Showing posts with label ian mckellen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ian mckellen. Show all posts

The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders' Guide (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) Review

The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders' Guide (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In)
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The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders' Guide (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) ReviewThis book is apparently intended to be the equivalent for young readers of the "Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide," which is also written by Brian Sibley (who was also the co-writer of the script for the BBC's excellent radio adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings," starring Ian Holm as Frodo). In many ways this children's version, although shorter and less detailed, is more interesting than the adult version. The "Insiders' Guide" contains some information not included in the "Movie Guide," such as the "Loom!" story mentioned by another reviewer below. Indeed, in general the emphasis of the "Insiders' Guide" seems to be a bit less on the production design of the movie, and more on the process of filming it and the experience of being on the set, than that of the "Movie Guide."
One interesting feature of Sibley's text as compared to that of the "Movie Guide" is that the chapters of the "Insiders' Guide" tend to begin with especially intriguing sentences intended to grab the reader's attention. Perhaps Sibley thinks this is more necessary when writing for children than for adults; I consider it a good technique when writing for any audience. ("Apollo 13," formerly called "Lost Moon," by James Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, is an excellent example of the use of this technique in a non-fiction book for adults.)
Tolkien fans, and those moviegoers who have fallen in love with Peter Jackson's film, may well want to collect all four movie tie-in books: this "Insiders' Guide" and the "Photo Guide" (both intended for children) along with the "Movie Guide" and the "Visual Companion" (both intended for adults). Young readers seeking paperback books about the movie will find both the "Insiders' Guide" and the "Photo Guide" fairly good choices; the "Insiders' Guide" provides information about the movie's production and the background behind it, while the "Photo Guide" is the better bet for images from the film.The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders' Guide (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) Overview

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Return of the King Photo Guide (Lord of the Rings) Review

Return of the King Photo Guide (Lord of the Rings)
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Return of the King Photo Guide (Lord of the Rings) Review"The Return of the King Photo Guide" is a treat for those wanting to revisit the rich Middle-Earth depicted in Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of "Lord of the Rings." The pictures are excellent, and if anyone has problems following the complicated storyline, this is something for them to check out.
In "Return of the King," the treacherous Gollum is leading Sam and Frodo into the Dark Lord's land of Mordor. With the fate of Middle-Earth -- and his beloved Arwen's life -- on the line, Aragorn fully accepts his fate as Gondor's future king, and recruits the help of a long-dead army. And Gandalf takes the hobbit Pippin to the ravaged land of Gondor, the last stronghold against Sauron.
The actual climax and precise endings of the film are left up to the readers' imaginations (this isn't exactly a storybook), although the final sentence hints at the bittersweet events of the ending. The prose is fairly standard, nothing special; quotes from the film are littered through it, some directly from the books.
The pictures are what make this book stand out, with phenomenal shots of Minas Tirith, Pippin in his silver and black Gondorian armor, a helmeted Gondorian guard, an angelic shot of Eowyn, two Elven smiths reforging Aragorn's sword, and Frodo fending off Shelob with the phial Galadriel gave him. What's more, there are scenes that never made it to the final film, such as Aragorn tending the wounded Faramir in the Houses of Healing, or Frodo and Sam looking at a broken statue crowned with flowers. (Somewhat disappointing are the lack of pictures of the monstrous spider Shelob, or the ghostly army of the dead)
While it won't satisfy those longing to know the grand finale, "The Return of the King Photo Guide" will be eagerly devoured by fans of the films, with its wonderful pictures and semi-storybook outline. Definitely should be purchased for the photographs, and newbie fans may find it helpful too.Return of the King Photo Guide (Lord of the Rings) Overview

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The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Review

