LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[John Doran]

i did my trilogy at the theater when ROTK was released. the best part for me was smuggling in some hooch between TTT:EE and ROTK, and then drinking it as i watched PJ's lighthouse sauron disembowel what little love for the films he had left me...

sorry i don't have anything more positive to say...my copy of TTT:EE is still unwrapped among my DVD's.

 

[Tim Glover]

Cool stories fellas. ....John, get help.

 

[Simon Massey]

I turned the credits off immediately. My intention was to get as close as possible to watching the films as one whole film to see how they gelled together as a whole.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

the best part for me was smuggling in some hooch between TTT:EE and ROTK, and then drinking it as i watched PJ's lighthouse sauron disembowel what little love for the films he had left me...

Maybe drinking and movie-ing are a bad idea for you.

 

[John Doran]

Maybe drinking and movie-ing are a bad idea for you.

you may be right...but then so is fran-walshing and movie-ing, it would seem.
at least the booze kept me in my seat instead of walking out of the theater...

 

[Holadem]

John, you did never did expand on the reasons you loathed ROTK so much.

--

H

 

[Chuck Mayer]

H,
john was pretty verbose on the subject in the ROTK thread While I liked ROTK much more than he did, he raised valid points. I regret missing Trilogy Tuesday, but I could not go with a 9 month pregnant wife at home and moving the next week.
One of my larger cinematic regrets :frowning:
Oh well,
Chuck

 

[Holadem]

Thanks Chuck, I'll have to look it up.

I do regret a tiny little bit not going to trilogy tuesday. I just didn't want to go into ROTK exhausted. But after the marathon of a couple of months ago, I realize it wouldn't have been that bad.

--

H

 

[Cory S.]

Adding to the conversation, I wish Jackson would go back and take a hard, hard look at The Two Towers and Return of the King and re-edit those...especially the Two Towers.
For me, The Fellowship Extended is the masterpiece of the trilogy and the absolute closest to the feel of Tolkien's book. I'm absolutely no purist but there's an elegance in The Fellowship Extended that the other two films are inconsistent with.
I think, in it's extended form, Jackson could make The Two Towers the shortest of the Trilogy. That, in essence, would help King out a lot. Return of the King is just too long in it's Extended form and yet, doesn't work totally for me in its Theatrical form either. Both of those films would have to be a mixture of both edits for them to reach the heights of The Fellowship Extended.
I think it's all there is Jackson would go back and make the neccessary cuts to both of those films. King just works better than Towers.
Even with that, my marathon with the Extended Versions was fun. It wasn't as tiring as I thought it would be but I did have a hard, hard time getting through Towers. King does bring it home but I felt Jackson could've pulled back on the emotional moments he's trying to make genuine.
Still, you gotta give credit where credit is due, this Trilogy was a massive undertaking and Jackson did great with it. But with The Fellowship of the Ring, you can just feel that Jackson was in the zone. In the latter two, for me, you can feel the fatigue a bit.
Still, I go back and forth on which Trilogy I prefer more, Matrix and Rings. Star Wars doesn't count because I'll choose those over all of them any day of the week.

 

[John Doran]

John, you did never did expand on the reasons you loathed ROTK so much.
--
H

h - here's the link to my post in the ROTK thread, for whatever it's worth: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...86#post1891286

 

[Holadem]

Thanks much John! I must say I mostly agree with you, but just rolled with the punches I guess. The concrete realization of so many abstract and subtle concepts bothered/s the hell out of me as well, but obviously not enough to drive me away from the films.

I do find it strange that it only hit you with the 3rd flick.

--

H

 

[Cory S.]

Holadem,
John's problems hit me in the middle of the second film but it's much worse there for me.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

at least the booze kept me in my seat instead of walking out of the theater...

You must have left the theater with your legs crossed - a bio break must have been needed badly and may have affected your mood.

 

[John Doran]

I do find it strange that it only hit you with the 3rd flick.
--
H

yeah, i dunno - it sort of hit me after TTT, as well (as i noted, i still haven't unwrapped my copy of TTT:EE), but i guess it just seemed to get much worse in ROTK. especially after watching them all one after another, you know?

 

[BrettisMckinney]

I just bought the fellowhip complete recordings and it totally brought back some great memories. Seems like soo long ago that i was waiting for fellowship to open at the cinema. Then it was non-stop lotr action from there. Posting here, checking theonering.net constantly, reading the books etc. My god it was a whole seperate life haha.

Going back to the films I've realised they arent perfect, and I know people have certain issues them, but overall I smile just thinking about them. Nothing will ever change that.

I've been trying to convince my girlfriend to watch them...she has been extremely stubborn and wont watch it. She loves Harry Potter and Narnia and I cant imagine any movie lover not atleast seeing LOTR once. She keeps saying, oh one weekend when we have nothing on we'll watch them. Well i've never been busier!

If it takes a while to get to them hopefully they are out on HD-DVD as that would be one hell of a way to see it for the first time!

