" Murderers and elf friends! Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them! Take them away to dark holes filled with snakes, and never let them see the light again!" The Great Goblin |
Visit The *EVEN NEWER* Barrow-Downs Photo Page |
Boromir88 Top reasons why you enjoyed... 12-13-2004, 08:04 PM
Elladan and Elrohir Let's see. The acting, the... 12-13-2004, 10:34 PM
mark12_30 I loved the movies because... 12-13-2004, 10:44 PM
Turin I enjoyed the movies for... 12-14-2004, 03:58 AM
Essex Not a surprise coming from... 12-14-2004, 07:12 AM
Boromir88 I completely forgot about the... 12-14-2004, 07:24 AM
The Saucepan Man Accentuate the positive 12-14-2004, 08:10 AM
mark12_30 Oh, well said, Saucie, well... 12-14-2004, 09:04 AM
Boromir88 Good discussion Mark and SpM,... 12-14-2004, 10:13 AM
King of the North The top reason I loved these... 01-04-2005, 06:50 PM
Eothain Elfwine As a whole, these are three... 01-05-2005, 10:27 PM
Salacia Deloresista As many times as I've seen... 03-04-2006, 06:11 AM
Elu Ancalime The movies in general gave a... 03-04-2006, 07:41 PM
|
12-13-2004, 08:04 PM | #1 |
Laconic Loreman
|
Top reasons why you enjoyed the movies.
Just mention the top reasons that got you to enjoy LOTR. I think the number one reason for me was the acting. There were a few shaky roles, but for the most part the acting was splendid. I was impressed with Sean Astin's performance in ROTK. Bernard Hill has always been only I enjoyed. I think Chris Lee will go down as one of the greatest actors in history, and Brad Dourif, just a wonderful overall bad guy you want to punch. I thought the women roles of Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett were a little weak, but their beauty makes up for it .
The other reason would be the scenery. I loved Minas Tirith, Edoras, The Shire, and I thought Helm's Deep was done near perfection. |
12-13-2004, 10:34 PM | #2 |
Shade of Carn Dûm
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Halls of Mandos
Posts: 332
|
Let's see. The acting, the music, the scenery, the special effects, the cinematography, the plot. THE GREAT BOOK IT WAS BASED ON!!!
Other than all that, it was three terrible movies.
__________________
"If you're referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door." THE HOBBIT - IT'S COMING |
12-13-2004, 10:44 PM | #3 |
Stormdancer of Doom
|
I loved the movies because they cast the books into sharp relief, and both became clearer by the contrast. And (generally speaking) I value them both highly.
I think the soundtrack is magnificent, especially the vocal work (and especially the soprano work.) And when the soundtrack and the scenery comes together you get the lighting of the beacons (I cry.) But I think the main reason I love the movies is that they gave me the books back after having been away from them too long. (THe movies also were the catalyst for many treasured friendships.)
__________________
...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. |
12-14-2004, 03:58 AM | #4 |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Birmingham, England
Posts: 37
|
I enjoyed the movies for their entertainment value, and that's about it.
However, more importantly, I realised just how important the book is to me and how it is a dangerous road to take to adapt Tolkien.. I think i'll revert back to my own imagination whilst reading the book.
__________________
Master of Doom!!! |
12-14-2004, 07:12 AM | #5 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Essex, England
Posts: 886
|
Not a surprise coming from me, but what did I like about the moives?
Everything. PS, hello Turin. I see you're very protective of the old bard and his works. Is it because he may have been a neighbour of yours? |
12-14-2004, 10:52 AM | #6 | |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Birmingham, England
Posts: 37
|
Quote:
In fact, I actually live in Moseley, around the Sarehole Mill area, though I didn't realise that Tolkien was a Brummie until after i'd read The Hobbit when I was about 8. Though it does help for my further interest and passion with regards to the Prof's works was sparked when I realised that he used his childhood experiences of the West Midlands area for much of his inspiration.
__________________
Master of Doom!!! |
|
12-14-2004, 07:24 AM | #7 |
Laconic Loreman
|
I completely forgot about the music. I love hearing the Rohan Violin theme playing.
|
12-14-2004, 08:10 AM | #8 | |
Corpus Cacophonous
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: A green and pleasant land
Posts: 8,390
|
Accentuate the positive
Nice to see an upbeat thread about the films, for once.
