Something about wizards and elves...
Not since the Star Wars trilogy has there been so much build up and hype about the release of a film.
Between the desk-top calendars, collectors' cards and 'visual guides to the fellowship', Lord of the Rings memorabilia is everywhere and the film itself is breaking box office records world-wide. Hardly surprising perhaps, given the immense success which Tolkien's novel has enjoyed since it was first published in 1954, an estimated one hundred million people having read it.
However, whilst fans of the Lord of the Rings will undoubtedly ensure that the movie becomes one of the biggest of all time, there still seem to be a lot of people who can't understand what all the fuss is about.
Listening to two such 'non believers' in the cinema, I heard one ask the other "what was that Lord of the Rings about anyway?" "I don't really know," his friend answered, staring in bewilderment at the meandering line of Tolkien enthusiasts queuing to secure the best seats for the first showing, "something about wizards and elves..."
So what is it about the Lord of the Rings? A reviewer for the Sunday Times once claimed that, "The English speaking world is divided into those who have read the Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read it", and although this acclaim is obviously the work of a Tolkien fanatic, the fact remains that the novel is one of the most popular of all time, having been voted the Book of the Twentieth Century in many polls.
Perhaps even more surprising is that, unlike recent success stories such as Harry Potter, the current hype about Lord of the Rings comes nearly 50 years after its initial publication. This is one novel which has definitely stood the test of time. Not bad for "something about wizards and elves..."
And yet, in all honesty, reading the back cover is a less than inspiring experience. "An expedition to defeat the dark Lord Sauron by casting the one ring into the fires of Mount Doom..." Quite frankly, who cares? But despite appearances, the Lord of the Rings is not your average escapist novel.
Yes, it is the age old story of good against evil, heroes against villains, light against darkness. And yet it is also so much more than that. The heroes aren't infallible or even likely. They run away from danger. They mess up. They weaken in the face of temptation and sometimes, they fail. Not being human themselves, they nevertheless battle with issues which run through each one of our lives. It is the affiliation which you feel for them despite yourself which makes you care about their quest.
In other ways of course, the book fulfils the typical escapist fantasy: to live out the ultimate adventure without having to leave the armchair, heroically overcoming every personal flaw and obstacle in order to defeat evil. Loyalty, bravery, unconditional friendship, the willingness to sacrifice yourself for the greater good - it really is the stuff of dreams, or as actor Christopher Lee (Saruman) puts it: "the whole thing is bound together into one piece of such 'magic' that there really isn't any other word to describe it."
Perhaps its biggest triumph of all rests in the description of an imaginary world so detailed and believable you forget it isn't real. Elvish alphabets and countless family trees are included in the chunky appendices to add to the authenticity of Middle-earth and Tolkien appears to have overlooked nothing in his quest to create the ultimate, realistic fantasy world.
But what of translating such a work into film? The countless fans who waited with bated breath need not have worried, as director Peter Jackson is clearly in tune with Tolkien's own thinking: "The Lord of the Rings is not a fantasy per se, he (Tolkien) wrote the book as a mythic pre-history of a Europe long since forgotten... because the Lord of the Rings is based on such a widely-read, well-loved book we are as determined as is humanly possible not to let people down!"
Spot-on casting, mind blowing special effects and, above all, an unbelievable commitment to the project by everyone involved ensure that this does not happen. Seasoned fans and newcomers alike are kept on the edge of their seats for nearly three hours, no mean feat in this age of short, fast hitting entertainment. Critics too are, for once, relatively united in their praise. Jackson has captured the epic, thrilling and moving tale which is the Lord of the Rings to near perfection and just as Tolkien's genius re-defined the fantasy fiction genre, so his has re-defined the fantasy film.
With the next two installments scheduled for Christmas 2002 and 2003, people are going to be talking about the Lord of the Rings for a long time to come. And probably even longer than that.
10th Jan 2002