Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien,alt.fan.tolkien Subject: RotK First Thoughts X-Newsreader: trn 4.0-test70 (17 January 1999) From: sbjensen -aaatt- midway -daht- uchicago.edu (Steuard Jensen) Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.135.12.7 Organization: The University of Chicago Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 17:53:33 GMT I don't have time to write a full review right now (I will before too long), but I've got to share a few first impressions. I thought that RotK was very good. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and when I left the theater I felt thoroughly happy and content, with a warm glow inside and a powerfully positive impression of the experience. And I find that amazing, considering the fact that all three of my favorite moments from the book were either missing or terribly distorted in the film (as was one of two "honorable mentions" that I've thought of so far; some broader changes to story elements were also a bit disappointing, but naturally not so sharply). I think that if even just one or two of those three crucial scenes had been "nailed" in the film, I would have been crying like a baby. As it was, I never fully connected with the film emotionally: I think my heart geared up for each of the points where I expected to make that connection, and each time it was left hanging. (I suspect that those who don't know the books well will wonder how in the world anyone could be disappointed.) This movie was great, but a few small changes could have made it astounding. [spoilers follow, but I learned after watching TTT that being warned was a _really_ good thing] Again, this is just a short overview, but I figure I should mention what those three (plus two) favorite scenes were. :) In chronological order: 1. Gandalf facing the Witch King at the gate of Minas Tirith, a conflict that had been foreshadowed repeatedly, but then the tension is broken by the unexpected and miraculously timely arrival of Rohan. Cut completely in the film. 2. Eowyn facing the Witch King. The film did a good job of it, but this scene was one of Tolkien's finest in every detail, especially the dialogue. The film cut or altered most of that, and also cut the crucial aftermath, when Eomer recognizes his fallen sister and leads his people in despairing rage (in fact, his lines there were instead tacked on to the end of Theoden's call to arms, where they were considerably less appropriate; I fear that means that this missing scene won't even be on the extended DVD). 3. Frodo at the Crack of Doom. Again, Tolkien's dialogue here is fantastic, but the movie reduces it to a single phrase (the essential phrase, true, but alone it lacks much of its power). And even if Jackson believed that audiences wouldn't accept Gollum slipping over the edge on his own (even though Jackson shows just how manaically he was leaping about), why on earth did he think that the scene needed the added tension of Frodo hanging over the fire himself? It's the destruction of the Ring that matters here, and that should be enough tension for anyone; adding direct danger to Frodo only dilutes it. And, in my opinion, it also unnecessarily anticipates Frodo and Sam's danger when the mountain erupts. Those are the big three. I find it rather curious that those scenes also happen to be scenes that the old animated "Return of the King" came very close to getting exactly right. Maybe Jackson figured people could just pop in that old movie if they wanted Tolkien's version. :) Or maybe he thought that following Tolkien directly in those scenes would make too many people think of the animated version. Or maybe (in the case of 1 and 2 above) he just wasn't ever satisfied with the way the Witch King's voice turned out. :) As for those two "honorable mention favorite scenes": * The Witch King leading the Morgul Host forth from Minas Morgul. Despite a few changes in details, this scene was almost dead on what I hoped it would be, from the Great Signal all the way through the long march of the army across the bridge. (Yes, the city was too green for my taste: I wanted a sickly, corpse-light white. But that was a minor quibble.) And the Witch King's cry was the single best Nazgul screech in the trilogy (incidentally, I liked Frodo's reaction to it a lot, too). I really wish that the horror and power and terror of the Witch King in this scene could have carried over to the Pelennor fields... but it didn't. * The despair of the defenders of the city and the Rohirrim upon sighting the Black Fleet coming up the river (and Sauron's forces encouragement), followed by the unexpected and near-miraculous unfurling of Aragorn's banner and the emergence of his army that reversed all those feelings, and Eomer's sudden mirth and joy. Missing or at least reduced in the movie. (For the record, I think that Jackson's choice to move the Dead Men to the Pelennor fields was a good one; I'll say more about that in my full review.) Other general plot changes whose resulting disappointment was spread over a longer time: * Denethor, as so many people have pointed out, is reduced from being one of Tolkien's truly ambiguous and conflicted characters to being an all around loser. Make him admirable, and then fall into madness and despair. * Frodo and Sam's journey from Cirith Ungol to Mount Doom is entirely missing. (Was Jackson afraid that audiences would start singing "Where there's a whip, there's a way"?) * Related to many of those "favorite scenes" above, the flow of the Battle of the Pelennor fields was rather different, and I can't help but think that Tolkien's version was more dramatic. * Including "Dernhelm" and "his" apparent hope for death in battle would have been appreciated, though I can see why "he" was cut. * Merry's love for Theoden was missing, which was a shame. * Though I understand that the ending was already slow, a bit more time in a few places there might have been good. (Show some glimpse of Aragorn as king, for example. Follow up on his relationship to Faramir. For that matter, restore the Houses of Healing and then include at least the beginnings of the Faramir-Eowyn romance.) Hmm. This turned out to be pretty long, despite my best hopes, which is unfortunate since I have thus far only commented on things that I was disappointed by. :) There were plenty of great things too... but I'm out of time for now. Steuard Jensen