Born of hope
 

6 months after the filming of "The hunt for Gollum",the new fan-made film "Born of hope" is at last available in www.bornofhope.com since December 1st.

The film tells the story of Arathorn and Gilraen,their love ,their mariiage and the birth of Aragorn,while portraing teh lifestyle of the Rangers of the North.

Although most of the characters in the movie are inspired by Tolkien's work,the spirit of the film is really close to the professor's work,while events that were mentionned in the book are really accurately presented.

I would recomend it to all members.

I saw the movie at its premiere at Ring*Con in October and was very impressed with what these talented amateurs have done with the material. I second Erendis' recommendation!

WIN! I'll have to watch it as soon as I get the chance.

Their work is really impressive ,indeed.And I have to admitt that at first I didn't like what I saw in the trailer and believed "The hunt for Gollum" whould have been much better.Although I still like it,"Born of hope" includes more characters and Tolkien-mentionned facts that make it more close-to-book.

Um... that link doesn't seem to be working. :(

It actually works as soon as you do away with the typo... (bornofhopoe!!!) :)

Doh! of course! The correct link: http://www.bornofhope.com/
http://www.bornofhope.com/Watch.html

Ignorance of bliss is the worst!

What book portrays those events? Do you mean the LOTR appendices? And what is that other language the humans are speaking? Elvish, I suppose? Which would mean they were all Dúnedain, I guess.

Very good film (I'm about halfway through it). But I didn't realize Arathorn was attracted to somewhat pudgy, mature women. I think that younger gal who was carrying a torch for Arathorn is much prettier. ;)

But seriously, when I heard Arathorn say about Gilraen "she is not yet of age" I nearly snorted up my breakfast cereal. Did the Dúnedain consider "of age" to be 33, like the Hobbits? Looking on the Internet I see that the actress, Beth Aynsley, was born in 1981, which would make her 28. She looks at least 35. And being about 20 pounds heavier than I would expect for this role doesn't make her look any younger. But according to Appendix B of LOTR Gilraen was only about 22 when she married Arathorn. Unfortunate casting, IMO.

First of all sorry about the spelling mistake,but our university's equipment is not of the best quality.Alas us greek students...Anyway,I 'll correct it right away!

Secondly,Mugwump,I am talking about the events mentionned int he books,not the fiction stuff.

Thirdly,my comments do not reffer to the production.I am pleased to see this little film done .I agree that ''Gilraen'' was not the best to be found,but think that for such a little budjet it could have been much worse-and said "WHAT" too when Arathorn mentionned her age.
And from what I remember,the Dunedains did spoke Elvish frequently,since they derive mostly from the people of Adunie-see Aldarion and Erendis;).

Very nicely done indeed! I particularly liked the cultural details, the way of building, of cooking, of celebrating, even the clothing. No complaints here on any grounds. Great work from amateurs.

Finally got to watch it. So incredibly amazing... actually better IMO than the Jackson films in some respects; certainly better than Hunt for Gollum which was a really disappointing rehash of Jackson.

Hope that these inspire more similar projects... I'm still entertaining hopes for a film of just the Scouring, done right...

I don't understand what you mean. Were there non-fictional events mentioned in the books?

I was asking whether these were events that happened or were mentioned in the main texts, or whether they were from appendices. And to answer my own question, I believe the events you were talking about (the death of Aragorn's father, etc.) occurred in one of the appendices of The Lord of the Rings.

[QUOTE=Mugwump;619028]I don't understand what you mean. Were there non-fictional events mentioned in the books?

QUOTE]
Well,what can I say?Middle Earth has always been real to me:p
Yes ,I refer to the appendices.In fact,I cannot recall of something more specificate for Aragorn's childhood and ancestors,except the heirloom of Isildur,son of Arathorn,Elessar,growing up in Imladris etc.etc. ,in the main texts.

Well, there was that incident with the Elven milkmaid when he was a teenager... oh but wait, Tolkien never published that story. ;)

I just finished watching it. I though it was quite good. Very well made as well.

Lights Camera Action
 

Well, just watched this at last, and I must say I was mightily impressed!

