and The Road Goes Ever On and On: The Map of Tolkien's Middle-earth
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...there now comes There and Back Again: The Map of Tolkien's 'The Hobbit'
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As with the earlier volumes, this publication contains some superb new drawings from the pencil of John Howe who is currently down in Wellington, New Zealand working on the design of Peter Jackson's (hopefully still) forthcoming production of The Hobbit.
While you wait, you can get a feeling for what John's input the film would be like from his artwork for our new book which includes this drawing of Mr Bilbo Baggins' hobbit-hole, Bag End...
...the story's villain, Smaug the Magnificent and his golden dragon hoard...
And one of Tolkien's most intriguing characters, Beorn the skin-changer, seen here in his terrifying ursine form...
There and Back Again: The Map of Tolkien's The Hobbit will be published on 3 September.
Hello Brian,
ReplyDeleteOne of my all-time favourite picture books is Howe's Jack and the Beanstalk with its towering cumulus and vertigo-inducing beanstalk. No artist has captured the spirit of the tale so well.
Your map books look enticing! One of the pleasure's of reading Tolkien as child were the fragile fold-out maps – the final stamp of authenticity. I recently indulged in a slightly pricey 2nd hand boxed set with the maps.
Cheers,
Raymond (NZ, the 'South Downs')
AAARGGHHH! Smaug & Beorn didn't appear! Apart from that, I am thrilled to hear news about The Hobbit!
ReplyDeletetramer: an invisible picture
I am excited for this release! I have yet to look at, much less own, one of your map books, but I think I shall be able to order one of them soon. It is has only been a few days since my copy of Sigurd and Gudrun arrived and I am looking forward to immersing myself into Tolkien's works again.
ReplyDeleteAnd a question. Do you get to actually collaborate with Mr Howe or is it a lone show in each department? Just wondering how that works.
Since you are a commentator on the “platinum” DVD editions of Disney cartoons from the 1930s through the 1960s, I would like to ask if you agree with Disney/ABC CEO Robert Iger, that Song of the South is “antiquated” and “fairly offensive” and should be kept out of U.S. DVD circulation? The film was regularly shown on national TV until the late 1980s. They’re quite selective as to what is “platinum” and what is “antiquated.”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.songofthesouth.net/news/index.html#031610
Thank you.
Raymond – I'm ashamed to say I don't know JH's Jack and the Beanstalk, but I'm going to have to search it out...
ReplyDeleteSUZANNE – Sorry the pictures didn't load: John's Smaug is superb.
Geno – More a case of two solo acts brought together by a common management! But I am a huge fan of John's work and particularly admire his dragons, balrogs and the like...
Mike – A bit off topic this... I suspect that the view of the film in the US is slightly different to that in the UK and we need to acknowledge that, in this instance, Disney can do no right: they will be slammed if they do and they are damned if they don't. My personal view is that Disney could release Song of the South using the opportunity provided by DVD 'extras' to put the film into its historical and cinematic context and possibly to address the issue of the portrayal of black people in the movies.
On Song of the South:
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything against Song of the South, I think its a wonderful film and the animation is beautiful - good acting, I never seem to understood why people accused the film as being racist?
Even when I first saw it when I was little I really liked it (although I probably didn't understand much) - but I think the songs are wonderful and memorable.
As I said to Mike, this subject is way off topic for readers of this particular post, but (unless offensive) I will usually publish all comments.
ReplyDeleteWhat you have to realise, Steven, is that it doesn't matter whether or not you consider Song of the South to be racist, the problem is that many black people consider the film's portrayal of black people to be negative, even offensive.
Like many other movies – including Gone With the Wind – the film features cultural depictions that are not only stereotypical of a certain era but no longer acceptable within contemporary society.
Personally, however, I feel that rather than banishing the film to the vaults, education would be better served by placing the film within the context of racial and social history and helping audiences understand how perceptions have changed and why.