[edit 6/5/21: For those curious, I do plan on continuing with The Silmarillion 😃 It will just be much further down the line though. You know- so many other books to read, so little time] **More thoughts in the description!** Ooof, I just got so nervous once I hit publish! To anyone reading this, thank you for watching! I am definitely not a pro at being a reactor/commentator and wondered if I should scrap the film reactions altogether. But it has been fun to look back on, especially my sisters comments lol. Anyway- I will leave you with a link to the funniest LotR video I have come across: th-cam.com/video/RaV6rOXnTU0/w-d-xo.html
If you want to know more about Galadriel, the wizards, balrogs, sauron, shelob's origins, as well as movie Easter eggs like legolas mentioning morgoth, or why gimli got 3 pieces of galadriel's hair, why is Numenor a sad subject for aragorn's bloodline, etc. Theres a highly informative but very tough read prequel to the hobbit called the Silmarillion (in the LotR they talk about the third age finally coming into the fourth age, this book is about before that with the first and second age). Definitely worth the audio book.
I have heard of the Silmarillion (and it being a tougher work to get through), but I didn't know how extensive it was with stuff from the first two ages! Thanks for the info :)
@@iLiviesimone absolutely! It's essentially the "bible" for Tolkien's works. He explains the main pantheon of the gods, the undying lands (the western continent that the elves gandalf bilbo and frodos sail to.) The Angels and the fallen Angels. Creation of the different races like dwarves, ents, elves, orcs. Then theres stories of the ancient elven and human races. It's a tough read but so so worth the lore/knowledge. Also here's a fun fact just in case you didn't know; Galadriels daughter married Elrond, making Arwen the Granddaughter and Aragorn the grandson-in-law of Galadriel. Kind of fun to think about when rewatching the films and knowing more history of the characters.
Loved the reactions to all of it. It could have been longer, in my opinion. A video for each element. The extended version DVD appendixes have tons of material too.
There were so many funny memes, "they're taking the hobbits to isengard" is a popular one, but my personal favourites are the orcs with normal voices bits on youtube. There's just something about a regular voice going "saruman!" or "manflesh!" :D
1:01:40 "what is the fandom like?" I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
And respect for your comment 😄 thank you! As a viewer I usually prefer single long videos over several-part videos, so that’s why I went with this hahahaha
My own personal favorite moment in the book was sadly not in the movie. At the council of Elrond, Bilbo volunteers to take the ring to Mount Doom himself. Boromir, having no idea who this tiny old man is, starts laughing, only to find that he is the only one. Everyone else present, most of them ancient and powerful beings, show nothing but deep respect for Bilbo. They all know who he is and what he accomplished. I'm off now, to look up that part again.
I don't have the same perspective as most people because I've read the books like 18 times, but one of favorite moments of the book is Ioreth telling her cousin all about the War of the Ring. There is a minor character named Ioreth, the "wise woman of Gondor". Ioreth though isn't actually very wise, and she'd probably get a long quite well with the majority of unlearned Hobbits of the Shire. She has a bunch of common sense, in the sense of having unreflected upon beliefs and opinions that she holds just because everyone believes the same thing, and she has a store of aphorisms she quotes without really understanding them because she's heard other people say them. She gets a moment or two of triumph in the Houses of Healing scenes, which she manages to be more useful than the book learned idiot that passes for a scholar - even if most of her knowledge is accidental. Anyway, the point is that she's a loveable simple folk that Tolkien loves and celebrates, but she's not wise in the same way the Frodo, Gandalf, Faramir or eventually Sam becomes. The great thing about Ioreth is she's one of the main viewpoint characters that Tolkien provides during the coronation of Aragorn as King, and in the scene she gives a running narrative to her cousin who has come out of hiding in the hills having missed all the big events. And, it's sort of like that play that the Ember Island Players give in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in that Ioreth gets just about everything wrong while still telling the story right from a certain point of view. In particular, her cousin wants to know why Aragorn wants Frodo to be involved in his coronation, and Ioreth says something like: "Don't you know, that little warrior went all alone into Mordor with only his Squire, and faced Sauron in single combat and defeated him and threw down his tower." You see, in Ioreth's view of the story, the winner, the hero, has to be the one who is strongest, and there has to be some sort of martial display where the hero wins and defeats the bad guy through his power. So Ioreth adapts the story to fit her preconceived notions of what a story should be like, and in it Frodo is a hero because he's a warrior that is stronger than his foes. And that's PJ's movie to the core. Parts of it are really good, but a lot of it has more to do with the tale of Ioreth than the book, and in particular in how PJ stages the finale at Mount Doom as a fight scene where Frodo wins and throws Gollum off of a precipice.
Mine also isn't in the movie. It's when they figure out what's under the mountain and has killed the dwarves and Legolas shrieks like a little girl. "Aiee! A Balrog!"
You, young lady, are an absolute delight. Taking the time to read the source material and then do a reaction not just to the movies but the books as well... I applaud you, truly a rare specimen in these waves of reactors. Never allow anyone to diminish your opinion or tell you how to think. You are in possession of a very fine brain. As for the fandom, I am a 60 year old retired former Army Corps of Engineers geodetic surveyor. I was always fascinated by the maps of Middle Earth and the distances traveled. Funny you thought the Nazgul were bad at their jobs. Consider there were 9 of them, on horseback and they kept finding the ring bearer. Couldn't catch him, but they were always around. Visit the American west like Utah and Nevada and imagine riding around on horseback looking for something the size of a ring.
Speaking of the American West, when the Riders of Rohan encounter Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, they wheel around their horses and encircle the trio, much like the Apaches (as noted by Tom Shippey).
One of the most profound lines of all time is one of Gandalf, when Frodo says he hates Gollum and deserves to die, and Gandalf says “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
Loved that line- and I especially love how everything circled back to that idea of sparing Gollum, and how he ended up playing a role in ending everything
That is a line you should quote to every death penalty supporter. It is so meaningful. And story wise, it is Frodo's grace towards Gollum that lets him withstand the power of the Ring for so long.
@@iLiviesimone I totally agree. Even more so as professor Tolkien was creating the story whilst writing it, therefore he himself did not know Gollum's final purpose.. So I like to imagine these exact thoughts to be actually his at the time. Loved the video, very enjoyable to watch! Your reactions were very similar to mine :D. The books are indeed a lovely slow read. A chapter a day with a nice cuppa! And maybe a second chapter with a second breakfast. And also strongly agree with the practical effects! I recommend watching Behind the scenes, if you have another few spare hours of your life, just shows you how much effort went in. Good luck with your future work! And may the hair on your toes never fall out :) Oh yes one more thing.. in the fandom 'The Eagles' are very often discussed, as you may have already noticed. If the eagles should have taken The Ring to Mordor, of if it is not too much of a lucky chance that they always come when they are most needed.
that line changed my outlook on life. not just life and death. people exist and do their thing despite you, accept it, and move on with kindness and generosity
I've never understood the feeling of living vicariously through someone until I watched this video. It was like I got to experience the books and movies for the first time again with you. Thank you so much for doing this video! I couldn't stop smiling the whole time!
Totally agree. I'm a super Tolkien fan, and I've read every book dozens of times now, and it was so nice to hear the perspective of someone who's just reading them for the first time. This was a great video. I was excited for her the whole way.
I read the book when I was 12, I remember the shivers when Gimli sounded the horns of Helm's Deep. I waited in line at the cinema for the movies when I was 22, I remember crying when Boromir fell. It's so great to see a young fan experience the same emotions for the first time. Thank you for sharing this.
Clever idea to review the books and then react to the movies. I've never seen that before in reactions. Your review of the books and your reactions were great. Very articulate. Your smile and laugh throughout the movies was awesome to see. Thank you for this post. It was amazing.
@@iLiviesimone Mel's comment says almost all I wanted to say. It is a joy to see your journey in the books, especially, and then the movies (and I appreciate even the omission of the hobbits movies, which are to me very far from the spirit of the book). I really liked seeing you gradually explore the books, your sincerity, and your amazing attention to details and deep understanding of the elements in the book. (Sam indeed is the true main character of lotr...). To me I also had, while reading lotr, an incredible feeling of melancholy, seeing Tolkien describe with so much love the nature, the simple life, the elves and their attachment to beauty and to serenity, and seeing them all passing to the west little by little... This slow pace (especially in the first book, but in many other passages as well) amplified it and you can tell Tolkien is really attached to those elements and weary of their slow disappearance, and that he knows that mens will focus on machines and technology in the next age(s) and lose contact with nature even more. I hope you read the Silmarillion (see another comment I made below, for a short warning and, I hope, a motivation). Thank you again for your work and it's quality, sincerity, and cleverness. I wish you many great readings in the future.
There is so much "deconstruction" of Tolkien going on at the moment that its a delight to see somebody young read and watch the series and enjoy it for what it is.
@@clucknbell4613 some of that stuff is interesting, Tolkien’s creation is so complex that having people explain certain aspects of it can be really interesting and entertaining . . . But yea there is a lot of made up dribble and stupid shit too
That needs more shudder quotes. There is no such 'deconstruction', in reality. It's impossible. You cannot deconstruct Tolkien. That's like deconstructing biology or the Bible or love. The more I read and learn, the deeper Middle-Earth becomes. It's insane how one man did all of that in 50 years by himself. It typically takes 100 writers to achieve what he achieved, but even 100 writers today could not do it. Tolkien was an all-time genius, lest we forget. He is one of the greatest and most talented and hard-working humans of all time, and very brave and moral, no less. He spoke and wrote 10+ languages and created 5+ languages/forms (2+ complete languages); he was a world-class expert on Old English and Saxon poetry; he was a world-class scholar of fairy tales; he was a world-class translator of Old English; he was a great teacher at Oxford in Old English; he was in WWI, the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest battle in history, where he started to write this stuff; he lost his parents at a young age; he saw almost all of his friends die; he turned C.S. Lewis from an atheist into a Christian, thereby helping to create the world of Narnia, as well; he was good friend's with Lewis and inspired him a lot with Middle-Earth, and from that, he created Narnia (though Tolkien didn't like Narnia at all because of how shallow and allegorical it was); he was a good poet in his own right and was a great storyteller and non-fiction writer; he was a decent artist/painter; and he was a master of many studies and fields including poetry, theology, philosophy, psychology, history, philology, linguistics, mythology, calligraphy, onomastics, and genealogy.
@@MyBoomStick1 No, *studying* Tolkien is interesting, because that involves finding what Tolkien put into Middle Earth and relating it to universal themes and deepens your appreciation for the work. The deconstruction that is happening is reading woke politics into Tolkien's work and pretending it is there. One involves scholarship and respect, the other involves ideology and an embarrassing lack of basic study skills.
Most people are aping or poking fun at Tolkien's influence, not so much Tolkien himself. It wouldn't be a problem otherwise. Pretty much every fantasy nerd knows what elves, dwarves or orcs are -- they're such strongly ingrained archetypes by this point. Even if you only know them through World of Warcraft or D&D. And there's other fantasy that's been written that _isn't_ Tolkien. Or for that matter, Harry Potter.
I can't get over the fact that you read 4 books (and slow burners at that) AND watched the movies for this one video!! That's amazing! Reading the LOTR-trilogy took me an entire summer! Love your reactions and thoughts on it too
Well thank you for watching and I am so glad you enjoyed Johannes :D I considered breaking it up but thought eh, just go big or go home 😂 Oh and spending a summer in Middle Earth sounds great Have a good one!
Here's what I got out of it. Denethor is supposed to be a parallel to Théoden. Both of them are the leaders of their kingdoms, and both received counsel from Gandalf. The difference between them is that Théoden had the humility to "snap out of it" and pull himself out of the hole he was in. Gandalf merely "gave him a nudge" (in the books, at least). By contrast Denethor chose to ignore the advice of Gandalf, calling it manipulation, and let his "pride and despair" get the better of him and through the former, succumbed to the latter, committing suicide.
Denethor is much more sympathetic in the books. You see how he's mostly been a wise ruler, and the forces that have been weighing on him. He's not just a madman, but someone who's been struggling his entire life to fight an unwinnable war against an overwhelming enemy and is now 100% convinced (with good reason) that the end has come. The same goes for Boromir, but the films did a better job of showing Boromir's motives, IMO.
It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it. He’s totally mean to his youngest son Faramir. He refuses to seek help to defend Gondor. He blames Rohan for betraying him. But the absolute worst thing he’s done was attempting to burn Faramir, his youngest son, and himself alive. The trilogy is well rid of him.
@@davidmcaninch4714 In the book Denethor sends the red arrow to Rohan asking for aid AND lights the beacons alerting south Gondor of danger WELL BEFORE Gandalf and Pippin arrive. Denethor is nowhere near as bad in the books. The movies also leave out that Denethor has had a mental battle with Sauron for nearly two decades though a palantir and Sauron couldn't break him. Denethor didn't mentally break until he thought Faramir was dead and the Corsairs of Umbar were sailing up the river (which actually WOULD have ended Gondor).
God even listening to people talk about LOTR makes me cry. To me it is the peak of fiction. Its so heartfelt and sincere, it reflects our world in subtle and clever ways and creates characters that stay with you. Whether it's Gandalf and his stern but kind manor, or Sam's never ending loyalty to his friends, or Saurumans clever cruelty. The world is the best realized fantasy world both on page and on film. I also love that Tolkien never sacrifices his prose. Its so consistent, thorough, and intelligent, but not pretentious. It often just sounds like a person describing something earnestly. Im so glad you enjoyed it.
I thought I was the only one crying as I was listening to her discourse meandering about with the highs and lows.. It's literally the my most favorite author and books...
Came here to see if someone said this. I was tearing up throughout the video. I think it also kind of reminds me of when I first read it when I was 12 years old and like the state of mind I was in and how these books really gave me an escape.
"But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." Gildor is one big thing missing in the first movie. He says that it's not a good sign that Gandalf didn't show up. And he warned Frodo, Sam and Pippin to beware the Black Riders. The other big thing missing is the Old Forest. It's the blade from Westernesse from the Barrow-Downs, Merry injures the Witch-King with. No other weapon would've hurt him so that Eowyn could make her terminal strike.
@@Nikioko Also there was never a Glorfindel character, but I still love the movies. I sometimes chuckle at some of the visual effects when I watch it today and consider how many technological advances have been made but love it anyway
This might be my favorite video on TH-cam. Someone being introduced to the books and movies in 1 video? With great reactions and insight? And an adorable cat? A+++.
@@stevetheduck1425 I've never owned a three volume edition. I have a seven volume (the appendices are separated) and a single volume, but never a three volume.
LOTR is literally a Bible Prequel,- seen from the perspective of native ice-age europeans. "The Matrix" is a Sci-fi adaptation of the Bible,- set in the same movie-verse as LOTR, because the "Matrixes" alters the perception of reality. Cloud Atlas tries to tie together this philosophy into something resembling the re-occurrence of timelines. The Swan-boats seen in Cloud Atlas is literally the same real-world people as those riding Swan-boats in LOTR. Tolkien and Wachowskis are all hardcore polish-catholics,- and they're not trying to make sci-fi,- but an alternate lens on real-world history.
A point often missed is that the Nazgul cannot see anything at all. They are blind. They have no physical body, only a force to support a cloak or armour. That's why they smell for things. The 9 rings shifted them into the Unseen Realm. That's what a Wraith is. When Frodo puts the Ring on at Amon Sul (Weathertop) he shifts into the Unseen Realm and sees the Witch King's spirit form. The Witch King was able to see Frodo for the first time and stabs him. :)
The Nazgul are not blind per se. Or deaf. This answer could be way more in depth because of how complex Tolkien structured his Legendarium. So I am simplifying it for sake of brevity, NOT out of any disrespect towards you or the subject matter. Once the Nine Kings of Men took and started wearing the Rings all the time, as they got older instead of aging and fading physically before dying and facing the Fate of the Second Born, which is to die, head to the Halls of Mandos and then pass through the Door of Night and disappear from the knowledge of those in Ea (the Universe), they instead faded into becoming wraiths who exist partially in a sort of other dimension of the spirit that exists in parallel to the physical realm. Its the dimension that the Valar and Maiar exist in as purely spiritual entities that manifest physically. Sauron basically engendered into the Rings a more limited version of an advantage that the Ainur have. So long as either the One Ring exists and thereby empowers the others, or the Nine Rings exist, the souls of the Nine remain trapped and cannot go automatically to the Halls of Mandos. The invisibility that the Rings grant is more like phasing partially into this other dimension. Since the Nazgul exist whole in the other dimension, and do not have their own physical bodies. They lose or have weakened some of the physical senses. So they cannot see as well as they could when they had their full human bodies. Now the Nazgul gain a particular enhanced sense of smell. This is by design. And the sense of smell is most strong when it comes to the blood of living things. This is a power that Sauron granted since Sauron is also the Lord of Vampires and Werewolves. In Tolkien terms Vampires and Werewolves desire to consume the blood of living things. Their actual vision is more like looking through a obscured window or through a smoke filled area. And colors are faded. There ability to see things that light reflects off of is almost gone. They gain some of the power that the Ainur have to perceive visually via their mind, and the purely physical things, to borrow from Aragon, "They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys, and in the dark they perceive many signs and forms that are hidden from us." They can also link to the minds of certain servants. This is a very limited manifestation of the power that all Ainur have of absolute telepathy. All Ainur can read the minds of mortals and living things like they are an open book. Certain creatures who are bound to the Nine, they can do that with. This is particularly their mounts. IIRC there are some passive references to them having a link to other animals that Sauron linked them too.
@@thtadthtshldntbe Can the Nine ride ordinary horses or are they some kind of fell beasts? Animals run away from the Nazgul, so how could horses tolerate Nazgul riding them?
