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Forum: The Classroom
Topic: Lord of the Rings
started by: caseman984

Posted by caseman984 on Dec. 20 2001,20:42

I went out and saw it, second showing. Absolutely one of the best movies ever. At least of what I've seen. I never read the book (yea yea I know), but I am now. Anyone else go out and see it? What'd you think?

PS
I'm getting the score!

Posted by incubus on Dec. 20 2001,20:58

If you tell anyone anything about it (that includes me, I'm seeing it tomorrow) I will have to kill you.

Posted by caseman984 on Dec. 20 2001,21:55

All I will tell you is that you won't be disappointed. The acting is very well done, the music rules, and the photgraphy is excellent. It's got Acadamy Award written all over it. I'm going to see it again tomorrow, then again over the break, at the really nice big theatre in the next city.

Posted by Rhydant on Dec. 21 2001,00:37

i think the best part was the scene with the Elvish queen--whatshername. freaky.

and the fighting in the moria mines. yeah!

Posted by DeadAnztac on Dec. 21 2001,01:46

Galadriel of Lothlorien.

And that was one of the best movies I've ever seen... Lot's of differences from the book (trust me), but I think a very good adaptation...

I'm waiting to see Mithrandir and the King of Númenor, Elessar Telcontar, Heir of Isildur, whup some Nazgűl, Curunír, and Sauron ass.

Posted by caseman984 on Dec. 21 2001,01:56

I've read farther in the book (just finshed chapter 2 and I'm ovr 100 pages into the book!), and I have to agree that their are alot of differences, but they carry the theme and idea of the book over to the movie very well. I love how they pulled alot of the best lines right out of the book. Can't wait for the second and third. I think I'm gonna go down to Suncoast and reserve my copy of the DVD box set now... think they'll hold the reservation for three years?

Posted by rachmoninov on Dec. 22 2001,06:20

I just saw the movie and the movie theater was completely packed, that amazed me because I thought the hype of the movies would push some people not to see it. I thought the books were slow moving because J.R.R Tolkien pays a lot of attention to detail, and to me it sometimes slows down the pace of the book. I thought the movie was completely the opposite of that, the camera shots were awesome and the actors, I thought, did a really good job. I am looking forward to the second.

Posted by Lord of the rings " O on Dec. 22 2001,07:06

For those die hard " Lord of the Rings " fans. If you want a one of the kind hand painted picture, I got one.

For those of you that are firmiluar with the orgianl cassette cover with the wizard and the swaord pointing up to the gods with a ray of energy from his fingers, I had a painting of that on black felt.

it's a huge painting in a wooden frame, probaly to guess, 3 to 3 and a half foor by 2 to 2 and a half foot in size.

anyone interested and wants a photo email me.

other wise i may put it on ebay

exilespublication@yahoo.com

Posted by Rshias on Dec. 22 2001,08:47

Put it on ebay. If we wanted to buy something of that nature, we'd find it ourselves. Don't advertise it here.

Posted by incubus on Dec. 22 2001,08:54

Quote (Guest @ Dec. 22 2001,07:06)

<cartman>How would you like to suck my balls?</cartman>

OMG that movie is so fucking sweet. It did the book justice. Mad fuckin' props.

Posted by richard on Dec. 22 2001,09:06

the elven archer they have along for the ride is the shit. Legalus is his name, I think. The movie does a superior job with him. He's badass.

Posted by Rshias on Dec. 22 2001,09:45

In all likelyhood, you'll see a good deal of Legolas's fighting in the next movie as well. He and Gimli, the dwarf, get into some friendly competition as the story progresses, and begin keeping track of their kills. Hopefully, they'll portray this in the next release.

Posted by Nikita on Dec. 22 2001,17:39

Legolas is hot, (though I expected the elves to look a hella lot better), I found Gimli hilarious (reminds me of some of my irish drinking buddies), and I wanted to kill the hobbit version of tweedledee and tweedledum

Where's the rest of the story goshdarnedit?!

Posted by Rhydant on Dec. 22 2001,17:52

"No one tosses a Dwarf!"

i bought more tickets this morning. im gonna go see it again tomorrow.

Posted by Jason on Dec. 22 2001,18:55

Saw it this morning. Visually stunning, but other than that--what a piece of crap!

