The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

And now we come to part 2 of my series: the movie version of Fellowship. There are many things that I love about the movies. The biggest thing is that the movies feel like home. They are so familiar to me and so much a part of me. I honestly do not have the words to describe how important these movies, and Tolkien's works as a whole, are to me. That being said, I will do my best to describe what I love about these movies.

First, I want to point out that I only watch the extended versions. I cannot watch the theatrical versions without feeling like things are missing, which there are. So if you have not seen the extended versions then be warned as I will likely discuss things from them. And, in the spirit of honesty, I will admit that I once again took notes, although my notes for the movie were significantly shorter than those for the book.

 I only pulled out the movie discs; there are still more discs of special features. And again, underneath are my notes.

So. Beginning. Well, to start with, the movie begins with a 7:31 long prologue. That's right. Over 7 minutes of introductory dialogue to set up the story. However, it's awesome and I love it. I think it's a very good introduction without getting too in-depth. Plus, it's become such an iconic opening (well, at least among my friends and family). It's one of my favorite opening scenes of any movie. 

Now, I will cover the cast, music, and scenery later on. Before that I want to mention some of the plot points that I really like. The first is the little George Washington hobbit child. I don't know if you've ever noticed her, but one of the hobbit children looks like a little George Washington. And the poor child is a little girl. She is the second from the right, in the yellow dress, in the following picture.

I also love knowing that Gandalf hitting his head in Bilbo's house was a complete accident but they kept it in because it was so perfect. That's not the only time they did something like that in this series. In fact, near the end of the movie, when Aragorn is fighting the Uruk and he throws the knife at Aragorn, the knife was actually supposed to hit the tree behind Aragorn. The armor messed with the throw and Aragorn had to deflect it for real. 

It's interesting how much quicker things move in the movie. Once Gandalf determines that Frodo does indeed have the One Ring, he makes sure Frodo begins his journey. You can also see how much Isengard changes. It begins the movie as a beautiful place with lots of trees and grass but Saruman quickly changes that and it becomes dark and evil. 

"Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

I find the small character personality changes fascinating. I spoke in the book post about the changes made to Arwen so I won't reiterate those here. However, I do want to talk about Aragorn and Boromir. In the book, Aragorn leaves Rivendell having claimed his birthright and with Narsil reforged and renamed Anduril. In the movie, he is much more reluctant to claim his birthright. He is more afraid of becoming like his ancestors and failing the same way they did. I think it makes him more likable as a person because you can see more character development over the whole of the series. With Boromir, there is also a build-up, although in his case it's a build-up of the Ring's influence on his thinking. In the book, he is very focused on returning to Minas Tirith and helping his people, but it isn't until the end that he actively seeks the Ring as the means to do so. In the movie, there are several instances, from his first appearance at the Council all the way to him trying to take the Ring, where you can see how the Ring affects him. It makes it a little harder to like Boromir because he seems more "evil" but you still feel sorry for him when he dies. What you have to understand about Boromir is that he's tired. He's tired of watching Men fall, of seeing their struggle to survive. He will do anything to see the glory of Men restored, including use the Ring against Sauron. That's what makes his death so sad. Boromir is a good man with a good heart but the Ring corrupts even the best of Men. And he sincerely cared for the Hobbits and the rest of the fellowship. He wanted to protect those weaker than him but he was not able to protect himself.

"They will look for his coming from the White Tower. But he will not return."

I find it interesting that most of the fellowship knows Frodo is leaving alone for Mordor near the end of the movie. In the book, only Sam guesses and follows him. In the movie, Aragorn, Pippin, and Merry all know what choice Frodo has made. The ending of the movie is also a bit different, as it actually is the beginning of The Two Towers book. Fellowship ends with Frodo and Sam leaving for Mordor and The Two Towers begins with Aragorn finding Boromir near death and then hunting the Uruk-hai to save Merry and Pippin. I like how the Fellowship movie ended, though. I think it wrapped up the first part nicely and set it up for the next part. 

