The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel written by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is the best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.

The title of the novel refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who had in an earlier age created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took, but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: the Men Aragorn son of Arathorn, a Ranger of the North, and Boromir, a Captain of Gondor; Gimli son of Glóin, a Dwarf warrior; Legolas Greenleaf, an Elven prince; and Gandalf, a Wizard.

Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings, an epic high fantasy novel by the British author J. R. R. Tolkien, set in his fictional world of Middle-earth, has been adapted several times.

Film

Three film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made. The first was The Lord of the Rings (1978), by animator Ralph Bakshi, the first part of what was originally intended to be a two-part adaptation of the story. The second, The Return of the King (1980), was a television special by Rankin-Bass. The third was director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, released in three installments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy featuring some of the same characters, was released on 12 December 2012, directed by Peter Jackson. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was released on 13 December 2013 and the final installment, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, was released on 11 December 2014. A previous animated adaptation of The Hobbit (1977) exists, and was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr.

The Lord of the Rings (film series)

The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). They were distributed by New Line Cinema.

Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with an overall budget of $281 million (some sources say $310 million-$330 million), the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all three films done simultaneously and entirely in New Zealand, Jackson's native country. Each film in the series also had special extended editions released on DVD a year after their respective theatrical releases. While the films follow the book's general storyline, they do omit some of the novel's plot elements and include some additions to and deviations from the source material.

Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) as he and a Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, and thus ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron (Sala Baker). The Fellowship becomes divided and Frodo continues the quest together with his loyal companion Sam (Sean Astin) and the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis). Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, and the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) unite and rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in the War of the Ring.

The Rings

The Rings is a 1985 Iranian horror mystery film written by director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and directed by Mohammad Reza Honarmand. It tells the story of a reporter investigating the sudden, inexplicable deaths of a growing number of people who had received phone calls informing them of exactly how long they had to live. The word Zangha is Persian for "The Rings" (as in telephone rings).

Plot

The citizens of an unnamed city are being terrorized by an extraordinary killer. The victims pick up a ringing phone and are told by a mysterious voice how long they have to live. Invariably, they all die in mysterious ways at the exact specified moment.

A reporter begins to investigate the phenomenon, but the more he investigates the deaths the more mysterious they seem. As he delves into more cases, he becomes personally involved and obsessed. Before long, he finds his family and finally himself targets of the elusive killer. The film ends with the reporter's death. The nature of who or what (if anything) caused the deaths is not resolved in the end, and the audience is left to decide on the film's narrative.