I have recently had the opportunity to be part of a few different dialogues about the Tolkien biopic. I wrote a review for Forefront, where I talked about the Problem of Beauty and some of the struggles that Christian artists have in this age. I also posted a response to the film–almost a reaction to it rather than a review. “My Defiant Appreciation of the Tolkien Biopic” was also a plea to Tolkien-lovers to judge the film on its own merits as a biopic, and my own desire to love something that brings me more of Tolkien’s world. Both responses created a lot of discussion, but I was pleased when Dome Karukoski, the director of Tolkien, retweeted my review and called it “my favourite to rule them all.”
This review is my favourite to rule them all. It sees through the internet noise and what the @TolkienMovie film is aiming at. The film for me is a lyrical love letter to The Professor and language. And a story of friendship and love. Thank you kindly @BrentonDana #tolkien https://t.co/nYU5OlHcFd
— Dome Karukoski (@domekarukoski) May 14, 2019
On the weekend I also recorded a podcast with a couple of friends. C.S. Lewis lovers should know William O’Flaherty’s “All About Jack” podcast, which for the last few years has brought dozens (hundreds?) of great author interviews, reviews, and features related to Lewis and the Inklings. William hosted me and Diana Glyer for a conversation about the Tolkien biopic. Diana is well known to lovers of the Inklings. Her magnum opus The Company They Keep is an essential text for people who study book creation or for folks interested in how the Inklings as a group managed to change the world of literature. More recently, her Bandersnatch provides a readable and resourceful guide for creators and writers–particularly those interested in collaboration, and guided by the Inklings and the stories they told.
Our conversation was a lot of fun and, I think, created a thoughtful and careful response to the film. Whether you have seen the film or you are waiting for the DVD release this summer, I hope you enjoy our Tolkien biopic podcast.
Or click here: https://allaboutjack.podbean.com/e/discussion-of-tolkien-biopic-glyer-and-dickieson/.
A Pilgrim in Narnia 
Can’t wait to listen to this next rainy day. What a great opportunity!
On Thu, Jun 6, 2019 at 3:18 PM A Pilgrim in Narnia wrote:
> Brenton Dickieson posted: ” I have recently had the opportunity to be part > of a few different dialogues about the Tolkien biopic. I wrote a review > for Forefront, where I talked about the Problem of Beauty, and some of the > struggles that Christian artists have in this age. I also” >
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Thanks Josiah! When you publish your book William will be a great interviewer.
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Well, it’s pretty awesome that the director called your review his favorite!
Had to drive an hour to a movie theater that was showing “Tolkien”, but it was worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and agree with your review. The only complaint I have is that I wish the actual timing of T’s marriage (before he went to the battlefield) had been observed, but I understand that the way they showed T’s and E’s parting is more dramatic for the cinema that way. Otherwise, I think it was well done, especially for a contemporary film. It’s rare to see the portrayal of healthy friendship and marital fidelity as beautiful, and also rare for the aspirations of the TCBS members to be presented so positively — or even remembered.
Dana
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Yeah, isn’t that fun?! Directors aren’t often reading my blog, methinks.
I’m SO glad you enjoyed the film. I have more than one complaint, but I did find it lovely overall–particularly as a low budget piece.
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Thanks – this sounds an inviting three-cornered conversation!
And impressive that the director noticed and was grateful!
Tolkien opened here, today, and I see a bunch of people from the Dutch Tolkien Society are meeting up to see it together, tomorrow – which should generate additional interesting conversation and responses hereabouts…
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Dutch Tolkien nerds!
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Yep! At the NederMoot walkabout I got to read some of Tolkien’s pretty calligraphic original correspondence with the folk who invited him to come and be fêted – which eventually worked out, in 1958 (though the release of the recording of what Humphrey Carpenter called “a lively speech in English interspersed with Dutch and Elvish […] in part a parody of Bilbo’s party speech” by Tolkien has hit dire snags, I heard). Yesterday, I read the first of what I expect will be several interesting interviews Dome Karukoski gave while here for the Dutch release…
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Awesome!
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I loved The Company They Keep! I read it for my first Mythgard/Signum class and it made want to be in such a group myself. Love Dome’s words. Will have to see this when it comes out on DVD. Thanks!
Namarie, God bless, Anne Marie 🙂
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That’s great! It is a strong book.
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It was great listening to the podcast! Also to hear Diana Glyer talking, having read her “The Company They Keep”
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That’s great! It is one of the more important books.
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with the Zaleskies’ “The Fellowship” ?
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That’s a good biography!
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I saw it with a friend, who used to be involved in script editing and coaching of TV drama and film, and she liked it; also thought the battle field scenes were well done.
It was good though to have listened to the podcast and know about the many flash backs!
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That’s great Hannah! I’m waiting for the DVD now!
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Tangentially, just got a copy of the Dutch translation of Philip MacDonald’s Patrol (1927), which is the third of his novels listed in his Wikipedia article, which also notes it “was issued as one of the first twenty Penguin Books in 1935”! It looks like it was based, or at least drawing on, his experience serving “with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia” – a book by this grandson of George MacDonald I had not heard of, or, anyway, registered seeing the title of, before today!
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It is unending! I’m still trying to read through MacDonald–with those nice David Jack Scot translations. And there are his son’s bios. And now grandsons!
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As is often the case (with mystery writers, anyway) the French Wikipedia article seems even more detailed than the English one, but no hint in either about a memoir, or collection of essays or letters – which (if any of those existed!) might have interesting remarks about his grandfather…
I wasn’t aware of David Jack’s translations – but your reference sent me searching, and I found this lovely recent interview:
https://kindredgrace.com/david-jack-translator-george-macdonald-scottish-novels/
What a great idea!
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They are well-designed, quite lovely. A bit heavy to hold!
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Following a couple tangents – films and editing for reader/audience convenience – I link something I just encountered which I think very interesting:
https://thefederalist.com/2019/06/19/hollywood-punishes-vidangel-cleaning-smut/
Most of the technical sides of this are quite new to me (except the long-standing practice of “movies being edited for planes and TV”), but the ‘matter’ – of the possibility of sharing ‘versions’ or ‘cuts’ of films as one can do in putting on plays or reading books aloud – is one that has intrigued me for years. How can one easily avoid an ‘all or nothing’ dichotomy? (For example, I used to make timing notes on videotapes, and send the children out of the room while I fast-forwarded over a ‘scary bit’ (or a ‘yucky bit’, or whatever) – functional, but not smooth or elegant…)
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And now I encounter an AP story about controversy surrounding Netflix’s “first original Arabic series ‘Jinn'” in which “School buses cart […] teenagers off to a wide-open desert haunted by ancient demons that make strange and terrifying things happen” – apparently at Petra. Curiously juxtaposed with this summary is “In response to a request for comment, Netflix said the series ‘seeks to portray the issues young Arabs face as they come of age, including love, bullying and more.'” (Are we to suppose the “ancient demons” fall under the category “more”?) The story reports further “Netflix said content removals are rare but that it complies with take-down requests from authorities.”
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Intriguing discussion. My son is at the age that I want to show him 100 movies that are great, and 30 of them have things that could easily be filtered out. I didn’t know it was a controversy… I just thought the will to do it wasn’t there.
But what we are shocked at will grow and change. Do you read Huck Finn aloud to an 8 year old? Perfect age, brilliant book, but…. And so on.
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