Although: Quote:
What do I like about the films? Well, like Essex, pretty much everything. If I was being picky, there are one or two things that I would change. But I would prefer to dwell on the positive (as that is how the films make me feel). So, almost without exception, I would commend the acting, the settings, the costumes, the music and the special effects - all way above average for this kind of film, in my opinion. How many other fantasy action films come anywhere near it in these areas? I cannot think of one off-hand. For me, almost every character and location were exactly as I had imagined them. As I have said before, this may be because I have seen a lot of Tolkien art in my time and much of it has been produced, or influenced, by Alan Lee and John Howe, who were central to the films' design team. But I was nevertheless not in the least disappointed in these aspects. And, as anyone who has been to the WETA exhibition will appreciate, the amount of detail that went into the costumes and props (the armour and weapons particularly) was astounding. I haven't seen the documentaries on the RotK EE, but it is clear from those on the other EEs that an incredible amount of work went into these films. The dedication and committment of all those involved in their production (many of whom are Tolkien fans themselves), and the bonds of fellow-feeling that this appears to have generated, shine through for me in the quality of the films. I cannot think of a bad acting performance, and there were many exceptional ones: Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Sean Bean, Bernard Hill and Miranda Otto all deserve special mention. And although Elijah Wood did irritate me at times with his constant eye-rolling and falling over, I did think that his performance in the Mount Doom/Sammath Naur scenes was superb. The story-line was, of course, marvellous - although I would attribute that largely to Tolkien, as I would agree that the film story is at its weakest where it strays furthest from his story. But I think that, on the whole, the changes that were made worked. Everyone will have their own opinion as to which particular scenes and characters should have been included and which should have been omitted, but the choices that were made (with a few exceptions) worked for me in terms of a screen adaptation. I must admit that there were moments in the dialogue when I winced (let's hunt some orc, for example), but again, on balance, I think that the script team did a very good job. Remember that we are judging their lines against one of the greatest story-tellers of modern times. I am sure that there are those who could have done better in recreating Tolkien's style and perhaps would have had the courage to go with some of his more "archaic" (for want of a better word) phraseology. But how many would have had the necessary level of time, committment and enthusiasm to dedicate to this project? (Incidentally, in this regard, I learned with sadness that Tom Stoppard is no longer working on the script for the film version of His Dark Materials - a great shame.) And I was impressed with the way that, given the need to cut and rearrange scenes and dialogue, they reallocated the lines between the characters. So, am I going overboard in my praise of the films? I don't think so, primarily because there are few films that I have enjoyed as much as these and that have moved me as much. I am not often moved to tears, either by books or by films, but these films achieved this feat on a number of occasions, just as the books did. I certainly don't expect everyone to share my opinion of the films, and I would agree with some of the criticisms that are often made, but, given how much I have got out of these films, I do find myself disappointed at times by the general atmosphere of negativity over them that sometimes pervades these boards. Perhaps it is easier to list the films' bad points (this would undoubtedly be a quicker exercise for me than to list their good points), but it does make a refreshing change to have an opportunity to celebrate them.
__________________
Do you mind? I'm busy doing the fishstick. It's a very delicate state of mind! Last edited by The Saucepan Man; 12-14-2004 at 08:14 AM. |
|
12-14-2004, 09:04 AM | #9 |
Stormdancer of Doom
|
Oh, well said, Saucie, well said. (I'll get back to you on that one.) Thanks for bringing up such things as costuming, sets & props.
I heartily agree with you that there is much to praise about these movies and little to disparage. While I did not have the same Lee/Howe foundation that you did, and the scenery was quite different in my mind, still, it was quite easy for me to feel very much at home in 95% of the scenes. Minas Tirith was totally magnificent (seeing that stunningly beautiful glimpse of it in FOTR surprised me so much that I gasped and burst into tears, startling my friends...) THe only place I didn't 'recognize' was Lorien. I wanted .... well, nevermind. What they came up with was also magnificent, and carried the movie through Lothlorien quite well. I had problems with the characterization at first, especially of Strider; but I've come to terms with 90% of it, the remainder being poor cheated Frodo. However, especially after watching the Appendices and making-of features, and seeing how much even the eye-rolling was managed and guided by PJ, I don't blame the actors for any of it. So even if I disagree (and i do) with some of PJ's characterization-- given the overall amount of work that PJ did, my criticisms seem quite unfair. For the work PJ did, he did a magnificent job. I do maintain that Virtue and character depth isn't PJ's strong point; bad guys and evil are his strong point. Perhaps with some more experience under his belt, he would have had a wiser approach to the deeper virtues of the characters; but then, with age comes weariness, and he wouldn't have the boundless energy he needed for this project. How to perfect it? Maybe putting a much older, wiser director in charge of the most complex characters, while leaving youthfully energetic PJ in charge of "everything else"? Not likely, is it? So back to what we've got, which IMO definitely earned its eleven oscars. Most of the fans are either pleased, or fairly pleased. There are some die-hards like our well-beloved lindil, but they still have their books, intact and undamaged, on their shelves. Meanwhile, teeming hordes who would otherwise have never met Frodo or Gandalf or Aragorn, are now enlightened. I call that good... Really, I think we have a magnificent set of movies, and I'm grateful for them. They are some of the best fanfiction ever generated; definitely enriching; enjoyable; great entertainment; but beyond that, food for deep thought. That's quite an accomplishment.
