We’re back, thanks to WB for being so understanding to us as fans and artists. We’re very positive and excited for what the new movie will be at fan film THFG HQ.
Its crazy. I came to check this out after hearing about the Serkis movie with the same name...I hope the makers of it get some acknowledgement...but i doubt they will.
yes it is an excellent version of this side story .... wouldn't you love to see how they handle something like the rise and fall of numenor ... given this as their idea of quality ... I think they could do an awesome rendition of that part of the silmarillion story ;)
I don’t know how Amazon could adapt Fallout faithfully but then do what they did with RoP. Like why hire a team that clearly despises Tolkien, the lore and the Peter Jackson trilogy?? It could’ve been phenomenal but they chose the message over profit
@@moejoesayson1933 I’m not trying to sound rude, but you’ll need to do your own research. It’s been a very prevalent discussion in the last number of years and whenever I get someone asking it usually turns out they were being snarky and wanna start some shit and I’m just not into it, sorry but yeah it should be easy enough to find out on your own then you can form your own opinion on it
@@gagalover2k10 not trying to start an argument here, but I would like to point some other problems with RoP and LotR out. 1. I really hate RoP for showing hobbits and reinventing the whole Silmarillion story. The Silmarillion is perfect how it is and hobbits belong to the 3rd Age (and the 4th), but not into RoP. Same with that weird mage guy falling out from the sky. Gandalf and Co. appeared first in 3rd Age, so, I agree with you. 2. I really love RoP for displaying badass women, a "black" elf and the dwarfen lady. They both fit so much better into Tolkien's world than most other actors in LotR. 3. concerning woke.... you know, that every human being is biased and a product of his cultural upbringing, so the same goes for Tolkien. First, badass women: not possible to write about such women in his time, today we know from archaelogical evidence that women have led armies and were respected chieftains / warriors / rulers in many cultures and ages. If that sounds woke, then human history is woke (duh). Second, people of color: not possible to write about them in Tolkien's time, so again, I got no quarrel with that because I personally find the depiction of only white male characters boring. understandable for a lot of reasons, yes, but still, BORING. and just to say, I am a white straight cis-male born and living in Switzerland. in my opinion, at least this "reinvention" was refreshing in RoP if only to question our cultural bias and perspective. I mean what's so upsetting to include fans visibly who are not white and/or male? lastly, my real quarrel and hate with RoP doesn't lie in "woke" stuff because if you, as a true Tolkienista, feel offended by black people and if strong women shrink your balls, then I suggest you should up your self-esteem (and it makes totally sense for RoP-Galadriel to kick asses as she was born in Aman and part of the migthiest family, Feänor was her relative, hence in terms of Tolkien's magic-power-system she should be even stronger or at least as strong as Glorfindel, hence: Galadriel is power incarnate). that said, I find it much more offensive that people criticize RoP primarily for being "woke" while ignoring evidence (remember the archaeological? Even in the Silmarillion and LotR there are badass women, mostly mentioned very short sentences and not put on display with Eowyn being the exception - which is why she marries Faramir, because he was the only man in all of LotR who did resist the ring) or the simple fact that RoP isn't even about the "Rings of Power": it's a cash grab that hides behind a "made by Tolkien" disguise.
Did Peter Jackson say how many "Hunt for Gollum" films he is making? Will there be One Film to rule them all? Will greed drive him to make Seven? Or will he turn "full Nazgul" and go for Nine? 🥺
Seriously!!! But people like besos bases life on money and money alone. So he thinks things are good or best when they cost more... he's pathetic... and so is his show... I've never seen this until today and I fell in love with it when they were at Bree... just seeing bree again gave me chills. HONOR THE STORY AND IT WON'T MATTER WHO IS PLAYING THE CHARACTER. ITV WILL BE GOOD OF YOU FOLLOW THE DAMN STORY
Imagine everything about a fan film is better than a show that’s has a billion Dollar budget. I mean it’s insane like the dialogue in this fan film is actually good and then you have rings of powers and the dialogue is forced and awful
And now we will have an official version. Still, this fan made movie was more than amazing, I’ll never forget it. I hope that the news of the upcoming new movie will boost this movie here on UA-cam, it deserves just praises !
I'm here, 13 years after i originally watched this little film of great love, and it's still better than anything that could be conjured by Sauron in his black tower at Amazon.
Brilliant! The costumes, dialogue, setting - perfect. The choreography in the sword fights was very impressive. The orcs looked fantastic and so did Gollum. Well done!
This is astounding. Considering it will have been shot on a very limited budget I have nothing but praise for all concerned. I am a lighting cameraman and tend to watch films with different eyes. I have to say that the whole film was cleverly shot. (how to involve Gollum without seeing him - Brilliant) Great costume and make up and the fight sequence was excellent. I think the casting was pure genius and the direction was spot on. Well done to all involved. I know how much work has gone into producing this film.
For a fan film this is probably one of the best examples of how to do it, having the Peter Jackson trilogy as the backdrop couldn’t have been easy. It even sounds incredible, something fan films rarely do, they just don’t have that cinematic *sound* - but this was great.
Damn, I'm raising money for my first film right now and I've already gotten $6k and I still couldn't see myself doing this good a job with the amount they used. These people should be working in Hollywood, for real. They made this with approximately 4k USD. Imagine what they can do with $3 million or 30 million dollars? I tip my hat to you guys. Excellent film.
