"Actor: Peter McHugh"

• National Geographic - Beyond The Movie - The Lord Of The Rings | DVD | (11/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The connection between National Geographic and The Lord of the Rings may seem tentative, but the illuminating TV special Beyond the Movie proves otherwise. While incorporating cast and crew interviews and film clips from director Peter Jackson's 2001 blockbuster The Fellowship of the Ring, this hour-long documentary transcends timely opportunism to explore the myriad inspirations for JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth fantasy classic, beginning with the influence of Tolkien's idyllic childhood in rural England, which served as the model for his threatened Hobbit paradise. Equally fascinating are the influences of Tolkien's experience in World War I and the "evil" of industrial development on his work, and more directly those of Anglo-Saxon poetry (notably Beowulf) and the mythology of the Finnish Kalevala, which formed the basis of Tolkien's elvish culture. The author's passion for nature conservancy and cultural preservation are what ultimately serve the National Geographic agenda, but eloquent testimonials by archaeologists, anthropologists, and filmmakers make this a most agreeable hour of justified propaganda. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Wild Country | DVD | (08/10/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  16 year-old Kelly Ann gives birth to a baby boy which is immediately given up for adoption. Six weeks later trying to get over the emotional upset she goes on an overnight hike with her church youth group. When they find a baby boy in a 'lair' they are stalked by a wild beast which begins to pick them off one by one. Lee Kelly Ann's ex-boyfriend sacrifices himself to give Kelly Ann a chance to escape and she begins a new life as mother to the baby.