Middle-earth in film

J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, set in Middle-earth, have been the subject of various film adaptations. There were many early failed attempts to bring the fictional universe to life in screen, some even rejected by the author himself. The first depictions of Middle-earth on film were realized in 1966 as a short cartoon film. In 1978 the first big screen adaptation of the fictional setting was introduced in The Lord of the Rings. The story was more or less completed with the animated television special The Return of the King. In 1985, Middle-earth was depicted in a live-action film for the first time by an adaptation produced in the Soviet Union. In 1993, a live-action television miniseries titled Hobitit was aired by the Finnish broadcaster Yle.

New Line Cinema released the first part of director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series in 2001 as part of a trilogy and several actors and roles were introduced once again in a trilogy in The Hobbit film series. There have also been fan films of Middle-earth such as The Hunt for Gollum and Born of Hope, which were uploaded to YouTube on May 8, 2009 and December 11, 2009 respectively.

Collectively, the franchise has received a record 38 Academy Award nominations, winning 17, and one special award, also a record. Along with The Godfather trilogy, it is one of two film series to date to have received three Best Picture nominations. The third film in Peter Jackson's trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, was the first and, as of 2017, only fantasy film to win Best Picture, as well as the second sequel to do so after The Godfather Part II. Furthermore, it is currently the only film to be the third in a series and win the award. Along with Titanic and Ben-Hur, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King holds the record for Academy Awards won by a single film and is the only one of the three films to win every category for which it was nominated.

Early attempts

In 1957, Tolkien received a film proposal from Forrest J. Ackerman, Morton Grady Zimmerman, and Al Brodax. The proposed film, a mix of animation, miniature work, and live action, was to be three hours long with two intermissions. Tolkien was enthusiastic about the film's concept art, described as akin to Arthur Rackham rather than Walt Disney^[1] whose works Tolkien intensely disliked.^[2] However, Tolkien was dissatisfied with the script^[3] and the financial arrangements which would have brought him little profit. Thus the project was turned down.^[4][5]

Tolkien criticized the script for divergence to the tone of the book (such as a "fairy-tale" depiction of Lothlórien, as well as elements cut "upon which [the book's] characteristic and peculiar tone principally depends") and character representation (such as Sam leaving Frodo to Shelob and going on to Mount Doom alone). He also took issue with dialogue changes as regards to the "style and sentiment" of characters, and with intercutting between the storylines of Frodo and Aragorn. He suggested eliminating the battle of Helm's Deep to better emphasize the defense of Minas Tirith, as well as cutting characters out instead of diminishing their roles. Tolkien protested against added "incantations, blue lights, and some irrelevant magic" and "a preference for fights".^[5]

In 1966 William L. Snyder commissioned a 12-minutes film of cartoon stills from Gene Deitch, as related by Deitch himself.^[6][7] This film was created in the Czech Republic and publicly screened in New York City.^[6][8]

The film rights were sold by Tolkien to United Artists in 1969. The Beatles planned to do a live-action version with Paul McCartney as Frodo Baggins, Ringo Starr as Sam Gamgee, George Harrison as Gandalf, and John Lennon as Gollum. The group approached Stanley Kubrick to direct the film. Even though he briefly considered directing the film, Kubrick turned the offer down, as he felt the novel was unfilmable due to its immensity.^[9] Soon the plans for the film came to nothing because Tolkien didn't want the Beatles in the film.^[10]

In the 1970s John Boorman was contracted by United Artists to direct an adaptation that would have collapsed the entire story into a single film.^[11] Boorman corresponded with Tolkien about the project.^[5][12] In the script by Boorman and Rospo Pallenberg, many new elements have been inserted or modified. Among other things, Gimli is put in a hole and beaten so he can retrieve the password to Moria from his ancestral memory, Frodo and Galadriel have sexual intercourse, Arwen is made into a teenaged spiritual guide with her role as Aragorn's love interest wholly transferred to Éowyn, and Aragorn’s healing of Éowyn takes place on the battlefield and given sexual overtones.^[5][12][13] The project ultimately proved too expensive to finance at that time. Again collaborating with Pallenberg, Boorman later made the Arthurian epic Excalibur where he used special effects techniques and locations intended for the Tolkien project.^[5][12][13]

