meteordust (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meteordust) wrote2003-12-26 11:34 pm
meteordust) wrote2003-12-26 11:34 pm
Entry tags:
The Return of the - ARRRGHH!
I love Anthon Berg chocolates. I got a box of them for Christmas. Each chocolate is shaped like a little bottle, and inside is sweet syrup flavoured like liqueur.
It is a bad, bad idea to try unwrapping one at the keyboard.
I've done what I can to clean up, and fortunately the spillage was mostly on the function keys on the right hand side of the keyboard. I can still see syrup glistening in the cracks where I can't reach. Only time will tell whether any permanent damage has been done.
Well. Back to my original topic.
And, on this day of all days, was there ever any doubt as to what it would be?
As I said earlier, I reread the book over these last few days. This was the first time I had done so since my original reading, way back when I was twelve.
It was an incredibly rewarding experience. There was so much I had forgotten, and much else that had grown dim and faded. That first time, I was mainly interested in the fortunes of the hobbits, and I suspect I skimmed a lot of the other action. Certain images stay with you - Eowyn fighting the Witch-king, Frodo and Gollum at the edge of the fiery pit, the last farewell at the Grey Havens - but the Paths of the Dead were just a name to me, and I had forgotten also about Denethor's pyre and his madness.
More than The Fellowship of the Ring, more than The Two Towers, The Return of the King was filled with numerous moments of power and emotion. Like when the gates of Minas Tirith are broken, and the Lord of the Nazgul strides through, and then, just when all hope seems lost, the horns of Rohan sound. Or when the Corsairs of Umbar sail up the river, and despair falls upon the city's defenders once more, and then the banner of the king is unveiled upon the lead ship, with the host of dead under his command.
And the language! Oh man, Tolkien knew how to *write*:
In rode the Lord of the Nazgul. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgul, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.
Or:
As if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.
Everything, everything. And I remembered why that twelve year old child fell in love with these books.
And then today, I watched the movie.
Someone asked me, afterward, if I thought it was a good movie. I found it hard to answer. Having just reread the book, and being greatly moved by it, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret at the things they had to leave out, or compress, or simplify. And then there were changes that seemed inexplicable or unnecessary. But all the same, there were moments of epic grandeur and tragedy and sheer wonder, and when I was younger I never would have imagined that one day I would see them come to life on the screen.
Moments I loved
* That first glimpse of Minas Tirith. I've seen it rendered before in paintings by Tolkien artists. But to see it on film alive and real at last - the white towers and the seven tiers and even that great spur of stone - it's just, wow.
* Faramir and Denethor's last exchange. "But if I should return, think better of me!" Oh Faramir. There were *tears* in his eyes. This is the Faramir we know and love, not the hard stranger of the second movie.
* The charge of the Rohirrim. "Ride now! Ride now! FORTH EORLINGAS!" I was ready to leap out of my seat and join the charge too.
* Eowyn's moment of glory. But that goes without saying. I'm glad they did justice to it.
Moments I didn't
* Pippin's burning palantir experience. Okay, it's more of a style quibble than anything - why do they have to overdramatise things when something more subtle would work just as well? Yeah, Pippin sees the Eye. Does the palantir have to explode into flame as well? It's like Bilbo's face changing or Galadriel's sudden transformation.
* Gandalf hitting Denethor. You *don't* assault the ruling lord of a city and get away with it lightly. Not even if you're Mithrandir.
* The portrayal of Denethor. He's supposed to be in full possession of his wits and cunning at the start - he's actively preparing for the defence of the city, he lights the beacon fires and sends to Rohan for aid. He doesn't start saying "We're all gonna die" until Faramir comes back full of arrows. And even though Denethor lost it at the end, he was courteous and kind to Pippin before. It seems as though few characters make it across from book to movie untarnished and unlessened.
* Aragorn and Arwen's long, public smooch. He's the King Elessar! She's the Lady Arwen! Where's your dignity, dammit?
Moments I went "WTF?"
* When Elrond gives Anduril to Aragorn. What? You mean he doesn't even have it yet?
