15 thoughts on “Tolkien (2019) & an Interview With Costume Designer Colleen Kelsall

  1. I strongly suggest anyone interested in Tolkien read the catalog from the 2018 exhibition on Tolkien’s life and art –https://www.amazon.com/Tolkien-Maker-Middle-earth-Catherine-McIlwaine/dp/1851244859/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=tolkein+maker+of+middle+earth&qid=1557495350&s=gateway&sr=8-3. The exhibition contained several of Tolkien’s drawings from his youth and young adulthood — drawings which illustrate the themes expressed by the costume designer and art director regarding Art Nouveau and color.

      1. We saw it, and it was wonderful. The exhibit is on through Sunday, 5/12, so get yourself on a red-eye tonight!

      2. Later this year the exhibition will be in Paris. Paris in the Fall!

        1. Yes! I went a couple times, and I have the exhibition book but haven’t read it yet. But it was really neat to see his paintings—some looked very 70s to me, others very graphic. So cool.

  2. I want to see it but I disagree that somehow hats keep the characters from feeling modern and relatable. The audience for this movie are going to be people who either know a lot about Tolkien or like period films in general. We know that people wore hats back then. Most of us have parents or grandparents who grew up in an era where people wore hats. It annoys me when filmmakers say things like this.

    1. I’ve long held the belief that the R word, at least when it concern hats, is partially a lie. There’s something that is almost never said: It’s harder to film people in hats, especially when they’re not used to wearing them. It changes the posture, the lighting… And yes, people expresession are a bit shaded (fully intentional pun). In short, it’s more work, aka more £££.
      Guess the studios are not fond of that, eh?

    2. My acting teacher when I was nine had a thing against hats and skirts. She said that both got in the way of performing. I took it at face value at that age, but is bizarre now that I’m older.

  3. I’m seeing it later as I work both days of the weekend.

    I want to thank you for the Colleen Kelsall interview. I’m sure she wanted to gnash her teeth over the word ‘relateable’.

    The clothes look gorgeous and I agree that the audience will be primarily Tolkien fans who are familiar with period fashion and fantasy.

  4. I’m gonna geek out like the Tolkien freak I am here, for a moment, but did anyone else notice the yellow flowers at the waist and on the sleeves of Edith’s blue coat in the third and fourth images? It’s probably a happy accident, but it reminded me of the line from the Lay of Luthien as sung by Aragorn: “And saw in wonder flowers of gold/ Upon her mantle and her sleeves/ And her hair like shadow, following.”

  5. Yay! Thanks for this. You picked up so much more than I did. I’m interested to see that the blouse was period, as I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it (due to limited knowledge). I also liked the genteel poverty aspects. Overall I think they did a good job, and while Tolkien probably wouldn’t share all the arts & crafts political values, the elements you mentioned are definitely things he did believe. Thanks for sharing this info from the designer. A bit unfortunate about the hats but overall I appreciate the thought and care put into the costumes.

Comments are closed.