Still forming your own images of MIddle Earth? Or stuck with Elijah and Co.?
The title says it all. 🙂 Were the characters and locations from the movie the exact same thing that you were imagining when you have read the book and you are now completely intact to it? Or you still have your own mental images and interpretations of how the characters and locations should have looked like?
As much as I learned to love Elijah as Frodo when I really finished the movie and was persuaded that he portrayed him excellently, my picture of him before I saw the movie was not a teenage heartthrob. I was picturing someone a little less...adorable, I suppose. And older.
On the other hand, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen & Christopher Lee matched my imagination of Galadriel, Gandalf & Saruman perfectly, so I sort of "copied" them in my image.
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli is perfect with his looks as Gimli but his personality was quite changed, but, hey! I don't mind.
Sean Bean IS Boromir. Actually, I liked the way the film depicted Boromir's fall and forgiveness much better than the book's. It is one of the few places where I thought the movie enhanced the story. Perhaps this is because Boromir's death has been moved to the end of FOTR rather than being lost in the opening of TTT. It has become dramatically more focused and provided vivid evidence of how powerful the Ring is.
Movie Legolas (with all the drooling) may have permanently, I fear, destroyed any interest I had in the book character. I mean, he's alright in FOTR and I actually liked him in it, but after TTT and ROTK, I actually saw Orlando Bloom, not Legolas. (if you know what I mean) *shrugs*
Aragorn..kinda..yeah I suppose. He's kinda close to what I pictured him to be.
Arwen. I loved Liv playing her. She had the magical and ethereal beauty in her. Though I admit I never really thought about Arwen's appearance before because she was hardly in the book.
The places..those were perfect. 😄 Lothlorien, Imladris, The Shire, Moria, Rohan, Gondor, Mordor. Just..perfect. 😄 New Zealand IS Middle-earth. 😄
I will go over the others later. It's late at night. 😄
I must admit that all the images I have of the characters in my head resemble the actors, but only loosely. For example, Meriadoc, I picture him to be very different - to have chiseled features, and a nose much like Billy Boyd's. Whereas Pippin, I picture as also being different - although still resembling Billy Boyd, he looks a lot younger with darker eyes and a very different accent.
But also, because I have read so many fanfiction stories concerning hobbits and their homes, I find that I have built up my own pictures of the people and places.
And as you said shadowy, I'm afraid that film Legolas has kind of spoilt it for me. I much prefer book Legolas I'm afraid so sorry Orlando fans.
Moria I thought was very good in the films, although I wish the had made it so that the chamber and the guard room were separate places instead, like in the books.
Minis Tirith I thought was good, although nothing like I had pictured it to be. I imagined it to be very different, and a little larger too on each level.
And, as you said, shadowy - Sean Bean IS Boromir. No doubt about it.
And now, we get to Elijah Wood as Frodo. I have mixed feelings about this. I mean, he was utterly fantastic, a brilliant actor, but I just feel that PJ was concentrating more on the teenage appeal when he did this rather than the resilience of Frodo. There is no doubt that Frodo is less strong in the films - PJ has put real emphasis on the whole 'angst ridden hobbit' thing, but I stick to what I've always said: Frodo is very different in the films, but still bloody brilliant🙂
Yes Sean was definately Boromir, and no one could replace him!
Legolas....yeah I'm going to have to imagne him now. To my dismay....
I can extremely debate on Celeborn because he was like......a zombie in the movie......
Cate stays, yes, she IS Galadriel.
Arwen would have to stay yeah...
Gimli yes, definately.......
I'm basically happ with the casting except for Celeborn.....
Thats different... I mostly kept my own images, but for some characters, like Galadriel, Saruman and Boromir, I kept the movie ones, while Frodo or Legolas (without that name... only the son of Thranduil for me...) are totally different characters in the movie and in the book, like two persons, and if I read about them I see my own images, not PJs... same for Saurons Eye which I never thought of as a real red eye hanging over Barad-dur.
There is no mistaking Gandalf and Saruman the way PJ depicted them, since it is close to how Tolkien described them in the book. How else can you imagine a wizard. But Ian and Christopher Lee portrayed them excellently as did Sean Bean's Boromir. Unlike the book, he gave Boromir's character life and deep emotion. As for the hobbits, I pictured them differently in the book, not so cute. I kept picturing a much older Frodo and a thicker Sam. Merry seemed a little intense, when he was talking to Treebeard in the movie...Since the movie came out, it's hard to not think of the actors face and persona when rereading LotR.
OH BOROMIR YOU HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN
actually im alive
OH BE SILENT...DIE IN PEACE
actualy i think im gonna make it
I WILL GO ON AHEAD IN YOUR HONOUR!
no really im fine look
NOOOOOO POOR BOROMIR
IM ALIVE!!!!
LETS GO FELLOWSHIP! reclaim merry and pippin so boromir is not wholly departed form our minds!
*runs off*
ill just..wait, here....then?
😛
they come back after the ring is destroyed
this is the tree where boromir fell!
*old bearded man appears*
iiiiimmmm hhhheeeeerrrrreeee
oh his body is still there! no-one has had rspect and buried the hero of gondor
im here and not underground because im alive!!
*puts him in boat and into the river....goes over waterfall*
*drifts up*
yoooouuuu bbbbaaaasssstttttaaaarrrrrrdddddssss
on way bak from mordor remaining fellowship decide to stop off at a stream near Osgiliath.
"hey look, i know him, what his name, Lendhimhere? AH! Boromir! Thats it"
Thank god u found me Frodo, ive been here a year now eating nothing but bits of grass and my own beautiful hair, LOOK AT MY HAIr! LOOK AT MY HAir!
"oh my god! ARAGORN, THE GHOST OF BOROMIR IS HAUNTING US AGAIN"
*aragorn runs up*
"you! i cant beleve u wont leave us alone!"
Im not dead!
"back, back i say! leave us alone and i will hold ur alleginace fulfilled, what say you!"
IM ALIIIVVVVEEEEEE!!