I do have one point of contention. When Galadriel is handing out the gifts, she tells Aragorn that they will not meet again. This is not true, as Galadriel is part of the group that brings Arwen to Gondor so she can wed Aragorn. It is after their wedding that Galadriel eventually departs for Valinor. While their were some other minor changes and a couple of major changes, that comment by Galadriel is one of the things that really bothers me.

Now, on to the cast, sets, music, costumes, etc. Well, to start, I adore Howard Shore, the composer for the movies. His music is so beautiful. Just hearing a bit of any song from the movie is almost enough to make me cry. His scores perfectly capture the feel of the movie and of every scene. One of my favorite songs is in Moria, when you can hear the chanting in the background. Not only does each place have its own feel through the music, but each place is also perfectly captured through the sets and scenery. New Zealand was the perfect place to build Middle Earth. Both the sets and music help make The Lord of the Rings the definition of "epic". I also love how intricate the costumes are. They are so beautiful and I really wish it was still acceptable to dress that way. I love the cloaks and long, flowing dresses. It's all so regal and enchanting. As for the cast, I cannot imagine any of the characters played by different people. I think the whole cast, throughout the whole series, is simply perfect. They are all able to capture their characters and convey their thoughts and feelings.

There are certain scenes throughout the movies that are my favorite. In Fellowship, one scene would definitely be the Balrog scene. First, I love that Legolas refers to it as a "Balrog of Morgoth" when they are in Lothlorien. Any allusion to The Silmarillion makes me very happy. What helps make the Balrog scene one of my favorites is Legolas' initial reaction when Gandalf names their foe. Legolas, as an Elf, would have heard stories of Balrogs and their origins. He would have understood exactly what they were facing. And Orlando Bloom is able to convey that fear and terror perfectly. And let's not forget Gandalf's final speech.

"You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun! Go back to the shadow. You shall not pass!"

And so ends the first part. It seems all hope is lost but there is still a glimmer of it left. And there are still those willing to fight for it. The Two Towers moves much more quickly than Fellowship and it is my favorite of the three movies. I'm excited to share why that is with you so be on the lookout for the next two parts of the series. 

Link to post on Fellowship book: http://turningpages92.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-lord-of-rings-fellowship-of-ring.html

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

I adore Tolkien and his works. I absolutely love Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings but I've been a little on the fence about The Hobbit. The last movie in The Hobbit trilogy comes out today. I was expecting to see it Friday night. My parents even said they preorded tickets for Friday night. Last night, my mom said we were going to see The Homesman. She said she really wanted to see it and I'm always up for going to the movies. My dad was on the fence about going but ultimately decided to join my mom, sister and I. My mom went to buy tickets while my dad, sister and I headed toward the entrance to the theater. And then my mom comes over with no tickets and says something to my dad about getting them printed by the person who checks the tickets. Looking back, that should have been my first clue that something weird was going on. Then my mom starts whispering to the person who collects the tickets. It was about that time that my sister and I realized that we were actually going to see The Battle of the Five Armies and not The Homesman. It turns out that when my mom had gone to order tickets for Friday for The Hobbit, she noticed that there was a showing at 7 on Tuesday night. So our parents decided to surprise my sister and me, and we went to see it last night. My sister and I were crying once we realized what was going on because we both knew what was coming and neither one of us had had time to emotionally prepare. Let's just say it was a good surprise but very emotional.

Ok, now that my long story is over, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns). I even have a list of things I want to talk about in regards to the movie. To begin, this is not going to be an entirely pleasant review. You've been forewarned. Firstly, in case you didn't know, the Tolkien family is not happy with the Peter Jackson movies. Any of them. And if Jackson had led with this series instead of LOTR, then I would fully agree with the Tolkien family.

