ROTK Thread

[Isamu Atreides 86]

All I have to say is that they had BETTER include The Houses of the Healing in the Extended Edition.

The Houses of Healing will be in the EE. PJ confirmed it Newsweek.

sweet. we'll get to see Faramir spin his mad game to Eowyn

[Max Jenius]

Hehe, maybe now that the third one is out we can finally get on with our lives.

Lord of the Rings has enjoyed a nice surge of popularity recently, but as much as I like the movies I'm kind of sick of them now.

Maybe its time to relax and read the books again.

[bsu legato]

I was completely appaled by the lack of closure for Gimli. Are we to assume that he just hung out at Minas Tirith for Aragorn's coronation, and then simply faded away into anonymity? Thank you for raping my childhood, Peter Jackson. You friggen hack....

p.s. anybody who can't detect the sarcasm in my post will be struck in the face with a cold, wet trout.

[Mr March]

Ouch

[Chowser]

well, i've read the books and i still liked the movie for what it was.

i got off work on the 17th at 6:30am, went to my buddy's house, we watched the extended versions of FOTR and TTT then went and picked up our wives from work and watched the 4pm showing. Very few people at the theatre. (most people were still at work, I guess).

We all liked the movie, I was suprised I was awake for the whole thing. Got home at 8 and don't remember what happened next

[Blaine23]

Hee... isn't it funny that the same people who are most likely to nitpick a film apart are the same ones who line up to see it at midnight?

No, not really. I don't follow you. Still after the climax the ending seems to go on and on. They could have saved some of it for the extended cut.

I don't disagree with you Jem (I haven't seen the film yet, so I can't) - I was just making a point about fandom in general.

People who love something are the first to see it and usually the first to bash it.

If PJ had cut some of the ending materials, you'd have somebody else dogging it because PJ "cut out the heart" of LotR. Hell, people were already whining about the lack of Saruman in RotK before the movie came out... and that sequence is more anti-climactic than anything that he could have left in the finished film.

People willing to stay up until 4 in the morning on a work night to see a flick are almost certain to be let down somewhat... this is a movie, folks. Not the rapture.

Well, that's what I mean. People will nitpick a movie no matter when they see it. You were hearing it from those guys then because they had been the first to see it. The nitpicking will go on. It always has and always will. Makes no difference about the general fandom when they saw it.

True dat. The nitpicking will continue, regardless.

But I still hold to my theory that the more rabid the fan, the more rabid the nitpick.

[1st Border Red Devil]

But I still hold to my theory that the more rabid the fan, the more rabid the nitpick.

Without a doubt. I began picking it apart as soon as I was sufficiently away from my friends that swore the movies were better than than books (never mind the fact that none of them have read the novels past the first 2 chapters of Fellowship of the Ring). I have yet to truly be merciless in my review. I think where the movie series screwed the pooch was in The Two Towers. It deviated so much...and added so much useless crap that The Return of the King had to play catch up...causing many to feel that the ending was rushed.

[GobotFool]

Saw it last night, I thought it was a great flick. I'll have to read the books and see how I feel the movies measure up to them.

BTW I loved the ending. Most hollywood movies forget that life goes on after these kind of events, cutting off at the climax of the final major event.

Edited December 22, 2003 by GobotFool

[Max Jenius]

Good movie. Nothing special.

[GobotFool]

For my own part, I understand that the movie can't be the same as the book. After all, that's the point of calling it an "adaptation."

It's when they choose to emphasize things I dislike over things I like. . . or when they alter things for no (apparent) reason. . . that's when I start to disagree.

But, just saying: "This wasn't the same" doesn't automatically make the change bad. Which is where I think a lot of the fanboys head off the cliff.

Very well said.

[GobotFool]

Well, Like I said. I never read the books. However, the scene was extremely predictable in terms of what happened. So,

If that is what happened in the book, I will fault the writer.

This is one of the problems adapting works out of their time and I don't think anyone can really be faulted for it. Lord of the Rings was written well before our modern era of mass production popular culture. Lord of the Rings is one of the works (like many greats of literature) that inspires filmmakers, writers, and producers to make films that utilize its successful elements. Growing up with thousands of films and television series that use such classic works and their context means that we've been bombarded by a hundred other stories that have already used a similar scene.

Hence, the scene in ROTK faultlessly becomes cliched because of the prior propagation of lesser works using Tolkien in homage.

Read enough books, see enough movies, everything will eventually seem cliche.

[Smiley424]

I really enjoyed ROTK, though it was a good movie. I still think Fellowship is the best adaptation of the book overall, but does not take away from my enjoyment of ROTK. Am definately waiting for the Extended Edition, will make it just that much better.

I'm glad to see Sloth still getting some work in the biz Me and my buddy were hoping for him to kick some ass, I was hoping Theoden would take him down (kinda like in the book) before being jacked up by the Witch-King.

Anyway, Hurin, I totally agree with what you're sayin about the Armies of the Dead. But again, just some fanboy talk, no real biggie, doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the movie.

[Mr March]

Read enough books, see enough movies, everything will eventually seem cliche.

