What was your favorite LOTR movie or book and why?
I like The Return of The King one. Im glad that Aragorn saw that he was to be the rightful king and that he did take the throne. It had good scenes and it kept my interest more than the others. It was more exciting and more things were going on to help pull everything together.
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ahhh yes whole heartedly agree the silmarilion is a great peice of writing but i like ROTK the most in the lotr series because of the action and mainly because of the scouring of the shire.
This would be "The Fellowship of the Ring" and as you know me as I am the reason you should already know, ok, it's because Lurtz lived in this part, I admit the other two are good too, especially because of the Nazghul (Ringwrath?)... But the ending is not what I hoped of it, I hoped to see a battle with Sauron and Saroman at the end, but this never happened...
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Empty inside; blank state of mind,
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Favourite Movie - ROTK: simply because it was the climax, the battles and the decisions having to be taken were awesome.
Favourite Book - Two Towers: Meh, I just addapted more to this book. )plus its alot shorter than the other ones )
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"In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields at Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen. And won their freedom."
After being in the theater for close to 5 hours, the moment had finally come. I had watched The Fellowship of the Ring EE, The Two Towers EE, and then I was going to see, for the first time, The Return of the King. The last installment of a trilogy that had very well changed my life. Were emotions running high? I think I can safely say I was experiencing every single emotion amplified times twenty. As the movie progressed, those emotions kept my heart beating right along to the music, my reactions growing violent as the tension grew and the stakes got higher. And while I knew the end of the trilogy by heart, every moment the pressure kept me at the edge of my seat. That is the greatest achievement of the third and final film: despite all of its shortcomings, it succeeded in its most important job: it won over my heart.
The Return of the King is my favorite book, so I obviously had a lot of expectations for this movie. Every single one was not necessarily met, but overpowered by the emotional current of the film. There were very few moments where the filmmakers did not have me (at least emotionally) 110% behind their decisions, their characterizations and their words. The film was so well crafted to affect my emotions that I found myself crying not once but several times (and I never cry at movies) and at different times each time I view. The emotional complexity of the story has a lot to do with the impact of the film, of course: but so the decisions the filmmakers made. Tolkien never intended Éowyn and Théoden to have their time to say goodbyes, yet this becomes one of my lasting memories of The Return of the King, and certainly a moment when I, as part of the audience, felt a collective sigh and saw more than a few tear-stained cheeks. The lighting of the beacons, a relatively small detail in the book, became a moment of triumph and hope, my heart beat quickening to the sound of violins, my eyes widening to see the breathtaking cinematography of the beacons being lit from Minas Tirith to Edoras. Faramir's last stand, though not described explicitly in the book, became a heart-breaking visualization of Denethor's destruction of his son, and of his son's loyalty and courage even in the face of certain death. The film made my heart soar and break more often and more violently than the book had ever done, not only because of the choices made by the filmmakers that amplified the emotional response but also because of the outstanding acting of the cast. Who could deny that their heartstrings were expertly pulled by the performances of Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, David Wenham, and Miranda Otto, to name just a few? The filmmakers and the actors knew just how to make my heart go right along with whatever they did, and I think that is the crowning achievement of this film.
Of course, this also worked not only when the scenes were crafted for the better but also when they were changed for the worse. Scenes that my purist mind could never have accepted in the cold hard light of day suddenly became okay and even appreciated in the magical world that Peter Jackson and his cast created. Had someone told me before the films that Sam would leave Frodo, that Arwen would be "tied to the Ring" or that Denethor would jump off the precipice of Minas Tirith, I think I would have been horrified. Yet, as the filmmakers led me along the over 3 hours long film, I found myself buying every word. I could not help but give my heart dominion over my head, if even for that short amount of time. Afterwards I was willing to pick apart every scene, lamenting the abandonment of canon in some of the most poignant scenes, but for those few hours I granted Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh a limited lease over my better judgment. Of course I did not love every moment of The Return of the King. But I was willing and able to go with the flow and trust in direction the filmmakers took the film because my heart was invested, won over by the performances, cinematography, score and everything else that went into making such an emotionally charged final installment.
