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[lazybones18]

Has anyone ever marathoned the extended editions in a day? I did. It ain't a picnic.

Did it once for New Year's Eve. It was quite the chore, but so worth it

 

[LCfiner]

I do this usually once a year around the holiday break. Its great, but exhausting. When it finishes you too feel like you've been through a pretty big quest

I can’t do it in one day. it’s too much. I think it’s much more enjoyable over 3 days.

and, like nearly everyone else here who’s talked about their yearly marathons, it’s always a holiday break thing. Doesn’t seem right to do it in the summer

 

[Combichristoffersen]

10 years since I first got exposed to Tolkien. Time flies.

I got caught up in the hype for the movies, and decided I should read the book before watching FotR. Had my mind blown when reading LotR, as I had never read a book that contained such a lovingly crafted and detailed world, complete with its own mythology, languages and fantastical inhabitants. Gandalf's fall in Moria, before I knew he would return, had me bawling like a baby (same did Dumbledore's death in Harry Potter, years later), the first time I'd ever had such a reaction to a book. Later on I bought the Hobbit and the Silmarillion and loved them both, especially the Silmarillion even if it was a fairly heavy read, and have continued to occasionally pick up books by Tolkien (still have The Children of Húrin, Unfinished Tales, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún and The History of Middle-earth in my bookshelf, haven't gotten around to reading them yet).

As for the movies, when I first watched FotR shortly after finishing LotR, I had my mind blown again. I got to see all the characters I had fallen in love with in the book, acting out the tale of the War of the Ring on the big screen. There were some deviatons from the book, sure, and Sauron being portrayed as a giant flaming vagina still looks kinda silly, but it's definitely a timeless movie. The LotR movie adaption as a whole, regardless of whether you consider it a single movie in three parts or a movie trilogy, is still one of my absolute favourite movies of all time. Hats off to Peter Jackson and everyone who made the movies possible. And thanks to Tolkien for his wonderful literary creation.

 

[Loxley]

I was hoping you'd make a thread for this Edmond

I find Fellowship to be the most re-watchable of the trilogy, despite the fact that I love all of the films equally. It's astonishing to me to this day to think how much these movies had going against them leading up to production versus how well they turned out. Phenominal achievement by Jackson, WETA & Co. Still enjoy them just as much ten years later.

The soundtracks for the trilogy are still my favorite film scores of all time. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic and pretentious, Howard Shore gave Middle-Earth its voice. Words can't express how excited I am that he's back for The Hobbit.

 

[Babalu.]

Can any of the Lord of the Ring Guru's that have read the books and stuff answer some questions for me about the fellowship of the ring? I just rewatched it today but had some questions that I would like explained in detail if possible

1. How did strider know to help the hobbits at the prancing pony, and know about all of the history of the ring and ringwraiths? Did gandalf fill him in before he went to go see sauromon because he was kind of stuck on the tower until they met up in rivendale. Did he tell him to watch them incase he didnt show up or to guide them to rivendale or what? Does the book explain it at all?


2. How long ago from when the fellowship gets there did all of those dwarfs in the mines of moria die? They all had cobwebs like they've been there a long time. But it seems like mordor was barely starting to mobilize at the start of the movie. Was all the goblins/orcs that killed everyone in moria not even part of saurons plan? Was it just kind of a random attack by them earlier? And how did the dwarfs deal with the balrog when they unearthed it? Was it like unearth balrog > goblins/orcs attack all in the the span of a week?


3. Why did the orcs that attacked the fellowship in the mines of moria look like goblins? Were they goblins? If they were, how come frodo's sword went blue, doesnt that only happen when there are orcs?


4. What is the backstory between gandalf and the balrog? He knew about it which is understandable but it seemed like there was more there. And I remember reading earlier that gandalf isnt even human or something.


Ya ya i know I should read the simlilead (sp) or whatever and the other books but I was just wondering about these. Any answers would be nice, thanks.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Can any of the Lord of the Ring Guru's that have read the books and stuff answer some questions for me about the fellowship of the ring? I just rewatched it today but had some questions that I would like explained in detail if possible

1. How did strider know to help the hobbits at the prancing pony, and know about all of the history of the ring and ringwraiths? Did gandalf fill him in before he went to go see sauromon because he was kind of stuck on the tower until they met up in rivendale. Did he tell him to watch them incase he didnt show up or to guide them to rivendale or what? Does the book explain it at all?


