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Reply 1
[q1]> Lord of the Rings - wow![/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Anyone else seen it yet? Thoughts, opinions. Does anyone actually not[/q1]
[q1]> like it I wonder?[/q1]

Yes!!! I saw it (and won the t-shirt from UCI). I thought it was great ,
everything how I expected it to be- got a peek of Gollun, looking
forward to seeing more of him. Not too keen on Elrond...maybe because he
reminded me too much of the Matrix I don't know. Pleased to see that
nothing much was added, and the bits taken out were well chosen. I
thought they reached Bree quite quickly, but the 2hr 51mins did the 500+
page book justice =) Everyone in the cinema applauded when the credits
came up - can't wait for the next one!!!

Kate
Reply 2
On Thu, 20 Dec 2001 00:02:38 -0000, Al
Chemyst([email protected]) said...
[q1]>Lord of the Rings - wow![/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]>Anyone else seen it yet? Thoughts, opinions. Does anyone actually not[/q1]
[q1]>like it I wonder?[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]>-=- Al[/q1]

Go see! Go see! It's very good - way better than Harry Potter. Sticks to
the spirit of the books, not the letter. And is a much better film for
it... the casting is better too, it's consistent with the books. SFX are
better too... I wanna go see it again! And the next two...

chris
Reply 3
Al,

[q1]> Lord of the Rings - wow![/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Anyone else seen it yet? Thoughts, opinions. Does anyone actually not[/q1]
[q1]> like it I wonder?[/q1]

Oi. I was just going to start this thread. :-)

Visually, you couldn't ask for more. The sets were stunning in the
extreme, and they were right about that New Zealand landscape. I
particularly liked the toiling pits around Orthanc.

Plot-wise, well, they had to make alterations. For the most part,
though, these were no more than you might expect: some parts had to be
cut, and the bits either side had to be stitched together to fit. Thus
Frodo doesn't tarry in the Shire, so Butterbur's failure to pass on
Gandalf's letter is left out, and Gandalf's stay at Orthanc is
remarkably brief; Merry and Pippin are to be found stealing in Farmer
Maggot's land, because the Conspiracy is not included; the whole Old
Forest/Tom Bombadil/Barrow-wights part is missed out, so Aragorn has to
give the hobbits their swords; Glorfindel's character is left out, so
Arwen does his job at the Ford.

(The only unnecessary plot changes I can think of were presumably for
the sake of dramatic interest. Gandalf grabs Frodo at Bag End, urging
"Is it secret? Is it safe?". There is a mad dash at the Ferry, with the
Black Riders just out of reach of Frodo, instead of the quietly eerie
"On the far stage, under the distant lamps, they could just make out a
figure: it looked like a dark black bundle left behind. But as they
looked it seemed to move and sway this way and that, as if searching
the ground. It then crawled, or went crouching, back into the gloom
beyond the lamps." Aragorn puts up a mighty display of strength against
the Nazgul. Gandalf and Saruman have a protracted wizard-fight, with
scenes that wouldn't have been out of place in The Matrix, or perhaps
even Blade.

But as I say, they're there to keep up cinematic interest, and for that
reason I don't mind them. If I wanted something completely faithful, I'd
have just read the book.)

Acting-wise, you could tell from the cast list that they'd be alright.
Gandalf was much better than the trailer might indicate, as was Frodo. I
wasn't so sure about Sam, who should have been a darn sight more rustic.
I thought Aragorn and Boromir were superb, especially playing off
against one another. Merry and Pippin were funny, playing the Fred &
George Weasley of the Tolkien world (though they're less comical in the
books), and good at it too. Elrond and Galadriel never seemed quite
human, which was a good thing, seeing as they'd been around for a few
thousand years. Liv Tyler was much better than I'd expected as Arwen,
and the much-touted expanded love interest was not intrusive in the
slightest, I thought.

The animations were damned good too. The Balrog was perhaps the
trickiest thing they had to do, as they're very scantily-described in
the books and so very open to interpretation. I'm glad to say their
Balrog looked the part, falling somewhere between a physical beast and a
swirling shadow.

