Oxford has inspired many generations of fantasy writers, from Lewis Carroll, the grandfather of fantasy with his Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (who vies with Tolkien for the crown of most famous!) to fellow Inkling, C.S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series, to modern-day writers - our aim is to spread that Oxford inspiration to those wanting to be the next generation of fantasy creators.
You're too kind. Setting the finer points aside, it's an amateur production. Examples: Arondir was all but killed on camera by Adar, and then appears later in the battle as if nothing had happened. No explanation. No visible impact from being skewered under the ribs with a dagger and left for dead by one of the most powerful characters in the series. End of Ep 7: Gandalf is standing with Bombadil on a hill overlooking a valley and given a destiny-of-Middle-Earth choice. Next we see him in Ep 8, he's -- I guess -- in the village of the Stoors. And somehow so is the dark wizard. His choice is made completely off camera and no impact from it whatsoever is imparted to the viewer. Moreover, how did he even find the village? We're not told. How did he get there? Was it far from Bombadil's place? Did he even know that Poppy and Nori were there? How? He just goes from being presented with the decision that will define his destiny to the middle of a village he has no reason to know exists and finds harfoots he has no reason to believe might be there without so much as a peep about his own internal struggle or how he solved the "where are Nori and Poppy" mystery. Please. There's more continuity in a Douglas Adams script. 7 rings?
Did you notice the walls of Eregion in Season 1? No? Thats because they weren't there! They plopped them in right before the siege. That's true elven magic for you.
From my point of view, this series is an insult to to Tolkien's writing. By episodes 3 and 4 I felt they were improving just a little, then, ...the crash. Even from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about the lore and how the characters should have been, this show looks like a patch work with a lot of inconsistencies and bad writing. It looks like a B-series at most. I give this season a 4/10
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The dialogs made the series unwatchable for me. I remember I started watching in German. Thinking, Oh come on, Amazon. You butchered the translation big time. ' Changed the setting to English and it didn't get any better.
our only hope is cancelation of this satirical BS as soon as can be :D Events with potential of 30-40 minutes on screen at the most were allowed to exist for 3 episode or all season, and events of importance which should be explored for a whole season were given like 15 minutes of dialogue :D
The true hero of the story of Turin is his mother Morwen. Yes it’s a terribly tragic story but it’s a beautiful story with very important lessons and could make a stunning film if excited with love and respect. Nothing vulgar like game of thrones but Tolkien can get very very heavy. It’s not for everyone and think it’s good to see diversity rather than trying to whitewash what’s expected of a Tolkien adaptation based of the relatively shallow but fun for all, Jackson films. There are stories in the Legendarium that could be made into any non vulgar genre film or other form of artistic interpretation.
Start with studio Ghibli for some great anime. Ghibli evolved from the studio that did the old hobbit cartoon. I’m really looking forward to War of the Rohirrim!
I enjoyed this video very much. I don’t think Gandalf touched the ring however. Given his unique affinity with fire he could have sensed it being cool without touching it.
Mae Govannen, Julia! You're on to my favourite subject again with this sidecast, and it's making my week a bit brighter, so I thank you! I did want to chime in that there was one other instance of prayer of sorts, and it was also among Faramir and his men in Ithilien; they turned to face a certain direction (West?), and had a moment of silence before their meal.
It’s the woke train! Nothing is sacred and all will be trampled under foot cuz what’s important to them is worth bulldozing everything! Not everything in its way everything that doesn’t pertain to their agenda. It not an exaggeration. It’s fact and this show is an example. You’re too nice! It’s time to take a stand cuz this isn’t the last of the great art they will destroy and indoctrinate future generations to! You’ll only have memories… cuz you didn’t take a stand!
This series is absolutely woke and a ridiculous pile of nothing, I'm just wondering when the African, Female, Tall, Powerful transgender/NonBinery(Calls itself 'Cloudfist') character will appear soon.
Julia, you're a better woman than I! I've come to the conclusion that the show's writers care nothing for Tolkien at all, and I'm convinced that they've never even read his works. I don't plan to give this series any of my time. I'd much rather chat with you, and I continue to dream of someday visiting the Oxford Centre for Fantasy!
The original actors from LotR need guest roles in the new upcoming one, like Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan as adult Hobbit residents lol
I'm not entirely sure I want to see a film with characters I lvoe re-cast; I would however, be interested in Jackson and his team gaining rights to Second Age material and bringing me stories of Middle-Earth's second age. I want very much to re-visit Middle Earth, yes - I just think there's a proper way to go about it.
It would be nice if they could cast Stewart Townsend as Aragorn this time round since he lost out to Viggo the first time on account of being too young.
Since it seems unlikely that my dreams of seeing the best stories in The Silmarillion ever put to film will ever come true, due to the caprices of corporate capitalism, I'll settle for this. 😊
What's interesting is that not all fairy tale heroines in the past were passive damsels in distress. Some fairy tale heroines were cunning, clever, self-determined, and self-motivated. Gerda from The Snow White is the one who embarks on a quest to rescue her male friend, Kai, from the Snow Queen. A variation of the Bluebeard story has the youngest sister rescuing her two older sisters from the Bluebeard figure, and in addition (like Jack and the Beanstalk), confiscate the villain's stolen treasures.
Re the importance of the illustrations and their place within the text: I have seen many versions of Through the Looking Glass in which the two matching illos of Alice climbing through the mirror are placed on FACING pages. Surely the author's instruction was for these two illos to be placed on the right and left so that the reader has to turn the page - so Alice is not only climbing through the glass but also climbing through the PAGE? (By the way, if the two illos are superimposed, it seems clear that the artist used a light box or some such device to get perfect register...Except for the picture on the wall which is not aligned as perfectly as all the many other details. Possibly Tenniel missed that detail and someone else added that detail rather carelessly?}
I think people are mad about bad storytelling and badly executed adaptations these days as opposed to cultural appropriation. As you said, Julia, cultures the world over have re-told stories from lands not their own. I think cultural appropriation is a term that has been, unfortunately, been given a negative connotation of some sort of plagiarism by a small group of people bent on division. I think most cultures enjoy seeing their clothing worn, stories shared (and even adapted), and colloquialisms used by other cultures. I think if we look at it as an appreciative exchange, we might see things a bit differently!
I would nominate David Bowie's performance for a supporting actor in Labyrinth; but I'd want to nominate Michael Moschen as well - he's the juggler who also played alongside him for best supporting performer or even create a category for him ... he had to do all those tricks blind!!
