Watch this Clip NOW

[davem]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Anyway, do you know if they keep clips like that there still? On the same address?

As far as I'm aware the BBC still have the whole of the documentary in their archives. Why its never been repeated, or released on DVD, I have no idea. I've seen clips from it in other programmes (& in the documentary 'JRRT: A Film Portrait of JRR Tolkien' - sadly no longer available, as it contains a long filmed interview with Christopher, the only one I know of. Bailie Tolkien also appears, along with Priscilla & Father John). There are radio ineterviews, & one other TV interview, available on the net, but I think this is the longest clip with Tolkien discussing his works in depth.

Edit

The clip with Judy Dench is from the JRRT doc - its about an hour & fifty minutes in total. Christopher is fascinating (oh Shippey & Flieger also pop up in it).

[MatthewM]

Nice find, davem! Great stuff, and like most here, I didn't even understand half of what the Professor was saying, so I thank you for the translation. I wonder if he was well aware that people couldn't understand him well verbally?

Originally Posted by davem

(& in the documentary 'JRRT: A Film Portrait of JRR Tolkien' - sadly no longer available, as it contains a long filmed interview with Christopher, the only one I know of. Bailie Tolkien also appears, along with Priscilla & Father John).

I would like to see this, do you think you can give us some details that Christopher talks of? Anything that isn't widely known? Thanks!

[davem]

Originally Posted by MatthewM

Nice find, davem! Great stuff, and like most here, I didn't even understand half of what the Professor was saying, so I thank you for the translation. I wonder if he was well aware that people couldn't understand him well verbally?

Well, I'm pretty sure what I gave is correct - I had to listen to it through about four times & then keep pausing it as I typed it out. Of course, others may hear it differently.

I would like to see this, do you think you can give us some details that Christopher talks of? Anything that isn't widely known? Thanks!

In all its about 30 minutes of CT, cut with other speakers, but we see his house (inside & out). There's not much there that's 'new', but he gives some interesting reminisences about his childhood (sitting in the Vale of the White Horse as a child, with his father, watching a steam train. CT says he was excited by it, but that his father saw it as the intrusion of the 'Machine' into the natural world, & didn't like it at all!. He also puts paid to the 'speculation' he'd heard that the reason his father couldn't finish The Sil was that he felt in some way that finishing TS would be finishing his own life (ie, that he would die if he completed it). CT says very clearly that the reason that his father couldn't complete it was that he was simply too old, too tired.

I'll have to try & find time to watch it again to get more detail. Lal & Narfforc have also seen it though, & their memories may be sharper than mine.

[Lalwendë]

The various documentaries as far as I can pin them down, with some help from davem are:

1968 - Tolkien in Oxford
Mid-80s - an Arena or Omnibus documentary, which had clips from Tolkien in Oxford or indeed could have been the same thing.
Late 90s - An Awfully Big Adventure, with clips from Tolkien In Oxford and also clips from JRRT A Film Portrait (clips of Christopher Tolkien).
Early 2000s - a 'repeat' of the Arena/Omnibus special with clips of Tolkien In Oxford, but with some of the original 80s material clipped to show bits of the films. Has Vaughan Williams music in it, as did the 80s one.

Then there is JRRT A Film Portrait - which also has some bits from Tolkien In Oxford including him talking about Simone de Beauvoir.

All of which are a beggar to source!

[davem]

There's a special feature including the clip on BBC2 Newsnight - Programme's on now

[davem]

Go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/video_and_audio/default.stm right hand column, scroll down to Newsnight & 'Watch' tonight's episode for the feature. Very good. (Adam Tolkien & Alan Lee on there, along with clips of Tolkien himself)

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by davem

There's a special feature including the clip on BBC2 Newsnight - Programme's on now

Perhaps in future you could give us the BBC World news link, for those of us not on your side of the pond, should it be covered by BBC World News?

It was interesting towatch the coverage of the slaughter in Virginia, for the BBC focussed on gun laws and gun access in the US, whereas CNN is hammering away at timelines. Has Tolkien got pushed off the agenda by the gunman?

EDIT: Just saw that second BBC clip. I must say that Adam Tolkien seems very familiar. Does he remind people of any one (and, no, I don't mean his grandfather).

[davem]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Perhaps in future you could give us the BBC World news link, for those of us not on your side of the pond, should it be covered by BBC World News?

It was interesting towatch the coverage of the slaughter in Virginia, for the BBC focussed on gun laws and gun access in the US, whereas CNN is hammering away at timelines. Has Tolkien got pushed off the agenda by the gunman?

EDIT: Just saw that second BBC clip. I must say that Adam Tolkien seems very familiar. Does he remind people of any one (and, no, I don't mean his grandfather).

BTW, if you don't want to watch the whole of Newsnight the CoH feature can be seen on its own by following the original link http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/sear...kien&go=Search The feature is now first, just above the Tolkien clip.