Product Description

Since the first screening of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" in 2001, New Zealand has become the embodiment of Middle-earth to millions of moviegoers and Tolkien readers the world over. This definitive full-colour guidebook, completely updated and expanded since it was first published as a New Zealand exclusive edition for Christmas 2002, showcases the principal movie set locations around New Zealand as seen in all three films. The book includes: maps and location directions; useful touring information including accommodation, food and entertainment suggestions; GPS references to location sites; movie photographs, plus before-and-after photos by the author; and sections written specially by Peter Jackson (Director), Alan Lee (Designer), Richard Taylor (Special FX) and Barrie Osborne (Producer), plus contributions from all the actors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103948 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From the Author
It has been interesting reading the reviews of my book. As a Tolkien fan for the last 32 years I wanted people to enjoy the scenery of New Zealand as it relates to Middle-earth.
Certainly there are more than 3 locations easily accessible. In fact, 90% of the locations listed in this book are accessible by car. There are very few that are only helicopter accessible.
The GPS co-ordinates are listed to enable some fans to find the exact spots. They have been checked to within 5 metre accuracy.

The book is not intended as a travel guide to NZ, hence the sparseness of maps. I would recommend any visitor purchasing a good NZ atlas as well.
My major disappointment with this book is the small pictures - but the book is a guide to allow people to put it in glove-boxes or backpacks.
A much larger coffee-table version will be released later this year with more pages and much bigger pictures.

About the Author
Ian Brodie is a former Air Force pilot who has become a renowned expert on this native New Zealand. His interest in photography and in The Lord of the Rings led him to write and compile this guide, which was then authorised and embraced by Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema. He is now the official Middle-earth spokesperson for Air New Zealand, the official airline of the movies,and he even has a small walk-on part in The Return of the King.

Customer Reviews

the best guide to the real middle earth!
My family and I used this book extensively whilst on holiday in New Zealand and my two sons were able to re-enact all their favourite fight scenes in the spot where they were filmed! There is a good amount of detail and "inside information" about the Peter Jackson films to help you to track down the locations used. This book is an indispensable guide for those visiting NZ (a great country over and above the link with the Lord of the Rings films) who are Lord of the Rings fans but I don't think it would be of interest if you were not visiting the country as the main information is about how to find the sites used.

Beware of this book!
I bought this book whilst I was in New Zealand and hoped to 'step in the footsteps of hobbits' so to speak. Well, this book is quite misleading. Whilst nicely presented from a first glance, on closer inspection, unless you are prepared to spend hundreds of NZ$'s and days searching, this book is more or less useless.

Out of the 30-odd locations, you can only easily get to 3 of them. All the others require a 2-hour helicopter ride or a 10-hour one-way hike to reach. It will not become clear till you reach New Zealand, just how barren a country it is. It is the same size as the UK with a population of around 3 million. You cannot get to the locations with ease. If you have watched the 'making of' any of The Lord of The Rings films, you will have heard how the cast and crew went by helicoptor to the locations. That's because its the only way! There are NO roads to most of the locations listed.

There is one cool location which you can reach easily in Wellington (the capital). Halfway up Mt. Victoria along a footpath there is the exact spot the Hobbits hid under a tree to escape the Ringwraith. The big tree itself was a prop, but its easy to see where everything happened. I bumped into a Swedish couple at this spot who had travelled to New Zealand just to visit the locations and were pretty dissapointed with the book. They had hiked out to some of the locations with their own GPS (following the GPS co-ordinates listed in the book) and found them to be highly unaccurate.

This book looks very cool but take it from me (as a foiled hobbit-spotter), it is anything but.

You've got to be there to get the most from it!
If you're going to New Zealand and you are a "Lord of the Rings" fan, then this book is a must. Slim enough to slip into the baggage without disturbing the scales, it is a detailed guide to the places where the films were shot. Detailed descriptions of routes, paths and unmade roads will get you to the places you recognise. You could spend months touring the country just seeking out locations - or just visit some of the places mentioned when you happen to be nearby. Also, the articles from some of the people involved in choosing the locations are interesting.
If you are not going to NZ, then the book is probably only worth buying if you are a hardcore "Lord of the Rings" anorak. The magnificent scenery doesn't really come across in the small format photos - much better to go and take your own pictures!