Dragon treasure
In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf the
Grey briefly mentions Smaug during a
conversation with Bilbo early in the film.
“If you’re referring to the incident with
the dragon, I was barely involved!”
W
hen J.R.R. Tolkien
first put pen to
paper to bring his
imagination to
literary life with
The Hobbit, there’s no way he could’ve
fully understood the range of influence
his tale about a sneaky halfling on a
reluctant quest to help a dwarven king
reclaim his lost throne would have on
not just the realm of fantasy fiction, but
on the world in general.
Upon release on the 21st of September
1937, Tolkien’s first foray into Middleearth garnered overwhelming critical
acclaim. Intended as a children’s book, it
captured far more than just the attentions
of juvenile minds, proving utterly
captivating to adults and younglings alike
and sparking a fantasy revolution that can
still be felt to this day in modern works.
Soon after all this, the book’s publisher –
encouraged by its critical and commercial
success – commissioned another set of
works from Tolkien. These collective
works would eventually come to be known
as The Lord of the Rings. And we all know
how that went.
Its influence was and continues to be
staggering. Since then, both The Hobbit
and The Lord of the Rings have been
adapted for stage and screen, transformed
into video games, board games and all
manner of merchandise that over the
years has been eagerly lapped up by
devoted fans of the lore Tolkien so lovingly
crafted. Of all its many interpretations
and adaptations, most renowned of them
all has been its transition to film, powered
by Peter Jackson’s masterful (and careful)
direction. Last year, Jackson proved that
the magic didn’t end with his Lord of
the Rings trilogy, releasing The Hobbit:
An Unexpected Journey to widespread
delight and acclaim. Now it’s time for part
two of this second trilogy. It’s called The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. And
here be dragons.
FEATURE / MOVIES / THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
127