@@zeeuransh210 It does indeed! I remember watching "Dog Soldiers", thinking how good it was and waiting for the next film from the creator. Once the Main Stream Studios found how popular it was, they threw money at the next outing, "The Descent", which I found boring and not half as good as the first film - obviously, they did not have to be as creative, and it showed. Take Care and Stay Safe, xxx
Excellent Shows what you can do with good actors, imagination, cinematography and all with a limited budget Orcs looked good, scenery perfect and Gollum's voice nailed
Never heard of the film till WB decided to try to remove it. This is really good fan film! I don’t see how this fan film would hurt the new film that is years away. They shouldn’t worry since it’s going to be different actors and longer film compared to this. Thank you for making this long ago!
Honestly I'm not discounting the possibility that people at WB didn't even know this thing existed apart from finding it in some search and making the strike as a reflex, only to withdraw it when the truth of the matter was made known. My theory has the fallacy, though, of supposing those involved were good and decent people at heart, when talking about corporations.
Finally watched today I wish I would have known about this 15 years ago. Today I found out Peter Jackson is back to actually make this movie. You were years ahead thanks for making a great movie. Tolkien lives on forever
Well done to all! I didn't expect too much...being 64 years old and a devotee of Tolkien's work since I was a child, as are my son's. I thought such an epic could never make it to the cinema screen, the story is so vast. Peter Jackson made a leap of faith and did it. By the Valar he did an incredible job! And so have these folk. It's a minor part of the tale that nobody really pays much attention to as Aragorn merely relates it..but it is significant. Well done to all.
This is a work of pure love with incredible locations and acting, costumes, and Aragorn's actor looks so perfect for the character even more than Viggo Mortensen. I was mesmerized throughout the whole film and it felt official
An excellent effort for a film that only cost 3000 pounds !!!,how the hell they done it for that price amazes me !,imagine if they had ten times the initial money in the begining
Well it helps when you don't got every single actor demanding several million each. You always gotta pay them. This entire thing was done for nonprofit. So they just rounded up a well-rounded group of dedicated fans. In all honesty that few thousand probably just went to celebratory costs.
I dont understand how it took me 15 years to find this but oh my god.. the production is beyond any fan film ive ever seen, the amount of effort in every scene is almost what we expect from multi-million dollar productions, incredible! i dont have enough words to praise it
Holy smokes this is incredible. I'm disappointed I've lived 13yrs and just no found this masterpiece! What an awesome prequel to the Jackson LoTR trilogy. It honestly felt as if Peter Jackson himself directed it, but with a slightly lower budget. The aerial landscape shots were incredible, the soundtrack sounded just like Howard Shore, and the costume/make up, action, dialogue, set locations, VFX, and acting were phenomenal. Gollum looked amazing, and Adrian Webster as Aragorn was close to Viggo's! I'm adding this to my annual LoTR marathon!
My god, this short movie looks no different than OG LOTR. The cinematography, voiceover , actors, all characters, locations and vfx, all looks perfect and exactly same. I’m so sold. Great piece of work.
Heard about this film a few years ago and finally sat down to watch it. Too much time wasted! This is a masterpiece. Thanks for bringing it into existence!
I love this! If the same actors that were in the original film were in this I would not have even known it was not a Peter Jackson film. The script, the cinematography, the effects, the location, the lighting, the costumes, everything was perfect! And I like that it followed the appendices of the Tolkien's books and held true to his vision. Very impressed!
I always believe if filmmakers stay true to the vision of writers of great novels, they have a good chance of making a success of the film(s). I know that filmmakers need to "interpret" novels to convert it to film, but if you keep that Ingredient X that made the book so endearing to its readers, you will make the film endearing to its audience. Some directors do forget that, and end up with major cinematic failures. Crossing fingers for 3rd trilogy of LOTR movies based on the The Silmarillion.
I just mentioned trilogy because that is what most people think when they think Middle-Earth movies. I absolutely agree with you about the massive content of Middle-Earth not yet captured in the Cinematic Universe yet. How do you feel about a 25 movie series to detail Middle-Earth's history and characters as a complete guide? (in case you are wondering, James Bond has 23 films and Lone Wolf has 24, and Wikipedia indicates at least 3 movie series with 25 movies). We could easily reach that number, considering that even independent productions could be listed.
Why do you say that? Do you know how many Star Wars fan films, spin-off series, novels and comic books, animations, parodies, shorts, etc. there are on the web? Sure, some are better than others, but they all add to the Expanded Universe.I know you would like to boost your own IP, but surely you could accommodate other content as well? I am not saying everything has to be in the same format - it would be better if it was in different formats and media, that way you wouldn't get fatigue from watching similar content (like cinematic movies) all the time.
My dad has been a huge Tolkien fan since he was a kid. He actually doesn’t even really like the Peter Jackson films. He does acknowledge some parts are exactly how he envisioned. He sent this to me because he liked it. Coming from my dad that’s saying something
@@sarahjames927 tbf it’s not like they came up with the story exactly, i mean expecting wb to give these guys credit is like expecting new line to have given ralph bakshi credit for his lotr movie
I think my favorite part of this has to be how they don't show Gollum's face until the end. It lends immensely to the suspense and the eeriness surrounding him. Really, this was marvelous. Glad I found this right before my yearly LOTR binge. Certainly, I'll be adding it to that tradition.
The Hunt for Gollum 2009 fanfilm was fantastically well made. Even after 15 years, he scores very well. We hope Warner Bros won't make it any harder. We support the Fanfilm! Greetings from Belgium!
Seriously, it would cost them only a small handful of several thousand to make a feature-length. If they made just a million, which is like a dollar from every one of the most devoted fans, that would be a very high return of profit.