Somewhat true, to an extent. However, the more well read a person becomes, the more chance there is you'll find something new and interesting that hasn't been done yet. Every time I introduce someone to anime, it reminds me well of the times when I knew very little of the medium. Don't be afraid to explore and you'll be rewarded.

[007-vf1]

The movie was good and as close as possible could have been adparted, was true to the book. That is something you don't see a lot of. I am just glad he didn't screwed up that much when trying to steer around the book to make sense of the short time they had to make the flick work.

I also look forward to the cut sceneson the ED with the shire and Saruman, the healing baths on Minas T, and probably see Sam using the ring before rescuing Frodo.

[Toby Danger]

Is the Scourging of the Shire going to be in the Extended Edition?

As for me... I can't wait to see the Mouth of Sauron.

Loved the movie, thought it was nothing short of divine

[bandit29]

The list of mistakes/errors are coming in. I didn't notice much of these I'll have to keep an eye out next time I see it. lol

http://www.moviemistakes.com/film2746

[Southpaw Samurai]

Is the Scourging of the Shire going to be in the Extended Edition?

As for me... I can't wait to see the Mouth of Sauron.

No Scourging unless Jackson suddenly decides to go back and film it. From nearly the beginning it was one of the parts that Jackson decided to not even bother with. He never liked that part of the book and it was too much of an extra side story at the end. He's already taken heat for how many 'endings' the movie has. The Extended Edition fan base is much more forgiving, but it porbably would still seem like too much thrown on. While I like certain aspects of it, I can understand why it isn't included. As long as Saruman gets a decent and fitting end, I can live without the Scourging.

As to my post-ROTK experience, I am currently uncertain as to how I feel. I loved FotR at first viewing (although I had quibbles). Two Towers won me over a bit on the second viewing and both movies were better on the Extended Editions. With ROTK, I walked out of the second viewing feeling almost exactly as I did out of the first...perhaps even worse. I just felt certain parts were missing or handled poorly and our consolation prize was more oliphaunts (now, I like oliphaunts, but they were just played up too much). I missed the Witchking/Gandalf confrontation...ESPECIALLY since they hinted at it in a couple of scenes (which now actually frightens me for the ROTK:EE because I've heard that this scene plays out much differently...and, more importantly, wrongly in my most humble opinion...than it does in the book). Poor Denethor was reduced to the level of a crazed buffoon with little logical explanation. I dislike the dialogue changes in the Eowyn/Witchking scene (I don't need verbatim, but I thought the scene was well written by Tolkien and mangled in the retelling). The Frodo/Sam sequences (which usually are a thing I've enjoyed) seemed to be reptitious in dialogue and dragged on almost as if it was a documentary...until after Frodo is rescued and suddenly it takes two minutes to cross over to Mount Doom (at least the ROTK:EE will have the 'enlisted in the orc army' scenes). The final Ring/Frodo/Gollum also disappointed me on a number of levels (and I shan't bore you with them all). I had accepted the non-metaphor big red eye, but it's searchlight feature just irked me moreso than it really should have, I suppose. And for all the battle emphasis, the tactics were poorly executed. I almost think Theoden was as insane as Denethor. You have a massed medium calvary moving up on an enemy's flank. Do you A) keep up the surprise and hit them quickly at their flank with a charge or B) pause on top of a crest and let them consider their alternatives and wheel about to face you. The Rohirrim were lucky the orcs didn't have a highly disciplined pike group or there would have been some serious casualties. But wait! Now that you've broken their ranks, they move up their very heavy calvary (if you can consider oliphaunts that instead of pure armor or armored mobile artillery). So what do you do as a veteran leader of horsemen? Charge them straight on! It's like Theoden and not Eowyn had the death wish and wanted to take his entire army out with him. It's no wonder Theoden likes hiding behind a big wall, his offensive tactics are suicidal.

Sorry for the rambling. My concerns (by which I mean I liked the movie, but far from the same joy I got out of the FotR or the TT:EE) are not solely based on changes (heck, I for one felt getting rid of Tom B. and Old Man Willow made sense and it was a brilliant notion to have Arwen be one of the riders out looking for Aragorn, Frodo & Co. (although I could go on about the ford scene)), but mainly where the changes or omissions really took away parts of the overall story and in some of these cases were removed so we could have redundant (Smeagol/Deagol scene) or filler action sequences (Wargs and Oliphaunts).

[Blaine23]

Sorry for the rambling. My concerns (by which I mean I liked the movie, but far from the same joy I got out of the FotR or the TT:EE) are not solely based on changes (heck, I for one felt getting rid of Tom B. and Old Man Willow made sense and it was a brilliant notion to have Arwen be one of the riders out looking for Aragorn, Frodo & Co. (although I could go on about the ford scene)), but mainly where the changes or omissions really took away parts of the overall story and in some of these cases were removed so we could have redundant (Smeagol/Deagol scene) or filler action sequences (Wargs and Oliphaunts).

Weird... the Smeagol/Deagol scene was one my favorite parts of the film.

It felt brutal and honest and it set the tone for the movie exceptionally well.

FotR had the best opening, but it was really an opening for all 3 films.

TT had the worst opening, being just a recap of Gandalf's "demise" with the Balrog.

