Rumil Reports from The Lord of the Rings Exhibit at The Science Museum
Exhibiting Middle Earth
I could hardly contain my excitement. I had barely had time to inspect the contents of my new Legolas pencil case and stationery set when Lurtz himself appeared and started snarling: “Find the halflings; find the halflings”. The occasion for this unprecedented double whammy of excitement? The 16th September sees the opening of the new Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy Exhibition at the Science Museum in London and yours truly went along from War of the Ring to get a glimpse of the show.
Then I noticed Weta workshop’s Richard Taylor standing in the crowd and could not help but stare rudely at the man who has been so instrumental in bringing Middle Earth to life. By the time I remembered my manners, Lurtz (played by Lawrence Makeare) had become involved in a duel with a suspiciously photogenic child with a toy sword who had conveniently managed to wrangle an invite to the press launch of the exhibition (and I thought it was a school day too).
The exhibition features costumes, props and technology from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and if you get a chance to see it – do so. The artistry, craft and effort that has gone onto bringing Arda to the screen is utterly phenomenal. Did you know for instance that the oak tree above Bag End was winched into place and then covered with 250 000 hand painted oak leaves and acorns? Or that Lurtz’s make up for the birth scene of the Uruk-Hai took over 11 hours? (Apparently the fight sequence at Amon Hen was filmed on a blisteringly hot day and many of the Uruks fainted – they were obviously not as immune to the effects of the sun as Saruman intended).
For
me some of the stars of this exhibition were the costumes and weapons lovingly
made by Weta. In particular Theoden’s armour and Haldir’s sword
and bow struck me as very beautiful. These however could not match the excitement
of coming face to face with the one ring itself. In its own chamber it is
the centre piece of the show and I defy anyone not to experience a bit of
a Gollum moment when they see it (must have the preciousss).
The exhibition was put together by the Te Papa (means treasure chest) Musuem of New Zealand at a cost of over £750 000. With over 220 000 visitors it is New Zealand’s most successful museum show ever. It will be in London at the Science Museum until 11 January 2004 and tickets (ranging in price from £6.95 for off peak concessions to £11.95 for peak time adult tickets) can be booked on 0870 906 3890 or at www.sciencemuseum.org. To accompany the show the Science Museum has organised a number of special events – not least excitingly screenings of FOTR and TTT double bills. After London the show will be going on to tour some of the world’s major cities including Boston, Sydney and Bangkok.
The show has plenty of interactive elements and scientific wizardry to fascinate those drawn to the technical achievement of Lord of the Rings. The various tricks of perspective used to render Elijah and pals ‘hobbit sized’ make for a lot of fun. It is also great to see quite how closely Gollum’s facial expressions are based on those of Andy Serkis in creating one of the most memorable cinema roles of recent times.
Georgina from the science museum playing Frodo to my Gandalf
It is somewhat ironic that given
Tolkien’s distrust of technology and machines that his work should be
occupying such a prominent place in a Science Museum. Yet, the modern cinema
industry, and Lord of the Rings in particular represents the ultimate combination
of art and technology: a veritable union of these two towers.
As Rumil mentioned you can book online here or call them on 0870 906 3890. Be sure to check it out, I know I will be. thanks to Ben for his assistance.
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