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The Movie: Fantasy films have certainly found a lot of success over the last several years, with "Lord of the Rings", "Star Wars" and other films doing brisk business. However, it's also become fairly popular to turn the camera on the folks who are the ones buying tickets for these features. "Trekkies", which focused on the "Star Trek" phenomenon, was so popular that a "Trekkies 2" was made. "Ringers" takes a look at the massive popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, and the film starts with a very cute and creative animated look at the development of the "Lord of the Rings" novels and their reaction. Pleasantly enough, instead of just looking at all the celebration around the release of the three films, this feature looks at Tolkien throughout the years, such as how the author's work gained a following with the hippie movement in the 60's and then later on, the Rankin/Bass and Ralph Bakshi animated features. We also hear a great deal about how the books have inspired others, such as musicians and actors - we hear from David Carradine and others. Of course, we also hear from the fans, who discuss what the works of Tolkien mean to them and the reasons why they appreciate them so much. The stars of the films also are interviewed throughout the documentary, and star Dominic Monaghan provides occasional bits of narration for the documentary footage. Overall, this is a fun and informative feature that, thankfully, takes a look at the Tolkien phenomenon as a whole instead of concentrating on the release of the films (although it also does provide plenty of information on that, as well.) The DVD VIDEO: "Ringers" is presented by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in the film's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The picture appears to have been shot on fairly high-quality digital video and looks quite good, if slightly inconsistent. Some low-light/dark shots did show some minor artifacts and sharpness/detail were generally good, but a few shots here-and-there appeared slightly softer. Minor shimmering appeared in a couple of scenes, but aside from that and a few slight artifacts, the picture appeared crisp and clear. Colors looked natural and accurate, with no smearing or other faults. SOUND: The stereo soundtrack was perfectly fine, with crisp dialogue. EXTRAS: Deleted scenes, filmmaker's commentary (with several participants), memorable confessionals, "Rock N' Ringers" featurette, "The Ring Comes Full Circle" featurette, photo gallery and previews for other titles from the studio. Final Thoughts: "Ringers" was quite a fun, informative look at both the celebration surrounding the films and the entire Tolkien legacy. The DVD edition offers fine audio/video quality, along with a very fine helping of supplements. Definitely a recommendation for fans. 
Film Grade The Film B+ DVD Grades Video 88/B Audio: 87/B Extras: 83/B |