I'm glad that youtube didn't toss this out or ban it, because this is a good film, well made. You can tell that the people enjoyed making it. It would be a shame if people couldn't see it. This is the only place that I've ever seen it.
I've seen this movie just now, what can I say more than congratulations ? It's amazing, this is the proof that even low budgets movies can do amazing things. It's one of the best fan made movies I've ever seen. The actors are amazing, the direction is brilliant, the atmosphere, the costumes and the screenplay, everything is just beautiful. I can literally breath Tolkien and Jackson watching this, and I'm sure he would be proud of your work. Congratulations, now when I'll do a Lotr marathon, I could also watch this movie first. The Lord of the Rings is my favorite movie ever, and this short movie does the best it can do to give me Jackson vibes, but also, it is amazing on its own. I'm so glad that I watched this.
@@thelonesomefisherman7425that he is for sure, having a great bash at his Eleventy first and passing away at 131, making him the Oldest and Famousest Hobbit ever.
You can really feel that while they had not the same budget as the Jackson trilogy, they had the same love and passion for the topic. Pretty impressive work, really enjoyed it. PS: The orcs are better than in the Hobbit💪
This thing is the bomb. It's been 10 years or more since I first watched it, and it's still great. I can't believe it was made on so little, on handses, string or nothing.
All parts are better than the Rings of Power (from my view). It is intimate, Middle Earth is a real character here, great tention building, all scenes tells us something about the world and characters. This movie does not show everything directly to the audience, many things are left to audience´s imagination. And it works very well. After the Peter Jackson´s movies this is for me "going back again" to the beloved Middle Earth.
was so lost in the books. searched for aragorn's search for gollum and their travel on you tube, and found this great short film. Great adaptation of content from the book. I often look for such adaptations of different stories in tolkien's lore, and this one was so beautifully well done.
After 20 years, since I finished high school I read LOTR novel for the first time - today I finished "Return of the King" - and this was great addition to those stories - one of the best fan-film ever made, I see real passion here!
This is really very well done. For a small, independent cinema group, it captures the events better than even the great New Line Cinema company could. You cast wonderful people in the roles, especially Aragorn's. Also, Gollum was extremely well written.
Gandalf did not discover that the Nine had crossed the Anduin until being captured by Saruman. Here Aragorn is shown telling Gandalf that the Nine had come West which doesn't line up with the rest of the story (Gandalf not telling Frodo to set out from the Shire at once but rather letting him wait). Also Aragorn found Gollum near Mordor, not in Mirkwood. STILL AWESOME MOVIE
yup a few ... adjustments ... and it would match the true story line excellently ... and I agree with your last statement ... definately accurate that one ... awesome movie
And didn't it start with Gandalf and Aragorn searching for Gollum together for like 8 years before Gandalf left for Gondor and Aragorn finally found Gollum on his way home
Only discovered this today, such a wonderful piece of work. So well scripted, acted, directed and delivered. I trust Jackson will be paying homage to all involved if the rumours are true and he's making a 'Hunt for Gollum' spin-off!
I believe I've watched this before, over a decade ago, back when UA-cam was in its golden era. Saw something about a copyright strike and decided to check this out again. Still as amazing as ever. The story, the visuals, the acting. Definitely one of the greatest short films ever made.
Just sticking to the books won't make the movie better alone. You need a director with vision and openness like this one, selecting the right music, cinematography, dialogue, location etc.
@@devinmichaelroberts9954You can like something, but that doesn't make it good. There was no need for Amazon to spend over $1billion making that schlock just for almost no one, but you to like it.
An exceptionally lovely fan work. I loved the shot of Aragorn reflected in the water and that parting shot of Gollum. I'm sure this will hold up much better than whatever will be made by the big studio.
I am from germany....This is the best fan made video i have ever seen. Guys you are great. Last week i made a Lord of the Rings - marathon (The hobbit 1,2 and lotr 1-3) with some friends. We all saw your movie an decited that it will be a part of our middle earth universe. Go on!
The camera work, setting, casting, cgi, coordination was all WELL above what I was expecting , as far as fan made media goes this is 10/10 GREAT job guys , will be forwarding this on to a few people
This is SO good. I was enthralled from start to end. The actor who plays Aragon got Viggo’s mannerisms down to a TEA! All around fantastic, now I really want more LOTR !!
I told myself I would watch just 2 minutes of this just to see what it's like. I at first didn't like the fact that there were diff actors (obv there had to be, I realize that), but it grew on me more and more, and I couldn't help but watch the entire movie. Great work!
How is a 2009 fan film better than a billion dollar production? You caught the spirit of the movies / books, did Peter Jackson "lite" level with the cinematography, casting and acting, and made the brilliant decision to keep Gollum "hidden" for the reveal (and likely production cost) till the end! You are right up there with Prelude to Axanar! Also, Gary sent me X^D
I've never heard of this movie before until the rumors of the new 2026 movie gained traction. I absolutely love this, and I think the production company behind this movie has made a great job! Acting, cutting, scenery, music - everything is spot on! This movie deserves more attention!
***** Yep, really ! Indeed, they did an amazing job. You can check out their official website (www.thehuntforgollum.com) to find out more about make-up effects, masks and stuff.
I'm happy I watched your version a few months ago because now thanks to you I am even more excited for the new Hunt for Gollum, because you gave me the want for an official movie to be made. So thank you.
Bravo! This was the best fan made film I've ever watched even outside of UA-cam. I really felt like I was stepping into middle earth. You guys did a great job!
Finally ! The essence and touch of The Community in a short film... The tension of the Rider scene and before the fight against the orcs got me on edge. Marvellous !
