I have also dreamt of seing the Dawnless Day for as long as I could remember.
It is too bad that PJ didn't go that route, but I am tempted to say the look and feel he chose for Pelennor is just as good. While Pelennor was not dark in the film, the ominous sight of the mountains of Mordor in the background and the darkness hovering above them was enough for me. Consider the shots where Denethor looks over the field.
The only way I could describe the look of Pelennor is "epic". Vague, I know.
I agree. As a film, it's brilliant, and I expect the EE to be even better. Yes, it's not completely faithful to the book, but this argument has been going on for two years. Are the first two Harry Potter films more faithful to the books? Yes. Are they inferior FILMS? Also yes. And as we've seen in this thread, some people are complaining that the end is TOO faithful to the book, so it seems Peter Jackson CANNOT "win" in this sense. He'll have to "settle" for Best Picture and over 1 billion bucks in worldwide ticket sales.
Peter Jackson has said in several interviews that he really doesn't like wizards as characters. And he especially doesn't like them to be all powerful, shooting lightning bolts from their fingertips and blasting people with "beams" of power.
So I assume he purposely downplayed Gandalf's powers, and his fight with Saruman was Jackson's "nod" to Gandalf's wizardly powers.
Gruson, I'm pretty sure we will see that scene added into the EE. It would leave a big hole if not considering the witch king says he would deal with the white wizard and it never comes to be.
By the way where can this footage be found? Is this trailer on TTT theatrical dvd?
Let me add I sure hope, as much as I despise the Academy of Motion Pictures and their yearly choices, that Peter Jackson is recognized in some grand way for his vision in the 'whole of the LOTR trilogy'. What this man has brought to the screen I cannot imagine a similar feat being duplicated for a long time to come. So often it is only after the artist passes that he/she gets the public recognition they so deserve. Let's hope Mr. Jackson is the exception.
Gruson, they weren't about to fight. This is what happened in the book. Note that the Black Captain was on horseback when he met Gandalf.
Sounds cool eh? Well, PJ for some reason forsook that for what's in the trailer instead, then decided to do away with it... most likely EE material. Would have been Sooooooooo great to see that exact same scene.
Regarding wizard powers, Gandalf almost never uses them in the books, either. If I recall correctly, that is. In fact, I would argue that PJ has used more magic...or at least "flashy" magic than in the books. I think some of us (self included) have been playing too much D&D to remember that magic doesn't have to be fireballs and lightening bolts!
Alright, i'm lazy and i'm not going to read through 30 pages of posts to see if anyone has mentioned this already.
Let's talk The Hobbit. After seeing ROTK twice already(and i'm sure a lot of you nuts have seen it much more than that) it is very clear both to the fans, and the money-hungry beancounters in hollywood that The Hobbit just HAS to be made. And only by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Howard Shore, WETA, etc. I understand there are some rights issues as of now(which i'm not even sure what they're about) but I WANT MORE!! I know the EE of ROTK is still on the horizon, but The Hobbit is a prequel to LOTR and Ian Holm & Ian McKellen aren't getting any younger. I have no idea how to go about it, but i'd sign my name to a petition to get this thing in motion. I only wish PJ could put aside "King Kong' for one last trip to Middle Earth first.
Watching the movie for the 3rd time last night, it just gets better every time I watch it. Different scenes rise up and grab me. Something that seems to get overlooked is the incredible acting jobs by the entire cast.
Ahhh, perhaps that's why you hated the movie. I remember I read parts of 2 Towers before going to see it opening night. And I credit that as part of the reason why I say it is my least favorite experience. When you are reading the book, then getting in the car to go see the movie, you're just driving into a big disappointment.
After seeing the 2 Towers I read ROTK, and I haven't picked up the book since. Don't get me wrong, I do remember quite a few things that aren't in the movie, but I wasn't anticipating everything to be in the movie, and about to cry foul when I didn't get exactly what I want. In fact, I don't even know what it is I wanted, but this movie is pretty damn close.
Re: The King hitting the spears: I also thought about him breaking something when he was hitting his sword against the wood. He was definintely using the sharper side of the blade, which at the very least would dull the blade. But like someone else here, I never gave it a 2nd thought.
Especially Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. I always tear up when Pippin has to leave Merry in Rohan. Aside from the beacon lighting, the scene that intercuts between Merry singing, Denethor eating, and Faramir leading his men to death is one of my favorites. I'm glad that didn't only use Merry and Pippin as comic-relief Hobbits
Again, power corrupts. Gandalf, Saruman and the other three wizards were sent to Middle-earth to rally the Free Peoples and contest Sauron. They were prohibited from matching power with power. Note Gandalf had no problem using everything he had to fight the Balrog, an entity with equal power, who, unlike as shown in the movie, was not known by Saruman nor explicitly controlled by Sauron. He also used his power to fight Saruman, once he realized he had became a traitor. Also, one could argue that his confrontation with the Witchking at the gate was to be a Wizardly showdown like no other, however averted by the arrival of the Rohirrim.
He could not go into Mordor swinging a huge magical staff and blowing up thousands of orcs with lightning, it was simply against his mandate.