It took me nine months of bed-time reading to finish LTR with my children when they were in little. We read with an Oxford dictionary beside us. I would read until I thought they were asleep. I would quit and they would protest, "We're not asleep!" So I would read on, and have to back track the next night to where they drifted off. They were enthralled constantly. I think the book is intended to be read to children as bed-time reading. I think that Tolkien himself told stories to his children as they prepared for bed.
The only reason he wrote the Hobbit was because his son kept pointing out when he changed details as he told him the story at bed time. "You said Bilbo had a blue door now its green, and Thorins tassel was gold now its silver" "Damn the boy" goes and starts writing.
Dad read all the books to me, though I also read parts of LotR by myself. I was absolutely *inconsolable* when it seemed like Frodo was dead to Shelob's sting.
He also wrote the chapters of Frodo and Sam's journey through the Dead Marshes and into Mordor during 1944 and would post them one by one out to his son where he was serving with the RAF
@@iLiviesimone Haha, I can't tell you how many reaction videos I've seen where the content creator keeps comparing stuff in LOTR to Harry Potter. xD When The One Ring is explained: "Oh it's like a horcrux!" When the Ringwraiths show up: "They look like Dementors!" When they see Gollum: "Aw he reminds me of Dobby!" and of course the inevitable comparison with Gandalf to Dumbledore.. I mean I get it, it doesn't make me mad or anything, if you grew up with Harry Potter then that's your frame of reference, of course your mind will make those connections, but it is SO NICE when someone (like yourself) acknowledges that Tolkien's works vastly predates Harry Potter and pretty much everything that's associated with the fantasy genre. I mean the guy was in World War I, they were four close friends including him, and the other three were killed in the war. He could just as easily have been another casualty and we'd never gotten The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings or his other works, and it's crazy to think about where the fantasy genre would have been without him. Would it even exist? Who's to say. So.. yeah, credit where credit is due and all that, we can't have J.K. Rowling just slide into his spot and steal the glory. ;)
It’s funny because while reading I ended up just keeping a list of the things (most of what you listed) that I realized must have been inspiration, or at the very least known by Rowling. It was so obvious that this book started so much!
"What is the fandom like?" "DID YOU KNOW THAT WHEN ARAGORN KICKED THE HELMET IN THE TWO TOWERS AND THEN SCREAMS, IT'S A SCREAM OF PAIN BECAUSE THE ACTOR ACTUALLY BROKE HIS TOE IN THAT KICK" That, and arguing against people asking why the eagles didn't fly the ring all the way to Mordor, is 70% of the fandom. Thank you so much for your thoughts, I loved this video! Also how disappointing were the hobbit movies? Bilbo and Thorin were great, but they tried to turn a kid's book into an epic, and just had lots of juvenile fart jokes, but none of the real comedy, like the dwarves being introduced to Beorn
Yah, they made it 3 movies, and they couldn't fit in the trick of introducing the dwarves to Beorn a few at a time in? Yah, I'm not buying that they didn't have the time to pull that off.
@@RedwoodTheElf honestly they seem to have taken out all acts of cunning and most of wit from the " hobbit " movies. I do not know why they hated cunning, but they clearly did.
CS Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles Of Narnia, had this to say... "The Fellowship of the Ring is like lightning from a clear sky. . . Here are bauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron; here is a book that will break your heart. . . ."
@@huntclanhunt9697 they were English professor buddies, they served in the same department, but yes they were also both veterans of the Great War, and I think both had sons in WWII.
I always enjoy people watching the Balrog fight. Most people think "Oh, it's this old wizzard fighting this deamon" When in reality, Gandalf, as well as the Balrog are both Maiar, so this is less a fight of a Mortal against a Demon but two demigods fighting to the death.
@@graceandrews1841 technically no. In the Jewish tradition demons and angels originally are two different groups. God created three main groups of creatures. first he created Angels from light. Then he created Djinn from energies of the world, like fire. And then he created creatures from dirt and dust. Humans are a creature of the last group along with all the animals we know. Demons are a special type of Djinn. The great satan, Lucifer the Morningstar, was the most powerful and beautiful Djinn King who shone so bright he could be mistaken for an angel. When God fashioned Adam he told Lucifer to bow before his greatest creation, man. Lucifer refused. He was beautiful, powerful, and ancient. He would not bow to mud. So he swore to show God the failures of man. He seduced Lilith, first wife of Adam, whom Adam rejected. And then later there was the whole temptation with the fruit business. Together he and Lilith gave birth to the first demon Djinn, who unlike other Djinn are expressly nefarious entities. Most Djinn are normal beings who live a parallel existence to humans, their society and themselves hidden from human view. This is the tradition as it originally was. It’s still expressed in some form if this by Jews, Muslims, and a few Christian sects. It wasn’t until the Catholics by fiat created a new Mythos out if old stories that Satan becomes a fallen Angel and his followers demons. It would take until the Middle Ages for the Lucifer, the Satan of Job, the Satan of Jesus, the Satan of the Apocalypse, and every other type of rival to God to be fused into a single being. They were originally all conceived as entirely different beings. The Satan of job wasn’t even originally imagined as a real event. Job was largely considered metaphorical as a story until the Middle Ages.
I just realized something. The reason that Merry is so competent during the battle despite expectations is that he was trained by one of Gondor’s foremost warriors, Boromir.
@@str.77 The Brandybucks and Tooks also did a lot of weapon training themselves, though. If you had asked them, it would have been described as sports and games, but they did a ton of practice because they always had the wolves and the Old Forest in mind. We also know that Pippin and Merry spent a bunch of time watching the elves and exploring Rivendell when they could; and that probably included seeing some archery and swordwork. Merry's a smart cookie, so he probably integrated everything he saw and learned into his sword style, making allowances for height. So it's a bunch of stuff, but you're right about Boromir.
@@suburbanbanshee True. The Fellowship had two members of the highest Hobbit families among them that would be more prone to make use of weapons. Still, without the blade from the barrow that wouldn't have been enough to kill the Witch-King.
@@iLiviesimone Tolkiens son made a bunch more books after his fathers death. I don't think any of them are "must read", except The Silmarillion! It's just amazing, and it explains so much. I still remember reading LotR after I had read Silmarillion and suddenly I could understand everything they were talking about(which before just flew over my head). Would love to see your reaction to it.
Hot take of the fandom: Farmer Maggot is the most badass of Hobbits (and his dogs are very good bois). We love that legend telling the Nazgul to get off his property
Don't forget Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger! The one who put himself in danger (of the Nazgul) to give them time to escape, and who got imprisoned and ill treated so long that he couldn't be called "Fatty" anymore in the scouring of the Shire.
The Hobbit definitely feels more light-hearted than the rest of the LOTR trilogy. I always felt struck by the tonal dissonance, but from what I understand is that the Hobbit was originally bedtime story that Tolkien told his son that he later published as a novel. Where LOTR came more from a personal mythology he was building for fun. Keep in mind, Tolkien is a _stupidly smart_ man. The man popularized literary study of Beowulf, and is probably the reason why it was even mandatory reading in high school for me.
I don't think Tolkien responsible for that. Beowulf is one of the few pieces of literature that survived from the Old English period. Hence it is on reading lists.
I hate to be that guy but...well here we go... I think you might be confusing Tolkien with John Flanagan, author of the Ranger's Apprentice series. Ranger's Apprentice was originally a bedtime story for his kids which later became a book series. Now for a brief history of Tolkien's works. Tolkien began writing The Silmarillion in part as a linguistic exercise such that a language he was developing, that being Elvish, would have a people who spoke it and a history behind it. This as I recall started while he was a soldier in World War I. The Hobbit reportedly began as a totally spontaneous and unrelated story. Apparently, he was grading exams (at Oxford I think), then randomly flipped one over and wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." and he had no idea what that statement meant. While writing The Hobbit, he of course couldn't help but connect it to The Silmarillion so it became a part of that history. The Lord of the Rings was written, and meant to be, a direct sequel to The Hobbit, though he had to rewrite the Gollum chapter since his original version was completely inconsistent with TLotR. Naturally, it too was heavily tied into The Silmarillion. (Highlight: Aragorn literally sings a portion of the Lay of Luthien to the hobbits.) Okay I'm done. Thank you for spending this time with me.
@@Lord_Stug Quite a few authors originally told their books as bedtime stories to their kids: the Princess Bride, Percy Jackson, Wind in the Willows, and, yes, the Hobbit. The writing process went: exam paper --> bedtime stories --> book. That's why so many random episodic things happen in the Hobbit: it was originally a bunch of self-contained bedtime stories.
@@LoonyLuna798 The first part is true, and maybe the OP was thinking of one of the stories you mentioned, or perhaps the Father Christmas Letters which Tolkien wrote as Christmas entertainment for his children. However, The Hobbit was not created from these. It is according to one of his own letters that he began writing it on a blank page while grading exams at the beginning of the 1930s. Supposedly, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings share a few story elements, for example the 1933 had Goblins in it apparently (notably, his first manuscript for The Hobbit was finished by 1932), and Gandalf may have been inspired by his "Father Christmas" character. This means that the most you can say is that The Hobbit had a few similarities with some of these stories (mind you several of which were written afterwards), but is otherwise completely unrelated.
@@Lord_Stug That's just the nature of the storytelling process, though. I sincerely doubt that many books "based" on bedtime stories bear an exact resemblance, or even a close resemblance, to their oral counterparts, because human memory doesn't work that way. In fact, to quote from Christopher Tolkien's foreword to the 1987 edition: “He also remembered that I (then between four and five years old) was greatly concerned with petty consistency as the story unfolded, and that on one occasion I interrupted: ‘Last time, you said Bilbo’s front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a gold tassel on his hood, but you’ve just said that Bilbo’s front door was green, and the tassel on Thorin’s hood was silver’; at which point my father muttered ‘Damn the boy,’ and then ‘strode across the room’ to his desk to make a note.” Obviously JRR Tolkien already had the idea for the Hobbit by this time (like you said, he came up with it while marking exams) but at some point pre-publication (I'm going to say around 1928/29 based on his son's age) he was telling it to his kids. We can't know now if he was reading/retelling his kids a written draft or making it up orally and then writing it down, or even whether a bit of both was going on. But if his kid were hearing stories contained a "Bilbo" and "Thorin", it's hard to say they weren't an early version of the Hobbit. We'd certainly call them early drafts if they were committed to paper, which they very well may have been before or soon after the telling. Incidentally, his kids also read LOTR as it was being written; Tolkien mailed entire chapters to his son after Christopher Tolkien was stationed in South Africa during WII.
I am a huge Tolkien fan and was recommended this video without ever having heard of you before. I watched the whole thing, and had a blast. I absolutely loved watching your journey, definitely if you are jiving with Tolkien's worldbuilding, the Silmarillion will blow you away, it really is a masterpiece, especially with the audiobook. Welcome to the best fandom on earth (middle or otherwise)!
There's that part in Return of the King, when Pippin is scared and looks Gandalf in the eye. He realizes that underneath it all, there's a hidden well of mirth, enough make the whole world laugh. When Gandalf(and the other wizards) came to Middle Earth, they had to be Grandpa. If they weren't, they'd be warlords and worshiped like gods. Like Sauron.
The first time I read "The Lord of the Rings", nothing I tried to read after seemed worth finishing. I really got scared that I'd destroyed my ability to enjoy a book for life, because nothing seemed comparable to it in depth. Thankfully it did wear off eventually.
And honestly, when the movies came out, I could only compare fantasy movies to them. "Eh, not as good as Lord of the Rings" "Yeah, it's good, but it's no Lord of the Rings". Lol.
I enjoyed Inheritance as a kid... but I mean, it was written by a 15-year-old and it shows (although, much better than me at the same age lol). Similar themes yes, but it's good to go in expecting a much lighter read than what a college professor writes.
When the LOTR was published, the American publisher kept correcting Professor Tolkien's spelling of dwarves to dwarfs. Tolkien wrote back telling them that HIS spelling was correct. The American Publish wrote back to Tolkien telling him that THEY are SURE their spelling was correct as it was taken from the Oxford Dictionary. Tolkien returned by saying, "Yes, I know Im a Professor of English Literacy from Oxford, I do remember writing a lot of that book . They never corrected him again LOL!
Slightly the other way around though. They were trying to correct "dwarfs" to "dwarves" . According to Tolkien, the "real 'historical' plural" of "dwarf" is "dwarrows" or "dwerrows". He described the word "dwarves" as "a piece of private bad grammar". Also the gramatically correct plural form of the word "dwarf" is "dwarves". He can create languages for his well written world, yes. But that doesn't give the right to manipulate official languages.
From whence came Tolkien's original idea for using "dwarves" as a plural for "dwarf"? The plural "dwarves" instead of dwarfs (which is preferred by a number of critics and is correct philologically) is instead used by Tolkien because it went better with "elves". He wished later, according to his Letters, that he had used the historical plural for dwarves of "dwarrows". "Dwarves" went into general usage as many people, both readers and fellow writers, agreed with Tolkien's ear and logic. "The real historical plural of 'dwarf' (like teeth of tooth) is dwarrows anyway: rather a nice word, but a bit too archaic. Still I rather wish I had used the word dwarrow." Reference: The Letters of JRR Tolkien Letter # 17 To Stanley Unwin, Chairman of Allen and Unwin, p. 23, 24.
Fun Fact: The German translation uses the term "Elb" (sg) and "Elben" (pl) instead of the the normal "Elf"/"Elfen", because it is nearer to ancient terms like "Alben". As far as I know, Tolkien, who was in contact with the German translator, was very fond of this.
Since we are posting "fun facts" during the filming of Christopher Lee's death, Peter Jackson wanted Lee to scream when stabbed in the back. To which Sir Christopher Lee responded and I'm paraphrasing "Have you ever heard the sound a man makes when stabbed in the back? Because I have." Christopher Lee served in the SAS during WWII. I believe in the African Campaign.
It wasn't even SAS at that point, it was Long Range Desert Group. Lee was also in Yugoslavia later during WW2 as a liaison officer with Tito Broz. complete badass
Christopher Lee seems to be one of those rare individuals who managed to cram 10 lifetimes worth of living and achievements into a single life span. Guy was a true legend, and a gentleman to boot. A true shame he has moved on from this world. Hiro hyn hîdh ab 'wanath, Sir Christopher.
@Raylan Givens Damn right. I like how you said he was in "several other films" lol. Guy had over 200 film credits, spanning 7 decades... just a beast. He was also fluent in 5 languages, and conversational in 3 or 4 others. A true Renaissance Man.
I'd recommend the Behind the Scenes for these movies if you're at all interested in how they were made. They're feature-length and are basically their own trilogy of films.
Those keep popping up in my recommended and I definitely plan to watch! I can't believe how much behind the scenes footage there is; that's such a treat.
@@iLiviesimone Really enjoyed your video. The extras on LotR are great and they give a fantastic amount of insight into pretty much every aspect of the film and how it was made. They have lots of stuff on the things you said you enjoyed - costume and creature design, miniatures and practical effects. The different audio commentaries on each of the films are really quite enjoyable too. Admittedly that means watching a lot of stuff because there's a full actors and a filmmakers commentary on each film!
@@iLiviesimone I would recommend listening to the commentary tracks by Peter Jackson and Philippa, who adapted the screenplay. You seem to be tuned into that narrative nuts and bolts stuff, and they have a great grasp of the Middle Earth mythology, and are good at explaining why they included, shuffled, and condensed what they did. My fave part of the books was the Shelob bit in Two Towers, and hearing them explain why it should correctly be in the third movie was insightful.
You side-eyeing your sister to see her reaction when they reveal that Gandalf is still alive- I do that with all my friends 😂 Edit- made me so happy that the younger generation gets and appreciates the films too. They truly are timeless.
I airways feel like there is a generational divide between those of us who are older and read the books long before the movies were made and suffered through all the early attempts to get the Hobbit on film and the younger generation who have not read the books. That might be why I appreciate you reading the books first and then watching the movies, not as an attempt to follow the books line for line, but separate entertainment unto themselves.
Yeah, I suggest reading Children of Hurin BEFORE reading The Silmarillion, since the much abridged "quick points" version of Hurin is already in The Silmarillion, and reading it first would spoil CoH as a solo novel, because Silmarillion tells the ending.
Two things that are great to dive into with LOTR: 1. The interviews with Tolkien on TH-cam. It's cool to watch him speak about the book while he puffs on a pipe like Gandalf. 2, A guy named Phil Dragesh did an audiobook of the entire LOTR trilogy. He did all the Foley noises and he did all the accents from the movie himself. It, in itself, is an amazing work of art.
Amazing to see that other people know about Phil Dragesh's audiobooks and appreciate them. I love them as well. It feels so real diving into these books with Howard Shore's score added to it.
I'd say the fandom mostly agrees Sam is the greatest. My personal hot take: Gollum is the best character; he's both tragic and comedic, with a lot of depth. Also glad you love the Rohirrim theme, how could anyone not? That charge at Pelennor Fields is probably the most hyped and popular part of the movies (maybe the books too.) Amazing video, was a lot of fun to watch your journey into a fandom that I've been part of pretty much my whole life. I don't remember anything from the first time I watched the movie or read the books, so this was cool.
Tolkien was an officer in France in WWI (not II, I, that was my mistake.). Like every british officer at the time, he had what was called a Batman. Who was a soldier assigned as personal aide/bodyguard whose job was to help keep his assigned officer tidy and presentable, take care of his affairs and correspondences, and to watch his back in battle. Over the course of the war, Tolkien and his batmen inevitably became close friends, they helped him keep up his spirits, and saved his life directly on a few occasions, to the point that Tolkien was adamant that he never would have made it through the war without their help. Samwise Gamgee was a composite character of these batmen he knew, and he was always absolutely adamant that SAM, not Frodo, was the main character and the real hero, without whose help Frodo never would have succeeded. That in the end, no ancient magics or great heroes or wizards defeated Sauron, it was two ordinary people, close friends, who would rather be home enjoying tea, pushing through and doing what had to be done, was part of the point of the story.
