The Lord of the Rings trilogy

[DocDrako]

...In one of his letters, Tolkien said Sam was the "chief hero" of the trilogy...

I always thought so. I'm glad Tolkien has verified this for me (through your post of course).

[Nostalgiabuff]

i usually watch them in the afternoon so as not to fall asleep. 4 hours is a long stretch. went by fast the first time I saw them though as I was so excited, but after having seen them all many times, i usually take a break. the extended versions on DVD are 2 discs so once the first disc ends it is break time, sometimes until the next day

[jds1911a1]

watching on TV with editing and commerical interuption is no fun. play the DVD or bluray's with surround sound and sit down and enjoy the ride. long yes, but well worth the time investment. the battle sequences in ROTK alone are worth sitting through a 4 hour movie.

Actually I saw them on Encore action so no commercials, and i watched them on separate days to keep it from going too long and putting me to sleep. This is not to say they were overly boring I just can't sit that long and not go to sleep - I haven't seen an entire Nascar race start to finish in years.

4 hours is just too long

[Nostalgiabuff]

watching on TV with editing and commerical interuption is no fun. play the DVD or bluray's with surround sound and sit down and enjoy the ride. long yes, but well worth the time investment. the battle sequences in ROTK alone are worth sitting through a 4 hour movie.

[jds1911a1]

It aired so much over the last 2 weeks I'v efinally seen two towers and return of the king. decent but MAN is that long

[Figuremod73]

Heres a fan film that I came across thats scheduled to be finished next year for The Silmarillion. Its always hard to tell with these types of things if they will get finished or not.

The stories are so complex that more than likely they will have to take alot of "artistic license" with the complicated text just to do it. The grandier of the Valar and Maiar wont be easy to capture anyways but I guess It would still give people a idea of the basic plot premise without having to struggle with the text. Centering it around Melkor might be the best approach.

It would be nice if Jackson did this. The War of the Jewels would be a cinematic masterpiece. I dont think the rights to the books can even be attained by the Tokein estate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdBRVruxPhg

[Gorn Captain]

I think Frodo should have sold the ring on Middle Earth Pawn Stars...

[Figuremod73]

Yeah, where was he in the regular cut of ROTK? He's just barely mentioned by Gandalf as being defeated. If I didn't know better that the movies were all filmed back to back, I would have assumed Christopher Lee had a falling out with Jackson or the producers or something. I would have much rather have seen even a cameo of him than one of the many lengthy epilogues at the films end.

Chris

There was actually quite a number of scenes filmed later just for the extended cuts. The actors were all for it.

In the film version, Saruman recieves a fate fit for a blood sucker The book version is quite different here.

[drquest]

Jackson did a great job adapting the book.

And yeah, I'd definitely recommend checking out the extended cuts. There's a lot of awesome stuff in those versions.
Particularly, the extended cut of ROTK includes some great material... including the final fate of Saruman.

My favorites were Saruman and the Mouth of Sauron in the extended cuts, both pretty cool!

[Nostalgiabuff]

they edited Saruman out of the theatrical cut for time purposes. the extended cut has him in it though.

in the book, Frodo did try to fight the wraiths at weathertop but he was visible to them and was stabbed the same as in the movie.

Frodo, and Bilbo, as ring bearers, both gave up much of their soul if you will, by carrying it. that is why the elves invite them to return with them when they leave Middle Earth.

they could not fly straight to Mordor because their only real hope was in secrecy and stealth. Sauron would have seen the eagles coming.

the trilogy stands along side the original SW trilogy for me. Jackson did something no one thought could be done in adapting the books.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Particularly, the extended cut of ROTK includes some great material... including the final fate of Saruman.

Yeah, where was he in the regular cut of ROTK? He's just barely mentioned by Gandalf as being defeated. If I didn't know better that the movies were all filmed back to back, I would have assumed Christopher Lee had a falling out with Jackson or the producers or something. I would have much rather have seen even a cameo of him than one of the many lengthy epilogues at the films end.

Chris

[Bruce Banner]

Jackson did a great job adapting the book.

And yeah, I'd definitely recommend checking out the extended cuts. There's a lot of awesome stuff in those versions.
Particularly, the extended cut of ROTK includes some great material... including the final fate of Saruman.

[Figuremod73]

This is a good suppliment for those who are interested in some of LOTR's background.

Learning some of this stuff REALLY does add to the stories and makes it more logical and interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Arda

[Figuremod73]

Just adding my 2 cents:

Some things did bother me though. First off, why didn't Gandalf just fly one of the eagles over Mount Doom and just drop the frickin' ring in, in the first place

The Eagles knew that to enter Mordor was certain death. Not only did Sauron have unseen power ( even in his weakened state), The wraiths were ready and waiting at his command.

Why was Frodo still a pansy at the final movie's end? To me, Sam was clearly the hero of the piece. Actually Merry and Pippen had more growth than Frodo, who remained a whiner throughout. I kept waiting for that moment when he really just went for it and did the right thing, but everyone kept doing it for him. Short of saying he'd take the ring, that's about as brave as he got.

Frodo became a vessal and not only lost his innocence, but the remainder of his life. He knew he would slowly die if he stayed in Middle-earth.

[Earth 2 Chris]

In the book when the Ring Wraiths discover Frodo & Co. at the abandoned watchtower, Frodo decides to fight the wraiths rather than let them take the ring and falls injuring himself. Contrast that with the film where he puts it on thinking they won't see him but discovers they see him and he them, even more clearly. I do agree tho that Frodo was to carry the ring stealthily to it's destruction and it took a heavy toll on him. He was the only one who could resist the power of the ring long enough to get it done.

See that would have changed my whole perception of the character. His bravest inclinations were only to flee, beyond taking the ring on it's journey.

Did you watch the extended cuts? There's a quite lot of talk on the bonus discs about the power of the ring. It is given a voice in the films but one of the scholars examines the implications of whether it's really the person's lust for power or the actual power of the ring that turns people. Lots'a good stuff on the bonus materials.

No, I just have the normal cut DVDs. I think I'm good with that. I thought the last film was padded enough as it is!

Chris