August 9, 2004

A Couple of Responses
Eonwe

A couple responses to Lilly and Thorongil's RotK complaints.

Lilly - I agree. Like a lot. I can imagine Frodo telling Sam to go; I cannot imagine Sam leaving him with Gollum. I can almost imagine him obeying Frodo and leaving Frodo alone (maybe...), but never with Gollum. The most irksome scene (from this part of the story) to me is when Sam, on his way back down, discovers the bread crumbs Gollum threw away. Suddenly, he remembers, "Oh yeah, Gollum really IS a villian." But Sam has been sure of that all along! He's known that for a movie and a half!

Thorongil - Although I know what you mean when you say Aragorn's charge at the Black Gates is not militarily the best option, I thought it was a great scene. It was also very Tolkienesque. Tolkien's characters are wise and smart, but MORE than that they are courageous. They run into battle when they could live longer, maybe even accomplish more, by being cautious. His leaders are always in a 'fey' mood, feeling the rush of battle and heading into the thickest part of it. And is 'living longer' (by what, an hour?) really much of a goal when you are facing such an overwhelming foe? If Aragorn had wanted to "live longer" or "do what's best for his men," he never would have left Minas Tirith! I think the charge is simply the final, logical step on a path he decided on long before. As for the quote you read from the book, the film contained shots much like that, all except for the "bristling spears."

Well, we've almost had three posts about annoying changes is RotK without anyone mentioning the Cracks of Doom. We can't have that! So: In the film, I really wish Gollum would have just fallen over the cliff, or at least that Frodo would NOT have fallen and needed to be rescued. I do enjoy the scene, but there's this little soundtrack in the back of my mind going "Why, Peter, why?"

Eonwe