Posted on 12/20/2011 8:45:05 PM PST by TitansAFC
10 years... wow. I never thought the Hobbit Hole thread would turn out to make me some of the best friends I’ve ever had - or gain me a husband and a toddler.
I doubt we can find a way to get together to watch The Hobbit. Our lives have diverged a lot. But maybe we can all find a way to share that same excitement again.
Maybe :~) We’ll see what develops as we go... it’s more complicated to get everyone in one place now, we’ve got some here, some on facebook but not everyone... and to add even more choices we now run our own forum that might be able to have a hobbit area.
Let’s chat about it though, as we go... we do have a year to get ready, after all. :~)
The other favorite was that shot of Arwen in the twilight-blue robe as Elrond sent her to the Grey Havens, and when she commanded the river to rise against the Nazgul (a scene not in the book, but was great, anyway). All my favorite scenes involved the elves.
I’m excited about it. The trailer is great!
ping
Yep, it’s about time too. Twelve months and counting.
Actually, he said in one of his interviews that he left it out because he “did not like that part of the book”.
It had nothing to do with the length of the film, but with his political leanings.
“Frank Langella”
...who played Dracula in a movie that had that ‘love-making’ scene in it, very stylized and in its own way, breathtakingly beautiful. Worth looking up.
That’s what I think of every time I see his name or face. IIRC, you see mostly shadows.
That’s a lot like the scene in “The Year of Living Dangerously” in which Linda Hurd puts on the wayang puppet show. Another great scene.
OK. Back to Hobbits.
Thanks so much for posting this! You made my night. A terrific book is finally being made into the awesome movie it deserves to be! Woo hoo! (Says the Hobbit nerd! LOL!)
That Dracula movie was the best vampire movie I ever saw. I don’t think it was much of a hit, but Frank Langella was a better vampire than either Christopher Lee or Bela Lugosi. I’ll have to rent it and watch it again...
I've read it many times. It will give you much deeper insight into Middle Earth, the events of LotR, and will change how you view the characters.
A resource I found invaluable when reading the Silmarillion was Karen Fonstad's "Atlas of Middle Earth". It allowed me to visualize the major changes in the world that occur in the Silmarillion.
And yes, it does read like the Bible. Tolkien was a devout Catholic. Manwe is an analog of Christ and Varda is comparable to Mary the Queen of Heaven. Melkor is obviously Satan. On the other hand Tolkien's cosmology is gnostic. Eru Illuvatar is Demiurge, the Valar are Archons and the Maiar are Angels. Keep in mind that it is just fiction and use it to pique your curiousity in the real Bible.
Which is precisely why when Tolkien's publisher wouldn't print it and made him write the Hobbit and LotR instead. The Silmarillion was finally published by Christopher Tolkien after his father died.
Like you, I really can't imagine it making a successful movie franchise. The scale is too big, the stories too depressing and unsatisfying, the relationships too complex. It makes a better fireside tale than H'wood hit.
One thing that is little known about Tolkien is that he was part of a writer’s club called the Inklings. C.S. Lewis was also part of the club.
One of the things they would do is pick things to write about. In this case, Lewis choose to write a story in regards to time. I believe that C.S. Lewis had to write his story based on a place, his wardrobe.
That’s where Narnia and LOTR had their origins.
The version of the story that I have heard is that Lewis chose to write a space travel story and Tolkien chose to write a time travel story. Lewis’ novel, “Out of the Silent Planet” became the cornerstone of his Space Trilogy. Tolkien was dissatisfied with his work, “The Lost Road” and left it unfinished. It fell to Christopher Tolkien to publish the manuscript in “The History of Middle-Earth Vol. 5”. Even incomplete it is definitely worth reading.
When Gandalf rode down Denethor with Shadowfax, my heart sank. I don't know what part of movie-making magic says you have to 1) invent things and 2) ruin the characters to make a film appealing.
Flinging Aragorn over a cliff so he can have a "death and resurrection" scene—just like Gandalf—also cheapened both characters.
Bleah. Glad I have the books—so I know what "really" happened!
Benedict Cumberbatch is also good in “War Horse”. He should be a good Smaug!!
It really is fantastic...(no spoilers)
It was adapted from a children’s book, so there are a few things that are unrealistic, ie., the young boy in the story trains the horse to plow a field in about 30 seconds ( and being a horse-person I’d say at least a month would be more like it), but the depiction of the loyalty and determination horses are capable of is accurate.
It’s a very emotional film, but it truly is the best film I’ve seen in years. The rating is PG-13, and I’d say that is about right..the war scenes are not as graphic as they would have been in the hands of a less-skilled filmmaker, but they are still upsetting.
If you do decide to see it, keep in mind that the filming was closely monitored by the ASPCA, and no animals were harmed..the ASPCA gave the film an “Outstanding” rating, in terms of the care given during to the filming.
correction-it was the American Humane Association that did the monitoring—sorry!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.