Greatest movie of all time? Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus".
I haven't read the book nor have I seen the movie, but I did "hear" once about a film called "Mistress of the Rings".
After "hearing" about some of the scenes in that one, I'm avoiding anything with the name "rings" in it.
My only real effects "beef" was with the height of the hobbits. In some of the "helicopter" shots, the Hobbits looked less than 3.5 feet tall but in the "closer" scenes, they only seemed a foot or 2 shorter than their elf or human counterparts (humans being 6' and elves being even taller). That's the only effect that stuck out as being "odd"... Can't wait for the DVD!
Saw it last night with my wife, 6 y/o and 13 y/o daughters, neither of whom had read the books.
We all LOVED it, though my 6 year old had her jacket over her face more than a couple of times.
It is amazing, and when I left the movie, it occurred to me that reading the book, the emotional point of the scenes sometimes gets lost in the details.
Made me think other movies like "Star Wars" were emotionally shallow.
After reading Jackson’s biography, I would also would say rather surprisingly, this is HIS FIRST PROJECT of any note!
We just loved the level of detail. The cinematographers and special effects crew will get Oscars even if no-one else does. The scenes in the bowels of Isengard were really something, as was the Moria sequence. I'd have loved to see Tom Bombadil and the barrows, but the story does not really suffer from their absence. I don;t really object to Arwen's expanded role either.
The best of the actors was Sean Bean as Boromir-- utterly believable. I didn't care much for the guy who played Sam Gamgee, but to be fair, some of his dialogue in the book is rather hokey too.
Can't wait for the director's cut DVD version of all three flicks.
-ccm
I do think though that it is absurd that we have to wait a year for the next one, to continue the story. Too long a time. Six months maybe, but a year??
The prologue was so well done, I believe anyone who has not read the books will get a good sense of the 'back story'. Hobbiton was wonderful, just the right pastoral look, and I believe Elijah Wood was WONDERFUL as Frodo as was Sean Astin as Sam Gamgee. I was concerned about how he would sound, but he was great and his 'Mr. Frodo' seemed so natural for him to say! I loved Merry and Pippin! They were comic relief in the book as well, so the cutting up on screen wasn't unexpected. But they sure came through when needed. Ian Holm was great as Bilbo, but he's just a great actor anyway! I loved Aragorn and Arwen, and I had no problem with the beefing up of her part. All I can say about the flood at the ford is WHOA!
Ian McKellan was outstanding as Gandalf. His eyes are so very expressive, and just a few muscle twitches in his face speak VOLUMES! But I must say, my favorite was Sean Bean as Boromir. He is so conflicted all throught the movie, and his 'redemption' at the end found me with tears streaming down my face. Sir SuziQ laughed when it was over saying he'd seen more kssing, hugging and crying by men in the last 5 minutes than he'd EVER seen in a movie!We went out to eat afterwards and my eyes must have been so swollen! I got fahklempt several times during the movie.
My daughter and I plan to go see it again in the next couple of weeks. Our youngest son wasn't too bowled over by it, so he and Sir SuziQ are going see Jimmy Neutron next week instead. I am enjoying listening to the soundtrack, and keep trying to remember what was happening when I hear the music. My favorites are "The Bridge at Khazad Dum' and "In Dreams" sung by the boy at the very end. I was surprised at first because the Enya song came on just as the credits began rolling and I thought they weren't going to do the the other one, but "In Dreams" camees just after and went almost to the end of the credits as was more fitting anyway. As you can tell, the girls loved it; even our two college guys liked it a lot! It was WELL WORTH the wait!
I'll need to sleep on it, and see it again, before I can accurately describe my reactions. Its certainly the best movie experience I've ever had. What's odd is that even though I had read all the reviews and such, I was completely unprepared for the sheer magnitude of the movie. It sneaks up on you. The emotional depth of the movie is such that by the end we were completely exhausted and wired as well.
Also, I had heard so many positive comments about the Nazgul and the Moria sequence that these parts, while wonderful, didn't impress me nearly as much as other sequences. I agree that its the less acclaimed performances - Galadriel, Gimli, Frodo, Aragorn - that left a huge impression simply because they were so much better than I expected after reading reviews. Simply put, there was not a single poor performance in the movie.
A few more random musings:
Sauron is terrifying, although the first scene of the eye, when Gandalf tries to pick up the ring, I didn't realize it was an eye.
Rosie Cotton is very fetching. How can anyone think Sam is gay? The scene with Frodo and Sam in the boat has such emotional truth, such humanity. I don't think I've seen a more touching moment in film.
I think Jackson did a wonderful job with the movie as an interpretation of the book, understanding the limitations and strengths of film as a medium. Since he couldn't spend time on the long "strategy sessions" - the Council of Elrond, the decision to go through Moria - or the "respites" - the time in the wilderness with Strider, finding the troll statues, the Fellowship's first journey south, Lothlorien, the days on Anduin - he compresses the story but recognizes, and plays to, the fact that this will cause the feeling of "fleeing from danger to greater danger" to come forward. The movie maintains an incredible sense of the precariousness of the quest that Jackson plays for all its worth, the utter hopelessness of the journey and the constant threat adds to the film greatly.
I would have thought that if you didn't know the books you'd miss SO MUCH, but my wife seemed to have gotten almost everything. The backstory of the kingship of Gondor, who Boromir's father was, what the Uruk Hai were, and so on. One part I wished had been included was more background on Balin's expedition to Moria. It would add much to Gimli's scene at his tomb.
I think the Balrog was perfect. The whip!
I think that the "crumbling stairs" scene felt misplaced.
I was SO HAPPY they included the eagle! But the butterfly was weird.
It ripped my heart out to see all those beautiful trees of Isengard ripped down.