2. How long ago from when the fellowship gets there did all of those dwarfs in the mines of moria die? They all had cobwebs like they've been there a long time. But it seems like mordor was barely starting to mobilize at the start of the movie. Was all the goblins/orcs that killed everyone in moria not even part of saurons plan? Was it just kind of a random attack by them earlier? And how did the dwarfs deal with the balrog when they unearthed it? Was it like unearth balrog > goblins/orcs attack all in the the span of a week?


3. Why did the orcs that attacked the fellowship in the mines of moria look like goblins? Were they goblins? If they were, how come frodo's sword went blue, doesnt that only happen when there are orcs?


4. What is the backstory between gandalf and the balrog? He knew about it which is understandable but it seemed like there was more there. And I remember reading earlier that gandalf isnt even human or something.


Ya ya i know I should read the simlilead (sp) or whatever and the other books but I was just wondering about these. Any answers would be nice, thanks.

Just read the books. It's an amazing experience learning everything as it's VERY in-depth, yet it can be somewhat ambiguous and leaves stuff up to the imagination... Honestly, any explanation I could give would be weak compared to how awesome the LOTR books are and finding out for yourself.

 

[GCX]

This is one of my favorite scenes in Fellowship. I love how the music is a foreshadowing to ROTK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyhIiCHJ71M

Amazing.

There's also a small glimpse of Gondor's theme in Elrond's council scene when Boromir talks.

What an amazing score.

 

[smurfx]

my sister saw the movies for the first time a few weeks back. she has seen the trilogy about 6 times now.

 

[Montresor]

Can any of the Lord of the Ring Guru's that have read the books and stuff answer some questions for me about the fellowship of the ring? I just rewatched it today but had some questions that I would like explained in detail if possible

1. How did strider know to help the hobbits at the prancing pony, and know about all of the history of the ring and ringwraiths? Did gandalf fill him in before he went to go see sauromon because he was kind of stuck on the tower until they met up in rivendale. Did he tell him to watch them incase he didnt show up or to guide them to rivendale or what? Does the book explain it at all?


2. How long ago from when the fellowship gets there did all of those dwarfs in the mines of moria die? They all had cobwebs like they've been there a long time. But it seems like mordor was barely starting to mobilize at the start of the movie. Was all the goblins/orcs that killed everyone in moria not even part of saurons plan? Was it just kind of a random attack by them earlier? And how did the dwarfs deal with the balrog when they unearthed it? Was it like unearth balrog > goblins/orcs attack all in the the span of a week?


3. Why did the orcs that attacked the fellowship in the mines of moria look like goblins? Were they goblins? If they were, how come frodo's sword went blue, doesnt that only happen when there are orcs?


4. What is the backstory between gandalf and the balrog? He knew about it which is understandable but it seemed like there was more there. And I remember reading earlier that gandalf isnt even human or something.


Ya ya i know I should read the simlilead (sp) or whatever and the other books but I was just wondering about these. Any answers would be nice, thanks.

1. In the book, after Bilbo's 111th birthday party, Frodo spends around 16 and a half years in the Shire with the ring, before Gandalf visits him and heats the ring in Frodo's fireplace and confirms that they're dealing with Sauron's one ring. My details aren't 100% correct, but during that big lull, Gandalf had been doing lots of research about the one ring (since he had suspicions about Frodo's ring) and had been travelling frequently with Strider scouring the land in search for Gollum (questioning Gollum of course would provide vital clues about Frodo's ring after all). In the book, there is no written conversation between Gandalf and Strider in which Gandalf informs Strider about the ring. It is just understood that Strider is privy to Gandalf's research and that Strider is an ally.

2. I think Balin had been dead for 20 years. The Mines of Moria was a powerful dwarf stronghold way way before the time of Fellowship. Balin and his group left their home at The Lonely Mountain and went to Moria in an effort to reclaim their old dwarf home, their former kingdom. Balin left but the dwarves at the Lonely Mountain had not heard from Balin in over 20 years, and so that is one of the first things that Gloin (Gimli's father) brings up at the council of Elrond. The orcs that killed Balin inside the mines (and the Balrog) are very very very likely to have nothing to do with Sauron or Mordor. In the book, before they enter the mines, there is a big emphasis on the fact that there are many evil things that are not in league with Sauron.

3. Goblins and orcs are interchangeable. They're called goblins all throughout The Hobbit, and then back to Orcs in Fellowship.