There were, however, some scenes where even my heart could not consent to being taken in. These scenes were the heavily edited plot exposition used to cut the movie down to a profitable running time, sacrificing plot and characterization in their wake. The edited version of the Voice of Saruman and the complete deletion of his death scene were quite obvious to me, and definitely made my brain kick into hypercritical mode at the very beginning of the film, when the filmmakers should be pulling me into the story. The choppy editing that continued throughout the Isengard scene was enough to make any moviegoer confused and any Tolkien lover discomforted. Jokes were oddly juxtaposed with more humor, contrasting the seamless flow of humor and drama in the first two movies. Plot points were muddled and actions were awkwardly pasted together, creating a mix-matched scene emotionally and visually that did not seem to fit in with the tone and flow of the film. These scenes did not captivate me or encourage my confidence, and because they were at the beginning of the film, they almost made me despair for the rest of the film. Luckily the movie dramatically improved from there on, but there were spots where the editing threw me off the emotional roller coaster, alerting the purist sense inside of me and derailing my confidence even for a few moments. These scenes, such as Arwen's conversations with Elrond that seemed to ignore time and place and Éowyn's encounter with the Witch King that left me wondering why all the tension and suspense had suddenly died, will hopefully be fixed in the Extended Edition of the film, but made the film seem somehow incomplete and fragmented. Whole plot lines where gone, such as the important thematic elements of the Houses of Healing, the climactic moments when Aragorn first enters his city by right and approaches the throne of Gondor, Merry swearing fealty to Théoden, and the relationship of Faramir and Pippin. These omissions could be easily explained by the fact that Jackson is counting on the EE to act as the "real" film, but this was not true with the other films' theatrical editions, that seemed pretty complete before the EE. The Return of the King feels only three fourths complete, and I think that this incomplete feeling may have caused the slight malaise of Tolkien fans in the weeks following the opening, especially among book fans and purists. The remedy will hopefully arrive in November, but it is a shame that many moviegoers will only see this fragmented and flawed version: the dress rehearsal for the REAL opening of the film in November.
Some people have complained that the special effects of the third film up-staged the characters and plot. I couldn't disagree more. The special effects, such as the Mûmakil towering over the Rohirrim and the Gondorian soldiers being snatched up by Nazgûl only to plummet to their death, only enhanced the fear and awe that the audience should experience during pivotal battle scenes. Legloas's stunt was welcome comic relief that, while ridiculous, was also entertaining and only diverting for a few seconds from the otherwise conflict and a character driven film. In all the audiences I have sat in, the biggest response has not been from the special effects, but from the heartbreakingly beautiful scenes of love, friendship and desperation. I always hear gasps when Denethor tells Faramir he wishes he had died instead of Boromir, but never such a huge response when Legolas does his stunts or when the Army of the Dead sweeps through Minas Tirith. That's all the proof I need that it's the emotions and characters, not the high budget special effects and war scenes, that shine throughout this film.
The Return of the King has its flaws and shortcomings, but the emotional strength of this film overpowers even the most pressing objections that I have to it. Every time I see it I love it more and I am more willing to trust that the filmmakers, in the end, made the right choices with the hard decisions they were forced to make. Movies are, after all, made for mass consumption and can never be truly made for the fans, and I think The Return of the King triumphs over its predecessors for, despite all the plot points and characters left on the cutting room floor, keeping the emotions at the forefront and giving the characters their time to shine. Each part of the trilogy holds a special place in my heart: The Fellowship of the Ring blew me away with its almost flawless storytelling and The Two Towers hooked me with its amazing cinematography. The Return of the King will be the film that won my heart, despite its faults. And that, in my opinion, is a great feat of filmmaking when they can make this Tolkien geek happy without even having É/F.
*stands up gasped and begins to clap*, shadowy, you are my hero. You are worthy of stepping foot onto my home land anytime you want.
That is probably the greatest post I have ever read....ever.
OMG it was just so....I am going to read it again.
The audience you were with must have been a great atmosphere to be in, no worries that some assholes in the back row throwing popcorn at you and laughing at you when you gasp or anything. These "should" have been the die hard fans seeing the movie and would have nothing to spoil it. You would of loved to of watch the ROTK with me first time I saw it, I was at the front row and as soon as the eagles swooped in I actually got off my seat and shouted "yesss!!!". My friend was well embarassed but I got a laugh out of the crowd.
