Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week joined by special guests Andy Melhuish, Deirdre Molumby and Grace Duffy, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.
This time, to mark the 20th anniversary of its release, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the Great Rings.”
At time of recording, it was ranked 10th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 18th November 2021.
- Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at The Internet Movie Database.
- The IMDB 250 as it appeared at time of recording.
- Follow Dee on Twitter.
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- Follow Grace on Twitter.
- Read Grace’s reviews at The Mary Sue.
- Listen to Grace at the Scannain podcast.
- David Elkin at The Daily Edge reports on the Lighthouse’s Lord of the Rings marathon, August 2016.
- Nicholas Anthony at Collective Swish describes his experience attending a marathon of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit trilogies, May 2018.
- Sting talks to ABC News about how seven-hour tantric sex is “a spiritual act”, October 2014.
- Elijah Wood talks to The Graham Norton Show about discussing The Return of the King with Jack Nicholson, November 2011.
- Matt Lebovic at The Times of Israel looks at J.R.R. Tolkien’s Dwarves as an allegory for the Jewish people, December 2013.
- Rebecca Brackmann at Mythlore discusses similarities between the dwarves and Tolkien’s views of Jewish people, April 2010.
- Tom Rich at Medium discusses Tolkien’s complicated relationship with the idea of allegory, November 2019.
- Musings of a Tolkienologist reflects on the origin of The Hobbit, August 2015.
- Chloe Langr at Aleteia reports on the origins of The Hobbit in the bedtime stories that Tolkien told his children, November 2017.
- Tim Lommerse at Tolkien Society discusses how Tolkien’s work can be read through the lens of his experiences during the First World War, September 2017.
- Simon Tolkien writes at the BBC about how his grandfather’s experience of the First World War shaped The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, January 2017.
- Joseph Loconte at The New York Times argues that Mordor was based on the Western Front, July 2016.
- John Garth at The Daily Beast argues that the First World War lies at the heart of The Lord of the Rings, April 2017.
- Ian McKellen discusses reading The Lord of the Rings as an allegory for the Second World War as part of his E-Post correspondence, March 2001.
- Keith Aikers at Compassionate Spirit argues that The Lord of the Rings would have resonated greatly with a generation that lived through the Second World War, March 2004.
- Molly Haskell at The Guardian discusses how Gone With the Wind resonated with European audiences following its release after the Second World War, May 2009.
- Geoffrey Wheatcroft at The Guardian explores the myth of the Second World War as “the good war”, December 2014.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist looks at how the cinematic release of The Lord of the Rings resonated with audiences looking for an epic narrative in the wake of 9/11, November 2021.
- Adam Gopnik at The New Yorker discusses the moral simplicity of The Lord of the Rings, December 2011.
- The Associated Press reports on George W. Bush labelling the War on Terror as a “struggle for civilisation”, September 2006.
- George W. Bush talks to the United Nations about how the War on Terror is “the story of our times, a story of courage defeating cruelty and light overcoming darkness”, November 2001.
- Mary McNamara at The Los Angeles Times reports on an explosion of fantasy cinema at the turn of the millennium, November 2001.
- Christopher Borrelli at The Chicago Tribune reports of viewing the success of The Fellowship of the Rings through the lens of 9/11 and the War on Terror, September 2011.
- Roger Rosenblatt at Time argues that the “age of irony” has come “to an end” after the 9/11 attacks, September 2001.
- Camille Dodero argues in The Boston Phoenix that it is time to “get serious” after the 9/11 attacks, September 2001.
- Charles Fleming at The Los Angeles Times reports on how jokes were toned down in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, October 2001.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist looks at how modern superhero blockbusters are saturated with knowing and winking irony, July 2021.
- Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline looks at how the Lord of the Rings trilogy came together, July 2021.
- Drew McWeeny at Polygon looks at the various alternate versions of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings that almost happened, February 2021.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist looks at how only Peter Jackson could have made The Lord of the Rings, December 2021.
- Matt Stewart at Stuff looks at the excitement around Peter Jackson bringing Michael J. Fox to New Zealand to shoot The Frighteners, November 2015.
- Rebecca Keegan and Nicole Sperling at Vanity Fair look back at Harvey Weinstein’s pursuit of Shakespeare in Love, December 2017.
- Den of Geek looks back on how New Line Cinema became “the house that Freddy built”, October 2018.
- Stephen Galloway at The Hollywood Reporter looks back over the life and career of Mike DeLuca, February 2011.
- Claudia Eller at The Los Angeles Times reports on the departure of Mike DeLuca from New Line Cinema, January 2001.
- Jeffrey Fleishman at The Los Angeles Times looks back on the life and career of Bob Shaye, September 2019.
- Rachel Abramowitz at The Los Angeles Times reports on New Line Cinema’s attempts to build excitement and anticipation for The Lord of the Rings, May 2001.
- IGN reports on the Lord of the Rings footage screened at the Cannes Film Festival, May 2001.
