Question: What exactly is "Middle Earth"? Does it refer to a specific area of land/continent, or a period in time, such as the Middle Ages (but obviously thousands of years earlier), or to something completely different?
Phil C.
9th Feb 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
22nd Jan 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: During the battle at Minas Tirith, what are those red dots that flash in the center of the screen? They appear when one of Gondor's catapults is fired, then when a couple of the orc's catapults are fired, also when the tower door is lowered for the orcs that attack Gandalf & Pippin.
Answer: The red dots you see are part of a really stupid scheme to foil internet piracy of movies. They are known as the CAPS code and were developed by Kodak. Lately they have been showing up more and more often in films. A good discussion can be seen at http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=162471 if you are interested in learning more.
18th Dec 2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: When the horses of Aragorn and Legolas are spooked and run away from the entrance to the mountain cavern, Aragorn's horse gets away with the scabbard to his new shiny sword still on the saddle. Does he ever get his scabbard back for battle or just have to carry the sword unsheathed for the next scenes?
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Answer: Middle-earth is usually represented as a single continent, but Tolkien's writings (and more specifically his Letters) suggest that Middle-earth is typically defined as that part of the world inhabited by mortal beings. This would mean that it includes the lands of Arda except for Aman and, perhaps the Empty Lands. The name does not refer to a specific time period, although some scholars have argued that Middle-earth represents "our" Earth from a period long ago.
Phil C.