'Lord' films run rings around the rest because of words

St Paul Pioneer Press / Chicago Tribune ^ | 12/12/02 | MICHAEL WILMINGTON

[ClearCase_guy]

Tolkien's service in the Boer War

Sigh. This writer states (correctly) that Tolkien was born in 1892, but also sees him as a Boer War veteran. Not bloody likely! In fact, Tolkien served in WWI and was present at the Somme. Much of the horror of Mordor can probably be traced to Trench Warfare and the devastation caused by modern war. Why bring in the Boer War? Note: Tolkien was born in South Africa, but left when he was 6.

[jwfiv]

Thanks for clarifying that, re: Tolkien and the Boer War...I'm still sleepy, but even so, I knew something was askew with the article at that point.

Sure looking forward to the Two Towers.

[JenB]

(Liv Tyler's character Arwen comes not from the story but a footnote, obviously a ravishing one.)

Not entirely accurate, she was in the books. It was the extended romance bits that were based on the appendices.

Ring ping!

[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

[MarkL]

I'm going to see this movie when it comes out, and I have no doubt that I'll love it, but I've been seriously thinking about NOT seeing anything, including these movies) that have Vigo Mortenson (sp?) in it...

One night, a few weeks ago, I couldn't sleep, and I was channel surfing, and I came upon an interview with Peter Jackson. It turns out that it was the Charlie Rose show on PBS, and I decided to watch it. Elija Wood, Jackson, and Vigo Mortenson were on, and Vigo was wearing a tee shirt under a sport coat that he had written "No More Blood For Oil." That's something that I could tolerate, but when Rose asked Vigo about the shirt, he started going off on how evil the US foreign policies are, and how if any comparison of "The War on Terror" is made to Lord of the Rings, it's that the US is actaully the evil ones, comparing the US to Sauraman.

I will never see him in another film. Except the Two Towers and Return of the King ... Darn it!

Mark

[Z in Oregon]

"The Lord of the Rings," despite a notable lack of enthusiasm from Tolkien's colleagues in university literature departments, long has topped reader polls for the 20th Century's best novel.

This has always amazed me. I would suggest that Tolkien's moral absolutes turn off ,orally relativistic English Departments.

[livius]

Yeah, that was pretty awful. But you have to remember that all actors are essentially brain-dead. They are people who have good memories and a lot of emotional sensibility. Political thought is, in general, beyond them. In fact, prior to the left-wing media elevation of flaky actors in the 1970s (think Hanoi Jane), people would have burst out laughing if you put "actor" and "thought" together in the same sentence.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think the relative snub from high brow literature circles has less to do with good and evil and more to do with an unwillingness to put Fantasy on the same par with "real human drama". As very real as the human drama in LoTR is, there are people who cannot consider it to be "real" literature because it is a make-believe world.

Most stories are good versus evil at some level. Even morally relativistic people don't look at a story and say "this story has too much of a moral goodness in it". I don't think people don't think that way, do you?

[austinTparty]

The title is wrong/misleading, it's not because of the words. The richness of the film is in the story, the wealth of characters, the conflict, the heroic epic-ness of it all. Really, what makes it particularly compelling to us today is that the theme is (sadly) timeless: the struggle of good over evil, and the sacrifices that are required and the hardship that must be endured for victory.

[Valin]

In fact, prior to the left-wing media elevation of flaky actors in the 1970s (think Hanoi Jane),

Actually you could go back even farther think HUAC in the 50s.

[Dante3]

My husband and I thought the first "Lord of the Rings" should have won the Oscar. We are looking forward to seeing the second. Just wondering how the second compares to the first one which we thought was one of the best films ever made.

[Dante3]

What nationality is Vigo? Is he living in the US?

[VOA]

'Lord' films run rings around the rest because of words

And the images and scenery.

This very morning, Peter Greenberg (aka, The Travel Detective on The Today Show)
had the Prime Minister of New Zealand on his radio show here in Los Angeles.

Of course the P.M. talked up tourism to New Zealand mostly, but Greenberg said he had
already seen the next film...and that the images/special effects in the
last hour of the film simply blew him away.

Oh, and Greenburg has a special on New Zealand tourism on The Travel Channel tomorrow
(Sunday) night.

[VOA]

I would suggest that Tolkien's moral absolutes turn off ,orally relativistic English Departments.

No kidding.
I suspect their praise for Tolkien and his work could be turned off by mentioning that
(IIRC) Tolkien was reticent to publish his work.
Until a colleague by the name of C.S. Lewis told him to basically "get on with it".

[Valin]

Here you go.

Since his debut as a young Amish Farmer in Peter Weir's Witness, Viggo Mortensen's career has been marked by a steady string of well-rounded performances. Critics have continually recognized his work in over thirty movies, including such diverse projects as Jane Campion's Portrait of a Lady, Sean Penn's Indian Runner, Brian DePalma's Carlito's Way, Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane and Tony Goldwyn's A Walk on the Moon. Mortensen's latest work is playing Strider/Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The first film in the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, has generated not only box office receipts, but critical acclaim as well.

Born in New York to a Danish father and an American mother, Mortensen spent the early part of his childhood in Manhattan. His family traveled a great deal and he spent several years living in Venezuela, Argentina, and Denmark. He began acting in New York, studying with Warren Robertson. He appeared in several plays and movies, and eventually moved to Los Angeles, where his performance in "Bent" at the Coast Playhouse earned him a Drama-logue Critic's Award. Mortensen is also an accomplished poet, photographer, and painter. He is currently working on his third book of poetry, and his latest showing of new photographs and paintings was during March 2002 at Track 16 Gallery in Los Angeles, as well as at the Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art in Athens. His most recent showing opened on July 11, 2002, at the Robert Mann Gallery in New York.

Mortensen is currently starring in Hidalgo for Disney, which is due for release July, 2003.

[Dante3]

Thanks!

[shaggy eel]

,,, thanx for that VOA. Klark returns to Wellington this morning after checking in with Kofi Annan at the UN in New York. She's a faithful UN servant.

She spends a significant amount of time outside New Zealand. Here's a picture of where she should be now she's got the job she wants so desperately.

[shaggy eel]

,,, here ya go.

[AnAmericanMother]

Boer War? Only if he fought as a child of 10 (max) . . . it was over in 1902.

It's howlers like this that make me mistrust an entire article.