Who here are LOTR fans?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Geckstein
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
40.png
Socratesie:
I am a LOTR geek, have seen all 3 movies more than 3 times each, love The Hobbit, and hope to soon have a copy of The Silmarillion. I am about to begin my copy of LOTR and Philosophy, a part of the pop culture and philosophy series (*Baseball and Philosophy *is also a rewarding read for the die-hard fan of our national pastime). Is it true Peter Jackson has been approached about adapting The Hobbit for the big screen?
Click to expand...
Peter Jackson has stated he wants to/will make The Hobbit as a prequel to the trilogy. He’s also said he wants it to have the same feel as the other films, and bring back Ian McKellan as Gandalf. It’s going to be a while though, as he has King Kong to get done first, and possibly another film. Additionally, there are rights issues between NewLine and MGM that must get settled. I’m sure they’ll work it out since there is alot of $$$ to be made for sure.
 
GAH!!! I am such a LOTR fan!!! with the whole Life on the Rock thing, LOL, My mum was watching it and I saw “LOTR” I was like LORD OF THE RINGS!!! and she told me… uh no it is Life on the Rock!!!.

i read half of The Hobbit, 3/4 of the Silmarillian, Fellowshil, Towers, and the King NUMEROUS times. I am trying to find a great programme to learn Elvish, I have fond the Elvish Runes and the Dwarvish Runes on the comp, so I am going to try and download them. My bedroom is splattered with numerous pics, posters, newspaper/magazine articles adn collectors cards.
I have Peter Jacksons address, I have other contact info. LOL (don’t ask how I got them, because I am not sure. I stumbled upon them and have never been able to find them again)
I got for my birthday an autographed pic of Elijah Wood (frodo) and an autographed collectors card from Andy Serkis (gollum/smeagol) Yes they are both genuine.
I am trying to make LOTR typ clothes and sell them on the internet. I own “the Red Book” basically LOTR 1,2, and 3 in a leather binding and case with a giant fold out map and it is just sooo cool. LOL

well, thats me for you!!! LOL

I have been obsessed since two monthes before TTT cam out in theatres. (not too long)

KKaye016
 
This is great!

I read The Hobbit and LOTR in the 70’s when I was a kid, and have re-read them (LOTR more than The Hobbit) many, many times since then. In fact, I still own the paperback Two Towers that I read then—it’s a bit tattered, but even if it wasn’t the pricetag (95 cents) would indicate its age.

I have some qualms with Jackson’s treatment, and there are scenes or changes that I vigorously dislike, but, overall, I liked the movies. I find that Fellowship is, for me, still the most watchable of the three, with Return of the King a close second. Not that I’m trying to disparage the Two Towers, mind you…in some ways, it doesn’t seem correct to compare the movies against each other, as they really are simply different “chapters” in one long movie. Of course, the books are so-o-o-o-o much better…

As for scenes that seemed very Catholic to me: in the Return of the King, Frodo faints after his struggle with Gollum right after escaping from Shelob’s lair. He sees Galadriel, who looks exactly like the usual depiction of Our Lady of Grace, standing with hands opened outwards. (She obviously plays a very Marian role there in the theological sense as well).

Also in Return of the King, there is a shot of Aragorn after being crowned, standing in front of the doors to the hall, which look just like church doors----it seemed to me like Christ with his Bride, the Church. The falling flower petals completed the image of a wedding.

There are more Catholic themes, but those are just two that came to mind from the most recent movie.
 
whoah!!! sherlock!!!those are some great pickups!!! in the extended FOTR I noticed that the statue of Aragorns mum (over her grave) looked a LOT like Mary. Also in the FOTR (both editions) the Elven maiden holding the Shards of Narsil had a very srticking resemblance to Our Lady, also.

gtg
KKaye016
 
I am a big fan of the series. I have all three movies, the complete trilogy, even The Hobbit and Silmarillion. I do admit, you may need to re-read Silmarillion, even a few times, to get a general understanding.
 
I loved the books and their Catholic and moral dimensions, and loved the movies overall. Return of the King was my least favorite of the three though. There were needless changes and omissions from the book. Why did the battle around Minas Tirith happen i daylight? The day without sun was one of the most dramatic parts of Tolkien’s book, and it certainly would not have put a strain on Peter Jackson’s special-effects budget.:rolleyes: OK, i’ll cut my rant short because i could go on for a while on this movie.
 