Picked up on this from the Prancing Pony podcast,seriously impressed. Shows what can be done on a low budget when the director,crew and cast love the source material so much. Well done.❤
We’re back, thanks to WB for being so understanding to us as fans and artists. We’re very positive and excited for what the new movie will be at fan film THFG HQ.
Hooray🎉
So glad WB did the right thing here. Smart move on their part.
Thank Eru! I was so angry on your behalf! lol
hello, first, congratulations, second, I know there are 2 versions of the fan film, this one and the redux one, which one should I watch? thank you.
I'm so fucking tired of Zaslav man
This movie is about to get a ton of attention, deserves every bit of it!
I didn't even know this existed until now
yeah, they are going to film it. so nice
Warner bros is copying this film for their next one.
@Playstation10 copying? Dont think so. I heard it's based on the actual side story written by the writer of tlotr. Like this is.
Yes I did not know it existed until I seen a comment in a video about the new movie to be released!
Cant believe it took me 13 years to watch this gem of a movie. Absolutely PRECIOUS !!!
You and me both !!!!! I only searched for this after the new movie was announced, and a UA-cam Channel I followed mentioned this short film.
@@TIPTOESMOOTH me too. and it was really well done. So cool.
Bruv been watching like second a day
Almost 2 decades later, they’re making a full length film with the same exact title.
Its crazy. I came to check this out after hearing about the Serkis movie with the same name...I hope the makers of it get some acknowledgement...but i doubt they will.
Guess the great big corporation couldn’t do any better.🤷🏻♀️
Yeah they ran out of ideas
And now WB is suing for copyright violations
@@realshinydragonite1598 that's what I thought but if they're suing they must have some type of law on their side
Best low budget film I ever seen, these people should be given an award thankyou
You should see Born of Hope aswell just as good as this
Still
They were.
All the dislikes are from Visitors, Well-Wishers, and Distant Relations.
No its from people who understand copyright laws
@@jonpendragon2066 They have been invented by Sauron and put into law for the enslaved humanity...💫✨🌹
@@jonpendragon2066 - then they would know this does not violate copyright law in any way, which makes disliking it odd.
And what about very old friends?
Dude this is so good!!!
This is the work of some true Tolkien fans. Great work and thanks for making such a terrific film for us all to enjoy for free!
immaculateboy cool Bumblebee😎✌
yes it is an excellent version of this side story .... wouldn't you love to see how they handle something like the rise and fall of numenor ... given this as their idea of quality ... I think they could do an awesome rendition of that part of the silmarillion story ;)
@@0623kaboom Oh, that would be wonderful!!!
A Trip Into The Supernatural - Roger Morneau 1925-1998
ua-cam.com/video/Ird-BKuPRlw/v-deo.html
See Amazon, this is how you honor J.R.R. Tolkien's work.
I don’t know how Amazon could adapt Fallout faithfully but then do what they did with RoP. Like why hire a team that clearly despises Tolkien, the lore and the Peter Jackson trilogy?? It could’ve been phenomenal but they chose the message over profit
@@gagalover2k10 One message to rule them all, one message to find them, one message to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. To the message.
@@gagalover2k10 What message?
@@moejoesayson1933 I’m not trying to sound rude, but you’ll need to do your own research. It’s been a very prevalent discussion in the last number of years and whenever I get someone asking it usually turns out they were being snarky and wanna start some shit and I’m just not into it, sorry but yeah it should be easy enough to find out on your own then you can form your own opinion on it
@@gagalover2k10 not trying to start an argument here, but I would like to point some other problems with RoP and LotR out.
1. I really hate RoP for showing hobbits and reinventing the whole Silmarillion story. The Silmarillion is perfect how it is and hobbits belong to the 3rd Age (and the 4th), but not into RoP. Same with that weird mage guy falling out from the sky. Gandalf and Co. appeared first in 3rd Age, so, I agree with you.
2. I really love RoP for displaying badass women, a "black" elf and the dwarfen lady. They both fit so much better into Tolkien's world than most other actors in LotR.
3. concerning woke.... you know, that every human being is biased and a product of his cultural upbringing, so the same goes for Tolkien. First, badass women: not possible to write about such women in his time, today we know from archaelogical evidence that women have led armies and were respected chieftains / warriors / rulers in many cultures and ages. If that sounds woke, then human history is woke (duh). Second, people of color: not possible to write about them in Tolkien's time, so again, I got no quarrel with that because I personally find the depiction of only white male characters boring. understandable for a lot of reasons, yes, but still, BORING. and just to say, I am a white straight cis-male born and living in Switzerland. in my opinion, at least this "reinvention" was refreshing in RoP if only to question our cultural bias and perspective. I mean what's so upsetting to include fans visibly who are not white and/or male?
lastly, my real quarrel and hate with RoP doesn't lie in "woke" stuff because if you, as a true Tolkienista, feel offended by black people and if strong women shrink your balls, then I suggest you should up your self-esteem (and it makes totally sense for RoP-Galadriel to kick asses as she was born in Aman and part of the migthiest family, Feänor was her relative, hence in terms of Tolkien's magic-power-system she should be even stronger or at least as strong as Glorfindel, hence: Galadriel is power incarnate).
that said, I find it much more offensive that people criticize RoP primarily for being "woke" while ignoring evidence (remember the archaeological? Even in the Silmarillion and LotR there are badass women, mostly mentioned very short sentences and not put on display with Eowyn being the exception - which is why she marries Faramir, because he was the only man in all of LotR who did resist the ring) or the simple fact that RoP isn't even about the "Rings of Power": it's a cash grab that hides behind a "made by Tolkien" disguise.
who's here after peter jackson announced he's doing the hunt for gollum
damn i'm here bro😩
I'm here bro
Did Peter Jackson say how many "Hunt for Gollum" films he is making? Will there be One Film to rule them all? Will greed drive him to make Seven? Or will he turn "full Nazgul" and go for Nine? 🥺
@@chrisrankin3096 I don't Know bro
@@chrisrankin3096 I don't think PJ is to blame for the stretching of the Hobbit movies... I'm pretty sure it was a studio mandate
This fan-made movie is more true and accurate to the works and source material of J. R. R. Tolkien, than a billion dollar Amazon show!