 

[Tim Glover]

I've been trying to convince my girlfriend to watch them...she has been extremely stubborn and wont watch it. She loves Harry Potter and Narnia and I cant imagine any movie lover not atleast seeing LOTR once. She keeps saying, oh one weekend when we have nothing on we'll watch them. Well i've never been busier!
If it takes a while to get to them hopefully they are out on HD-DVD as that would be one hell of a way to see it for the first time!

Are there such people...

......
Brettis, yes a HD-DVD version will be GREAT, but the EE dvds will look great as well. This is your chance my friend to show her the way. If she won't see it, ditch her ...Just kidding

 

[Chuck Mayer]

My wife was 9 months pregnant on Trilogy Tuesday, so I went to work and then to a midnight ROTK show. I regretted the decision, even though it wasn't really a decision I had
But as a huge lover of the films...it still stung not being able to experience the trilogy with like-minded fans.
So today was the day. My wife and I both had the day off, got someone to watch our son until this evening, and went full bore for twelve hours (EE's, minimal breaks). I've never watched anything for that long, so I wasn't sure how it would go.
FOTR was the toughest...since I'd seen the EE about 8 times, including once with my wife in the last few months. I'd also seen the Regular Edition of FOTR the most of the three. So, although it's my favorite, it held the least number of surprises. But we still really enjoyed it. But it's the slowest, and I kept thinking how many more hours I'd be in front of the TV. But the Moria sequence is still gold, and I concentrated on the lovely Balrog design and execution.
TTT is my wife's favorite, and I'd only seen the entire EE once...the day it was released. She'd never seen the EE. It was a lot more pleasant the second time...I wasn't nearly so critical today It seemed a lot fresher, though more directorial gaffes were made. I still love Helm's Deep...the best action in the trilogy. My favorite effects scene of all time is in this film...Gollum pulling Frodo out of the Dead Marshes. Still as perfect as I've ever seen CG. TTT has grown on me a lot since it's release.
I'd only seen the EE of ROTK once...the Sunday before it's official release. Same comments as TTT, except this is the film with the biggest gaffes in my opinion. Some of it seems tonally inconsistent, and the constant Gimli jokes got wearisome. The film itself is a monster...4+ hours. It just keeps going and going, but it's still very solid storytelling throughout. Except for the utterly 1-D Denethor. The drama of that situation was completely lost in the absolute amateur handling of the family dynamic. One of the most poorly realized characters I've ever seen, and easily the weakest character in the trilogy. The best-lloking film in the trilogy, though.
I still think Bean is one of the great strengths of the trilogy, even with his limited contribution. The score is utterly fantastic. When WETA nails the effects, they NAIL them. Still, the cup runeth over, and every now and then some weak shots got through. But not many. As I suspected, after 12 hours the ending(s) seemed rushed Should have been more there. But what is there really does work.
I'm really glad I made the time to do this...I wish my breaks could have been a half hour, but it was a very powerful and cohesive experience.
Highly recommended if you can manage the 12 hours...I wouldn't do it alone, though Well worth the investment.
Take care,
Chuck

 

[Tim Glover]

Great write up Chuck. Great.
I echo your sentiments on TTT. I've seen the EE more than you but it has grown in my fondness moreso than I thought. I was rather critical of the theatrical version. And Helms Deep is so good that in my humble opinion it hurt some of the effectiveness of ROTK. I know there are some grand sweeping moments in Return and some utterly great action as well. But I also think none reach the buildup nor the payoff that Helms Deep did.
when it begins to rain, and the orcs are doing their thing....I get goose bumps. It was pretty close to perfection for PJ and crew despite a few moments I would like to have edited out.
Ditto on Gimli.
The score is one for the ages and will probably never be duplicated. The score is a part of Middle Earth and forever will be.
Again, great story Chuck and cudos to your wife and you too for having the stamina to do this. . So, tell us what LOTR Trilogy goodies were devoured in the Mayer home today Lembass bread

 

[PattyFraser]

So, does anybody credit this story as a leak to something really in the planning stages?
http://www.moviehole.net/news/200609...he_hobbit.html
or is this just some more wishful thinking?

 

[Craig S]

I dunno, seems like rumor to me. I have no doubt New Line wants to do it, and PJ has indicated he wants to as well. If the legal issues were worked out (and Jackson signed up), however, I doubt New Line & MGM would waste any time doing a joint press release.
Also, there's this line:

If “The Hobbit” happens – and again, Jackson said it will feature most of the same cast from the previous movies, including Liv Tyler

Ummm, the only characters that appear in both stories are Bilbo (who almost assuredly will be recast a bit younger), Gandalf (Sir Ian has said he would happily return), Gollum (ditto on Serkis), and a very brief appearance by Elrond (again, no reason not to expect Hugo Weaving to be back). Arwen is not in "The Hobbit", so singling out Liv Tyler is suspect - although it's conceivable she could appear in a cameo role when Bilbo's party is in Rivendell (also, conceivable we could meet a young Aragorn there). Another possible cameo opportunity would be Orlando Bloom as Legolas during the sequence when Bilbo's party is imprisoned by the Woodland Elves.
I don't see how "most of the same cast" is going to return. So I put this in the "wishful thinking" category for now.