I just want to see the sailboat!

[Gorwingel]

I've been trying to place the Phial for a while now. I know I'd seen it before, but something on this thread to do with living rooms prompted me to remember. A few years back I recieved a bottle of extremely unpleasant, and probably cheap, perfume.

To me it looks like a white bubble light

You know those lights that you put on your Christmas tree with a large bulb in the bottom and a thin glass vial filled with liquid that bubbles when it heats to a certain temperature (they are usually multi-colored, but I happen to have a white strand). During the holidays last year I even removed one of the bulbs off the strand and pretended that it was actually the phial (stupid, I know).

But yes, it does look a little cheap, especially if they took their insperation from a commonplace holiday decoration

[Sapphire_Flame]

Silly winged helmets.

I nearly die laughing every time I see those things. So silly.

Abedithon le,

~ Saphy ~

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

A scene of true wrongness is this: the lighting of the beacons in The Return of the King. I do not blame the wrongness on Gandalf's interference. I do not blame the wrongness on Pippen's wall-climb. I do not even blame the wrongness on inept guards or Denathor's uncaring. My blame lies soley on the fact that there were fire-toting guards on the very tops of high mountains, and when the cameras pan, there are no houses, no sheds, no bleedin' shelters made of sticks even, where these men could have come from. No, there are simply random pairs of men frolicking at the tops of mountains, with fire prepared to light beacons that have not been lit in years, and no places to sit and have a nice mug of ale while they wait for an unexpected signal!

Does anybody else share with me in cringing horribly every time they see this scene?

Fea

[Encaitare]

Hah! Yes, that did have me wondering. I don't find it cringe-worthy, but I saw them and thought to myself, "What, do these guys just chill on top of mountains in sub zero weather waiting for some beacons to light?" I loved the scene for what it was; the camera work and music were great, but it was just a little weird.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I had never noticed that before. Well spotted, and yes, it will make me groan next time I see it.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Eomer

... and yes, it will make me groan next time I see it.

And that's a good thing?

I must admit that it did occur to me first time I saw the film that beacon-lighting duty would not exactly be the most enviable posting for a Gondorian soldier, but it most certainly didn't (and won't) spoil what I thought was a visually fantastic sequence.

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

I have another bothering thing about the beacons. The whole scene is breathtakingly beautiful, yes, but if a beacon is on top of a mountain that high, that it's surrounded by clouds and mist, how does the next beacon litters know they should get a fire going?

I, for one, liked the look of the Phial but I wasn't very contended with the way Frodo and Sam held it. I don't know, how they should have held it but now their palms covered half of it. It would have been more efficient if they had held it some other way so the light could have shone better or something.

[Sapphire_Flame]

The whole scene is breathtakingly beautiful, yes, but if a beacon is on top of a mountain that high, that it's surrounded by clouds and mist, how does the next beacon lighters know they should get a fire going?

Good question.

Torech Ungol bothered me a bit. Didn't Tolkien describe the walls and floor as being smooth? And in the film, said walls and floor are pock-marked and uneven. Hello? PJ? You did read the books thoroughly, right?

Abedithon le,

~ Saphy ~

[Child of the 7th Age]

I did want to point out that there are actually some parallels in real life regarding the isolation of "beacon" duty. On a vacation trip to the Middle East several years ago, we took a ride in a four-wheel drive vehicle along a very desolate stretch of territory. We were the only car on the road heading for a remote spot on the Egyptian/Israeli border.

When we got to where we were going, there were two tiny posts on each side of the border. On the Israeli side, there were two soldiers posted in a lookout that was hung out over the edge of a cliff -- not actually a mountain but a rugged hilly range. Far off in the distance, we could see a tall tower with many steps leading up to it stuck out in the middle of nowhere-- it looked like my idea of a forest ranger lookout. At the top of the tower was a single Egyptian soldier peering down at the border through binoculars. My daughter started to jump up and down, frantically waving towards the Egyptian soldier. He peered back through his binoculars and also began waving happily at us. It was one of the high points of our vacation.

The Israeli soldiers explained they had been stationed here for a week, and we were the first people that had been by. They were slated to leave on the following Sunday. Apparently, at one time, this particular location had been a real "hot spot" on the border, with problems breaking out all the time. Now, it was a sleepy backwater, but someone was still required to stand guard.

Lighting beacons wasn't just something that PJ made up: it was an actual communication device heavily used in ancient times. The ancient Hebrews, for example, kept sentries located on the tops of hills for most of the year. They lit the beacons to tell the people when a particular Jewish holiday was starting. The beacons would start off in Jerusalem, and the fires were lit to the most remote corners of the kingdom, crossing over deserts and wastelands as well. No one had calendars, and this was the easiest way to make sure that everyone did things at the right time. They undoubtedly used this same device to warn people about impending warfare as well.

So PJ's device has some validity. Just think of it this way....if you had to choose between being in a front line to face a charging oliphaunt, or a little rugged camping out in a remote area, which duty posting would you pick? Under those circumstances, the beacon lighting duty starts to look better and better!

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Child of the 7th Age

Just think of it this way....if you had to choose between being in a front line to face a charging oliphaunt, or a little rugged camping out in a remote area, which duty posting would you pick? Under those circumstances, the beacon lighting duty starts to look better and better!

Point taken!

And, of course, the idea of beacons serving as a quick form of communication between Gondor and Rohan in times of war does come straight from the pages of LotR. Admittedly, Tolkien's beacons are placed on the foothills of the White Mountains and therefore avoid some of the problems highlighted here. But I would rather the beautiful sequence shown in the film than a series of hilltop bonfires.

[mark12_30]

"They also serve who only stand and wait."

Sentries guarding any remote outpost as Child has said.

Forest rangers.

Lighthouse wardens.

Those of us who remember the cold war: how'd you like to be stationed on the Canadian shield watching for incoming ICBMs?

...I'll stop there.

[Encaitare]

Well, Child more or less shot the beacon complaint down! Nice post, though... now I don't feel so irked.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

In reply to your (possibly rhetorical) question Saucepan Man, I would have to say yes. I crave misery, and the entire reason that this thread was created was to plant ridiculous images into my mind so that I would never again enjoy the films.

Seriously though, interesting post Child.