Indeed.
Not just that, the story telling and the plot is better too.
Seriously!!!
But people like besos bases life on money and money alone. So he thinks things are good or best when they cost more... he's pathetic... and so is his show... I've never seen this until today and I fell in love with it when they were at Bree... just seeing bree again gave me chills. HONOR THE STORY AND IT WON'T MATTER WHO IS PLAYING THE CHARACTER. ITV WILL BE GOOD OF YOU FOLLOW THE DAMN STORY
@Blackmagic6ification if that is entertainment to you go enjoy the shit that is fed to you.
Screw you haters. I love The Rings of Power.
I would rather support film makers such as these then anything coming out of hollywood today.
Why?
@@nectarinedreams7208 because hollywood is dead and movie's these days suck.
Then you should
Imagine everything about a fan film is better than a show that’s has a billion Dollar budget. I mean it’s insane like the dialogue in this fan film is actually good and then you have rings of powers and the dialogue is forced and awful
indeed, at the end of the day Fans are the ones who really know about Tolkien
And now we will have an official version. Still, this fan made movie was more than amazing, I’ll never forget it. I hope that the news of the upcoming new movie will boost this movie here on UA-cam, it deserves just praises !
the people who made the short film should be consultants on the film!
I'm here, 13 years after i originally watched this little film of great love, and it's still better than anything that could be conjured by Sauron in his black tower at Amazon.
Amazon is a nest of Morgoth cultists
Get lost, hater. Rings of Power is great!
@@PhazonKing You hate Tolkien, whereas i love him, and hate a massive multinational corporation making a buck off of politically hive minded woke orcs
@@PhazonKing booo
@@PhazonKingget lost, serv of the ring
Here I am, 11 years later, coming to the party. Awesome movie!
13 for me
And 15 years here I am
@@sahir7462same, 15 years and 3 months after your comment
I am relieved to see that the copyright strike from WB has been removed
this here was prior art anyways
I'm disappointed that WB haven't been sued for copyright infringement.
That was an actual thing? I can’t believe that
Brilliant! The costumes, dialogue, setting - perfect. The choreography in the sword fights was very impressive. The orcs looked fantastic and so did Gollum.
Well done!
This is astounding. Considering it will have been shot on a very limited budget I have nothing but praise for all concerned. I am a lighting cameraman and tend to watch films with different eyes. I have to say that the whole film was cleverly shot. (how to involve Gollum without seeing him - Brilliant) Great costume and make up and the fight sequence was excellent. I think the casting was pure genius and the direction was spot on. Well done to all involved. I know how much work has gone into producing this film.
I love the way we see just how powerful a nazgul can be in darkness even if only one ..Aragon was really struggling
A film made with the heart and respecting the original idea of the lord of the rings. Congratulations
For a fan film this is probably one of the best examples of how to do it, having the Peter Jackson trilogy as the backdrop couldn’t have been easy. It even sounds incredible, something fan films rarely do, they just don’t have that cinematic *sound* - but this was great.
I love Smeagol's sack song.
Damn, I'm raising money for my first film right now and I've already gotten $6k and I still couldn't see myself doing this good a job with the amount they used. These people should be working in Hollywood, for real. They made this with approximately 4k USD. Imagine what they can do with $3 million or 30 million dollars? I tip my hat to you guys. Excellent film.
Sean Bela eye on the prize. you’ve got this. think of how many iterations this took
But you know what? Low-budget force filmmakers to be creative!
Hollywood doesn't care about quality films anymore, they care about China and divisive political agendas. Hollywood is dead...
How is going on?
@@zeeuransh210 It does indeed! I remember watching "Dog Soldiers", thinking how good it was and waiting for the next film from the creator. Once the Main Stream Studios found how popular it was, they threw money at the next outing, "The Descent", which I found boring and not half as good as the first film - obviously, they did not have to be as creative, and it showed.
Take Care and Stay Safe, xxx
Excellent
Shows what you can do with good actors, imagination, cinematography and all with a limited budget
Orcs looked good, scenery perfect and Gollum's voice nailed
Never heard of the film till WB decided to try to remove it. This is really good fan film!
I don’t see how this fan film would hurt the new film that is years away. They shouldn’t worry since it’s going to be different actors and longer film compared to this.
Thank you for making this long ago!
Honestly I'm not discounting the possibility that people at WB didn't even know this thing existed apart from finding it in some search and making the strike as a reflex, only to withdraw it when the truth of the matter was made known.
My theory has the fallacy, though, of supposing those involved were good and decent people at heart, when talking about corporations.
Weird part is never heard of it till WB started removing it and lead to more people learning about it...ironic. 🤔
@@SSG_Ronnie42 Known as the "Barbara Streisand Effect".
Maybe because of the same title WB wanted to erase any confusion.
Finally watched today I wish I would have known about this 15 years ago. Today I found out Peter Jackson is back to actually make this movie. You were years ahead thanks for making a great movie. Tolkien lives on forever
Make sure you watch Born of Hope and Horn of Gondor!
