on Medieval Studies, but tucked into the over 600 sessions on every medieval topic imaginable, you can find 6 or 7 sessions on Tolkien, often referred to as “Tolkien at Kalamazoo.” You don’t have to be a medieval scholar to attend this conference, though I should say that it is meant to be a scholarly event — still, there’s lots of fun to be had, especially in the Friday night “Tolkien Unbound” entertainment, or the Saturday night dance, or in some of the gaming sessions, or dinner at Bilbo’s Restaurant. You can find information about the full conference here.
(more…)
Posted in Events, Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lectures & Education, LotR Books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Two Towers, Tolkien
