Film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

[michael]

Originally posted by plazma:
Its been a while since I read the books. So I didn't quite understand whether Arwen actually DID go with the other elves?
i didn't see the movie, so i can't speak about that, but in the book the only travelling arwen does is to go to minas tirith to marry aragorn. this happens in the 6th book however.
then again, she is barely mentioned at all in the books.
[ 27 January 2003: Message edited by: michael ]

 

[nowonmai]

dunedain = man of the west

what the hell... since there's so much pedantry here, I might as well throw in a bit of my own..

dunadan -> man of the west
dunedain -> men of the west

 

[michael]

hey man, i was toned when i wrote that.

 

[cravNbeets]

bumpin this up cause I just watched it again @ the dollar theater and the video should be out soon right great flick, cant wait for the third.

 

[alasdairm]

TT review in alasdairm's journal

alasdair

 

[lostpunk5545]

It seems like every personal review here has been about how great TTT was. My personal opinion couldn't be any further from this. After watching The Fellowship of the Ring I was pretty stoked with the adaption, even though it was lacking some scenes I thought should have been included (e.g. Legolas shooting down the flying black thing (nazghul or something, forget the name it's been a while since my last read)) it still managed to capture to an extent the heart of the film. Ok now for my views on TTT. Deep Deep breath....
I feel like I have been sucker punched!!! Right in the back of the head. Did I really waste three hours in that cinema? I have seen some pretty bad adaptions from books in the past but this just takes the cake.
While the first movie left out some scenes, it still followed the book. TTT took a fucking huge right angle branch away from the book and never came back... Ok leaving out shit is acceptable (hell it's a longish (not that long)book). But adding shit and a lot of shit mind you, that totally changes the whole feel of the story, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!
I tried, I fucking tried enjoy this movie. I said to myself "Stop being such a jaded arsehole, just enjoy it for the film it is". It didn't work. I didn't pay to see some other fucking sappy, hollywood cliched movie. I PAYED TO SEE LORD OF THE RINGS FOR FUCKS SAKE.

Alright enough pointless bitching and on with the specifics. King theoden was only an arsehole when wormtongue was poisoning his mind and he did not risk his entire people because he was an old stubborn fuck. Thank's Pete way to kill a noble character. The above can be said for the Ent's, while it took them a while to make up their minds they did do it and in a noble non-fuckfaceish way.
That whole fucking love triangle shit was totally made up. The king's daughter stayed and looked after her people, they did not get marched all the way to helm's deep. Aragorn did not fall off a cliff, therefore there was no cheesy, oh he's dead how sad, oh he's alive hooray cliches.
Gimli while a funny character was not ONLY COMIC RELIEF. THERE WAS NO DWARF TOSSING!!! Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas did not jump down in front of the whole orcish army... I mean seriously who the fuck would be that stupid, I found myself hoping one of the fuckers would take an arrow in the throat. THERE WAS NO SHIELD SURFING. This was a serious fucking story not a fucking skate video.
The movie ended in the wrong place, I mean fuck, I nearly cried when the second book ended (I was young give me a break). Oh no I thought Frodo can't be dead, no way can he be dead. Thank's again Pete way to fuck up the cliffhanger of the century...
Alright there is a fuckload more stuff I could whinge about but right now I'm even starting to get annoyed with myself. The last thing I have to say is where was my favorite scene... The most humourous part in the whole trilogy, when the rest of the fellowship, (excluding Frodo and Samwise) turn up to the ruins of Isenguard, to find Merry and Pippin sitting back, chilling drinking some goon, eating some food and smoking some of the weed through their pipes...

There ya go the reason I spent a whole year waiting with anticipation only to be punched right in the solar plexus...

 

[Finder]

^^

Upon my most recent viewing, I'm starting to agree with you. I was extremely pissed off that he didn't end the movie in the same place as the book. I was totally hoping to see everyone who hadn't read the books leave the theatre pissed off.

But that hope was completely shattered.

