Hi ! We decided to made (Murielle, Kevin and me Thibault) to make a dubbing of the film American Beauty. I hope you will enjoy our video.

Presentation of Strasbourg !

Introduction to The Lord Of The Rings

I felt like writing a post about the Lord of the Rings because I’ve watched the movies recently and I was really thrilled, I’m even going to do a movie marathon with the extended versions next holidays.

At first, the Lord of the Rings was a three-volume novel written by the English author J.R.R. Tolkien, and they were preceded by the prequel The Hobbit. They were written between 1937 and 1949. It’s one of the best-selling novels ever written.

Each book has its movie, and in general it follows the storyline. The whole project took 8 years and cost $281 million.

The three books are all about one quest: taking the One Ring to Mordor and destroying it because its power is boundless and it can bring the Dark Lord Sauron back.

Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit who lives in the Shire, and he stole the ring from a hideous creature named Gollum, when he travelled through Middle Earth with the dwarves to get back their kingdom, the Lonely Mountain, which was stolen from them by Smaug, a dragon. Since then, he kept the ring, but Gandalf, a wizard, found out about it and knew that the only thing that was to be done was to destroy the ring, and he tasked Frodo, Bilbo’s adoptive heir, with this mission.

Frodo left the Shire 17 years later and took other Hobbits with him, whose names are Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. On their way, they founded the Fellowship of the Ring, with Aragorn and Boromir, who are Men, Legolas, an Elf, and Gimli, a Dwarf. Together they travel across Middle-earth, and their paths often part, because they face enemies or events that separate them.

I cannot tell you much more of the story because it’s complex and long and besides I don’t want to spoil anything about it, it would certainly ruin the movies and the books for those who haven’t seen or read them.

So if I cannot tell you the whole story I’ll introduce you the main characters whose names are said above, and after that, tell you a few anecdotes I know about Peter Jackson’s movies.

Frodo Baggins

Frodo inherited the One Ring from Bilbo and kept it hidden 17 years before he finally leaves the Shire. He’s very compassionate, because he pities Gollum unlike other people who think he’s repulsive. In my opinion, he’s the bravest member of the Fellowship because he had the strength to be the main Ring-bearer and so he had to resist the temptation of the Ring’s power all along his way to Mordor. Besides, he’s altruist because he sacrificed himself to complete successfully the quest. But mainly, the fact that he’s only a small, ordinary Hobbit, who has never experienced danger and battle, but who succeeds thanks to his determination to do his best, makes him a hero.

Samwise Gamgee

He was Frodo Baggins' gardener and best friend. When Gandalf tasked Frodo with the quest of destroying the One Ring, Sam was eavesdropping and so the wizard chose him to accompany Frodo as a “punishment”.

He’s my favourite character, because he’s loyal and never loses faith. He always does his best to protect Frodo from any harm. Throughout the journey, like every character, he changes a lot, and gains confidence and willpower.

Meriadoc Brandybuck a.k.a. Merry, & Peregrin Took a.k.a Pippin

These two Hobbits are very close friends, they’re inseparable.

They have the qualities of their kind, like common sense and a good heart.

Pippin is the youngest member of the Fellowship, he’s very cheerful but sometimes even thoughtless and he brought trouble to the Fellowship more than once because he acted silly.

Merry is the most clever Hobbit, and he clearly is some kind of role model for Pippin.

I love their pairing because I admire their friendship, their love for each other is so strong, and they’re so cute together!

Aragorn

Aragorn possess the usual features of heroism: he is courageous, strong, ingenious and keen. He is a great warrior and as the heir of Isildur, owns the throne of Gondor. But he’s a hero with doubts because he feels it’s is duty to fight against Sauron next to his people, and at the same time, he’s needed in the Fellowship to help Frodo accomplish his quest.

Gandalf The Grey

Gandalf guides the Fellowship and often solves situations which at first sight seemed unsolvable. Being a wizard makes him an immortal being, he does not seem to age or change. In fact, wizards are not human, they are spirits in human form, who are on earth to accomplish a specific purpose and leave when they are done. That’s why we don’t know much about Gandalf, he’s a mysterious character, but we know that he’s the most powerful being of Middle-Earth, with the Dark Lord Sauron himself. 

Anecdotes on the trilogy

The Shire actually exists, but it is commonly known as New Zealand. Indeed, most of the scenes shot in Hobbiton took place in the hilly landscapes in Wellington.

The Beatles were great fans of Tolkien and wanted to adapt the Lord of the Rings into a movie. Paul wanted to play Frodo, Ringo wanted to be Sam, George wanted the role of Gandalf and John, Gollum. They even asked Stanley Kubrick to direct, but Kubrick refused, saying the novel was “un-filmable.” And besides, Tolkien refused to let the musicians have the rights of the trilogy. 

Only one cast member has met Tolkien in person: it's Christopher Lee, who plays Saruman The White.

The three movies were shot simultaneously, and six million feet of film were shot on the trilogy, and that's over 1100 miles!

And last but not least, a short extract from the movie where Billy Boyd, who plays Peregrin Took, sings a beautiful song:

Murielle

Doctor Who - 50 years of time and space

 "He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And... he's wonderful."

The very first episode of Doctor Who aired on the BBC on November 23rd, 1963, and it is still broadcasted nowadays.
In a few words, the storyline is about a man who calls himself the Doctor, and travels in time and space with his spaceship, the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) which on the outside, looks like a police box, but it's bigger on the inside. 
At the beginning of every episode, the Doctor, often accompanied by a companion, lands where there's a problem. 
But actually, the Doctor is an alien, he's a Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey, and he has the power to regenerate whenever he's wounded, and his body then entirely changes. As a result from that, during the 49 years of the show there have been 11 different actors who played the Doctor. 
The TV show stopped in 1989 because the audience ratings were bad, and later the BBC made a movie out of it, in 1996, but in 2005, the Doctor comes back. A new director, Russel T. Davies, brings back the show and uses stuff from the old seasons, like some recurrent enemies.