One thing I love about Tolkien's storytelling is that he doesn't give himself full control of the story, which he could. He's the author, he can change or add anything he wants, but he doesn't always and the Entwives are a great example of that. He could very easily have come up with an explanation for what happened to the Entwives, but instead, the way he tells these stories is as if they are actual events that happened and he is simply a researcher relaying what he has found out to the reader. He tells about how there are rumors about what happened to the Entwives and when asked about it, he said he had some theories and ideas about what might've happened. He never gave himself full control over what happened in the world of Middle-earth.
Your experience is exactly what Tolkien hoped for. He thought of the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as two parts to an actual historical account given by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam in something known as "The Red Book of Westmarch". Tolkien was merely translating the history as written by those characters.
That's what makes it also feel so real. I love old history and that happens a lot in our real world too, you don't always get the full story, and that's what hooks you to it and you start wanting more and studying more.
In the books, Denethor was supposed to be far stronger-willed than he's presented in-film; He simply had been confronting Sauron through the Palantir for a long time, and had been tricked into despair by him. That said, he was still a bastard to Faramir.
Facts. In the books, Denethor is so strong-willed that he’s not corrupted by the Palantir. Only those with incredible willpower can use the palantir and not be overcome.
He wasn't necessarily tricked into despair. He just saw how seemingly impossible it would be to defeat Sauron and saw no hope. This is an arc they should have included in the films though.
@@blaxpoitation8528 It isn't the Palantiri themselves that corrupt. The Palantir is essentially "powered" by the user's will. When Sauron got his hands on one, his will overruled pretty much any other being that uses it and he can bend them to his will. This is impressive because he wasn't able to bend Denethor to his will but was able to bend Saruman. So Denethor is super OP.
@@ArrghhMatey Right, I explained it wrong. Thanks for clearing that up. And yeah, Denethor was seriously impressive. Had his jealousy for Aragorn and disdain for Faramir not been so prevalent, he would’ve been a formidable ally and possible hero of the T. A/ WotR.
I’ve watched probably every LOTR reaction video in existence and I can confidently say your reaction is the absolute best one and it’s not even close! I love the fact that you didn’t just watch the movies, but that you took the time to dive into this world! Nothing but huge respect to you! (Btw I absolutely LOVE that you included a cooking recipe in this video, what an awesome idea!) Looking forward to maybe one day see a review of the Silmarillion. Keep going! And thank you so much for this video! :)
Thank *you* for your kind comment! Truly, it means a lot and I'm so happy you enjoyed this. And yes, whenever I get to The Silmarillion, I will be sure to continue the saga and share my thoughts XD
There is a Lord of the Rings theme park. It's called "New Zealand" The entire trilogy was filmed there and many of the sets like Bag End are still lovingly preserved. They are some of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. People from all over the world come to see them
One great thing about the hobbit movies is that they were able to rebuild the hobbiton set as the original one had either been torn down by that point or just in bad shape due to wether iirc, and its THAT set that is still being preserved to this day cuz peter jackson made sure that it would be kept up
Almost every set in LOTR was dismantled and completely removed after filming to comply with new Zealand environmental laws. Then sets like bag-end were recreated for the hobbit movies. Those are the ones that are still around.
They may have changed things since I have been there. When I was in New Zealand the only preserved set was Hobbition. So many of the film locations were in frequently used parks, nature preserves and Othere public places that it would be impossible. Isengaurd has a jungle gym photo shoped out of it. Helms Deep and Minas Terith were filmed in the same rock quary.
Been to Hobbiton and Weta Workshop. The sets are gone but set locations can be visited as some maps show where certain scenes were shot. Trip of a lifetime! I will always treasure having my picture taken at Bag End!
Tolkein wrote and intended for "The Lord of the Rings" to be one book/volume, subdivided internally into his six parts. But he considered it one novel. The publisher insisted on breaking it into a "trilogy" due to length. Interestingly, Peter Jackson also completed filming for his "trilogy" in one fell swoop. All principle photography done as if it were one film, then divided into "parts" in editing. Could not have been a more appropriate way to bring the pages to screen.
That's wild to me to think that those movies were filmed in one go- because not only must they had to have had such faith in the project, but that is so much work!!!
@@iLiviesimone If you watch the making of, they have many interviews with Peter Jackson where he talks about how they got very lucky with the last studio. They literally were told by the original studio to shop around and good luck finding another who would allow it to be done as a trilogy (I think the original studio wanted to do one movie, maybe two at most). They shopped it around as a two movie idea and when they got to the studio that eventually bought the rights, the head of the studio said something like "There's no way we're doing this as two movies...it HAS TO be three." They realized they finally found someone who shared their vision for the series. Unfortunately, they didn't have the same luck when they went back for The Hobbit. The people there insisted on 3 movies and shoe-horned in the love triangle with Fili, Legolas, and Tauriel, who as you know wasn't even in the book. Jackson wanted to do two movies at most to give it proper time, and you'd think they would trust him after the original trilogy basically saved that movie studio from bankruptcy by making a billion dollars, but no.
@@iLiviesimone - i skimmed all the long descriptions. i wouldn't want to do an audio book that would take forever. skimming is good because you get a feel for the ambience without it taking forever to read. i read them a long long time ago but i'd read a book in a day, because i wasn't really reading most of it. I read it for the first time in third grade and i think for the last time maybe early in highschool. but i'm 48 now so that was a while ago :) But i read them like 7 times so i still remember most of it.
@@mr.osclasses5054 The saddest thing about The Hobbit movies is that people now blame Peter Jackson for their not that good quality. When it was actually him who tried to save the whole project.
The Silmarillion is definitely more difficult to read, but I've been listening to the audiobook on repeat over and over for a while now because it's just so beautifully written and thrilling and emotional. I needed to check maps and genealogical charts and TH-cam videos to really understand it but it makes the depth in LotR so much more meaningful, right down to small details like Gimli asking Galadriel for 1 hair but getting 3, and the star that Frodo and Sam see is Earendils ship, literally Elronds father wearing a Silmaril on his brow. This legendarium has depths of wonder that only increase as you learn more!
As a long time Tolkien fan and reader (almost 40 years), I appreciate your time and opinion. Times have changed, and I realize the pacing of the books is not very modern and fast, but there are entire college courses taught on Tolkien's works and there is always more to discover.
Thanks Erik! And agreed- they definitely don't read like the modern fantasy works I've read. And I find it so neat now when someone says they have taken an entire class on Tolkein/LotR
I read the books more than 20 years ago, and I found the very same problem (and a change of opinion during the journey) with the pacing back then. You kinda got used to it, and eventually you loved it!
Oh yes, I suggest listening to the Tolkien Professor's podcast of The Hobbit, and the Sil once you get to it. He also did a whole college course for his podcast on LORT as well. Lots of good stuff, but might have some spoilers for the Sil.
@@spangelicious837 yes, I agree! And come join us with the Tolkien professor on discord tomorrow night and every Tuesday after to talk about the Lord of the Rings in exquisite detail!! Just google Mythgard academy Exploring the Lord of the Rings for the discord! It’s also streamed on twitch and TH-cam by Signum University!
@@iLiviesimone The pacing is slow compared to modern Fantasy but this built the foundation that is taken as a given for all that came after. Modern writers don't have to spend as much time on world building because a lot of fantasy is common knowledge because of Tolkien's work. And of course the style just changed to a quicker pace over the decades. Great world builders are still revered very much though.
This video ended up being much more than I expected. I've been a huge fan of Tolkien since I first discovered him when the Fellowship came to theaters in 2001. I've been in that world for so long I tend to take it for granted and seeing someone with fresh, vibrant eyes discovering it for their first time was great to behold. Hopefully you'll stick around and dive deep into the roots of Middle-Earth. It's something that stays with you.
Everything after the battle of Pellenor fields (including the scouring of the shire and the grey havens etc) takes place in fewer pages than getting to Rivendell in book 1. J.R.R. Tolkien was a genius and a visionary but The Lord of the Rings isn't particularly well paced
@@DavidvdGulik I understand perfectly well why people feel that way, but personally I like how it makes the long journey actually feel long. You're probably right from an objective standpoint, but it caters perfectly to my tastes, so... ;)
@@DavidvdGulik "The Lord of the Rings" is one novel divided into six books. It's not a trilogy. It's also something that gradually gains speed like a train engine (starting slow and lighthearted and becoming much more sophisticated and fast faced by the end).
@@DavidvdGulik Tolkien himself said that he wanted the whole novel to be even longer, but it became increasingly harder to get paper due to the paper shortages of the 1940s (caused by WWII). Since he started writing in 1938 and ended it in 1950, I expect that's one of the reasons the later sections feel slightly more compressed.
It's been discussed a LOT among the years, but I still must say it myself that Tolkien is a great writer of positively masculine men. They are courageous, have grit and great leadership qualities, but at the same time they are tender, considerate, compassionate towards the weak and even physically affectionate towards their friends without coming across as weak or demasculated because of it.
Love reading this- thank you for commenting! I think he has a way with writing characters we care about, and that may be one of the things that contribute to that :)
@@iLiviesimone I really like how Eowin is a bad cook in the movie. Reminds me of roleplaying, where you can make one skill extra bad to make another better. She obviously took extra in Sword skill. She also seems to be a little weak in social cues. No matter how strong a man, it is still such a compliment to have a lady, and a rich one, flirting and bringing you soup, even bad soup. Notice how Aragorn stays true to his Elven GF, with no way of knowing if they can ever meet again. In fact, there is every reason to think she has taken ship to the West, since Elrond tells Aragorn this.
There seem to be a lot of reactions to the movies, but a book and movies reaction to LotR and the Hobbit all in one is such a Tolkien nerd thing to do. When I had to do a book report in school (internet wasn't a thing then) I chose the Lord of the Rings. I think I got a glimpse then of all the work you had to put into all of this. Much respect from another Tolkien fan. I understand that you didn't like some things in the movies. I saw the movies all on premiere day and when Sam in Osgiliath says, after he saved Frodo from the Nazgul, "by right we shouldn't even be here" you heard a muffled laugh from half of the audience. these were the Tolkien nerds and it was nice to see them acknowledging the changes but also shed a tear on Theodens speech before the battle of Minas Tirith.
In the movie version of the Two Towers, when Elrond & his army show up at Helms Deep I almost stood up and addressed the crowd. I wanted to tell them to avert their eyes, this was a false history.
Faramir’s change in the film was frustrating for many. He was my favorite in the books (him and Sam), so I felt they severely short changed him. David did a great job portraying him, though.
They explain their reasoning well in the dvds tho. In the book Faramir says about the ring 'I would not pick this thing up if it lay by the wayside' and they said that one line on film would strip the ring of all power, when theyve been trying so hard to establish how powerful and evil this object is. It works on paper, but not on film. For the pacing of the movie Faramir had to become an obstacle.
I've never seen a reactor actually sit down and read the books for LotR just in preparation to watch the movies! Geez, that's some dedication. Thanks for filming your reactions to both the books and the movies, it was great to relive the experience again vicariously through you. :D
31:44 it's fine we all look the same. It's amazing how timeless Tolkien's books are, and I think it's very much to do with the authenticity with which he wrote. It's no secret he was crafting an alternate mythology for England, a people who's history was supplanted first by the Romans, then by Nordic invaders, then by the conquest by the Normans. All civilizations have their Odyssey, and this collection is England's because it speaks to universal values, those being the inevitable defeat of evil and the steadfastness of good. Although, people often mistake the lesson as good always defeating evil. This doesn't happen in LotR. Frodo fails, his virtue falters, and it is only through the desperate treachery of Gollum that the ring is destroyed. The true theme is that, while good may fail, evil will inevitably destroy itself.
When the extended versions of these movies came out on DVD, my friends would have LOTR slumber parties. There would be like 10 of us in our pajamas on sleeping bags on the living room floor, with bowls of popcorn and ice-cream, and we'd try to stay up all night watching LOTR. We were adults in our early 30s.
Yes! It is a compilation of version of stories that Tolkien wrote all along his life (from his late teens, many many years before writing the Hobbit and lotr). It allowed him to create langages, and have them evolve (place and people names, and a lot of the rest) with events in the world. It shows so much depth! And the Silmarillion content is, to me, what gave this weight and deepness to lotr especially. And it explains the whole melancholic feeling lotr has, with the end of so many things dating from the first age and before happening along the way, exemplified by the departure of a lot of the elves at the end, and with the arrival of modernity and the human's disconnection from nature just around the corner... Lotr happens at the end of the 3rd age. The Silmarillion shows mostly the creation and shaping of middle earth and especially the first age (which was really epic, and long) and also a bit the 2nd, and, quickly, the 3rd. Those who liked lotr should give the Silmarillion a read! (and please don't be off putted by the beginning, which has a different tone, and by the many, many, many names and genealogy cites: just continue and push through: the relevant names will be repeated often enough, and you'll be in awe when you'll discover the stories of Beren and Luthien, of Turin Turambar, of the Silmarills, of the valars, of so many incredible things ... It will also, as a bonus, make the lotr's background shine 10 fold brighter and just is a wonderful companion to it, and to oneself. And lotr goes from an incredible story with lots of details and a vivid background, to an incredible conclusion and events that are also a "small" ripple effect of an incredible past. I envy those who will read it for the first time :)
I'm excited to see her read and review Lord of The Rings again, AFTER having read Silmarillion. That's when the payoff and beauty off the entire thing really begins to unfold!
The Silmarillion is definitely a unique book. It's the only book I've ever read that contained so much information in such a condensed space that I actually had to take small breaks while reading it. There's really nothing to compare it to.
This reaction was a surprise delight, I can understand why there are no down-votes at the time of this writing. Some of my favorite "qualities", to use a callback-word: A) Reading and discussing the books before the films. B) Stickies and annotations throughout the book pages. I read at an absorbing pace too, for that very reason. C) Stalking-cat. D) Kalimba playing. E) Very different yet still amazing hair every camera-cut. F) Hobbit cooking break.
I cried when you were rooting for Gandalf saying "That's right Gandalf, give them hope". In general I just loved that you chose to do this review and in the order you did it. So much respect from me.
God damn it. Even in reactions like this, 'what about side by side with a friend', Merry and Pippin being the first to run after Aragorn, and 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you' alway tears me up.
@@thefriesofLockeLamora Even thinking about it gets me every time. I remember seeing it in theaters I legit had a cold at the time and I played on that hard when I left with my friend lol
I agree that they did Faramir dirty.. in the book he's the only "mere" human to face the temptation of the ring and overcome it outright.. and this was stolen from him in the movie. I understand the reasoning for it, but yeah.. it was possibly unnecessary. on the other hand, I would like to point you towards a different scene that still displays the great respect. research and love that went into making this movie. That scene being: Gimli telling Legolas what he received from Galadriel, and Legolas acknowledging this with a subtle smile. That right there encapsulates and recognizes several chapters of the Silmarillion and much of the backstory to the third era, which is the time period that ends with the story of the lord of the rings. if you want to read the Silmarillion, you should not read any further...because I'm about to explain stuff. :P Galadriel was born in Valinor, the land of the west, where Elves go "back to" when they tire of Middle Earth. It's the seat of the Valar, the "gods/demi-gods" of Middle Earth. Before the Sun and the Moon, the main source of light were two trees, Telperion and Laurelin, created by Yavanna, one of the Valar. It is said that Galadriel's hair reflected and trapped some of the light of the two trees. When Feanor, her uncle and one of the greatest of his kind (prince/king of one of the branches of Elves) noticed this, he desired for a lock of her hair. He asked her three times. She refused, because of the way he asked, and because she could tell the darkness that was starting to blossom in his hearth. So he went and created the Silmarils instead.. 3 gems that also captured the light of the trees, before they were destroyed. Those gems, and the desire and greed they evoked in pretty much anyone that saw them, are at the center of centuries of war that lasted many thousands of years. One such war was the origin of the traditional enmity between dwarves and elves.... fast forward in time, Galadriel, now probably the most powerful elf in Middle earth (except maybe Cirdan and Glorfindel) is asked, in complete innocence, a single strand of hair, by Gimli, who is probably oblivious to the significance of the request. She gives him 3, one for each lock she denied Feanor. Legolas, himself an elven prince, is perfectly aware of what the gesture entails. He looks at gimli and smiles... and after that moment, a friendship blossoms between the two, that eventually leads to Elves and Dwarves burrying the hatched and starting to work together again to create works of engineering and art to last for centuries. With one gesture, Galadriel ends a war.. With one smile of Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson gives a nod to all Tolkien fans.. so I'm letting him off the hook for the Faramir blunder.
They do devote more time to Faramir in the books. But he does resist the temptation in the movie as well. Maybe not in the excact same way, but it's his decision to allow Frodo and Sam to move on with the ring, although he was tempted to take it and give to his father.
I can see that, but I have yet to forgive him for having Frodo send Sam away, and for Sam actually going for even a few minutes. I’ve always said that Frodo would never choose Smeagol over Sam, and if by chance he sent Sam away, Sam would only follow behind at a distance.
Well they actually mention this in the appendices of thf movies. Faramir is someone who "wouldn't pick up the ring even if it was right before him" in the books, but it felt wrong to do it in such a way. The Ring had been built up as this great tempting force, and here's a character who cares nothing for it (aside from Tom Bombadil really, but he's different). Anyway it was undermining the power of the Ring, and I personally like it more in this iteration, that he struggled to letnit go, but in the end did let it go.
