Since the "what are you reading" thread sparked a LOTR discussion I thought a new thread would be in order. So if you are reading the books for the fist time and don't want any spoilers. --READ NO FARTHER!!!--

Thanks!

(me) "Right oh! I was wondering why the mouth of Sauron wasn't there too!?"

Oh he will be! I'm so excited for that! The makeup looks awesome!

Incidentally, the actor that plays the Mouth is also going to be in SW Ep III. I'm so jealous of these people that get to be involved in both sagas... grrrrrrrr....

I was also watching for his appearance at the Black Gate. Since the Extended versions are a whole new cut of the film, it won't be hard to make this scene where the Mouth of Sauron confronts Aragorn flow well.

I have seen several photos floating around the Internet of Frodo and Sam in their Orc disguises making their way accross the Valley of Gorgoroth, so I'm quite sure we'll see a lot more than the 20-second clip in the theatrical release.

One thing is for sure.... With a total run time of *FOUR HOURS AND TEN MINUTES* for the Extended Version of ROTK, we'll certainly get our fill!

Later,

That is alot of good in one movie!

I hope they take a bit of that time to delve into the whole "Arwen's fate is tied to that of the ring" thing... I have NO idea why they added this in because it's mentioned but then never really followed through on. (That was horrid grammar... oh well).

There are moments I wish for but probably won't get and I'm REALLY trying to calm myself down about them. For example:

*The Choices of Master Samwise. I guess they wanted the audience to think the ring was really gone, that the orcs had taken it, that the quest had failed. However, I think it is SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL in the book when Sam, thinking his master is dead and wanting nothing more than to lie down and die next to him, decides it's his responsibility to finish the quest on his own, and takes the ring.

*Eowyn VS. Witch King: Sorry. This scene is one of my favorites in the book and I don't think they nailed it for the movie. I can understand them wanting to develop the father/daughter relationship instead of her thinking he's already dead, but they really undermine the importance and impact of this scene. In the book, the evil of the Witch King poisons her wounds to the very brink of death - in the movie, she seems mildly uncomfortable with her broken arm. In the book, I really felt like her defeating the Witch King turned the tide of battle - without the Witch King, the baddies became confused and unable to function as an army. In the movie, it's 100% the Armies of the Dead that win the victory. I mean, this is no ordinary captian she defeats - this is a guy Gandalf the White himself can't defeat (which I hope they'll add back into the movie, BTW). I just really want to see this moment played out:



I'm thinking that maybe it is because they deleted all the House of Healing stuff that they trivialized her wounds. I just want this back in!!!

I told you I'd rant. And I was restraining myself!!! And this was only about TWO things!!!


...

I agree with you there, Lady Solo.

You are so totally right. Though the movies depiction was most excellent, it did fail to grab me the way it did in the book.

This little reply of mine probably won't make me a lot of friends but...
To defend the things done and not done in the Films.
One must realize that many things are ultimately decided by the director and if the director wants something in or out of his movie then he does.
Like wise the director will make decisions on how to use something to move the story or plot along. Or also to simplify things but making one thing serve multiple purposes.
On an opposite side you have the Studio Execs. These people pay the bill so they have a suprising amount of say, not to mention force, about what makes it in the movie.

Too many people are invovled and there are too many issues to please everyone. Besides, if Tolkien himself had made the movie- it would have been the longest film for all Time- and would have been a Twilight Zone cross breed of a broadway musical and Braveheart

Hahahaa!! That's so true. I miss some of the singing but they do sing - A LOT - in the book.

I understand that things had to be cut out, that things had to be changed. It's difficult to translate one art form to another and it can be interpreted so many different ways (look at how many different paintings of Ophelia exist, and how different in their similarities they are). However, listening to the director/writer commentaries, we learn that certain choices were consciously made by the team for various reasons, and sometimes I don't agree with those choices. We also learn that sometimes, they kept changing their minds about it up until the last minute! It just makes you wonder if they'd had an extra month here or one less month there how the movies might have been different!

I think that on the whole, PJ et. al. did a fabulous job with their interpretation. As a fan of both the books and the movies, however, I retain the right to be sad that some of my favorite moments weren't more true to the book, that's all.

Whew. I am so glad you're not mad at. I do agree with you that no movie can compare to a book. or vise versa (occasionally). I always ask any person expecting alot out of the movies from the book (Any movie) to look at the movie as a completely seperate work. You will enjoy movies so much more if you just take them for what they are. My self doing and working so much with movie type stuff I get a different spin on things than other people.

Hold on to your helmets boys and girls!! The day long awaited for most of us is almost here! December 14 the Return of the King special Extended DVD hits the stores!!
ROTK DVD
It will include over 50 minutes of additional footage, including Aragorn and the Mouth of Sauron exchange at the Black Gates!!!!!:clap: (so I heard. )

Very cool. I hope it also includes the Gandalf/Saruman exchange at Orthanc. I couldn't believe they didn't include that in the theaters. It's like Saruman vanishes after the Ent attack.

I heard that it is in there also!

There's rumor of a re-editing of the scene in which Pippin finds Merry on the battlefield. I'm rather looking forward to this, as I thought the pics of this scene were very moving and I was sad that they didn't make the final cut. Also, Dominic Monaghan himself said it was his favorite scene so I'll be happy to see it restored (OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE!!!).

Saruman and Wormtongue are back in - Jackson promised that when there was an uproar that they were cut out.

Gandalf confronting the Witch King is supposedly back in, too. WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!

Houses of Healing are back in, but I'm remaining doubtful that they'll live up to my expectations (that way if they do, I'll be pleasantly surprised!). What can I say, I'm rather protective of Eowyn and I get mad when they don't get her story quite right. Harry from Ain't It Cool News describes the scene in which Faramir and Eowyn hook up (he was visiting the set the day they filmed it) and I'm QUITE looking forward to this.

I want to see Sam throwing his pots away and crying. I hope that's back in. Really, the whole Frodo/Sam journey needs to be fleshed out. I really felt it took the back burner in the theatrical edition. I want to see Frodo giving Sting to Sam, saying it's not for him to carry a sword anymore.

I wanna know how in tarnation they are going to justify having Frodo back in his clothes when the orcs supposedly took them (I'm thinking they'll just have the mithril shirt which they show to Aragorn, but that really is a more powerful moment when they dump ALL his clothes at Aragorn's feet).

Okay, there's more I want (Yes, yes, the Watchers!!) but I'll stop. These are the main points, really.

<crossing all available fingers and toes>


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