LotR1-FotR-Seq05

[Essex]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

But on the point, if we take the movies as an adaptation on their own terms, there's no very good explanation for why the Black Rider would be so easily fooled. It weakens them, I think.

Of course I want the movie as close to the film as possible, so having the wood elves frighten him off would be perfect. but we don't have this unffortunately.

but easily fooled? the black riders need a point of reference. they could tell the Ring was nearby (indeed in the book the first time we see the black rider he rides off without confronting them) but would not know exactly where it was. If they DID know he would have popped around the side of the tree and caught them. They just knew it was in the general area.

Now the SOUND of the bag/fruit crashing in the near didstance WAS A POINT OF REFERENCE for the nearly blind Nazgul - It rushed off in that direction, giving the hobbits time to escape (for now....)

Maybe the ideal format for Rings isn't feature movies or even a miniseries, but a full-blown hour drama television series that ran for two or three seasons. Then you could really dig into the story and cover everything.

The unabridged oral versions of the full LOTR take 54 hours. This fits in perfectly with a 3 seasons of 24 episodes each, which taking 15 minutes off for adverts equals 54 hours! perfect, - so I'm writing a screenplay as we speak!!!!!!!!


PS 'I can't win with you guys' - it's just an english saying - not really about winning or losing.

[Elladan and Elrohir]

I disagree that Bombadil is necessary to the story. I mean, yes, he shows that SOMEBODY is not affected by the Ring, but why is this important? As Boromir points out, we see people giving up or refusing the Ring numerous times throughout the films. Surely that would suffice. Plus, Bombadil is an extremely unusual exception to a wide-encompassing rule.

Now sure, I like old Tom Bom jolly Tom as much as the next guy, but he flat out does not belong in these films, beyond the small tribute he gets from Treebeard in the TTT EE. We've been over this tons of times, so I won't list the reasons here.

EDIT: I'm not trying to sound arrogant, and rereading my post, I think I did sound like that more than a bit. I apologize. Sometimes I go overboard when trying to make my point. Please ignore my tone and just focus on the argument. Sorry.

And yes, Frodo seeing the Eye while wearing the Ring at the Prancing Pony is a big change with potentially far-reaching implications. So, that begs the question: Does it accomplish its purpose in the movie? And while we're at it, what IS its purpose in the movie? I'll sit back and let you guys answer that before I jump in.

[Lathriel]

I like this sequence but the one thing that bothered me was the atmosphere of Bree. I had expected a cheerful setting but it turned out to be to menacing for me. I got used to it but I would have liked to see Bree friendly. Of course PJ wanted to prove the point that the Hobbits had now truly left their safe homeland but I don't really buy into that.
I liked the effects used when Frodo sensed the black rider, it certainly gave the feeling that the black rider was approaching quickly. I also didn't mind the whole shortcut to mushrooms since it gives us a bit of trivia about Hobbits and PJ actually managed to use a chapter title, "A Shortcut to Mushrooms"
The little part between Sam and Frodo about "Gandalf told me; Don't you loose him, Samwise Gamgee" works for me, it gets another line from the book into the movie. It shows that Gandalf already sees that Frodo will need help and that Sam is a good candidate for this job. (For lack of better words)
Of course I also really like the entrance of Strider, it makes him so mysterious.
The big eyeball and the "I see you" line might have been cheesy but it worked for me since these kind of things quickly creep me out.(This is a reason why I never watch horror movies)
I really like the shots of the Nazgul especially the one with the light that shines out from behind the tree branches. That shot gives it such a cold, evil and supernatural feel without resorting to some kind of showy magic.
I like it that they put in the midgewater sequence and part of Luthien's lament which Viggo composed.
I don't mind any of the comic scenes all that much although I did notice the iregularity with the apples but I don't see a point in making a big fuss about that.