Tolkien was a scholar of ancient myths and legends, and in these books he set out to take everything he could find and roll it all into one super-myth. He succeeded. Just about every entry into the sword-and -sorcery genre takes something from Tolkien. Later, you might track down his essay “Beowulf:the Monsters and the Critics,” and then read the original “Beowulf.” I recommend the Seamus Heaney translation. Then: read Michael Crichton’s “Eaters of the Dead.” It’s delightful. It pretends to be a scholarly commentary, complete with footnotes, on a recently discovered manuscript by an Arab named Ibn Fadlan (who actually existed) who accidentally meets the “historical Beowulf.” The joke being that the scholar doesn’t know who Beowulf was. Btw, I’m 70, and I used to teach Beowulf, and Tolkien’s essay, in my “Intro to Lit” courses while I was teaching college. If you choose to go that route, you could spend your entire life studying all these myths and religions. That’s how deep this stuff goes. Of course, you might also go slightly bonkers, but happily so. Have a great life!
He writes a myth inspired story, but its not really like the myths and the only times he really pushes his narrative into the magically wierdness of the myths that he is sourcing is here and there in the Hobbit and the whole "Tom Bombadil, the Old Willows and the Barrow wights" part.
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." I've known this sentence by heart for 22 years now. :) Seriously, get the Silmarillion on audio book, it's pretty dense in vocabulary.
The Hobbits weren't really Peter Jackson's fault. It didn't work out with the original director, and Peter was sent in literally the last minute. The fact that he put together a coherent movie at all was a miracle. And both directors wanted 2 movies at most, but the studios insisted. And I just want to add my favorite things about The Hobbit and the trilogy. Besides the beautiful language, I love that the story is a balance between trauma and ptsd and friendship. It's heavy and warm at the same time.
I'm sorry, but that's not true. Yes he had to come in after Del Toro left. But he DIDN'T have to make a trilogy, and he and his wife and their writing partner DIDN'T have to literally make up 50% or more of the material, none of it in the book, some of it downright cringe, just to pad out a "trilogy" that should have (and easily could have) been one film. That IS Jackson's fault.
If y'all want a deep dive on The Hobbit, and what went wrong, there's a great video series breaking it all down from Lindsay Ellis th-cam.com/video/uTRUQ-RKfUs/w-d-xo.html Long story short, it certainly wasn't as simple as "Jackson could have just said no to the studios."
@@Relics_of_Arda Same. Really disliked them my first watch through, found it nearly unbearable. Recently rewatched, extended edition for the last two, and wow what a difference. They're actually really good. Idk why, but I ended up enjoying them immensely
Have to thank TH-cam algorithm for recommending this one to me. Being a hardcore Tolkien nerd it's always fun to see people getting into the his works for the first time and appreciating it. You're so eloquent and thorough, and it was heart-warming to see your smile reacting to some of the more emotional scenes in the movies. Also it's great that your sister seemed to have a good time too, I think it's so much more fun to watch movies when you have someone to talk and joke with!
Thorin's dying words will stick with me to my own dying days. "If more people valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." Also, Beregond the door guard's son tugs my heartstrings. because of one specific moment. When the hosts of Gondor are marching out to fight at the Black Gate, another boy asks him if they're going to win. Without a beat he responds they're gonna be fine because 'Gandalf, Lord Aragorn and his companions, and my father are going with them.' Let this sink in, Beregond's son sees his father, a door guard, as nothing less than as great a legendary hero and badass as ARAGORN. It hits me right in the feels.
He wasnt a mere "Door guard" , he a "Citadel Guard" , the highest soldier rank in Gondor i think , he was an elite warrior by Gondorian standarts.................still very sweet and amazing that he is seen by his son with such pride and the same awe as the Heroic King and his band of mighty warriors I definetly love this little moments that are maybe worthless for the plot but instill in you the feel of a bigger picture and that there is people outside your perspective (main characters) , that the world is alive and the weight of what is happening
The practical effects in LotR bring me joy, I'm glad when other people feel the same. The orcs and all their pals look fantastic and believable, the craftwork behind it all was amazing. I've got a ton of nostalgia about the films and also the idyllic portrayal of the shire, obviously it's meant to be a lovely place but it also hits that specific feeling of "home" for me because I'm from a fairly rural spot in the UK. I rewatch Gandalfs introduction fairly often just because it's so relaxing and Concerning Hobbits is just distilled comfort music.
This has been covered by other comments, but it's worth pointing out again: Tolkien worked in the opposite way to all other world-building fantasy authors. Whereas it's normal to come up with a story and then create a world behind it to support it, Tokien started writing languages as a kid, then created peoples and races to speak the languages, then histories and legends for those people, and then finally begrudgingly wrote a narrative set in his world. There's no illusion of depth in his stories, just genuine depth. Almost any question you can ask about anything in his world, there's a real answer. Great reaction!
Hey Thomas! Since finishing the books, the discussion of the languages has been one of my favorites to have. After learning that with these books language came first, it made me think of something talked about in one of the linguistics classes I took- this fundamental idea that language and culture/identity are intertwined. And it’s neat to think that Tolkien’s way of creating these stories almost proves that- he created the language, and the culture/world couldn’t help but come to life from it Thank you for commenting!
The Silmarillion is my favourite book but its a very special one. It has almost no dialog so its more like a tale that is made to say outloud, on the fire, for a small audience. And until you grasp all the names there (which are very similar: Like Finwe, Fingon, Finarfin, Fingolfin, etc..) you take some time to get who is who and feel lost at times, but once you get everything, then WOW... Also if you know the Silmarillion all the names in for example min 16:45 make a hell more sense then xD
"Almost any question you can ask about anything in his world, there's a real answer." If that's the case... what _was_ Aragorn's tax policy? :P Just kidding, but yeah, that's a great observation!
I love how you can see her grow more love for Tolkien’s writing with each book. He’s much more old school, but you can see how he meticulously built a whole new style of fantasy Also, I can’t hear the Rohan theme without tearing up, my god
Aragorn, son of Arathorn? Last of the line of the Kings of Gondor, descendant of the Kings of Numenor, wielder of Narsil, the sword that was broken? Okay.
Boromir is a brave and loyal friend who defended the hobbits till his death. His only weakness was his attraction to the Ring, the weakness of the house of Númenor.
The entire series just brings back memories of being a kid in elementary school 40+ years ago. I found The Hobbit by accident in our tiny library and checked it out. The librarian told me that I might be too young to understand it, but that book took my love of reading to a place I never thought possible at 8 or 9 years old. The library didn't have the rest of the series but the school librarian personally borrowed them from the high school library just so I could read them. I even got in trouble for constantly reading them in class and had my mom summoned to a teacher's meeting. She told my mom that she felt awkward because it was the first time in the many years she had been teaching that she had to discipline a student for reading because normally it was the opposite. I have read that series many times since and it never gets old. I cared less about the movies really. This was a great video and I appreciated your thoughts and watched the entire thing. thank you!
After seeing the extended versions in the theater in 2019, I became obsessed and started reading the books in quarantine. I have about 4 chapters left of ROTK I've been dragging it out because I don't want it to end, so it's fun to re-read the series vicariously through you! Thanks (:
Tolkien's whole approach to life is so alien to the modern world. As a professor of Philology at Oxford, before writing any of these books, he was the editor of the letter W for the original Oxford English Dictionary. He even wrote an essay about how "walrus" was the most interesting word in the English language.
Fun Fact: In universe Tolkien translated the names from Westron to English. For example, Frodo is actually Maura, Bilbo is Bilba and Samwise is Banazîr.
Also fyi, the Rohan theme is played on a Norwegian Harding fiddle with harmony strings underneath the normal fiddle strings, which is why it has the unique harmonic.
To answer your sister's good question at the beginning of the story: Sauron put a big part of his magical power into the One Ring. When he lost it he was weakened so much that he could not do anything on Middle Earth for a very long time. He did not die when he lost his ring as he is immortal, being a maia, a great spirit (like Gandalf and Saruman really are that, too). He can or cannot manifest in the material "real world" of Middle Earth depending on the state of his "magical health and strength". So he could not appear on Middle Earth after losing his One Ring for a very long time. But that long period ended by the era of the events in LOTR and by then his spirit recovered and stengthened again and he could appear and do things on Middle Earth again even without his ring. But still the One Ring was very important to him because with it he could have gained much more magical power. That is why he tried to recapture it every way possible (as this is one of the main lines of the LOTR story). The reason why he put a big part of his power into the Ring is hat through that he could manipulate others who also bore magical rings he had made (human lords and dwarf lords). He tried to manipulate elven lords, too, but they recognized it and ceased to wear their rings when Sauron wore the One Ring. So after he lose it they could use their own magical rings again.
@@draugur345 Well, it seems to be somewhat ambiguous to me. Sauron killed Elendil and Gil-Galad, but Sauron also came down. So was he dead? Dying might not exactly mean the same for maiar as for the mortals. Perhaps he was lethally wounded and near to dying (in a way) but he could have returned form "the gate of death" and regained his power until he wore the One Ring. But Isildur cut his finger off and also the Ring with it. So Sauron could not stay in this world after all. At least for a long era from then on. (Although this did not mean death in the exact meaning of the word.) The scene in the movie was somewhat modified compared to the Silmarillion. This is just one editing of many where there is some difference between the books and the films.
@@akostarkanyi825 Okay then, defeated, since that avoids the whole issue of what "dead" means to a maia. What I was getting at, in relation to the question of "was that the only thing keeping him alive," was, as you stated, the situation in the books was quite different from the scene portrayed in the movie.
I may be mistaken, but I believe the power of the Elven Rings was tied to the One Ring. Since the One Ring was destroyed, their power was taken away, thus the Elves resistance to fading was lost.
"Frodo and Baggins go on a journey." Close enough. (i think that was a riddle used in the series at some point) "Cave-men singing of the misty mountain." . . . i mean, not wrong.
The films are good, I'll give you that. However, I really would've liked to see Tom Bombadil and Goldberry make an appearance so that the dagger that Pippin uses to unknot the baddie can be fully explained. Also I would've liked to see how the returning hobbits dealt with the proto-communistic Shire.
From what I understand they felt they couldn’t add that in the movie because he was such an anomaly. It would have been epic though like a little mini acid trip or a fever dream haha.
@@treebeard8475 it probably would have messed up the pacing, and the movies were already very long. Movies are meant to be watched in one sitting, while books can go on through many sessions. Pacing and arc for movies must be designed around this.
@@bluesdealer absolutely 100% agree. I took one film class in college wish I could have taken 6 more. Did you study cinema or just out of your observations?
[edit 6/5/21: For those curious, I do plan on continuing with The Silmarillion 😃 It will just be much further down the line though. You know- so many other books to read, so little time]
**More thoughts in the description!**
Ooof, I just got so nervous once I hit publish! To anyone reading this, thank you for watching! I am definitely not a pro at being a reactor/commentator and wondered if I should scrap the film reactions altogether. But it has been fun to look back on, especially my sisters comments lol. Anyway- I will leave you with a link to the funniest LotR video I have come across: th-cam.com/video/RaV6rOXnTU0/w-d-xo.html
If you want to know more about Galadriel, the wizards, balrogs, sauron, shelob's origins, as well as movie Easter eggs like legolas mentioning morgoth, or why gimli got 3 pieces of galadriel's hair, why is Numenor a sad subject for aragorn's bloodline, etc.
Theres a highly informative but very tough read prequel to the hobbit called the Silmarillion (in the LotR they talk about the third age finally coming into the fourth age, this book is about before that with the first and second age).
Definitely worth the audio book.
I have heard of the Silmarillion (and it being a tougher work to get through), but I didn't know how extensive it was with stuff from the first two ages! Thanks for the info :)
@@iLiviesimone absolutely! It's essentially the "bible" for Tolkien's works. He explains the main pantheon of the gods, the undying lands (the western continent that the elves gandalf bilbo and frodos sail to.) The Angels and the fallen Angels. Creation of the different races like dwarves, ents, elves, orcs. Then theres stories of the ancient elven and human races. It's a tough read but so so worth the lore/knowledge.
Also here's a fun fact just in case you didn't know; Galadriels daughter married Elrond, making Arwen the Granddaughter and Aragorn the grandson-in-law of Galadriel. Kind of fun to think about when rewatching the films and knowing more history of the characters.
Loved the reactions to all of it. It could have been longer, in my opinion. A video for each element.
The extended version DVD appendixes have tons of material too.
There were so many funny memes, "they're taking the hobbits to isengard" is a popular one, but my personal favourites are the orcs with normal voices bits on youtube. There's just something about a regular voice going "saruman!" or "manflesh!" :D
1:01:40 "what is the fandom like?"
I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
Accurate. Hahaha.
👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼😂😂😂😂☠️
Good one!
Wish I could like this comment 111 times
Dan The Man -
*one hundred and _eleventy_ times
. . . perhaps 111ty?
The fact that you included EVERYTHING in one video, instead of dividing it into ten videos... respect.
And respect for your comment 😄 thank you! As a viewer I usually prefer single long videos over several-part videos, so that’s why I went with this hahahaha
@@iLiviesimone Absolutely! The algorithm might not like it as much but the rest of us do. Much appreciated, just subscribed 👌😎
I second this. You sure are dedicated!
@@joaofarias6473 there's too many algorithms that don't like us disenfranchised folks.
fuck an algorithm.
Tokein would agree
My own personal favorite moment in the book was sadly not in the movie.
At the council of Elrond, Bilbo volunteers to take the ring to Mount Doom himself. Boromir, having no idea who this tiny old man is, starts laughing, only to find that he is the only one. Everyone else present, most of them ancient and powerful beings, show nothing but deep respect for Bilbo. They all know who he is and what he accomplished.
I'm off now, to look up that part again.
Mine isn't in the movie either. The razing of the shire. They cut out that entire chunk of the story. Made me sad.
"Yeah, little guy faced off in a battle of wits with a dragon."
Haha! I like this girl!
I don't have the same perspective as most people because I've read the books like 18 times, but one of favorite moments of the book is Ioreth telling her cousin all about the War of the Ring.
There is a minor character named Ioreth, the "wise woman of Gondor". Ioreth though isn't actually very wise, and she'd probably get a long quite well with the majority of unlearned Hobbits of the Shire. She has a bunch of common sense, in the sense of having unreflected upon beliefs and opinions that she holds just because everyone believes the same thing, and she has a store of aphorisms she quotes without really understanding them because she's heard other people say them. She gets a moment or two of triumph in the Houses of Healing scenes, which she manages to be more useful than the book learned idiot that passes for a scholar - even if most of her knowledge is accidental. Anyway, the point is that she's a loveable simple folk that Tolkien loves and celebrates, but she's not wise in the same way the Frodo, Gandalf, Faramir or eventually Sam becomes.
The great thing about Ioreth is she's one of the main viewpoint characters that Tolkien provides during the coronation of Aragorn as King, and in the scene she gives a running narrative to her cousin who has come out of hiding in the hills having missed all the big events. And, it's sort of like that play that the Ember Island Players give in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in that Ioreth gets just about everything wrong while still telling the story right from a certain point of view. In particular, her cousin wants to know why Aragorn wants Frodo to be involved in his coronation, and Ioreth says something like:
"Don't you know, that little warrior went all alone into Mordor with only his Squire, and faced Sauron in single combat and defeated him and threw down his tower."
You see, in Ioreth's view of the story, the winner, the hero, has to be the one who is strongest, and there has to be some sort of martial display where the hero wins and defeats the bad guy through his power. So Ioreth adapts the story to fit her preconceived notions of what a story should be like, and in it Frodo is a hero because he's a warrior that is stronger than his foes.
And that's PJ's movie to the core. Parts of it are really good, but a lot of it has more to do with the tale of Ioreth than the book, and in particular in how PJ stages the finale at Mount Doom as a fight scene where Frodo wins and throws Gollum off of a precipice.
Mine also isn't in the movie. It's when they figure out what's under the mountain and has killed the dwarves and Legolas shrieks like a little girl. "Aiee! A Balrog!"
You, young lady, are an absolute delight. Taking the time to read the source material and then do a reaction not just to the movies but the books as well... I applaud you, truly a rare specimen in these waves of reactors. Never allow anyone to diminish your opinion or tell you how to think. You are in possession of a very fine brain. As for the fandom, I am a 60 year old retired former Army Corps of Engineers geodetic surveyor. I was always fascinated by the maps of Middle Earth and the distances traveled. Funny you thought the Nazgul were bad at their jobs. Consider there were 9 of them, on horseback and they kept finding the ring bearer. Couldn't catch him, but they were always around. Visit the American west like Utah and Nevada and imagine riding around on horseback looking for something the size of a ring.
It was also fortunate that the little Hobbitses had those Elven cloaks :)
Speaking of the American West, when the Riders of Rohan encounter Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, they wheel around their horses and encircle the trio, much like the Apaches (as noted by Tom Shippey).
like the Apache Indians did.
One of the most profound lines of all time is one of Gandalf, when Frodo says he hates Gollum and deserves to die, and Gandalf says “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
Loved that line- and I especially love how everything circled back to that idea of sparing Gollum, and how he ended up playing a role in ending everything
That is a line you should quote to every death penalty supporter. It is so meaningful. And story wise, it is Frodo's grace towards Gollum that lets him withstand the power of the Ring for so long.
That's my favorite quote from the entire legendarium.
@@iLiviesimone I totally agree. Even more so as professor Tolkien was creating the story whilst writing it, therefore he himself did not know Gollum's final purpose.. So I like to imagine these exact thoughts to be actually his at the time.
Loved the video, very enjoyable to watch! Your reactions were very similar to mine :D. The books are indeed a lovely slow read. A chapter a day with a nice cuppa! And maybe a second chapter with a second breakfast. And also strongly agree with the practical effects! I recommend watching Behind the scenes, if you have another few spare hours of your life, just shows you how much effort went in.
