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Join National Geographic in an exploration of the real
world parallels to the events and characters brought to life
in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King...
As
soon as I saw the cover of this DVD I couldn't help assuming
the content would be a blatant cash-in on Peter Jackson's
excellent, and more to the point popular, Lord Of The Rings
trilogy of films. Was this just the pessimist in me? Not really,
because to a certain degree that's exactly what it is. That's
not to say this piece is without virtue.
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli the dwarf in the aforementioned films)
is used to narrate this Discovery Channel-type documentary,
making connections between the characters and situations in
The Lord Of The Rings with people and events from actual
history. These connections are loose and spurious at best;
not surprising when you think that virtually any fictional
character can be compared with an historical figure if you
delve deep enough into personalities and drives.
Here
we have Aragorn the reluctant leader compared with William
Wallace (Braveheart) for seeking an end result of freedom,
with no power or glory. He is also matched with Theodore Roosevelt,
both having exiled themselves. Roosevelt took up ranch work
and over time learned how ordinary people lived their lives,
which was invaluable when he became president. Gandalf is
seen as a part reflection of William Cecil, advisor to Queen
Elizabeth I, whose wisdom helped defeat the Spanish Armada,
and also to Benjamin Franklin, inventor, statesman, advisor
etc., remembered as one of America's greatest achievers. Wormtongue
is seen as Rasputin, evil manipulator and so-called mystic,
who was advisor to Nicholas II of Russia.
The
theme of optimism which permeates The Lord Of The Rings
sees Aragorn's speech before the defence of Helm's Deep as
a direct comparison to Henry V's rousing tirade, which inspired
his cold, wet, hungry and ill English soldiers to overcome
odds of four to one over the French at Agincourt. Churchill
is also mentioned; in the Battle of Britain the RAF overcame
similar odds against German elite fighters.
This is all very interesting, but without doubt the biggest
attraction for any potential viewer is the great number of
clips from the films, interspersed with snippets of interviews
with the cast about their roles. Although the main menu which
moves over a map of Middle-Earth looks great, extras are almost
non-existent, consisting of a photo gallery and a quiz containing
only eight questions! And while I'm quibbling, the running
time is 51 minutes and not 60 as stated on the box.
If
this was shown on any TV station and you stumbled across it,
it would almost certainly maintain your interest until the
end, but as for a commercial release... this will find itself
in the bargain bin within weeks. Why settle for clips if you
can buy the entire film (or three films). If you want to find
out more about great figures in history, get out a library
book or research on the Internet.
Ty
Power
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