Saturday, January 19, 2002

LOTR - Finally!

We finally got a chance to see it last night. I must admit, Lord of the Rings was better than I expected it to be. I had a lot of trouble believing all the hype - what was real and what was just this nation of sheep bleating in unison.

That said, it was TOO LONG. A good 45 minutes could've been trimmed with no loss. Stanley thinks it was good as it is - he said it could've been longer and he would've been happy. I think trimming a minute or two here and there would've made it a more bearable movie since some scenes were interminable (the Ringwraiths chasing Liv Ullman, the canoe trip, the slogging through the snow, the length of time it took to get across the stone bridge in the tomb of the dwarves, the fight scenes -- all could've been trimmed significantly without ruining anything).

I listened as parents and other people explained what was going on to those (kids and others) who'd never read the books - the movie does not stand alone. It is very confusing unless the viewer is one of the initiated (no matter how long ago. In my case, I read the books about 30 years ago).

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It would've been better, too, if the movie weren't so patronizing of the Hobbits and treated them as the central, most important characters - the way they are treated in the books. It rests on Frodo's shoulders to save Middle Earth from The Shadow - no one else, not human, not elf, not dwarf, not wizard. That really bugged me.

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But the special effects were great - I loved, especially, the river attacking the Ringwraiths. I'd like to watch it again to see all the details I missed the first time around - the rock creatures embedded in the scenery, more of the background details, the stuff that lent all the texture to the movie in an almost subliminal way.
posted by lee on 01/19/02 at 06:30 PM

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