Many Tolkien and Peter Jackson fans have pondered this vexing questions for over 10 years and from the LOTR movies may secretly be rather disappointed from what they have seen on the big screen.
TORN’S Elven super sleuth Dimli has been delving deeply and can now tell you the story so far. There are quite a few interesting clues along the way.
Tolkien’s simple but graphic description from the ‘The Hobbit’ concisely tells us what Gandalf looked like – “- – an old man with a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which his long white beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots’.
From the LOTR trilogy-the hat, the cloak, the beard & the boots are now well imprinted in our memories. But, the equally important Silver Scarf has, somewhat MAGICALLY, disappeared off the very face of Middle Earth.
A seemingly major omission from Peter Jackson. Or was it?
Here is what Sir Ian Mckellan has to say about it from his blogs way back in 2000 when he had just started filming on LOTR.
“Peter Jackson has ensured that Tolkien rules the enterprise. So, in working out Gandalf’s description we went back to the few terse descriptions in the novel …….. At last Ngila Dickson placed her pointed, blue grey hat on top. Out of the blue, I remembered the silver scarf that he wears in the book. Somehow it has been overlooked or decided against. Until I looked the part I hadn’t missed it either. And there’s a thing to ponder – what does a man with an umbrella for a hat and a warm cloak need with a scarf? The book starts out in autumn. We are filming in summertime. Weather conditions aside, I thought he might have the scarf as much as he has the pointy hat – to DISGUISE himself. The Gandalf, who visits his old friends Bilbo & Frodo has lots of props. Already I have to cope with his staff, his toffees, his pipe as well as Clyde – why not a scarf to do some MAGIC with?
Two more days in Hobbiton – the forecast is for sunshine which will sparkle on my silver scarf’
So, it is pretty important to both Ian McKellan and Peter Jackson. But, what do we see in the LOTR trilogy? Virtually nothing. Only one single scene where we get just a glimpse of it. What is going on? An oversight? Obviously not. Just a bold decision that might upset the fans. But an important enough reason to not include it. Maybe great foresight.
Now lets jump forward eleven years to Ian McKellan’s blog in March 2011, when filming had commenced on ‘The Hobbit’ movies, he lures us onward.
“The original costume I wore in LOTR now hangs mournfully on a stand by the camera. I can’t wear it in ‘The Hobbit” because it has been noted as of ‘historic status’. Ann (Ann Maskrey – the costume designer for The Hobbit) has made 2 changes … which please me because they relate to Tolkien’s introduction in ‘Fellowship of the Ring’, where he mentions a silver scarf & black boots.
In the (LOTR) film a scarf appeared just once, tied to Gandalf’s cart at Hobbiton. But now I have A SUBSTANTIAL, MAGIC LOOKING SILVERY SCARF TO WEAR AND ACT WITH & PERHAPS FIND SOME PART OF ITS OWN TO PLAY. I’VE ALREADY TWISTED IT INTO A STYLISH TURBAN”.
The plot definitely thickens. Lots of mystery. Elvish magical properties? Does it protect Gandalf in some way? The questions go on…maybe one of you can enlighten us?
Will we have to wait to see the movies to find out? Possibly not.
A quick check on online now reveals quite some incredible authorised images of Gandalf wearing an absolutely amazing silvery scarf as part of his costume for The Hobbit. Hard to tell from the stills but it definitely sparkles & shimmers like moonlit silver. It is substantial. Probably 72 inches (2.8M) long & quite wide.
Could the dwarves of Khazad-dum have discovered another source of the priceless web like veins Mithril to create this startling effect?
We will definitely have to wait & watch the movies to answer this one. Or will we?
The inexhaustible Dimli has done the incredible. In his own words “In the very Middle of Middle Earth in Wellington, New Zealand you can find ‘The Galadhrim Elves’ aka ‘Stansborough’, the weavers that created many of the fabrics for the LOTR Trilogy and discovered that they are also the designers & creators of Gandalf’s magical silver scarf”.
Weta Workshop has released even more items for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The new items range from some awesome T-Shirts to a great replica of Thorin Oakenshield’s Dwarven Ring. Thorin’s Map obviously plays a big role in The Hobbit and now you can wear it with this fantastic looking Thorin’s Map T-Shirt.
Also, Weta has put up a really good looking t-shirt with the Red Dragon Logo of the and only Smaug. Barad-Dur: Fortress of Sauron will start shipping in the near future from Weta, and what better way to show your excitement for that item than to also buy the Barad-Dur t-shirt. The final t-shirt from Weta also has a matching pin celebrating The Hobbit’s world premiere on the 28th of this month.
All of these shirts come in at $30 and are well worth the purchase. If you’re in New Zeland or know someone there make sure you get the World Premiere Shirt and World Primiere Pin. Finally, fans can order a sterling silver version the Ring of Thorin Oakenshield which is set to ship in early December for a great price of $189.
Update from Dom Post: Sir Peter Jackson has stepped in to ensure Hobbit fans who fell victim to an Embassy Theatre ticketing error see the movie ”possibly even a minute or two before anyone else”. Tolkien Society New Zealand chapter founder Jack Machiela was one of about 60 people who queued outside the Wellington cinema to be among the first in the world to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on The Embassy’s giant screen when public screenings begin at midnight on December 12. But when the ticket office opened, all the tickets to the first screening on the big screen had been snapped up online. [Read more] [Discuss]
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The Embassy Theatre in Wellington opened the box office at midnight last night to sell Hobbit first-screening tickets – but unfortunately midnight screening tickets went onsale online a few minutes before the box office opened, and no tickets were set aside for sale to fans who were waiting. Seats were sold out before most people there could get to the head of the queue. I was there, and can vouch for the fact that people who had waited there for hours were furious and very disappointed. The DominionPost has a full report.
Given the box office debacle, it’s a good thing we had a visit from the cheerful Barry and his son from Stansborough Mill,who were showing off their loom-woven woollen cloaks and new Gandalf scarf (with mithril!) They’re 2.5 metres of sparkly goodness.
Barry from Stansborough, modelling cloaks and scarves for the line partyJack and Alex Machiela, of the Tolkien Society, at line party before learning there were no tickets
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Fans of the site woot! know what great deals they offer every day. For those not familiar with woot.com, they feature a deal a day (usually a really GOOD deal) in a variety of categories. One of those categories is shirts, and today’s shirt is just the thing for anyone who wants to sport an in-vogue, slightly dressy layered look and an 18 kt. gold replica of the One Ring, but only has a t-shirt budget. Today’s One Ring shirt is going for a very affordable $12.00 USD. The deals are typically good for 24-hours or until items sell out. There are still shirts left at this time, so snap one up before they’re gone. Read more…
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