LOTR3 - Return of the King

[Raven]

Has anyone here seen it? I went to see it last night and was just stunned. It's everything the first 2 films were and more, and really worth the time spent. Ever since I started reading Tolkien's works from the age of 10 I'd imagined it a certain way...and wondered if film makers would ever come up with doing it justice. Peter Jackson has. The cgfx also are just incredible. I did a painting many many years ago with the firey eye of Sauron/Mordor, Aragorn, and many other elements of the stories mixed in, but let it go to someone else...wish I had at least kept a photo of it, it resembles the characters and scene elements so eerily close to Jackson's vision now. My opinion is it is a wonderful story and a wonderful film interpretation...well worth seeing---catch it! B7
---Maya

 

[Erik]

Here, they play the movie in two theatres, and both are sold out 'till Jan 5th when school begins anew.

I did see the first two several times, and I prefer the first's world of imagination to thewar-scenes of the second.
But be shure I'll go and see it several times as I consider it to be a movie of extreme importance in the history of movies.

I'll probably try and see the first two anew before going to the third.

I have the extended version(s) on DVD, and, although a 19 inch is small, I'll forget about it after the first second of the first movie.

 

[Raven]

The battle scenes are not my favorite parts of the story...but necessary in the telling of the tale of course. Tolkien's world is fully imagined, I savored every bit of it, so many details. But for those who are interested in battle scenes these are so well done, immense and frightening, (cgfx just incredible) just as they should be to illustrate how formidable the task of the fellowship was...this is the battle of all battles (and though I'm not big on such things I've certainly seen my share of filmed war scenes with a husband of nearly 30 years who is a major history/military buff---ugh!) there was no other options left for them but fight and destroy the source of the power which threatened them all.

The best parts of the films, in my opinion though, are the relationships between the characters, their personalities and the amazing fantasy world Tolkien created. There's no way all of the details of the books could be included in film, but a very good taste of it is there.
---Maya

 

[Rantin Al]

I haven't seen it yet but will do after the schools re-open.
And I'm not sitting beside an a**h*** who didn't read the book before and had to ask his pals who, what and why at every turn in the story. Amen to that little rant.

I've read the book cover to cover about 15 times over the past 20 years. Seen films 1 & 2, have both extended DVDs. Including a cute Gollum figure.

I reckon that the films are pretty true to the original book, in the characters, the conception of Middle Earth and the attention to detail in the style of 'props' is stunning.

The CG work was stunning, Gollum being a masterpiece, but it didn't really jump out as being obviously CG.
The behind the scenes look at the camera work is amazing.

Al.

 

[Erik]

Yeah...footage missing for the scne on the bridge of Khazad-Doom: add cg.
etcetc

they have been rather faithful, yes, except for the elf (what's his name) that gets slayed in battle in the second, and shelob appearing also in the two towers.

only one point I don't like at all, and that are the -obviously- beduins as the Haradrim/Easterners. Makes me think that when it had been filmed in the forties, the bad guys would have had boots and swastika's, and in the sixties_eighties, probably have spoken Russian and using kalashnikovs.
I did ask why on a forum where weta etc visit from time to time, and the answer was that Tolkien describes them as such. Whcih is not true, and made me remark that this was probably a concession to get US money. Storm of protest, calling me a %?^mp??&!usn and a shd!i'"$?)- and a commie rat, but this is a free country! (not for chicken it ain't) ( a quote from another one of my fav movies. to help you, another quote: however cleverly you sneak upon a mirror, your reflection always looks you straight in the eye.)

 

[Raven]

It's an epic and there's war...seems there's always some comparisons drawn to the difficulties of the current times...there's always someone as the "bad guys" and everyone has taken their turn at it in some way or another...except maybe in a fantasy world. Terrible for the suffering... but you can look at it as "bad," or you can say everything happens for a reason, and no matter how it looks "it's all good." Take your pick, it will not change a thing. It's all a circular and never-ending situation. No amount of philosophy of any type has ever convinced the whole world to abandon war and those greeds which lead to it. The themes in LOTR are familiar dressed in the trappings of any time...and it looks like, based on human nature, they will be around a very very long time. And yes, politically someone is always accused and someone always says unjustly....and then there's also mindless patriotic fervor where people stop questioning the leadership....which really is dangerous... But as in the story, there's nothing like a war to divert attention away from what really ought to be looked into...it has always worked and it's happening now as well.
...yes, the mirror reflects but there is still seen only the surface of what is reflected, not it's true nature...and what can be seen can be a trick of the light...a misdirection.
---Maya

 

[Rantin Al]

Did you spot the Bearded Lady Riders of Rohan?

They couldn't get enough experienced horsemen, so they recruited horsewomen and made them up with beards.
(From the extras DVD)

Al.

 

[Raven]

There were some odd looking ones to be sure, Al ...talk about deceptive appearances, eh? 8[ ...you can't believe what you see...for if you do....

---Maya

 

[Tron]

I haven't had the chance to see it as of yet - saw the first two many times

From the comments posted it just goes to show what I have always believed - that we artists are a different breed indeed - at 50+ years of age we still believe in Dragons.

The concept of Middle Earth has been amazing and inspiring people like us for years, and the screen version is absolutely stunning.

Now were the H did that Dragon go now?

 

[Raven]

I think you'll really enjoy it, Rick. And why not believe in dragons??!! It makes about as much sense in the scheme of things as anything else. A heavy dose of idealism every so often can keep things afloat.
---Maya

 

[Erik]

Twenty years ago I was thrown out of science dept in school because I spoke of the universe being a hologram, and the basics of what has become chaos theory. I probably would have become a scientist when these ideas had been accepted then.