There have gradually been more and more changes in The Hobbit movies and it's become a little unrecognizable as Tolkien's Hobbit. For example, in the book, several more of the dwarves in the company die. Bilbo is also not really a part of the battle. He puts the ring on and gets knocked out because no one can see him. Then, no one can find him so they think he died. He barely makes it back in time to make amends with Thorin, who dies off the battlefield after the battle is over. The Dol Guldur escapade is different as well. The White Council is able to send Sauron away easily because he is not strong enough to stand against them, whereas in the movie he's strong enough to fight them. I will say I found the Galadriel part interesting. In The Fellowship of the Ring when she tries to take the ring, she's still beautiful because she's in control. In Dol Guldur, she's being partially controlled by Sauron so she's a lot scarier when she loses it for a second. I also appreciated that she mentioned Morgoth, because The Silmarillion is my favorite. Another thing that I didn't like was the giant worms that the Orcs used to tunnel under the earth. The only "worms" in Middle Earth are the dragons, who were also called the Worms of Morgoth. So those burrowing worm creatures were not canon.

And now for my biggest issue that many other people love: Tauriel. I have no issue with Jackson creating a female elf because he thought the movie needed more women. What bothers me is the Tauriel/Kili relationship. No dwarf and elf would ever fall in love. It's not how Tolkien wrote them. And since he's the expert, I tend to agree with him. Dwarves and Elves are simply too different for a romantic relationship. Legolas and Gimli are proof that they can be friends but I cannot see it extending past that. Just, no. My greatest fear was that Jackson would save Kili so that he and Tauriel could be together. One of the saddest things about the end of the book is that the line of Durin is completely wiped out because Thorin and his nephews all die. I was so happy that they killed Kili because it's such an important part of the story.

I know it sounds like I absolutely hated the movie but that's not true. There were several things I liked. Of course, the music is one of the biggest things, although the music at the very beginning was very un-LOTR sounding. However, it was definitely made up for with Billy Boyd's song "The Last Goodbye". It was the perfect song to end the series and the Middle Earth adventures. I also adored the pig and ram steeds. In Middle Earth, people don't just ride horses. They also ride elk, pigs, and ram. They were so cute and I definitely want one. And let's not forget Beorn, falling out of the sky as a bear. I thoroughly enjoyed that. One of my favorite things in LOTR is the way that enemy lines meet at Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields. Battle of the Five Armies did not disappoint in that regard. I was so excited to see the dwarves crouched down, waiting for the orcs to attack. And then bam! Elves overhead. That made me happy. Oh, and Billy Connolly as Dain? He was adorable. And let's not forget Bard and Legolas talking. I could barely contain my laughter because they're practically twins. I also liked that Legolas was sort of sent to find Strider, because they do know each other before LOTR.

Ok, last couple comments. The burning of Lake-town. That was a really cool scene, watching Smaug destroy the city. But my favorite part of the movie was Douchebag Thorin. And yes, I have made that into his title because if we're honest, he totally becomes a douchebag. And it was handled so well and done so beautifully. I loved watching him lose his mind. He goes so crazy and nuts and it's really hard to like him. As Bilbo says, how could Thorin think that his kin would ever betray him? They are so loyal to him and love him so much. I loved what Dwalin and Kili both said to him, about not wanting to watch their kin from the Iron Hills die while they hide away. And I love that you can see the change in Thorin by how he dresses. When he's consumed by the dragon sickness he is dressed in robes lined with fur and wears a crown. But when he comes to rally the company and ask them to follow him one last time, he's dressed simply, as he was in the beginning. And it's amazing how much 13 dwarves can change the tide of a battle, simply because the King is leading them. Thorin is without a doubt one of my favorite Tolkien characters, and I am so happy with how Richard Armitage portrays him. Even though his death was different from the book, it was still just as terrible and heartbreaking.

I know it seems like I didn't really like the movie. I did, but not in comparison to the book. I really had to focus on seeing the movie as a separate entity from the book. On its own, the movie was good and a satisfactory ending to the trilogy. I love the actors (Martin Freeman is perfect), I adore the scenery, and I just love the music so much. While I will miss Middle Earth, I am glad the series is finally over.