Lord of the Rings

[Mirror_Mirror]

I have never seen these movies before, but have some extra time on my hands and wanted to know what others thought of the movies and what order to watch them.

Thanks!

 

[maria_rose]

Hi,
The Lord of the ring movies are excellent. The order to watch them in is:
Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Return of the King

Enjoy an incredibly exciting, moving hero’s journey, brilliant battles between goo and evil and much more.
You’ll love them!
When you’ve watched them, please tell us your feedback.

 

[juno24]

I have never seen these movies before, but have some extra time on my hands and wanted to know what others thought of the movies and what order to watch them.

Thanks!

Awesome movies, both visually (STUNNING imagery) and story-wise. Watch them in the order in which they were released-- The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and then The Return of the King. There is a marvelous continuity of story, scenery and visual effects among the 3, as they were shot one right after the other (rather than a year or more apart, as most sequential movies are done). If you watch them out of order, you won’t easily see the strings of each story and the growth of the characters throughout.

I’ve watched them several times, and each time I see something new, or understand things on another level. There are some scenes that are just so deeply touching that I cry every single time I see them. Without giving away why, I will say that 2 in particular are when Sam wades into the river after Frodo at the end of Fellowship/beginning of Towers; and the reaction of the King when the Hobbits bow to him at the end of Return of the King. Two very simple scenes, yet both are very deeply moving.

Overall, all 3 were extemely well made, and considering the HUGE amount of material in the books, the stories were very well told.

 

[rivera01]

I agree. The movies are based of J.R.R. Tolkein, who btw was a very devout Catholic. If you look as some of the imigery from the movie and comare it to Catholic teaching, you can see a very parallel connection. It is a story about good versus evil, God versus Satan. Falling into the ring’s power and being a slave to it. The fall of man into sin and being bound to it, etc. etc. These movies, and the books, are beutiful when seen in the light of Church teaching.

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

Thank you very much (all of you) for the replies. I am currently right in the middle of The Chronicles of Narnia and then I will start watching these tonight or sometime this week. I will keep you updated.

If anyone else has anything to say about these movies, please share.

 

[LRThunder]

You might want to read the books first, if you haven’t already. While the Fellowship of the Ring is most faithful to the book, it still leaves quite a bit out (Tom Bombadil and the Barrow Wights).

 

[Victorious]

The Lord of the Rings movies would have been a lot easier to take if I hadn’t read the books more than 30 times over the years. The movies are visually stunning and all that, but they also take some big liberties with plot and characters that can’t be accounted for by time constraints. This drove me nuts.

But the books are some of the finest I have ever read.

 

[David_Zampino]

I have never seen these movies before, but have some extra time on my hands and wanted to know what others thought of the movies and what order to watch them.

Thanks!

The movies are very good – especially the extended versions. The books are even better. JRR Tolkien was a devout Catholic – and his theology comes across in his work.

Go for it!

Blessings,

 

[AquinaSavio]

I will say that the LOTR movies are my favorite movies ever made. They are visually stunning, and they have incredible acting. The best thing was that there is no cussing or sexual content. Great accomplishment in movie-making.

That being said, many things about the movies annoyed me. They changed characters a little too much, and shifted the story line.

Aragorn - made him too fearful of reclaiming the thone.

Arwen - she doesn’t get ill because “her fate is bound to the fate of the ring.”

Legolas - too “strong and silent” type.

Faramir - shouldn’t fall for the ring.

---

I’m still a huge fan of the movies…but the books are better.

:twocents:

 

[sandeep1515]

C:\Documents and Settings\sandeep\My Documents\My Pictures\baphomet_pentagram

 

[Truly_Beloved]

Oh my goodness, Mirror, you have to see these movies ASAP!!

I agree with Victorious… Watch the movies first and then read the book (this is what I did). After reading the book, I could understand why some things were cut out or changed, but I was a little sad, nonetheless, because the book is excellent.

