Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Some Return of the King Related Musings
NERD ALERT!
NERD ALERT!
If you are not pro-Tolkien and/or don't care to hear about specific plot/story details from recently released blockbusters filmed in New Zealand, just back away from this post slowly, as I present...
10 long overdue thoughts on Return of the King:
1. First impressions: A strong capstone to the trilogy with as many strong moments as the other two put together. Still not certain whether I prefer the slightly darker and less resolved tone of TTT more or not. I suppose if I ever get the chance to watch them both in close succession, preferably with extended footage, I'll be able to make a better choice. Right now, I'm more inclined towards the latter based on my love of the Helm's Deep sequence and the Smeagol-Gollum dialogue in TTT.
2. Just to be clear though, anything with Gollum in this film...and I mean anything, from the beginning sequence (now with extra Deagol!) to the reflection sequence to the final struggles for the ring were handled masterfully. My friend in Building 66 (see links to right) suggests that the Andy Serkis was included in the opening merely to ensure his place on the Oscar nomination list for Best Supporting Actor. That may be true, but honestly, he deserves it regardless. Brilliant work!
3. The Paths/Army of the Dead was remarkably well integrated into the film. That part of the book always confused me. ("Where did all these dead folk come from?" I'd wonder. "And how did Aragorn get them to fight for his side? And what can a bunch of ghosts do to the minions of Sauron anyway?") Now I know. And knowing is half the battle. The other half is apparently employing some pretty freaky neon green wraiths to consume your enemies' souls!
4. Did anyone else think that the dialogue between Gandalf and Aragorn at the beginning of the film would have made more sense if Aragorn were the one doubting Frodo's survival and Gandalf was the mentor figure reassuring him, and not the other way around? I mean I can see how Gandalf, being reborn and all, might be somewhat confused or uncertain...but he's Gandalf! Compare Gandalf here to the Gandalf talking with Pippin about death later in the film. Very different tones!
5. Denethor...ah Denethor. Where to begin? As my Botticelli playing friends from college might recall, I've always held a little spot in my heart for everyone's favorite deranged Steward of Gondor. And while his pretension, insanity, and intensity were all spot on target, I have to confess this little piece of the film fell flat for me. Why? No motivation. Specifically, Denethor's poor judgment was heavily influenced, in the books at least, by the influence of Sauron through the use of a palantir. Yes, a palantir...that swirly magic 8 ball thing that Pippin was stupid enough to play with earlier in the film. From where I sit, it seems to me that Tolkien put that incident in for a reason, to explain the madness of Denethor. Do we get that here? Not as such, although it may be in the extended footage, so who knows. Denethor's character and motivation still suffered somewhat, but he still managed to contribute delightful slurping sounds during my favorite sequence of the whole film: Pippin's song. (Watch it and you'll understand what I mean...)
6. Another palantir related puzzle: When will hobbits learn not to play with shiny objects? Every time they do, you know that something bad is going to happen. "Pippin...stop staring at the magic orb. Stop it. Stop..." *ZAP* "damnit...
7. Shelob: Wow. My fear with Shelob was not that she would not look like a giant spider while standing still or posing for the cameras. WETA's too damn good to slip up on stuff like that. In the back of my head though, I was afraid that the fight between Shelob and Sam would come off more reminiscent of the giant monster movies of the 1950s. Or in a more modern, yet still flawed example, like the bugs in Starship Troopers. Neither was the case. Quick, threatening, deadly: what more could one want from a freaky giant spider?
8. The destruction of the One Ring was done perfectly. Elijah Wood's normally pained eyes turned evil just at the right time and Gollum's disappearance/reappearance at the exact right moment was handled effectively. And the finale confirmed what we already knew...that Samwise Gamgee is in many ways the true hero of the story and arguably has some of the strongest moral character of anyone we meet in Middle Earth.
9. The film had my favorite soundtrack, I think, of the trilogy, effectively integrating themes from the first two (Most notably the Rohan, Shire, and Mordor themes) and integrating them neatly with new ones, like my favorite, the Gondor theme that played in the trailers. I should really get my hands on the soundtrack before making any more snap judgments though...
10. And finally, a thought on the ending, or perhaps more accurately, the series of endigns that take place at Minas Tirith, Bag End, etc. (Hold your applause) Honestly, I feel the movie could not have ended more effectively any other way...with one possible exception. The Scouring of the Shire. Thematically, I really like the idea of the hobbits, having returned from teh wide world and realized the necessity of their involvement in the greater world, fighting to restore their now corrupted homeland. There's a wonderufl symmetry to it. Plus it would bring back Christopher "I knew Tolkien personally, so I know how to pronounce 'Mordor' damnit!" Lee and Brad "The People's Wacko!" Dourif, two of my favorite actors in the trilogy! Barring that though (and Jackson is apparently on recrod as saying he feels it to be extraneous), the current ending sequence is fine with me. Only gripe was with clueless audience members applauding at the wrong times.
All in all a wonderful cinematic experience, despite someone throwing the alarm right around the storming of the Black Gate. But that's another story.
