Anyone else shead a tear?

[ragamuffin92]

The scene between Frodo and Bilbo would have worked better if they stuck to the original story, IMHO. They could have shot Bilbo from Frodo's point of view, and had him turn into a "little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands" (in Frodo's eyes), as was written by Professor J. R. R. T., himself. Minor point, tho.

I DO wish that the movie had included the incident from the Council of Elrond where Bilbo stood up and volunteered to taken the ring to Mordor himself. It would have been a good piece of character developement, and also heartwarming, if nothing else.

[Vardasoroniel]

Originally posted by ragamuffin92
The scene between Frodo and Bilbo would have worked better if they stuck to the original story, IMHO. They could have shot Bilbo from Frodo's point of view, and had him turn into a "little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands" (in Frodo's eyes), as was written by Professor J. R. R. T., himself. Minor point, tho.

I DO wish that the movie had included the incident from the Council of Elrond where Bilbo stood up and volunteered to taken the ring to Mordor himself. It would have been a good piece of character developement, and also heartwarming, if nothing else.

yes, that portrayal of bilbo would have seemed more in keeping with his character, and more 'realistic' in that bilbo was not of a race of magic users who are prone to turning themselves into demons at the drop of a hat. it was a portrayal of his character that just seemed over the top and unneccessary.

i also agree that it would have been nice to round out his character with his offer at the council - he was a 'hero', too, as much as the other characters, and had as full a range of good and bad points as all the rest.

[Churl]

A couple things before tying this into the “sad” theme of the thread…

Sean Bean as Boromir: I thought he was great. In my opinion, he portrayed perfectly the literary Boromir's weakness and subsequent redemption in his brave death.

Galadriel's psychedelic freak-out: This is the creative decision I question most. For one thing, it portrays her with far more menace than she exhibited in the book. For another, it cheapens the very real, subtle undertone of menace that she did display in the books: i.e., “What if she really did choose to seize the Ring…?” And finally, while Jackson, et. al., wisely chose to retain Galadriel's words from the book — one of the coolest pieces of dialogue in there — the voice filters applied to Cate Blanchett garbled those words and ultimately robbed many viewers of their power. (For the record, here are her words.)

-------------
‘And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!’
— The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter VII: “The Mirror of Galadriel”
-------------

If that doesn't give you chills, check your pulse.

Bilbo's creepy transformation in Rivendell: I can handle this a little better than Galadriel's hissy fit, but I still regard it as kind of an unnecessary cheap scare. I can tolerate it, though, because the book describes how the Ring clouds Frodo's mind to perceive Bilbo as “a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands.” The distinction is lost in the movie, though, and the sudden bug-eye/shocker effect prompted a friend to whisper, “Tell them Large Marge sent you…”

Sadness: Finally, as for the melancholy that suffuses all of Tolkien's work, remember Aragorn's description of the story of Beren and Lúthien:

-------------
‘It is a fair tale, though it is sad, as are all the tales of Middle-earth, and yet it may lift up your hearts.’
— The Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Chapter XI: “A Knife in the Dark”
-------------

That about says it all.

[ragamuffin92]

Originally posted by Churl
...the sudden bug-eye/shocker effect prompted a friend to whisper, "Tell them Large Marge sent you..."

Sadness: Finally, as for the melancholy that suffuses all of Tolkien's work, remember Aragorn's description of the story of Beren and Lœthien:

-------------
'It is a fair tale, though it is sad, as are all the tales of Middle-earth, and yet it may lift up your hearts.'
Ñ The Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Chapter XI: "A Knife in the Dark'
-------------

That about says it all. [/B]

Excellent point, Churl. I never looked at Professor Tolkien's Middle-earth saga based on Aragorn's statement before. It's very appropriate, and eye-opening.
But did you have to go and mention your friend's "Large Marge" wisecrack? I'm going to lose it every time I see that scene from now on.

[Churl]

Sorry — I can't view it the same way now, either. Like many here, I might have gone into my first screening with a bit too much fussy reverence. On subsequent trips, people like my wiseacre friend tempered that reverence with some necessary humor.

(By the way: on no account do I advocate talking during movies. I'm an unapologetic "shusher" … my friend would have gotten an elbow in the ribs if he'd been louder or talked longer. At home, though, I must admit to giving bad movies the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment …)

[ragamuffin92]

Now that you mention MST3K, that "Large Marge" crack DOES sound like a Tom Servo line...

