Monday, November 28, 2011

Picturing Tolkien from McFarland

Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
Edited by Janice M. Bogstad and Philip E. Kaveny

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-4636-0
EBook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8473-7
3 photos, notes, bibliographies, index
309pp. softcover (6 x 9) 2011
Price: $35.00

About the Book
This group of new critical essays offers multidisciplinary analysis of director Peter Jackson’s spectacularly successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). Part One of the collection, "Techniques of Structure and Story," compares and contrasts the organizational principles of the books and films. Part Two, "Techniques of Character and Culture," focuses on the methods used to transform the characters and settings of Tolkien’s narrative into the personalities and places visualized on screen. Each of the sixteen essays includes extensive notes and a separate bibliography.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi
Preface by Janice M. Bogstad and Philip E. Kaveny 1
Introduction 5

I. Techniques of Story and Structure
Gollum Talks to Himself: Problems and Solutions in Peter Jackson’s Film Adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
KRISTIN THOMPSON 25
Sometimes One Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures
VERLYN FLIEGER 46
Two Kinds of Absence: Elision and Exclusion in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings
JOHN D. RATELIFF 54
Tolkien’s Resistance to Linearity: Narrating The Lord of the Rings in Fiction and Film
E.L. RISDEN 70
Filming Folklore: Adapting Fantasy for the Big Screen through Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings
DIMITRA FIMI 84
Making the Connection on Page and Screen in Tolkien’s and Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings
YVETTE KISOR 102
“It’s Alive!”: Tolkien’s Monster on the Screen
SHARIN SCHROEDER 116
The Matériel of Middle- earth: Arms and Armor in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy
ROBERT C. WOOSNAM- SAVAGE 139

II. Techniques of Character and Culture
Into the West: Far Green Country or Shadow on the Waters?
JUDY ANN FORD and ROBIN ANNE REID 169
Frodo Lives but Gollum Redeems the Blood of Kings
PHILIP E. KAVENY 183
The Grey Pilgrim: Gandalf and the Challenges of Characterization in Middle- earth
BRIAN D. WALTER 194
Jackson’s Aragorn and the American Superhero Monomyth
JANET BRENNAN CROFT 216
Neither the Shadow nor the Twilight: The Love Story of Aragorn and Arwen in Literature and Film
RICHARD C. WEST 227
Concerning Horses: Establishing Cultural Settings from Tolkien to Jackson
JANICE M. BOGSTAD 238
The Rohirrim, the Anglo- Saxons, and the Problem of Appendix F : Ambiguity, Analogy and Reference in Tolkien’s Books and Jackson’s Films
MICHAEL D.C. DROUT 248
Filming the Numinous: The Fate of Lothlórien in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings
JOSEPH RICKE and CATHERINE BARNETT 264

About the Contributors 287
Index 291


About the Author
Janice M. Bogstad is a professor of women’s studies and English and is head of technical services at the McIntyre Library, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Her written work has appeared in more than 60 reference books. University of Wisconsin-Madison Emeritus Philip E. Kaveny is an independent scholar, author, playwright, poet and lecturer. In 1976 he cofounded Madison’s Feminist Oriented Conference.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Chiller November 2011 Updated

As of at least today, this month's listings for Chiller are now accessible. They are more complete than usual (including details on all, instead of only some, series), but there is sparse medieval content this month, as follows:

Mon., 14 Nov.
10:00 A ET 
The Twilight Zone (1985): The Last Defender Of Camelot

Tues., 15 Nov.
09:00 A ET
Forever Knight: Dark Knight: The Second Chapter
10:00 A ET
Forever Knight: For I Have Sinned
11:00 A ET
Forever Knight: Last Act
12:00 P ET
Forever Knight: Dance By The Light Of The Moon
01:00 P ET
Forever Knight: Dying To Know You
02:00 P ET
Forever Knight: False Witness
03:00 P ET
Forever Knight: Cherry Blossoms

