Middle-earth's Third Age: Legend of Helm Hammerhand, King of Rohan – b. TA 2691 - d. TA 2759, Age 68
"The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" is a 2024 anime fantasy film, variously described as a prequel to "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies, based on a screenplay cowritten by Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou, adapted from a derivative story conceived by film producer Philippa Boyens and cowritten by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, developed from relatively minor details in J.R.R. Tolkien's Appendix A to his 1955 "The Return of the King" novel. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, a Japanese director and writer who worked as a background artist on Hayao Miyazaki's "Kiki's Delivery Service" and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" and is best known for writing and directing the "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" anime. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, "War of the Rohirrim" was released on December 3, 2024, running 134 minutes. It is noteworthy that screenwriter Phoebe Gittins is the daughter of the film's renowned producer and cowriter Philippa Boyens, the Oscar-winner who cowrote the Peter Jackson "Lord of the Rings" screenplays; and it was Boyens who enlisted from that collaboration the preeminent husband-and-wife auteurs, director Sir Peter Jackson and writer Dame Fran Walsh, as executive producers for "The War of the Rohirrim," whose association is at once a tribute and a prestigious endorsement. The film's anime creative team included many people who worked on Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" film series, including concept artists Alan Lee and John Howe, who collaborated with the Japanese art team to create the film's look. The artwork intentionally uses the same locations and basic designs as the live-action "Lord of the Rings" films, drawing heavily from the established visuals of Peter Jackson's Middle-earth, to ensure a consistent look and feel with the live-action movies and maintain visual continuity. Tolkien's appendices to "The Lord of the Rings" feature narrative elements that provide background knowledge and details about the realm of Middle-earth, such as genealogy, chronologies, and historical data, which enrich the narrative without being stories in and of themselves. Thus, "The War of the Rohirrim" is an origin story invented by Philippa Boyens to create a notional history of the Shieldmaidens inspired by the characterization of Éowyn in "The Lord of the Rings." Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" published narrative does not include a "shieldmaiden" lore; however, early drafts found in "The History of Middle-earth" volume VIII hint at a shieldmaiden concept by describing a historical event where Rohirrim women fought alongside men against Easterling invaders, which predates the time of The Twin Towers' characterization of Éowyn by around 400 years, effectively establishing a precedent for female warriors in Rohan even before the time of King Helm's daughter, Héra, lending credence to the origin of her character and the character of Olwyn, warrior and lady-in-waiting to Héra, as legendary Shieldmaidens of Rohan. This explicates Eowyn's character as niece to Théoden, seventeenth King of Rohan, and her declaration in "The Two Towers": "I am a Shieldmaiden of Rohan, and I will not be kept behind bars, for I fear neither pain nor death." At best, "The War of the Rohirrim" film is a reimagining of Tolkien's lore in that the screenplay borrows themes and characters from "The Lord of the Rings" appendices chronicling Helm Hammerhand, whose history is only briefly summarized in approximately 450 words that only once mention an unnamed daughter without context, and embeds a newly created mythopoeia narrative to compensate for the absence of any further mention of Helm's daughter in any of Tolkien's writings, as hinted by Éowyn in her opening narrative in The War of the Rohirrim's prologue: "Do not look for tales of her in the old songs. There are none." The film's originality lies in its creation of a mythology for Helm Hammerhand's daughter in the manner of Tolkien's own concepts in myth-making mythopoeia, giving the name Héra to Helm's daughter and characterizing her as a Shieldmaiden and the central character in the reimagined narrative, adding new perspective to the legend of King Helm. "The War of the Rohirrim" story is framed by a voiceover narration by Éowyn, effectively presenting the events in an oral tradition passed down through generations of Rohan Kings, where she recounts the tale of Héra, a shieldmaiden who played a pivotal role in a crucial battle against invading forces. It tells the story of the legendary King Helm of Rohan (known by the sobriquet 'Hammerhand' for the might of his hand) and his daughter, Héra, and takes place 183 years before the events in "The Hobbit," the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies, and 260 years before the events in "The Two Towers." As such, "The War of the Rohirrim" is actually an "oriquel," a fictional term referring to an origin story that takes place even earlier than "The Hobbit," giving events further back in time than the established backstory to "The Lord of the Rings" narrative, providing even deeper context to the characters and world before the prequel's timeline begins. Éowyn's narration is fitting to her lineage, born in the year 2995 of the Third Age (abbreviated TA), as a descendant from a long line of Rohan kings through her mother, Théodwyn. Théodwyn and her brother, King Théoden, the seventeenth King of Rohan, TA 2948 to 3019, were children of King Fengel. Thus, Éowyn is the granddaughter of King Fengel; second great granddaughter of King Thengel; third great granddaughter of King Fastred; fourth great granddaughter of King Folcred; fifth great granddaughter of King Folcwine; sixth great granddaughter of King Folca the Hunter; seventh great granddaughter of King Walda; eighth great granddaughter of King Brytta Léofa; ninth great granddaughter of King Fréaláf Hildeson, son of Hild, the sister of King Helm; and ninth great grandniece in direct lineage from King Helm, the ninth King of Rohan; and indirectly from King Brego, the second King of Rohan, Son of Eorl the Young, the first King of Rohan, the founder of the House of Eorl and the Kingdom of Rohan, from TA 2485 to 2545. Thus, as a descendant of Rohan Kings receiving the history of its Shieldmaidens, Éowyn is equipped to narrate the legend of King Helm and his daughter Héra in "The War of the