All in all, after my second viewing (this time on a Grand Screen, which was awesome), I'd have to say this is easily my favorite of the 3 films.

[Max Jenius]

I thought it was funny when the Eye of Sauron had that little beam shooting out of it.

[the white drew carey]

TT had the worst opening, being just a recap of Gandalf's "demise" with the Balrog.

I have to disagree. I think TT was the best opening. So you're wrong!!!

[Jolly Rogers]

My favorite opening was TTT as well. The ROTK opening scene feels like a bone they tossed Andy Serkis' way because they feel sorry he did all that work but never actually appears in the movie.

[1st Border Red Devil]

have to disagree. I think TT was the best opening.

Heh....I think the opening was about the only thing in The Two Towers I didnt despise. The movie blew chunks on so many levels....the EE helped alleviate that somewhat....but only somewhat.

[Jemstone]

have to disagree. I think TT was the best opening.

Heh....I think the opening was about the only thing in The Two Towers I didnt despise. The movie blew chunks on so many levels....the EE helped alleviate that somewhat....but only somewhat.

I can't help but find you amusing because the mistakes adapting the books annoy you that much. Especially for someone who was/is on the RT.com's "techno babble noncontinuity" board and is still somewhat a fan of a show which is a poor adapation of what it's based on. I find it ironic.

[1st Border Red Devil]

I can't help but find you amusing because the mistakes adapting the books annoy you that much. Especially for someone who was/is on the RT.com's "techno babble noncontinuity" board and is still somewhat a fan of a show which is a poor adapation of what it's based on. I find it ironic.

Same thing could be said in return of many people here. We all have our likes and dislikes.

[Max Jenius]

I can't help but find you amusing because the mistakes adapting the books annoy you that much.  Especially for someone who was/is on the RT.com's "techno babble noncontinuity" board and is still somewhat a fan of a show which is a poor adapation of what it's based on. I find it ironic.

Same thing could be said in return of many people here. We all have our likes and dislikes.

I agree w/ ya there. Devil.

[cwbrown]

You have a massed medium calvary moving up on an enemy's flank. Do you A) keep up the surprise and hit them quickly at their flank with a charge or B) pause on top of a crest and let them consider their alternatives and wheel about to face you.

Well, the one impression I got there was that Theoden was waiting until the sunrise right behind him. Essentially, pulling a second "Helm's Deep" charge. So, while it gave the orcs a chance to wheel around, the tactical move may still have been in his favor.

On charging the oliphaunts, well... who really knows? <_<

Personally, I really liked the movie for what it was. But my mom, man, was she upset at it in a whole lot of ways.

[Jolly Rogers]

Letterman's Top 10 dumb guy complaints about the movie:

10. I expected something a little more, you know, hobbity.

9. Middle-earth is clearly shot in Regular Earth.

8. It was too long, and it wasn't a cartoon.

7. I spilled butter on my Twizzlers!

6. My name is Stu- Why can't there be a hobbit named Stu?

5. Where the hell is Chewbacca?

4. If there's magic, why isn't there a rapping kangaroo?

3. I couldn't focus on the movie- I was still mad about losing money on the Giants.

2. Frodo ignored me- He thinks he's All That.

1. I haven't seen it yet, I was too busy governing California.

[bsu legato]

Kidding aside, the only real beef I had with ROTK (and I admit it's a small, insignificant one) was that the Army of the Dead looked exactly like the ghosts in The Frighteners. I don't really have a problem with that, but I was just hoping for something new or different.

And while I'm at it, I'd have liked to have seen them used a bit more dramatically. Imagine that shot from Pirates of the Carribean where you see the undead pirates marching underwater, but on a much much larger scale. Instead they just poured onto the battlefield like floodwater. Perhaps there's additional footage awaiting us in the ROTK:EE, but as it stands the dead's contribution to the battle is all too brief.

[bandit29]

Here's some rumores for LOTR ROTK EE (lol phew..)

RotK EE Rumored "longer than 4 hours and 50 min"

Tookish @ 12:36 pm EST

Editor's Note: I cannot confirm the accuracy of this report!

Nothing clear yet on the release date, let alone the disc specs for the third installment of The Lord of the Rings, however since both previous films had Extended Editions released on DVD it is fair to assume this will happen again, especially after it is rumoured Peter Jackson said the following at the Copenhagen premiere. Basically he commented that the first cut of Return of the King had a running time of four hours and fifty minutes. When asked why this was too long for theatres but acceptable for DVD, he said:

"It is different with the DVD version. People watch it at home. They can lay on the couch or spread the experience over two or three nights. That is the amazing thing with DVD. It gives a whole new dynamic and I can assure you that the DVD version of Return of the King will be longer than 4 hours and 50 min."

Unless any of our Danish readers have can confirm this then it is still rumour, however if true, this really is interesting news.

My note: Also note that Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) appeared on Jonathan Ross Friday night, and he said that the Extended Edition would be over five hours long.

Andy

[source: DVDAnswers.com]

http://www.theonering.net/staticnews/1072200980.html

[eriku]

...over 5 hours long? Holy crap! And by that I mean: YAY!!!