* Arwen dying of the Ring. I have no words for this one. I mean, WTF?
* When Frodo sends Sam away. (Nooooo! Never, never, never!)
* Aragorn and Legolas, when Arwen's delegation arrives. *Why* does Legolas step up like he's the bride? *Why* do they spend several seconds gazing meaningfully into each other's eyes? I'm a purist, okay, I don't *want* to see Aragorn/Legolas slash. But I swear, *somebody* is doing this deliberately.
Moments I cried
* When Eowyn stands all alone between Theoden and the Witch-king, and says, "I will kill you if you touch him."
* When Sam says, "I can't carry it for you, Mr Frodo, but I *can* carry you."
* When Aragorn, newly crowned, stares at the bowing hobbits in astonishment and says, "My friends - you bow to no one." And then kneels to them. And so does Arwen. And so does the sea of people all around them.
* At the Grey Havens. But I'm not alone there.
Other moments of note
* Smeagol and Deagol. I liked seeing Smeagol before he became Gollum, and I liked how it foreshadowed what Frodo might become if caught too long in the grip of the Ring.
* Everyone's making Pirates of the Caribbean jokes, especially since Orlando Bloom is involved. But I can honestly say it did not occur to me that there was a resemblance between the King of the Dead and Geoffrey Rush.
* Frodo and Sam at the Crack of Doom. I liked the way the scene echoed the confrontation between Isildur and Elrond, way back at the start of the first movie. It was a nice touch.
I'll probably end up watching it again later on, and I definitely look forward to seeing the extended edition.
Wow. I can't believe it's really over.
It is a bad, bad idea to try unwrapping one at the keyboard.
I've done what I can to clean up, and fortunately the spillage was mostly on the function keys on the right hand side of the keyboard. I can still see syrup glistening in the cracks where I can't reach. Only time will tell whether any permanent damage has been done.
Well. Back to my original topic.
And, on this day of all days, was there ever any doubt as to what it would be?
As I said earlier, I reread the book over these last few days. This was the first time I had done so since my original reading, way back when I was twelve.
It was an incredibly rewarding experience. There was so much I had forgotten, and much else that had grown dim and faded. That first time, I was mainly interested in the fortunes of the hobbits, and I suspect I skimmed a lot of the other action. Certain images stay with you - Eowyn fighting the Witch-king, Frodo and Gollum at the edge of the fiery pit, the last farewell at the Grey Havens - but the Paths of the Dead were just a name to me, and I had forgotten also about Denethor's pyre and his madness.
More than The Fellowship of the Ring, more than The Two Towers, The Return of the King was filled with numerous moments of power and emotion. Like when the gates of Minas Tirith are broken, and the Lord of the Nazgul strides through, and then, just when all hope seems lost, the horns of Rohan sound. Or when the Corsairs of Umbar sail up the river, and despair falls upon the city's defenders once more, and then the banner of the king is unveiled upon the lead ship, with the host of dead under his command.
And the language! Oh man, Tolkien knew how to *write*:
In rode the Lord of the Nazgul. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgul, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.
Or:
As if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.
Everything, everything. And I remembered why that twelve year old child fell in love with these books.
And then today, I watched the movie.
Someone asked me, afterward, if I thought it was a good movie. I found it hard to answer. Having just reread the book, and being greatly moved by it, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret at the things they had to leave out, or compress, or simplify. And then there were changes that seemed inexplicable or unnecessary. But all the same, there were moments of epic grandeur and tragedy and sheer wonder, and when I was younger I never would have imagined that one day I would see them come to life on the screen.
Moments I loved
* That first glimpse of Minas Tirith. I've seen it rendered before in paintings by Tolkien artists. But to see it on film alive and real at last - the white towers and the seven tiers and even that great spur of stone - it's just, wow.
* Faramir and Denethor's last exchange. "But if I should return, think better of me!" Oh Faramir. There were *tears* in his eyes. This is the Faramir we know and love, not the hard stranger of the second movie.
* The charge of the Rohirrim. "Ride now! Ride now! FORTH EORLINGAS!" I was ready to leap out of my seat and join the charge too.