 

[alasdairm]

i know it's almost impossible to view a movie as a work of art in its own right but i believe it's a worthwhile exercise.

movies of books are always going to be compromises because of the mere nature of the translation. the second you start comparing a movie to the book upon which it's based, thnigs are going downhill. why?

i think it's obvious - when i read a book i direct the movie adaptation in my head as i'm reading the book. i'm the movie director. ansd i'm the best director in the world, obviously.

when i subsequently see the movie adaptation by some upstart like peter jackson or scorsese, they are being compared with my brilliant (not to mention 'original') version of events. how can they possibly compete?

alasdair

 

[lostpunk5545]

i know it's almost impossible to view a movie as a work of art in its own right but i believe it's a worthwhile exercise.

movies of books are always going to be compromises because of the mere nature of the translation. the second you start comparing a movie to the book upon which it's based, thnigs are going downhill. why?

i think it's obvious - when i read a book i direct the movie adaptation in my head as i'm reading the book. i'm the movie director. ansd i'm the best director in the world, obviously.

when i subsequently see the movie adaptation by some upstart like peter jackson or scorsese, they are being compared with my brilliant (not to mention 'original') version of events. how can they possibly compete?

alasdair

Yeah fair point, although the TLOTR wasn't just any book and I believe that he owes more to the fans than to create just another crappy hollywood adaption... especially when the first movie captured the feel of the book so well (the scence in the mines was extremely close to the way I imagined it when reading the book for the first time). I am also extremely annoyed after I spent a year telling everyone how great it was that the movie was made by someone relatively unknown and how much George Lucas would have screwed it up if he had of made it...

 

[alasdairm]

...just another crappy hollywood adaption...

i have trouble seeing how somebody could thoroughly enjoy the first movie yet describe the second one in this way. given that the shooting was completely intertwined, the cast is basically the same and the two movies are stylistically and thematically very similar, i generally find that most people's opinion of one is in line with their opinion of the other.

but, it's art so i understand.

I am also extremely annoyed after I spent a year telling everyone how great it was that the movie was made by someone relatively unknown and how much George Lucas would have screwed it up if he had of made it...

in this case, don't be annoyed at peter jackson. be annoyed at yourself

thanks for the post

alasdair

 

[michael]

george lucas do a good version of it? maybe.

now kurosasa...

 

[lostpunk5545]

i have trouble seeing how somebody could thoroughly enjoy the first movie yet describe the second one in this way. given that the shooting was completely intertwined, the cast is basically the same and the two movies are stylistically and thematically very similar, i generally find that most people's opinion of one is in line with their opinion of the other.



alasdair

If I had to name only two reasons it would be the legolas skating down the stairs scene and the dwarf tossing shit...

 

[alasdairm]

20 seconds out of 3 hours turns it from a great film into "just another crappy hollywood adaption"?

i admit, i'm having trouble undertstanding this but i guess people tend to give much more absolute weight to the cons of movies they see than the pros. this still seems disproportionate.

anyway, it's art i guess.

alasdair

 

[alasdairm]

PS for anybody who's having trouble keeping track of who's who in the Lord of the Rings movies, i can recommend the very excellent:

Encyclopedia of Arda

on further reading, these may be of particular interest:

A movie-goer's guide: The Fellowship of the Ring
A movie-goer's guide: The Two Towers


alasdair

 

[Finder]

^^

I think people should just read the books.

It's sad that there are guides to help people keep track of the characters.

 

[Benefit]

What's a book?

 

[lostpunk5545]

I didn't read the books I just looked at the pictures in the middle

 

[Banquo]

film: The Two Towers (EXTENDED EDITION)

It's amazing how a longer version of a three-hour film can make it feel even shorter than before. The added scenes and dialogue in this edition make The Two Towers flow even better than the theatrical release, IMO. Characters are expanded, smaller plot points explained, and the overall experience is all the more incredible. What Peter Jackson has accomplished with the extended edition DVDs for both LOTR films is unparalleled.

The documentaries that accompany the set are also pretty cool. New Zealand has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, and seeing the process and work that went into making these epics had me glued to the TV for a solid day. Thumbs up!

 

[vorador]

Yeah, the first time I heard of the FOTR coming out for cinemas I was horrified, I really thought the book was going to be butchered.. some people claim it was but I think peter jackson has done a fantastic job at taking the story from the pages to the screen.. you're right about the extended edition (actually, it applies to both The two towers and fellowship).. if you've got the time for it - definately a good watch..
oh and first post. (I'm proud.)

 

[Infinite Jest]

^
welcome

I haven't seen the extended ed of TTT, but I'll be seeing it this week (in the cinema that had the world premiere of ROTK). Saw the extended FOTR there last week, and I agree with Banquo's comments - it actually seemed shorter than the original. It definitely added a richness to the story (although I remembered most of the background from reading the books).

I'm just looking forward to a theatrical triple-bill of the whole thing (extended versions, naturally). I'm willing to bet we'll see that around a year from now