A sad experience

[Son of Númenor]

I watched The Fellowship of the Ring last night.

The first time I saw it in theaters, it was the most moving cinematic experience I ever had. I was totally immersed in the mythic canvas, and found it putting me in touch with what must be an innate ancestral longing for the landscapes and cultures which inspired Tolkien's epic, as well as that intangible, transcendental feeling which Einstein aptly calls the "mystical emotion". I truly savoured the books after seeing the first film, and though the next two films were let-downs by my lofty expectations, still anything Tolkien-related rarely failed to inspire that sense of youthful wonderment. I felt that the dust of the accumulated cynicism from my short years in this insanely materialist society had been swept away - for that I will always be thankful to the good professor, and to Peter Jackson & Co.

Watching it last night, I found myself caught up at first in the story and seeing a little of myself in all of the characters. The old emotions were roused from dormancy, and I was especially receptive as I'd had a good, joyful cry for the first time in a while only minutes before putting in the DVD.

However, as the film progressed, I realized that a lot of it had lost its enchantment, and that I had become too critical a film-viewer to allow myself to be swept away: many of Jackson's cuts annoyed me, and the whole segment from the fellowship's departure from Rivendell to their departure from Lorien felt rushed and in parts relied too heavily on dramatic cliche in place of any substantial dialogue. It's hard to fault Jackson: even the full three hours isn't nearly enough time by any hard-nosed Tolkenite's standards, and he had to take into account mainstream audiences that wanted a holiday blockbuster that was not too difficult to follow and didn't linger where the action wasn't. Still, I found myself disappointed.

To truly appreciate what Jackson accomplished, it may be that I'll have to take a few years off from watching the films. But my purpose in making the thread wasn't to critique Jackson, anyway, but to share with you an experience of disenchantment which I am sure many of you can relate to. The sunlit hills and misty valleys of Middle-earth are a part of who I am that I cherish, but I often feel I need new walking shoes to go tramping in them again.

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by Son of Númenor

The first time I saw it in theaters, it was the most moving cinematic experience I ever had. I was totally immersed in the mythic canvas, and found it putting me in touch with what must be an innate ancestral longing for the landscapes and cultures which inspired Tolkien's epic, as well as that intangible, transcendental feeling which Einstein aptly calls the "mystical emotion".

Beautiful description, and I wholeheartedly agree. I feel the same way when I watch The Fellowship, and I even felt it when I first saw it in theatres.

Yet, I know what you mean. The magic of PJ's films has been a bit dimmed due to my harsh critique of what he should have done, what he shouldn't have done, etc. It's been a while since I just sat down and enjoyed the movies for what they are. I do not think the movies have lost their illuminate beauty, but I understand what you are saying and I feel like to return to that beateous feeling of first encountered mysticism maybe a little break from the movies is best. I always found that if I take a break from the movies and read the books, even if I just read a few chapters- soak in the magic of the books -then that very similiar magic returns when I put on the movies, The Fellowship in specific.

Great post!

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Ahhh.

My family went on vacation and we came in the car for a long drive, and my little brother and I watched the fellowship...honostly, I got bored, I wanted to have more bookish like things happen, like the Old Forest and the Bombadil sequence, it had truely lost it's magic!
The only thing that had amused me like it had was the Shire sequences.

Thats just my two cents!

[Quempel]

Strangely enough I can understand. When the movies first came out on DVD I watched them many times, to the point I could say the lines. And the movies lost their magic. Then I stopped watching them, for a good long time. I hardly ever watch them anymore, but when I do I still have some of the magic, but some of it is gone.

However, I ended up reading The Two Towers this weekend, purely by mistake, I picked up the book to find a qoute in the Helms Deep chapter and ended up reading the entire book. And I was once again swept into the magic that is Middle Earth. My first thought was I should watch the movies again, after reading the books.

I don't know maybe it's just me, and I am not knocking the movies, but the books seem to inspire magic and wonderment in my own imagination and the movies seem to bring the magic and wonderment to a bit of life, but not to the full extent as the books.

[mormegil]

Agreed! I, the other day, found myself watching a clip of FotR that I instead of bringing back the magical first experience, I was critical and found flaws instead. The situation was the one where Arwen is confronting the Nazgul at the river. I remember being awestruck the first time(s) I watched it and thinkg how wonderful it was. Seeing the water take horse shape and override the Nazgul thus preserving Frodo from their evil grasp. This time I noticed how relatively small the river was and that by the time the Nazgul noticed the rushing water they would have had plenty of time to get safely to one side or the other of the river but instead they decided to run downstream.

I'm not sure the years will bring it back though. I love Star Wars and was an avid fan as a child. I still enjoy it and my 4 and 2 year old are getting into it...the classic mind you...but as I watch it with them I don't feel the same as I used to.

Have I lost that innocence and excitement that once encapsulated me entirely or have I dedicated that to other newer pursuits? What was once magical and mystical is only a fond walk through nostalgia. I can still find that in books, but I fear it has been lost on the screen for me.

[Sir Kohran]

I know what you mean. They're often on Channel 4 and yet I don't watch them simply because there's no longer any point. I've seen them to the point where there's nothing more to see. Every line, every fight scene, every camera shot...I can predict them all. There are times when I almost wish I hadn't read the books (blasphemy ) just so that I could still enjoy the movies just as movies, and not start thinking about stuff in the book, what PJ 'should' have done, etc. Perhaps if we ever see a different extended edition with new scenes and modified sequences I might feel more inclined to watch them.