The Blu-ray and DVD editions of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug won’t be released for another two…
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The Blu-ray and DVD editions of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug won’t be released for another two weeks – but for those of you who just can’t wait any longer, the film is now available on iTunes.
Along with the film, you’ll also gain access to the bonus features “Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set” (In the Company of The Hobbit & All in a Day’s Work) and “New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth: Part 2”. Continue reading “‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ now available on iTunes!”
The lion-headed creature with the body of an ape, butterfly wings plus a whip and flaming sword remains one of the classic renditions of Tolkien’s monster — whether for better or worse is up to you.
If you haven’t seen it before, or would like to refresh your memory, just check the clip below. Continue reading “Ralph Bakshi’s son restores deleted Lord of the Rings footage”
Tolkien scholar John Garth previews the forthcoming publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s translation of Beowulf and outlines why the Professor’s expertise with the Anglo-Saxon epic means this new book is to be highly anticipated. Click through the read more link at the bottom to access the complete essay.
Continue reading “JRR Tolkien’s Beowulf translation: bring on the monsters”
Following on from staffer Kili’s post, here’s the official word from UK publisher Harper Collins on the upcoming release of Tolkien’s translation of Beowulf. The Harper Collins article contains comment from Tolkien’s son, Christopher, on how he has gathered, along side his father’s translation of the Old English poem, text from lectures given at Oxford by J R R Tolkien. These show his fascination for Beowulf, Grendel and, in particular, the lure and power of treasure – which of course we see reflected in The Hobbit, in Thorin’s struggles against, as Richard Armitage has called it, ‘gold lust’.
This new publication will also contain Sellic Spell, ‘a story written by Tolkien suggesting what might have been the form and style of an Old English folk-tale of Beowulf, in which there was no association with the “historical legends” of the Northern kingdoms.’ This further insight into Tolkien’s desire to create English native myth, unadulterated by Norse or Germanic legends, is an exciting prospect. Fans of Tolkien, of Anglo-Saxon, and of legendary battles, will be able to get their hands on this edition of Beowulf from 22nd May.
Read the full article from Harper Collins here, and the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (US Publisher) version here.
MORIA — As we reported yesterday, the bracket is finalized and the match-ups are set. Our annual Middle-earth March Madness is now underway!
A note on voting: This is a tongue-in-cheek attempt to ‘crown’ a victor of Middle-earth. Each one of you will participate in your own manner. Some may take it very seriously and do your homework to try and scholarly determine who would actual win the battles. Some of you will simply vote based on popularity. Heck, some of you will vote randomly! However you participate, we encourage you to have fun with it. We encourage you to make your case for a certain combatant in the comments, our forums, Facebook or twitter.
For those of you confused by some of the names, educate yourself by simply googling the name. We found that Wikipedia has a plethora of information on each character/object.
Voting ends at 10pm ET on the final day of the round. In this case, voting for the first round match-ups will end on March 20th. We will then calculate the winners, and post a new bracket on March 21st.
Need a bigger version of the bracket? [Click here]
Continue reading “Voting Begins Now – Middle-earth Madness 2014 Round 1”
MORIA — TheOneRing.net’s selection committee has been hard at work, delving too deep into lore and frivolous fandom to bring you the third? another edition of Middle-earth Madness! The top seeds in each bracket are predictable and Hobbit-book-centric, with fan favorites Thorin, Bilbo, Gandalf and Smaug each holding the top spot in their respective brackets. Smaug anchors the LONELY MOUNTAIN bracket, Bilbo is at home in BAG END, while Thorin heads EREBOR and everybody’s (most everybody’s) favorite wizard and 2013 champion lands in MIRKWOOD. (Don’t expect it to all make sense, we are after all voting for fictional characters based on no specific criteria in a bracket format made popular by NCAA basketball in the 20th Century. Just go with it.)
Smaug is a repeat one seed but in the 2013 version of the contest, the other tops spots were The One Ring, Balin (who lost his opening round match with Pippin, a sixteen seed, by .05 percent) and Galadriel. In 2012, with a smaller field, Gandalf and Bilbo were top seeds along with Legolas and Glorfindel. The first winner was Sam in 2012 with Gandalf snagging the Maiar community a trophy in 2013. Can the wizard be stopped in 2014?
New to the bracket is Tauriel, the elf maiden entirely made up by filmmaker Peter Jackson’s writing team. The bad-muther elf has the potential to face Gandalf in the Mirkwood bracket if they each win their first four contests. Tauriel must first fend off Saruman’s Palantir. Thranduil, Beorn and Bard are the other second seeds and each seems just fabulous enough to be real contenders. Bard, in the same bracket as Smaug, just might be in the right place to pull an upset. Meanwhile his Black Arrow faces the Watcher In The Water in the Bag End bracket. Another object making its first appearances and likely offending purists and bracketologists alike, is the Bunny Sled. In a tough matchup, it must face Angcalagon, known as “The Black” and the greatest of all winged dragons from Middle-earth’s first age. He was likely the largest dragon that ever graced Middle-earth and could likely use Smaug as a toothpick, but could be erased by a sled – pulled by rabbits.
The Erebor branch of the bracket is filled with dark creatures and objects including rings and The Arkenstone. Once a champion, Sam is now a #10 seed and faces Azog. But the white CGI movie Azog or the vengeful creature from the LOTR appendicies? Only voters can decide who will prevail. If Samwise can down Azog (he was a ring-bearer after all) he may prove Tauriel’s undoing in the second round. Beren (a symbol for J.R.R. Tolkien himself) and Luthein (the author’s wife Edith) each made the field and are always a tough out.
Be sure to follow the complete bracket to see which imaginary character gets an imaginary mithril shirt engraved with MIDDLE-EARTH MADNESS across the chest.