I think it's a real step-up from 'The Hunt for Gollum', far better paced and plotted and a cracking job all round.

I do like the Ring of Barahir being the 'proof' required for orcish termination of Arador/Arathorn (otherwise I guess they could bring back any old finger!). Dol Guldur looming over Southern Mirkwood. Arathorn's infiltration of an orc hold in the Misty Mountains (Goblin Town?). Almost thought that Gollum was going to put in a guest appearence when the underground lake was up;). The Troll was pretty well done too and the orcs suitably nasty. Great to see Halbarad, Elrohir and Elladan get a look in.

Only a couple of possible quibbles - the funeral pyre seems non-Dunedain-ish (Gandalf going on about Heathen Kings re Denethor's fiery end etc). Taurdur(?) the Ranger settlement - but wasn't their base in the Angle south of Rivendell - though to give the benefit of the doubt maybe they moved there after the events of the film?

All in all excellent, so I wonder if anything else is in the pipeline?

Yes,the Blue Book is a far more interesting perspective of the story...:D

I'm impressed. That was not bad at all, by far better than the Hunt for Gollum. There's of course stuff to nit-pick on, but mostly it was really impressive. I was especially impressed with the acting: it was only a few moments when I was thinking "embarassing" or "fake" when looking at the movie, and I often think that once or twice during professional movies too. So huge kudos to the actors.

I was afraid the made-up characters would be silly, but no. I liked the character of Elgarain, she was really cool (and I seldom like female heroes in this kind of movies, so even more kudos to the team and the actress - who also directed and produced the stuff, it seems) and the others were good too (even the slightly slimy/aggressive guy who had a thing for her, he was funny :D). I was also amused by teenage Halbarad and the slightly punk old Arador. ;)

Anyway, as again with the Hunt for Gollum, I think the weakest point of the film was the plot. It sometimes felt there was no coherence or no story and some of the scenes and lines were plain silly or cheesy. Also, the narrator was unnecessary and her lines were just awful.

All in all, I liked the movie and I'd watch it again. I also recommend it to other 'downers.

ps. I disagree. While I don't exactly imagine Gilraen to look the way the actress did (I imagine her as tall, dark and sort of bony), I have absolutely nothing against the actress in this movie. I think she looked her age and it was wonderful how they made her look younger in the beginning and older in the end. Also, I personally found the actress pretty and disagree with your implication of her being fat - I must say I definitely liked her far more than if she had been portrayed by some Hollywod-style model babe. (And as for the Dúnedain coming of age, I got the impression they were considered mature maybe around thirty, give or take a few years. That would make sense, given their long life span.)

I think I might just as well say that I second basically what Rumil and Lommy have said. And from me (in case somebody didn't know that), saying anything positive about movies means a lot. For a fan movie, it was very good (both as a good job from the people and from the point of view of how many things are usually screwed up when fans make a movie, i.e. terrible uncanonicity or terrible uncanonical character - there was nothing striking like that here and the folk had even relatively normal names - at least compared to "I Have No Imagination son of I Read LotR Once And Wonder What A Ranger's Name Should Be Like").

I also thought exactly the same thing about Gollum. :) And I must say I was wondering whether they are going to introduce Arador's dying scene (a usual fan-made movie approach would be to make somebody bring the news "your father is dead", of course, to easily avoid making difficult scenes) and if yes, then how well are they going to make it - but the troll was really well done. And all the rest too, like I said.

You must be have been watching through rose-colored (and thinning) glasses. There's no way she could pass for 22. I also didn't notice any aging during the film -- she looked 35 throughout. Maybe she smokes?

But aside from that I have no criticisms: she's a very good actor, as were they all, and it was an otherwise magnificent production. I was very impressed. A+.