[Menelvagor]

First off I would like to say that as a whole, I liked the movie, and I don't want to seem too critical, but I thought they could have done better with a lot of the characters.

Bilbo: I think the movie did a great job of showing Bilbo and how he gave up the ring, but I couldn't help but laugh when he did the gollum-face-thing.


Galadriel: I thought her whole 'passed the test' speech was just silly, that could have been a very poinant moment in the development of the power that the ring has over people, and it would have helped in the scene where Aragorn refuses the Ring, but I was to busy wondering "What is she ON?" for the true meaning of it to sink in.

Gandalf: I liked the actor who portrayed him, I think the appearence was perfect. The character, though, appeared way too senile and weak. They emphasized his shortcomings in the wizards duel, on Caradhras, on the bridge with the balrog, and even in his dealings with Bilbo, and made him appear far too inept. Now, I realize that these shortcomings are present in the books, but in them, we also see more of his stronger characteristics. The difference between the two is that in the books, he is an old man with many cares who is trying his hardest and (generally) succeeding, and in the movie, he is an old man with many cares who is trying his hardest and (generally) failing. Now before people get angry with me, what I think PJ is doing is seting him up for a major redemption in the TT with his rebirth and with the breaking of Saruman's staff, but until then, the Company could almost do just as well without him.

Legolas and Gimli: I thought they were good, but underdeveloped (again ). They are secondary characters in LotR thought and I expect them to get better in TTT. Only thing: I would have liked to see more of their friendship in Lorien.

Aragorn: I mentioned my thing with his portrayal in a previous thread, so I won't dwell on it here. I just don't like the way he "finds courage" during the movie and the whole thing with him choosing exile rather than face his fears just kind of ticks me off.

Frodo and Sam: They were the best charaters, by far, in the movie. The movie really focused on them(it is neccesary to, in a book with so many dynamic characters, pick someone to focus on and I think that is why so many of the other characters are underrepresented) and the good job done with them (especially Frodo's struggle with the ring) shows how good a job PJ really did.

Boromir (this is the last one, I promise): His death scene was great. It was very different from the books, but in this case, I found the diviation to be a good thing. They also focused on him quite a lot and I thought they did an admirable job with his character. That last scene was wonderful and completely made up for any problems I had with the rest of it.

Ok, I'll step off my soap box now. Sorry about my rantings, I would just like to say again that I DID like the movie A LOT. I think that it would have been impossible to represent every character the way they truly are, and I liked the new spin it put on it. I suppose what I am trying to say is that I liked the books better, but I'm glad they made the movie.

Breathelessly yours,
Menelvagor

[Agburanar]

bleurrgh! Just cut Sean Bean will you? He shouldn't have been in the film at all. Why not get Harrison Ford to take a role and then anything that seperated the film from Indiana Jones would be completely destroyed: Indiana Jones and the Ring of Doom?

[Tawfret Melee]

Hmmm... Boromir came off really well to me. I didn't appreciate his character much until I saw the movie. Now that I'm rereading the trilogy again, I have a lot more compassion and liking for him.

And in reply to the initial topic: If there is a blubberers club, I have undoubtedly sobbed enough to belong. ^_^ I cried a lot:
For Gandalf when he was lost in Moria.
For Boromir's death. (The movie inspired a violent sob-fest.)
When Frodo decided to journey alone. That was SOO sad!
The entire ending sequence in Return of the King. Do any of you remember what Bilbo said after everything was over? Something about how he wanted to travel and see the world again but was too old. Somehow I found that incredibly sad. The departures across the sea were terribly moving as well.

The award, however, for most tears shed goes to the ending sequence in the Two Towers. I was too oblivious to realize Frodo wasn't really dead, and I frightened my family by wailing my eyes out. It was just so touching the way Sam sat there and mourned, and then decided to carry on. *starts crying again over the memory*

[ragamuffin92]

There, there--if you e-mail me your street address, I'll mail you a box of Kleenex.

[Vardasoroniel]

Originally posted by Churl
Galadriel's psychedelic freak-out: This is the creative decision I question most. For one thing, it portrays her with far more menace than she exhibited in the book. For another, it cheapens the very real, subtle undertone of menace that she did display in the books: i.e., “What if she really did choose to seize the Ring…?” And finally, while Jackson, et. al., wisely chose to retain Galadriel's words from the book — one of the coolest pieces of dialogue in there — the voice filters applied to Cate Blanchett garbled those words and ultimately robbed many viewers of their power. (For the record, here are her words.)

