Interview with Tolkien

[dreamflower]

The BBC has archived for streaming THIS DOCUMENTARY made in 1968. An interview with JRRT in Oxford, interspersed with interviews with various Oxford students about their opinions on the books. Cut for spoilers...

It was great fun to see him talking about his work, and I enjoyed hearing what he had to say about things. I have to say my favorite part was when they showed him just casually writing out in Tengwar "Elen sila lumenn omentielvo".

It was funny to see some of the students' opinions--the atmosphere of the late sixties was very much in evidence. For some reason, the girl on the bridge who was summarizing The Hobbit and LotR reminded me of Luna Lovegood. And the fellow who was contemptuous of LotR on political grounds made me crack up. If he only knew how irrelevant his opinions would be in another 42 years!

I loved JRRT's comments on America, how Americans seem to take up things with far more enthusiasm, and his comparison of the way Americans took up LotR to the way they reacted to Dickens in the 19th century.

And the revelation that he thought up the Ring inscription while taking a bath.

Of the students, I think my favorite was the dark-haired girl, who really put her finger on why Middle-earth has such an appeal, when she talked about how most modern genres leave you feeling unsatisfied with real life afterwards, but after reading LotR, you find yourself not only glad for having had a great adventure, but with a new and fresh appreciation for the simple things in life like a good meal.

I'd love to see others' opinions on the documentary after you've seen it!

And thanks to labourslamp for cluing me in on it!

Comments

[ramblin_rosie]

Oh, I HAVE to pass this on! :D Thanks for sharing the link!
Agreed on all counts. I laughed so hard at the pontificating communist (was he *trying* to look like John Lennon?!), and I kind of felt sorry for the girl on the bridge at the same time I thought, "I bet she wrote Mary Sues...." But the best parts were with Himself, which isn't surprising.

[dreamflower]

*giggle* He did look like a Beatle-wannbe, didn't he? And funny thing is, I think John Lennon liked LotR-- I have a vague recollection of some remark about somewhere in the dim past.

Well, I bet she would have written Mary Sues if fanfic had been around. (I know, ST fanfic was, but it hadn't really spread very far at the time.)

And she really did remind me of Luna!

I just grinned when he said he thought of the Ring inscription in the bath! LOL!

[ramblin_rosie]

Yes, I think all of the Beatles (and at least Micky Dolenz among the Monkees) were LOTR fans. John wanted to have the band make a movie version, but they couldn't convince even Stanley Kubrick to direct it. However, I've concluded that if you look at it sideways and stick out your tongue, the Beatles' version of LOTR is... Help!

[dreamflower]

Yes, Mickey was and so was Peter. In fact, it was a Tiger Beat pic of Peter reading The Hobbit that piqued my own interest in reading it.

LOL! I think you have a point there!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Squee! I can't wait to see this!

Mildly spoilerish

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was fun! I spotted the link on TORn but followed it here at the Mathom-house. Just what I needed after a day at the Battlement and truly a blast from the past. I recall the keen enthusiasm ("Frodo Lives!") in the late 60s, and JRRT's remarks about us Americans in the clip are certainly more charitable than some he made in his letters. I had to smile at the earnest young folk with the plummy accents. The polemics of the young-man-by-the-tree concerning the downtrodden were almost quaint. Loved watching JRRT almost effortlessly writing Tengwar, and his recitation of the Ring verse in the Black Speech gave me a big thrill. His affection for hobbits came through loud and clear. But I have to admit that "I've never seen anything more bourgeois in my life..." (Ah hahahahahahahaha!) sent me over the edge. :^D

Thanks for sharing the link!

[dreamflower]

Oh I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! What a blast from the past it was!

Re: Mildly spoilerish

[dreamflower]

It's funny, I read LotR for the first time in '67, just a year before this documentary was made!

And it really was funny to listen to all the outdated politics in that one. *shakes head* I remember a lot of that rhetoric so very well!

What got me while watching him write so beautifully in Tengwar, was he's just zipping along, and he makes a mark and says "Oh, I messed up there" and I'm thinking who would even KNOW he messed up?!? LOL!

It's also kind of sad to realize that it's only five years before his death.

Re: Mildly spoilerish

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

I remember a lot of that rhetoric so very well!

They almost seemed to be reading from a script, esp. the John Lennon wannabe.

What got me while watching him write so beautifully in Tengwar, was he's just zipping along, and he makes a mark and says "Oh, I messed up there" and I'm thinking who would even KNOW he messed up?!? LOL!

Fëanor would know. ;^)

It's also kind of sad to realize that it's only five years before his death.

I felt the same way. He seemed so vigorous in that clip, like a man who by all rights ought to live within sight of his 100th birthday. I also thought his commentary on death was thought-provoking.

[gamgeefest.livejournal.com]

And "I Love Her/She's So Heavy" would be Gollum's and Frodo's relationship to the Ring. :D

[gamgeefest.livejournal.com]

We're communists!!!! Ahhhh! :P That kid was too funny. What a wonderful documentary. I don't think I've ever heard a recording of Tolkien's voice before, and he seems very hobbity as he's smoking his pipe and drinking his beer. I think the comment I liked most was the girl who said that after reading LOTR, unlike other escapist literature, rather than being more depressed and bored by the real world, that some its magic actually flows into our RLs. That is a very adequate description!

[ansostuff.livejournal.com]

That's amazing! Thanks for sharing the link. :)

*hugs*

Re: Mildly spoilerish

[dreamflower]

Well, of course his wife died about three years later. I am sure that had a lot to do with it-- I am sure he was hit quite hard by her loss.

Still, he did seem to be quite enjoying himself there. I wish they'd showed a little more of when he was walking around Oxford, pointing out his old haunts.

[dreamflower]

Yes, I thought that dark-haired girl actually had the most insightful comments of all. She seemed to feel what she was saying. The guys all seemed to be so self-aware that they were speaking to the camera and wanted to show off how intellectual they were. And like I said, the girl on the bridge made me think of Luna Lovegood, LOL!

I wonder what some of those kids think now, if they were to watch themselves in that clip. They might really be embarrassed to see how naive they sound.

[dreamflower]

Isn't it great that we can see things like that, that could have just been lost?