Finally, the one small but tangible let-down: the dialogue. Much of
the dialogue was very good, lifted as it was straight from The Book.
But you could really tell where they'd stuck something in without
thinking about it. Arwen, carrying the near-unconscious Frodo on
horseback, crosses the Ford ahead of the Black Riders, whose horses
rear up but are afraid to enter the water. She calls across the river,
"If you want him, come and claim him." What kind of rubbish is that?
It's certainly not Tolkien-esque; it's certainly not elf-like, and
particularly not suitable for the Evenstar herself, with the
Ring-bearer in her charge; it's a pure Titanic moment. On the bright
side, this sort of moment is very rare. Only one other stands out as
quite so crass: when Galadriel says to Frodo, "Even the smallest
person can change the course of the future."

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and will
be seeing it again in a couple of days' time.

Mark.
Reply 4
Al Chemyst wrote:
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Lord of the Rings - wow![/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Anyone else seen it yet? Thoughts, opinions. Does anyone actually not[/q1]
[q1]> like it I wonder?[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]

I know it might vary from cinema to cinema, but in general, if I wanted
to go and see it tommorrow (actually, today) afternoon, would this be
impossible due to me not booking a ticket weeks ago?

James
Reply 5
Al wrote:

[q1]> Lord of the Rings - wow![/q1]

Incidentally, if anyone's interested in maps of Middle-Earth that chart
the journeys in LoTR, I've found a brilliant site that has just that:

http://www.jrrtolkien.org.uk/lotrmaps.htm

Mark.
Reply 6
Al Chemyst,

"Following a strange compulsion, I microwaved a windows 2000 CD, and
after I removed it from the microwave, the following was visible, in
letters of fire (Tahoma font, 6 point, bold, italic):

Three Discs for the Stores seeking a click, Seven for the Programmers in
their halls of brick Nine for Mortal Users doomed to atone, One for the
Dark Lord on his dark throne In the land of Redmond where the Shadows
lie. One Disc to rule them all, One Disc to find them, One Disc to bring
them all and in the darkness bind them In the land of Redmond where the
Shadows lie."

Don't know who came up with that originally, but...

Mark.
Reply 7
James,

[q2]>> Lord of the Rings - wow![/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> I know it might vary from cinema to cinema, but in general, if I[/q1]
[q1]> wanted to go and see it tommorrow (actually, today) afternoon, would[/q1]
[q1]> this be impossible due to me not booking a ticket weeks ago?[/q1]

You should be fine at a large enough multiplex. They'll be showing it
every hour or so, and if you're really cunning you could phone up
beforehand and reserve a ticket, then pick it up at one of those
machines where you stick your card in and out pops a ticket.

I went to the Filmworks in Manchester, which has loads of seats and
loads of screens, and I got a ticket there and then (after queuing
for about 20 minutes, but still). You may not be so lucky at a
smaller joint.

Mark.
Reply 8
Mark Thakkar wrote:

[q1]> Finally, the one small but tangible let-down: the dialogue. Much of[/q1]
[q1]> the dialogue was very good, lifted as it was straight from The Book.[/q1]
[q1]> But you could really tell where they'd stuck something in without[/q1]
[q1]> thinking about it. Arwen, carrying the near-unconscious Frodo on[/q1]
[q1]> horseback, crosses the Ford ahead of the Black Riders, whose horses[/q1]
[q1]> rear up but are afraid to enter the water. She calls across the river,[/q1]
[q1]> "If you want him, come and claim him."[/q1]

That sounds truly awful. I may put my fingers in my ears at that point.

[q1]> What kind of rubbish is that? It's certainly not Tolkien-esque; it's[/q1]
[q1]> certainly not elf-like, and particularly not suitable for the Evenstar[/q1]
[q1]> herself, with the Ring-bearer in her charge; it's a pure Titanic[/q1]
[q1]> moment. On the bright side, this sort of moment is very rare. Only one[/q1]
[q1]> other stands out as quite so crass: when Galadriel says to Frodo,[/q1]
[q1]> "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."[/q1]

That's doesn't sound so bad, and is also sounds fairly Tolkien-esque -
Gandalf and Aragorn and all the other big important characters (in terms
of they're place in society rather than importance to the book, I mean)
consantly come out with stuff like that in the book.