Yes, the special effects were beautiful, and the cinematography was top notch, but I just can't get past the overdone acting, the trite dialogue, and the really annoying music!

I was seriously considering walking out or falling asleep once I got the hang of their technique--forced dialogue when you're supposed to feel the dramatic tension, solemn flute music when you're supposed to feel the awe of their magical journey, etc, etc. Almost insulting.

I'm sure the books are much better. Why? Because it felt like they had taken a much larger story and stripped it down to its bare essentials, and still ended up with a three hour movie. The end result was that they threw too much crap in for the pace the film took, and had too many references that never got explained.

Posted by askheaves on Dec. 23 2001,00:37

Now tell us how you really feel, Jason

Actually, I thought I was the only one. I wasn't super impressed with the movie as a whole. It felt both intentionally confusing, yet condescending at the same time. They brought out the flashbacks and repeated dialog so many times that it felt like they were saying: Hey, idiot, remember 6 minutes ago when he said this? Huh, do ya?

The battle scenes kind of felt stupid to me. It was like, I never really felt like the characters were vulnerable. Why was everybody so scared of these Orcs? And, why bring 10 people when you could bring 1000 people, then you probably wouldn't lose any people. And, they always decided to develop a character 1 inch into the second dimension around 5 minutes before they bit it, so you always knew who the one person to die in the next fight would be.

The special effects were fine, for the most part. They screwed up the midget effect a little. The scale varied throughout the movie, with people looking bigger and smaller depending on the camera angle.

I got sick of seeing all the riding scenes. It felt like they just hid what was probably a ton of story in the books. They didn't have time to introduce characters, have adventures, etc, so they just showed people riding on horses from 25,000 feet. And, with that, the camera work bugged me a lot too. They showed a closeup of that friggin ring SOO MANY TIMES throughout the movie that it started pissing me off. How creative is that to go back to that shot all the time?

And who are these characters? I don't know why these people all felt compelled to go on suicide missions. They just felt that they wanted to go? Why did the tweedle-hobbits need to be there? Why the stupid 4 minute love story? Why can't I get Agent Smith out of my head?

And the loud screaming of those death riders, or whatever. Didn't help that I was very hungover, but it was killing me. And they seemed invincible, omnipresent, and like perfect killers, but they couldn't chase them after a certain point, and we never saw them again. Wow, real menacing.

That's all. I had many problems with the movie, but it was somewhat entertaining overall. Friggen Gandalf was perfect. I loved his character, but most of that is the actor behind the beard. I fell in love with the guy. And Legolas was the friggen bomb. I love that scene near the end with him and the bow and the arrows and the 'whoosh whoosh whoosh'!
I'm excited to see the next one. I'm just sad that they don't get viewer feedback, since it's already done. Alright, I'll stop bitching now. I never even read the books.

Posted by Hellraiser on Dec. 23 2001,02:17

Oh my god. I have been waiting for these movies forever, finally someone does justice to Tolkien! Sure, there was a lot crammed into the first film, but they left a lot out as well.

I think you really have to read the books to appreciate the movie properly. The scenery is a good portion of the story, and that was captured perfectly.

The 4 minute love story is essential to show the relationship between Arwen and Aragorn, so when she is introduced again in the third movie people won't be like, "who the fuck is she?" A lot of the details that were included as supplements at the end of Return of the King had to be woven into the story so that people understand that this is part of a much bigger legacy spanning thousands of years of middle-earth history.

I liked the way they showed same-time what was happening to Gandalf, something that in the book is condesed into one chapter, the council of Elrond.

I commend Peter Jackson on his job.

I found some of the camera angles used were unique and particularly effective, such as the one in the battle scene at the end where they are fighting on the ground and the camera is zooming amongst the trees about 30 feet up or so. Great!!

I find it interesting that the two people who didn't really like it were the two who never read the books. I can understand that, as I find that a little knowledge of the books is an essential part of what makes the movie so great. By itself, it could seem somewhat confusing, but still a whole fucking lot better than those stupid animated cartoons in the 80's. I hated those.

Posted by veistran on Dec. 23 2001,04:02

the cartoon for the hobbit wasn't that bad, but the LOTR ones were god-awful. the one thing I really didn't like about the movie was the music, in several places it just didn't fit right. all in all, considering how well LOTR was done, it almost gives me a glimmer of hope for star wars to redeem itself.