Good luck with your future work! And may the hair on your toes never fall out :)
Oh yes one more thing.. in the fandom 'The Eagles' are very often discussed, as you may have already noticed. If the eagles should have taken The Ring to Mordor, of if it is not too much of a lucky chance that they always come when they are most needed.
that line changed my outlook on life. not just life and death. people exist and do their thing despite you, accept it, and move on with kindness and generosity
I've never understood the feeling of living vicariously through someone until I watched this video. It was like I got to experience the books and movies for the first time again with you. Thank you so much for doing this video! I couldn't stop smiling the whole time!
Your comment couldn't bring me more joy! It makes me so happy to know you enjoyed this- thank you for watching and commenting Megan!
I love reaction videos, because it feels like seeing shows and movies for the first time again.
This is so true.
Same
Totally agree. I'm a super Tolkien fan, and I've read every book dozens of times now, and it was so nice to hear the perspective of someone who's just reading them for the first time. This was a great video. I was excited for her the whole way.
Obligatory "Viggo Mortensen broke his toe when he kicked that orc helmet in Two Towers" comment here
I was yelling trivia at the screen the whole time 😂
@@noellethomas2589 who is the person in your picture?
Obligatory Sean Astin (Sam) stepped on a shard of glass when he ran out into lake chasing after Frodo in the FotR
@@LiotIV Master Frodo can play with my clots if he wants to.
@@noellethomas2589 LMAOO SAME
I read the book when I was 12, I remember the shivers when Gimli sounded the horns of Helm's Deep. I waited in line at the cinema for the movies when I was 22, I remember crying when Boromir fell. It's so great to see a young fan experience the same emotions for the first time. Thank you for sharing this.
I've watched the films countless times, and STILL get chills when the horn sounds in Helms Deep. I haven't heard many people acknowledge it. Thanks!
Clever idea to review the books and then react to the movies. I've never seen that before in reactions. Your review of the books and your reactions were great. Very articulate. Your smile and laugh throughout the movies was awesome to see. Thank you for this post. It was amazing.
Thank you so much! Your comment is so kind and I hope you have a good day/night (whichever time you read this lol)
@@iLiviesimone Mel's comment says almost all I wanted to say. It is a joy to see your journey in the books, especially, and then the movies (and I appreciate even the omission of the hobbits movies, which are to me very far from the spirit of the book).
I really liked seeing you gradually explore the books, your sincerity, and your amazing attention to details and deep understanding of the elements in the book. (Sam indeed is the true main character of lotr...).
To me I also had, while reading lotr, an incredible feeling of melancholy, seeing Tolkien describe with so much love the nature, the simple life, the elves and their attachment to beauty and to serenity, and seeing them all passing to the west little by little... This slow pace (especially in the first book, but in many other passages as well) amplified it and you can tell Tolkien is really attached to those elements and weary of their slow disappearance, and that he knows that mens will focus on machines and technology in the next age(s) and lose contact with nature even more.
I hope you read the Silmarillion (see another comment I made below, for a short warning and, I hope, a motivation).
Thank you again for your work and it's quality, sincerity, and cleverness. I wish you many great readings in the future.
I'm caught up in Dune hype and this would be a great angle, the books then the movie. Great idea. Hope it catches on.
There is so much "deconstruction" of Tolkien going on at the moment that its a delight to see somebody young read and watch the series and enjoy it for what it is.
It’s not deconstruction, it’s shitting on paper and on readers’ heads I swear
@@clucknbell4613 some of that stuff is interesting, Tolkien’s creation is so complex that having people explain certain aspects of it can be really interesting and entertaining . . . But yea there is a lot of made up dribble and stupid shit too
That needs more shudder quotes. There is no such 'deconstruction', in reality. It's impossible. You cannot deconstruct Tolkien. That's like deconstructing biology or the Bible or love. The more I read and learn, the deeper Middle-Earth becomes. It's insane how one man did all of that in 50 years by himself. It typically takes 100 writers to achieve what he achieved, but even 100 writers today could not do it. Tolkien was an all-time genius, lest we forget. He is one of the greatest and most talented and hard-working humans of all time, and very brave and moral, no less.
He spoke and wrote 10+ languages and created 5+ languages/forms (2+ complete languages); he was a world-class expert on Old English and Saxon poetry; he was a world-class scholar of fairy tales; he was a world-class translator of Old English; he was a great teacher at Oxford in Old English; he was in WWI, the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest battle in history, where he started to write this stuff; he lost his parents at a young age; he saw almost all of his friends die; he turned C.S. Lewis from an atheist into a Christian, thereby helping to create the world of Narnia, as well; he was good friend's with Lewis and inspired him a lot with Middle-Earth, and from that, he created Narnia (though Tolkien didn't like Narnia at all because of how shallow and allegorical it was); he was a good poet in his own right and was a great storyteller and non-fiction writer; he was a decent artist/painter; and he was a master of many studies and fields including poetry, theology, philosophy, psychology, history, philology, linguistics, mythology, calligraphy, onomastics, and genealogy.
@@MyBoomStick1 No, *studying* Tolkien is interesting, because that involves finding what Tolkien put into Middle Earth and relating it to universal themes and deepens your appreciation for the work. The deconstruction that is happening is reading woke politics into Tolkien's work and pretending it is there. One involves scholarship and respect, the other involves ideology and an embarrassing lack of basic study skills.
Most people are aping or poking fun at Tolkien's influence, not so much Tolkien himself. It wouldn't be a problem otherwise. Pretty much every fantasy nerd knows what elves, dwarves or orcs are -- they're such strongly ingrained archetypes by this point. Even if you only know them through World of Warcraft or D&D. And there's other fantasy that's been written that _isn't_ Tolkien. Or for that matter, Harry Potter.
I can't get over the fact that you read 4 books (and slow burners at that) AND watched the movies for this one video!! That's amazing! Reading the LOTR-trilogy took me an entire summer! Love your reactions and thoughts on it too
Well thank you for watching and I am so glad you enjoyed Johannes :D I considered breaking it up but thought eh, just go big or go home 😂
Oh and spending a summer in Middle Earth sounds great
Have a good one!
@@iLiviesimone You probably would get way more views with separate vids
@@theblackestvoid And you're probably right! But I wasn't too focused on views- I personally preferred the idea of a one-for-all kind of video :)
@@iLiviesimone Content over clicks. I like it.
@@iLiviesimone You still have the animated version (~1977) and the Silmarillion to turn into a new video...
"I hate this old guy" has to be the most universal and common feeling felt for Denathor
Here's what I got out of it. Denethor is supposed to be a parallel to Théoden. Both of them are the leaders of their kingdoms, and both received counsel from Gandalf. The difference between them is that Théoden had the humility to "snap out of it" and pull himself out of the hole he was in. Gandalf merely "gave him a nudge" (in the books, at least). By contrast Denethor chose to ignore the advice of Gandalf, calling it manipulation, and let his "pride and despair" get the better of him and through the former, succumbed to the latter, committing suicide.
@@wesltall1 Very true. But on the other end of things, Denethor was competent at ruling from the beginning, without aid - Theoden wasn't.
Denethor is much more sympathetic in the books. You see how he's mostly been a wise ruler, and the forces that have been weighing on him. He's not just a madman, but someone who's been struggling his entire life to fight an unwinnable war against an overwhelming enemy and is now 100% convinced (with good reason) that the end has come. The same goes for Boromir, but the films did a better job of showing Boromir's motives, IMO.
It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it. He’s totally mean to his youngest son Faramir. He refuses to seek help to defend Gondor. He blames Rohan for betraying him. But the absolute worst thing he’s done was attempting to burn Faramir, his youngest son, and himself alive. The trilogy is well rid of him.
@@davidmcaninch4714 In the book Denethor sends the red arrow to Rohan asking for aid AND lights the beacons alerting south Gondor of danger WELL BEFORE Gandalf and Pippin arrive. Denethor is nowhere near as bad in the books. The movies also leave out that Denethor has had a mental battle with Sauron for nearly two decades though a palantir and Sauron couldn't break him. Denethor didn't mentally break until he thought Faramir was dead and the Corsairs of Umbar were sailing up the river (which actually WOULD have ended Gondor).
This was such a delight to watch! Thank you :)
Bro you’re here too! Love your stuff.
We see a goblin has come down from the mountains!??😂 love ya Greene
Hate your stuff
oh my gosh hi i love your stuff!
@@TomorrowWeLive Dude not cool
God even listening to people talk about LOTR makes me cry. To me it is the peak of fiction. Its so heartfelt and sincere, it reflects our world in subtle and clever ways and creates characters that stay with you. Whether it's Gandalf and his stern but kind manor, or Sam's never ending loyalty to his friends, or Saurumans clever cruelty. The world is the best realized fantasy world both on page and on film.
I also love that Tolkien never sacrifices his prose. Its so consistent, thorough, and intelligent, but not pretentious. It often just sounds like a person describing something earnestly. Im so glad you enjoyed it.
I nearly cried when she was reading Sam’s even if it breaks my back and heart quote. I agree totally.
I thought I was the only one crying as I was listening to her discourse meandering about with the highs and lows..
It's literally the my most favorite author and books...
Came here to see if someone said this. I was tearing up throughout the video. I think it also kind of reminds me of when I first read it when I was 12 years old and like the state of mind I was in and how these books really gave me an escape.
@@meameowmewmew 11, here. It sounds like we had similar experiences when reading them.
Videos - like Wizards - are never early or late. They arrive precisely when they were meant to.
"But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
Gildor is one big thing missing in the first movie. He says that it's not a good sign that Gandalf didn't show up. And he warned Frodo, Sam and Pippin to beware the Black Riders.
The other big thing missing is the Old Forest. It's the blade from Westernesse from the Barrow-Downs, Merry injures the Witch-King with. No other weapon would've hurt him so that Eowyn could make her terminal strike.
@@Nikioko "It is also said; Go not to the Elves for council, for they will say both no and yes."
@@Nikioko Also there was never a Glorfindel character, but I still love the movies. I sometimes chuckle at some of the visual effects when I watch it today and consider how many technological advances have been made but love it anyway
@@brodericklesher2955 yeah for a movie making standing point, was a masterpiece
This might be my favorite video on TH-cam. Someone being introduced to the books and movies in 1 video? With great reactions and insight? And an adorable cat? A+++.
your comment is A++++ 😭💜💜
Fun Fact: Tolkien rewrote an entire chapter, because he realised it couldn't be full moon.
That is such a Tolkien thing to do
NERD!! I LOVE IT!!
Which chapter?
@@jacksonm-b9150 can't rightly say. I got it either from Just some guy, or a docu on Tolkien.
Another fun fact: He had written the book up to the point of standing before Balin's tomb, BEFORE having invented the characters of Gimli or Legolas.
"I kinda just think of it as one long story." Good, Tolkien wrote it that way. His publishers made him split it into 3 books.
Originally six volumes (LOTR).
Cause money!
@@stevetheduck1425 I've never owned a three volume edition. I have a seven volume (the appendices are separated) and a single volume, but never a three volume.
@@jonathangodin4775 to me its easier to read in multiple part so I like that they split it
LOTR is literally a Bible Prequel,- seen from the perspective of native ice-age europeans.
"The Matrix" is a Sci-fi adaptation of the Bible,- set in the same movie-verse as LOTR, because the "Matrixes" alters the perception of reality.
Cloud Atlas tries to tie together this philosophy into something resembling the re-occurrence of timelines.
The Swan-boats seen in Cloud Atlas is literally the same real-world people as those riding Swan-boats in LOTR.
Tolkien and Wachowskis are all hardcore polish-catholics,- and they're not trying to make sci-fi,- but an alternate lens on real-world history.
A point often missed is that the Nazgul cannot see anything at all. They are blind. They have no physical body, only a force to support a cloak or armour. That's why they smell for things. The 9 rings shifted them into the Unseen Realm. That's what a Wraith is. When Frodo puts the Ring on at Amon Sul (Weathertop) he shifts into the Unseen Realm and sees the Witch King's spirit form. The Witch King was able to see Frodo for the first time and stabs him. :)
The Nazgul are not blind per se. Or deaf. This answer could be way more in depth because of how complex Tolkien structured his Legendarium. So I am simplifying it for sake of brevity, NOT out of any disrespect towards you or the subject matter. Once the Nine Kings of Men took and started wearing the Rings all the time, as they got older instead of aging and fading physically before dying and facing the Fate of the Second Born, which is to die, head to the Halls of Mandos and then pass through the Door of Night and disappear from the knowledge of those in Ea (the Universe), they instead faded into becoming wraiths who exist partially in a sort of other dimension of the spirit that exists in parallel to the physical realm. Its the dimension that the Valar and Maiar exist in as purely spiritual entities that manifest physically. Sauron basically engendered into the Rings a more limited version of an advantage that the Ainur have. So long as either the One Ring exists and thereby empowers the others, or the Nine Rings exist, the souls of the Nine remain trapped and cannot go automatically to the Halls of Mandos. The invisibility that the Rings grant is more like phasing partially into this other dimension. Since the Nazgul exist whole in the other dimension, and do not have their own physical bodies. They lose or have weakened some of the physical senses. So they cannot see as well as they could when they had their full human bodies.
Now the Nazgul gain a particular enhanced sense of smell. This is by design. And the sense of smell is most strong when it comes to the blood of living things. This is a power that Sauron granted since Sauron is also the Lord of Vampires and Werewolves. In Tolkien terms Vampires and Werewolves desire to consume the blood of living things. Their actual vision is more like looking through a obscured window or through a smoke filled area. And colors are faded. There ability to see things that light reflects off of is almost gone. They gain some of the power that the Ainur have to perceive visually via their mind, and the purely physical things, to borrow from Aragon, "They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys, and in the dark they perceive many signs and forms that are hidden from us."
They can also link to the minds of certain servants. This is a very limited manifestation of the power that all Ainur have of absolute telepathy. All Ainur can read the minds of mortals and living things like they are an open book. Certain creatures who are bound to the Nine, they can do that with. This is particularly their mounts. IIRC there are some passive references to them having a link to other animals that Sauron linked them too.
@@thtadthtshldntbe Can the Nine ride ordinary horses or are they some kind of fell beasts? Animals run away from the Nazgul, so how could horses tolerate Nazgul riding them?
@@SubtleStair the horses we see them on are specially bred. So they would probably not be able to just grab any horse abd ride it
@@thtadthtshldntbe they ride horses from Rohan
@@SubtleStair They were best of breed, thoroughbred, obtained by intimidation and withstood great abuse
It took me nine months of bed-time reading to finish LTR with my children when they were in little. We read with an Oxford dictionary beside us. I would read until I thought they were asleep. I would quit and they would protest, "We're not asleep!" So I would read on, and have to back track the next night to where they drifted off. They were enthralled constantly. I think the book is intended to be read to children as bed-time reading. I think that Tolkien himself told stories to his children as they prepared for bed.
The only reason he wrote the Hobbit was because his son kept pointing out when he changed details as he told him the story at bed time.
"You said Bilbo had a blue door now its green, and Thorins tassel was gold now its silver"
"Damn the boy" goes and starts writing.
It's funny you mention the Oxford dictionary as Tolkien worked on that as well.
Dad read all the books to me, though I also read parts of LotR by myself. I was absolutely *inconsolable* when it seemed like Frodo was dead to Shelob's sting.
He also wrote the chapters of Frodo and Sam's journey through the Dead Marshes and into Mordor during 1944 and would post them one by one out to his son where he was serving with the RAF
how old were they? LOTR seems to hard to keep interest for very young kids, especially the first half of the first book which drags pretty slow
"I know there's a Dumbledore looking character.. or Dumbledore looks like this character"
phew, well played
😂 😂 😂
@@iLiviesimone Haha, I can't tell you how many reaction videos I've seen where the content creator keeps comparing stuff in LOTR to Harry Potter. xD When The One Ring is explained: "Oh it's like a horcrux!" When the Ringwraiths show up: "They look like Dementors!" When they see Gollum: "Aw he reminds me of Dobby!" and of course the inevitable comparison with Gandalf to Dumbledore.. I mean I get it, it doesn't make me mad or anything, if you grew up with Harry Potter then that's your frame of reference, of course your mind will make those connections, but it is SO NICE when someone (like yourself) acknowledges that Tolkien's works vastly predates Harry Potter and pretty much everything that's associated with the fantasy genre.
I mean the guy was in World War I, they were four close friends including him, and the other three were killed in the war. He could just as easily have been another casualty and we'd never gotten The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings or his other works, and it's crazy to think about where the fantasy genre would have been without him. Would it even exist? Who's to say. So.. yeah, credit where credit is due and all that, we can't have J.K. Rowling just slide into his spot and steal the glory. ;)
It’s funny because while reading I ended up just keeping a list of the things (most of what you listed) that I realized must have been inspiration, or at the very least known by Rowling. It was so obvious that this book started so much!
The similarities between these two characters is because they're both based on Merlin.
@@dramsac17 More like Odin's human form. The main difference is that Gandalf keeps both his eyes.
"What is the fandom like?"
"DID YOU KNOW THAT WHEN ARAGORN KICKED THE HELMET IN THE TWO TOWERS AND THEN SCREAMS, IT'S A SCREAM OF PAIN BECAUSE THE ACTOR ACTUALLY BROKE HIS TOE IN THAT KICK"
That, and arguing against people asking why the eagles didn't fly the ring all the way to Mordor, is 70% of the fandom. Thank you so much for your thoughts, I loved this video! Also how disappointing were the hobbit movies? Bilbo and Thorin were great, but they tried to turn a kid's book into an epic, and just had lots of juvenile fart jokes, but none of the real comedy, like the dwarves being introduced to Beorn
Yea that actually about sums us up! LOL
As someone who frequently does both the of those things, guilty on both counts😂😂
No, the fandom is so large and varied that i am watching her experience it as i would a daughter and nothing seems remotely odd about that.