- Dennis DiClaudio at The A.V. Club reports on the miniseries cut of the first two Godfather films streaming on HBO Go, January 2016.
- Viggo Mortensen talks to Entertainment Weekly about the importance of the reshoots to shaping the Lord of the Rings sequels, June 2014.
- Keith Phipps at Fangoria argues for Halloween III as a movie that deserves critical redemption, February 2021.
- Robert Vaux at Comic Book Resources looks at how Halloween III became a cult classic, October 2021.
- Roger Moore at The Seattle Times reports on how Saw VI is about ObamaCare, October 2009.
- Peter Jackson talks to IGN about the extended cuts of the Lord of the Rings movies, December 2003.
- Susana Polo at Polygon argues for the theatrical cuts of the Lord of the Rings movies over the extended editions, March 2021.
- Payal Dhar at The Guardian looks at the biological essentialism that drives so much fantasy and role-playing, November 2020.
- Cecelia D’Anastasio at Wired looks at how Dungeons and Dragons is grappling with the racism baked into fantasy settings, January 2021.
- Karen Durbin at The New York Times reports on the debates over the political readings of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings in the midst of the War on Terror, December 2002.
- The One Ring provides a transcript of John Rhys-Davies’ discussion about what he sees as the battle for western civilisation, July 2003.
- John Rhys-Davies talks to Promontory Artists about he interprets Tolkien’s battle for civilisation, December 2003.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist reflects on the nostalgia that permeates the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, December 2021.
- Anthony Lane at The New Yorker reflects on J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagined and nostalgic journeys in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, December 2001.
- Peter Jackson talks to The Baltimore Sun about how he sees the Hobbits as Englishmen abroad, December 2001.
- Susana Polo at Polygon places Tolkien’s writings in their historical and social context, January 2021.
- Simon J. Cook at The History Vault looks at The Lord of the Rings as Tolkien’s efforts to create a shared history of England, November 2014.
- Elijah Wood talks to The Hollywood Reporter about auditioning for The Lord of the Rings, August 2021.
- Cultura Colectiva looks at how a tape considering Patrick Stewart for the part of Gandalf ultimately landed Ian McKellen the role, December 2021.
- Andrea Towers at Entertainment Weekly reports on how the studio wanted Peter Jackson to kill a Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, July 2021.
- Cian Maher at Polygon considers Sam Tarly from Game of Thrones as an authorial insert character for writer George R.R. Martin, April 2019.
- Peter Jackson talks to AICN about how the victories in The Return of the King were a nightmare from a dramatic standpoint, September 2008.
- Ed Power at The Irish Times reflects on the debate over The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, April 2016.
- Christopher Lee struggles to climb the steps to Saruman’s throne in Fellowship of the Rings.
- Kendra James at Polygon reflects on Orlando Jones as an early internet sex symbol, September 2021.
- Brett Beattie talks to Polygon about working as Gimli’s double on The Lord of the Rings, June 2021.
- Alanna Bennett at Bustle reports on Ian McKellen accidentally outing some of his co-stars in the Hobbit trilogy, January 2014.
- Michael Zhang at Peta Pixel looks at the use of forced perspective in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, August 2012.
- Rhett Allain at Wired looks at how the Lord of the Rings trilogy made the hobbits look so small, April 2012.
- Elizabeth Durand at MTV looks back on how John Madden almost directed The Lord of the Rings, October 2012.
- Eleanor Ainge Roy at The Guardian reports on toxic workplace claims about Weta Digital, September 2020.
- Kristen Hall at 1news reports on Weta Digital as “the world’s most beautiful toxic waste dump”, September 2020.
- Kristen Hall at 1news offers accounts of harrassment and other stories from behind the scenes at Weta Digital, September 2020.
- Jenny Darmody at Silicon Republic reports on Peter Jackson selling Weta Digital to Unity for $1.6bn, November 2021.
- Carol Pinchefsky at Forbes reports on the cultural and economic impact of the Lord of the Rings trilogy on New Zealand, December 2012.
- Jon Jensen at CNN reports on the restoration of the Star Wars sets in Tunisia, July 2012.
- Ben Beaumont-Thomas at The Guardian reports on ISIS seizure of Tataouine, March 2015.
- Joshua Olivieri at Comic Book Resources looks back at how The Lord of the Rings arrived at the perfect time to shape meme culture, December 2017.
- Neel Patel at SyFy Wire looks at how the early generation of internet adaptors embraced the memetic appeal of the Star Wars prequels, June 2020.
- Stephen Colbert celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Rings on The Late Show, December 2021.
- Alex Ross at The New Yorker discusses the relationship between Tolkien and Wagner, December 2003.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: adventure, andy melhuish, dee molumby, deirdre molumby, epic, fantasy, grace duffy, high fantasy, ian mckellen, J. R. R. Tolkien, lord of the rings, lotr, peter jackson, podcast, The 250, the lord of the rings |
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