Wednes., 23 Nov.
12:00 P ET 
Monsters: Sleeping Dragon

Saturday, November 5, 2011

CFP Medieval Magic, Myths, and Legends in Film and Television

I had hoped to put together something on Arthurian film but, due to scheduling conflicts, realized I could not attend (again), so I am grateful to see that another medievalist has stepped up to the plate:


CALL FOR PAPERS (download CFP)
“Medieval Magic, Myths, and Legends in Film and Television”
An area of multiple panels for the Film & History Conference on “Film and Myth”
September 26-30, 2012
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
www.filmandhistory.org
Deadline: June 1, 2012

The Middle Ages have inspired some of the most enduring myths and legends of Western
culture. Whether painted, on screen, in the bright colors of Camelot and The Adventures of Robin
Hood or the drab grays and browns of Robin and Marian and Monty Python and the Holy Grail,
they represent a world in which right and wrong, love and honor, heroism and villainy were
clearly defined.  Tales of larger-than-life medieval characters – whether adapted from original
sources, or set in a wholly imagined middle ages – have been staples of film and television for
generations.  These medieval-themed narratives, featuring historical figures like Joan of Arc,
beloved folk heroes such as Robin Hood, and worlds where dragons and other mythical beasts
roam the Earth, have retold and adapted familiar stories of adventure, conquest, magic, and
romance, while adding new ones to the ancient tradition.

This area, comprising multiple panels, will treat all aspects of the myth and legend in films and
television programs. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Arthurian Legends and Myths
Legendary Heroes  Fictional  and Factual (Robin Hood, Beowulf, Sigfried, William Wallace,
Alexander Nevsky, El Cid, etc.)
Legendary Saints and Sinners (Joan of Arc, St. Francis, Hildegard of Bingen, Pope Joan, Abelard
and Heloise, etc.)
Norse Gods and Heroes (The Vikings, The Long Ships, Thor)
Dragons and Other Members of the Medieval Bestiary (Dragonslayer, Gargoyles, How to Train
Your Dragon)
The Imagined Middle Ages (Tolkein, Monty Python, Ladyhawke, The Name of the Rose, The
Princess Bride, The Seventh Seal)

Proposals for complete panels (three related presentations) are also welcome, but they must
include an abstract and contact information, including an e-mail address, for each presenter.
Please e-mail your 200-word proposal by June 1, 2012:

L. Larson, Area Chair, 2012 Film & History Conference
“Medieval Magic, Myth, and Legend in Film and Television”
Our Lady of the Lake University
Email: llarson@ollusa.edu

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

SyFy Listings for November 2011

A mixed bag this month on SyFY:


Tues., Nov 1
08:00 PM
Movie: Chronicles Of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian

Wednes., Nov 2
03:00 AM
Movie: 7 Adventures Of Sinbad, The
10:00 AM
Movie: 7 Adventures Of Sinbad, The
04:00 PM
Movie: Chronicles Of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian

Thurs., Nov 3
11:00 AM
The Twilight Zone: The Bard

Sat., Nov 5
09:00 PM
Movie: Outlander

Sun., Nov 6
04:00 PM
Movie: Outlander
11:30 PM
Movie: Highlander: The Source

Mon., 7 Nov.
01:00 PM
Movie: Highlander: The Source

Tues., 22 Nov.
08:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: The Quest - Pt 1
09:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: The Quest - Pt 2
11:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Grendel

Wednes., 23 Nov.
01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Beyond Sherwood Forest
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Beauty And The Beasts: A Dark Tale

Mon., 28 Nov.
09:00 AM
Movie: Bram Stoker's Way Of The Vampire

Tues., 29 Nov.
02:00 AM
Ghost Hunters International: The Spirit Of Robin Hood

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Chiller for November 2011

There is problem at the moment in accessing this month's schedule of programming from Chiller. I will endeavor to post an update by the weekend.