Are you a fan of The Lord of The Ring movie? Those who haven’t watched the movie or read the novels at least hear about the news. This title wiped up all the Oscar Awards and left a big impact even years after. For such a great works, there are even bigger stories on the set. Do you know any of them?
The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Gandalf Is The Mirror of Tolkien
- Gandalf’s Pipe Is Part of the Staff
- Hobbits Actors Have Two Doubles for Each
- The Art Designers Is The Cameo in the Opening
The actor who play as Gandalf, Ian McKellen, would have a hard time portraying Gandalf if he doesn’t impersonate Tolkien. The voice, way of speech and tone are all copied from the book writer himself. Ian shares this easter egg in one of his interview. He even records Tolkien’s voice and movement for research purpose.
Later after Ian finds the perfect tone, he will stand in front of the mirror. He thinks carefully how Gandalf would walk or appear with his perceived tone. When he adjust the shoulders and start practicing, the voice gets deeper and raspier but not similar to gollum. Now Ian has found the “Gandalf” character.
One of the iconic pose Gandalf does in the movie The Lord of The Ring would be smoking while standing. He uses a special pipe. Anyone sees the pipe would know that it belongs to Gandalf. The pipe is not for performance only. It is actually part of Gandalf staff. Try streaming the movie once again and stop when Gandalf is not smoking and holding the staff.
The key to find it is knowing the pipe structure. As mentioned before, it is unique and belong to Gandalf. Once you know the shape, it won’t be hard to spot the tiny detail in the movie. Download the movie Now!
When The Lord of The Ring first appear on the big screen, the amazing part is the size difference. The giants could appear so tall and the hobbit is so small. What it takes to create such a great illusion? At least four cinematographic method are applied to create the small-big characters effect.
Let’s start with the first and most predictable method: having double stunts for each hobbit actors. To film the scene in proper angle, the team are casting 4 feet tall side actors. The stunt doubles will stand on the scene where there is no dialogue. For example, Kiran Shah stands in Frodo (Elijah Woods) numerous time.
In addition, there are also tall doubles. For this role, the person must be 7 feet tall. They will be a great contrast to the 4 feet stunt doubles. It is common to copy the main actor’s movement and record the movies. They might need to wear additional make up or prosthetic mask.
Do you still remember the first act of The Lord of The Ring? There are nine kings gathered, each one of them receive a ring. These are the sacred ring that could bring chaos or peace. If you take a closer look, among the kings you will see John Howe and Alan Lee. Both are the art designers for the famous movie.
Lee Alan is the person who draws the illustration of books published in 1992. He also helps to pain and build mini cities and other props. The tiny details are actually big help for the animation effect team. Remember the Rivendell setting? It is also Lee and Howe’s babies. Could you imagine anything better?
The Lord of The Ring: The Two Towers
- Sometimes, Gollum Is Broken
- Orc Blood is Black Liquorice
- The Cry Is Directed by Peter Jackson
- No Horse Is Harmed
- A Reference to Spartan Battle Is Mentioned
- There Is A Secret In Gollum Juice
The elves might be charming, but the cursed creature named Gollum. Nobody dares to get close to himl Simply to say, gollum is the monster. To create it, the animator render the movement in one take for hours. Sometimes, the process take more than six hours. They start the process in the night and check the result in the morning.
The result is not always sweet. If something is missing, you will see a gollum with all hair stand straight like an old rocker trend. In another fail final,a gollum appear with blasted one eye.
Do you remember the Orc? The monster army has black blood in the book. As if creating a full-body prosthetic suit is not enough, the director Peter Jackson wants real effect for the blood. The tv show team finds a great way to achieve this goal: rinsing mouth with black liqourice before each take.
Next time you re-watch The Lord of The Ring movie, know that the black saliva on the lips are real. The black blood is only prop and no orc actors are harmed during the filming process.
Do you get goosebumps when you hear the battle cry of Uruk Hair? There is a big effort to reach such loud and triumphant sound effect. First, the director rent a cricket stadium. He invites more than 20,000 people. The order is simple and clear. The guests must shout “Derbgoo”, “Nashgoo”, “Dashshoo”.
Aside from the choice of words, Jackson also alter the normal and screaming volume. After recording the war battle, there will be finishing touch in the alteration stage. Just like shopping in amazon; the useless record will be deleted.
Not all the properties are fake in The Lord of The Ring For some scenes, there will be real property such as horse. In total, the production process requires around 200 horses. As you could see in the films, the scenes are mostly battles and action. To keep all the horses safe, the filming process takes places in the studio.
Both the horse and the riders wear a new suit specially designed to capture the motion. Then, a digital magic takes over. The recorded movement of horses will be edited and glued to the clips.
Have you heard of Spartan battle? It is a big battle where 300 brave soldiers fight againsts 10,000 Persian army from various tribes. In the movie, there is similar dialogue spoken by Aragon. Fast forward the movie until you reach the Battle of Helm’s Deep. Before the war, Aragon speaks that they are 300 go against 10,000.
Surely, you won’t find anything about the Gollum Juice in The Lord of The Ring. This is not a real drink. Gollum juice is the nickname for a special juice the actor always consume before the voice recording. It is made from honey, lemon and ginger. Blend them well and drink all the juice. If you are interesed, try the recipe and be Gollum for the day!
The Lord of the Ring: The Return of The King
- The Actors Break the Props
- The Horse Is Nice
- Gollum Is Similar to Grendel
How many actors required to be the extras in Battle at the Black Gate? This is a relatively short scene nearing the end of The Lord of The Ring. However, the director gives his all to create the scene. A call is made to New Zealand soldiers. As expected, they cannot contain their excitement and keep breaking the props. Should this story be included in the trailer?
In one particular scene, Faramir arrives in Minas Tirith with his horse. He is not riding the horse, he is actually dragged by the horse. During the shooting process, the The Lord of The Ring crews pray that the horse won’t be scared and suddenly galloping. Thankfully, the horse moves gently and the actor is not harmed.
There is a The Lord of The Ring character inspired by Grendel. He lives in the world called Middle Earth. Grendel is no other than the descendant of Cain. If you are familiar with bible story, you would know that Cain kills his brother out of jealousy. This is what Gollum does in the first movie: killing his cousin to be the only owner of the ring.
The Lord of The Ring: The War of Rohirrim (2024)
Your wish list of 2024 has announced a date: April 12. In the next two years, there will be a new sequel of the novel. Two big studios will work together. They are New LIne cinema and Warner Bros Animation. Their chemistry are fun to Watch. Expect only the best from these production house.
The plot for the upcoming movie would revolve aroung Helm’s Deep and Helm Hammerhand, the king. There are complex stories as why the king are cornered by savage enemies. The leader on the other side is Lord Wulf. He comes to revenge the death of his father. During the epic battle, Hera, Hammerhand’s daughter, bravely lead the army. Will you get it in the Series?
After watching The Lord of The Ring, you might be lost in the fantasy maze. Thinking carefully about it, the hard work put forward by all the crews are truly appreciated. All of the sleepless nights paid off with the grand award. Now that all had passed, they could laugh it off.