Great stories! The man was a wonderfull writer with an amazing way of telling stories. I heard somewhere that he approached these books from a perspective of “fillling in the ancient historical gaps” of the English Isles (which had been destroyed over the years of occupation of different cultures). This is one explaination as to why they are so detailed and indepth. (Another being that he was a perfectionist… 😉 )

Great allegories and symbology! One website that goes into a lot of detail is

MythicTruth.com

This is an amazingly complete website. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in the stories.

As far as some of the things PJ cut or altered from the movies- I always fall back on a statement that the screenwriter Philipa Boyens said in one of the DVD commentaries…

She asked of the audience, when they were contemplating one of these missing or altered ideas, scenes, or characters to think about how it could be told ‘so that it would be completely understood by those who had never read the books and didn’t know the stories’. So when it comes to characters like Tom Bombadil, or the day without sun; it seems like it may have been more appropriate to focus on more central themes to fill them out and make them entertaining.

After I watched the movies from this perspective, the changes made a lot more sense- and I could agree that certain themes, characters and scenes in a visual medium, and with a time constraint were done the best way they could. IMHO 👍
 
Regarding the changes made in the movies: some of them I found understandable, while some I disliked.

Unlike some Tolkien fans, I didn’t mind the exclusion of Tom Bombadil. He’s an interesting character, to be sure, but face it—if you’re going to have to commit this huge work to film, you’re gonna have to cut somewhere. And while Bombadil, Old Man Willow, and especially the Barrow-downs are great, they delay the progress of the main characters to Rivendell without much impact on what happens afterwards.

I also understood Boyens’ reasons for altering Faramir’s character. I don’t like it, but I understand it. For a movie, a writer wants the characters to progress, to change. Faramir, in the books, is made of much nobler stuff than his brother and doesn’t change much. Ditto with Aragorn’s character: I didn’t like the way he was changed to someone who initially shuns his destiny. However, I understand the change. I also wonder if modern Hollywood has problems portraying characters like Faramir or Aragorn that don’t have defects, thus reflecting their own defects (I mean, when you think noble, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, do Hollywood producers come to mind? NOT!).

However, I cannot forgive having Gandalf smack an unsuspecting Denethor in the face. It distorted Gandalf terribly, turning him into a thug. The Gandalf in the books would not have done that…and I don’t think it was a necessary or understandable change. Also, I didn’t see the need to have Gimli sitting in the Steward’s chair during the Last Debate—very disrespectful, which Tolkien would disapprove of. Did that bother anyone else?

I could go on with this, but that’s all for now…
 
Binky Brown said:
Sorry, but I just can’t get into crackpot tales of Little Men With Furry Feet. I suppose that it all has a peculiar charm to it, but to be honest, I see Tolkein as more of a disgruntled neo- Luddite than a "Catholic Christian writer."

I slogged through the trilogy in high school, and yeah, I thought the movies were fun. But to be honest, I personally find reality a lot more captivating than fantasy. Always felt that way, I guess: even as a kid, I preferred reading history books and biographies to fables of talking animals, dwarves, elves, and what-not.
Click to expand...

Interesting… I always am intrigued by people who don’t like fiction. I wonder if there are more folks of your preferences inside the church, or outside? As an aspiring writer myself, it is heartening to be in the same church which enriched and inspired writers from George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton to Tolkien and (in a sense) even C.S. Lewis (as Joseph Pierce points out in his book C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church). There is something extraordinarily powerful in our cultural heritage of stories and myths. Perhaps it is not so surprising that worshiping the Creator would inspire us to be more creative ourselves. Who needs “Muses”? We have our faith.
 
I haven’t read the books yet, but I’m a huge fan of the movies. The third one was my personal favorite- I can’t wait until the extended version is out.
 
I’ve seen all three movies, then read the books, and just recently saw the EEs of the first two. My friends and all myself also recently had a marathon, that was awesome. I can’t wait till the EE for ROTK comes out to see what else is in it.

I think the movies were just as good as the books, just in different ways. I did miss the scouring of the Shire in the movie, maybe it’ll be in the EE. I also agree about Aragorn and Faramir, and I think Arwen didn’t have to have quite so much screen time, but other than that, the movies are awesome.

