Watched Return of the King with Kitten today — all 4-odd hours of the Extended Cut, thus bringing to a close our joint tour of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Some comments from Katherine:
- I really liked the movie, because there was a great change in all of it. Like, one part it was really minor music, next thing you know, great major music, prancing along the plains.
- [SPOILER ALERT] I really liked how at the end the Eye went up in flames.
- I don’t think it’s a book I’m going to want to read soon. Because I know the book is normally really different from it, but I’ll know like when the dragons [Ringwraith mounts] are coming that soon the eagles will come.
- I really liked the ghosts just floating across the water … I really liked ghosts in general.
- I really think the Good Gollum was really cute, the way his eyes looked.
Her other comments during the movie was that there were too many names all alike. She got a little teary at the Grey Havens (as did we all).
Not too much scare/creepy factor. “I think the orcs were really gross. They have goo coming out of their face.”
Overall, she seemed to enjoy it, as did eye. It was the extended cut, so we got the extra bits with the Mouth of Sauron and the like. This is the movie that drifts the furthest from the books, but for the most part (save turning the Paths of the Dead into the deus ex phantasma, even though it amused the 9-year-old) it works pretty well.
A fine way to spend the better part of a Saturday.
The biggest criticism fans have is the use of the Army of the Dead. As they are unstoppable it makes the Charge of the Rohirrim pointless, and lessens it heroism. Not sure how it drifts furthest from the books- it cuts some (the wild men, replaces Rangers with the Dead), and the bit of with the troll vs Aragorn is gilding (though thankfully they didn’t so with the Aragorn vs Sauron fight- I understand that is what the CGI’ed troll is hiding).
The ‘Ride of the Rohirrim’ is possibly the finest piece of War ever filmed, starting with Theoden’s speech. Forget Errol Flynn style sword clashes- that is real fighting. (The INSIDE of his armour is decorated, so the last thing Bernard Hill saw when being armoured was ‘his’ standard).
Always shed a tear at the final line, whether watching or reading “Well, I’m back.” It is a definate end, with a new start promised. Very few books or movies manage this, even from the same author (I find Pratchett the most consistent at this).
May I humbly suggest you introduce Katherine to Tiffany Aching (Wee Free Men, Hat full of Sky and Wintersmith) by Pterry. Not only a heroine she can identify with, but a look at morals without being too preachy, and even baddies who have depth.
Also I can not recommend Garth Nix ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ too highly- starting with Mister Monday. Not only are they inventive but they are varied. Agian they have moral dilemmas in where the 12 year old hero has to make choices about the use of power. I genuinely believe they are better than HP. Plus I’d be interested in a liberal Christian’s view of the back world.
The (uber)use of the Armies of the Dead are, for the reasons you point out, both a significant departure and a poor choice. They really didn’t need to do that. Granted that they needed to do some editing there (the whole elision of Prince Imrahil and the folks from the Mouths of the Anduin would have been way too confusing, as they sort of were in the original), but as it stand, had the AotD arrived an hour or two earlier, then a whole bunch of Gondorians and Rohirrim would have been alive.
The other things that still bothers me about the Pellenor Fields (and, for that matter, Edoras, though a bit less so) is that you basically have large cities (Minas Tirith esp.) with no visible sign of support — no farms or fields or anything. Some light traces of dirt roads, but that’s about it. So what the hell did they eat in the city?
I also miss loss of the Palantirs (aside from a couple of unexplained scenes) in the story. It explains a lot about Denethor that otherwise just makes him out to be a creep and a loon.
Please don’t tell me that what was actually filmed was Aragorn vs. Sauron.
The Ride of the Rohirrim is, indeed, very cool. Had a side discussion with Katherine, as it happened, about the strengths (and weaknesses) of cavalry charges.
What else is majorly changed is everything post-coronation — the Scouring of the Shire, of course. Plus everything that took place other than the Hobbits — I am sorry (aside from Gimli’s general abuse during the movie) that the long friendship of Gimli and Legolas got short shrift — indeed, that eventually Gimli got to sail to the West. (That the last boat we see at the end is meant to be the Last Boat Ever is a distortion, albeit one I almost understand for dramatic purposes.)
I am pleased, in the last movie, that we do get both Sean Bean and Cate Blanchett; I enjoyed both their roles so much. (Indeed, for a guy killed before the first movie is over, Bean manages to show up in all three films in the Extended Editions.)
I will make note of your other recommendations; Katherine has stacks of unread books, is currently hip-deep in Hunter’s Warriors series, and has a lot of reading assignments in various genres from her teacher.
But I’ll make a note, definitely.
Look, I’m getting my recommendations for me. Maybe I read them to the kids, but I was up until something stupidly late reading Superior Saturday last night. 🙂
Aragorn v Sauron- straight up- I think it’s on the extras commentary somewhere!
The problem that dramatisations suffer is they have to cut anything not central. Scouring of the Shire worked in context of Tolkein and the books, but given the fact people were joking about RotK having 6 endings “It’s over, oh no it isn’t” a20 minute action sequence would have added nothing. I’d forgotten Imhildras and the knights existed until Games Workshop brought out the figure range. Checking I found he is mentioned by name 3 times in about 10 pages! Why confuse people?
The cut I missed the most was Tom Bombadil, but again it added nothing to the main story.
Oh, I’m not suggesting they should have brought in Prince I., or the Scouring of the Shire. I’m not even sure how the long years after the RotK would have been handled (I did like some of Arwen’s visions of Aragorn’s later years, even if the Arwen stuff was some of my least favorite movie bits out there). The slow, bittersweet fading of the Third Age is very important to the feel of the books, and too much of it gets, paradoxically, rushed in the movies. That’s not necessarily Jackson’s fault; it’s just a tough nut to crack.
Yeah, I miss Bombadil, just because. Though it also means losing the Old Woods, Old Man Willow, the Barrow Downs, and Where The Hobbits Got Their Daggers of Westernesse That Merry Uses To Stab the Nazgul. Agreed, that’d be about another 30-45 minutes of movie that wasn’t essential, but …
Well, if they had cut out Arwen, they could have included Tom. The movies just seemed to grind to a stop whenever Arwen was onscreen.
Though I liked Elrond.
Because I cannot watch the one movie without thinking of the other. =P
Yeah — and it doesn’t help Elrond greeting him with, “Welcome to Rivendell, Frodo Baggins.”
So Sallah, Twoflower and Will Turner all go with Magneto to fight Count Dooku…
Heh.