Posted by DeadAnztac on Dec. 23 2001,07:04

Cr0, Askheaves, you guys should read the books, I think you'd like 'em

Posted by kbreak on Dec. 24 2001,03:11

teehee!

I read all 4 books at least 4 times, don't remember. What sets Tolkien apart is his attention to detail. He invented about 3-5 languages, down to the grammar and syntax. If someone learned them, they could actually speak it! He invented an entire world!

The best part is what he did in the English language. English isn't the prettiest language, but he came up with names for people and places that are musical. I'd sure go out on a blind date with any girl named, "Galadriel". Don't forget! JRRT was a professor of language!

This is one of the few times I think a book would suffer translated into another language. Like when you feel sorry for people from other countries who don't get Shakespeare. I reckon the iambic pentameter doesn't survive! I had to read Don Quixote in Spanish during high school,and it was totally better than in English. If you like SF, read stuff by G Benford. He's a prof of Astrophysics at UC Irvine and he knows what he writes about, always a treat!

If you have the time, read the books!

"where is my precioussss?"
kbreak

Posted by richard on Dec. 24 2001,04:46

I think the special effects involved in the zooming (like, when they have Gandalf on the tower, and then it zooms right down to the pits where they're breeding the golums or orcs or whatever) are incredible. In a few I got that roller-coaster effect where ya feel off-balance!

Posted by kbreak on Dec. 24 2001,05:17

err, there's only one Gollum.

"It seeks my preciousss! Yesssss!"
kbreak

Posted by richard on Dec. 24 2001,05:33

I meant "golem", a mythical creature cast from earth or stone or whatever. You know those big elite orcs at the end. The ones in the woods.

Posted by Rhydant on Dec. 24 2001,06:49

isnt that hebrew mythology?

bah. i saw it on the Sopranos once.

i think saruman was breading ocrs with ogres. i think. something like that.

Posted by melk0r on Dec. 25 2001,05:00

ahh, so far i've seen this twice (me being the big lotr fan) and i really was impressed. i even went in there thinking they were going to fuck SOMETHING up, but came out happy as could be. i really am glad they didnt make it tolkien for dummies, and i really thought they involved some of the crucial scenes, while leaving out some of the bullshit. i was kinda disappointed when they left out tom bombadil, because he is a pimpstyles motha fucka.

i cant wait to see what the ents look like, and all that good shit. legolas was a pimp, i thought some of the battle scenes were just stunning (re: end.)

oh, and they NAILED THE BALROG. NAILED IT. it was great.. just great.

edit- altough its right about arwen, i bet glorfindel is FUCKING PISSED for missing his only role. :/

Posted by veistran on Dec. 25 2001,16:55

in the movie, they said that sarumon was breeding orcs with goblins.

Posted by Rhydant on Dec. 25 2001,17:23

goblins! thats what it was!

oh yeah, merry fucking christmas, guys.

Posted by veistran on Dec. 25 2001,21:33

I used to have a bunch of friends that palyed warhammer fantasy battles... hard to forget the orcs and gobbos

Posted by TheTaxMan on Dec. 27 2001,22:08

I thought it was great, having read the books, and thought that it did a great job of keeping the story in tact. I just wish it could have been twice as long

. Not just to see more movie, but the passage of time is one of the only beefs I have with it. Frodo, Merry, Sam, and Pippin were walking for a long ass time to get to Rivendell. Even to get out of the shire it took them more than a couple days. My other major problem is they didn't reforge Anduril (Aragorn's Broken Sword). That's a big deal! The 'weird buff orcs' are the fighting Uruk-Hai. They're Saruman's elite forces that didn't mind the day light and were stronger/smarter/faster than all the other goblins. It all owned massively. The delving into Moria was so perfect, I don't think that part could have been done any better.

Posted by LiNeY on Dec. 28 2001,22:32

I went to see it this afternoon and I really loved it. I haven't read the books yet but I'll do that as soon as I can get hold of them.

The language was great - all those names and places... I got to watch it in English, which was definitely better than the German dubbed version (they actually make "Beutlin" out of "Baggins", and other jokes of that kind...). The characters were cool... Gandalf, Legolas, Aragorn, Frodo. There weren't exactly many women in it (*cough*... 9 guys, 2 women... where's equal rights?), but surprisingly, I found I didn't care much for feminism for once. Galadriel absolutely kicked ass.