@@anna_luin I just started watching Born Of Hope now
@@JesseOddo-jt1sl enjoy! 🥰
Um...he's producing a new movie. Not making it. Very important oversight.
@jarg8 well see come 2026. Still out of all concepts they chose this. 🫠
Gollum's voice is perfect!
Well done to all! I didn't expect too much...being 64 years old and a devotee of Tolkien's work since I was a child, as are my son's. I thought such an epic could never make it to the cinema screen, the story is so vast. Peter Jackson made a leap of faith and did it. By the Valar he did an incredible job! And so have these folk. It's a minor part of the tale that nobody really pays much attention to as Aragorn merely relates it..but it is significant. Well done to all.
This is a work of pure love with incredible locations and acting, costumes, and Aragorn's actor looks so perfect for the character even more than Viggo Mortensen. I was mesmerized throughout the whole film and it felt official
An excellent effort for a film that only cost 3000 pounds !!!,how the hell they done it for that price amazes me !,imagine if they had ten times the initial money in the begining
Well it helps when you don't got every single actor demanding several million each. You always gotta pay them. This entire thing was done for nonprofit. So they just rounded up a well-rounded group of dedicated fans. In all honesty that few thousand probably just went to celebratory costs.
I dont understand how it took me 15 years to find this but oh my god.. the production is beyond any fan film ive ever seen, the amount of effort in every scene is almost what we expect from multi-million dollar productions, incredible! i dont have enough words to praise it
Holy smokes this is incredible. I'm disappointed I've lived 13yrs and just no found this masterpiece! What an awesome prequel to the Jackson LoTR trilogy. It honestly felt as if Peter Jackson himself directed it, but with a slightly lower budget. The aerial landscape shots were incredible, the soundtrack sounded just like Howard Shore, and the costume/make up, action, dialogue, set locations, VFX, and acting were phenomenal. Gollum looked amazing, and Adrian Webster as Aragorn was close to Viggo's! I'm adding this to my annual LoTR marathon!
Cinematography/Effects: 9/10
Acting: 8.5/10
Location: 10/10
Set Design: 8/10
Props: 9.5/10
Wardrobe: 9.5/10
Fight Choreography: 9/10
Music: 8/10
Lore: 9.5/10
Concept: 10/10
The actor of Aragon looks like a cross between Aragon and Frodo. Please tell me I am not the only person who thinks that!
He's basically Frodo with facial hair.
Azog The Defiler Was thinking the same bro!
lol :D nope you re not the only one :D
If you look closely, you can even see him on the verge of tearing up just like Frodo always was.
very observant--- he does indeed---pray, peter jackson does the Simarillion
I was very unsure at first, but slowly I sank back into the chair -)) I was blown away. Didn't want it to stop; so, was pretty sad when it did.
My god, this short movie looks no different than OG LOTR. The cinematography, voiceover , actors, all characters, locations and vfx, all looks perfect and exactly same. I’m so sold. Great piece of work.
It's good, sure. But it does NOT look "exactly the same". ;)
@@Planetdune you know what i meant here.
Heard about this film a few years ago and finally sat down to watch it. Too much time wasted! This is a masterpiece. Thanks for bringing it into existence!
I love this! If the same actors that were in the original film were in this I would not have even known it was not a Peter Jackson film. The script, the cinematography, the effects, the location, the lighting, the costumes, everything was perfect! And I like that it followed the appendices of the Tolkien's books and held true to his vision. Very impressed!
I always believe if filmmakers stay true to the vision of writers of great novels, they have a good chance of making a success of the film(s). I know that filmmakers need to "interpret" novels to convert it to film, but if you keep that Ingredient X that made the book so endearing to its readers, you will make the film endearing to its audience. Some directors do forget that, and end up with major cinematic failures. Crossing fingers for 3rd trilogy of LOTR movies based on the The Silmarillion.
I just mentioned trilogy because that is what most people think when they think Middle-Earth movies. I absolutely agree with you about the massive content of Middle-Earth not yet captured in the Cinematic Universe yet. How do you feel about a 25 movie series to detail Middle-Earth's history and characters as a complete guide? (in case you are wondering, James Bond has 23 films and Lone Wolf has 24, and Wikipedia indicates at least 3 movie series with 25 movies). We could easily reach that number, considering that even independent productions could be listed.
We are already at 6 official movies, and 2 independent productions, so we are at 8 movies in total.
jinxy72able You've got to be kidding. This has to be sarcastic.
Why do you say that? Do you know how many Star Wars fan films, spin-off series, novels and comic books, animations, parodies, shorts, etc. there are on the web? Sure, some are better than others, but they all add to the Expanded Universe.I know you would like to boost your own IP, but surely you could accommodate other content as well? I am not saying everything has to be in the same format - it would be better if it was in different formats and media, that way you wouldn't get fatigue from watching similar content (like cinematic movies) all the time.
My dad has been a huge Tolkien fan since he was a kid. He actually doesn’t even really like the Peter Jackson films. He does acknowledge some parts are exactly how he envisioned.
He sent this to me because he liked it. Coming from my dad that’s saying something
I have feeling that passion and respect will be remembered more than a billion dollar project.
15 years later being turned into an actual movie! Can't wait to see how it is!
Are these guys actually getting credit though.
@@sarahjames927 tbf it’s not like they came up with the story exactly, i mean expecting wb to give these guys credit is like expecting new line to have given ralph bakshi credit for his lotr movie
@@sarahjames927 I doubt there will be any similarities except for the name
oh you sweet summer child.
