“What business does an Elf, a Ranger and a Ninja have in the Riddermark? – Speak quickly!” Is this a play on the famous meeting of Ẻomer and Aragon or in fact a question that rings out a connection that has never been looked at before? Is there a connection between an Elf, a Ranger of the North and the historical Ninja of feudal Japan? Indeed there is, more than most people realise.
When looking at Tolkien’s view of an Elf, especially in The Children of Húrin, we see the Elf as a silent scout, a “man” who treads where others can not and goes unseen by all, creeping, hiding and being invisible. But then so is a Ranger, Legolas and Strider are companions of skill and share their ability to journey unseen, to the comic underplay of the “clunking dwarf”. Thus, enter the Ninja! First, forget anything you know, ignore the figures screaming in black as they jump through screens and get cut down by the heroic Samurai, this is all media misunderstanding, the real and very historical Ninja of Japan were the real life Elves and Rangers of the East.
If you were not already excited for The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition 3-Night Event, let us share this exclusive video with you:
Excited yet? Tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow, but you can still get to the direct ordering page by clicking on the following link. We hope to see you there! [Purchase Tickets] And don’t forget to snag your LOTR Ex on Blu-Ray June 28th! [Pre-Order]
J.W. Braun is back with another trivia question and a review of The Art of the Lord of the Rings book series by Gary Russell. If you like Braun’s reviews, be sure to check out his new facebook page.
As you know the digital effects wizards at Weta Workshop are not just a company that makes some of the most fantastic images, props, costumes, etc that you see on-screen. They also make collectibles based on some of the stories they help produce. During The Lord of the Rings trilogy their statues, busts, weapons, medallions and environments were integral parts of collecting from those films. In 2005 this line of collectibles came to an end leaving Tolkien collectors with a very impressive collection representing these films.
Well, two years ago Weta came back to making product from The Lord of the Rings trilogy with more environments, a new shield line, swords, and prop replica pieces. One big difference: Weta is now making these pieces under their own collectibles company – Weta Workshop. These new items, allow collectors to continue to build on the previous The Lord of the Rings collection. That’s great news for us!
Come June and Lord of the Rings fans will have much reason to celebrate, for in anticipation of the BluRay release of the Extended Editions of the Lord of the Rings films, AMC Theatres will be screening the very same director’s cuts of the films over three weeks in June.
“What business does an Elf, a Ranger and a Ninja have in the Riddermark? – Speak quickly!” Is this a play on the famous meeting of Ẻomer and Aragon or in fact a question that rings out a connection that has never been looked at before? Is there a connection between an Elf, a Ranger of the North and the historical Ninja of feudal Japan? Indeed there is, more than most people realise.
