12-28-2007, 07:43 PM | #61 | |||
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Maybe it isn't like this for a lot of people but when I read the books, it's my own images of the Nine Companions that are in my head. Aragorn does look vaguely like Viggo Mortensen with long hair and a three day's growth beard, but I always thought Viggo Mortensen did look vaguely like Aragorn. Frodo has curly brown hair, but I actually can't picture his eyes (must re-read the book I guess). He looks like he's in his mid-thirties even though he's fifty. Gandalf has a grey-blue hat and Legolas has black hair. My mental images have faded a bit, but I haven't read the books in quite a while. While I find the LotR movies mediocre, they also don't have a lot of sticking power because of this. They bugged me a lot more when they first came out. My biggest problem with them now is they don't stand alone as good movies. Without the audience's knowledge of the book the plot is incoherent, yet the movie needlessly mangles aspects of the book. If you're going to mangle, you have least have to have a functioning plot at the end. That's what I say about book>movie adaptations.
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01-02-2008, 04:02 PM | #62 | |
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But I think this is mostly because they approached it with a clean slate.
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01-03-2008, 10:12 AM | #63 | ||||||
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Look at other movies, Dune, for example. Even people familier with the books couldn't make head nor tails of it. Spielberg got kicked off HP because his distinctive directors vision was competitive with JKR. Even though I was not thrilled with those movies, I thought they were better off without him. Every wand burst would have had chimes. Quote:
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01-03-2008, 10:26 AM | #64 |
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01-03-2008, 10:33 AM | #65 |
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Siscuza is right (except about Frodo's age... ) about art, but IMO I think you can convey the spirit of a story in a film much more effectively than was achieved on LOTR. And that's even with the hack & slash factor.
In fact, if they had been less concerned about the purists ("oh, we'll get our arses kicked if we don't include Treebeard", for example) they might have produced a better film. On the other hand, the stuff they did add was pretty gash on the whole and did not bode well for a major reworking. Great to see Black Breathalyzer back! |
01-03-2008, 11:06 AM | #66 | |
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I first read The Hobbit long before your parents met, Gordis, I'll betcha. If 33 is the coming of age, it corresponds to 18-21. That's the age Frodo is when Bilbo leaves. He has the Ring (which extends life) and hobbits age slower than today's men, so he continues to have the appearance of a very young man. You couldn't cast it older than 30. I can understand why they didn't cast someone actually 18-20, because people are still growing at that point, and the years filming would show. But not everyone is Micky Rooney, to play juveniles, forever.
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That would be the swirling vortex to another world. Cool. I want one. TMNT No, I'm not emo. I just have a really poor sense of direction. (Thanks to katya for this quote) This is the best news story EVER! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26087293/ “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”...John McCain "I shall go back. And I shall find that therapist. And I shall whack her upside her head with my blanket full of rocks." ...Louisa May |
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01-03-2008, 11:48 AM | #67 | |
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Anyway, the problem with PJ's Frodo is not that he LOOKS a baby, but that he ACTS like a baby. Witless piece of luggage to be hauled around - no more. |
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01-03-2008, 12:12 PM | #68 |
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Hehehe, good answer siscuz.
The Old Took was, what, 120 or something; 102 was "ripe but disappointing"; I reckon a factor of 2/3 to 3/4 is in order. IIRC Frodo was 50 when he left the Shire, which would correspond to 30-35+ or so. Which is probably why we've got that clash between our mind's eye and what's on the screen. Anyway, it was the portrayal, rather than the casting that was the problem. |
01-03-2008, 12:17 PM | #69 |
Elf Lord
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Naw. Struck me as humorous.
I think Tolkien's Frodo is kind of a straw man. That's not unusual for a writer of JRR's academic background. A classical "protagonist" should undergo a character change as a result of the circumstances of the book, and Frodo really doesn't, because he has more in common with medieval static heroes. By this standard, Sam is the evolving protagonist, although these literary quibbles are, imo, quibbles. At any rate, there isn't much for an actor (or screenwriter) to work with, and, given the length of the piece, that's a real problem. Frodo in the books doesn't make many real choices...hard to create that. "I will take it, although I do not know the way." controls the entire rest of the story, unless you consider his relationship with Gollum as his second choice.