4. In The Silmarillion, there are two types of "angels" that live in Middle-Earth. There are the Valar and the Maiar, and the Maiar are the less powerful of the two. They all mostly live in a hidden land far in the West, beyond the sea, and they're immortal and almost all of them have lived on Middle-earth since the beginning of time on. Gandalf is one of these Maiar. He was alive when the Balrogs were first created by one of the Valar called Melkor (and btw, Sauron is a Maiar, and he was a servant of Melkor way back then).

Also, Gandalf says "I am the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun." This line is powerful and awesome and gives me goosebumps (and it's spoken word for word in the movie the same way it's written in the book) but it doesn't imply there's any personal history between this Balrog and Gandalf. There have been many Balrogs that have existed in Middle earth, and that line is just Gandalf's way of saying he serves God (in this universe, god is called Illuvator, or Eru, and he created the flame imperishable, aka the secret fire).

 

[Olorin]

1. How did strider know to help the hobbits at the prancing pony, and know about all of the history of the ring and ringwraiths? Did gandalf fill him in before he went to go see sauromon because he was kind of stuck on the tower until they met up in rivendale. Did he tell him to watch them incase he didnt show up or to guide them to rivendale or what? Does the book explain it at all?

Strider is a descendant of Isildur (the guy who cut the Ring from Sauron's hand), and he was raised in Rivendell, which is one of the largest places of knowledge in Middle-Earth. Therefore, he would know all about the Ring and the ringwraiths. He also was a good friend of Gandalf, and tasked to watch over and protect the Shire with his fellow rangers. He spoke with Gandalf about 5 months before Frodo set out, and he knew that he should guide them, but obviously didn't know exactly when and where that would be.

2. How long ago from when the fellowship gets there did all of those dwarfs in the mines of moria die? They all had cobwebs like they've been there a long time. But it seems like mordor was barely starting to mobilize at the start of the movie. Was all the goblins/orcs that killed everyone in moria not even part of saurons plan? Was it just kind of a random attack by them earlier? And how did the dwarfs deal with the balrog when they unearthed it? Was it like unearth balrog > goblins/orcs attack all in the the span of a week?

2989 Balin leaves Erebor and enters Moria.
2994 Balin perishes, and the dwarf-colony is destroyed.
3019 The fellowship enters Moria
So the Dwarves died 25 years before the fellowship arrived, although some of them were killed in the initial retaking of Moria and others dropped off inbetween, some killed by Orcs, others by the Watcher in the Water. I'm not sure if those Dwarves ever even saw the Balrog, but the Balrog was first seen by the previous Dwarven inhabitants about 1000 years earlier. It wasn't part of Saurons plan, just a whole lot of Orcs who don't like Dwarves.

3. Why did the orcs that attacked the fellowship in the mines of moria look like goblins? Were they goblins? If they were, how come frodo's sword went blue, doesnt that only happen when there are orcs?

In Tolkiens world, Orcs and Goblins are the same thing, though sometimes Orcs are described as being slightly larger, almost as tall as a man.

4. What is the backstory between gandalf and the balrog? He knew about it which is understandable but it seemed like there was more there. And I remember reading earlier that gandalf isnt even human or something.

Gandalf and the Balrog are both Maiar (just like Sauron), a sort of angelic being created by Eru Illuvatar before the world was built. Normally, they can take whatever shape they like, but Gandalf was 'trapped' in a humanlike form so he could aid the people of Middle-Earth without being able to abuse his power. The Balrog had no such limitations, but had probably been in his Balrog form for thousands of years. In the olden days, there were many more Balrogs and huge battles with them.

 

[jaxword]

2989 Balin leaves Erebor and enters Moria.
2994 Balin perishes, and the dwarf-colony is destroyed.
3019 The fellowship enters Moria
So the Dwarves died 25 years before the fellowship arrived, although some of them were killed in the initial retaking of Moria and others dropped off inbetween, some killed by Orcs, others by the Watcher in the Water. I'm not sure if those Dwarves ever even saw the Balrog, but the Balrog was first seen by the previous Dwarven inhabitants about 1000 years earlier. It wasn't part of Saurons plan, just a whole lot of Orcs who don't like Dwarves.

This DEFINITELY did not come across in the film. Gimli's grief is sort of unexplained; since we just had a harrowing encounter with the mountain and then the Watcher, it's not clear that they expected Moria to be welcoming.

 

[way more]

I was prepared to hate it.

