Born of Hope

An “Absolutely Stunning” Prequel to LOTR

I just found an amazing prequel to The Lord of the Rings that's been produced by an independent group called Actors at Work Productions.   It doesn't have the production quality of the film, but it's far better than many T.V. movies. I agree with one of the reviewers – it's "absolutely stunning".  It's called Born of Hope.  Being a huge Tolkien fan, I loved it.  Loved it.  The story is about the Dúnedain:

A scattered people, the descendants of storied sea kings of the ancient West, struggle to survive in a lonely wilderness as a dark force relentlessly bends its will toward their destruction. Yet amidst these valiant, desperate people, hope remains. A royal house endures unbroken from father to son.

This hour long original drama is set in the time before the War of the Ring and tells the story of the Dúnedain, the Rangers of the North, before the return of the King. Inspired by only a couple of paragraphs written by Tolkien in the appendices of the Lord of the Rings we follow Arathorn and Gilraen, the parents of Aragorn, from their first meeting through a turbulent time in their people's history.

You'll need a little over an hour to watch it.  It’s well worth your time.  I just downloaded it and watched it, without the annoying network hiccups, via FLV Player.  Here’s a line in the film from Arathorn:

 

"Arise, Dúnedain!  Remember who you are.  Let our enemies once again flee before us...."  

 

Then Arathorn, son of Arador, Lord of the Dunedain led his people in a great and valiant onslaught.  And the servants of the enemy quailed.

Get's my blood going. 

 

If you want to learn more about the Dúnedain, there is a wealth of information online.  Some more here, and here.