The Daleks are the nemesis of the Doctor. The Doctor met them during the first season of the show in 1963 on their planet « Skaro ». The Dalek is a strange IA who's only aim is to exterminate all the species who aren't Dalek. But under the armor, a Dalek is an akward creature with tentacles who manages the robotic body ; the creature doesn't have any feelings like fear, mercy or love. They are born to kill, they are the most tremendous species of the univers, they are invincible and they can fly. 

A Dalek has two weapons on his body, a suction cup and a whisk ( I know this is ridiculous but they are very powerful trust me ) ; with their whisk Daleks can fire a laser which can destroy everything. And with their suction cup they can suck up your brain and take all your mental capacity. The creator of this horrible machine is Davros, a half-man and half-machine creature but we don't know more about him...

When the Doctor first meets the Daleks in 1963 they have this appearance:

10 years later in 1973 the look of the Daleks changed for this:

In 2005 when the Doctor meets the Daleks again and after the Time War they appear with this form:

The turret of the Dalek change a little bit and the color.

Nowadays, Daleks are like this:

The aspect of the Daleks changes, the eye on his turret is different and they are bigger than the previous version of the Daleks, but this is the come back of the multicolor Daleks !

All the evolution

They always want the TARDIS and to catch the Doctor....

The many faces of the Doctor:

 This is the very first Doctor, played by William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. He is the older embodiment of the Doctor; he's a grumpy, irritable old man and he's very leery. William Hartnell used to say about him that he was "a wizard, and a cross between the Wizard of Oz and Father Christmas".

This is the second form of the Doctor ( the actor is Patrick Troughton ). This Doctor introduces humour in the show with a lot of funny situations. This Doctor is more friendly than his predecessor with his companion Jamie. Patrick Troughton play the role of the Doctor from 1966 to 1969. When he regenerated, Time Lords gave him the choice of his new appearance but he couldn't make the choice because he was undecided so Time Lords chose for him.

The third Doctor is played by Jon Pertwee, from 1970 to 1974. He's more authoritarian and more sober, temperate, because he was exiled on Earth and stuck there as a punishment from the Time Lords, and his TARDIS is useless, but later he happens to save Gallifrey from an uncertain future and he’s allowed to travel again.

The favourite appearance of the Doctor in the classic series ! The 4th embodiment of the Doctor.The actor is Tom Baker, he plays the Doctor for the longest time in the history of the show ( 8 years since 1974 to 1981 ). This Doctor is more eccentric and crazy than the previous, very funny, and he never strips off his scarf ! He influences the next actors who plays the Doctor, and he had to regenerate because he fell from a radio telescope during a fight against his worst enemy: the Master. 

This is the next appearance ( the 5th ) of the Doctor, the actor is Peter Davison and he is the youngest actor who played the role of the Doctor ( 29 years ). This Doctor is more diplomatic and he prefers to resolve problems with speech, he was very peaceful. One of his companion died during a trip and he was deeply touched. He regenerated because he was poisoned on another planet. 

 The 6th Doctor was played by Colin Baker from 1984 to 1986. He was egocentric, self-centered, unlike the usual character of the Doctor, and very self-confident. His colourful outfit is in contrast with this side of him.

The 7th form of the Doctor. The actor is Sylvester McCoy. This Doctor is more mysterious and smarter, he looks like a detective. And this is the first time in the show where the bad sides of the life of the Doctor is mentioned. He never strips off his precious umbrella. McCoy plays the role from 1987 to 1989. 

 Paul McGann plays the 8th Doctor in the 1996 movie, after the show stopped, and it's the only appearance of this Doctor. He's quite of a combination of all the previous Doctors, often enthusiastic but sometimes darker.

The Doctor comes back 9 years later, and his ninth embodiment is Christopher Eccleston, who played the part in 2005. He's more dynamic, modern and less eccentric: he wears a leather coat and his hair are short. He helped kick-start the show into the 21st century.

Our favourite Doctor, the 10th, David Tennant ! This Doctor remind us of the 4th Doctor because he's very funny and cheerful and expressive. But he keeps a part of bad sides in his life like the 7th Doctor. He is very eccentric and his catchphrase is "Allons y!". It's funny to see a french expression in a british show. He wants to find a man whose name is Allonso in order to say "Allons-y Allonso !". David Tennant plays the Doctor during five years, from 2005 to 2010. 

 And currently, the Doctor is played by Matt Smith. The 11th Doctor is often eccentric and childish, but in fact he's older than ever and because of all the adventures he had in the past, all the enemies he fought and, often but not always, defeated, he has became the most feared creature in all the cosmos. He also has an obsession with hats and bowties, just like the 2nd Doctor.

As far as I'm concerned, Doctor Who is the best TV show that ever existed. It changed the way I see the world and the whole wide universe, and the Doctor taught me so many lessons about life and death, but there is one I will always remember : we may be infinitely tiny to the universe, but it doesn't prevent us from being great at our own scale. -Murielle

I think Dr.Who is my favourite TV show, I've never been so passionate about any TV show before. I like the universe and the style of the Doctor, the enemies ( especially the Daleks ), his spaceship ( just wonderful ). The show as Murielle said made me think differently about life and universe, and I have learned that we can make everything but we never know how the future will be but the future is always the result of what we do now. -Thibault

Murielle & Thibault, space travellers