Rohirrim." The writers borrow heavily on themes, elements, and plot points from existing work as a literary device, essentially creating a story that likens Rohan King Helm's daughter, Héra, in "The War of the Rohirrim" to Rohan King Théoden's niece Éowyn in "The Two Towers," a story within a story literary device known as a "mise en abîme" in film and literary theory, presenting Héra and Éowyn as Shieldmaidens of Rohan, female warriors who fight alongside men, descendants in a long line of Shieldmaiden warriors in the history of Rohan. While the films explain who trained Héra, they do not explain who trained Éowyn, a minor gap in the film's noncanonical continuity. Despite "The War of the Rohirrim's" déjà vu characterizations and battle sequences, the anime splendidly captures and presents the fascinating, well-crafted story in the manner of a historical reference that informed the rescue of the Rohirrim in the like Battle at Helm's Deep, the fortress where the Rohirrim take shelter after fleeing Edoras in "The Two Towers" film just as they did in "The War of the Rohirrim." The 'high hill in the east' where Fréaláf appeared before saving the Rohirrim in "The War of the Rohirrim" is the same hill where Gandalf appeared 200 years later to save the Rohirrim in "The Two Towers." Fréaláf and his army's arrival at the Battle of the Súthburg Fortress in "The War of the Rohirrim" echoes Gandalf and Éomer's arrival at Helm's Deep in "The Two Towers"—they even ride down the same 'high hill in the east' at Helm's Deep! Héra in "The War of the Rohirrim" shares many similarities with Éowyn in "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King," including their warrior spirit and desire to prove themselves in battle. The overall plot structures closely mirror each other in the need to defend against a large enemy force in both "The War of the Rohirrim" and "The Two Towers," which feature spectacular battle sequences alike in their location and fortification, as the Rohirrim face off against the Dunlendings, Corsairs of Umbar, the Haradrim, and the Easterlings at Súthburg Fortress (its name before it became the Hornburg at Helm's Deep upon King Helm's death) in "The War of the Rohirrim," and against Saruman's army of Orcs, Uruk-hai, and Dunlendings, in "The Two Towers" at Helm's Deep. There are many more similarities, not least of which are the oliphaunts, known as mûmakil, the giant war elephants, and the Great Eagles. And let us not overlook the similarities in the musical score for "The War of the Rohirrim." Composer Stephen Gallagher reprised the Rohan theme from Howard Shore's original score for "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, which won multiple Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes, and Gallagher also used other memorable parts of Shore's score throughout the movie. Shore's score is known for its use of themes, orchestration, and choral passages to create a musical world that reflects J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. In "The War of the Rohirrim," Gallagher incorporates cues from Shor's original score, including the 'Riders of Rohan' theme from "The Two Towers." The score evokes the original trilogy's themes and melodies, creating a sense of nostalgia and familiarity. The movie's opening "Overture" includes references to the franchise's origins in the 2000s and also includes a teasing reference to Shore's theme from "Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All," 'Shieldmaiden of Rohan,' the name of the thirty-seventh soundtrack of the 'Complete Recordings of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.' The soundtrack for 'The War of the Rohirrim' is available on CD and comes with a booklet of liner notes from Gallagher, director Kamiyama, and producer Phillipa Boyens. As for comparing this anime film to the live-action films, they are incomparable in that they are different mediums and different stories. "The War of the Rohirrim" is not about Hobbits or Rings. Foremost, it is not an adaptation from Tolkien canon. It is a well-conceived, well-crafted derivative narrative based on gaps in the Tolkien canon, appendices, and notes that, by omission, draw logical inferences and invite fulfillment. The invented woven story is clever but not brilliant in that it relies on an undeveloped concept that cries for yet another backstory to develop the legend of the Shieldmaiden warriors and the characterization of Olwyn as a Shieldmaiden and lady-in-waiting to Héra, training her in the ways of a warrior. "The War of the Rohirrim" is nonetheless an enjoyable and entertaining story, and the anime medium is an excellent prelude to what else may come. The artwork is exceptional and should not be compared to other artwork, for art itself is incomparable. Like comparing a Monét to a Dalí, you can say you prefer one to the other, but you cannot say that one is better, for it is rightly said in this context that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' "The War of the Rohirrim" Blu-ray Disc is a worthy addition to "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies collection. Hopefully just the beginning with more to come. I look forward to more stories about what came before "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies in the Third Age, preferably from "The Silmarillion's" "Quenta Silmarillion," telling the stories of the First Age, the era in Arda about the wars against the dark lord Morgoth culminating in the War of Wrath where Beleriand is destroyed and Morgoth is finally defeated, marking the end of the First Age about the coveted Silmaril jewels, the awakening of the Noldorin Elves, the awakening of Men in Hildórien, the great wars, the defeat of Morgoth, the first dark lord, and the destruction of Beleriand. An anime production of The First Age would be a most brilliant, ideal and cost effective medium to facilitate such a wonderful series that should outshine the live-action films, including "The Rings of Power," for the anime production would not be limited by costs. It could go on for years, and even outdo the soap operas. Each episode in the series should have a "screen crawl," a written prologue that scrolls across the screen at the beginning, in a rolling text introduction to describe the backstory and context of the film to set the episodic scene's timeline; appearing to "crawl" upwards from the bottom of the screen, giving it the "crawl" name, as it recedes toward a higher point in the screen with an apparent effect of disappearing in the distance, such as was done in the opening of each episode in the Star Wars films. Read more
