Nooooo! Not the Houses of Healing!!!

[Lily Bracegirdle]

I'm devastated.<P><A HREF="http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/2/1054286308" TARGET=_blank>TORn news bite says houses of healing scenes downplayed.</A><P>I thought it would happen, but I was holding out hope...<P>O Faramir, where art thou?<P>-Lily

[Bêthberry]

It always has struck me that one of the very significant aspects of the Houses of Healing is not the Ewoyn/Faramir romance, but the small details of meaning and life which the text constantly upholds.<P>To me, the important aspect of the Houses of Healing is Ioreth, her loquaciousness, her knowledge, her contribution to the mythology, Gandalf's attitude towards her.<P>It is the old woman, not the young woman who, as repository of the culture's knowledge, reminds all and sundry of Aragorn's true worth.<P>Like the Magdalene in another mythology, it is the Other who reminds us of the Truth.<P>Bêthberry

[peonydeepdelver]

First the Scouring, now the Houses of Healing. What next? Mount Doom?<P>Oh and welcome to the Downs, Niltaliel!<p>[ June 01, 2003: Message edited by: peonydeepdelver ]

It may not be the most important thing there, but it's deffinately my favorite! One of the reasons I love RotK so much is the Eowyn/Faramir relationship.. Anyway, dissappointed am I. Oh, and hi everybody! I think I'm gonna start posting now ;-)

=/ Does PJ have something against Faramir? First he warps his character, then he ditches some of his important scenes. I thought Hollywood was supposed to be all for humor and romance? Houses of Healing could server for both...I'd been trying to think of ways they could work some slight humor into the movie without it being to jarringly obvious and out of character, and Ioreth's babblings could be made to be a lot more funny, and appropriately funny, than a bunch of misplaced corny one-liners from Gimli.

[HCIsland]

Actually I never thought there was going to be much from the Houses of Healing and when I read the above post I was pleased to learn they shot a fair bit there at all. To me this sounds like prime material for a special edition.<P>PJ has shown that he sticks pretty much to the central story when it comes to the theatrical releases, so I don't thinks folks should be surprised here. What needs to be done from the story presented in the previous films is to resolve the relationship between Eowyn and Aragorn. Beyond that we are not likely to see much.<P>Sorry Faramir fans.<P>H.C.

[Lindril Arvilya]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> What next? Mount Doom? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>No no, there's big explosions there.

[Meela]

That's a shame. The Houses of Healing are one of the better scenes in the books.

I suppose it gives more screen time to other important moments though, so it won't be an entirely wasted decision.

[Lasgalen]

I have a feeling less HoH means more time for battle scenes. That is just a guess based on how much time Helm's Deep took in TTT.

[Faramir Fan]

I was upset about this in another thread but I think people got the wrong idea as to why. <P>I have said this before but I think PJ has to be very careful with the Faramir/Eowyn pairing. If it is minimalized too much it will seem trivial and will seem to the mainstream audience that Eowyn is just settling for Faramir, because she can't have Aragorn. I don't like this, for both the characters of Eowyn and Faramir.<P>Why I was upset that the Houses of Healing will be downplayed is because obviously those scenes were shot and in filming PJ seemed to make an effort to do it right, but I worry that unless he picks them up somewhere else, what I fear will become a reality...To me this is doing a great diservice to Tolkien, especially because it has been said that the character of Faramir was the one that Tolkien himself identified with the most. <P>Personally I don't care about elves at Helm's Deep or Aragorn falling off the cliff. I didn't like "evil" Faramir, but I know PJ does things for plot reasons and hopefully it was done to set up his redemption in ROTK. The truth is that he does make changes for plot reasons and I can live with them because they make a better movie. <P>But the one thing I can't live with is making the Faramir/Eowyn pairing trivial...

[HCIsland]

Personally, I think the success of selling Eowyn and Faramir has nothing to do with that couple and everything to do with how you resolve Eowyn and Aragorn. If this relationship is resolved before Eowyn meets Faramir and, for goodness sakes, before Eowyn meets Arwen, then having her fall in love with Faramir can be done very quickly and subtly with just a few words, a look, a touch. It doesn't need to be much.<P>In TTT, Jackson has built a tension between Aragorn and Eowyn that I have every faith he will still attempt to resolve. Whether he will be successful in doing that or not remains to be seen but, in my opinion, there is nothing in Miranda Otto's comments that weigh on this one way or the other.<P>H.C.

[Lyra Greenleaf]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> If this relationship is resolved before Eowyn meets Faramir and, for goodness sakes, before Eowyn meets Arwen, then having her fall in love with Faramir can be done very quickly and subtly with just a few words, a look, a touch. It doesn't need to be much.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I hope you're right. I was getting nightmare visions of Eowyn carrying on her love of Aragorn and marrying Faramir out of desperation. But that makes more sense. Thanks!

[Lasgalen]

Eowyn/Aragorn must be resolved before she meets Faramir. Isn't her inability to have Aragorn the whole reason she disguised herself as Dernhelm?

[HCIsland]

This is just my interpretation, and maybe I am drifting off topic, but I always felt that Eowyn obsession with Aragorn was rooted in her obsession of dieing heroically. I don't think it's so much she loves Aragorn, but that she loves that persona. Perhaps after having her own heroic battle with the Witch King it will come across that she will recognize the root of her obsession with Aragorn for what it is and let it go.<P>Faramir and Eowyn's conversations in Minas Tirith are one of my favourite parts of RotK and I want to see them as much as anyone (well, almost as much as some ). It sure seems these scenes were at least filmed, even if they aren't going to appear in the theatrical cut.<P>H.C.