Yah, they made it 3 movies, and they couldn't fit in the trick of introducing the dwarves to Beorn a few at a time in? Yah, I'm not buying that they didn't have the time to pull that off.
@@RedwoodTheElf honestly they seem to have taken out all acts of cunning and most of wit from the " hobbit " movies. I do not know why they hated cunning, but they clearly did.
CS Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles Of Narnia, had this to say...
"The Fellowship of the Ring is like lightning from a clear sky. . . Here are bauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron; here is a book that will break your heart. . . ."
Lewis was Tolkien’s biggest fan and I love it!
@@valathor95 He and Tolkien were war buddies!
@@huntclanhunt9697 they both fought in WW1 but did not meet until 8 years after the war.
@@huntclanhunt9697 they were English professor buddies, they served in the same department, but yes they were also both veterans of the Great War, and I think both had sons in WWII.
I always enjoy people watching the Balrog fight.
Most people think "Oh, it's this old wizzard fighting this deamon"
When in reality, Gandalf, as well as the Balrog are both Maiar, so this is less a fight of a Mortal against a Demon but two demigods fighting to the death.
I'd say more like an Angel and fallen Angel, but both work.
@@edwardarroyo834 i mean technically a fallen angel is a demon lol
@@graceandrews1841 True lol.
@@graceandrews1841 technically no. In the Jewish tradition demons and angels originally are two different groups. God created three main groups of creatures. first he created Angels from light. Then he created Djinn from energies of the world, like fire. And then he created creatures from dirt and dust. Humans are a creature of the last group along with all the animals we know. Demons are a special type of Djinn. The great satan, Lucifer the Morningstar, was the most powerful and beautiful Djinn King who shone so bright he could be mistaken for an angel. When God fashioned Adam he told Lucifer to bow before his greatest creation, man. Lucifer refused. He was beautiful, powerful, and ancient. He would not bow to mud. So he swore to show God the failures of man. He seduced Lilith, first wife of Adam, whom Adam rejected. And then later there was the whole temptation with the fruit business. Together he and Lilith gave birth to the first demon Djinn, who unlike other Djinn are expressly nefarious entities. Most Djinn are normal beings who live a parallel existence to humans, their society and themselves hidden from human view. This is the tradition as it originally was. It’s still expressed in some form if this by Jews, Muslims, and a few Christian sects. It wasn’t until the Catholics by fiat created a new Mythos out if old stories that Satan becomes a fallen Angel and his followers demons. It would take until the Middle Ages for the Lucifer, the Satan of Job, the Satan of Jesus, the Satan of the Apocalypse, and every other type of rival to God to be fused into a single being. They were originally all conceived as entirely different beings. The Satan of job wasn’t even originally imagined as a real event. Job was largely considered metaphorical as a story until the Middle Ages.
Where’d u get ur lore? Supernatural. Ig it’s a matter of opinion or belief or whatever but ya know that was kinda wild
I just realized something. The reason that Merry is so competent during the battle despite expectations is that he was trained by one of Gondor’s foremost warriors, Boromir.
And he has one of the blades the men of Arnor used to fight the witch-king half an age ago.
@@str.77 The Brandybucks and Tooks also did a lot of weapon training themselves, though. If you had asked them, it would have been described as sports and games, but they did a ton of practice because they always had the wolves and the Old Forest in mind. We also know that Pippin and Merry spent a bunch of time watching the elves and exploring Rivendell when they could; and that probably included seeing some archery and swordwork. Merry's a smart cookie, so he probably integrated everything he saw and learned into his sword style, making allowances for height. So it's a bunch of stuff, but you're right about Boromir.
@@suburbanbanshee True. The Fellowship had two members of the highest Hobbit families among them that would be more prone to make use of weapons. Still, without the blade from the barrow that wouldn't have been enough to kill the Witch-King.
"I don't want to finish this" --> Don't worry, Silmarillion is waiting for you.
So I've heard!
Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, History of Middle-Earth… SO many books!
@@iLiviesimone Tolkiens son made a bunch more books after his fathers death. I don't think any of them are "must read", except The Silmarillion! It's just amazing, and it explains so much. I still remember reading LotR after I had read Silmarillion and suddenly I could understand everything they were talking about(which before just flew over my head). Would love to see your reaction to it.
Just.. maybe skip Amazon's shitshow
@@WeirdGuy4928 "Unfinished Tales" is a nice companion to "The Silmarillion" IMHO. "The Children of Húrin" is also great.
Hot take of the fandom: Farmer Maggot is the most badass of Hobbits (and his dogs are very good bois). We love that legend telling the Nazgul to get off his property
Okay I thought Farmer Maggot was GREAT and it’s great to be reminded about him
@@iLiviesimone True, but I hate mushrooms. Fungus is not food! Bleh!
As Clint Eastwood said, “Get off my lawn!”
Gaffer did a great job telling one of them off too. 😁
Don't forget Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger! The one who put himself in danger (of the Nazgul) to give them time to escape, and who got imprisoned and ill treated so long that he couldn't be called "Fatty" anymore in the scouring of the Shire.
The Hobbit definitely feels more light-hearted than the rest of the LOTR trilogy. I always felt struck by the tonal dissonance, but from what I understand is that the Hobbit was originally bedtime story that Tolkien told his son that he later published as a novel. Where LOTR came more from a personal mythology he was building for fun. Keep in mind, Tolkien is a _stupidly smart_ man. The man popularized literary study of Beowulf, and is probably the reason why it was even mandatory reading in high school for me.
I don't think Tolkien responsible for that. Beowulf is one of the few pieces of literature that survived from the Old English period. Hence it is on reading lists.
I hate to be that guy but...well here we go... I think you might be confusing Tolkien with John Flanagan, author of the Ranger's Apprentice series. Ranger's Apprentice was originally a bedtime story for his kids which later became a book series.
Now for a brief history of Tolkien's works. Tolkien began writing The Silmarillion in part as a linguistic exercise such that a language he was developing, that being Elvish, would have a people who spoke it and a history behind it. This as I recall started while he was a soldier in World War I. The Hobbit reportedly began as a totally spontaneous and unrelated story. Apparently, he was grading exams (at Oxford I think), then randomly flipped one over and wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." and he had no idea what that statement meant. While writing The Hobbit, he of course couldn't help but connect it to The Silmarillion so it became a part of that history. The Lord of the Rings was written, and meant to be, a direct sequel to The Hobbit, though he had to rewrite the Gollum chapter since his original version was completely inconsistent with TLotR. Naturally, it too was heavily tied into The Silmarillion. (Highlight: Aragorn literally sings a portion of the Lay of Luthien to the hobbits.)
Okay I'm done. Thank you for spending this time with me.
@@Lord_Stug Quite a few authors originally told their books as bedtime stories to their kids: the Princess Bride, Percy Jackson, Wind in the Willows, and, yes, the Hobbit. The writing process went: exam paper --> bedtime stories --> book. That's why so many random episodic things happen in the Hobbit: it was originally a bunch of self-contained bedtime stories.
@@LoonyLuna798 The first part is true, and maybe the OP was thinking of one of the stories you mentioned, or perhaps the Father Christmas Letters which Tolkien wrote as Christmas entertainment for his children. However, The Hobbit was not created from these.
It is according to one of his own letters that he began writing it on a blank page while grading exams at the beginning of the 1930s.
Supposedly, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings share a few story elements, for example the 1933 had Goblins in it apparently (notably, his first manuscript for The Hobbit was finished by 1932), and Gandalf may have been inspired by his "Father Christmas" character. This means that the most you can say is that The Hobbit had a few similarities with some of these stories (mind you several of which were written afterwards), but is otherwise completely unrelated.
@@Lord_Stug That's just the nature of the storytelling process, though. I sincerely doubt that many books "based" on bedtime stories bear an exact resemblance, or even a close resemblance, to their oral counterparts, because human memory doesn't work that way. In fact, to quote from Christopher Tolkien's foreword to the 1987 edition:
“He also remembered that I (then between four and five years old) was greatly concerned with petty consistency as the story unfolded, and that on one occasion I interrupted: ‘Last time, you said Bilbo’s front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a gold tassel on his hood, but you’ve just said that Bilbo’s front door was green, and the tassel on Thorin’s hood was silver’; at which point my father muttered ‘Damn the boy,’ and then ‘strode across the room’ to his desk to make a note.”
Obviously JRR Tolkien already had the idea for the Hobbit by this time (like you said, he came up with it while marking exams) but at some point pre-publication (I'm going to say around 1928/29 based on his son's age) he was telling it to his kids. We can't know now if he was reading/retelling his kids a written draft or making it up orally and then writing it down, or even whether a bit of both was going on. But if his kid were hearing stories contained a "Bilbo" and "Thorin", it's hard to say they weren't an early version of the Hobbit. We'd certainly call them early drafts if they were committed to paper, which they very well may have been before or soon after the telling. Incidentally, his kids also read LOTR as it was being written; Tolkien mailed entire chapters to his son after Christopher Tolkien was stationed in South Africa during WII.
Your interpretation of themes would probably make Tolkien himself happy. What a stellar video, thanks for cataloging your journey here
Thanks for watching!
I am a huge Tolkien fan and was recommended this video without ever having heard of you before. I watched the whole thing, and had a blast. I absolutely loved watching your journey, definitely if you are jiving with Tolkien's worldbuilding, the Silmarillion will blow you away, it really is a masterpiece, especially with the audiobook. Welcome to the best fandom on earth (middle or otherwise)!
Really spot on about camp counselor Gandalf. Seeing him as Gandalf the White was badass, but nothing compares to curmudgeonly old grandpa Gandalf.
😂😂😂 your whole comment- yes.
There's that part in Return of the King, when Pippin is scared and looks Gandalf in the eye. He realizes that underneath it all, there's a hidden well of mirth, enough make the whole world laugh.
When Gandalf(and the other wizards) came to Middle Earth, they had to be Grandpa. If they weren't, they'd be warlords and worshiped like gods.
Like Sauron.
The first time I read "The Lord of the Rings", nothing I tried to read after seemed worth finishing. I really got scared that I'd destroyed my ability to enjoy a book for life, because nothing seemed comparable to it in depth. Thankfully it did wear off eventually.
And honestly, when the movies came out, I could only compare fantasy movies to them. "Eh, not as good as Lord of the Rings" "Yeah, it's good, but it's no Lord of the Rings". Lol.
If you havent already then I'd recommend the Inheritance Cycle. A lot of similar themes but still its own world.
I enjoyed Inheritance as a kid... but I mean, it was written by a 15-year-old and it shows (although, much better than me at the same age lol). Similar themes yes, but it's good to go in expecting a much lighter read than what a college professor writes.
You'll love Children Of Hurin then! Of Beren and Luthien, Ring Of Morgoth and Fall Of Gondolin!
When the LOTR was published, the American publisher kept correcting Professor Tolkien's spelling of dwarves to dwarfs. Tolkien wrote back telling them that HIS spelling was correct. The American Publish wrote back to Tolkien telling him that THEY are SURE their spelling was correct as it was taken from the Oxford Dictionary. Tolkien returned by saying, "Yes, I know Im a Professor of English Literacy from Oxford, I do remember writing a lot of that book .
They never corrected him again LOL!
Slightly the other way around though. They were trying to correct "dwarfs" to "dwarves" .
According to Tolkien, the "real 'historical' plural" of "dwarf" is "dwarrows" or "dwerrows". He described the word "dwarves" as "a piece of private bad grammar".
Also the gramatically correct plural form of the word "dwarf" is "dwarves". He can create languages for his well written world, yes. But that doesn't give the right to manipulate official languages.
From whence came Tolkien's original idea for using "dwarves" as a plural for "dwarf"?
The plural "dwarves" instead of dwarfs (which is preferred by a number of critics and is correct philologically) is instead used by Tolkien because it went better with "elves". He wished later, according to his Letters, that he had used the historical plural for dwarves of "dwarrows". "Dwarves" went into general usage as many people, both readers and fellow writers, agreed with Tolkien's ear and logic.
"The real historical plural of 'dwarf' (like teeth of tooth) is dwarrows anyway: rather a nice word, but a bit too archaic. Still I rather wish I had used the word dwarrow."
Reference: The Letters of JRR Tolkien Letter # 17 To Stanley Unwin, Chairman of Allen and Unwin, p. 23, 24.
@@satanbrony9235 No, the correct plural for short human or fantasy creature is Dwarfs.
Fun Fact: The German translation uses the term "Elb" (sg) and "Elben" (pl) instead of the the normal "Elf"/"Elfen", because it is nearer to ancient terms like "Alben". As far as I know, Tolkien, who was in contact with the German translator, was very fond of this.
Think you might find plural is dwarfish? According to Tolkien anyway, look at the Appendices of LOTR if you've got the big combined copy. 😉
Since we are posting "fun facts" during the filming of Christopher Lee's death, Peter Jackson wanted Lee to scream when stabbed in the back. To which Sir Christopher Lee responded and I'm paraphrasing "Have you ever heard the sound a man makes when stabbed in the back? Because I have." Christopher Lee served in the SAS during WWII. I believe in the African Campaign.
It wasn't even SAS at that point, it was Long Range Desert Group. Lee was also in Yugoslavia later during WW2 as a liaison officer with Tito Broz. complete badass
Christopher Lee seems to be one of those rare individuals who managed to cram 10 lifetimes worth of living and achievements into a single life span. Guy was a true legend, and a gentleman to boot. A true shame he has moved on from this world. Hiro hyn hîdh ab 'wanath, Sir Christopher.
@Raylan Givens Damn right. I like how you said he was in "several other films" lol. Guy had over 200 film credits, spanning 7 decades... just a beast. He was also fluent in 5 languages, and conversational in 3 or 4 others. A true Renaissance Man.
@Raylan Givens yeah, his lineage is wild lol.
His division was often called the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. That is just metal in my opinion.
I'd recommend the Behind the Scenes for these movies if you're at all interested in how they were made. They're feature-length and are basically their own trilogy of films.
Those keep popping up in my recommended and I definitely plan to watch! I can't believe how much behind the scenes footage there is; that's such a treat.
@@iLiviesimone Really enjoyed your video.
The extras on LotR are great and they give a fantastic amount of insight into pretty much every aspect of the film and how it was made.
They have lots of stuff on the things you said you enjoyed - costume and creature design, miniatures and practical effects.
The different audio commentaries on each of the films are really quite enjoyable too. Admittedly that means watching a lot of stuff because there's a full actors and a filmmakers commentary on each film!
@@iLiviesimone on the Extended Edition DVDs was almost double the Making-Of-Material to the Movies. That means over 7h per Movie. And it is worth it!
@@iLiviesimone I would recommend listening to the commentary tracks by Peter Jackson and Philippa, who adapted the screenplay. You seem to be tuned into that narrative nuts and bolts stuff, and they have a great grasp of the Middle Earth mythology, and are good at explaining why they included, shuffled, and condensed what they did. My fave part of the books was the Shelob bit in Two Towers, and hearing them explain why it should correctly be in the third movie was insightful.
@@dancarrick4357 I remember listening to all the commentary tracks with the actors and Peter Jackson, etc. So great!
You side-eyeing your sister to see her reaction when they reveal that Gandalf is still alive- I do that with all my friends 😂
Edit- made me so happy that the younger generation gets and appreciates the films too. They truly are timeless.
"Cavemen singing about the Misty Mountains" ... I mean... I guess dwarves are men who live in caves?
th-cam.com/video/LY0lLcz3Qis/w-d-xo.html
Well, she's not wrong.
Troglodyte is as troglodyte does.
I airways feel like there is a generational divide between those of us who are older and read the books long before the movies were made and suffered through all the early attempts to get the Hobbit on film and the younger generation who have not read the books. That might be why I appreciate you reading the books first and then watching the movies, not as an attempt to follow the books line for line, but separate entertainment unto themselves.
At least we of the previous generation had the animated Hobbit movie by Rankin Bass lol
I started reading LOTR when I was 10 in 1986. I didn’t watch any of the movies until all three had been released. I was so worried.
@@jonservo Yes! I loved that animated movie! 💙🖤✨
I love the hobbit cartoon from the 70s. It’s flawed but I watched it so much as a kid
Can we all just pray and give her strength for when she reads the Children Of Hurin.
The Silmarillion was a tough read for me, emotionally. It's like seeing 8 episodes of Infinity Wars before you get to Endgame.
Ah, the Children of Húrin is my favourite tale from the Silmarillion. A Tragedy of sheer epic proportions.
@@revylokesh1783 Yep, felt like a classic Greek tragedy. Love it.
Ugh, I only read the Silmarilion and that's rough enough for me
Yeah, I suggest reading Children of Hurin BEFORE reading The Silmarillion, since the much abridged "quick points" version of Hurin is already in The Silmarillion, and reading it first would spoil CoH as a solo novel, because Silmarillion tells the ending.
Two things that are great to dive into with LOTR: 1. The interviews with Tolkien on TH-cam. It's cool to watch him speak about the book while he puffs on a pipe like Gandalf. 2, A guy named Phil Dragesh did an audiobook of the entire LOTR trilogy. He did all the Foley noises and he did all the accents from the movie himself. It, in itself, is an amazing work of art.
Amazing to see that other people know about Phil Dragesh's audiobooks and appreciate them. I love them as well.
It feels so real diving into these books with Howard Shore's score added to it.
And also Tolkien reading excepts from the books. He was the best storyteller I've even heard!