I think my favorite part of this has to be how they don't show Gollum's face until the end. It lends immensely to the suspense and the eeriness surrounding him. Really, this was marvelous. Glad I found this right before my yearly LOTR binge. Certainly, I'll be adding it to that tradition.
This was a perfect set up to the fellowship of the ring. Great job I loved it....
Hopefully, this excellent film gets a ton more attention now that an "official" version is being made.
The Hunt for Gollum 2009 fanfilm was fantastically well made. Even after 15 years, he scores very well. We hope Warner Bros won't make it any harder. We support the Fanfilm! Greetings from Belgium!
WHY ARE WE NOT FUNDING THIS
Seriously, it would cost them only a small handful of several thousand to make a feature-length. If they made just a million, which is like a dollar from every one of the most devoted fans, that would be a very high return of profit.
The Tolkien turd family
they are mow
Let it be a Mad House 🏠 Production 😅
Congratulations on your win Over WB 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I'm glad that youtube didn't toss this out or ban it, because this is a good film, well made. You can tell that the people enjoyed making it. It would be a shame if people couldn't see it. This is the only place that I've ever seen it.
I watched this film when it came out 15 years ago. Now again, and i am again glad that i did. Hat down to the whole crew!
I've seen this movie just now, what can I say more than congratulations ? It's amazing, this is the proof that even low budgets movies can do amazing things. It's one of the best fan made movies I've ever seen. The actors are amazing, the direction is brilliant, the atmosphere, the costumes and the screenplay, everything is just beautiful. I can literally breath Tolkien and Jackson watching this, and I'm sure he would be proud of your work. Congratulations, now when I'll do a Lotr marathon, I could also watch this movie first. The Lord of the Rings is my favorite movie ever, and this short movie does the best it can do to give me Jackson vibes, but also, it is amazing on its own. I'm so glad that I watched this.
This is simply superb, and i never knew of its existence until coming upon it purely by chance.
...if chance you call it...
theres anouther one on here about aragorns father arathorn it was realy well done as well born of hope
you mentioned that there is a movie about Aragorns father. Do you know the name? can you please let me know?
THANKS
Anonymous Born of Hope, I think is what you mean.
Anonymous
born of hope
The only dislikes are from people that I don’t know half as well as I should like, and that I liked less than half of half as well as they deserved.
Bilbo, is that you? 😮😊
Good Old Bilbo!
@@tonyuppal8956 He's the most famousest of all the Hobbits, he is.
@@thelonesomefisherman7425that he is for sure, having a great bash at his Eleventy first and passing away at 131, making him the Oldest and Famousest Hobbit ever.
It's his one hundred and eleveneveneneneveth birthday!
You can really feel that while they had not the same budget as the Jackson trilogy, they had the same love and passion for the topic. Pretty impressive work, really enjoyed it.
PS: The orcs are better than in the Hobbit💪
why do i find it very amusing when gollum was carried around in a sack XD
it was hilarious when gollum threats 'aragorn' saying we'll put out his eyes
I thought the funniest part was his scream when Aragorn hoisted him over his shoulder
G Studios it remind me of Nanni carries her sister in a blanket From LILO and stitch!
Lol
It's hilarious I died laughing and ended up having a coughing fit when it came up 😂😂😂
This thing is the bomb. It's been 10 years or more since I first watched it, and it's still great. I can't believe it was made on so little, on handses, string or nothing.
The first 3 minutes are already better than the Rings of Power
Exactly!!
All parts are better than the Rings of Power (from my view). It is intimate, Middle Earth is a real character here, great tention building, all scenes tells us something about the world and characters. This movie does not show everything directly to the audience, many things are left to audience´s imagination. And it works very well. After the Peter Jackson´s movies this is for me "going back again" to the beloved Middle Earth.
I love Gollum's irritated "what?" at 19:26 when Aragorn gives the sack a shake to quiet Gollum's singing so he can listen for danger.
was so lost in the books. searched for aragorn's search for gollum and their travel on you tube, and found this great short film. Great adaptation of content from the book. I often look for such adaptations of different stories in tolkien's lore, and this one was so beautifully well done.
This is pretty damn good. The creators did it right for this and not just slapped together with shady edits and cgi and cheap acting. Great work!!
Holy cow. This movie is so good, it convinced Andy Serkis to direct his own version!
After 20 years, since I finished high school I read LOTR novel for the first time - today I finished "Return of the King" - and this was great addition to those stories - one of the best fan-film ever made, I see real passion here!
I finished LOTR today by chance, so I decided to watch these along
The first 5 seconds already had me hooked. Splendid filmmaking
This is really very well done. For a small, independent cinema group, it captures the events better than even the great New Line Cinema company could. You cast wonderful people in the roles, especially Aragorn's. Also, Gollum was extremely well written.
Gandalf did not discover that the Nine had crossed the Anduin until being captured by Saruman. Here Aragorn is shown telling Gandalf that the Nine had come West which doesn't line up with the rest of the story (Gandalf not telling Frodo to set out from the Shire at once but rather letting him wait). Also Aragorn found Gollum near Mordor, not in Mirkwood. STILL AWESOME MOVIE
yup a few ... adjustments ... and it would match the true story line excellently ... and I agree with your last statement ... definately accurate that one ... awesome movie
And didn't it start with Gandalf and Aragorn searching for Gollum together for like 8 years before Gandalf left for Gondor and Aragorn finally found Gollum on his way home
Only discovered this today, such a wonderful piece of work. So well scripted, acted, directed and delivered. I trust Jackson will be paying homage to all involved if the rumours are true and he's making a 'Hunt for Gollum' spin-off!
this was hidden from me for 15 years im 16 i was 1 when this beauty was created you guys did an incredible job making this
I don't usually hold with foreign movies, but this short stuff, it's not bad.