* Eowyn's moment of glory. But that goes without saying. I'm glad they did justice to it.
Moments I didn't
* Pippin's burning palantir experience. Okay, it's more of a style quibble than anything - why do they have to overdramatise things when something more subtle would work just as well? Yeah, Pippin sees the Eye. Does the palantir have to explode into flame as well? It's like Bilbo's face changing or Galadriel's sudden transformation.
* Gandalf hitting Denethor. You *don't* assault the ruling lord of a city and get away with it lightly. Not even if you're Mithrandir.
* The portrayal of Denethor. He's supposed to be in full possession of his wits and cunning at the start - he's actively preparing for the defence of the city, he lights the beacon fires and sends to Rohan for aid. He doesn't start saying "We're all gonna die" until Faramir comes back full of arrows. And even though Denethor lost it at the end, he was courteous and kind to Pippin before. It seems as though few characters make it across from book to movie untarnished and unlessened.
* Aragorn and Arwen's long, public smooch. He's the King Elessar! She's the Lady Arwen! Where's your dignity, dammit?
Moments I went "WTF?"
* When Elrond gives Anduril to Aragorn. What? You mean he doesn't even have it yet?
* Arwen dying of the Ring. I have no words for this one. I mean, WTF?
* When Frodo sends Sam away. (Nooooo! Never, never, never!)
* Aragorn and Legolas, when Arwen's delegation arrives. *Why* does Legolas step up like he's the bride? *Why* do they spend several seconds gazing meaningfully into each other's eyes? I'm a purist, okay, I don't *want* to see Aragorn/Legolas slash. But I swear, *somebody* is doing this deliberately.
Moments I cried
* When Eowyn stands all alone between Theoden and the Witch-king, and says, "I will kill you if you touch him."
* When Sam says, "I can't carry it for you, Mr Frodo, but I *can* carry you."
* When Aragorn, newly crowned, stares at the bowing hobbits in astonishment and says, "My friends - you bow to no one." And then kneels to them. And so does Arwen. And so does the sea of people all around them.
* At the Grey Havens. But I'm not alone there.
Other moments of note
* Smeagol and Deagol. I liked seeing Smeagol before he became Gollum, and I liked how it foreshadowed what Frodo might become if caught too long in the grip of the Ring.
* Everyone's making Pirates of the Caribbean jokes, especially since Orlando Bloom is involved. But I can honestly say it did not occur to me that there was a resemblance between the King of the Dead and Geoffrey Rush.
* Frodo and Sam at the Crack of Doom. I liked the way the scene echoed the confrontation between Isildur and Elrond, way back at the start of the first movie. It was a nice touch.
I'll probably end up watching it again later on, and I definitely look forward to seeing the extended edition.
Wow. I can't believe it's really over.
no subject
I said I was a purist. As far as I'm concerned, the canonical pairings (or as close to canonical as you can get) are Frodo/Sam and Legolas/Gimli. Of course, in the movies, Gimli's not as photogenic as the pretty elf boy and the rugged handsome ranger, so he gets shafted. But y'know, it's not *Aragorn* who ends up taking the grey ship with Legolas, is it?
Wait, I forgot really masculine men don't work in shounen ai.
Slash, however, can involve very masculine, muscly, hairy men. (And in any case, I'm not sure Legolas can be called a 'really masculine man'...)
every time there was a touching scene between two of the hobbits my brain went "*ding*! slash!"
Well, like I said before, Frodo/Sam is practically canon. I don't mean "OMG wild hobbit sex", but definitely "OMG they are so in love". A case can also be made for Merry/Pippin, but I'm not really fussed either way about them.
So, er, don't blame us. The hobbit love is in the text. Interpretation is up to the individual...
no subject
Yeah, Sam is definitely more smitten with Frodo than the average bear (or hobbit... whatever.) The problem was my brain raised a flag every time it showed up, which tended to blow my suspension of disbelief out of the water. It's hard to be moved by a scene when your brain starts racing off on tangents :(
It's been far too many years since I last read the books (our copy of FOTR got lost long ago.) I need to pick it up again.