The Nazgul didn't seem powerful enough, although I always had trouble with the Weathertop scene in the book as well and Aragorn's ability to drive them off. I wish they would have included a shot of Frodo in "ring consciousness" seeing Aragorn come up with the torch, looking like a great king. Where did he get the torches when Frodo had extinguished the fire? The robes catching on fire seemed a little cheesy.
I thought all the Arwen scenes were great, even the "she elf" comment.
I understand people loving Gandalf, and Boromir, and Bilbo, and Sam. But I think Frodo really carried the film and pulled off an incredibly difficult task, making you sympathize with the depth of the challenge facing him.
I also think the Galadriel scene "worked", strange and unexpected as it was. I don't think Sam's absence mattered since her opinion of him was hinted at in her introductory comments.
I'll post on this separately sometime, but I think that Jackson executed a VERY Christian conception of the nature of evil. Evil has a kind of wicked vitality at one level, best exemplified in the Uruk Hai, that can only be maintained through the kind of "stretching" that happens to the Nazgul and Gollum. My wife said the chilling thing about the Uruk Hai is that despite their evilness they exuded a kind of animal sexuality. Like taking the winter's worth of wood and throwing it on a bonfire all at once. The one piece that ran counter to this was the change in the Saruman plot line. It would have been nice to see him still as the symbol of modernity that believes it is possible to compromise with evil, to use it devices - orcs and even the Ring - against it. Since they made him a declared ally of Sauron instead that can't add this layer. Oh well.
2 other nice Christian allusions - Gandalf crossing his staff and sword on the bridge, and especially (very noticable to an Orthodox Christian!) Aragorn's blessing that is VERY reminiscent of the making of the sign of the cross. He does it head to lips, but it looks just like he's going to go head to heart, and the Orthodox and Catholics would finish it shoulder to shoulder. The prayerfulness of his countenance the two times he does it also very reminiscent of the demeanor of Christians when crossing themselves.
Poor Boromir! Those arrows must have hurt like hell. What a perfect death scene. I also liked the added scene with Aragorn and Frodo, since it gives Jackson the chance to visually demonstrate that Aragorn is a greater man than Boromir in that he is able to resist the Ring when Boromir could not.
For the most part, I thought the sound and score complimented the movie well. However, Boromir's horn... Yuck.
Loved that they included so many small but important moments that happen off-stage in the book. Gollum in Mordor, Gandalf in the library of Minas Tirith, Saruman's palantir. Great touches all. Can't wait for the Two Towers.
NOW I understand what a Freeper meant when they said "the Ring is a character." It would have been so easy to just cast the ring as the excuse for the quest, and forget about it. Kudos to Jackson for getting this part exactly right, and not coming right out and saying that the traitor amongst the Fellowship isn't Boromir, or one of the 9 at all. It is the Ring. Again, a VERY Christian conception of evil - the corruption of sin close to the heart of even those most dedicated to good.
Hope you all enjoy it over and over, and I look forward to many future LOTR discussions.
The Road goes ever on and on...
I'm really glad to hear that the DVD will have an hour of extra footage. Maybe Jackson can sneak in all those little scenes that although they may not be necessary for the narrative still add a lot of flavor to the story. Namely more time in Lothlorien, the presentation of the weapons to the fellowship, more time wandering through the halls of Moria etc.
I loved the casting, John Rhys-Davies as Gimli is freakin' brilliant(though the script shortchanged his character). I knew the lack of a normal Hollywood ending was going to bother some people but maybe that lack of closure they feel will result in anticipation for the next installment. Can't wait to see more Gollum and can't wait to see the Ents marching on Isengard!
I guess the biggest compliment I can give the movie is that it has inspired me to reread LOTR for the first time in 15 years.
On a funny note: During that one scene where they are walking single file over a rocky hilltop the words from that stupid Burger King commercial popped into my head "They're not just to behold, they're to be held!" and I had to stifle a guffaw.
I didn't see any poor special effects. None. The balrog did not meet my expectations, however. I expected to be frightened.
That's the problem, though: it is very difficult for any special effect to live up to the subconscious fears built up in your memory from reading the actual text. Tolkien doesn't tell you a lot about what a Balrog looks like; the ambiguity is more frightening than seeing the actual thing.
To be really frightened, I would have to feel the blast of heat from the Balrog on my face, and feel the earth shake beneath my feet as it approached! The actor playing Gandalf made the scene work, though, by conveying with his face that he knows what is coming, and that even he, a powerful wizard, is afraid. It was definitely a case of good acting, and not just special effects, making the scene work.
As it was, I felt that Weta did an excellent job of rendering a Balrog: I believe the wings were there, but understated. Weta interpreted the cloud of darkness around the Balrog as a kind of ash- or soot- cloud which covers and obscures the Balrog, except when the Balrog bursts into flame. I especially liked their rendering of the Balrog's firey sword and firey whip.
I really liked the part where the Balrog is falling, Gandalf is turning away thinking he has triumphed, and we see the flaming whip from below in the darkness, slowly turning and curling around and about to snap and rise up.....it was perfect; even knowing what was about to happen, it felt perfect.
The scene right after this was perfect too, emotionally it felt true to how I remember when first reading that scene in the books (I'll try not to say any more, assuming there are some here planning on seeing the movie who have not read the books and do not know what happens on the bridge with the Balrog).
I have to say, as a lifelong LOTR reader and fan, I enjoyed the movie much more on the second viewing. On the first viewing, I was too distracted because I was noticing all of the changes which Peter Jackson had made. On second viewing, I could ignore this and just enjoy the movie as is. I expect it will get even better for me on the third viewing. Can't wait to see the Two Towers in December 2002!