A time for hearts to pound again

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

A year on from the release of the first movie in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy it's clear that Peter Jackson's great gamble hasn't just paid off big time, it's also had an effect far beyond the cash registers.

Yes, the first film has made US$850 million-plus (NZ$1.7 billion) - already paying for the whole trilogy nearly twice over - and probably half as much again with its DVD releases and merchandise. And there has been a huge upsurge in sales of J.R.R. Tolkien's printed works, too.

But it has changed things other than bank accounts. It has done wonders for the acceptance of DVDs while reminding that some movies need to be seen on the big screen first.

Films of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy are now underway, the former being directed by expatriate New Zealander Andrew Adamson.

That Tom Cruise's period epic The Last Samurai is taking over parts of Taranaki early next year is undoubtedly a result of the Rings' success.

Costume designer Ngila Dickson, who features in this special souvenir edition, is working on the Cruise film, as is the Weta Workshop headed by double Oscar winner Richard Taylor who talks about the new aspects of The Two Towers in the following pages.

Arguably the best thing that The Lord of the Rings has done - and will continue to for years - is give pop

culture a brain again. It has proved you can be big and still be beautiful. Here, it has also affected cardiac systems with those constant surges of pride.

It's changed how we see ourselves a little. It's given us something new with which to impress - or bore silly - foreign friends. Something to add to the "that's-us" list, the one which used to begin with Sir Edmund Hillary and then head directly to sports.

Now it's time for those hearts to pound again for the second film, a reportedly darker, bloodier more physical affair than the first and one which departs from the book more markedly, too.

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Herald feature: Lord of the Rings