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That would be the swirling vortex to another world. Cool. I want one. TMNT No, I'm not emo. I just have a really poor sense of direction. (Thanks to katya for this quote) This is the best news story EVER! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26087293/ “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”...John McCain "I shall go back. And I shall find that therapist. And I shall whack her upside her head with my blanket full of rocks." ...Louisa May |
01-03-2008, 12:21 PM | #70 |
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You forget the ring. I don't think he got older in appearance between the party and the departure...or at least not much.
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That would be the swirling vortex to another world. Cool. I want one. TMNT No, I'm not emo. I just have a really poor sense of direction. (Thanks to katya for this quote) This is the best news story EVER! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26087293/ “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”...John McCain "I shall go back. And I shall find that therapist. And I shall whack her upside her head with my blanket full of rocks." ...Louisa May |
01-03-2008, 12:42 PM | #71 | ||
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01-03-2008, 12:45 PM | #72 | |
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That would be the swirling vortex to another world. Cool. I want one. TMNT No, I'm not emo. I just have a really poor sense of direction. (Thanks to katya for this quote) This is the best news story EVER! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26087293/ “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”...John McCain "I shall go back. And I shall find that therapist. And I shall whack her upside her head with my blanket full of rocks." ...Louisa May |
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01-03-2008, 01:07 PM | #73 | ||
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In the movie - yes, Frodo is a sissy and a dull sissy throughout. In the book Saruman (a good judge of characters I think) comments: Quote:
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01-03-2008, 01:23 PM | #74 | |
Advocatus Diaboli
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He's always been more the responsible type than the carefree. I suppose he has a few carefree moments, like in Bree but, in general, his personality is pretty set to begin with. As far as Saruman's comments go, he never even met Frodo until the scouring, so how would he know how much Frodo had changed?
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01-03-2008, 01:41 PM | #75 | |
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Frodo: As master of Bag End, Frodo felt it his painful duty to say goodbye to the guests. Rumours of strange events had by now spread all over the field, but Frodo would only say no doubt everything will be cleared up in the morning.Fellowship pg 63. Name one fun thing Frodo ever did. Even the "hey diddle diddle" business starts with "Frodo was annoyed." Fellowship pg 215
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That would be the swirling vortex to another world. Cool. I want one. TMNT No, I'm not emo. I just have a really poor sense of direction. (Thanks to katya for this quote) This is the best news story EVER! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26087293/ “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”...John McCain "I shall go back. And I shall find that therapist. And I shall whack her upside her head with my blanket full of rocks." ...Louisa May |
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01-03-2008, 01:44 PM | #76 |
Elf Lord
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And, as far as that goes, was Frodo actually motivated by malice, as Saruman says? I don't think so.
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That would be the swirling vortex to another world. Cool. I want one. TMNT No, I'm not emo. I just have a really poor sense of direction. (Thanks to katya for this quote) This is the best news story EVER! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26087293/ “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”...John McCain "I shall go back. And I shall find that therapist. And I shall whack her upside her head with my blanket full of rocks." ...Louisa May |
01-03-2008, 01:52 PM | #77 | |||||
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And was it being responsible behaving like this? Quote:
And that’s what they were doing on the eve of the departure: Quote:
(By the way that’s why I blame the films – after seeing PJ’s stuff, people tend to forget the facts from the books.) Quote:
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01-03-2008, 01:59 PM | #78 | |
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And do you think that Pippin wouldn't be compelled to say goodbye to the guests if HE became the Master of Bag-End? One has obligations, after all. |
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01-03-2008, 06:08 PM | #79 | ||
Elf Lord
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Saruman was a very poor judge of character, starting with misjudging the White Council. Quote:
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That would be the swirling vortex to another world. Cool. I want one. TMNT No, I'm not emo. I just have a really poor sense of direction. (Thanks to katya for this quote) This is the best news story EVER! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26087293/ “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”...John McCain "I shall go back. And I shall find that therapist. And I shall whack her upside her head with my blanket full of rocks." ...Louisa May |
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01-03-2008, 07:44 PM | #80 | ||||
Lady of the Ulairi
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By the way, Earniel - I think this discussion - starting with this post: Quote:
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