I agree with heaves about Gandalf - I just loved that wise old guy, and I can't really believe he's dead. Come on... he can't be!

I loved the scenery, too. It was impressing and beautiful... Mordor and Saruman's citadel were especially well-made. The music was good, if you ask me... not outstanding, but good.

All in all, I just have to watch that movie again. Now I just need to find someone to drag to the movies with me...

Posted by Emperorr on Dec. 29 2001,03:47

/me wonders if any one is going to say anything about the fact it was made in nz and the director is a nz'er.

Posted by sHuoReNviOLiN on Dec. 29 2001,04:57

Hmm...I wasn't too impressed...I mean, the whole imagery n everything was very nicely done, but...kinda overdone drama in some places...very predictable, very overused. Plus I hate cliffhangers...ugh...no patience...

And Gandalf's not gone, he gets rebirthed a la Christ in the next book.

Posted by veistran on Dec. 29 2001,09:51

Quote (sHuoReNviOLiN @ Dec. 29 2001,22:57)

oh yeah, good working giving it away to all the lazy fuckers that haven't read the books.

Posted by Wolfguard on Dec. 30 2001,20:36

Im still processing this movie. It was that good.

They did cut a lot out of the book but what they did cut really did not make a lot of difference like...

The fact it was 20 years before Frodo left.
Fleeing from the shire: Did not run into the elves or farmer maggot (he did get mentioned). they went from the ferry to bree with out going through the old forest or even stopping.
No note from Gandalf in Bree.
No wolf attack while going to moria.
Sam did not look into the mirror.

there is more but like i said. im still processing what i saw. Still in shock and wonder.

Posted by Dark Knight Bob on Dec. 31 2001,02:18

Quote (sHuoReNviOLiN @ Dec. 29 2001,04:57)

And Gandalf's not gone, he gets rebirthed a la Christ in the next book.

ugh ok i havent read the books i'm not realy planning on it as its not my kind of thing i prefer reading sci fi to fantasy...anywayz thanks twat face for fucking that cliffhanger up for me.

cinematography was awesome! and i'm not talking about the cgi i'm talking about the REAL camera shots that were fucking amazing! 3 hours = value for money in my book.

my mums driven over that snowy mountain btw plus been on that lake

unless you're an idiot its quite easy to pick up all the plot. having never even heard about the story before i picked out every plotline, it just requires a thing called listening and intelligence a lot of films lose the plot in poor dialogue this one just needed you to listen.

i liked it for the whole D'n'D thing as well. quality.

Plot detail here watch out people

oh and sean beans arrow bit was da best. thunk ah i'm dead no wait i'm not! thwunk ahhhh i'm dead now oh wait no i'm not! THWUNK ok now i am three arrows is enough for me.

did you notice how these carachters also should have starved to death btw each time they sat down for a meal they were attacked and had to abandon it and fight.

sitting near the front actually improved my viewing pleasure seeing how it gives you vertigo in the underground mines sequences. and the grand wizard tower.

did pick up on the whole scaling problem though. wasnt too bad unless you were actually going out to not like this film in which case you view is invalid.

Posted by Non on Dec. 31 2001,03:12

All in all a visually pleasing movie, but as for plot they really just opened it up and left it hanging kinda pissed me off.
The characters that survived were developed enough for me to care what happens to them in the next movie. It was obvious that Gandalf survived being a main character a wizard and not actually being shown dead, if he doesn't technically survive he will come back.
It needed some hot elf (Liv and Cate) lesbian scenes, maybe in the next movies.
I sat up close and the shots of the Modor and Isengard were awesome, at times I caught myself tilting and swaying to the camera view.
As for the score it made me wanna throw something at the screen when they kept playing that annoying flute melody.
Agent Smith would have been cooler if he cut that hippy hair and got back into that balck suit and shades;
"Welcome to Rivendale, Frodo Baggins."
"My name... is Neo"

The orcs weren't all that imo... I mean come on Legolas pokes one in the eye with his arrow and it kills him?!?

/me is hungry...