I hated the cast (for the most part, loved the casting of the wizards), I wasn't sure of Peter Jackson's ability to do an epic fantasy, the first darkened pictures of art design looked horrible, the CGI in the first trailer looked shitty. At best I was expecting a B- trashy flick to watch every few years when it was on Cinemax while I waited for the remake by a crew and cast I actually appreciated.

I went to it alone because my girlfriend at the time agreed: "that looks fucking terrible and worse, I've only read the Hobbit and that was just okay".

So I go to it opening night just because, I mean, it's LOTR, it can't be that bad. I disliked the prologue at first, feeling it was a bit overdramatic and the CGI in the Mount Doom part is still, to this day, the weakest in the trilogy. I was worried it was setting the scene for terrible. The Frodo intro, eh, the Gandalf part, decent and sets up the relationship but kind of uncomfortable and THEN FUCKING "CONCERNING HOBBITS" KICKS IN AND THEY LOOK OVER HOBBITON AND MY EYES WELL UP WITH TEARS.

I ran out after the show. I got in my car and stumbled for my cell phone. "You have to see it," I told my girl, "You have to fucking see this movie. You have to. I...I was wrong."

I took her to it the next night because we both have, even to this day, fairly similar tastes in films.

I wasn't looking at her and her reactions. At Gandalf's last scene she hands me a tissue and I roll my eyes and give her a look of disdain, thinking she's mocking me. But when I look over, she's sobbing. "What the---you like it?" I whisper to her. "This is the most beautiful movie I've ever seen". When the film ended she stood up and screamed "that was IT?".

We bought the soundtrack that night at Walmart and played it on repeat. She said that for months afterwards I would still tear up during certain songs involuntarily.

Great film. Greatest trilogy.

You've never had, and never will have, a girlfriend.

 

[Babalu.]

1. In the book, after Bilbo's 111th birthday party, Frodo spends around 16 and a half years in the Shire with the ring,

holy shit. mind blown.

2989 Balin leaves Erebor and enters Moria.
2994 Balin perishes, and the dwarf-colony is destroyed.
3019 The fellowship enters Moria
So the Dwarves died 25 years before the fellowship arrived, although some of them were killed in the initial retaking of Moria and others dropped off inbetween, some killed by Orcs, others by the Watcher in the Water. I'm not sure if those Dwarves ever even saw the Balrog, but the Balrog was first seen by the previous Dwarven inhabitants about 1000 years earlier.

but Gandalf was 'trapped' in a humanlike form so he could aid the people of Middle-Earth without being able to abuse his power. The Balrog had no such limitations, but had probably been in his Balrog form for thousands of years. In the olden days, there were many more Balrogs and huge battles with them.

damn that is awesome.


Thanks for both your answers. That shit is fascinating. But that leads to another question which is why does gimli expect a big welcoming in moria if its been 25 years since the last group went to reclaim it? Did he really think it was succesful with no word ever coming back? Or was it just kind of a change for the movie that he was expecting?


Thanks to both you guys for the answers. I plan on watching the other two movies this week as well so hopefully you guys will keep an eye on this thread if I have some more questions about the backstories. rock on.


ahh 1 last question: Where were the elves going? They said the time of the elves is over so they are leaving "middle earth". I'm assuming middle earth doesn't mean the whole earth but just like a certain continent? Are they just going to like another continent or something where they can live forever? And why exactly were they going?

 

[CF_Fighter]

ahh 1 last question: Where were the elves going? They said the time of the elves is over so they are leaving "middle earth". I'm assuming middle earth doesn't mean the whole earth but just like a certain continent? Are they just going to like another continent or something where they can live forever? And why exactly were they going?

They were going to the Undying Lands, also called Valinor. After the destruction of Númenor (Tolkien's version of Atlantis), the Undying Lands were removed from Arda (Middle Earth) so that Men could not reach them and only the Elves could go there by the Straight Road and in ships capable of passing out of the Spheres of the earth. By special permission of the Valar, the Hobbits Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee were also permitted to go to Valinor, and Legolas the elf brought with him Gimli the Dwarf.

I got this info from http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Valinor

 

[Shadow of the BEAST]

I was never a fan before but its sold me on fantasy in general. lotr, game of thrones have made me huge fan. Its also the last blockbuster film i really liked.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

ahh 1 last question: Where were the elves going? They said the time of the elves is over so they are leaving "middle earth". I'm assuming middle earth doesn't mean the whole earth but just like a certain continent? Are they just going to like another continent or something where they can live forever? And why exactly were they going?