Ok...now applaud.
NERD ALERT!
NERD ALERT!
If you are not pro-Tolkien and/or don't care to hear about specific plot/story details from recently released blockbusters filmed in New Zealand, just back away from this post slowly, as I present...
10 long overdue thoughts on Return of the King:
1. First impressions: A strong capstone to the trilogy with as many strong moments as the other two put together. Still not certain whether I prefer the slightly darker and less resolved tone of TTT more or not. I suppose if I ever get the chance to watch them both in close succession, preferably with extended footage, I'll be able to make a better choice. Right now, I'm more inclined towards the latter based on my love of the Helm's Deep sequence and the Smeagol-Gollum dialogue in TTT.
2. Just to be clear though, anything with Gollum in this film...and I mean anything, from the beginning sequence (now with extra Deagol!) to the reflection sequence to the final struggles for the ring were handled masterfully. My friend in Building 66 (see links to right) suggests that the Andy Serkis was included in the opening merely to ensure his place on the Oscar nomination list for Best Supporting Actor. That may be true, but honestly, he deserves it regardless. Brilliant work!
3. The Paths/Army of the Dead was remarkably well integrated into the film. That part of the book always confused me. ("Where did all these dead folk come from?" I'd wonder. "And how did Aragorn get them to fight for his side? And what can a bunch of ghosts do to the minions of Sauron anyway?") Now I know. And knowing is half the battle. The other half is apparently employing some pretty freaky neon green wraiths to consume your enemies' souls!
4. Did anyone else think that the dialogue between Gandalf and Aragorn at the beginning of the film would have made more sense if Aragorn were the one doubting Frodo's survival and Gandalf was the mentor figure reassuring him, and not the other way around? I mean I can see how Gandalf, being reborn and all, might be somewhat confused or uncertain...but he's Gandalf! Compare Gandalf here to the Gandalf talking with Pippin about death later in the film. Very different tones!
5. Denethor...ah Denethor. Where to begin? As my Botticelli playing friends from college might recall, I've always held a little spot in my heart for everyone's favorite deranged Steward of Gondor. And while his pretension, insanity, and intensity were all spot on target, I have to confess this little piece of the film fell flat for me. Why? No motivation. Specifically, Denethor's poor judgment was heavily influenced, in the books at least, by the influence of Sauron through the use of a palantir. Yes, a palantir...that swirly magic 8 ball thing that Pippin was stupid enough to play with earlier in the film. From where I sit, it seems to me that Tolkien put that incident in for a reason, to explain the madness of Denethor. Do we get that here? Not as such, although it may be in the extended footage, so who knows. Denethor's character and motivation still suffered somewhat, but he still managed to contribute delightful slurping sounds during my favorite sequence of the whole film: Pippin's song. (Watch it and you'll understand what I mean...)
6. Another palantir related puzzle: When will hobbits learn not to play with shiny objects? Every time they do, you know that something bad is going to happen. "Pippin...stop staring at the magic orb. Stop it. Stop..." *ZAP* "damnit...
7. Shelob: Wow. My fear with Shelob was not that she would not look like a giant spider while standing still or posing for the cameras. WETA's too damn good to slip up on stuff like that. In the back of my head though, I was afraid that the fight between Shelob and Sam would come off more reminiscent of the giant monster movies of the 1950s. Or in a more modern, yet still flawed example, like the bugs in Starship Troopers. Neither was the case. Quick, threatening, deadly: what more could one want from a freaky giant spider?
8. The destruction of the One Ring was done perfectly. Elijah Wood's normally pained eyes turned evil just at the right time and Gollum's disappearance/reappearance at the exact right moment was handled effectively. And the finale confirmed what we already knew...that Samwise Gamgee is in many ways the true hero of the story and arguably has some of the strongest moral character of anyone we meet in Middle Earth.
9. The film had my favorite soundtrack, I think, of the trilogy, effectively integrating themes from the first two (Most notably the Rohan, Shire, and Mordor themes) and integrating them neatly with new ones, like my favorite, the Gondor theme that played in the trailers. I should really get my hands on the soundtrack before making any more snap judgments though...
10. And finally, a thought on the ending, or perhaps more accurately, the series of endigns that take place at Minas Tirith, Bag End, etc. (Hold your applause) Honestly, I feel the movie could not have ended more effectively any other way...with one possible exception. The Scouring of the Shire. Thematically, I really like the idea of the hobbits, having returned from teh wide world and realized the necessity of their involvement in the greater world, fighting to restore their now corrupted homeland. There's a wonderufl symmetry to it. Plus it would bring back Christopher "I knew Tolkien personally, so I know how to pronounce 'Mordor' damnit!" Lee and Brad "The People's Wacko!" Dourif, two of my favorite actors in the trilogy! Barring that though (and Jackson is apparently on recrod as saying he feels it to be extraneous), the current ending sequence is fine with me. Only gripe was with clueless audience members applauding at the wrong times.
All in all a wonderful cinematic experience, despite someone throwing the alarm right around the storming of the Black Gate. But that's another story.
Ok...now applaud.
