I think you've all very well covered most of my thought regarding the Extended Faramir scenes. I was really not upset with the Theatrical Faramir, even though I naturally liked the Canon Faramir.<P>Faramir's ellegy for the fallen enemy was a good steal from Sam. It did seem to fit Canon Faramir. Furthermore, in the various documentaries and the commentaries, an issue is raised that I think this ellegy served to answer, as did Sam's soliloquy at the end of the picture, as did the journey for Theoden regarding the defense of his people.<P>There seems to have been (pardon my ignorance, I've been very much preoccupied with my own reality for some months) some kind of backlash that TTT was a war-mongering movie and that Tolkien glorified war itself. I cannot help but think of Theatrical Wormtongue accusing Eomer of the same (perhaps with some of the same treacherous motivations that a few of the principles behind the modern anti-war movement seem to harbor). War is a terrible waste of life, which is sacred. But enslavement is also a waste of that sacred life and if life is to be endured, it should be lived free from tyranny so that persons (ideally) answer only to their own conscience according to their heritage, beliefs, and relationship with their Deity.<P>The main theme of this movie, that there is some good in this world and that it is worth fighting for, is a theme that ordinary folk understand well and it is a theme to which we respond under courageous leadership. Nevertheless, the hideous loss of war must be faced with no less courage. We see Extended Faramir do just that. He faces the wasteful loss, literally in the face of the fallen, mourns the senseless tragedy of it, and then presses on. The Shadow would use even our goodness against us, if he could turn our dismay at innocent or collateral loss against our righteous preservation of all that is good.<P>Furthermore, the soldier of Harad, being swarthy and foreign, evoked something of our present situation, with the West facing a population that is induced by its extremists and its leadership with terror and lies to wage an aggressive war. I did feel that the Theatrical Haradrim were more of India than of the Middle East, but there is still much of that Middle Eastern feel to them. We can feel the same respect and admiration for those who have been made our enemies, appreciating their culture, their worth, and their courage, while still hoping that they might again be our friends one day and yet with great regret, fighting for what we must.<P>This was perhaps not an overt message to the audience in this scene, but I have a feeling that the message was implicit and that it was a subtle stroke which simultaneously brought the spirit of Extended Faramir back to Canon Faramir. He is the man of war and captain of men who is nevertheless a sensitive soul who deplores the bloodshed. <P>Bur Faramir does not give his national leadership the blind obedience required of an enslaved people. Faramir understands that the leader of his people, his own father, is not all that he could hope for, and will take upon himself whatever penalty for disobeying wrongful law or rule with the same determination that he must fight for what is right. It is right to fight for the lives and freedom of his people under their rightful leadership. It is also right to disobey that same leadership when it is wrong. In both Extended and Canon Faramir, we see this quality, and it is of the highest.<P>For what it is worth, Theatrical Faramir did seem to have flashes of this that briefly glimmered in what remained of his scenes, but I was unsure if I saw this or if this was a trick of my memory and preconceptions of Canon Faramir. Even Theatrical Faramir seemed to hesitate, and it is noteworthy that he did NOT claim the Ring, but was sending it to his father and under penalty of death, released it.<P>The Retaking of Osgiliath was a pickup scene, and I also found the "show his quality" line to be well played. Interestingly, I think that more was made of it than may have been originally intended. Thus, it was DENETHOR who had to give a reading that made FARAMIR's reading seem to be an ironic recital of his father's original statement, which was actually filmed much later. A nice bit of either serendipity or clever writing, that.<p>[ November 22, 2003: Message edited by: Gilthalion ]
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