I'd say the fandom mostly agrees Sam is the greatest. My personal hot take: Gollum is the best character; he's both tragic and comedic, with a lot of depth. Also glad you love the Rohirrim theme, how could anyone not? That charge at Pelennor Fields is probably the most hyped and popular part of the movies (maybe the books too.) Amazing video, was a lot of fun to watch your journey into a fandom that I've been part of pretty much my whole life. I don't remember anything from the first time I watched the movie or read the books, so this was cool.
Have you seen The Authentic Observer’s video “Why Gollum is one of the Best Characters ever written”? You might like it
@@Ergoperidot Thanks, I'll check it out for sure
DEEEAAATHHH tears me up every time
Tolkien was an officer in France in WWI (not II, I, that was my mistake.). Like every british officer at the time, he had what was called a Batman. Who was a soldier assigned as personal aide/bodyguard whose job was to help keep his assigned officer tidy and presentable, take care of his affairs and correspondences, and to watch his back in battle. Over the course of the war, Tolkien and his batmen inevitably became close friends, they helped him keep up his spirits, and saved his life directly on a few occasions, to the point that Tolkien was adamant that he never would have made it through the war without their help.
Samwise Gamgee was a composite character of these batmen he knew, and he was always absolutely adamant that SAM, not Frodo, was the main character and the real hero, without whose help Frodo never would have succeeded. That in the end, no ancient magics or great heroes or wizards defeated Sauron, it was two ordinary people, close friends, who would rather be home enjoying tea, pushing through and doing what had to be done, was part of the point of the story.
I only regret that the riders did go into battle singing. If I remember correctly that is part for what scared the orcs.
One thing I love about Tolkien's storytelling is that he doesn't give himself full control of the story, which he could. He's the author, he can change or add anything he wants, but he doesn't always and the Entwives are a great example of that. He could very easily have come up with an explanation for what happened to the Entwives, but instead, the way he tells these stories is as if they are actual events that happened and he is simply a researcher relaying what he has found out to the reader. He tells about how there are rumors about what happened to the Entwives and when asked about it, he said he had some theories and ideas about what might've happened. He never gave himself full control over what happened in the world of Middle-earth.
Your experience is exactly what Tolkien hoped for. He thought of the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as two parts to an actual historical account given by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam in something known as "The Red Book of Westmarch". Tolkien was merely translating the history as written by those characters.
That's what makes it also feel so real. I love old history and that happens a lot in our real world too, you don't always get the full story, and that's what hooks you to it and you start wanting more and studying more.
In the books, Denethor was supposed to be far stronger-willed than he's presented in-film; He simply had been confronting Sauron through the Palantir for a long time, and had been tricked into despair by him. That said, he was still a bastard to Faramir.
But he did send for help from Rohan. Not that it clears his name but he wasn’t an actual imbecile.
Facts. In the books, Denethor is so strong-willed that he’s not corrupted by the Palantir. Only those with incredible willpower can use the palantir and not be overcome.
He wasn't necessarily tricked into despair. He just saw how seemingly impossible it would be to defeat Sauron and saw no hope. This is an arc they should have included in the films though.
@@blaxpoitation8528 It isn't the Palantiri themselves that corrupt. The Palantir is essentially "powered" by the user's will. When Sauron got his hands on one, his will overruled pretty much any other being that uses it and he can bend them to his will. This is impressive because he wasn't able to bend Denethor to his will but was able to bend Saruman. So Denethor is super OP.
@@ArrghhMatey Right, I explained it wrong. Thanks for clearing that up. And yeah, Denethor was seriously impressive. Had his jealousy for Aragorn and disdain for Faramir not been so prevalent, he would’ve been a formidable ally and possible hero of the T. A/ WotR.
I’ve watched probably every LOTR reaction video in existence and I can confidently say your reaction is the absolute best one and it’s not even close! I love the fact that you didn’t just watch the movies, but that you took the time to dive into this world! Nothing but huge respect to you! (Btw I absolutely LOVE that you included a cooking recipe in this video, what an awesome idea!) Looking forward to maybe one day see a review of the Silmarillion. Keep going! And thank you so much for this video! :)
Thank *you* for your kind comment! Truly, it means a lot and I'm so happy you enjoyed this. And yes, whenever I get to The Silmarillion, I will be sure to continue the saga and share my thoughts XD
There is a Lord of the Rings theme park. It's called "New Zealand"
The entire trilogy was filmed there and many of the sets like Bag End are still lovingly preserved. They are some of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. People from all over the world come to see them
Did they preserve the Edoras set from The Two Towers?
One great thing about the hobbit movies is that they were able to rebuild the hobbiton set as the original one had either been torn down by that point or just in bad shape due to wether iirc, and its THAT set that is still being preserved to this day cuz peter jackson made sure that it would be kept up
Almost every set in LOTR was dismantled and completely removed after filming to comply with new Zealand environmental laws. Then sets like bag-end were recreated for the hobbit movies. Those are the ones that are still around.
They may have changed things since I have been there. When I was in New Zealand the only preserved set was Hobbition. So many of the film locations were in frequently used parks, nature preserves and Othere public places that it would be impossible. Isengaurd has a jungle gym photo shoped out of it. Helms Deep and Minas Terith were filmed in the same rock quary.
Been to Hobbiton and Weta Workshop. The sets are gone but set locations can be visited as some maps show where certain scenes were shot. Trip of a lifetime! I will always treasure having my picture taken at Bag End!
Tolkein wrote and intended for "The Lord of the Rings" to be one book/volume, subdivided internally into his six parts. But he considered it one novel. The publisher insisted on breaking it into a "trilogy" due to length.
Interestingly, Peter Jackson also completed filming for his "trilogy" in one fell swoop. All principle photography done as if it were one film, then divided into "parts" in editing. Could not have been a more appropriate way to bring the pages to screen.
That's wild to me to think that those movies were filmed in one go- because not only must they had to have had such faith in the project, but that is so much work!!!
@@iLiviesimone If you watch the making of, they have many interviews with Peter Jackson where he talks about how they got very lucky with the last studio. They literally were told by the original studio to shop around and good luck finding another who would allow it to be done as a trilogy (I think the original studio wanted to do one movie, maybe two at most).
They shopped it around as a two movie idea and when they got to the studio that eventually bought the rights, the head of the studio said something like "There's no way we're doing this as two movies...it HAS TO be three." They realized they finally found someone who shared their vision for the series.
Unfortunately, they didn't have the same luck when they went back for The Hobbit. The people there insisted on 3 movies and shoe-horned in the love triangle with Fili, Legolas, and Tauriel, who as you know wasn't even in the book. Jackson wanted to do two movies at most to give it proper time, and you'd think they would trust him after the original trilogy basically saved that movie studio from bankruptcy by making a billion dollars, but no.
@@iLiviesimone - i skimmed all the long descriptions. i wouldn't want to do an audio book that would take forever. skimming is good because you get a feel for the ambience without it taking forever to read. i read them a long long time ago but i'd read a book in a day, because i wasn't really reading most of it. I read it for the first time in third grade and i think for the last time maybe early in highschool. but i'm 48 now so that was a while ago :) But i read them like 7 times so i still remember most of it.
@@mr.osclasses5054 The saddest thing about The Hobbit movies is that people now blame Peter Jackson for their not that good quality. When it was actually him who tried to save the whole project.
@@LordHerek People love a scapegoat.
“Gandalf gives big camp counselor vibes,” may be the best description of his character I’ve ever heard.
He was very much a shepherd to his flock of goofily incompetent dwarves in The Hobbit.
The Silmarillion is definitely more difficult to read, but I've been listening to the audiobook on repeat over and over for a while now because it's just so beautifully written and thrilling and emotional. I needed to check maps and genealogical charts and TH-cam videos to really understand it but it makes the depth in LotR so much more meaningful, right down to small details like Gimli asking Galadriel for 1 hair but getting 3, and the star that Frodo and Sam see is Earendils ship, literally Elronds father wearing a Silmaril on his brow. This legendarium has depths of wonder that only increase as you learn more!
Looking forward to it!! Thanks for watching John
I used to listen to the audiobook over and over before I went to bed when it was available on youtube. 😄
As a long time Tolkien fan and reader (almost 40 years), I appreciate your time and opinion. Times have changed, and I realize the pacing of the books is not very modern and fast, but there are entire college courses taught on Tolkien's works and there is always more to discover.
Thanks Erik!
And agreed- they definitely don't read like the modern fantasy works I've read. And I find it so neat now when someone says they have taken an entire class on Tolkein/LotR
I read the books more than 20 years ago, and I found the very same problem (and a change of opinion during the journey) with the pacing back then. You kinda got used to it, and eventually you loved it!
Oh yes, I suggest listening to the Tolkien Professor's podcast of The Hobbit, and the Sil once you get to it. He also did a whole college course for his podcast on LORT as well. Lots of good stuff, but might have some spoilers for the Sil.
@@spangelicious837 yes, I agree! And come join us with the Tolkien professor on discord tomorrow night and every Tuesday after to talk about the Lord of the Rings in exquisite detail!! Just google Mythgard academy Exploring the Lord of the Rings for the discord! It’s also streamed on twitch and TH-cam by Signum University!
@@iLiviesimone The pacing is slow compared to modern Fantasy but this built the foundation that is taken as a given for all that came after. Modern writers don't have to spend as much time on world building because a lot of fantasy is common knowledge because of Tolkien's work. And of course the style just changed to a quicker pace over the decades. Great world builders are still revered very much though.
“Embarrassment” is never a word I would have used to describe Saruman before but it’s just perfect.
This video ended up being much more than I expected. I've been a huge fan of Tolkien since I first discovered him when the Fellowship came to theaters in 2001. I've been in that world for so long I tend to take it for granted and seeing someone with fresh, vibrant eyes discovering it for their first time was great to behold. Hopefully you'll stick around and dive deep into the roots of Middle-Earth. It's something that stays with you.
During Fellowship: "Some of it seems a little longwinded." After Return Of The King: "I wish this was more drawn out!" :D
Everything after the battle of Pellenor fields (including the scouring of the shire and the grey havens etc) takes place in fewer pages than getting to Rivendell in book 1. J.R.R. Tolkien was a genius and a visionary but The Lord of the Rings isn't particularly well paced
@@DavidvdGulik I understand perfectly well why people feel that way, but personally I like how it makes the long journey actually feel long.
You're probably right from an objective standpoint, but it caters perfectly to my tastes, so... ;)
@@rhel373 Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the pace of the first book in the slightest. If anything the third book feels a tad rushed
@@DavidvdGulik "The Lord of the Rings" is one novel divided into six books. It's not a trilogy. It's also something that gradually gains speed like a train engine (starting slow and lighthearted and becoming much more sophisticated and fast faced by the end).
@@DavidvdGulik Tolkien himself said that he wanted the whole novel to be even longer, but it became increasingly harder to get paper due to the paper shortages of the 1940s (caused by WWII). Since he started writing in 1938 and ended it in 1950, I expect that's one of the reasons the later sections feel slightly more compressed.
It's been discussed a LOT among the years, but I still must say it myself that Tolkien is a great writer of positively masculine men. They are courageous, have grit and great leadership qualities, but at the same time they are tender, considerate, compassionate towards the weak and even physically affectionate towards their friends without coming across as weak or demasculated because of it.
There's a great video on this th-cam.com/video/pv_KAnY5XNQ/w-d-xo.html
not to mention strong women who have independent spirit...you dont get that in entertainment today they are manufactured and very fake.
@@theblackestvoid I was about to reference that video too, you beat me to it! Such a great video in its own right.
Love reading this- thank you for commenting! I think he has a way with writing characters we care about, and that may be one of the things that contribute to that :)
@@iLiviesimone I really like how Eowin is a bad cook in the movie. Reminds me of roleplaying, where you can make one skill extra bad to make another better. She obviously took extra in Sword skill. She also seems to be a little weak in social cues. No matter how strong a man, it is still such a compliment to have a lady, and a rich one, flirting and bringing you soup, even bad soup. Notice how Aragorn stays true to his Elven GF, with no way of knowing if they can ever meet again. In fact, there is every reason to think she has taken ship to the West, since Elrond tells Aragorn this.
No matter how many times I watch these movies, the part I always get choked up at is the line "My friends, you bow to no one."
"He kind of looks like Ned Stark."
Funny you should mention that...
"I keep checking the maps." - Like
"I can't wait to transfer the stickies." - Subscribed
There seem to be a lot of reactions to the movies, but a book and movies reaction to LotR and the Hobbit all in one is such a Tolkien nerd thing to do. When I had to do a book report in school (internet wasn't a thing then) I chose the Lord of the Rings. I think I got a glimpse then of all the work you had to put into all of this. Much respect from another Tolkien fan. I understand that you didn't like some things in the movies. I saw the movies all on premiere day and when Sam in Osgiliath says, after he saved Frodo from the Nazgul, "by right we shouldn't even be here" you heard a muffled laugh from half of the audience. these were the Tolkien nerds and it was nice to see them acknowledging the changes but also shed a tear on Theodens speech before the battle of Minas Tirith.
In the movie version of the Two Towers, when Elrond & his army show up at Helms Deep I almost stood up and addressed the crowd. I wanted to tell them to avert their eyes, this was a false history.
okay, no joke, the "mordor" not being the hobbit door was hilarious. XD
I love Frodo and Sam. While reading the first time I always thought Frodo is Courage, and Same is Hope. Such a beautiful friendship.
The whole time I was just thinking "god let her watch the extended editions not theatrical please"
Faramir’s change in the film was frustrating for many. He was my favorite in the books (him and Sam), so I felt they severely short changed him. David did a great job portraying him, though.
They explain their reasoning well in the dvds tho. In the book Faramir says about the ring 'I would not pick this thing up if it lay by the wayside' and they said that one line on film would strip the ring of all power, when theyve been trying so hard to establish how powerful and evil this object is. It works on paper, but not on film. For the pacing of the movie Faramir had to become an obstacle.
@@Cerrydwenn That's a really cool factoid
@@jebus9001 Why would it be a factoid? It is literally what the writers of the movie say on the dvd about why they changed Faramir.
@@Cerrydwenn factoid: a brief or trivial item of news or information.
Chill man. I was saying it's a cool piece of information...
@@jebus9001 Rofl. I actually had to google what that ment as well, but i got 'A bit of misinterpreted information'.
I've never seen a reactor actually sit down and read the books for LotR just in preparation to watch the movies! Geez, that's some dedication. Thanks for filming your reactions to both the books and the movies, it was great to relive the experience again vicariously through you. :D
31:44 it's fine we all look the same.
It's amazing how timeless Tolkien's books are, and I think it's very much to do with the authenticity with which he wrote. It's no secret he was crafting an alternate mythology for England, a people who's history was supplanted first by the Romans, then by Nordic invaders, then by the conquest by the Normans. All civilizations have their Odyssey, and this collection is England's because it speaks to universal values, those being the inevitable defeat of evil and the steadfastness of good. Although, people often mistake the lesson as good always defeating evil. This doesn't happen in LotR. Frodo fails, his virtue falters, and it is only through the desperate treachery of Gollum that the ring is destroyed. The true theme is that, while good may fail, evil will inevitably destroy itself.
When the extended versions of these movies came out on DVD, my friends would have LOTR slumber parties. There would be like 10 of us in our pajamas on sleeping bags on the living room floor, with bowls of popcorn and ice-cream, and we'd try to stay up all night watching LOTR.
We were adults in our early 30s.
after my first break up, i watched all 3 LOTR in one day with my best friend. it was the first day i went without bawling xD
"The Silmarillion" is definitely a tougher read than LOTR, but it's so worth it. The amount of detail in it is just staggering.
Over time, the Silmarillion has become my favorite book.
@@barreloffun10 Mine as well
Yes! It is a compilation of version of stories that Tolkien wrote all along his life (from his late teens, many many years before writing the Hobbit and lotr). It allowed him to create langages, and have them evolve (place and people names, and a lot of the rest) with events in the world. It shows so much depth!
And the Silmarillion content is, to me, what gave this weight and deepness to lotr especially. And it explains the whole melancholic feeling lotr has, with the end of so many things dating from the first age and before happening along the way, exemplified by the departure of a lot of the elves at the end, and with the arrival of modernity and the human's disconnection from nature just around the corner...
Lotr happens at the end of the 3rd age. The Silmarillion shows mostly the creation and shaping of middle earth and especially the first age (which was really epic, and long) and also a bit the 2nd, and, quickly, the 3rd.
Those who liked lotr should give the Silmarillion a read!
(and please don't be off putted by the beginning, which has a different tone, and by the many, many, many names and genealogy cites: just continue and push through: the relevant names will be repeated often enough, and you'll be in awe when you'll discover the stories of Beren and Luthien, of Turin Turambar, of the Silmarills, of the valars, of so many incredible things ...
It will also, as a bonus, make the lotr's background shine 10 fold brighter and just is a wonderful companion to it, and to oneself.
And lotr goes from an incredible story with lots of details and a vivid background, to an incredible conclusion and events that are also a "small" ripple effect of an incredible past.
I envy those who will read it for the first time :)
I'm excited to see her read and review Lord of The Rings again, AFTER having read Silmarillion. That's when the payoff and beauty off the entire thing really begins to unfold!
The Silmarillion is definitely a unique book. It's the only book I've ever read that contained so much information in such a condensed space that I actually had to take small breaks while reading it. There's really nothing to compare it to.
This reaction was a surprise delight, I can understand why there are no down-votes at the time of this writing.
Some of my favorite "qualities", to use a callback-word:
A) Reading and discussing the books before the films.
B) Stickies and annotations throughout the book pages. I read at an absorbing pace too, for that very reason.
C) Stalking-cat.
D) Kalimba playing.
E) Very different yet still amazing hair every camera-cut.
F) Hobbit cooking break.