__________________
...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 12-14-2004 at 09:09 AM. Reason: seplling |
12-14-2004, 10:13 AM | #10 | |
Laconic Loreman
|
Good discussion Mark and SpM, this gets close to the new thread I am about to put up momentarily . On a quick remark to Sauce...
Quote:
We can also credit PJ for Tolkien being recently stated back as one of the best-selling authors of the century. (Was a jeopardy question) |
|
01-04-2005, 06:50 PM | #11 |
Haunting Spirit
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Washington State
Posts: 60
|
The top reason I loved these movies is that a vast majority of the shots matched my visualizations when I read the books. In fact, in some places it enhanced my view. Also for the most part the performances were very well executed. Christopher Lee played Saruman with perfection, and Sean Bean played Boromir with the same quality. Some of the weaker performances were by the Hobbits especially in RotK. Also I appreciate these movies VERY much. After watching all of the special features on all the EE DVDs I have learned of the extreme effort that EVERYONE on the crew put into the movies. That gives me tremendous respect for them and the films. Infidel sorry *** nerds that live in their mothers' basements can easily say stuff like "why didn't they add the rune on the south wall?!?!" or "geesh they really should have done more work on the Battle of Pellenor Fields!" Well if you mark these movies as bad for things like that, well don't get me started..... Few know the amazing amount of hard work put into these films. One must remember that for a book to be transferred into a film it must undergo changes. PJ and the other makers of these films bow down to Tolkien's writings and honor them. Even though I sometimes have been guilty of talking bad of these movies I still am in awe of what they achieved. Viggo Mortensen said it best, "as long as you honor the books, you can change a lot of things."
sorry admin or forum currators for the minor swearing, feel free to censor it if it contradicts any rules. o and sry Boromir for kinda getting off topic
__________________
Ask for everything, recieve nothing |
01-05-2005, 10:27 PM | #12 |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Plains of Rohan
Posts: 38
|
As a whole, these are three of the most magnificent movies ever created. I am amazed at how they were extraordinary in almost every aspect: in scenery and in score and in acting and in cinematography and in props and in makeup. No movie except "The Passion of the Christ" has affected me more emotionally than the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy. They are truly beautiful works of art.
__________________
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. |
03-04-2006, 06:11 AM | #13 |
Pile O'Bones
|
As many times as I've seen the movies, I've watched the 'making of' sections a hundred times more. I've poured for hours and hours over every extra bit in the EE's, jealous of the actors for their 15 month vacation to Middle Earth, jealous of basically anybody who got to be involved in the movies, really, disgusted with my own artistic abilities because I know I'll never be able to create anything so beautiful, and in general agonies over how amazing the set, costumes, props, visual effects, etc. were. So yeah, my favorite part of the movies would have to be the visual interpretations of the world in which I spend most of my life anyway.
And the music, especially the pieces featuring Sir James Galway. The sound track paints it's own pictures, just as vividly as any in the movie. <3
__________________
Some may carve through wood and stone to find a thing of beauty, while some may chase their cause around the world for love or duty |
03-04-2006, 07:41 PM | #14 |
Shade of Carn Dûm
|
The movies in general gave a great visual aid for me. Im not always great at that; when i first read the Hobbit, hobbits sounded like big footed hares that smoked!
________ Rambler (automobile) Last edited by Elu Ancalime; 03-03-2011 at 11:20 PM. |
03-04-2006, 09:33 PM | #15 |
Doubting Dwimmerlaik
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Heaven's basement
Posts: 2,466
|
It's my penance to post to this thread.
The scenery, many of the actors and costumes/props set you in Middle Earth. Rarely did I feel that this was not something happening (or happened) as the sets/scenes appeared very real. Gollum was an astounding achievement, and the decision to use a live actor with a CG skin was brilliant. The music still haunts me. And I applaud PJ for not only for taking on such a dangerous and monumentous task, but also for 'bucking the system' and filming all three movies at once and not in Hollywood. Faves:
Well, I could go on and on, as you all well know. I also liked that it gave me and the Mrs. something to look forward to each year, and the DVDs give me a break from the kids watching Disney, as they watch them too. Okay, then, that's all the strawberries and cream that I can handle, and so must return to lemons and vinegar before my head explodes .
__________________
There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it.
|
|
|