The first time a movie has made me go in tingles up and down my arm and spine was the ride of the rohhirm now. Damn that was sooo beautiful. The camera just angling from the whole riders was justsheer class.
Discos - again, thank you SB,
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"In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields at Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen. And won their freedom."
I just want to add that I wrote that thing some time after I saw RoTK for the first time..LOL.. That's why my post kinda said that the EE is coming out on November (it's obvious that November is over and we all know that the EE is coming out December..LOL) I just decided to type it up and post it right now 'coz I think it's appropriate for this thread.
And...I lied when I said that I never cry at movies.
I had nearly forgot(although I don't think that's possible) how it felt almost one year ago, when I saw ROTK for the first time. pure magic. Your post has reminded me, of how much emotion each and all of us, experienced...
S-b, you never cease to highten my enthusiasm for tolkien, with each and every post in the forum.
There and back again indeed, Fëanor. It's hard to believe we are here at the end of all things. There and back again....
OK...so I have a lot of time in my hands, and due to overboredom, I decided to write a review for all the films.
So I'm sitting in the theater with my bestfriend. We were seeing "The Return of the King" for the first time. She's got the popcorn and the Cherry Coke, and I've got, well, nothing (that's how I watch movies, ever since that time I had to battle the Junior Mint goo that was stuck between my teeth while Tom Hanks was talking to a volleyball).
We have the best spot in the theater--right in the middle, a special double-seater separate from the other seats (and they're like car seats, these babies, in that they magically keep you from falling asleep even though they're so bloody comfortable, and, anyway, David Wenham is only SO cute after three hours).
Then the lights go down, and I settle back, arms clutched about me in repressed excitement. A hushed blackness washes over the crowd as the stretched, crackling previews end and The Movie We've All Been Waiting To See finally begins.
The familiar strains of Howard Shore's Ring Theme sway eerily out of the curtains on either wall of the theater--enticing, dark, somber as Poe...
I sigh, anticipating this Final Chapter of insanity that has plagued the human race since early 1998. This is the end. This is the finale. This is the crown jewel. This is... A GROSS FREAKING WORM!!!
So when the resounding "Ewwwwwww" rolled up from THIS audience at the sight of Smeagol torturing a slimy worm, I felt pretty comforted by it. My best friend and I just smiled at each other. We realized we were a part of The Lord of the Rings Family. At that moment. In that theater. With all those strangers. And it was wonderful.
Such was NOT the case with the release of the first film, “The Fellowship of the Ring”. I went to see that for the third time with my sister on a Wednesday afternoon in our local mall. There were FOUR OTHER PEOPLE in the theater that day, and that's all. And I knew half of them. And we were as quiet as a pack of, say, hyenas the whole time. “Ooh, that's not right. Whoa, they got THAT wrong. Hmm, that doesn't make sense. Why did they do THAT? Wait, is that supposed to be (insert character of your choice)?”.
Of course, that was back when I was shadowy the Invincible. shadowy the Painfully-Skeptical. “The Lord of the Rings” was my baby, and no MTV-ified flimflam of a motion picture was going to infiltrate the heart of THIS iceberg.
I would say I ate those words with the release of the “The Return of the King”. There were plenty of "waaaaaait a minute" moments, but those buzzers were mostly going off only by default.
Over the course of three agonizing years, I have become a downright Fan of the new films. But it's not just the movies themselves that impress me. It's this. It's the community that the release of these films has created. Sitting in that theater, wrapped up in Frodo's big eyes and Sam's tear-streaked face, swept away by the Rohirrim, choke-held by the very terrible onslaught of Mordor upon Minas Tirith--that's all insignificant compared to the enormous and amazing fan-o-sphere enveloping Middle-earth. Really, it's incredible. I've been up there.
This is supposed to be a review, but that would be a silly thing to try to do for these films. Reviews are really easy: "Yep, I liked it" or "Stay away, it blew chunks." I also thought that I should try to do something to break down the films in comparison to the sacred books upon which they are based, but that would be silly too, for exactly the opposite reason.