Your comment has shown its quality. The very highest 🥺
Thank you very much- I am so glad you enjoyed
"Amazing hair"? If you like that kinda thing, I guess. However, I don't. :) (can't please everybody)
@@jstrahan2 wow, you are such an ass. Sometimes it’s ok to just keep your thoughts to yourself.
@@phueal it's okay- speaking of hair, at least we know now whose beard will wither and grow ever thin...
@@iLiviesimone iconic use of the dwarf line
I cried when you were rooting for Gandalf saying "That's right Gandalf, give them hope".
In general I just loved that you chose to do this review and in the order you did it. So much respect from me.
God damn it. Even in reactions like this, 'what about side by side with a friend', Merry and Pippin being the first to run after Aragorn, and 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you' alway tears me up.
The one that always always gets me is "My friends, you bow to no one."
@@thefriesofLockeLamora Even thinking about it gets me every time. I remember seeing it in theaters I legit had a cold at the time and I played on that hard when I left with my friend lol
I cry every time Sam says, "Rosie Cotton dancing. She had ribbons in her hair." Without fail.
I agree that they did Faramir dirty.. in the book he's the only "mere" human to face the temptation of the ring and overcome it outright.. and this was stolen from him in the movie.
I understand the reasoning for it, but yeah.. it was possibly unnecessary.
on the other hand, I would like to point you towards a different scene that still displays the great respect. research and love that went into making this movie.
That scene being: Gimli telling Legolas what he received from Galadriel, and Legolas acknowledging this with a subtle smile.
That right there encapsulates and recognizes several chapters of the Silmarillion and much of the backstory to the third era, which is the time period that ends with the story of the lord of the rings.
if you want to read the Silmarillion, you should not read any further...because I'm about to explain stuff. :P
Galadriel was born in Valinor, the land of the west, where Elves go "back to" when they tire of Middle Earth. It's the seat of the Valar, the "gods/demi-gods" of Middle Earth.
Before the Sun and the Moon, the main source of light were two trees, Telperion and Laurelin, created by Yavanna, one of the Valar.
It is said that Galadriel's hair reflected and trapped some of the light of the two trees. When Feanor, her uncle and one of the greatest of his kind (prince/king of one of the branches of Elves) noticed this, he desired for a lock of her hair. He asked her three times. She refused, because of the way he asked, and because she could tell the darkness that was starting to blossom in his hearth.
So he went and created the Silmarils instead.. 3 gems that also captured the light of the trees, before they were destroyed. Those gems, and the desire and greed they evoked in pretty much anyone that saw them, are at the center of centuries of war that lasted many thousands of years. One such war was the origin of the traditional enmity between dwarves and elves.... fast forward in time, Galadriel, now probably the most powerful elf in Middle earth (except maybe Cirdan and Glorfindel) is asked, in complete innocence, a single strand of hair, by Gimli, who is probably oblivious to the significance of the request. She gives him 3, one for each lock she denied Feanor.
Legolas, himself an elven prince, is perfectly aware of what the gesture entails. He looks at gimli and smiles... and after that moment, a friendship blossoms between the two, that eventually leads to Elves and Dwarves burrying the hatched and starting to work together again to create works of engineering and art to last for centuries.
With one gesture, Galadriel ends a war..
With one smile of Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson gives a nod to all Tolkien fans..
so I'm letting him off the hook for the Faramir blunder.
They do devote more time to Faramir in the books. But he does resist the temptation in the movie as well. Maybe not in the excact same way, but it's his decision to allow Frodo and Sam to move on with the ring, although he was tempted to take it and give to his father.
Nikolaj Rasmussen - Agreed.
I can see that, but I have yet to forgive him for having Frodo send Sam away, and for Sam actually going for even a few minutes. I’ve always said that Frodo would never choose Smeagol over Sam, and if by chance he sent Sam away, Sam would only follow behind at a distance.
@@nikolajrasmussen9573 This. He wasn't tempted by the ring, he was tempted to earn his father's love.
Well they actually mention this in the appendices of thf movies. Faramir is someone who "wouldn't pick up the ring even if it was right before him" in the books, but it felt wrong to do it in such a way.
The Ring had been built up as this great tempting force, and here's a character who cares nothing for it (aside from Tom Bombadil really, but he's different).
Anyway it was undermining the power of the Ring, and I personally like it more in this iteration, that he struggled to letnit go, but in the end did let it go.
Tolkien was a scholar of ancient myths and legends, and in these books he set out to take everything he could find and roll it all into one super-myth. He succeeded. Just about every entry into the sword-and -sorcery genre takes something from Tolkien.
Later, you might track down his essay “Beowulf:the Monsters and the Critics,” and then read the original “Beowulf.” I recommend the Seamus Heaney translation. Then: read Michael Crichton’s “Eaters of the Dead.” It’s delightful. It pretends to be a scholarly commentary, complete with footnotes, on a recently discovered manuscript by an Arab named Ibn Fadlan (who actually existed) who accidentally meets the “historical Beowulf.” The joke being that the scholar doesn’t know who Beowulf was.
Btw, I’m 70, and I used to teach Beowulf, and Tolkien’s essay, in my “Intro to Lit” courses while I was teaching college. If you choose to go that route, you could spend your entire life studying all these myths and religions. That’s how deep this stuff goes. Of course, you might also go slightly bonkers, but happily so. Have a great life!
He writes a myth inspired story, but its not really like the myths and the only times he really pushes his narrative into the magically wierdness of the myths that he is sourcing is here and there in the Hobbit and the whole "Tom Bombadil, the Old Willows and the Barrow wights" part.
J.R.R Tolkien went through WW1 (arguably the worst war in history to be a soldier in). He got a ton of inspiration from the horror.
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
I've known this sentence by heart for 22 years now. :)
Seriously, get the Silmarillion on audio book, it's pretty dense in vocabulary.
The Hobbits weren't really Peter Jackson's fault. It didn't work out with the original director, and Peter was sent in literally the last minute. The fact that he put together a coherent movie at all was a miracle. And both directors wanted 2 movies at most, but the studios insisted.
And I just want to add my favorite things about The Hobbit and the trilogy. Besides the beautiful language, I love that the story is a balance between trauma and ptsd and friendship. It's heavy and warm at the same time.
I'm sorry, but that's not true. Yes he had to come in after Del Toro left. But he DIDN'T have to make a trilogy, and he and his wife and their writing partner DIDN'T have to literally make up 50% or more of the material, none of it in the book, some of it downright cringe, just to pad out a "trilogy" that should have (and easily could have) been one film. That IS Jackson's fault.
If y'all want a deep dive on The Hobbit, and what went wrong, there's a great video series breaking it all down from Lindsay Ellis th-cam.com/video/uTRUQ-RKfUs/w-d-xo.html
Long story short, it certainly wasn't as simple as "Jackson could have just said no to the studios."
I really liked the hobbit movies.
@@Relics_of_Arda I'm happy you did. I did not. I think del toro would have been a better fit.
@@Relics_of_Arda Same. Really disliked them my first watch through, found it nearly unbearable. Recently rewatched, extended edition for the last two, and wow what a difference. They're actually really good. Idk why, but I ended up enjoying them immensely
I’m genuinely impressed and amazed, I haven’t seen many people include the reading of these books with watching the movies. You are incredible! 😃
3 minutes in and this is the most precious and wholesome thing I've ever seen.
Have to thank TH-cam algorithm for recommending this one to me. Being a hardcore Tolkien nerd it's always fun to see people getting into the his works for the first time and appreciating it.
You're so eloquent and thorough, and it was heart-warming to see your smile reacting to some of the more emotional scenes in the movies. Also it's great that your sister seemed to have a good time too, I think it's so much more fun to watch movies when you have someone to talk and joke with!
Boromir Meme :
"One Does not Simply Hire Sean for a Film
...
And Expect Him to Live to the End Credits"
Thorin's dying words will stick with me to my own dying days. "If more people valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
Also, Beregond the door guard's son tugs my heartstrings. because of one specific moment. When the hosts of Gondor are marching out to fight at the Black Gate, another boy asks him if they're going to win. Without a beat he responds they're gonna be fine because 'Gandalf, Lord Aragorn and his companions, and my father are going with them.'
Let this sink in, Beregond's son sees his father, a door guard, as nothing less than as great a legendary hero and badass as ARAGORN. It hits me right in the feels.
He wasnt a mere "Door guard" , he a "Citadel Guard" , the highest soldier rank in Gondor i think , he was an elite warrior by Gondorian standarts.................still very sweet and amazing that he is seen by his son with such pride and the same awe as the Heroic King and his band of mighty warriors
I definetly love this little moments that are maybe worthless for the plot but instill in you the feel of a bigger picture and that there is people outside your perspective (main characters) , that the world is alive and the weight of what is happening
@@ramondelgado4927 Beregond was a plain man of the fifth company. And of course was a hero to Bergil.
"The forest wasn't there..."
"THE FOREST WASN'T THERE!!"
Lol!!
This is such a beautiful way to review stories and share the journey of reading. Top marks, subscribed. And your black rider kitty is adorable.
Fun fact I couldnt see mentioned here: Director Peter Jackson has a full sized hobbit hole built underneath his house
it was actual film set of Bag End :)
Even Tolkien said that the true hero of the entire story was Samwise.
The practical effects in LotR bring me joy, I'm glad when other people feel the same. The orcs and all their pals look fantastic and believable, the craftwork behind it all was amazing.
I've got a ton of nostalgia about the films and also the idyllic portrayal of the shire, obviously it's meant to be a lovely place but it also hits that specific feeling of "home" for me because I'm from a fairly rural spot in the UK. I rewatch Gandalfs introduction fairly often just because it's so relaxing and Concerning Hobbits is just distilled comfort music.
To continue with Tolkiens works I suggest reading "The Silmarillion" and "The Children of Húrin"
The Children of Hurin THEN The Silmarillion. Get the pain out of the way first
@@redlightning2322 So. Much. PAIN...
@@redlightning2322 except without reading the Silmarillion first a lot of the lore that CoH relies on will not make sense.
I was left in awe after reading just the first part of Silmarillion i.e. Ainulindalë
Read Silm first, CoH is included in it, and you’ll have more context.
This has been covered by other comments, but it's worth pointing out again: Tolkien worked in the opposite way to all other world-building fantasy authors. Whereas it's normal to come up with a story and then create a world behind it to support it, Tokien started writing languages as a kid, then created peoples and races to speak the languages, then histories and legends for those people, and then finally begrudgingly wrote a narrative set in his world. There's no illusion of depth in his stories, just genuine depth. Almost any question you can ask about anything in his world, there's a real answer.
Great reaction!
Hey Thomas!
Since finishing the books, the discussion of the languages has been one of my favorites to have. After learning that with these books language came first, it made me think of something talked about in one of the linguistics classes I took- this fundamental idea that language and culture/identity are intertwined. And it’s neat to think that Tolkien’s way of creating these stories almost proves that- he created the language, and the culture/world couldn’t help but come to life from it
Thank you for commenting!
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The Silmarillion is my favourite book but its a very special one. It has almost no dialog so its more like a tale that is made to say outloud, on the fire, for a small audience. And until you grasp all the names there (which are very similar: Like Finwe, Fingon, Finarfin, Fingolfin, etc..) you take some time to get who is who and feel lost at times, but once you get everything, then WOW...
Also if you know the Silmarillion all the names in for example min 16:45 make a hell more sense then xD
"Almost any question you can ask about anything in his world, there's a real answer."
If that's the case... what _was_ Aragorn's tax policy? :P Just kidding, but yeah, that's a great observation!
@@therogueblade915 hahaha I actually wouldn't be surprised if that's covered in one of Tolkien's letters...
Someone, anyone show this girl "They're taking the hobbits to Isengard"
"What did you say?"
And the Saruman Trollololol vid.
lmao
I love how you can see her grow more love for Tolkien’s writing with each book. He’s much more old school, but you can see how he meticulously built a whole new style of fantasy
Also, I can’t hear the Rohan theme without tearing up, my god
"I'll just call him Strider". 🤣
Aragorn, son of Arathorn? Last of the line of the Kings of Gondor, descendant of the Kings of Numenor, wielder of Narsil, the sword that was broken? Okay.
I see your taking the hobbits’ way out
Even Aragorn decided to be called King Elessar Telcontar that basically mean Hope Strider.
Boromir was the most human character in the book or movies. He wasnt perfect, and he had a great redemption
i genuinely wanted him to live so bad because he was a good man who made a mistake 😭😭😭😭💔
He gets neglected a lot, especially when relying on the books alone, which is a shame.
@@Big_Bag_of_Pus Boromir is probably the only character I personally believe PJ did better than JRRT.
@@Whydoyoureadme I agree.
Boromir is a brave and loyal friend who defended the hobbits till his death. His only weakness was his attraction to the Ring, the weakness of the house of Númenor.
The entire series just brings back memories of being a kid in elementary school 40+ years ago. I found The Hobbit by accident in our tiny library and checked it out. The librarian told me that I might be too young to understand it, but that book took my love of reading to a place I never thought possible at 8 or 9 years old. The library didn't have the rest of the series but the school librarian personally borrowed them from the high school library just so I could read them. I even got in trouble for constantly reading them in class and had my mom summoned to a teacher's meeting. She told my mom that she felt awkward because it was the first time in the many years she had been teaching that she had to discipline a student for reading because normally it was the opposite. I have read that series many times since and it never gets old. I cared less about the movies really. This was a great video and I appreciated your thoughts and watched the entire thing. thank you!
After seeing the extended versions in the theater in 2019, I became obsessed and started reading the books in quarantine. I have about 4 chapters left of ROTK I've been dragging it out because I don't want it to end, so it's fun to re-read the series vicariously through you! Thanks (:
How fun! And these books do seem like good quarantine company- thank you for watching!
"how old is gandalf?" ... he is not human and his years on earth are counted in thousends
About as old as Sauron. They are the same kind of beings.
"how old is gandalf?"
He is literally as old as time, as he was there for the creation of the world.
Tolkien's whole approach to life is so alien to the modern world. As a professor of Philology at Oxford, before writing any of these books, he was the editor of the letter W for the original Oxford English Dictionary. He even wrote an essay about how "walrus" was the most interesting word in the English language.
Fun Fact: In universe Tolkien translated the names from Westron to English. For example, Frodo is actually Maura, Bilbo is Bilba and Samwise is Banazîr.
Simone: How old is Gandalf?
Cat: **having a seizure in the background**
I mean, he was probably trying to figure out how to measure the age of a Maiar
Also fyi, the Rohan theme is played on a Norwegian Harding fiddle with harmony strings underneath the normal fiddle strings, which is why it has the unique harmonic.
To answer your sister's good question at the beginning of the story:
Sauron put a big part of his magical power into the One Ring. When he lost it he was weakened so much that he could not do anything on Middle Earth for a very long time. He did not die when he lost his ring as he is immortal, being a maia, a great spirit (like Gandalf and Saruman really are that, too). He can or cannot manifest in the material "real world" of Middle Earth depending on the state of his "magical health and strength". So he could not appear on Middle Earth after losing his One Ring for a very long time. But that long period ended by the era of the events in LOTR and by then his spirit recovered and stengthened again and he could appear and do things on Middle Earth again even without his ring. But still the One Ring was very important to him because with it he could have gained much more magical power. That is why he tried to recapture it every way possible (as this is one of the main lines of the LOTR story).
The reason why he put a big part of his power into the Ring is hat through that he could manipulate others who also bore magical rings he had made (human lords and dwarf lords). He tried to manipulate elven lords, too, but they recognized it and ceased to wear their rings when Sauron wore the One Ring. So after he lose it they could use their own magical rings again.
Also, in the books Isildur cut the ring off of a dead Sauron's hand after Elendil and Gilgalad killed him.
@@draugur345 Well, it seems to be somewhat ambiguous to me. Sauron killed Elendil and Gil-Galad, but Sauron also came down. So was he dead? Dying might not exactly mean the same for maiar as for the mortals. Perhaps he was lethally wounded and near to dying (in a way) but he could have returned form "the gate of death" and regained his power until he wore the One Ring. But Isildur cut his finger off and also the Ring with it. So Sauron could not stay in this world after all. At least for a long era from then on. (Although this did not mean death in the exact meaning of the word.)
The scene in the movie was somewhat modified compared to the Silmarillion. This is just one editing of many where there is some difference between the books and the films.
@@akostarkanyi825 Okay then, defeated, since that avoids the whole issue of what "dead" means to a maia.
What I was getting at, in relation to the question of "was that the only thing keeping him alive," was, as you stated, the situation in the books was quite different from the scene portrayed in the movie.
I may be mistaken, but I believe the power of the Elven Rings was tied to the One Ring. Since the One Ring was destroyed, their power was taken away, thus the Elves resistance to fading was lost.
@@christiansky942 Nope, you nailed it.
"Frodo and Baggins go on a journey."
Close enough.
(i think that was a riddle used in the series at some point)
"Cave-men singing of the misty mountain."
. . . i mean, not wrong.
The films are good, I'll give you that. However, I really would've liked to see Tom Bombadil and Goldberry make an appearance so that the dagger that Pippin uses to unknot the baddie can be fully explained. Also I would've liked to see how the returning hobbits dealt with the proto-communistic Shire.
From what I understand they felt they couldn’t add that in the movie because he was such an anomaly. It would have been epic though like a little mini acid trip or a fever dream haha.
@@treebeard8475 it probably would have messed up the pacing, and the movies were already very long. Movies are meant to be watched in one sitting, while books can go on through many sessions. Pacing and arc for movies must be designed around this.
@@bluesdealer absolutely 100% agree. I took one film class in college wish I could have taken 6 more. Did you study cinema or just out of your observations?
(you mean Merry, sorry to be pedantic but it was my man Merry)