The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings)
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The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) ReviewThis is an interesting new children's photo guide for the hit fantasy epic "Lord of the Rings"'s movie adaptation. Not quite the same as the adult ones, which have more complete info about places and people, but if your kid has never read LOTR and needs some basic info, this is the right book.
It has an excellent array of photos, of such characters as Legolas, the hobbits, the Uruk-Hai, Aragorn, as well as pictures of places: Bag End, Bilbo's birthday party, the tower of Orthanc, Lothlorien, Moria, and so forth. Some of the photos are unsatisfying -- we see only snippets of Rivendell, for example. Some of the pictures are so widely circulated that I wasn't interested, like Gimli kneeling at his cousin's grace, Arwen glancing at the camera, and the I've-seen-it-so-many-times-I'm-sick-of-it photo of Frodo staring at Sting, the sword given to him by Bilbo Baggins.
But there are photos not generally shown, like the picture of the four hobbits solemnly holding their swords, blades pointing down; Legolas holding his quiver, and a great still of Aragorn attacking the Nazgul on Weathertop. One slight disappointment is that the many amazing CGI effects (with the exception of shrinking John Rhys-Davies and the hobbit actors) go completely untouched. But perhaps they did not translate well to photo stills, or they didn't want to spoil the effect.
Often there are movie quotes (many of them taken out of the final cut) are near the photos, either quotes from the characters themselves, or relating to them. The text itself seemed a little dumbed-down, but as this appears to be a kids' book for new watchers, perhaps that isn't such a bad thing. It gives the basics on the characters' physical traits, brief biographical info (like Sam being the youngest son of the Gaffer) and their relationships with the other Fellowship members.
Spoilers are not given away. Major plot developments are hinted at but never stated; in addition, there are no spoilers for the finale, after they leave Lorien. Minor spoilers about some of the characters (like Aragorn) are given away, tho.
Overall, a nice little picture book, for either major Tolkien fans or for people who need to know just who these people are and what is going on.The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Overview

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The Return of the King Visual Companion: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion (The Lord of the Rings) Review

The Return of the King Visual Companion: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion (The Lord of the Rings)
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The Return of the King Visual Companion: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion (The Lord of the Rings) ReviewThis is a hardback book, oversize so it can accommodate the quality of images and text. A "coffee table" edition is what people would label it. This book is a more definitive version than the photo guide, and it goes into the story with more details and more images.
In the first chapter "The Great Task", it recaps the first two movies and what all the characters were doing. Then for Return of the King, Chapter Two pick up with the Kingdom of Gondor, the Realm Aragon is destined to rule. Under the rule of Denethor, father of Boromir and Faramir, he is only the Steward of Gondor. Discovering Boromir's death through one of the seeing-stones has made him power-mad in his grief and bordering on insanity. He is determined to hold on to the throne of Gondor and blames his son, Faramir, for setting Frodo with the One Ring free, and means to stand against Aragon's return as the King of Gondor.
The book adds background for people who love the Rings movies, but have not read Tolkien books, and maybe have a few questions. This is not only a wonderful showcase, super packed with gorgeous photos, but explains little nuances to the non-reader of the books, the film assumes you understand.
So this book is highly recommended to Ring Collectors, but also for lovers of the movie wanting to know a little more. The images are stunning, well selected and give you a piece of the movie to keep forever.
Great Christmas or birthday gift for your LOTR fan.The Return of the King Visual Companion: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion (The Lord of the Rings) Overview

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The Two Towers Movie Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Review

The Two Towers Movie Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings)
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The Two Towers Movie Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) ReviewDon't be fooled by the back cover that states "the official children's photo guide to The Two Towers." This great book is full of amazing photos from the upcoming Lord of the Rings film to delight fans of all ages!
The book itself is set up in a narrative style, which goes through the general movie plot with accompanying pictures. For instance, in the part where Merry and Pippin encounter the Ents, we are treated with a full-page picture of Treebeard (in all his glory!) holding Merry and Pippin.
The book has pictures of all the major (and minor) characters and locations in the film, including Theoden, Gollum, Faramir, Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, Gandalf the White, the Warg Riders and Easterlings, as well as Osgiliath, Ithilien, Edoras, Helms Deep and Fangorn Forest.
One word of caution, however: This book goes through the general plot of the movie and also reveals where changes were made from the book. So if you want SPOILERS, this is the book for you! However, if you want to remain spoiler-free (at least until the film arrives), then quickly browse through the book but do not read it!
Of the 4 movie tie-in books that were recently released (The Two Towers Visual Companion, Two Towers Creature Guide and The Making of the Movie Trilogy), this is the BEST in terms of Two Towers-related pictures. The Visual Companion comes a close second. If you want behind the scenes info, then pick up The Making of the Movie Trilogy as well. The books go hand-in-hand with very little overlap in terms of content.The Two Towers Movie Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Overview

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