Why Is THE LORD OF THE RINGS Still So Popular?? | Middle Earth Video Essay

Today's video is something a little different as we have just celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring! I have always enjoyed watching and listening to video essays on YouTube. So I thought I'd give it a go myself on something I am very passionate about, discussing why, (in my opinion), The Lord of the Rings is so popular after so many years!

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Here is the link to Nerdwriters Helm's Deep video as well:

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"Middle Earth Map" - Klaradox

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#LordoftheRingsLore #LordoftheRingsAnniversary #LordoftheRingsVideoEssay

[MenoftheWest]

Great job here brothers! Middle-earth, books and films, certainly carries a level of nostalgia and love, a feeling of home, that always brings us back. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas gentlemen!

[jesse]

One thing the films and books have in common is that they're both one of the last, big, popular releases within their medium that wasn't either light-hearted and action packed or cynical and deconstructionist. An unironically epic story about good and evil for adults is pretty rare these days, yet those are the stories we're drawn to.

[JennFaeAge]

I've watched LOTR more times than I care to mention, but Theoden's speech at Pelennor still gives me goosebumps.
Also, my introduction was a weird one: we used to listen to a recording of the BBC radio production when we were on holiday in France

[steverogers]

About 39 years ago, while in grade nine English, my teacher told us we're going to start reading a new book. A tale called, "the Hobbit". I loved it! This was the day my love for fantasy was revealed to me, from books to film and Dungeons and Dragons to video games. Thank you Mr. Tolkien.

[סטסאנטיפוב-קב]

I feel thankfull for peter Jackson. Not only he managed to bring Tolkien world and masterpiece story to the big screen he also by that made my favourite movies off all time and arguably the best movies of all time

[emperorkane]

The Lord of the Rings is the only movie series I can watch over and over again and still get a fresh kick out of it each time. I still feel the weight of sorrow that Frodo feels at Gandalf's death in Moria. Him crying out "Gandalf!" Still hits me. I still feel a sense of relief when the ring is finally destroyed despite having seen it hundreds of times. I still get goosebumps when Frodo leaves on the last ship. I still feel warmed up whenever I see "The End".

I honeslty do not care what any Purist says. I don't care that Christopher Tolkien himself didn't like the movies. (From whay I've heard.) Loving these movies doesn't make you any less a Tolkien lover, and any Purist that says otherwise just needs to get that stick out of their ass.

[MultiUroX]

I say this movies were made out of passion not because of money. I can feel it every second and that's why they are so special for me.

[tripwire]

"The English-Speaking world is divided into those who have read 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' and those who are going to read them.” Great quote which obviously I agree with having read both multiple times. Life is getting faster and more complex..thank God for Peter Jackson and his team who have introduced the story to a whole new generation with such finesse.

[boshusan]

I read the Hobbit at a young age. Then when I was a teenager who was not fond on reading anymore, one of my friends told me LOTR was the hobbit's sequel, ten times more epic. I've read it and was happy with books again.

[bcfortenberry]

I was born in 1975, so my introduction to Tolkien was in a dusty library with a worn copy of The Hobbit. Plowed through LoTR at thirteen and it (along with the work of Ursula Le Guin) made me a lifelong reader and fantasy fan. If it’s not the greatest story ever told, it’s certainly in the conversation.

[katpagan]

When I was a child when the Fellowship came out, I had no idea the Lord of the Rings existed. I was introduced to Starwars early by my father it was cool but albeit missing something I very much needed. When the Fellowship ended in our home, I turned to him and said, where is the next part? He laughed and said it isn't out yet, but it's a book. He came home with the Hobbit, book, that next night from work and I set out my first quest. I am now a horror/fantasy writer because of this, and since I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, I dream of a Hobbit hole and a porch to smoke ol'toby from and try my best to make smoke rings good enough to be called good.

[kelsoncopas]

My father read The Hobbit in his junior year of highschool, and it inspired him to such a degree that he's been an avid reader ever since. When my brother and I were kids, he'd sit on our bedroom floor and tell us stories from the silmarillan as bedtime stories. This entire mythos has been with me since I was born.

[scottmarvel]

I was first introduced to the lord of the rings by Peter Jackson, and I must say his films were amazing and they got me to read the books. His story was amazing for the medium he used to tell it, but it was the gateway for me to read about Tolkien’s world which gave me so much more detail about a world I fell in love with. Peter Jackson’s vision on the big screen are what ushered me into the a world that I wanted to be a part of, with every aspect of the day to day life of every character in it. Some may have not been fans of how the movies changed the story, but being one that saw the movies first I think I am one that has a better appreciation for both the books and the movies.

[seraiharper]

I first read the books in 1977, when my best friend came to me and said, "You have got to read this book I just bought." She didn't want to tell me anything about it, just urged me to get my own copy. I did, we read it simultaneously, and fell in love with the story. I saw the Bakshi Horror, and was seriously underwhelmed. And thus started my two decades + of waiting and hoping someone would do something that did justice to the book. I saw "Heavenly Creatures" and "What Dreams May Come" in the late 90's and realized the time had finally come when it might be possible to make a film of LOTR. When I heard Jackson was doing it, oh my. I was so happy. The trailer came out, and I'm not embarrassed to say I cried when I saw Gandalf riding his cart up to Bag End. I have no words for watching the films as they came out, except one - love.

The extended DVDs are some of my favorite possessions. How incredible everything about these films is. We'll never see anything like it again, and all because it started with a unique body of work that can never be repeated. I feel so lucky to have had this story in my life, and for everything it's taught me over the years. I do wish the Professor could have seen them. I don't think he'd necessarily love them the way I do, but he couldn't help but be impressed by the mind-boggling amount of effort and art that went into them, which his work absolutely deserved.

[robertcoplin]

On the adaptations: when I went to see the Fellowship, I was skeptical, I walked out dazzled. I spotted some of the changes but I knew that they were unavoidable. I ate those films up.

[kentthomas]

The movies just confirmed for me what I knew already- with fewer words needed than other authors, Tolkein created a world vastly more vibrant and created a genre still relevant today.

[brianotoole]

I have to say yes one of the greatest movies, but the fact that the book has been out since 1954, and pretty much every generation has related to it. I remember as a young teen reading it in the 80s being so engulfed into the book I literally felt like I was there. Especially reading the borrowing downs part with the fog coming up. Now 35+ years later I can still feel that and never felt that way about any other book.

[runwithkings]

I started out reading the books. I fell in love with them. This is the greatest world written. It was the starting grounds for all other fantasy series. But nothing will ever come close to being as great, as what Tolkien gave us.

[bgherc]

I fell in love with the Movies long before the books (The Hobbit included). I was young when the LOTR movies came out and I binged those movies for years (still do). Then years later as a teenager I fell in love with the books and it made me fall for the LOTR books, movies, and lore all over again. Thanks are due to everyone who has a hand in that. And, now after discovering you guys, I get to learn more about this world.

[suzannewilliam-james]

I first read LOTR in 1982 and read it at least twice a year, I also have the book on audio and listen to it as I fall asleep at night, this l have been listening to every night since 1990 and it never gets old or boring. 100% agree it's the greatest book ever written ❤️