So I've compromised. I've broken things up into sections for easier reading (aren't I nice?), and have, instead, chosen to cover the biggest issues. I'm not going to talk about things like accurate moon phases or Elvish hair color or whether or not there were tomatoes in Middle-earth.
Right. You've been warned. So here goes...
The Fellowship of the Ring
1. It's a road movie. That means that it's about the CHARACTERS.
Years ago, someone thought up the dramatic device of shoving a bunch of We-Don't-Get-Along’s onto a proverbial school bus and sit back to see what happens. It's kind of like mixing the contents of bottles you find under your kitchen sink.
It also provides for a very linear story. Linear sometimes leads to "arbitrary" (as in "Crebain from Dunland? What the heck is that?" or "Surprise! It's a Balrog! Didn't see that coming, didja? Ha ha!"), but it works in this case, since it makes for the easiest introduction to Middle-earth for the average moviegoer who hasn't had time to brush up on his copy of the Silmarillion.
In a road movie like this, there's no plot to worry about. All you have to do is get the names straight and remember who dies.
Which leads me to...
2. The Fellowship of the Ring is TRAGIC, but only in movie form.
The peak of Peter Jackson's achievement with these films is, in my opinion, placing the death of Boromir at the end of this first movie. In the book, this scene occurs at the beginning of The Two Towers (MIGHTY cheerful way to start a book, lemme tell ya). By having it at the end of this film, though, it makes for a beautiful and cathartic experience. Boromir dies, it sucks, but we all feel better for it because now everyone knows how eeeevil the One Ring really is.
3. Your ears will bleed.
This could apply to all three movies, but I thought I'd mention it here.
See, three years ago, they warned us that Arwen would wield a sword in the movies, and they warned us that Tom Bombadil was cut, but they DIDN'T warn us that our eardrums would be SPLIT OPEN by the digital-surround sound effects of Ringwraith screams.
There's nothing funnier, by the way, than being in the theater and seeing little kids cover their ears when the Nazgul show up.
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The Two Towers
The second film of the trilogy is a surprise. If you ask a hundred fans what they thought of it, half of them will say it's their favorite, and the other half will say they absolutely hate it. That's because it drifts further away from the book than the other two movies, yet somehow manages to compensate with some very exhilarating (and blissfully distracting) moments.
1. Frodo and Sam needed a better story so, uh, the writers invented one.
CUT TO: Osgiliath. Frodo and Sam are at the mercy of Wicked Faramir, the sulky baby brother of Boromir. Careful fellas! He may or may or may not be a One-Ring-lusting sonofabitch, and NOT the wise yet shrewd pacifist who hangs out in the woods by virtue of his Istari tutelage.
If you're reading this, by the way, and you think David Wenham is gorgeous (like me), then all that controversial business with "Filmamir" probably had little effect on you.
2. Arwen. So is she leaving? Staying? Uh, MAYBE leaving? No, wait. Staying. Leaving? @&#$!*@!
I couldn't tell. Expanding Arwen's role didn't ever bother me, but there was a point in the second film when I found myself more interested in the missing button on my shirt sleeve than the confusing fate of Arwen and Aragorn. I read the book. I know they get married. What's all the fuss about?
3. The single greatest opening action sequence EVER occurs in the beginning of The Two Towers (well, except for those other ones that are really cool, too).
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The Return of the King, and By The Way I'm NOT Crying
1. So long, and yet so short.
Everyone knows it, so I'll get straight to the point. “The Return of the King” is too short. At three hours and 45 minutes, it's one of the shortest LONGEST movies I've ever seen.
ME: It's OVER? But wha...wha...what about (insert particular scene)?
EVERYONE ELSE: I have to pee.
2. Arwen’s confusing fate. Again.
When I saw the film, I rolled my eyes so far back in my head that I found Mississippi. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.
3. You will cry.
I have to give credit to Peter Jackson for this one. Remember what I said way back there about being shadowy the Invincible? This movie broke me down. The last hour of the film remains something of a blur in my mind because I was a wreck of tears from the moment Theoden said "I know your face."