[q1]> Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and[/q1]
[q1]> will be seeing it again in a couple of days' time.[/q1]

Elsewhere on usenet I've read it has no sense of time or distance - the
book really feels like a huge journey over many months, with the long,
slightly boring bits adding rather than detracting from the thing.
Whereas the film, predictable, it apparently all the big battles and
other big, exiciting dramatic bits in fairly quick succession. Though I
suppose that's because, like me, you can read it over the course of a
few months - sitting down for a 10 hour film or whatever would I suppose
be rather improbable.

Still, I greatly look forward to it...

James
Reply 9
Mark Thakkar wrote:
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Al wrote:[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q2]> > Lord of the Rings - wow![/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Incidentally, if anyone's interested in maps of Middle-Earth that[/q1]
[q1]> chart the journeys in LoTR, I've found a brilliant site that has[/q1]
[q1]> just that:[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> http://www.jrrtolkien.org.uk/lotrmaps.htm[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]

I'm also wandering about the net looking at LOTR stuff. I was looking at
astronomy stuff earlier, but then I got bored of that.

James
Reply 10
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
[q1]> Al,[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q2]> > Lord of the Rings - wow![/q2]
[q2]> >[/q2]
[q2]> > Anyone else seen it yet? Thoughts, opinions. Does anyone actually[/q2]
[q2]> > not like it I wonder?[/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Oi. I was just going to start this thread. :-)[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Visually, you couldn't ask for more. The sets were stunning in the[/q1]
[q1]> extreme, and they were right about that New Zealand landscape. I[/q1]
[q1]> particularly liked the toiling pits around Orthanc.[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]

I really thought that Rivendell looked amazing as well, although
Galadriel's home wasn't quite as majestic as I imagined.

[q1]> Plot-wise, well, they had to make alterations. For the most part,[/q1]
[q1]> though, these were no more than you might expect: some parts had to be[/q1]
[q1]> cut, and the bits either side had to be stitched together to fit. Thus[/q1]
[q1]> Frodo doesn't tarry in the Shire, so Butterbur's failure to pass on[/q1]
[q1]> Gandalf's letter is left out, and Gandalf's stay at Orthanc is[/q1]
[q1]> remarkably brief; Merry and Pippin are to be found stealing in Farmer[/q1]
[q1]> Maggot's land, because the Conspiracy is not included; the whole Old[/q1]
[q1]> Forest/Tom Bombadil/Barrow-wights part is missed out, so Aragorn has[/q1]
[q1]> to give the hobbits their swords; Glorfindel's character is left out,[/q1]
[q1]> so Arwen does his job at the Ford.[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
I was actually quite glad that they cut the Tom Bombadil bit coz it
isn't my favourite bit of the book. The bits that they rushed through
were the bits I would have rushed through as well, so I was quite happy
with that!

[q1]> (The only unnecessary plot changes I can think of were presumably for[/q1]
[q1]> the sake of dramatic interest. Gandalf grabs Frodo at Bag End, urging[/q1]
[q1]> "Is it secret? Is it safe?". There is a mad dash at the Ferry, with[/q1]
[q1]> the Black Riders just out of reach of Frodo, instead of the quietly[/q1]
[q1]> eerie "On the far stage, under the distant lamps, they could just make[/q1]
[q1]> out a figure: it looked like a dark black bundle left behind. But as[/q1]
[q1]> they looked it seemed to move and sway this way and that, as if[/q1]
[q1]> searching the ground. It then crawled, or went crouching, back into[/q1]
[q1]> the gloom beyond the lamps." Aragorn puts up a mighty display of[/q1]
[q1]> strength against the Nazgul. Gandalf and Saruman have a protracted[/q1]
[q1]> wizard-fight, with scenes that wouldn't have been out of place in The[/q1]
[q1]> Matrix, or perhaps even Blade.[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]

This was actually really exciting, because for the rest of the film you
knew exactly what was coming, so it made a nice change to have some
random extra plot bits chucked in.

[q1]> Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and[/q1]
[q1]> will be seeing it again in a couple of days' time.[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]

I am working at the cinema today and tomorrow, so will probably OD on
this film before the weekend...