No one ever explained to me whydragons always look like dinosaurs, whilst dyno's have been "reinvented" some 200 years ago, and no human ever came close to knowing them.

 

[Raven]

Dragons turn up in a lot of different cultures as well...personally, I like 'em....but I have only heard the theories that dinosaur bones have been perhaps discovered by these early peoples even back then (have even heard of tales of giant monitor lizards --goanas--perhaps living in Australia today???) and they decided to imagine what creatures like that might be like.....that "dragons" were just symbolic. But were they????? I can't answer if there were other creatures around with mankind which could be called dragons then for sure.....medieval depictions of them are of rather small creatures not the huge things seen in modern tales. And there have been comparisons with the Komodo lizards (how could people have known of these....yet with seagoing exploration perhaps they were discovered and news of their existence brought back....some paintings show a resemblence.). With many things there is often a seed of truth....then people imagine the rest. Anyway they capture our imagination still and in a way live on.

Science shows that the truth is even stranger than any fiction...and I think what we will learn in the future will even dwarf the wildest imaginations of any time before us...those who "have it all neatly figured out" will be in for a surprise. Those who feel we won't figure it out will also be in for a big surprise.

 

[Erik]

The first bones of dinosaurs that were discovered weren't even considered as "bones".
People did not try to invent a shape, based on bones, but eventually saw tin the bones the skeleton of a dragon, that they already knew from mythology and description.

 

[Raven]

Well, I'll just have to be content with feeling dragons are in some way real....

Those who enjoy dragon imagery will really love the Nazgul dragon steeds in LOTR3...there are a lot more of them, and really nice close ups as well of all their toothy glory.

I suppose it would be too much to ask of Peter Jackson to consider making a film of "The Hobbit"....but it certainly would be nice....and I'd love to see what his fx crew would come up with for Smaug.

 

[anepu]

I am looking forward to seeing the "Return of the King" soon myself and have really enjoyed the first two parts of this film trilogy.
I have the DVD's of these and watch them frequently. Great film making which really seems to do J.R.R. Tolkien's story justice.

I was sent a link recently to a very interesting article by Jay Weidner concerning J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpeice which you may find insightful & revealing.

http://www.sacredmysteries.com/JayTolkien1.htm

anepu

 

[Raven]

Excellent article anepu!!! I particularly enjoyed the pages 6 and 7 and these comparisons are just what I believe fit with the things happening today in the world as well. Nobody listens to me though :\ ...and this world does seem consumed by materialism, power, greed and the quest for immortality....accepting mortality is just not popular, and every effort is made to deny it or realize it's worth...and a lot of strange ideas are born of that.
Anyway, those are just my opinions, but Tolkien's writings do indeed incorporate all these themes and I, too, feel that is why they resonate with so many...people "read" the stories, but feel the truths within them.

....and from the last page this quote is also important: "For having been gifted by the Divine with 'free will', in every moment, we
have the power to choose our own path."

Thanks for sharing the link to the wonderful articles, anepu!!!
---Maya

 

[Erik]

Many people want to live forever, but when it rains the whole weekend, they're bored to death.

This said: free will is an illusion. We are sound asleep, and as long as there is no real life-threatening need, we will stay asleep and dream of gods, evolution etc. We respond like predictable machines to impulses we interpret out of memory. We believe in personality, but that's another creation of the mind. We are never present as our presence is underdeveloped because the mind takes it all like a tyrant, we are always in the past or in the future.
And we will all die in our sleep as we never woke up.

 

[Raven]

There's never been any point to any of it. What is real and what is an illusion? And what is truth? Have fun with all of it!
Just live. "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!" "Don't worry, be happy!"

"It won't make any difference."

In the tradition of false prophets everywhere I'll have some fun making "false predictions".....let's see, what I "see" is things will not come to any sort of abupt end by the magic year of 2012 or 2015 or even 2038... etc. (People will not be able to physically travel back in time...sorry folks, that stays in the lab on just a particle level, time doesn't really exist like we think of it and things that apply at the particle level don't apply in the same way to us.....smoke and mirrors ) Just more pollution, more fighting off and on, people still wanting more money more time and more stuff. More science mistakes as well as some beneficial discoveries...but basically pretty much "business as usual." Money makes the world go 'round...that won't change. Natural disasters come and go as they always have...earthquakes, bad weather, volcanic eruptions, the west coast of North American won't be flooded away, and at some point there's a rock out in space with our name on it that will temporarily slow the rate of "progress" at some point, be devastating where it hits....but we'll be eager to get back on that track in spite of things, and continue right on into an even more technological future. There will be a manned moon base. We will become part "machine" gradually. The children of every generation will not care of what things were like at an earlier time, nor will they really care to "go back" to any such ways....they only know the "now" and so things will continue as ever they have with children "used to" and accepting things their parents never could have imagined would be possible...even less freedoms and more govt. interference in everyone's lives. The doomsdayers will keep claiming the world is about to end as we know it....and the only way they are right is that in every second our existence is over, until the next, and it's all about change. Even if we were nuked back to a stoneage existence we would endeavor to put it all right back pretty much as it was before that, making the same mistakes as before, we don't learn from history we just repeat it because of human nature.

If we aren't supposed to learn anything while here then I'd say we've been pretty successful! Hells bells! Class dismissed.