RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS (2005)

J.R.R. Tolkien once created a world where elves, dwarves, hobbits, and many other creatures wandered the lands of Middle Earth and other imaginary domains.  Within this world politics, economics, science, and many other strange inventions had their place, as the ecosystem had a fantastic environment of fauna and flora.  The first written piece, The Hobbit, brought the reading audience to his amazing creation.  It also introduced the ring, but at the time, it was still an unknown magical item.  Later, the ring’s true dark and distant past emerged in the trilogy known as Lord of the Rings.  The Hobbit was a bestseller, but Tolkien’s trilogy elevated the fantasy genre, as he gained an ever-growing cultish hoard of dedicated followers.  The throng of supporters obtained their name after the treacherous ring, as they call themselves – Ringers.

In the documentary Ringers: Lord of the Fans, director Carlene Cordova illustrates a comprehensive perspective of the Ringers from both within and outside.  It opens with brief description of the Ringers, as they are several generations of readers, listeners, and watchers.  These people are willing to spend a ceaseless amount of time on what they find endearing in an imaginative world acting out their wishes and desires through their creativity fed by Tolkien’s literary masterpiece.  In more than a few occasions, it borders to fanatical obsession.  It also shows a glimpse of who they are in their private lives, as these Ringers come from all corners of the world.

A neatly organized perspective of the 150 hours of footage delivers 97-minutes of Tolkien’s enthusiasm through a wide range of approaches.  Historical aspects of Tolkien’s life and his well-read accomplishments interweave with the affect it had on readers.  It also explains how Frodo and his fellowship influenced the world in a social and political perspective, as musicians and writers such as the Beatles and Terry Pratchett developed their own artistic invention in the light of Tolkien.  In addition, several artists comment on how Lord of the Rings is one of those books that could only be a book.  Yet, there were some animated films, which visually brought the Hobbit and some of The Lord of the Rings books to the silver screen in the form of animation.  However, many of these remarks rest on notions with a pre-Peter Jackson mentality.  When Jackson undertook the gigantic project of shooting Tolkien’s trilogy, he turned the page for the devoted fans of the ring to another chapter.

A heavy part of the documentary depicts the influence of the Lord of the Rings films by Peter Jackson.  In a similar fashion of the whole documentary, there are clips from interviews with the main cast and Jackson, who all enlighten the audience about Tolkien’s influence on their lives.  However, the best comment is made by Jackson who humbly states, “The masterpieces are not the movies… the masterpiece is the book.”

There are several intriguing facets within the documentary.  However, to hear how many readers of Tolkien exist and how the fantasy novel has brought these different people together in a positive manner is truly amazing.  Many of these are obsessive in their approach to the Lord of the Rings.  This is probably something that Tolkien tried to avoid, as he presented the notion of evil that emerges through the obsession for the ring.  Thus, to hear people selling their house in order to see the world premiere of the third installment of Lord of the Rings in New Zeeland could possibly suggest that they missed one of the major messages in the books, or previous films.  Nonetheless, Ringers: The Lord of the Fans offers an interesting view on small fringes of the society while also acknowledging that many Ringers do not necessarily have to be over-zealous.  Thus, if you are a Ringer, you might have a fellow Ringer within spitting distance.

DIRECTED BY
Carlene Cordova

COUNTRY

USA
REVIEWED
BY KIM ANEHALL – 11/11/2005
GRADE


Filmography links and data courtesy of  
The Internet Movie Database.