I see what you did there lol
I'm sorry, this is phenomenal. Way too good for a "fan made free movie" on UA-cam.
Thank you for this.
I believe I've watched this before, over a decade ago, back when UA-cam was in its golden era.
Saw something about a copyright strike and decided to check this out again. Still as amazing as ever. The story, the visuals, the acting. Definitely one of the greatest short films ever made.
Wow, this is a really good movie. Congrats to the makers and actors, very well done indeed!
Imagine what Amazon could have done if they just stuck to the books canon, smh. This fan made film is 100x better than their billion dollar disaster
Just sticking to the books won't make the movie better alone. You need a director with vision and openness like this one, selecting the right music, cinematography, dialogue, location etc.
@@devinmichaelroberts9954You can like something, but that doesn't make it good. There was no need for Amazon to spend over $1billion making that schlock just for almost no one, but you to like it.
@@devinmichaelroberts9954 good for you! but its still objectively shit
Something is wrong with you people that read the books
@@devinmichaelroberts9954 most 15 year old boys would give up after half a paragraph
I got this recommended after 15 years. A gem. Or should I say "Precious"
This is without a doubt the best thing I’ve ever seen in 20years of UA-cam. Can’t believe I’ve only just come across it
So happy you guys got this put back up! 👏🏼
I had to come back to this just to rinse the Rings of Power from my eyes. Long live THFG and Born of Hope.
It's back! I'm so happy to be able to watch this excellent movie again, and to share it with people who haven't seen it before 💜
An exceptionally lovely fan work. I loved the shot of Aragorn reflected in the water and that parting shot of Gollum. I'm sure this will hold up much better than whatever will be made by the big studio.
Not affiliated with the Jackson trilogy, perhaps. Incredibly heavily inspired by the look and direction? definitely.
Of course, and I appreciate the consistency
I am from germany....This is the best fan made video i have ever seen. Guys you are great. Last week i made a Lord of the Rings - marathon (The hobbit 1,2 and lotr 1-3) with some friends. We all saw your movie an decited that it will be a part of our middle earth universe. Go on!
Well done indeed! I wish Amazon was at least half as concerned with following the lore as the people who made this!
well said my frıend, well said
The camera work, setting, casting, cgi, coordination was all WELL above what I was expecting , as far as fan made media goes this is 10/10 GREAT job guys , will be forwarding this on to a few people
Fantastic! Almost at the level of a Hollywood production. My sincere congratulations, you guys deserve praise.
This is SO good. I was enthralled from start to end. The actor who plays Aragon got Viggo’s mannerisms down to a TEA! All around fantastic, now I really want more LOTR !!
Great job for sure
Pretty damn good minimal budget movie and side story to Lord Of The Rings. Smart to be strategic and use expensive CGI when only absolutely necessary.
Wow I had no idea this was from 13 years ago. Amazingly done.
I told myself I would watch just 2 minutes of this just to see what it's like. I at first didn't like the fact that there were diff actors (obv there had to be, I realize that), but it grew on me more and more, and I couldn't help but watch the entire movie. Great work!
Same
started watching it with a prejudice mind but found it very well made...great effort
How is a 2009 fan film better than a billion dollar production? You caught the spirit of the movies / books, did Peter Jackson "lite" level with the cinematography, casting and acting, and made the brilliant decision to keep Gollum "hidden" for the reveal (and likely production cost) till the end! You are right up there with Prelude to Axanar! Also, Gary sent me X^D
I've never heard of this movie before until the rumors of the new 2026 movie gained traction. I absolutely love this, and I think the production company behind this movie has made a great job! Acting, cutting, scenery, music - everything is spot on! This movie deserves more attention!
well made I really like what they did there with a (presumably) very limited budget.
If you'd know what those orc masks cost, I'd say they spent quite a lot of money on it actually.
***** Actually, no. The budget for this movie was £ 3.000. They made the orc masks themselves.
Lili Canal
Whut really? I'm very impressed by their craftsmanship then.
***** Yep, really ! Indeed, they did an amazing job. You can check out their official website (www.thehuntforgollum.com) to find out more about make-up effects, masks and stuff.
Lili Canal
Cool, ty.
I'm happy I watched your version a few months ago because now thanks to you I am even more excited for the new Hunt for Gollum, because you gave me the want for an official movie to be made. So thank you.
Sad if a low budget fan movie looks better then the amazon prime serie. That is truely Lord of the Ring.
How's the show? You must've watched it already, please enlighten us...
@@Cussy69_420 do you still have hope that Amazon will give anything but crap?
This aged well.
This is so good to a point that I cannot even believe this is fan made
Bravo! This was the best fan made film I've ever watched even outside of UA-cam. I really felt like I was stepping into middle earth. You guys did a great job!
Totally amazing,makes you wonder why Amazon couldn't come close with a billion dollar series
I'm certainly glad that a Gollum film was announced, but I'm more glad that this fan film has finally been UNLOCKED.
Finally ! The essence and touch of The Community in a short film... The tension of the Rider scene and before the fight against the orcs got me on edge. Marvellous !
Let more of these be made!
And now there will be a second "Hunt for Gollum". What a time to be alive!
Every now and again something proper shows up in my recommendations.
Picked up on this from the Prancing Pony podcast,seriously impressed.
Shows what can be done on a low budget when the director,crew and cast love the source material so much.
Well done.❤