It's not a good cry, either. It's one of those sickening, awful sadnesses that settle deep in your gut until the next day when you wake up all exhausted and hungry for Wheaties and lembas toast. Because it's OVER. It's the LAST movie.
Good thing I have fandoms to keep me company. Which brings me to my last point...
The COMMUNITY is as good as the movies from which they were created.
I did an amazing thing this year. I wrote my first piece of fan fiction for “The Lord of the Rings”. And I wouldn't have done something like that in a million years if it hadn't been for the support and encouragement of other Lord of the Rings fans.
Despite all their faults (ALL their faults), the movies have brought together an enormous collection of devoted fans. Seriously, people seemed to come out the woodwork like hibernating hobbits. Middle-earth is buzzworthy enough to support every kind of fan there is, too. It's like a buffet of fandom--whatever your thing is, Tolkien's got it.
Though we might argue and kick down doors and toss out threats to the filmmakers for lack of certain on-screen romances (ahem), we have to admit: without the films, we wouldn't know each other at all. It's a warmer, more exciting universe we live in thanks to Peter Jackson. Even with a shield-surfing Elf.
And so, after that day in the theater with my best friend, sitting in the dark, having watched the final chapter of Middle-earth unfold on the big screen in all its glittery, jaw-dropping glory, I can admit it. It has made me happy.
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Last edited by shadowy_blue on Dec 10th, 2004 at 03:16 AM
Of course, we all know that the movies were rated PG-13, so let’s tally everything up:
The Fellowship of the Ring: a flashback battle, one real stabbing, one false stabbing, the death of two major characters (only one of which is ultimate), an orc dismemberment, an orc decapitation, gross orc slime-birthing, some blood on Aragorn's mouth and Gandalf's nose, ruthless tree-killing, a flaming vagina (!), many dead bodies, a few skeletons, one squashed door guard in Bree, some pipeweed, and beer-drinking.
The Two Towers: one severed orc's head (and tongue), pillaging of innocent villagers, CGI animal deaths, many dead Elves (and Men and Orcs), images of children forced into battle, an Ent aflame, more Aragorn blood, more Gandalf blood, smoted Balrog corpse, "dead things" in the water, Nazgul on fell beasts, bloodied (and eventually dead) Theodred, a big explosion, and that scary Helm's Deep guy with the missing eyeball.
The Return of the King: everything in the first two films, and then some.
And, just for fun, I've compiled a list of “The Lord of the Rings” moments that should (if examined more closely) warrant a dead-on R rating:
Arwen's see-through nightgown, Faramir covered in oil, Aragorn kissing a horse, ruthless pillow murder, cross-species breeding, phallic sword imagery, Gandalf's affinity for being in Hobbit bedrooms, repetitive exploitation of Peter Jackson's kids, various shots of horsey asses, and Oliphaunt poop (come on, you know it's there).
Of course, there aren't any codpieces or gratuitous ass shots in the film. Nobody ever goes off into the bushes, either, and nobody says "f^ck it all!" or "bollocks!" at the thought of heading into battle. But, then again, it's supposed to be fantasy, isn't it?
Youre... youre simply a genius
Reading your posts is as moving as reading Lotr itself .. both has the strange ability to make one laugh while half-crying at the same time
__________________ Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.
For Books I liked the Two Towers the Best, for Movies I liked the Return of th King.
__________________ "You can stop a rose from growing if you nip it in the bud, but you can't stop the stream from flowing and you cannot stop the flood."
I like FoTR best, for lots of reasons that I shant ramble about ^^
I remember watching FoTR with my babysitter (hey, I was young at the time) once and the sound went out during the credits, so I burst out singing the song. I got some laughs from the crowd and a glare from my babysitter, but it was uber fun.
During RoTK, I was sitting inbetween my two guy friends, and at the end they turn me and go "whoa, you're crying?" I simply glared and tried to say "I have been for the last 30 mins"
So, book wise I always liked RoTK better because it's the end and that's when the climax is and everything is rapped up. Movie wise, I think FoTR was more to the book and while people always disagree with me and bleh bleh...that's my opinion ^^v
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Dec 2nd, 2004 06:33 PM
Sil 
that is my faveorite too