-=- Al
Reply 11
In article <[email protected]>,
apollobyter@hot_mail.com says...
[q1]>[/q1]
[q2]> > Lord of the Rings - wow![/q2]
[q2]> >[/q2]
[q2]> > Anyone else seen it yet? Thoughts, opinions. Does anyone actually[/q2]
[q2]> > not like it I wonder?[/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
<snip>
[q1]> Everyone in the cinema applauded when the credits came up - can't wait[/q1]
[q1]> for the next one!!![/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]

They did that at ours too, really weird it was. Well, I thought it
was. Although it was mostly a cult of Games Workshop people doing it,
who were rather irritatingly loud given that they were quite a way
away from us.

-=- Al
Reply 12
[q1]> but the 2hr 51mins did the 500+ page book justice =)[/q1]

Interesting that there's been such a furor (sp?) about Harry Potter
being 2hrs 30 mins yet I've heard nothing about LOTR's length... I guess
Harry Potter is supposed to be a kiddies film.

I look forward to the special edition DVDs in a couple of years time
(for LOTR probably to coincide with the release of the last film, since
next year the normal DVD will appear) with the full uncut versions of
Harry Potter and The Fellowship.

Is Liv Tyler in this film? I heard an interview with her and she said
that her character isn't actually that big in the book itself but that
there is something about her in the appendix so they've incorporated
that... any outraged Tolkien fans here?

Becca
Reply 13
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
[q1]> Al Chemyst,[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> "Following a strange compulsion, I microwaved a windows 2000 CD, and[/q1]
[q1]> after I removed it from the microwave, the following was visible, in[/q1]
[q1]> letters of fire (Tahoma font, 6 point, bold, italic):[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Three Discs for the Stores seeking a click, Seven for the Programmers[/q1]
[q1]> in their halls of brick Nine for Mortal Users doomed to atone, One for[/q1]
[q1]> the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the land of Redmond where the[/q1]
[q1]> Shadows lie. One Disc to rule them all, One Disc to find them, One[/q1]
[q1]> Disc to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the land of[/q1]
[q1]> Redmond where the Shadows lie."[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Don't know who came up with that originally, but...[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> Mark.[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
Tee hee ;-)

-=- Al
Reply 14
Mark Thakkar wrote:
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> James,[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q2]> >> Lord of the Rings - wow![/q2]
[q2]> >[/q2]
[q2]> > I know it might vary from cinema to cinema, but in general, if I[/q2]
[q2]> > wanted to go and see it tommorrow (actually, today) afternoon, would[/q2]
[q2]> > this be impossible due to me not booking a ticket weeks ago?[/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> You should be fine at a large enough multiplex. They'll be showing it[/q1]
[q1]> every hour or so, and if you're really cunning you could phone up[/q1]
[q1]> beforehand and reserve a ticket, then pick it up at one of those[/q1]
[q1]> machines where you stick your card in and out pops a ticket.[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> I went to the Filmworks in Manchester, which has loads of seats and[/q1]
[q1]> loads of screens, and I got a ticket there and then (after queuing[/q1]
[q1]> for about 20 minutes, but still). You may not be so lucky at a[/q1]
[q1]> smaller joint.[/q1]

Hmm. The nearest multiplex is miles away and my bike is broken (don't
lubricate bike chains with WD-40-type oil sprays, it causes much
badness in the long run). Plus they turned me down when I applied for a
job there.

There's two cinemas in town, I'll see if either of them has any
space free...

Incidently, I started reading the books literally about a year ago now,
and I've now only just started the 3rd volume.

James
Reply 15
James,

[q2]>> Only one other stands out as quite so crass: when Galadriel says to[/q2]
[q2]>> Frodo, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the[/q2]
[q2]>> future."[/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> That's doesn't sound so bad, and is also sounds fairly Tolkien-esque[/q1]
[q1]> - Gandalf and Aragorn and all the other big important characters (in[/q1]
[q1]> terms of they're place in society rather than importance to the[/q1]
[q1]> book, I mean) consantly come out with stuff like that in the book.[/q1]

Ay, but it's the style not the substance here. Galadriel says things
like "In the morning you must depart, for now we have chosen, and the
tides of fate are flowing," and perhaps more relevantly here, "Do you
not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the footstep of Doom?"
Gandalf says things like "Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

Even allowing for slightly updated lingo, if that's felt necessary, I
don't think anyone sensible these days would talk of "chang[ing] the
course of the future" in any case.

