Texas2step's Lord of the Rings Movie Experience

me | 12/22/01 | Texas2step

[BradyLS]

I think the Balrog was perfect. The whip!

The effect overall was thrilling, though the Balrog too me was too large and too much like a monster and not enough like the demon of might and power Tolkien seemed to describe.

I think that the "crumbling stairs" scene felt misplaced.

It felt odd to me, too, but, on the second viewing, it was a treat for folks that knew the books too well.

I was SO HAPPY they included the eagle! But the butterfly was weird.

Radagast the Brown wasn't in the movie to tell Gwaihir the Eagle to give news about the Nazgul to Gandalf and Saruman at Isenguard. Gandalf captured the moth and told it to fetch Gwaihir. A pretty deft substitution.

[Overtaxed]

--Ovrtaxt, not overtaxed!

Either way, we still pay too much! :)

[GretchenEE]

I saw "The Fellowship of the Ring" on Christmas Eve as planned and was very impressed. My only complaint was with the level of the volume -- the theater played it so loudly that I got a very bad migraine. (There were a lot of high-pitched, prolonged screeching scenes!) It's one of those movies you really want to see on the big screen but would love to have the volume control for. I did okay with the more frightful scenes, and reading about them ahead of time was helpful. Thanks for your reviews before I went.

I definitely want to see it again, but next time I think I will do so at home, where I can control the volume.

The part where Sam went out in the water after Frodo, and how Frodo reacted, really got to me. So much good stuff in the movie ... I heard lots of men clearing their throats at that part, and my companion saw lots of people wiping their eyes. Loved Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit Hole. Loved the insights into character. Great, great movie. But you've already pretty much said it all.

[RogueIsland]

Actually Gandalf gets his staff back when Saruman sells it on E-Bay in order to raise money for his evil and insidious plot.

I heard that some Everquest player outbid Gandalf on E-Bay, and that Sauron was subsequently banned from Verant's servers for item selling.

[Texas2step]

My only complaint was with the level of the volume -- the theater played it so loudly that I got a very bad migraine.

I don't have a problem so much with volume, but there were times when the score was louder than the dialog and I couldn't tell what the characters were saying.

I'm seeing it again today (13 hours!) and can't wait!

[GretchenEE]

I saw it for the second time on the 26th, and enjoyed it much more this time because I wasn't so overwhelmed by the visual effects, and could concentrate more on the story and the nuances. It is a WONDERFUL movie. We sat in the second to the last row in the theater, away from the speakers, which helped tremendously with the volume problem.

I wish I could figure out what Gandalph said as he was about to fall. Will get out the book and see if it was word for word.

You're right about the score overpowering the dialogue in some places.

[RedWing9]

I finally got to see it this past Friday, and you are spot on. I'm not sure you would have spoiled anything for me had I read past your warning last week. But I was, as you were, annoyed at the some of the little things (where was Sam at the mirror for example). It was beautifully epic. And just for a laugh, my stepbrother had the same reaction as your wife, "I can't believe there wasn't an ending"!

[Marianne]

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