LotR1-FotR-Seq01

[Essex]

Isildur has a short journey to make before he reaches its banks. "He stood for a while, alone and in despair. Then in haste he cast off all his armour and weapons, save a short sword at his belt, and plunged into the water."

Ah yes, Mister Underhill, I knew I'd read somewhere about the battle, but couldn't find it today before I posted - I might have a read tonight now.

So I concede another difference to the books! he was not rushed, he also removed his armour, etc. he just must of been ambushed away from the fight. Those tricksy Orcs!!!!

[Mister Underhill]

I don't really blame Jackson for changes in Isildur's story. Time is short, and all that's really essential to know is that Isildur kept the Ring, and Isildur lost the Ring in Anduin. Of course, he comes off as rather cowardly in the films, making a run for it the moment that his force is attacked, but that plays into the theme that Jackson wanted to develop later: the weakness of Men.

EDIT -- I forgot to add that I think the filmmakers could have made a more realistic play of Isildur's foray into Anduin than they did, even within the constraints of their condensed account of events. Maybe we see a breastplate become visible as it's cast off, for instance. Or we could have seen Isildur wading in the reeds of the bank rather than swimming in deep water. I confess that I would have liked to seen more attention to this sort of detail on Jackson's part, but when push comes to shove he usually opts for the prettier image over a more truthful moment -- the coordinated Elf-chop, a submerged Isildur grasping for the Ring underwater, etc.

[Elladan and Elrohir]

I don't enjoy this scene. It's quite adequate and it does a good job of introducing viewers to Middle-earth, its peoples, and most importantly the Ring. But I always breathe a sigh of relief when it's over and we enter Bag End for Bilbo's narration. Why? I'm not really sure. I just think it does a pretty rough job of trying to capture the glory of the Second Age and the Last Alliance. Which is hard to do, I'll admit.

I do agree that Cate Blanchett was the best pick for the narrator. It would have been interesting to hear how some others would have done it, though (Ian McKellen, for example).

I also do appreciate the attention to detail in the prologue (things like Elendil's helm later becoming Aragorn's crown).

[Essex]

A note on Cate Blanchett's voiceover. This is a stunning piece of narration. The inflections in her voice, the way she uses a perfect (and I mean Perfect) well spoken English voice in her narration (the best impersination of an English accent I've ever heard - well at least since Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins! ) - the depth of feeling she reaches with her voice is marvellous. I just love listening to her in the Prologue.

[Cailín]

I’m not sure whether I agree there would have been more suspense and wonder had the prologue been left out. For the ones among us who knew Lord of the Rings before, it is no surprise the ring is evil. But somehow, I don’t think the power and importance of the Ring could have come across in a believable way if we were solely informed of its origins by Gandalf. As classical authors very well knew, sometimes a story works better if you know what the issue is from the start. Should the Ring have come out of nowhere, I don’t think the audience would have been as intrigued. I really think those not familiar with Tolkien’s world need this little piece of background info and it contrasts nicely with the Shire-scene that follows. Even more, since not all people are big on the fantasy thing, the true identity of the Ring (“What Ring? What’s the big deal, anyway?”) might have come off as slightly ridiculous, while the prologue does an extremely good job of drawing people into the mystery atmosphere of the trilogy.

I enjoyed the prologue very much and Cate Blanchett does an excellent job. Sure, not everything is correct, I presume, but I really felt it captured the mood.

Originally Posted by Holbytlass

I think the biggest disservice of the prologue is that Bilbo really did come off looking like a thief. He finds a ring and someone is yelling 'lost, lost, my precious is lost'. So what does Bilbo do? Hurries and puts it in his pocket with a look of 'I hope I don't get caught'.

This is the only thing that bothered me too.

[alatar]

Can't help it, but if I don't post this now it will be forever lost...though maybe that's a good thing. Hmmm. This was prompted by the posts regarding Bilbo being a thief.

Anyway, we will eventually see a scene in which Gollum is tortured, and surely he is being questioned regarding the whereabouts of the Ring and the thief Baggins.

Can you imagine Sauron asking, "And by the way, when you found the Ring, you didn't see any extra fingers lying around, did you?"

Okay, so it was funnier in my head.

[mormegil]

I've only had a chance to read about half of what has been said so far and briefly look at some of the rest and what I want to add is nothing similar so here it goes.

Every time I watch the prologue in my mind's eye I'm back at the theater where I first saw the movie. It was either on my anniversary or right near it and my wife and I decided to watch the 12:01 showing of it. I went rather early to get us a place in line and waited for over 14 hours. I must say that this was one of the greatest times I've ever waited for a movie the reason being is all those who waited for the 12:01 showing were true Tolkien fans and not merely movie fans. At the subsequent two there were many more fanboys and Leggy lovers that ruined the mood for me. However, the fellowship was perfect! So there was a slow building surge of excitement and energy that progressed as each hour passed and to me the climax was seeing the beautiful graphic of the title on the screen while hearing Cate's voice.

Her ethereal voice mixed with the music score held me mesmerized and I was rather giddy with excitement. Her voice truly enchanted me and I thought was the perfect voice for the narration. The character for the narration is debatable and seemingly has been here already so I won't go into that but her voice truly was perfect. It had a power and mystic to it that is Middle-earth.

Also two other items of note in this sequence is we see the first glimpses of the costumes and scenery/backdrop. I thought I was in heaven and I was instantly amazed at the high level of quality given to the costumes and the subtle detail put into them. And we see what wonderful landscapes PJ picked out for us and our interest is definitely piqued at this point and in my opinion we are not let down on that front, at least.

In essence I see past all of the story differences and trivial details at this point and I am brought back to the sheer joy and excitement of watching this production for the first time.