Middle-earth is actually our world in a fictional past (the planet is called Arda), but anyway, to answer your question, the Elves go to Valinor, the Undying Lands in the West from where they once came. Valinor was originally placed on Arda, but after the destruction of Númenor (which more or less mirrors the Atlantis myth from the 'real world') it was removed from Arda so that mortal men could no longer go there. The only ones who could go there were the Elves and those few mortals who were granted passage to the Undying Lands, like Gimli, Frodo, Sam and Bilbo. Although due to various reasons they could not enter Valinor itself as it would, IIRC, cause them to die instantly due to the passage of time in Valinor being much faster than what it would be in Middle-earth (something like that), so they settled on a small island called Tol Eressëa (the 'Lonely Island') which lay directly to the east of Valinor.

As for your question about Gimli, I don't think it's ever really specified why he expected a warm welcome, but I guess since Balin's expedition went more or less well at first, the other dwarves just assumed everything was fine and dandy even if they hadn't heard anything from Moria in a long time (they didn't exactly have a lot of ways to communicate back then besides sending messengers back and forth, which would take a couple of months to get from Moria to Erebor).

 

[Sibylus]

The Elves are leaving for the continent of Valinor in the west, which is the home of the Valar and the other Elf kindreds. To be brief:

- The Valar invited the Elves to reside in Valinor with them.

- Morgoth (the first dark lord, and a member of the Valar before his proverbial fall) steals the Silmarils, regarded as the finest jewels ever created. They had some manner of enchantment to them, capable of counteracting Morgoth's devastations. Feanor, the creator, entices his kin and his friends to reclaim them, and they collectively take on a binding oath.

- Vast numbers of Elves cross the ice and sea and land in Middle Earth, with the objective of reclaiming the Silmarils and extracting revenge upon Morgoth. Some stay in Valinor, but the ones that feature in LoTR are all descendants of the hosts that chased Morgoth.

- The Elves wage war against Morgoth for hundreds of years, only recovering the Silmarils after the Valar themselves intervene in the war. Middle Earth (or Beleriand, as it's called at the time) is devastated by what is essentially a war between the gods, and much of the western portion is sunken. The west coastline seen on maps in LoTR were all once inland. As for the Silmarils, the descendants of the maker invariably go mad or die in attempting to claim them, having not forgotten their reckless oath.

- Morgoth is dragged to Valinor in chains, and thrown through the Door of Night, which amounts to total banishment. Sauron, his lieutenant, remains in Middle Earth, having slipped away during the final campaign. He is only a Maia, but what he lacks in his master's strength is more than made up for in his cunning (something which Morgoth could be said to have lacked, he favored bold strokes).

- Sauron befriends the men of Numenor (a great island off the west coast of Middle Earth), and slowly corrupts their King. He convinces Numenor to sail across the sea to Valinor, in a show of force and a clear violation of the understanding that mortals do not cross there. The Numenorean fleet is destroyed, and the island itself is swallowed up by the sea. Sauron retreats to the mainland, weakened and no longer able to assume the form he used to beguile the men of Numenor.

- The world itself is now changed. Valinor is sundered away and the planet curves away from it, becoming spherical where once before it was flattened. Valinor can still be reached, but only by those who can sail the "straight road", which as the name implies is a route that does not curve at all but arcs out into the heavens.


... Dammit, beaten to the punch! Oh well, it warms the heart to see so many Tolkien nerds in one place.

This DEFINITELY did not come across in the film. Gimli's grief is sort of unexplained; since we just had a harrowing encounter with the mountain and then the Watcher, it's not clear that they expected Moria to be welcoming.

It's heavily implied that Gandalf knew the truth and Gimli did not, hence his reluctance to lead the fellowship into the place. Gandalf was probably much more traveled than Balin's nephew, and much more apt to learn of Moria's fall. For Gimli, he likely stayed near the Lonely Mountain and didn't wander far.

 

[GDJustin]

I saw FotR with my high school sweetheart, at 16. Same with TT at 17.

But alas, we split up. I was incredibly bummed because, you know, I figured RotK would be something we would do together.