Materials pertaining to Ackerman/Zimmerman/Brodax and Boorman's treatments, as well as Ralph Bakshi's (below) are stored in the Tolkien papers collection of Marquette University.^[5]

Animated films

The Hobbit, an animated version of the story produced by Rankin/Bass, debuted as a television movie in the United States in 1977. In 1978, Romeo Muller won a Peabody Award for his teleplay. The film was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but lost to Star Wars.^[14]

Filmmaker Ralph Bakshi was introduced to the work of J. R. R. Tolkien by a director at Terrytoons in 1956. In 1957, he started trying to obtain the rights by convincing producers that the books could be animated.^[15] Following John Boorman's attempt to adapt the books, Bakshi proposed that United Artists produce the story as three animated films.^[11] Bakshi and Dan Melnick, then-president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, made a deal with United Artists to purchase the film rights to the story for $3 million, but the deal fell through when Melnick was fired from MGM.^[11] Bakshi contacted Saul Zaentz, who had helped finance Fritz the Cat, and persuaded him to produce The Lord of the Rings. United Artists agreed to produce the story as two films.^[11] Voice actors included Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes and John Hurt. The film incorporated the use of rotoscoping, brief snippets of cel animation, and live-action footage mixed with animation. Bakshi later regretted his use of the rotoscoping technique, stating that he made a mistake by tracing the source footage rather than using it as a guide.^[16] Once the film was completed, Bakshi was told that audiences would not pay to see an incomplete film, and The Lord of the Rings was released without any indication that a second part would follow, in spite of Bakshi's objections.^[11][17] The film cost $4 million to produce and grossed $30.5 million at the box office.^[18] Film critic Leonard Maltin said that it was one of only two major commercial successes in Bakshi's career, the other being Fritz the Cat.^[19] Despite this, the studio refused to fund the sequel, which would have adapted the remainder of the book series.^[11] The Lord of the Rings won the Golden Gryphon at the 1980 Giffoni Film Festival.^[20]

In 1980, Rankin/Bass more or less completed what Bakshi had started with their own animated adaptation of The Return of the King,^[21] based on their own concepts previously applied to their earlier animated adaptation of The Hobbit.

First live-action versions

The first live-action film depicting characters and stories of Middle-earth was shown in 1985 in the Soviet Union. Skazochnoye puteshestviye mistera Bilbo Begginsa Khobbita (Russian: Сказочное путешествие мистера Бильбо Беггинса Хоббита) [The Fabulous Journey of Mr. Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit] was a film based on the events of The Hobbit. Shot in 1984^[22] as a teleplay and produced in the framework of the children's TV series Tale after Tale (Russian: Сказка за сказкой), it featured actors such as Zinovy Gerdt, Mikhail Danilov, Anatoly Ravikovich and Igor Dmitriev.

In 1993, the Finnish broadcaster Yle produced a live-action miniseries called Hobitit ("The Hobbits"). Despite the name it was based on The Lord of the Rings rather than The Hobbit; but it included only the parts of the story that the hobbits had witnessed themselves (hence the title). The nine episodes were aired on Yle TV1. The series was written and directed by Timo Torikka. Toni Edelmann composed the soundtrack.^[23] Actors included Matti Pellonpää, Martti Suosalo, Vesa Vierikko, Ville Virtanen, Kari Väänänen and Leif Wager.

Peter Jackson's film series

Future projects

On November 13, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had acquired the global television rights to The Lord of the Rings, committing to a multi-season television series. The series will not be a direct adaptation of the books, but will instead introduce new stories that are set before The Fellowship of the Ring.^[36] Amazon said the deal included potential for spin-off series as well.^[37] The press release referred to "previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings". Amazon will be the producer in conjunction with the Tolkien Estate and the Tolkien Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema.^[38]

Fan films

The Hunt for Gollum, a fan film based on elements of the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, was released on the internet in May 2009. It is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, and depicts Aragorn's quest to find Gollum. The film's visual style is based on that of the Jackson films. Although it is completely unofficial, it has received coverage in major media.^[39]

Another fan made feature film, Born of Hope, produced and directed by Kate Madison, was released online on December 1, 2009 on Dailymotion and later on YouTube. It takes place before the events of The Hobbit. The film can be streamed freely on its main website.^[40] Like The Hunt for Gollum, this film triggered reviews in various media.^[41]

Cast

Box office performance

Public and critical reception

References