Looking for the Hobbit
Sci-Fi & FantasyDocumentary
À la recherche du Hobbit (French for Looking for the Hobbit) is an exploratory documentary series directed by Olivier Simonnet in 2014, in which illustrator John Howe, story-teller Nicolas Mezzalira, and Professor Leo Carruthers of the University of Paris-Sorbonne explore real-world settings and famous myths that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology. The documentary explores many locations of Medieval significance.
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Seasons & episodes
John Howe, the famous illustrator of Tolkien's novels and the conceptual artist for Peter Jackson's films, decided to find out more and set off in search of the legends - and the places that gave rise to them.
1Tolkien's Worlds30 Nov 2014 · 26mIn New Zealand, John Howe takes us on an exclusive tour of a film set, which has since been destroyed. In the United Kingdom, Professor Leo Carruthers reveals that the writer Tolkien was also a professor, and an expert on European legends. We must look to these legends for his sources of inspiration. Perhaps they could tell us where the mysterious Hobbits come from.
2The Magical Forest of Brocéliande7 Dec 2014 · 26mTolkien took his inspiration from European legends. The first stage of our quest for the sources of the imaginary world takes us to the forest of Brocéliane. Nicolas Mezzalira reveals the legend of Merlin: his birth, romance with the Lady of the Lake, and his first prophecy. The numerous resemblances to the character of the magician Gandalf reveal the extent of Tolkien's force and originality.
3In the Footsteps of King Arthur14 Dec 2014 · 26mStoryteller Nicolas Mezzalira tells him about the birth of King Arthur and then about the origins of the Knights of the Round Table and the Quest for the Holy Grail, and Professor Leo Garruthers highlights the links between these legends and the Fellowship of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings. For John Howe, this episode is also an opportunity to examine the links between legend and history.
4The Lost Gold of the Rhine21 Dec 2014 · 26mJohn Howe travels to Germany, the birthplace of the legend of the Niebelungen or the "Gold of the Rhine". There he meets Canadian writer David Day, the author of several works on Tolkien. Will they discover the origins of the Hobbits in this legend, which is full of dwarfs, dragons and a magic ring?
5The Creatures of the North26 Dec 2014 · 26mThis final episode takes us to Iceland. Yet it is in Oxford, among students of the Tolkien Society, that the answers to the long search for the Hobbits lie. What if the Hobbits were born entirely from Tolkien's imagination? And what if they were purely and simply a projection of human beings, with their weaknesses and faults - and their capacity to change the world?
Details
- Created by
- Yannis Metzinger, Alexis Metzinger
- First aired
- 30 Nov 2014
- Last aired
- 26 Dec 2014
- Status
- Ended
- Language
- French
- Network
- ARTE, ARTE
- Episodes
- 5
- Votes
- 5 on TMDB
Where to watch (US)
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Fawesome
The Roku Channel
Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads
Cineverse
Amazon MX Player
Cast
John Howe
Nicolas Mezzalira