Still, 'tis but a little matter.

[q1]> Elsewhere on usenet I've read it has no sense of time or distance -[/q1]
[q1]> the book really feels like a huge journey over many months, with the[/q1]
[q1]> long, slightly boring bits adding rather than detracting from the[/q1]
[q1]> thing. Whereas the film, predictable, it apparently all the big[/q1]
[q1]> battles and other big, exiciting dramatic bits in fairly quick[/q1]
[q1]> succession.[/q1]

That's true - forgot to mention that. They take about a week to get to
Bree in the book, and it seems like a hop-skip-jump in the film. Once
out of the Shire, though, with the landscape changing quite
dramatically, you get the idea that they've come an awful long way,
even if you don't have to sit through it. Personally I'd have been
quite happy with the 10-hour film you mentioned, but I doubt many
people would...

Mark.
Reply 16
[q1]> I went to the Filmworks in Manchester, which has loads of seats and[/q1]
[q1]> loads of screens,[/q1]
Random OT My best friend used to work there!

Becca
Reply 17
James,

[q2]>> if anyone's interested in maps of Middle-Earth that chart the[/q2]
[q2]>> journeys in LoTR, I've found a brilliant site that has just that:[/q2]
[q2]>>[/q2]
[q2]>> http://www.jrrtolkien.org.uk/lotrmaps.htm[/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]> I'm also wandering about the net looking at LOTR stuff.[/q1]

Trouble is, there's a lot of the bastards. On my wanderings thus far
I've come across a few good 'uns:

greenbooks.theonering.net/index.shtml - literary musings
www.annalsofarda.dk/Encycmain.htm - clumsy site, but good entries
flyingmoose.org/tolksarc/book/book.htm - funnyish alternative version
www.thelordoftherings.net - hideous site, but lots of stuff buried there
(particularly in http://www.thelordoftherings.net/faqs_essays/ )

Anyhoo, I think I'll give up now. I've saved all the maps I can be
bothered with for the time being.

Enjoy the film,

Mark.
Reply 18
On Thu, 20 Dec 2001 09:50:38 -0000, Becca Taylor
([email protected]) said...
[q2]>> but the 2hr 51mins did the 500+ page book justice =)[/q2]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]>Interesting that there's been such a furor (sp?) about Harry Potter[/q1]
[q1]>being 2hrs 30 mins yet I've heard nothing about LOTR's length... I[/q1]
[q1]>guess Harry Potter is supposed to be a kiddies film.[/q1]

With HP I half noticed the length. I didn't at all for FOTR...

[q1]>I look forward to the special edition DVDs in a couple of years time[/q1]
[q1]>(for LOTR probably to coincide with the release of the last film, since[/q1]
[q1]>next year the normal DVD will appear) with the full uncut versions of[/q1]
[q1]>Harry Potter and The Fellowship.[/q1]

Would be nice... don't know if they will though. Fingers crossed...

[q1]>Is Liv Tyler in this film? I heard an interview with her and she said[/q1]
[q1]>that her character isn't actually that big in the book itself but that[/q1]
[q1]>there is something about her in the appendix so they've incorporated[/q1]
[q1]>that... any outraged Tolkien fans here?[/q1]
[q1]>[/q1]
[q1]>Becca[/q1]

She is in it, a lot more than in the book. She's barely mentioned at
all in FOTR, but in the movie she is the one who comes to save Frodo
after he's been got by the Ringwraiths, isntead of Glorfindel. And they
took a bit of the appendix (which is basically all abouyt Aragorn and
Arwen) and put it in the film. Then she disappears.. probably only on
for a few min.

chris
Reply 19
James,

[q1]> I started reading the books literally about a year ago now, and I've[/q1]
[q1]> now only just started the 3rd volume.[/q1]

I finished re-reading the Fellowship 15 minutes before the film started,
which I thought was damned good timing, even if the film did extend a
teensy bit into the Two Towers.

(If anyone even /thinks/ of suggesting that the next film should be
tactfully renamed...)

Mark.