Rings Sequel is Tower of Power

The Sun (UK) ^ | 12/12/2002 | Johnny Vaughn

[HairOfTheDog]

I can't help you there either....

[Gordian Blade]

I was more worried about Frodo losing his Ring than I was about my best man losing my wife’s on our wedding day.

The difference is, if Frodo loses the One Ring, it will be Hell on (Middle) Earth for the rest of eternity. On the other hand, if your best man loses your wife's wedding ring on your wedding day, you'll only think it is.

[Gordian Blade]

You should rent it. (Gandhi) Definitely an epic; the ending was sad even though I knew from history what it would be. Ben Kingsley played the title role as I recall and it was an excellent performance.

[HairOfTheDog]

Heh. And in the end, it might save you to lose it!

[Skywalk]

I can't forgive his calling a Balrog a "dragon" and the Balrog isn't 200 feet by any stretch. Did he even SEE the first film?

;)

[HairOfTheDog]

Wow.... he did call the Balrog a dragon.... I didn't see that before! oh dear.

[My back yard]

I saw the dragon comment and really wondered if Jackson had changed something there. Well, I can forgive that misnomer for the rest of the article is good. I can't wait. And I really can't wait to get the DVD, as I will want to watch it many times.

My daughter is coming to the end of her semester in college, and is sending me emails like,

the grades..in the dark....they are coming....

lol, Every exchange between us has some reference to the movie. She's as excited as I am.

[HairOfTheDog]

They are coming, indeed! Glad you have someone to share the excitement with! - coming soon! 4 days, 16 hours!

[Mamzelle]

"Dragons" as a term in literature covers all manner of monsters. If he doesn't know what a Balrog is, the fire-breathing, horned monster he sees is very dragon-like. I have heard professors call Beowulf a "dragon."

[Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy]

Erm....if your professor called Beowulf a "dragon", then you should definitely drop his class post-haste. Beowulf was a man. He killed a dragon at the end of his life.

In no sense is the Balrog a dragon, either. It's a demon of fire and shadow. Dragons are "worms", ie, snakes: they have to be reptilian to qualify as "dragons" in all but the very loosest usage of the word.

The reviewer was just confused, because in the scenes where they fall, you can see the fire and wings of the Balrog, but not much of the body. It does look a bit dragon-ish, if you forget what it looked like standing on the bridge.

[Mamzelle]

OK, Grendel, not Beowulf. Shoot me. It's been many years. I also took a Tolkein course in the seventies which pulled together lots of ancient stories, of Gilgamesh, the Orlando series, and Tolkein's translations of the romances.

"Dragon" is, however, a catchall monster term you encounter throughout literature, particularly if it has biblical imagery. Even the devil is "that old dragon." When hubby was discussing the battle falling through the mountain, he referred automatically to the Balrog as a dragon because of the associated fire. I've also seen many old illustrations of dragons that include horns on the head. Now, he knows that a dragon more typically is a lizard-like creature, but the term was one we could both understand.