Ringers - Lord of the Fans

My DVD arrived in the mail yesterday, and my wife and I watched it all the way through.First impressions:This film was made with an *incredible* amount of love, affection, art and highly skilled craft. Before I'd seen it I assumed that there was going to be a lot of grungy "home movies" type documentary footage full of graininess, out-of-focus camerawork, cameras aiming into the sky, etc. - but absolutely not! Every scene was well shot, the color pallet always beautifully balanced, the scenes well lit, in perfect focus, with rock-steady cameras!The first thing that hit me consciously was the absolutely wonderful Monty Pythonlike animations: first rate, and gorgeous color. In fact the color quality was wonderful throughout.The "Tolkien Effect" of today reminds me of the 60s: then as now, people of all ages and backgrounds were caught up in Tolkien. They had the the Vietnam war; we have (unfortunately) the Iraq war. Both acted and act as stimuli for many people wanting to escape real life. Middle-earth was and is definitely the place to go!Then as now, Tolkien would probably be whirling in his grave at all the things Ringers project onto his works (as he intimated in some of his letters), as well as being very appreciative of the fact that so many frustrated people want to escape the horrors of reality, and crave good in the world, crave that good will triumph, along with all the values that come in a society peopled by the basically goodhearted and cheerful.When I was first getting into Tolkien 40 years ago, the term "Ringers" was of course nonexistent. As the film shows, many people rejoice in being a Ringer, but my experience on The Tolkien Forum tells me that there are others (who term themselves Purists) who would throw up their hands in horror and run the other way at being included (which they most definitely are!) as a part this boisterous funloving crowd - more's the pity for them!The main thrust of Tolkien on the world of the 60s came initially through publication of the books - through Allen & Unwin, then through Ace (the pirated version), then Ballentine - at least in America, and of course Houghton Mifflin. And that wave went around the world several times. The difference between the Ringers of the 60s and the Ringers of today seems to be that the 60s Ringers first came to Tolkien directly via the books, and the current generation at one remove, through Peter Jackson's movies. Hence the creation of the (possibly unbridgeable) divide between the "Filmies" and the "Purists."However it is evident to me now that the Filmies outnumber the Purists by far, the Purists being made up largely of the older fans, but contains a surprising number of younger people. But there is another group which I call the Tweenies: those who like book *and* films, each for what they are, which I think makes the most sense. "Ringers: Lord of the Fans" celebrates the entire phenomenon.A great deal of the fun of this movie is in the interviews with the Ringers themselves - a bunch of cheerful, funloving mischievous hobbits if ever there were! Some of the interviews are a bit salty, some are serious and moving, some are lighthearted discussions speculating on the sexual proclivities of some of the characters in PJ's films and only add to the hilarity. The costumes many of them wear are at times astonishing in the care that has gone into their making, and their creativity, imagination and beauty.All our favorites from the movies are there: the main actors, and some of the producers; all their interviews are totally enjoyable, and it's so nice to see them once again! They all have good things to say, from the cheeky to the profound. Dominic Monaghan was the perfect narrator, and gave the film great continuity.I was particularly struck by the sudden segue of being taken to Tolkien's gravesite - a serious poignant moment . It was only then that I realized by looking at the dates on the tombstone that Tolkien died the year after Edith - which upon reflection doesn't surprise me a bit.Now that I've seen the film and become a member of the Ringers chatboard, I wish that they would have supplied its URL right on the DVD, which would have facilitated an internet gathering for discussion. Perhaps they'll do that in re-releases. I had anticipated a flood of responses on the board by now - perhaps it's too soon.This film is an education for those of us who never realized the breadth and depth of Tolkien fandom or Tolkien's effect in so many other areas of life.In the 60s, we had songwriters like Donald Swann, who set some of Tolkien's verse to music with his permission; now we have Howard Shore, whose music is absolutely indispensable to the movies, to say nothing of the rock musicians who took up the cause over all the years from then till now. I would call their music more of a reaction *to* Tolkien than a product of it.I think today's Ringer is much less stuffy about Tolkien: so many of them (bringing along their friends) came to the Professor via the movies, and their first impressions of Middle-earth were therefore a blend of both Tolkien and of Peter Jackson's "gratuitous jacksonisms" which offended so many of the Purists, and delighted the rest. Then many of the new Ringers went to the books and got the real deal, and were therefore able to make up their own minds about the movies. I think that's so much better than wasting vast amounts of time and energy hating the movies for their deviations and extra-Tolkien additions.I thought it was great to see that so many 60s parents now had children who either had been turned on to Middle-earth by their parents, or who had discovered Tolkien on their own, and had re-ignited their parents' interest in Tolkien once again, thus coming full circle!I myself look forward now to reading Tolkien to my grandson and sitting with him watching the DVDs: giving him a lifetime injection of Tolkien, as I did my own three children!It's been a few years now since the last PJ movie was released, and the DVD sales have dwindled - all very much expected. The discussions of them at The Tolkien Forum which were so hot and heavy have long died down, except for a few flameups now and then. Strangely enough, RLOTF has not yet made that much of an impression there; I hope it will. But the difference is that RLOTF was never able to find wide distribution in theaters. It appears that most of its impact will come through DVD purchases, and that's a different thing than line events at movie houses. And it's not about Tolkien so much as the effect that Tolkien has made on the world over the past 50 years - the ripple effect as it were.And there will come a time when even that phenomenon will have for the most part run its course, and will quiet down. I predict another upsurge should Peter Jackson ever do "The Hobbit" (which I hope he does). Then the Tolkien madness will begin again for another cycle, and we will once again hear the cry: Frodo Lives!

