December 5, 2003

Movie Thoughts
Eonwe

A couple weeks ago, I randomly started rereading FotR. Well, now I've read it and TTT and the chapters of RotK that cover Sam and Frodo's journey to Mount Doom. I planned only to read the chapters covered in the first two films, but I went a little beyond that. Between that and watching the Extended Edition of TTT film a couple times, a bunch of unconnected, but fun, thoughts have occurred to me. This will probably be long.

- I really wish the name 'Mithrandir' would work its way into the films. It's one of my favorite Tolkien names and I totally thought it would show up a lot. But I don't think it has yet, and if it hasn't yet, I'm pretty sure it won't in part 3. Okay, instead of 'Mithrandir' I'm willing to accept 'Nirnaeth Arnoediad' 'Mar-nu-Falmar' or 'Laurelindórenan'. Fingers crossed.

- I will take more of any Sam/Frodo/Gollum scenes they've got. Their lunch break in the Dead Marshes is probably my favorite new scene in TTT ... probably.

- I wish that in the movie, Sam and Frodo - not just the audience - were aware of Gollum's split personality and inner debate. Gollum's dual nature is very clear to Sam and Frodo from the beginning in the book, but is never talked about between them in the movie. In particular, only the audience sees the debate where Smeagol tells Gollum to leave. Sam and Frodo are asleep.

- It is amazing how hard the writers and filmmakers worked to get more of Tolkien's own writing into the scipts! All the time, lines are lifted from one scene and plopped down in another, shifted between characters, or even taken from narration to dialogue. Sometimes it is an entire quote; sometimes only an evocative phrase or snippet. A COUPLE examples: Gandalf's 'pity Gollum' speech to Frodo in Moria, Boromir's description of Minas Tirith, Gollum reciting a Barrow Wight's rhyme, Treebeard saying some Tom Bombadil lines about Old Man Willow and the hobbits sleeping through the night, Theoden's 'Horse and Rider' speech.

- One instance of the above tendency made me laugh out loud though the first time I noticed the error it caused. Maybe this has been mentioned here before. I watched the movie several times before batting an eye at it. When Gandalf reappears (but before revealing who he is to Aragorn and friends) he says the following about Merry and Pippin: "They passed this way, THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY." A direct quote from the book, and that's the problem. The timelines are very different in the book and movie (things always happen faster in the movie, closer together with less travel time in between). In the movie, Aragorn and Co. come upon the orc pyre and enter Fangorn the day after the Riders attack the orcs and the hobbits escape into the woods. So in the film, the hobbits passed that way probably only a couple hours before, definitely less than a day.

- And finally, I am totally, totally excited to see The Return of the King. There is a lot of story to tell, many great moments to show, and I cannot wait.

Sorry about the length, but that's allowed if you split your post up into segments. No, it really is. :)

Eonwe