What are your expectations?

[Child of the 7th Age]

Right after the last movie came out, I raised a question in the books forum:<I> Was Christopher Tolkien Right? </I> Christopher maintained that it was an impossibility for LotR to be successfully adapted to the medium of film. Several posters agreed with that, while others said no.<BR> <BR>Our waiting is almost over. We have nearly eleven months behind us. Many have seen both films multiple times and own the DVDs. Some of us have ordered the extended version of TTT and are eagerly awaiting the November 18th release date.<BR> <BR>But the basic question is still valid, especially with the release of RotK. What are your expectations as you walk into the theater to see the final episodes of PJ's film? Was the content of the first two films such that you now expect to be a little disappointed and in your heart come out believing that no film can ever do justice to Tolkien? Or are you convinced that PJ will hit a homerun out of the park, and that Christopher Tolkien and the family were just dead wrong? Or are you somewhere in the middle?<BR> <BR>For myself, I think that I will be a little more realistic walking into RotK than I was with TTT. I will expect to see differences in plot, timing, and characterization and have schooled myself not to get too hung up on those: to watch and listen and at least wait till after I get out of the theater to begin picking everything apart and analyzing it. <P>My litmus test will be the final scenes with the Ring and Grey Havens. If PJ gets those "right", or at least close to the spirit of the book, I would say to Christopher Tolkien.... <I> No, nothing can recapture Tolkien's written word, or for that matter any really profound book. The leap from one medium to another is fraught with peril. But PJ gave it a good shot and came close enough that I can truly enjoy it. </I> <P>What about you?

[Meela]

I don't expect the film to be perfect. But from what I have seen so far, I expect it to be good. Probably even very good. I was never disappointed by the films, so I know I will enjoy the third. But then again, what others call a good film is often not my idea of a good film, so I may end up regarding it as merely adequate.<BR>Nobody can match up to the original. But some adaptations can prove to be more to a person's taste. I prefer films to book versions, so naturally I will enjoy Rotk more than I would the book.<BR>I don't pick apart the films. I have a highly open mind, and I can easily accept the changes made from book to film. I have no expectations of the film. I just know I enjoy the story, and I want to see the end of it.

[Arwen1858]

ok, I'm going to give my opinion on both already released movies and what I hope for/expect from RotK. I think FotR was a wonderful adaptation of the book. Yes, there were changes made, but I can see good reasons for most of those. TTT was a great movie, but they did stray from the book a bit more than they should have. The thing that gets me the most if Faramir's character. Why did they change him?? He'd better be more like himself in RotK!! Oh, and I hope Arwen was just leaving for Lothlorien or something like that, with no intention going to Valinor. So I hope in RotK they show that she never wavered in her decision to stay with Aragorn. I hope they stick to the book as much as possible in RotK. The thing I'm most anxious about seeing is probably the ending. I hope they do that right, and follow the book! From what I've seen in the trailer and the preview, I think it will be a great movie, and that I will absolutely love it. Hopefully I will come away from the theatres thinking about how wonderful it was, how great the ending was, and how closely they followed the book. We shall see in less than 8 weeks!! <BR>Arwen

[The Only Real Estel]

I think that PJ pretty succesfully adapted FotR to the silverscreen, & came close with TTT, but not quite. My expectations going into RotK have diffinatly been lowered, mostly because I expected roughly the same 'booktuality' in the TTT movie as in FotR. Now that I know that PJ won't hesitate to make large changes in the course of developing the movie, I'm expecting a lots of little devations from the book (or course), & probably 1 or 2 larger ones. Hopefully I can avoid getting hung up on the changes, & I think I probably can, but if there's another change like Faramir in TTT, it's a little hard not to be constintly thinking how this fairly major thing & that trip never happened, etc. Oh well, I can try my best .

[Failivrin]

my expectations have been lowered as i was horribly disappointed by TTT and i have already been discouraged by the fact that PJ cut out the scouring of the shire. he'll probably have arwen kill saruman or something.<P>i expect the film to be a good 'film' but not a good adaptation

[Lush]

I expect to be entertained. I expect Viggo to look strapping. I expect some more decent Shore tunes. <P>Besides that, who knows?<P>And I've said it before and I'll say it again: I can understand where Chris Tolkien is coming from (it's his <I>dad's</I> work, after all), but the harshness of his opinions doesn't quite jive with me.

[Arwen1858]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> he'll probably have arwen kill saruman or something. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>** spoilers **<BR>*<BR>*<BR>*<BR>*<BR>*<BR>*<BR>Grima actually will do it. But then Legolas kills Grima.

[HCIsland]

