Tolkien's Great War

30min Documentary, 2014

Explore the wartime experiences of J.R.R. Tolkien and how they shaped his life's work.

Synopsis

The first of three documentary films commissioned by King Edward’s School, Birmingham as part of their 1914-1918 commemorations - over 1,400 former pupils of King Edward’s School served in the First World War and 245 lost their lives.

Tolkien fought on the Western Front as a young officer, as did many of his school friends, and this film explores his experiences during the First World War, and how the nature of war and the scale it’s sacrifice went on to shape his culturally defining works.

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Credits

Written, Directed & Produced by:
Elliot Weaver & Zander Weaver

Interviews:
John Garth
Paul Golightly
Simon Stacey

Special Thanks:
The Tolkien Estate
The Birmingham Oratory
Julia Margretts
Susan Wood
Imperial War Museum
Alison Wheatley
Cadbury Research Library
Rector and Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford

SHOT ON CANON 60D