Posted by Spydir on Dec. 31 2001,03:34

I just saw it. pretty fucking good. I can easily see a few awards for it. The CG's kicked ass. I'll have to go see it again though, because I couldn't really keep up with all the names and stuff. I never really got into the whole fantasy thing. My life is fucked up enough

Posted by Wiley on Dec. 31 2001,03:50

Whoa ...I just got back from this 3 hour tour of a movie. I had to get up twice to pee (damn their super-size the drink for just a quarter more!!).
Whadda flick I tell ya. Had just about everything (save the lesbians) you could want in an epic and it was pretty close to the story I remember, but it has been like 17 years since I read it so about all I remembered was that there was a wizard with a pointy hat. And Gandalf was there ..so I was happy.
I give it 3Ľ stars outta a possible 4. Can't at least one elf chick get naked?

Posted by schnarf on Dec. 31 2001,06:14

Great movie. They did take things out, but that's necessary for a movie. Songs were taken out, the work fine in the book, but really, who the hell wants to hear Elijah Wood randomly singing? The introduction added to the movie, anyone who had just read the books and not the appendices of RotK or any of Tolkien's other middle earth books would have not known of Sauron's apparent defeat, the passing of the One Ring before it went to Smeagol, nor many other things. Visually, it was stunning. There were minor things that were wrong with CG, but I do lots of CG work, so things like that just pop out at me. The mine sequences were stunning. Some elements, including the orc-in-the-mud or whatever the hell it was were unclear, but it didn't take away from the movie as a whole. The only other problem with it of which I can think is Gandalf's fight with the Balrog. I imagined that he was pulled directly down into the abyss, and yelled "Fly, you fools!" on the way down, or just as the whip wound around him, rather than catching himself, telling them to go, and falling. Out of ten, I give it a 9.

Posted by schnarf on Dec. 31 2001,06:17

Oh yeah. I think Hugo Weaving detracted from it a bit, just because it's difficult to think of him as an Elf, not as an Agent. He did a wonderful job of acting, but for me, being a Matrix obsessee, that's what I see him as.

Posted by Spydir on Dec. 31 2001,16:50

THAT'S WHERE THAT GUY IS FROM!!!

And why did the archer elf dude that followed them around remind me of the jedi's from episode one?... the hair?

Posted by LiNeY on Dec. 31 2001,18:12

Quote (Wiley @ Dec. 31 2001,03:50)

Can't at least one elf chick get naked?

Actually, that's one of the things I think are so cool about fantasy. I'm not much into that genre, but I definitely like it as an amateur.... In fantasy, women are LADIES. And they're treated as such. They are respected, cherished, defended and loved.

A lot of men could learn from that...

Posted by Dark Knight Bob on Dec. 31 2001,21:30

Quote (schnarf @ Dec. 31 2001,06:14)

the passing of the One Ring before it went to Smeagol, nor many other things.

you been watching too much red dwarf i think;)

Posted by Wiley on Dec. 31 2001,21:46

Quote (LiNeY @ Dec. 31 2001,18:12)

I think I'm thinking of an entirely different fantasy world.
But seriously, I do respect, cherish, defend and love women ...but then the morning comes and they won't make me breakfast!

Posted by Hellraiser on Jan. 01 2002,06:44

Everyone who is into fantasy realizes the truth: women are far superior to men. This is why they are held in such regard, for creatures of such heavenly splendor must be protected, and cherished, lest they be destroyed by dragons, or find others on which to bestow their affections.

Posted by DeadAnztac on Jan. 01 2002,10:22

Seriously. In all the war novels it's some alpha-male instinct or some such crap, but in Fantasy it's right. The woman of Fantasy are powerful, wise, and sometimes wicked, but always feared, or revered.

...blah... I've pledged to protect a select few woman in my life, and I mean it.

Posted by smartsnake on Jan. 03 2002,00:55

Just got home from seeing it, it was awsome. Noticed most of the stuff that had been left out but what was there was great. Only thing that really bugged me was that hobbits did not really look like what I thought a hobbit would look like. Nontheless kickass movie.

Posted by kai on Jan. 05 2002,02:01

Quote (Guest @ Dec. 31 2001,21:30)

you been watching too much red dwarf i think;)

i remember when that show was good

Posted by veistran on Jan. 05 2002,03:51

The end of the first book is as open ended as the movie's end.