[Elvish Hermit]

{is in utter shock}<P>{calms down}<P>Well, if they're cutting out the Scourging, then it should have been expected that they would downplayy all the other good parts. {sniffles} Oh god, please let this bee good.

[Duncariel]

Ya'll are right. The Houses of Healing were an important part of RotK, but they will make super good extended edition footage. <P>Plus, I don't think even PJ could downplay the Eowyn/Faramir relationship. It would take more work that just doing it right.

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>If they make Eowyn seem to choose Faramir out of desperation it would be a waste of time altogether. They might as well have her choose Denethor instead. Or Gandalf. Or Shadowfax.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>You kill me, Meela. <P>On a more serious note, my expectations for RotK are dropping. I'm becoming ever more skeptical. To say I'm surprised would be a lie: I expected something like this to be done. By the time it gets to theaters, I'll probably hate the movie with a passion. Maybe then, I won't be disappointed and, perhaps, even pleasantly surprised. We'll never know until it actually comes out, so I wouldn't go frothing at the mouth yet.

[Arwen Evenstar the Fair]

I find it hard to believe that they will not put the Houses of Healing in the movie,<BR> check this out<BR> <A HREF="http://www.lordoftherings.net/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.lordoftherings.net/</A> <P>go here and click on exclusive new images and click through them, there is one of Aragorn sitting next to Eowyn who is laying down in a bed, and they are in a house, so I guess its in there.

[Estella Brandybuck]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>But the one thing I can't live with is making the Faramir/Eowyn pairing trivial...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Amen to that. I'm kind of worried that Faramir and Éowyn's relationship will be severely overshadowed. Don't get me wrong, I know that it's not vital to the plot, but I've always thought of it as such a beautiful part of the story. You've got these two people from different places meeting for the first time amidst all that loss and sorrow, finding everything they ever needed in each other (please ignore the length and cheesiness of that sentence). Like has been said, Éowyn absolutely did <I>not</I> just settle for Faramir because she couldn't have Aragorn. I really hope it doesn't come off like that in the movie because it's almost a completely distortion of the characters and situation (to me, anyway).<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>This is just my interpretation, and maybe I am drifting off topic, but I always felt that Eowyn obsession with Aragorn was rooted in her obsession of dieing heroically. I don't think it's so much she loves Aragorn, but that she loves that persona. Perhaps after having her own heroic battle with the Witch King it will come across that she will recognize the root of her obsession with Aragorn for what it is and let it go.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>That's exactly how I think of it. Sort of like saying, she wasn't in love with him, she was in love with the <I>idea</I> of him. <P>And another thing I'll miss about the Houses is Ioreth. She <I>will</I> be in the movie, right?<P>...Right?

[HCIsland]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I find it hard to believe that they will not put the Houses of Healing in the movie, <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I don't think it has been suggested that it won't be in, just cut back.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> And another thing I'll miss about the Houses is Ioreth. She will be in the movie, right? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I hope so to, but I'm not putting any money on it. It would be fun to put in this character and give her a line or two to annoy Aragorn.<P>H.C.

[Lasgalen]

I agree, HCIsland. The way I understand the original post, HoH will be included just cut back and Eowyns romance with Faramir will be downplayed.

[Manardariel]

NOOOO!!<BR> <P>Well, judging the horrible portrayel of Faramir and that terrible Miranda Otto (I kinda don´t like her.....) maybe it´s for the best. *shudders*

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I also think that it would be lovely for them to have the Houses of Healing, but I don't think that Miranda Otto would make the perfect loving Eowyn, and though I loved the way David Wenham played Faramir, I doubt that he would go with the role either.<P>~Menelien

[Faramir Fan]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> You've got these two people from different places meeting for the first time amidst all that loss and sorrow, finding everything they ever needed in each other <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Exactly, that and the parallels contained in their lives. Both brought up in a royal house but not heirs to the throne. Faramir lost his brother Boromir, Eowyn lost her cousin Theodred who she loved as a brother. Faramir lost his father, Eowyn lost Theoden, who she loved as a father. Both were wounded in the battle of Pellenor Fields, and suffered from the black death/black shadow sickness. I could go on and on...lol.<P>The similarities between these two characters makes it so much more plausible to see how they help each other overcome their grief and in the end fall in love...Of course all that was done in the Houses of Healing in the book, so seeing it on the big screen is unlikely...<P>

[Estella Brandybuck]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>The similarities between these two characters makes it so much more plausible to see how they help each other overcome their grief and in the end fall in love...Of course all that was done in the Houses of Healing in the book, so seeing it on the big screen is unlikely...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Yes, exactly! It's probably just me, but when I started reading RotK, I never even considered Éowyn and Faramir falling in love. Looking back on it, I can't believe I overlooked the possibility. It wasn't until I read the first few paragraphs of The Steward and the King that I realized how incredibly perfect they were for each other. But I guess it <I>would</I> be difficult to show all of that in the middle of the bigger story on the screen, even in a three-to-four hour movie.<P>Ah well, at least we know that some of their relationship will be shown. I don't think PJ is cruel enough to completely disregard the couple. Besides, he probably knows that there will be rioting in the streets if such a thing were to happen.

[Faramir Fan]

Faramir Fan getting her molotov cocktail ready just in case...

[Frodo 007]

oh no!i hope they don't cut out the houses of healing! it also sux how apparently the love between Faramir & Eowyn has been mellowed down coz i really enjoyed that in the book