The Lord of the Rings : The making of the movie trilogy / Brian Sibley

The Lord of the Rings : The making of the movie trilogy

category: marketing..., author:

Brian Sibley

original copyright 2002,
read in January 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

Did you watch the movies of Lord of the Rings? Then grab this book, have a skim and be amazed! The effort behind the scenes was amazing.

The book itself is less than amazing.

It's an eye-opener but... really... a marketing exercise.

For one, there are no captions on the photos. Yes, plenty of photos. But what are they?

You can work out what they are... usually... but it would be more impressive if the author had taken the time and effort to write, Here is a photo of [scene / character / prop]. As it is, the words and pictures are grouped but separate. Each chapter is a set of words with a collection of pictures on the same topic. But not linked.

That's why I categorise this book as "marketing". There's a distinct feeling that the author was given open access to lots of important people then given a stack of photos and told, turn all that into a book.

Okay, it's very successful as a marketing tool. (Or would have been, back before the world knew how great the movies really were.) And despite having access to key players, there is still a feeling that the author is just describing what he sees. Without getting too involved.

Sure, there's a lot of, Gee whizz, just look at that!

Then you come to the chapter on make-up. Where there is a far better feeling for the feelings of the people involved, the make-up specialists. In this chapter, the behind-the-scenes efforts really come alive! Somehow, the feeling of excitement is captured well, in this section.

Most of the rest of the book gives the reader a feeling of being a spectator to a great event. The make-up chapter makes us feel the excitement of being actually involved... If I could explain it more clearly I would be writing novels, rather than reviewing via a blog...

The book did get me back to the LotR videos for a fresh look. And I was amazed!

But after all that, all I watched was the first half of Fellowship. Plenty of impressive movie there. But -- as usual -- watching a bit of the movie only makes me think... It's time to read the book. Again.

Of course, if you have the DVD sets, watch the extras. The book is okay. But the DVD extras provide an even better feeling for the effort behind the movies.

..o0o..

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