Is all the "magic" gone?

[Bêthberry]

Lobelia, I suspect this comment was directed to me, as I think I am the only one here who has explicitly expressed disappointment with Galadriel's depiction.

and I also think that while it's fair enough to say, "Cate Blanchett's Galadriel didn't work for me", there's no point in blaming the poor woman for not being like a genuine Elf! Sorry, we don't actually HAVE any Elves to act in our films, or I'm sure PJ would have hired some.

My point was not to "blame" Blanchett for her looks or for failing to look genuinely elven. My comments address the artistry of acting and movie making and not personal appearance per se.

Have you ever seen a picture of someone who is beautiful in the light of day but who is not photogenic, who the camera betrays? Or the converse, someone who appears pleasant but perhaps rather ordinary in appearance but who on film becomes something more, a wholly other person or representation? This difference is what I am referring to: The measure of artistic creation.

Ulmo/Legolas,

I thought Galadriel was done wonderfully. Susan Sarandon was/is too old looking. No matter how old she is, Galadriel was an elf, and I can't see Sarandon being made to work in either respect (age or elven-feel).

Fair enough that you feel this way about Sarandon. I think of her work in Dead Man Walking but not all need have the same response I do. Nor, indeed, is she the only actress I can think of as Galdriel. Michelle Phiffier? If Sarandon is too old for you, I suspect that Angelica Huston would be even farther off the mark.

I can understand how people are happy with Galadriel's depiction in the movie. After all, if we have only LOTR to go on, not the Silm, nor Tolkien's post-writing commentary where he rewrites her back into the Legendarium, then we are left with the description, "No blemish or sickness or deformith could be seen in anything that grew upon the earth. On the land of Lórien there was no stain." Yet this power which Haldir says is "the power of the Lady of the Galadrim" is the power which Haldir also says, "perceives the very heart of the darkness." This power I did not feel, only the very lovely loveliness. Everything else was technical pyrotechnics.

But tell me, did it not strike you as strange that Elrond should look older than his mother in law? Perhaps this is indeed a suggestion that the days of Rivendell are numbered but it remains a disappointment to me.

So, in all, I agree with those here who feel that Jackson was better at capturing the magic of Tolkien's landscapes--Essex despite your acceptance of the Grey Havens it remains for me more a departure on a luxury Caribbean excursion than sailing away to another realm entirely. It is too happy and pleased with itself, too much the requisite happy Hollywood ending.

Child, SpM has graciously asked permission to restore post # 37, which I deleted feeling it was off-topic. Subsequent posts have made it less so, but I would like to draw your attention to a comment I made to you at the end: there's a thread for you in the making, I think.