Then, as a college freshman, I took a new girl to RotK on our first date. Now 7 years later we're married

~~~

Anyway, Fellowship is the only truly GREAT movie of the trilogy, and perhaps not coincidentally, the only one improved as an actual film with its extended edition. It's 3 and a half(!!!) hours of pure magic.

I looove the books but I'm not such a purist that I get upset about cuts like Bombadil or Elrond's sons. It's obvious that Jackson has a deep respect and reverence for the source material, and I'm convinced that literally no one would have done it the justice he did. It's incredible the story is on screen in any sort of intact manner.

On a side note, the EE's are literally the best special features I've ever seen. In fact I used to love the commentaries and special features for movies, but LOTR's are so good that it ruined all the rest for me.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

10 years... fuck that.

 

[zoukka]

This movie has stood the time. The two sequels haven't.

 

[el retorno]

This movie has stood the time. The two sequels haven't.

I´ve never understood this. To me they´re all one movie split over 3 years.

 

[Tinabina]

I saw this in the theater quite a few times, it was long and perfect for making out and foolin around with my bf at the time. Not till a few years later when I met my now bf and he made me actually watch the trilogy and I loved it.

 

[Mr. Sam]

I´ve never understood this. To me they´re all one movie split over 3 years.

Then allow me to translate:

The first act has stood the test of time. The second and third acts haven't.

Though, really, they're three films with three acts each, and continuity. One story? Sure. One film? Nope. Three. It's right on the box. Not that it really matters - it's entirely a matter of semantics.

 

[Olorin]

I looove the books but I'm not such a purist that I get upset about cuts like Bombadil or Elrond's sons. It's obvious that Jackson has a deep respect and reverence for the source material, and I'm convinced that literally no one would have done it the justice he did. It's incredible the story is on screen in any sort of intact manner.

I don't mind those cuts either, but changes like Frodo sending Sam away before entering Shelobs Lair are just unforgivable to me.
Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings cartoon is actually a lot closer to the books in some ways (aside from some bad character designs and mispronunciations), but unfortunately his budget was tiny, so he was unable to finish it properly.

 

[bengraven]

You've never had, and never will have, a girlfriend.

You're joking, right?

 

[StealthGoblin]

It still boggles my mind how they were able to make all three (extended) films on just $180 million. You only have to watch the 'making of' to see just how much work went into it. Miniatures, Bigatures, set design, casting, costumes, cgi, motion capture etc.

Phenominal.

The upcoming Hobbit films have a combined budget of . . . .$500 million.

 

[GCX]

It still boggles my mind how they were able to make all three (extended) films on just $180 million. You only have to watch the 'making of' to see just how much work went into it. Miniatures, Bigatures, set design, casting, costumes, cgi, motion capture etc.

It's also amazing how Weta Digital managed to do all the effects work with so little experience. They literally came up with new techniques as they went on.

If Return of the King was the first film they had to make, it would've probably been a complete disaster since it has multiple times more effect shots than FOTR. It was their luck that the first movie didn't have any huge fight scenes, gollum, etc.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I don't mind those cuts either, but changes like Frodo sending Sam away before entering Shelobs Lair are just unforgivable to me.
Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings cartoon is actually a lot closer to the books in some ways (aside from some bad character designs and mispronunciations), but unfortunately his budget was tiny, so he was unable to finish it properly.

Bakshi's adaption might be closer to the book, but it's still a fucking terrible movie. When your balrog looks like a guy wearing a lion costume and fluffy slippers, there's just no hope. Rotoscoping was fucking shit and I'm glad it went the way of the dodo.

 

[revolverjgw]

This is the only one of that trilogy that I'd watch again. Great sense of adventure

 

[StealthGoblin]

It's also amazing how Weta Digital managed to do all the effects work with so little experience. They literally came up with new techniques as they went on.

If Return of the King was the first film they had to make, it would've probably been a complete disaster since it has multiple times more effect shots than FOTR. It was their luck that the first movie didn't have any huge fight scenes, gollum, etc.

Its amazing that they took so much shit too. Peter would literally drop something on them with short notice and they'd have to get it done, pronto.

Crunch time there must have been something to behold.

 

[Olorin]

Bakshi's adaption might be closer to the book, but it's still a fucking terrible movie. When your balrog looks like a guy wearing a lion costume and fluffy slippers, there's just no hope.

Like I said, some bad character designs. Boromir the viking and Aruman the red also come to mind. But that doesn't make it a terrible movie in my opinion.

