On Collecting (Part 2)

To start off I'd like to say that being a so called "geek" has its up sides. When it comes down to collecting anything, it depends on the collectors taste and wants. I started collecting Star Wars 15 years ago and switched to Tolkien about 10 years ago. To collect Star Wars is easy. Its everywhere and you'll go broke because there's just too much to buy. With Tolkien it's every now and then, which makes it easier on the wallet.

Collecting the books and DVD's is one thing. Some folks go as far as collecting all the Weta workshop statues ( I wish to God I could afford those) and the side show collection.
There's all sorts of gadgets and Swords, bookends, and costumes to boot. I would suggest having a goal. For me it was to have all of the works hard cover. I still have to get the history of Middle Earth in hard cover but besides that I'm set.

Buying art or posters is another great way to decorate your Tolkien room or library. I purchased this and the one bellow for $10 a piece and framed them. It cheap and easy and looks sharper than just a pinned up picture.

Each collection is in its own way unique. Not everyone will have the same items. Unless your that guy in New Zealand who has it all. Peter Jackson. lol

But have fun with it, spend on budget and remember to always keep an eye out. Those damn Orc's are everywhere.

More People's Guide to Middle Earth ( By the folks of theoneRing.Net)

I had stopped in a town called Mission (BC, Canada) on my lunch break, and walked in to this used book store. And as always the first thing I ask for is "Where's your Tolkien section?" because you never know what you'll find. Being a book collector, you have to always look just in case. Sure enough it was the same story as in most shops. fifty plus copies of the Lord of The Rings, and thirty of the hobbit. But they also had ten copies of this More Peoples Guide to Middle Earth . Glorious! I don't even own the first one. But I purchased it and started reading it during my lunch break.

The Review:

This book is written by the folks at theonering.net  It seems appropriate for them to write something like this since they kept us in the loop with what was going on in NZ at the time of filming the trilogy.
I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of the Meditations on Middle Earth. the book is broken up into
5 parts. the first Message and Meaning is kind of short essays. The second is kind of the same but very informative.
Part 2 Escape to Middle Earth is unique as all of us Tolkien heads can related to the authors (manly Anwyn) description of our need of fantasy (well in so many words)
Part 3 is a Q &A with the folks of the One Ring.net and Authors.
Part 4 is a section on film reviews, mainly Return of the King.
And last part 5 is miscellaneous  writings and a great section on the Oscar party the OneRing.net hosted after the great sweep from the Return of the King.

The  book isn't very big. One can read it in two days.It's light reading, and entertaining. But it's a good read and I should press the issue that fan's of Tolkien's work should read books like these more often. To expand their knowledge and take part of the greater community of fans out there. I would like to get my hands on the first Volume of People's Guide to Middle Earth. But it seems a rare thing in British Columbia. I might just have to order it in.

I do hope the folks at theonering.net will write another book like this after the Hobbit movies are done. I think their fans expect them to.

I give this book a solid 9 out of 10 for the sheer entertainment value alone.

http://www.theonering.net/
 

Extended Edition Blu Ray Review

Even though I purchased this box set on the first day of it's release I waited until now to give my review.
I watched these films at different times during the last few months. First I would like to say that the whole package is well put together. Each film has 5 disks. Two of which is the main films, two are the behind the scenes, and one new never before seen behind the scenes documentary. The film make was hand picked by Jackson.

The Images are breath taking. Sure there is a green film  added to this edition to make the green's more green but it doesn't really bother me. Some people have complained about it and have done comparison work but it's a minor detail really.

The sound is the main amazing factor from these films. I remember cranking it loud when Sauron gets destroyed in the beginning of the Fellowship of the ring and my sub was shaking the whole house.

The soundtrack to these films is possibly the best part of the movies. I have a hard time imagining anyone but Howard Shore doing the sound track to the Hobbit movies.

Two things that bug me about this box set is, one: there are four previews before the movies. And it's the same four for every disk. When the movies are long out of theatres and onto DVD's we're still going to be forced to watch these four previews. Arhhgg!
Two: the behind the scenes DVD's are not blu ray. Only the films are. Seems rather unfair.
If your like me and you've seen The Lord of the Rings over 50 times each, then seeing them with the commentary is always fun. It's a different spin on it and informative. It's hard sometimes to remember what's from the film makers and what's from Tolkien. The two tend to blend in my mind these day's. Maybe I'm due to re-read the trilogy again soon. After seeing the films so many times there are somethings that bug me about the movies. Primarily the add on's by the film makers. But that's for a different blog, some other time maybe.

Besides the bonus 3 hours of footage from behind the scenes, there isn't anything new to the extended blu ray editions . I give it a solid 8 of of 10. It's well worth the $80.

Language maker

A recent interview with Stephen Fry who is cast as the lord of Lake Town in Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies, as he interviews PJ about Tolkien and his invention of languages. Shot in a hobbit hole. It's about 5 minutes into the vid. So you can skip the first bit.
Just click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSF-ALPv4B8&feature=related

The start is comical with Pete in England showing the 007 sound stage. The crew shows some of their favorite scenes and more into Gollum's cave. A really cool shot of all 13 dwarves at the table in Bag End. It goes on to show all 13 Dwarves in costume and a bit on their personality. Its amazing to see the sheer size of the production behind these 500 million dollar movies.  I find these vids a personal touch from Jackson. And a nice way to keep the fans happy.

Vid # 2 From Set

In this vid we see Andy as 2nd unit director and Peter focusing a bit on the exhaustion that he gets when filming big movies like The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. There's a great clip of Martin Freeman as Bilbo and Hugo Weaving as Elrond (yes!) Also Andy doing his Gollum in full motion caption suit. So much to look at you'll have to watch it 3 times to get it all.

Vid #1 from set

Alright, so this vid has been out for a while. But seeing as its been a while since I've posted on my blogg I'd thought I'd post these vids too. They are after all Tolkien related wouldn't you say ? I am most excited for these films. The Unexpected Journey (Dec 2012) and (There and Back Again, Dec 2013)
There are a few things I've noticed that Peter and the crew changed from the books and the main one is Thorin Oakenshield's age. He is the 2nd eldest Dwarf but in the movies he looks middle aged. That being said Im sure it'll all be good just the same.