It explains the early history of Middle Earth, the forging of the rings, and how the One Ring, which would control the world, came to be lost by the forces of evil and accidentally acquired by Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), one of the diminutive hobbits who live in the peace-loving Shire. The film begins with a rather dense exposition, partly drawing on The Hobbit. Like it or not, Tolkien's trilogy is the real thing, folk gruel as much as Holy Grail, set in a mythic distillation of north-western Europe by a man obsessed with ancient sagas, philology and the provision of legends for a Britain he regarded as lacking an inspiring culture. But JK Rowling's works are delightful eclectic confections set, partly at least, in a recognisable modern Britain. Harry Potter is a lot of fun and its sequels will also be visited upon us over the next couple of years. We've had a succession of sword-and-sorcery pictures these past 30-odd years, the most notable perhaps being Monty Python and the Holy Grail and John Boorman's sombre Excalibur, the phoniest being Star Wars and the most recent Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The sets and special effects are near flawless. In the event, however, he has told a fast-moving, if at times confusing and repetitive tale with considerable verve, and he's used to magical effect the New Zealand landscape - its snow-capped mountains, idyllic, anglicised farmland and often exotic flora. Not that my resistance to stories about non-existent places with strange-sounding names has been changed years ago, I tried to create a Tolkienian bedside story and kept hoping my children would fall asleep because I couldn't remember the idiotic names I'd invented.Īfter a succession of ridiculous horror spoofs and one outstanding real-life murder story (Heavenly Creatures), the New Zealand director Peter Jackson was not someone whose latest movie raised any great expectations. Yet oddly, in approaching Peter Jackson's film of the first volume, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (the other parts follow in 20), I feel acquainted with Tolkien's book, partly through critical essays and exegetic writing by David Day and others, partly through the radio version and the dreary animated film, and partly by osmosis. Anyway, I'm still in the same position as Samuel Goldwyn who said of The Wizard of Oz that he'd 'read part of it, all the way through'.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |