The Lord of the Rings has proven to be one of the most influential and enduring fantasy novels of the 20th century. Written by J.R.R. Tolkien from 1937 to 1954, The Lord of the Rings introduced readers to the mythology of Middle-earth. Fantastic creatures such as Hobbits, Balrogs, and Nazgul sprang to life from Tolkien's vivid imagination. His accounts of the world of Middle-earth have been perceived as so realistic many people ask whether the stories are based on real legends.
In the 1970s, Ralph Bakshi attempted to make two movies based on The Lord of the Rings. However, his rotoscopic interpretation of the story was so poorly received the project was killed by United Artists after only one movie had been released. Nonetheless, the soundtrack by John Williams won an academy award and has enjoyed immense popularity ever since.
In 1998 Peter Jackson signed a contract with New Line Cinema to produce three movies based on The Lord of the Rings. The news was first reported by Xenite.Org's Hobbit Movie News site (then called the Lord of the Rings Movie News site). The first movie, "The Fellowship of the Ring", was released in December 2001. The second movie, "The Two Towers", was released in December 2002 and the third movie, "The Return of the King", was released in December 2003.
The phenomenon known as LotrMania swept across the globe as fans of both J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson eagerly (or anxiously) anticipated the release of each movie. Now that New Line Cinema has committed to producing a "Hobbit" movie prequel, many fans are disappointed to learn that Peter Jackson won't be involved in the project. But hopes remain high that a great movie will emerge from the seemingly chaotic process of the Hollywood film industry.
Through the years, many people have wondered whether the Balrog described in The Lord of the Rings has real wings or something else. Many arguments have erupted with no apparent resolution, although most people feel the Balrog has some sort of wing-shaped appendages or extensions of the darkness around itself.
Some people, not satisfied with being shown the fallacies of their arguments, have launched a propaganda campaign to pretend that they can explain the Balrogs better than Tolkien himself. The following Web sites remain free of the taint of propaganda and simply deal with the facts.