Arrived quickly. Great, as pictured.

Dominic Monaghan isn't properly in it, except for archival footage from LOTR and their premieres. He narrated the film, but his young voice is lovely and husky. Definitely a win for LOTR and Dominic Monaghan fans!

A must for the quasi serious collector. Fun to see how Lord of the Rings has impacted popular culture.

Okay, they've finally done it! On top of the documentaries about Elvis fans, Trek fans, and even Mozart fans, showcasing some of the kookier aspects of those fandoms, "Ringers" is an exploration of Tolkien fandom as a whole, with the good sides and silly sides, and manages to do so without the usual tongue-in-cheek ridicule of "come see the freak show, folks!" Having been part of all of these fandoms (minus Elvis), I have to admit that there ARE some screwballs, and that just goes with the territory. I found the history of American Tolkien fandom interesting because I discovered Tolkien in the early 70's, myself, and have never cared for the association many people of my generation have with hippiedom, pot-smoking, rock music and other such counter-culture garbage that in reality has nothing whatsoever to with Tolkien - except in the minds of such people. Likewise, in more recent times it has become the turf of New Agers who see magic and mysticism in Tolkien that was never there any more than pot-smoking hobbits or genial hippies in the Old Forest. But perhaps this is because in the end Tolkien is such a terribly personal experience. To people of the 60's, perhaps they truly did see Tolkien as a counter-cultuer tour de force. Perhaps today's New Agers truly do see Wiccan mysticism in Hobbitry and Elfdom. Environmentalists see Treebeard as the ultimate spokesman for protecting the forests (and perhaps they are right). And likewise, I see it as a superb conveyer of the Christian message, whether it was intentionally so or not.All that being said, "Ringers" shows the history of the fandom in all its splendor, and shows some of the truly clever costuming created by the fans. The one thing that stands out is a love for Tolkien, however his great writings are perceived. This is an excellent documentary, and one of the best, most comprehensive of its kind. I recommend it most highly.

This film is a documentary, not of the making of the films but of the fans and tolkien fandom throught the fifties, sixties, seventies, up to 2005 when this movie was produced.The historical segments are beughtifuly mabe with acteres playing the children of difrent airas reading and injoying Tolkein, as well as some animated segments that depict the wrighting and publishing of the hobbit and lord of the rings, very fun and reminicent of the animateion in such films as 'the holy grail.'All in all I hily segest this film not just for those who are fans of the three lord of the rings motion pictures but also for any Tolkien inthusiast.

"Ringers" achieves something that alot of documentaries about the work of Tolkien have failed to do and that is educate and inform in a very entertaining manner. Bt demonstrating the impact Tolkien's works have had on all aspects of our culture in a wide variety of ways it truly keeps you interested and amused while giving you alot to contemplate. Anyone from the casual fan of the LOTR movies to the book obsessives will find something to enjoy and the filmakers love of their subject is obvious. A movie made by fans, about fans, for the fans and as a fan I loved it....

A real snoozer, I was hoping for somthing about crazy fans like the movie Trekkies, but it is more of a boring documentary on the movies history

MI VALORACIÓN Y COMENTARIO ES SOBRE LA EDICIÓN FRANCESA EN DVD, ASIN: B000BKRZMU.EN PERFECTO CASTELLANO, UNA BUENA OPORTUNIDAD PARA TENERLA A UN PRECIO INMEJORABLE, YA QUE ES IMPOSIBLE DE CONSEGUIRLA Y MENOS EN EDICIÓN ESPECIAL.P.D: PARA AYUDARNOS MUTUAMENTE (A LA HORA DE NUESTRA ELECCIÓN DEFINITIVA), ANIMO (EN LA MEDIDA DE LO POSIBLE), OPINAR SOBRE LOS PRODUCTOS ADQUIRIDOS, EN ESPECIAL, A LOS QUE PROVIENEN DEL EXTRANJERO.

Almost a year after Peter Jackson's Special DVD Release of The Return of the King, I didn’t expect such an ambitious independent project to be released. I say “ambitious” because it is really something that fans (of the books or movies or both) will almost immediately buy and be able to live up to the expectations is a great thing.Of course “Ringers” did great. This release not only follows the novel “The Lord of the Rings”, but begins with “The Hobbit” and ends with “The Silmarillion”. This DVD provides not only background (tracing the impact LOTR had on all artistic levels), but also the respectable confessions of the Tolkien fans along with interviews of the cast and crew of the movie and other stars.All these adventures coupled with some good laughs you will get from watching this DVD makes “Ringers: Lord of the Fans” an indispensable piece for your collection of Middle-earth.

Brilliant insight into tolkiens work and how can you go wrong with domonic Monaghan presenting, you won't get bored unless your not a fan!!!

An exciting celebration of Tolkien fandom.

As advertised, it's really about the fans more than the films.