Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)

Just perfect...

Beautiful, moving film.

Absolutely Fantastic

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

As someone who has read Lord of the Rings once a year over the past 35 years, saw each of the films at the theater an average of 55 times (3 of them marathon viewings), attended many of the conventions, and has been a devoted fan of Tolkien's work since 1971… I have to say this documentary captures the passion, dedication and FUN of being a Ringer. This is a thorough examination of Tolkien's journey in writing Lord of the Rings and the influence it's had on generations of fans of all kinds.There are scholars who have dedicated years to the study Tolkien's world. There are people young and old who enjoy getting lost in the fantasy story that launched the genre with style and intelligence. And there are people who just have fun as they escape into the realm of dwarfs, elves, hobbits, wizards, and a collection of villains. This documentary looks at all of that! This is, hopefully, the first of more documentaries by this team of devoted Tolkien followers who have done an amazing job introducing us to the spectrum of fans. I discovered Lord of the Rings as a hippie living out of an old green van traveling the country, and I find their approach to MY generation to be great fun as I revisit that age.As with any work, there will be those who relate to the films, books, or documentaries… and there will be those who miss the point. As an avid fan of Tolkien both in films and in books… I embrace this documentary as one of the best historical and most entertaining examinations EVER of Middle-earth and those who love it. Well done!

Finally! A high-spirited and really fun movie about us! My friends and I have waited so long for such a fun and totally respectful film to tell the whole story of how Tolkien has touched the world! And RINGERS delivers on every count. You've got everything here that Tolkien purists would want and plenty of what the newer generation movie-fans want (i.e., very thoughtful hobbity actors Elijah, Sean, Dom, and Billy waxing poetic about the phenomenon they themselves took part in -- and Viggo is singularly intelligent here too). This is a movie about the POWER OF BOOKS to change the landscape of world culture, especially the power of Tolkien's achievement. But there's so much rock music too -- so yeah I'll go ahead and say it: "RINGERS Rocks!"Many revealing bits of this RINGERS movie surprised me. Who knew that John Lennon was so driven to play Gollum that he and the Beatles were calling up Stanley Kubrick asking him to direct??? And who knew that there was once a Gandalf dial-up modem? Or that so many children with reading/literacy problems have picked up a book like Lord Of The Rings trying to get closer to understanding the world of Middle-earth? Thank God for Hobbits and Harry Potter -- at least kids are reading again! There are some sly, witty animated bits as an homage to Terry Gilliam where Tolkien's worst critics are given a wacky send-up in their East Coast Ivory Tower ("A Place of Great Snobbery") **grin** and the funniest thing I think is the razor sharp Mariachi "Sing Along" that makes fun of bad LOTR merchandising! What an inspired goofy idea --- my family and many close friends watched RINGERS over here Thanksgiving weekend and had to pause the DVD several times with gales of laughter at the sing-along! I watched this docu and kept thinking: "so that's how long we've been fans!" Ah, nostalgia for the American counterculture! :)I understand why Dominic Monaghan wanted to narrate this film, and work with these filmmakers here. His dad loved LOTR more than anything, and had his children reading it early on..... and so Dom now shows his gratitude to the generation before him. He honors his father greatly. And RUSH lead singer Geddy Lee loves this project so much he gave the filmmakers one of RUSH's greatest songs "The Spirit of Radio" for free, just to support RINGERS. This film has generated so much good faith among all Tolkien fans, and deserves their support (dare I say they will love it). And any movie that can have both extremes of the spectrum of "fandom" --- between an erudite, cigar chewing Clive Barker speaking with a twinkle in his eyes about the "mythological weight" that modern audiences are starving for, right on down to the awe struck honeymooners who enjoy a remarkable pilgrimage to discover the "real Middle-earth" down in New Zealand --- well, this kind of comprehensive reach makes RINGERS very cool. You get a wide perspective of world fandom from RINGERS -- and it's so playful, with these cheesy college dorm rooms that keep changing each decade (low rent, tongue-in-cheek funny!) -- it's like a big TIME CAPSULE of pop culture over the years. This is not a serious-minded exploration of Fans' psychological obsession. Thank God RINGERS does not exploit the fan-base in any way (that's treason you know ---- to profile your interviewees as basket cases, and then cash in by making them look like laughable freaks as Trekkies once did). For fifty years' worth of Ringer fans, this documentary is a godsend that does nothing but celebrate the best aspects of Tolkien's masterwork. I thoroughly believe the words from the Amazon.com Editorial critic Jeff Shannon who said: "Unfailingly noble in spirit and delightfully comprehensive, RINGERS is a collector's gift that can proudly stand alongside Tolkien's books and Jackson's timeless movie trilogy." Well said! GO RINGERS!

It's a safe bet that if you want to see this film, you're also a fan of LOTR and have seen the trilogy and probably own the EEs (extended DVD editions). The film is fun look at the 40 year cultural impact of Tolkien's masterwork and its co-opting by different generations and its continuing popularity with young people (not unlike Star Wars). However, I feel the film is a little slow in the beginning with too many talking heads covering some of the historical material already seen in the LOTR EEs. Most enjoyable are the fan interviews (done in a private "confessional" box), the breathtaking views of New Zealand, an absolutely hilarious mariachi song parodying all the LOTR merchandising and interviews with Pete Jackson & members of the cast. I would have preferred less official literary history and more about the crazed fans, some of whom are a scream and a wonder and elicit joy as they wax passionately about their fandom. Frodo does indeed live!

My friend and I were lucky enough to see Ringers (me twice and her three times) up a Slamdance. It portrays LOTR fans in such a flattering light and a funny one too. We're not just geeks! There are just too many good things to be said. From the obsessed fans (how many times have they seen LOTR, why they choose a costume to wear, how long have they been in line, etc.) to the older generation and their love for the books. They go into great detail telling about how the books came to be so popular with younger generations and basically how it regenerates itself. There is not one boring second in this film and even if you aren't THIS OBSESSED you can enjoy it. If anything it will make you want to go home and read the books (again for most of us) through and through! Carlene and Cliff have a great deal of respect, love and admiration for Tolkien and it definitely shows.They were kind enough to do a Q and A session after the film and I just have to say that if there were 2 chosen people to make a film about LOTR and it's fans this is them. If any of them happen to see this I just want to say that I can't wait for the DVD and all the deleted interviews and so on to come out! I hope you get everything back that you put into this because you deserve it!!!