And it's not like Peter Jackson got all the characters right. Legolas shouldn't be blonde, Aragorn shouldn't have a beard, most of the leading Hobbits aren't chubby enough.

 

[Babalu.]

Wait so what were the biggest offenders in the movie changing stuff from the book?

I remember reading a lot about people complaining about someone named bombadil and why did he take him out. Who was he?

And i know that the ghost army wasn't suppose to just win the whole war like they did in the movie but it was Man coming together to defeat evil which is such a better feeling reading that because it makes so much more sense then some favor owed by ghost army.

 

[StealthGoblin]

I'm usually highly critical of novel to film adaptations but when it comes to LOTR, I'm simply amazed that they managed to capture the essence of Middle Earth so well.

Watching the movies it was like I could smell the smoke from the chimneys of Hobbiton, the mossy damp wood of fangorn and the stables of Rohan. No other movie has come close to achieving that to me. Sure, there are changes here and there but its still Tolkien's LOTR and that was something I never even remotely expected to ever see done well on film.

I remember reading The Hobbit when I was eight when all of my other friends were reading tat. Whenever we had free time to do what we wanted in Primary School I'd always draw Balrogs, Lothlórien, Uruk-Hai, Saruman etc. At home my lego constructions would be Minas Tirith, Cirith Ungol, Orthanc and Bag End.

There are a couple of times I cried when watching the films, but not at the places I'm sure most people would have. Treebeard is my favourite character by far and when he steps out of Fangorn and see's the chopped down and burnt remains of his friends I start welling up. . .and when the final parts of Isengard Unleashed kicks in, I'm a crying mess.

'There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of men for this treachery.'

'Hroom, hm, come, my friends. The Ents are going to war. It is likely that we go to our doom. The last march of the Ents.'

I remember reading a lot about people complaining about someone named bombadil and why did he take him out. Who was he?

Tom Bombadil is a protector of the forest who helped the Hobbits in their journey a couple of times. He is a really endearing character. He was always singing and appearing in random places. He is incredibly powerful (inside the limits he set himself).

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Wait so what were the biggest offenders in the movie changing stuff from the book?

I remember reading a lot about people complaining about someone named bombadil and why did he take him out. Who was he?

And i know that the ghost army wasn't suppose to just win the whole war like they did in the movie but it was Man coming together to defeat evil which is such a better feeling reading that because it makes so much more sense then some favor owed by ghost army.

Tom Bombadil is a bit of an enigma. Tolkien never really outright explained who or what he was supposed to be, the closest he ever came to giving an explanation was a quote about Bombadil being sort of the manifestation of the spirit of nature of rural England, so to say. He's basically a nature spirit that helps the hobbits on their journey, but he doesn't play any major part in the overarching plot, so Jackson dropped him from the movie.

There are a bunch of other changes too, like Saruman's death, and the removal of the Scouring of the Shire (I can see why this was removed though, as it would've made an already long movie even longer).

Like I said, some bad character designs. Boromir the viking and Aruman the red also come to mind. But that doesn't make it a terrible movie in my opinion.

And it's not like Peter Jackson got all the characters right. Legolas shouldn't be blonde, Aragorn shouldn't have a beard, most of the leading Hobbits aren't chubby enough.

Oh God, I'd forgotten about the movie using Saruman and Aruman interchangeably. I guess Bakshi did it because he thought people would confuse Saruman and Sauron. Overall I thought the movie was awful, and the cartoons based on the Hobbit and Return of the King weren't all that much better.

As for the Jackson movies, they definitely aren't perfect, but they're leagues ahead of Bakshi's adaption.

 

[LCfiner]

the opening of the 1978 movie is just so awful and poorly executed. it goes through the same paces as the Jackson movie but the timing and live action silhouette crap is awful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohw78b1TTFY

just look at this...

 

[Edmond Dantès]

A couple of points to add to the great explanations above:

1. The exiled Noldor Elves would not be returning to Valinor itself but an island just off the coast of Valinor called Tol Eressëa.

2. Melkor was executed by Mandos after his utter defeat at the hands of Eonwe and the Vanyar (the highest of all the Elves) host. Meaning his physical embodiment was taken outside the Halls of Ilmarin situated on the mountain of Taniquetil and slaughtered, then his spirit which still very potent especially in comparison to Sauron after the destruction of the One ring, was cast out into the void (the equivalent of deep space). Tolkien dropped the idea of the Dagor Dagorath (the final war) where a rejuvenated Melkor returns to wage war on Arda, only to be finally killed by Túrin Turambar.

