LORD OF THE RINGS

Since their rise to popularity in the 1960s, the Lord of the Rings books have been an enduring cult success, revered by a fiercely faithful and steadily growing fan following which scrupulously guard their integrity. Since the release of the film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings has become a global brand. Its public presence exceeds that of any other literature and its commercial potential seems limitless, evident not just in the unsurpassed box office success and critical acclaim for the films, but also in the many fringe products. The Lord of the Rings: Popular Culture in Global Context takes the release of the film trilogy as a point of departure for an overview of the international impact of The Lord of the Rings in a range of cultural environments (the US, the UK, New Zealand and Europe). This anthology analyses the merchandising, box office figures, distribution, critical reception, fan following and cult status of the films, and focuses on how the different faces of the phenomenon, like the trailers, DVD editions, websites, computer games, music, location tours, and even its unlikely erotic spin-offs contributed to making The Lord of the Rings the most publicly recognised brand image of the 21st century so far.

January 2006
256 pages

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Ernest Mathijs is Assistant Professor in Film and Theatre Studies at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He is co-editor of Big Brother International: Formats, Critics and Publics , Alternative Europe: Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945, and editor of The Cinema of the Low Countries (all 2004). He is the author of The Cinema of David Cronenberg: From Baron of Blood to Cultural Icon (2008).

‘The collection of essays that Mathjis has assembled in this book gives the readers a wide range of analysis for a greatly adored and wildly successful franchise. Beginning with a detailed box office analysis and ending with an interesting diversion into the ancillary importance of this franchise, Mathjis has assembled a book for any fan of Tolkien’s books and/or Jackson’s films … He has also amassed a great deal of critical academic writing that will be of great use to scholars and students of film around the world.’
– Terry Hobgood, Film International