The Lord of the Rings/Trivia: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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== Book ==
* [[Shout-Out]]: There are several to ''[[Macbeth]]'', all taken from Act IV, Scene i, when the Witches tell Macbeth their prophecies of his death. First of all, the phrase "Crack of Doom" was coined by [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] in this scene. The Ents' besiegement of Isengard and the Witch-King's defeat by Éowyn are references to two of the three prophecies—namely, that it will not happen until "Great Birnam Wood...shall come against him" and that "[[No Man of Woman Born|none of woman born]] shall harm" him. Of course, the trees do come to the castle when Macduff's army uses their branches as camoflauge, just as the Ents come to Isengard, and Macbeth is killed by a man who was not ''[[Exact Words|born]]'', but removed from his mother's womb, just as the Witch-King, who can be killed by "no living man," is killed by a woman.
* [[Shout-Out]]: There are several to ''[[Macbeth]]'', all taken from Act IV, Scene i, when the Witches tell Macbeth their prophecies of his death. First of all, the phrase "Crack of Doom" was coined by [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] in this scene. The Ents' besiegement of Isengard and the Witch-King's defeat by Éowyn are references to two of the three prophecies—namely, that it will not happen until "Great Birnam Wood...shall come against him" and that "[[No Man of Woman Born|none of woman born]] shall harm" him. Of course, the trees do come to the castle when Macduff's army uses their branches as camoflauge, just as the Ents come to Isengard, and Macbeth is killed by a man who was not ''[[Exact Words|born]]'', but removed from his mother's womb, just as the Witch-King, who can be killed by "no living man," is killed by a woman.
** To "Arabian Nights", oddly enough. Compare [http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Payne/tnon/p06_tale143.htm this tale] from "1000 and 1 night" and chapter "The voice of Saruman" and try to find the differences.
** To "Arabian Nights", oddly enough. Compare [http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Payne/tnon/p06_tale143.htm this tale] from "1000 and 1 night" and chapter "The voice of Saruman" and try to find the differences.
* [[Trope Namer]]: These books named the following tropes:
** [[Army of the Dead]]
** [[Black Speech]]: The language of Sauron and Mordor.
** [[Breaking the Fellowship]]
** [[Common Tongue]]
** [[Dug Too Deep]]
** [[Echoing Acoustics]] used to be named "Live from Khazad Dum".
** [[The Fellowship Has Ended]]
** [[Gollum Made Me Do It]]
** [[Gondor Calls for Aid]]
** [[Hobbits]]
** [[Kneel Before Frodo]]: Aragorn bows to Frodo and Sam at Cormallen during the honoring of the Ring-bearers.
** [[Mithril]]: A fantasy version of [[Unobtainium]]
*** [[Heavy Mithril]]: Music genre, a mix of the sound of [[Heavy Metal]] with fantasy-inspired lyrics
** [[Mordor]]: Although only true for parts of it (Volcanic soil is usually very fertile). The south of Mordor has huge fertile farmlands, which are needed to keep the Mooks fed.
** [[Mouth of Sauron]]
** [[Mythopoeia]]: Tolkien coined the term.
** [[Our Orcs Are Different]]: Formed the template that all modern fantasy copies from.
** [[Ring of Power]]: Several rings, but The One Ring is nicknamed this.
** [[Short Cuts Make Long Delays]]: Spoken first by Pippin.
** [[Speak Friend and Enter]]
** [[Walk Into Mordor]]: that dreaded thing, what which one [[Memetic Mutation|does not simply do]].
** [[You Shall Not Pass]]: Spoken first by Gandalf as "You cannot pass.", though the movie is the actual trope namer.
* [[What Could Have Been]]: Previously unpublished materials have a lot of examples of what could have been. Aragorn being a ranger hobbit named Trotter was one of them. Later, he was a man whose name kept changing back and forth between "Trotter", "Elfstone" and "Aragorn".
* [[What Could Have Been]]: Previously unpublished materials have a lot of examples of what could have been. Aragorn being a ranger hobbit named Trotter was one of them. Later, he was a man whose name kept changing back and forth between "Trotter", "Elfstone" and "Aragorn".
** The History of Middle-Earth has many of these, including the above example. Others include:
** The History of Middle-Earth has many of these, including the above example. Others include:
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*** Denethor surviving the siege of Minas Tirith (but still suspicious of Aragorn)
*** Denethor surviving the siege of Minas Tirith (but still suspicious of Aragorn)
*** Denethor originally being less harsh towards Faramir - in fact, in the first draft, it was Faramir's idea to retake Osgiliath, and Denethor reluctantly agreeing, but Tolkien eventually switched this around to make Faramir more sympathetic.
*** Denethor originally being less harsh towards Faramir - in fact, in the first draft, it was Faramir's idea to retake Osgiliath, and Denethor reluctantly agreeing, but Tolkien eventually switched this around to make Faramir more sympathetic.