3. The Balrog's were fire spirits corrupted by Melkor in a similar vein to Sauron's corruption, but not all the fire spirits gave into Melkor's influence. Arien (who eventually became the vessel of the Sun) fought Melkor off after he tried to rape her in a cosmic, spirits colliding kind of way, rather than what we perceive as rape. Her gaze was so firey that not even the 'One who arises in might' could withstand her. (Although, his spirit was diminished somewhat, but not to the extent it would be). The third stated case of lust and rejection for Melkor, the others been; the rejection by Varda (Queen of the Valar and Manwe's wife) and Luthien to an extent after she fools him and aids Beren in stealing a Silmaril from his iron crown.

 

[jaxword]

You've never had, and never will have, a girlfriend.

I find it interesting that people are using a 10 year old movie to (casually) mention they had a girlfriend (casually mentioned) while watching the movie. You know, just in case you were wondering.

 

[DrForester]

Finished up my yearly marathon. Still great stuff. CGI is starting to show it's age, but it still holds up well enough. The epic scope of things is just amazing, and I hope we get a film that comes close again someday.






As a side note, and question....

On the extended editions, is there any pattern to the cast order in the credits where the put up the portraits? Always kind of bugged me. Not by importance, alphabetical, or in order of appearance... Just seems totally random.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

I find it interesting that people are using a 10 year old movie to (casually) mention they had a girlfriend (casually mentioned) while watching the movie. You know, just in case you were wondering.

Why the fuck would someone brag about having a girlfriend ten years ago? FOTR picked up an unexpectedly large casual female audience. Hence, the anecdotes. Don't be a dick.

Annoying MY GIRLFRIEND posts are stuff like "My girlfriend saw me playing Skyrim and asked if" etc.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Why the fuck would someone brag about having a girlfriend ten years ago? FOTR picked up an unexpectedly large casual female audience. Hence, the anecdotes. Don't be a dick.

Annoying MY GIRLFRIEND posts are stuff like "My girlfriend saw me playing Skyrim and asked if" etc.

My girlfriend saw me post on GAF and asked me what kind of forum it was

Spoiler

GAF is my girlfriend

 

[hayguyz]

I didn't realize there was so many little kids on GAF.

"I was 10 years old when this came out" "I saw this in high school"

 

[Atruvius]

I didn't realize there was so many little kids on GAF.

"I was 10 years old when this came out" "I saw this in high school"

I saw it when I was 8.

Because of this thread I started reading the books again. I'm around page 80 and this so good. Really gives me an adventuring feel.

 

[Chairman Yang]

The movies are so good that they make the books unnecessary, in my opinion. One of the few cases where "the book was better!" doesn't apply.

 

[LCfiner]

The movies are so good that they make the books unnecessary, in my opinion. One of the few cases where "the book was better!" doesn't apply.

You're gonna piss off a lot of people with that statement but, well, I gotta agree. Well, to an extent. I don't think the books are unnecessary, but I do think the movies are better. the books dragged on very long in a lot of sections and I lost my will to keep reading (I eventually forced myself to do it)

 

[Combichristoffersen]

The movies are so good that they make the books unnecessary, in my opinion. One of the few cases where "the book was better!" doesn't apply.

I don't really agree, since I think the book is still better than the movies, but the movies are definitely a very good substitute for the book. Which also goes for Coppola's Dracula adaption, which is so much better than Stoker's slow, plodding and boring book.

 

[Xal-Shoota]

God. I need to watch these again over break.
I remember we saw the Fellowship together as a class in middle school. I don't even remember how the hell it pertained to school, because we sure weren't reading it in english class or anything.

Either way, everyone had a blast, and I was completely floored. Amazing world, really cool CG scenes (the flood scene! Balrog, etc.), and a powerful story. I saw the rest day 1 in theatres as they were released, and I must have scene Fellowship like 6 times by now.

 

[Dartastic]

Just bought the extended edition on Blu-Ray. HYPE. Funny story, I actually met George RR Martin at Fellowship of the Ring. He was wearing a sweater with his initials stitched into it and a direwolf on it. I asked him if he was in fact who I thought he was, and sure enough... I complimented him on his book and went on my way. Hah.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

The movies are so good that they make the books unnecessary, in my opinion. One of the few cases where "the book was better!" doesn't apply.

I'd say this is definitely definitely definitely not the case, but that the films also convey the spirit of the books exceedingly well to those who might never be inclined to pick them up.

The books are far, far richer, though. If you enjoyed the sense of history prevalent in the films more than the action or plot itself, then the books are a necessity.

 

[Big Chungus]

Watched all three extended versions this summer, almost passed out during TTT but made it through. RotK is so good.

 

[Hot Coldman]

You'll know you're actually old when these kinds of stories stop shocking you. "Resident Evil is 30 years old? Eh, whatever.... wait, SHIT "