We have all seen Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and/or read the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Many inspired fans have written fan fictions, essays and reviews of them; others have studied the rest of his fantastic work. There are many aspects of “studying J.R.R. Tolkien”, also when it comes to him and the inspiring and fascinating world he created. This DVD represents 80 minutes of analyzing the man himself and the work he put so much effort into. It is a good choice if you want to get a broader view of him, but at the same time get professional opinions and analyses of him by some of the leading Tolkien-experts in the world. The CD is full of music, written and played by former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and each song is inspired by a special place in Middle-earth.
Tolkien scholar Robert diNapoli is the host of this documentary, but we also meet different kinds of Tolkien-related persons, like Ian Collier from the Tolkien Society, Aryk Busbacher from the Sandhurst Military Academy, the Tolkien Historian Bob Blackham, people inspired by him, such as musician Rick Wakeman and artist Roger Dean, and two of his kids, Priscilla Tolkien and Father John Tolkien. Several times you meet J.R.R. Tolkien himself, in rare shots of him in a conversation, talking about his life or his literature. All these people talk about his influence on themselves and the world, or analyse where the stories came from and what they think he meant with them.
In the Geography chapter, a 3D animation map of Middle-earth is featured. It is not detailed; it only roughly shows the landscape, but it is a good way of getting an overview of Middle-earth. Technically it is very impressive, with its computer look-alike world, with floating names over the important places in The Lord of the Rings, but it is definitely a modern and technical version, not having the same charm as the old, brown maps.
We are taken on a tour through those places, almost following the road of the Fellowship, from the Shire to Mordor. For each place we see an illustration or special movie clip, featuring the people living there. The special movie clips throughout the whole DVD are manipulated to look like drawings or animations, giving a special, surreal feeling. The illustrations are made by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, famous for their interpretations of the places and characters of Middle-earth. Compared with John Howe and Alan Lee’s illustrations, the Hildebrandt Brothers’ are more cartoon like, and not as detailed, but still amazingly drawn.
The DVD also features a chapter with a short biography, pictures of places Tolkien lived in and studied, plus movie clips from World War I, a big inspiration source and life changing experience to him. Different episodes of his life are analyzed or commented on by one or more of the specialists mentioned above, or even by Tolkien himself. If you have never read or seen a biography of him, this one is a good place to start. It has all the main lines of his life in it, but if you are looking for something more detailed, this chapter will disappoint you.
After the biography, we get a short storyline of The Lord of the Rings, following the action as it goes in the books. In a mix of the earlier mentioned special movie clips and beautiful illustrations by the Hildebrandt Brothers, and music by Mostly Autumn and Paul Farrer, Robert diNapoli’s short telling is short and precise, but still rather enchanting and magical. Again, having already read the books, you will see it as a short résumé, but if you have only seen the movies, you will see new places and new facts in this chapter that were not in the movies. In the beginning of the new chapter, you will also hear Tolkien read an excerpt from the end of The Lord of the Rings, and talk about his literary inspirations.
One of the aspects discussed in the literature chapter is the wide reach of Tolkien’s stories, but also what Tolkien envisioned as the purpose of his literature, and how people look at it. A few myths around Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings are discussed, for instance, the word Orc and the different critics around the race of Orcs. Literary critic Helen Kidd’s view of LOTR as an original 19th century work, a book from the Golden Age, is particularly interesting. Further on in the character chapter, his characters are discussed, as well as the various critics against them, like their lack of depth, which are taken up, but not torn apart or proven. Instead, the characters and the story are analyzed and explained in a very convincing way. You don’t learn more about each character or race, but you learn why it is them and not others, who appear in this story, and where they come from.
Another inspiration is discussed afterwards, namely the Middle Ages: how different parts from the medieval literature are given a new shape and integrated in Tolkien’s works, together with specific clothes, settings, stories and characters. But, most of all, it’s the characters’ speech that is mainly discussed: their different manners of speaking, and particular rhythm. In this same chapter we see how various mythologies, especially the Norse one, influenced Tolkien’s characters, and mostly the dwarves.
Just as many things have inspired Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, and his other books, all of his work has inspired artists belonging to many different arts: music, illustrations, literature. We meet musicians from Uriah Heep and Yes, talking about how Tolkien inspired them, and how they got the idea to write music related to his works. We also meet musicians from the band Mostly Autumn, who have contributed with a lot of wonderful music to this DVD. We meet Roger Dean again, hearing him tell about how he finds his inspiration in Tolkien’s stories, and we hear about other genres of Fantasy, which Tolkien’s new definition of Fantasy has created, and how Fantasy has been seen in a better light since the 1950’s.
The CD included in this guide contains over 60 minutes of mysterious and describing music to 11 different places in Middle-earth, from The Shire over The Great River to The Grey Havens. Its mysterious tones and connections are perfect for floating into Middle-earth through music. Almost everything is played on electronic music or synthesizer, the keyboards being Mr. Wakeman’s speciality, but in some songs, for example Rivendell, you will only hear beautiful and classic piano. All songs have a depth of mystery and wonder, but from place to place it varies in strength and shape. It is very different from Howard Shore’s music to the movies, with a completely different scale and genre, but just as enchanting and emotional.
To quote J.R.R. Tolkien himself, “it is interesting, isn’t it!” And it definitely is. The DVD+CD box is worth every penny and is a good start or continuation, if you want to learn more about Tolkien and his universe, or are just curious to hear what Tolkien experts think of him and his work.
by Lossendiliel
