May 5, 2004

My Favorite
Lilly

Well, although the ROTK EE DVD is yet to come, I feel that I have seen enough of all three movies to come up with an answer to the often-asked question: which LOTR movie is my favorite.

My answer is the Extended Fellowship of the Ring. It follows the book more closely for one, and for another it just...I don't know...does it for me.

Everything seems to have so much more depth in the first movie. Everything seems more centered, more...real. The job of making the hobbits look small, whether by forced perspective or blue screen or doubles, seems so much more well done in the FOTR than in any of the other two. Actually, in the ROTK I actually winced a few times to see the hobbits obviously not the credited stars, but stunt doubles.

Also, the images were so much more authentic to me. I could never have pictured a more perfect Doors of Moria scene, nor a more fitting Balrog, whereas in the TT I had a bit of trouble accepting the ents, and the wargs, and in the ROTK the Eye and Shelob's lair seemed somehow altered from what they ought to have been. All the characters In the FOTR seem to have been lifted right from the page onto the screen, and I had no quarrel with any of them. And the Extended scenes add so much also. But in the ROTK Denethor, Aragorn, Frodo...all these seemed somehow off center from what had impressed me in the books. Even in the TT EE Theoden and Faramir (especially Faramir) weren't themselves, to me. Don't get me wrong, I loved the movies, and all of them are wonderful works, but in the FOTR especially, it all seemed right, like that was the way it was and there was no other way to do it.

The Depth, the reality, the authenticity of the FOTR EE make it my favorite of the trilogy...of course, I have yet to see the ROTK EE DVD. So I'll get back to you later.

How about you guys: which is your favorite so far?

yours.

~Lilly
PS: Since I now have a whole fan (Sirindu, thanks!) I will UN-QUIT and resume my copycattism, enduring, for your sake, a self-loathing of unoriginality. C: Um.....Captain Faramir's attack on Osgiliath tore at my heartstrings and although I'm not sure if that's exactly the way it was in the book (I'm sure it's not, actually), It seemed pretty close to my recollection and is pretty darn good. Haha, do I suck or what.