** J.R.R. Tolkien tried at least three times to write a sequel to ''The Lord of the Rings''. One such attempt, with the working title ''The New Shadow'', was published by his son Christopher in ''[[The People of Middle Earth]]'', which contained much of his father’s unpublished (at the time) work. Set 220 years after the destruction of the One Ring, after the death of Aragorn and during the last days of the reign of his heir, Eldarion (the story possibly resulting in his death); elves had vanished entirely, dwarves were becoming more and more distant, and orcs are the subject of mockery, being at most boogeymen used by parents to scare children. The thirteen pages have quite a lot of exposition; mostly it consists of a young man named Saelon talking to Borlas, the youngest son of Beragond (for those who don’t remember him, he was Pipin’s friend who prevented Denethor's guards from burning Faramir alive and then stopped Denethor from killing Faramir personally). Borlas is thus now be a very old man and one of the few still-living men in Gondor who remembers Sauron’s reign of terror, which to most is an old, barely remembered story. His discussion with Ceylon is that of mysterious disappearances in the night, and someone named Herumore, who is only mentioned. He discusses a concept called the Dark Tree, which states that when Evil is ignored, [[As Long as There Is Evil|it spreads unchecked and becomes stronger]]. Saelon then invites the older man to come with him late at night; Borlas decides to do so, saying he “can still smell the old evil and know it for what it is”. And that’s where the unfinished work ends. Possibly the story would involve some sort of cult devoted to Sauron or Morgoth, waiting to strike when everyone had forgotten they had ever been a threat, though since other works stated that Aragon’s legacy would endure for a hundred generations, it seems the forces of Good would eventually triumph. While few doubt it would have been well-written and well-received, there are likely many reasons why Tolkien abandoned this project. Via his own explanation, it was too much of a [[Genre Shift]] from ''Lord of the Rings'', going from high-fantasy to low-fantasy while shifting from an epic adventure to a darker conspiracy thriller. Critics have pointed out that the theme of a "forgotten evil" is incoherent with the original story, as it seems unlikely Aragon would have been so foolish as to let the memory of Sauron fade. In the end, it may have been that he could not have written such a work without cheapening the heroes’ epic victory in the original novel, so maybe it was for the best. It seems Tolkien knew that sometimes with great works of fiction, [[Sequelitis|quality does not equal quantity.]] [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/The_New_Shadow Read more about it here.]
== Film ==
* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: The Japanese dub have a cast of very well-know voice actors playing some of the main characters:
** Frodo [[Daisuke Namikawa|is]] [[Black Lagoon|Rock]] and [[Gantz|Kei Kurono.]]
** Legolas [[Daisuke Hirakawa|is]] [[School Days|Makoto Itou]].
** Gimli [[Kenji Utsumi|is]] [[Fist of the North Star|Raoh]] (Even more funnier if you know that Raoh is [[Large and In Charge|BIG]]).
** Aragorn [[Hochu Otsuka|is]] [[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam|Yazan Gable]] and [[Naruto|Jiraiya]].
** Boromir [[Rikiya Koyama|is]] [[Naruto|Yamato]] and [[Metroid: Other M|Adam Malkovich.]]
** Éomer [[Koichi Yamadera|is]] [[Cowboy Bebop|Spike Spiegel]] and [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Ryoji Kaji]].
** Éowyn [[Takako Honda|is]] [[Shinkon Gattai Godannar|Kiriko Aoi]].
** Faramir [[Mitsuru Miyamoto|is]] [[The Big O|Roger Smith]].
* [[What Could Have Been]]: In the animated adaption, [[So Cool Its Awesome|Ralph Bakshi originally wanted to include music by]] [[Led Zeppelin]]. Unfortunately, Saul Zaentz insisted he use an orchestral score because he wouldn't be able to release the band's music on his Fantasy Records label. Bakshi later said that he hated the final orchestral score, as he found it too cliche.

* [[Academy Award]]: ROTK is in a three-way tie with ''[[Titanic]]'' and ''[[Ben-Hur]]'' for the most Oscars won by a single film -- eleven. Moreover, the film series ''The Lord of the Rings'' won more Oscars than '''any''' other film series.
** Despite all of the series' wins and nominations, the trilogy's cast was [[Award Snub|snubbed]]: the only acting Oscar nomination was [[Ian McKellen]] for the first film. Most notably, Andy Serkis was not eligible for being nominated for best supporting actor because his character was CGI.
*** Granted, it could be less of an [[Award Snub]] and more a case of "we can't decide ''just who to give it to''." Every actor spent years working on these films. By Return Of The King, they weren't acting anymore, they had ''become'' their characters. You try narrowing it to just one person who deserves an award more than the rest.
