Katherine’s archery experience led to a refreshed interest in watching The Lord of the Rings. We tried the first movie with her a couple of years back, but she got freaked out by Gollum creeping after them in Moria, and we stopped there.
This time (8 about to turn 9), we passed by that with no problem. She seemed to enjoy the movie, and talking about it and the issues it raised (power, despair, temptation, good, evil, betrayal, etc.). She dealt with some of the previously scary parts okay, and the fight sequences in general didn’t cause her a problem (the battle in Balin’s tomb went just fine).
She had only two moments where she was seriously unhappy — while she called that the Balrog would fall into the pit, Gandalf taking the plunge was seriously distressing for her (along with everyone else of course).
Second, the pin-cushioning of Boromir (and the capture of Merry and Pippin) brought the movie to a brief halt, for a regaining of composure, assurance that that was the worst of it and the film was almost over.
She made it through the rest, handled the sadness of the breaking of the Fellowship with aplomb, etc. And while she did not want to watch the next one right away, she was curious about what happened in it. I did offer the general spoiler that we haven’t see the end of Gandalf, and some very general stuff about what the two parties would be running into, and I suspect we’ll be seeing the next installment sooner rather than later
(Katherine declined comment for this story.)
So, has she started to read the Hobbit yet?
October 2005- all three extended versions in a day. my stepson was 17, and ours were 7 and 9, but I think they had already seen them (despite the 12 rating).
Katherine; I cried when Boromir died- and I read the book. repeatedly as a teenager (I also always cry at the end of Hamlet!). And if you are into that sort of thing there are some seriously cool battle scenes coming up, as well as a great speech by a king before a cavalry charge.
Dave- very soon you will having to buy her her own set of polyhedrals!
BD: No Hobbit yet — but she’s a yen for various other fantasy books.
LH: Margie mentioned to Katherine that she cries at Boromir’s death, and I should share that I’m similarly moved. And I gave her some upcoming previews of some cool awesomeness she’ll enjoy in future installments.
She’s going to love Ents.
And she already has her own dice bag of polyhedrals, thankyouverymuch.
Well, she’ll either love the Ents or be scared of them.
I think she will believe them awesome.
One of the very cute things to come out of the viewing is Katherine’s name for Gandalf – Grandalf like Grandfather. She said that the movie kept intruding while she was trying to go to sleep. I told her Dave’s favorite panacea for scary movies – just imagine the characters off-screen having coffee and doughnuts. She liked the idea of Grandalf and Boromir out of view enjoying a snack.
That particular cure for scary movies came from my mom’s father (who had it as coffee and sandwiches, I believe, but it’s the same thought).
Like Katherine, I thought Gandalf’s name was Grandalf for a very long time, and I started out reading the books rather than watching movies.
On that note, I wonder if reading the books first would tend to reduce the scariness.
I would assume so, since it would not be graphic, and you would be aware of what was going to happen.
Hmmm. Maybe so. I’m not sure she’s up to reading LotR, and I’m not sure I’m up to reading them to her. 🙂
Oh, and btw, in between being concerned for Katherine, I found myself enjoying the films very much — removed enough from the WOW! factor to find bits to quibble over, but pretty satisfied all told.
I really need to set up a “Trilogy Saturday” to get a group together to watch them back-to-back-to-back.
It’s interesting how many of us cry when Boromir dies. (I do too.) Does anyone else cry when Frodo leaves the Fellowship, Sam wades into the water, and Frodo saves him from drowning?
P.S. my recaptcha says “bricked Academia” which is funny because academia is definitely bricked (broken, locked up) from my point of view.
See, I read that, and I think of ivy-covered brick walls …
It’s an amazingly powerful scene, with Boromir — and, honestly, Sean Bean does wonders for the character, humanizing him in a way that the books don’t (I’m following the LotR re-read on Tor – http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=13692 – coincidentally, they’re just leaving Lorien there – and generally speaking, most of the folks have serious bones to pick with the movies *except* Bean’s Boromir).
Actually, yes, the Sam-loyal-unto-death scene on the river is pretty moving, too.
I think the thing about Boromir’s death is the ‘fallen hero doomed but redeemed’ (also Hamlet). He knows he is going to die fighting that many Uruks, and for a Hollywood era, where no good-guy is allowed to die (except for the ‘buddy’ in the 1st reel) the fact that he does die can come as a shock to modern audiences.
A freind of mine had the BBC audio version on tape, and we listened to it while travelling to/on a camping holiday. Now when you realise the camp was an annual one by the dark age re-enactment society we were in, and remembering JRR was prof of Anglo-Saxon, you may understand why the language used to describe the death of a certain character on Pelanor fields moved this “rufty-tufty thegn” so much- he admitted he would probably cry when we got to that bit- I couldn’t imagine that! (Did you know ‘Gandalf’ was the name of a hearth-elf in Norse mythology?)
Boromir’s big entrance when Pippin and Merry are surrounded is definately a “Crowning Moment of Awesomeness”, as is Aragorn at Amon Hen- especially just before the fight starts- draws sword, raises it to ‘salute’ position- though actually appears to kiss it. Plus Theodens speech and THAT cavalry charge.
As a student of military history the way the ‘extra’ Wargs vs Rohorrim in TT was staged was a shock. No one actually knows how a cavalry charge worked- the last one being 150 years ago. We don’t know what happened- it is hard to believe that 5000 horses in tight order crashed into each other- they are not that stupid, but historians are unsure whether they slowed to a halt on reaching each other, or loosened formation and passed through. I knew this, and expected ‘Hollywood’, so when Warg and horse crashed into each other I jumped, much to the amusement of stepson and best mate who were sitting with me!
Pelennor fields is probably the closest any of us will have of a cavalry charge (though I have yet to see Olivier’s Henry V). Bear in mind that before they charged the 200 real horses (the close up shots- long shots are obviously CGI) they walked the field looking for dangers such as rabbit holes etc. Real armies did not have this luxury. The fact you see horses killed is also a welcome injection of realism- how many John Wayne westerns did they manage to hit the 33% of the target that was cowboy, and always miss the ‘dinner for the survivors’ he was sat on!
Hoom Hoom- but then always such a hasty people. (It was a pity that they cut that idea from the film, that they spent 12 hours just saying hello!)
Actually closer to 89 years ago.
It was also a shame we lost the backstory to the Horn of Gondor, as part of that climactic bottle in FotR. Though I appreciated that it was a series of rather flat whoops rather than something, um, orchestral.
Actually, that big final extended battle in FotR is many kinds of awesome, for all it lacks the intensity of the battle in Balin’s Tomb, or the big field armies of the second two movies. Each of the characters (except Sam, who gets his scene shortly thereafter) has the opportunity to shine (including Merry and Pippin, who get to *twice* show their rashness / bravery), and the field of bodies around Boromir is uncommented upon but a silent tribute to his final fulfillment of destiny as a warrior on behalf of the West, if not the noble leader that Aragorn turns out to be.
Though Boromir fails the test of the Ring, and cannot prevent the taking of the halflings, his battle not only drives them to future heroism, but weakens the Uruk-hai such that they cannot drive off the later attack by the Rohirrim.
And Sean Bean is just damned cool.