Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

The Movie 300 has inspired a lot of great discussions about battle scenes in the movies. 300 itself has a lot of really fantastic battles and one of my favorites in the movie is the night battle scene.

CNN is taking a look at the top ten battle scenes of all times and they have spurred a lively debate with lots of people chirping in about which battle scenes are favored.
 Braveheart

Of course there is some Fantasy and science fiction on the list. Topping the list is the helicopter assault from Apocalypse Now and who could argue with this? It is one of the most memorable sequences in film history. Everything is just so perfect from the music to the surfing to “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning” quote,.

• Helms Deep Battle from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers comes in at number 3.
• Pelennor Fields Battle from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King comes in at number 4
• Braveheart - The battle of Stirling comes in at number 9
• and Gladiator - The battle at Germania comes in at number 10
• Surprisingly, Starship Troopers makes the list too , at number 8. This is surprising to me because I liked the movie and I am a big fan of Heinlein and of Denise Richards (who isn’t?) But I can’t remember much of the battle except that the insects were pretty cool.

Also, CNN has mirrored this list by putting together their list of top ten worst battle scenes. The Lord of the Rings 3 Pelennor Fields battle made this list too! CNN loved the first part of this battle but hated the last half.

What’s Missing from the list? I really think that Quentin Tarantino should have something on this list. Really! Who can ever forget the battle against the vampires in the church in From Dusk till Dawn? Or the bloodrage battle that Uma Thurman goes through in Kill Bill?

 Check out the CNN list of best and worst and see the interesting responses people have posted here: CNN Top Ten Battle Scenes

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Middle Earth stands alone as the greatest fantasy creation of all times. And it is no wonder that it lives on stronger than ever. It continues to grow, evolve and spread its beauty in many different ways. There are two very big developments in the world of Middle Earth that you can enjoy and they are both being released this month.

Something old

The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien - Yup that’s right. It’s a new book by the master himself. He began the work in 1918, and worked on it through many drafts but never finished it and never published it. His son Christopher, who himself was also a teacher at Oxford, has completed it.

It is scheduled for release on April 17 and you can now pre-order a copy either in hardcover or in limited deluxe hardcover.

Here’s a quote from the Tolkien estate about the book:

“The story deals with a hero of the First Age, Húrin, of the race of Men, who is cursed by the Dark Lord Morgoth, and the effect this curse has on his children Túrin Turambar and Nienor.

The Children of Húrin takes the reader back to a time long before The Lord of the Rings, in an area of Middle-earth that was to be drowned before ever Hobbits appeared, and when the great enemy was still the fallen Vala, Morgoth, and Sauron only his lieutenant. This heroic romance is the tale of the Man, Húrin, who dared to defy Morgoth’s force of evil, and his family’s tragic destiny, as it follows his son Túrin Turambar’s travails through the lost world of Beleriand.”(The Tolkien Estate)

If you are a fan of Tolkien this is a must add to your collection.

More Resources about this book:

• Wikipedia article about the book (With Spoilers)
• Tolkien Library about the book (Including a contest to win a free signed copy)
• The Children of Hurin (Hard Cover pre-order at Amazon)
• The Children of Hurin: Deluxe Edition

Something New

Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar

True that Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth are written works yet the magic has been well translated to the big screen and the computer screen. And on April 24 Midway is launching its new game Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar. It is an MMORPG and it looks like it’s going to be a big hit. There is already a lot of hype about it.

And here is a great thing about this game. Before you shell out the dollars for it you can give it a real try to see if you like it. Gamespot has a special program that let’s you try the beta for free. They are calling it the Middle Earth World Tour and Playable Preview. Can’t beat that!

Heres the Link to the gamespot free playable preview Shadows of Angmar

If you can’t wait to own the game you can pre-order it on Amazon:

• Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar

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