If anyone wants to discuss the books and/or movies, I would love to do that. My contact information is in my profile. Take care and God bless.

Peace,
Alex
 
I loved the books and moveis. even non LOTR tolkien stuff is great.
i love the stoiry of the creation of arda in teh silmarillion. just change the names and it is a good explination of the real creation.
 
I didn’t vote in the poll as I don’t see what I would respond. I do like the movies, but I’m finding the books difficult to get through. My kids have asked me to read these to them aloud, and I am complying, but we started with the first book in May, and we’re only in Chapter 11 now, with reading 5-8 pages per day. It sure is taking a long time! However, I don’t want to say it is boring; for the most part, I am enjoying the story even though it is slow-moving so far.

We are all looking forward for the Special Edition of the third movie to come out in the fall. The extra stuff, for the most part, does explain things a little better.
 
Oh how I have loved LoTR… been reading the books annually (or more often) since about 1974. Probably read them a dozen times a year from 1974-1980!

I enjoyed the movies as well – especially the first one. Love Viggo! I also can’t wait for the extended version of part 3 – I’ll have to have a big Tolkien-fest some weekend…

But what I can’t stand is the way Tolkien has been appropriated by right wing extremists. That’s less the case in this country (though I recently got some right wing book mag that had an ad for it – disgusting!), but it’s definitely the case abroad, especially in Italy. The very thought makes me cringe, and I’m always hopeful that The Professor is rolling over in his grave.

Naprous
 
40.png
Writer:
Interesting… I always am intrigued by people who don’t like fiction. I wonder if there are more folks of your preferences inside the church, or outside? As an aspiring writer myself, it is heartening to be in the same church which enriched and inspired writers from George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton to Tolkien and (in a sense) even C.S. Lewis (as Joseph Pierce points out in his book C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church). There is something extraordinarily powerful in our cultural heritage of stories and myths. Perhaps it is not so surprising that worshiping the Creator would inspire us to be more creative ourselves. Who needs “Muses”? We have our faith.
Click to expand...
Oops! If anyone out there cares, George MacDonald was an Anglican and actually a minister. His wife did, however, work as an organist for a time at a Catholic Church. Oh, well…
 
This past weekend, I watched all 3 of the LOTR movies, back to back. It was awesome. My six year old son really got into it too! (It was a bonding experience!).

Anyone know when the EE of Return of the King will hit the street?
 
Sea Knight – probably around Thanksgiving, like the last ones did. The perfect way to spend Thanksgiving weekend!

Naprous
 
Sea Knight:
Anyone know when the EE of Return of the King will hit the street?
Click to expand...
I’ve heard this DVD will not be out until early to mid December. They have had to work around the schedules of the actors who are doing other jobs for the commentary work etc.

Also heard it’s going to be almost an hour longer with an additional 49 minutes of theater quality footage! 👍

In other DVD release news, Entertainment Weekly magazine posted a short blurb in their June 19th issue about what we can expect on the forthcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Extended DVD Edition (which arrives in December - street date TBA). Look for the film to be a whopping 49 minute longer, complete with more than 300 new FX shots completed just for this release. Among the new scenes you’ll see will be **…deleted for spoiler avoidance…**You’ll also get more audio commentaries from everyone involved, two discs worth of exclusive, in-depth documentaries and (we’ve heard) a pretty funny Easter egg or two. Look for the 4-disc set’s faux leather slipcase to be blue. We’ll post further details as they become available.
 
I’ve never read the books but the men in my house have made me watch the movies (a million times).

That Viggo Mortensen is a “good actor”. 😉
 
Naprous,

You wrote: “But what I can’t stand is the way Tolkien has been appropriated by right wing extremists”.

Umm, care to elucidate? Tolkien was a devout and orthodox Catholic. If that makes him “right wing” or “extremist”, so be it, but no one has to “appropriate” him to discover his orthodoxy. He was quite open about it.

Because he was an orthodox Catholic, pigeon-holing him into categories of right or left is doing him a disservice. His ideas regarding social/economic structure are in line with Distributism, which favors private ownership, small government, small business, an agrarian society, etc. That is neither left nor right. His views on Catholic orthodoxy, however, would probably leave you (as a self-described heretic) to conclude that he was a “right-wing extremist”, based on your comments in another thread.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top