When I first heard that there was going to be a LotR adaptation, I was apprehensive. Personally, I thought it would not work well and would tank. This worried me more than having a completely faithful adaptation as I knew most of the people seeing this film will not have read the books and this would be what they would draw their opinion of Tolkien from.<P>I wasn't into spoiling at that time. I've been doing that only since Towers came out. My usual practice when there is a movie out there that I know I'll want to see is to avoid everything, including trailers. Though as the date of the release drew near I saw a clip of McKellen's Gandalf and my opinions began to change. I distinctly remember first seeing the shot of Gandalf cresting a hill with Orthanc in the background and thinking, my God, they got it right!<P>My anticipation began to grow and when the film finally was released, I did something I had never done before. I went to see it by myself. My wife and I didn't know how appropriate it would be for our kids (then 5 and 9) and I didn't know when the chance would come otherwise. I ended up with a Friday afternoon off work and it became obvious how I should spend it.<P>The film far exceeded my expectations. I never once expected the plot to remain completely faithful and had already figured the Arwen replacing Glorfindel scene (Arwen at the ford was a common shot in the trailers). I was completely mesmerized. I went home and told my wife she had to see it. That weekend, we went to visit my folks for the holiday and she went to see it with my brother and his daughter while I took the rest of the kids to Jimmy Neutron. I definately wanted to see the film again (very unusual for me - I was 13 when Star Wars came out and saw each of that series only once, even though I was a fan).<P>Although far from a let down, Towers was not quite the experience that Fellowship was. Maybe it was the heightened expectations, or just that it couldn't be as fresh and original as its predecessor, but the changes threw me a bit this time. In hindsight, I began to understand them, but sitting in the theatre, I was a smidge uncomfortable with them.<P>This time I'm going in eyes wide open. I think I could have guessed at many of the changes in Towers if I had decided to wrap my head around them, so this time I'm into the spoiling thing (LotR is bringing out all my unusual movie behaviour ).<P>What do I expect from King? I expect it to be better than Fellowship or Towers. The story alone would have had that. I know that this was the film that PJ wanted to make all along. The others were prelude. Do I think it will be what I would consider the best film I've ever seen? Frankly, I doubt that. Neither Fellowship nor Towers are my favourite movies (though Fellowship would be in the top ten). Considering how much I prowl this board, that may surprise some of you, but my typical taste in movies drift more towards the quirky than the mainstream. Personally, my favourite movie of 2002 was Adapatation, not Towers. LotR is an exception in many ways, I guess. It would be the only blockbuster on my top ten list.<P>Are these successful adaptations of the book? My God, yes.<P>H.C.

[Carorëiel]

I don't think <I>any</I> book could be wholey, completely, or perfectly adapted to the screen. That's just the nature of the two different mediums. <P>That being said, I must say Peter Jackson and company have adapted LotR far beyond any of my expectations for such a project. To me, what is most important in adapting LotR is getting the <I>feel</I> right. PJ's movies do that. The casting is pretty much dead-on, the customs are brilliant, the sets are amazing, there's just the right balance between seriousness and humor. It's less important to me that all of the details of plot be exactly as they were in the book. I'll admit that I'm irritated that Faramir's character was changed, that Frodo, Sam, Gollum etc ended up in Osgiliath, that the Barrowdowns were left out, that the Scouring of the Shire will be left out, and so on, but any adaptation would (by nature) have some changes. So, for the points that really matter, I can't quite conceive of how an adaptation of LotR could have done better.<p>[ October 24, 2003: Message edited by: Carorëiel ]

[Phervasaion]

Like HC, i have extremely high expectations of this film and expext it to be better than FotR and TTT. I thought FotR and TTT were very good films but TTT didnt follow the books well (e.g Faramir). <P>The thing about RotK that i am wondering about is how they will end the film, whether they will actually put the part in where Frodo + hobbits go back to the shire and find it infested by orcs, or, just end when Sauron is defeatd. How do all of you think the story will end?

[The Only Real Estel]

Phervasaion: The Scouring of the Shire was never filmed. There is some speculation as to wether a more toned-down intrusion well be alluded to or not, but we won't see any hobbits in action.

[Lord of Angmar]

I agree with Christopher Tolkien that the Lord of the Rings will never be perfectly adapted to the silverscreen. I try not to think of Peter Jackson's work as an adaptation, but rather as an incomplete interpretation. For Return of the King, I am without a doubt expecting the best movie of the three. I agree, Child of the 7th Age, that the spirit of the Grey Havens must be captured near-perfectly.

[The Saucepan Man]

Judging by the trailers and screen-shots that I have seen, my expectations are very high indeed. After TTT, I'm prepared for plot and character changes, although everything that I have seen convinces me that the spirit of the book will shine through in this film. But, above all, I'm simply expecting an extremely well-made and thoroughly enjoyable film.

[The Only Real Estel]

I AM thinking that RotK does have the <I>ability</I> to surpass both movies:<P>1. It's got a possibility of the best battle in the films.<P>2. It's got a heck-of-a-scary monster in it.<P>3. It's got the suspense of Gollum's suspected treachery.<P>4. I've already heard many great lines/speeches.<P>It's true that my expectations are high, but I'm also expecting (as I said in an earlier post here) quite a few minor changes (which shouldn't be to hard for me to swallow), & perhaps one or two rather major ones. I'm <I>trying</I> to not get my expectations to high....but I don't think it's working .

[HCIsland]

The really cool thing about King, the stuff that I think will make this film awesome, is that although there are plenty of epic battles, in the center of it all are a series of deeply personal struggles. Denethor and Pippin; Eowyn, Merry and the Witch King; Sam, Frodo and Gollum on Mount Doom. I have little doubt that the battle scenes in King will be completely awesome, but what I'm looking forward to are these personal conflicts. I think it will be these moments that will elevate this beyond just a well connected scene of pretty pictures, and the best thing of all is that all this stuff was in the book to start with.<P>H.C.

[Jack]

I don't think I will be just like the book but what movie, based on a book is just like the book it was based on. Hope you got all that...!

[ArathorofBarahir]

The films can never come close to the books. The books have stood the test of time and remain popular almost a half of a century later. However the movies are excellent interpretation of Tolkien's work. Likewise the movies are interpretations of The Lord of the Rings, and not literal adaptations.

[Arathiriel]

I have high expectations for ROTK as I believe it will be the best of the three and I expect to leave it emotionally drained as I know I will be caught up in the struggles of all the characters I have come to love over the last two years. <P>The two essential scenes PJ must get right for me are: Mt. Doom and the Grey Havens - anything else that is nailed right will be just one <B>BIG</B> bonus for me!<P>I expect this movie will be my favorite of the three and I expect it'll be the one I'll see over and over and over again before it leaves theaters!