** Peter Jackson was still putting the finishing touches on the extended cut of ''Return of the King'' when it won Best Picture, prompting him to muse in one behind-the-scenes clip how he could still be working on a film that has ''already won'' Best Picture.


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[[Category:The Lord of the Rings]]
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[[Category:Trivia]]

Latest revision as of 01:21, 1 November 2022


  • Shout-Out: There are several to Macbeth, all taken from Act IV, Scene i, when the Witches tell Macbeth their prophecies of his death. First of all, the phrase "Crack of Doom" was coined by Shakespeare in this scene. The Ents' besiegement of Isengard and the Witch-King's defeat by Éowyn are references to two of the three prophecies—namely, that it will not happen until "Great Birnam Wood...shall come against him" and that "none of woman born shall harm" him. Of course, the trees do come to the castle when Macduff's army uses their branches as camoflauge, just as the Ents come to Isengard, and Macbeth is killed by a man who was not born, but removed from his mother's womb, just as the Witch-King, who can be killed by "no living man," is killed by a woman.
    • To "Arabian Nights", oddly enough. Compare this tale from "1000 and 1 night" and chapter "The voice of Saruman" and try to find the differences.
  • What Could Have Been: Previously unpublished materials have a lot of examples of what could have been. Aragorn being a ranger hobbit named Trotter was one of them. Later, he was a man whose name kept changing back and forth between "Trotter", "Elfstone" and "Aragorn".
    • The History of Middle-Earth has many of these, including the above example. Others include:
      • Treebeard being a villain
      • Eowyn being Aragorn's love interest (before Arwen was created)
      • Eowyn dying on the battlefield defending Theoden and not getting to kill the Witch-King
      • Anywhere from two to five hobbits setting out on the quest instead of four
        • The original hobbit names were Bingo (Frodo), Odo (Sam), Marmaduke (Merry), and Frodo/Faramond (Pippin)
      • A Fellowship that consisted of seven instead of nine members (Legolas and Gimli were later additions, and at one point, another elf was supposed to go as well)
      • Treebeard and the ents appearing at the last battle in front of the Black Gate (and this is after they act as The Calvary for Lothlorien)
      • Boromir arriving at Minas Tirith and completely going over to the dark forces partway through the siege.
      • Denethor surviving the siege of Minas Tirith (but still suspicious of Aragorn)
      • Denethor originally being less harsh towards Faramir - in fact, in the first draft, it was Faramir's idea to retake Osgiliath, and Denethor reluctantly agreeing, but Tolkien eventually switched this around to make Faramir more sympathetic.
    • J.R.R. Tolkien tried at least three times to write a sequel to The Lord of the Rings. One such attempt, with the working title The New Shadow, was published by his son Christopher in The People of Middle Earth, which contained much of his father’s unpublished (at the time) work. Set 220 years after the destruction of the One Ring, after the death of Aragorn and during the last days of the reign of his heir, Eldarion (the story possibly resulting in his death); elves had vanished entirely, dwarves were becoming more and more distant, and orcs are the subject of mockery, being at most boogeymen used by parents to scare children. The thirteen pages have quite a lot of exposition; mostly it consists of a young man named Saelon talking to Borlas, the youngest son of Beragond (for those who don’t remember him, he was Pipin’s friend who prevented Denethor's guards from burning Faramir alive and then stopped Denethor from killing Faramir personally). Borlas is thus now be a very old man and one of the few still-living men in Gondor who remembers Sauron’s reign of terror, which to most is an old, barely remembered story. His discussion with Ceylon is that of mysterious disappearances in the night, and someone named Herumore, who is only mentioned. He discusses a concept called the Dark Tree, which states that when Evil is ignored, it spreads unchecked and becomes stronger. Saelon then invites the older man to come with him late at night; Borlas decides to do so, saying he “can still smell the old evil and know it for what it is”. And that’s where the unfinished work ends. Possibly the story would involve some sort of cult devoted to Sauron or Morgoth, waiting to strike when everyone had forgotten they had ever been a threat, though since other works stated that Aragon’s legacy would endure for a hundred generations, it seems the forces of Good would eventually triumph. While few doubt it would have been well-written and well-received, there are likely many reasons why Tolkien abandoned this project. Via his own explanation, it was too much of a Genre Shift from Lord of the Rings, going from high-fantasy to low-fantasy while shifting from an epic adventure to a darker conspiracy thriller. Critics have pointed out that the theme of a "forgotten evil" is incoherent with the original story, as it seems unlikely Aragon would have been so foolish as to let the memory of Sauron fade. In the end, it may have been that he could not have written such a work without cheapening the heroes’ epic victory in the original novel, so maybe it was for the best. It seems Tolkien knew that sometimes with great works of fiction, quality does not equal quantity. Read more about it here.
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