Oh, and before you read the LOTR book, read Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

 

[colliric]

I agree. The movies are based of J.R.R. Tolkein, who btw was a very devout Catholic. If you look as some of the imigery from the movie and comare it to Catholic teaching, you can see a very parallel connection. It is a story about good versus evil, God versus Satan. Falling into the ring’s power and being a slave to it. The fall of man into sin and being bound to it, etc. etc. These movies, and the books, are beutiful when seen in the light of Church teaching.

In fact it specifically mentions a Marian belief of Tolkien in ROTK. He’s a Douay Rheims and Vulgate onlyist and makes a cool reference to Genesis 3:15, the Rheims rendering of it as well as the old catholic traditions that go with that rendering.

“I am no man!”

 

[MommyZ]

My husband watched the movies first, then read the books and he’s glad that he did it in the order- now he hates the movies b/c they left so much out of them esp for character development. You should listen to him rave. He also took a course on the LOTR series and he loves Middle Earth and all there is in it. Another book you should read after it all is the Silmarillion also by Tolkien. It gives a lot of backround information on the elves, dwarves, men, etc. - how Middle Earth came about.

 

[CatholicSam]

We watched the movies for the second time around when our daughter was born last Dec/Jan, and just last night I was telling my husband that I’m ready to watch them again! Baby is only 5 months old, so we’ll probably wait a little longer before watching again, but I’m looking forward to it

Now I’m not sure I want to read the books, if they will ruin the movies for me!

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

Now you all are making me want to stay home to watch these movies. I did not get a chance to see them yesterday, I was too tired and want to be awake when I watch them. I am thinking that I may watch the first one tonight.

I am looking forward to seeing these soon. I finished the Chronicles of Narnia yesterday and really enjoyed that movie.

 

[AquinaSavio]

Another book you should read after it all is the Silmarillion also by Tolkien.

:yup:

 

[Truly_Beloved]

Now you all are making me want to stay home to watch these movies. I did not get a chance to see them yesterday, I was too tired and want to be awake when I watch them. I am thinking that I may watch the first one tonight.

Be forewarned that you may not want to stop after the first one. Usually, when DH and I want to watch Fellowship, we almost always want to stay up all night watching the other two movies. We’ve had quite a few LOTR marathons.

Did you like the Narnia movie? My wonderful in-laws have it, and I want to ask them if we could borrow it.

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

Be forewarned that you may not want to stop after the first one. Usually, when DH and I want to watch Fellowship, we almost always want to stay up all night watching the other two movies. We’ve had quite a few LOTR marathons.

Did you like the Narnia movie? My wonderful in-laws have it, and I want to ask them if we could borrow it.

Yeah I really liked Narnia, it was a good movie. If I did not have a ton of other movies available to watch, I would watch it again.

 

[wisdom_3_5]

If you want to go more in depth into the symbolism etc go to Peter Kreeft’s website. He has several lectures on-line that you can listen to on LotR (as well as some other very good lectures).

Another site I like is [mythictruth.com](mythictruth.com(name removed by moderator)ages/Foreword.htm) which treats the Catholic perspective on a number of points.

 

[David_Zampino]

My husband watched the movies first, then read the books and he’s glad that he did it in the order- now he hates the movies b/c they left so much out of them esp for character development. You should listen to him rave. He also took a course on the LOTR series and he loves Middle Earth and all there is in it. Another book you should read after it all is the Silmarillion also by Tolkien. It gives a lot of backround information on the elves, dwarves, men, etc. - how Middle Earth came about.

I agree – “The Silmarillion” is EXCELLENT!!! If you REALLY want to get involved, check out “Morgoth’s Ring” – volume 10 in “The History of Middle-Earth” series, which has a VERY interesting perspective on the Incarnation!

ALSO – Tolkien’s non-fiction essay “On Fairy Stories” (sometimes advertised as “Tree and Leaf”) is essential to understand how he understood his mythology in light of his Catholicism.

In “The Letters of JRR Tolkien” much more of his spirituality is revealed, esp. as it regards his Eucharistic devotion.

Finally, if you can find it, check out Jared Lobdell’s “England and Always”, especially the essay “The Timeless Moment: Christian Doctrine in a Pre-Christian Age”.

EXCELLENT!!!