I just bookmarked it and will watch it very soon in order to give you my own comments. Thanks for sharing. I am very glad to make friends with you guys here.

bornofhopoe does have a nice ring to it, though. ;)

Born of Hope and The Hunt for Gollum
 

A couple of things:

The thing that really bothered me about these two fan films - and I like almost everything else about them - was their adherence to Jackson's style. Not just costumes, but music, narration, conception, etc. Even Guillermo del Toro has said he plans to redesign certain elements of Jackson's creation (Wood Elves, Wargs, and Goblins). In Born of Hope the Troll is extremely similar to Jackson's Cave Troll and the Orcs in both are very similar to the Jackson concept. Granted, much of Jackson is derivative of Lee and Howe, but there are other ways to go. I am glad that del Toro plans to bring Hellboy creator Mike Mignola on as a concept artist. In the future, fan films could use some more stylistic originality.

Also, the map in Born of Hope is very close to the old Middle Earth Role Playing Rhudaur map . And, I think you can see Cameth Brin, "The Twisted Hill" and capital of Rhudaur, in the film.

Lastly, wasn't there a First Age fan film that was getting hype a few years back?

I really enjoyed this one, much more than "The Hunt for Gollum." Much better done in terms of acting, plot (still rather weak), and dialogue.

One thing that I felt a bit unsure about was the Dunédain's houses. Buildings built out of plank, and window panes made of sticks in the middle of winter? I had imagined they would rather have had those stone huts or hovels, such as the Celts or Vikings. At least possibly something more closer to the Rohan people, with thatched roofs - although we would rather want clear distinction between two very different tribes.

Come on!What can a rather refreshing cold breeze-below -25 'C-can do to the Western toughies;)?

Never said it was THE perfect production.

well maybe thats why they had Gilraen be more fluffy...had to withstand drafty houses ;)

back in the day full-figured, wide-hipped women were admired and sought after. Meant they could bear many healthy children and still get up to do a full day's housework. Maybe that was also a trait admired by the Dunedain?

Say it,say it!Long live us chubby girls!

Won't say a word about her weight but she certainly blew as a narrator...

Some funny looking Orcs in that film, my favourite being the evil clown/last mohican at 58 something, and that dude with a shrub growing from his ear.

How the Dunedain managed to catch mackerel in inland Eriador I'll never know... And no stockades with all them Orcs marauding...?

Good amateur work though but I feel they could have picked a better part of the stories to film...

I enjoyed it. But I could not download it into Real Player as I did with The Hunt for Golum. I only want to see it without it stopping several times. Any video I download stays in my computer. I am grateful to those who made it. Peace and goodwill.

I finally was able to download it from YouTube. Now I have seen it without interruption. IMHO it is very well done. Peace and goodwill.

I've finally seen it, and I have to say that I thought it was quite amazing considering that it was just a small-scale, low-budget fan film. Of course, the special effects weren't that great and some of the lines, especially on the voiceover were a little overdone and cringeworthy, but then again, I suppose they were needed.

All in all, I think it was pretty well done, and I liked it.

The "Born Of Hope" movie is simply beautifull!
I absolutely loved it!!! I was very suprised when I first saw how good it was,
as I NEVER before encontured a fanmade movie,with a low budget,
to turn out to be so good,well maybe exept the "Hunt For Gollum".:D
I have to say,Kate Madison, the director of the movie,truly done an exellent job
in creating such a masterpiece...

I just watched this film. I'm VERY impressed! I think I like it MUCH more that PJ's LOTR.

Gilraen does look a bit older than "underage", but for the Dunedain coming of age was not 1 but much later, since their lifespan was longer. Gilraen died at some 100 or so years, and that was considered an early death. Hence she might still be underage at 30.

I disagree. I liked the wooden windows. And I don't think they had many stone buildings. They are harder to build and take more time. A "semi-nomadic" (especially upon orc attacks) nation couldn't afford to build such houses.

Wooden houses, on the other hand, looked very realistic.

Ditto. Halbarad and his flags...:rolleyes::D And Elgarain was a really well-done character. I didn't detect any PJ-Arweny Princess Xena kind of vibe from her. On the contrary, she seemed realistic - in a nation that is constantly at war, it would be natural for some women to pick up a sword. Even the books have a shieldmaiden. :)

I noticed a few Gondorian flags flying around. I liked that.

I think that the everyday village life was shown brilliantly. Like, subtly, in the background, but it was always present.

Very good movies