-------------
‘And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!’
— The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter VII: “The Mirror of Galadriel”
-------------

If that doesn't give you chills, check your pulse.

Bilbo's creepy transformation in Rivendell: I can handle this a little better than Galadriel's hissy fit, but I still regard it as kind of an unnecessary cheap scare. I can tolerate it, though, because the book describes how the Ring clouds Frodo's mind to perceive Bilbo as “a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands.” The distinction is lost in the movie, though, and the sudden bug-eye/shocker effect prompted a friend to whisper, “Tell them Large Marge sent you…” [/B

*****************************
about the galadriel scene -- yes, her words are quite compelling, but i had always read it as more of an ongoing, introspective dialog in which she found resolution when the actual ring was offered to her by frodo.

re: bilbo's creepy transformation - i still think that the scene could have played better if bilbo had been shown more naturally in his needy/greedy-ness, and the major focus have been the extreme reaction of frodo

btw - loved the large marge reference!

[Tawfret Melee]

Kleenex is much appreciated... especially since I thought up more tear-jerking moments after I posted. *sniffle* But I'm glad to know I'm not the only sensitive reader. ^_^

[sepulchrave]

are we discussing what made us weep in the movie, or in the book? Of course we must be discussing the book, because movie posts belong in the movie post area...right?

[ragamuffin92]

Re: Boo-hoo-hoo!

But Sepulchrave, sometimes we get so emotionally overwrought that we just can't remember WHICH gosh darn thread we're in!!

[sepulchrave]

i understand....I am making a concerted effort to separate them in my mind. I have been familiar with LotR since 1975, and it is a very special book for me. I enjoyed the film, but I do not want my "mind pictures" interfered with by superimposition of the images from the film, even if some of them (Moria, for example) were very close to my own. Please understand that there are many who feel the same way as myself. The pure joy I recieved at age 13 when I first read the glorious tale cannot be equaled by any film, no matter how wonderfully realized. Those memories, and imaginative journeys, I, and those others who feel this way, would very much like to keep intact. So that is why the separation on this message board... don't mean to be heavy or anything, sorry if the cold characters on the screen come across that way...
yours, the chief resident of the tower of Flints
Sepulchrave

[ragamuffin92]

I didn't find your post to be heavy-handed, my neighbor to the far northwest. I was just having a little good-natured fun over the topic of getting weepy over a movie. I like to ask certain women friends why they enjoy seeing a movie that makes them cry. (I admit to getting misty while reading-AND viewing-certain parts of the trilogy as well, so I'm also ribbing myself.)
But I wasn't joking about forgetting which thread you're in. Navigating between the numerous threads here can make you dizzy.
Tower of Flints?

[sepulchrave]

The Tower of Flints is located within the hereditary castle of the Groan family, named Gormenghast. This castle is fully described in the books written by one Mervyn Peake, named "Titus Groan", "Gormenghast", and "Titus Alone", magnificent fantasies that are utterly unlike Tolkiens work, but rank with them in my opinion. The BBC recently did a screenplay version that is readily available on video, and the books are in print. They are unique, some find them difficult, but I waited many years to find another great fantasy that would enthrall me as did the ring, and I have found it. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

[Agburanar]

The Gormenghast series was amazing! Now there's an example of a SUCCESSFUL screenplay taken from a book but it was quite similar to the LotR film in it's attention to gory detail. It did, however spend a lot of time developing the main characters. That was my second biggest problem with PJ's film, none of the characters changed really, not like they do in the book.

[rollingskullandbones]

Boromir's death was surprising to me because he was one of my favorite characters and when I saw the movie he got shot like three times according to the book by Lurtz the orc who was not in the book I do not think and they were playing that music while he was killing all the orc. I thought that was sad and I refused to cry so I bit my tongue since I was in the theatre.

[Elfstone.]

That blubberers of the Ring club that somenoe mentioned before i think would fly pritty well.

Its also pritty awesome to see the ladies on this forum too.
I need to marry a chick that likes LOTR for sure, most of hte ones i know hate it.

Go LOTR chicks go!

Elfstone.
Davie