[HairOfTheDog]

I have just woke up.... Sipping coffee and trying to remember all I saw last night (this morning). I may be on sensory overload, but I do remember crying some, laughing some, and smiling through the whole thing.

What a wild ride this has been!

Post your thoughts as you piece them together.

[HairOfTheDog]

Hullo honey! ping em?

[Snake65]

An epic end to this ode to heroism and sacrifice.

Superb special effects, thrilling battle scenes -- especially of the Nazgul wheeling and diving on Minas Tirith like JU-87 Stukas -- chilling moments as Shelob hunts Frodo, and a message of courage and hope: that even the smallest of us can make a difference in the history of world.

My main quibble was Jackson’s removal of the “Scouring of the Shire” (and indeed any scene of Saruman). It’s always been one of my favorite parts of the book, the Shire has been reduced under Saruman’s brand of Socialism to a realm of “gatherers and sharers” (with precious little sharing, one hobbit notes). Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin lead a hobbit uprising, and prove that the hobbits have indeed grown up and are now able to take care of themselves without any aid from Wizards, Elves, Dwarves, and Kings. Tolkien wrote his tale, in part, to give the English a creation mythos and in dispensing with the “Scouring” scenes --even in a future DVD -- Peter Jackson has done Tolkien the first real disservice of the Trilogy.

I was really looking forward to Bruce Spence (the gangly "gyro-captain" guy from Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior) as the Mouth of Sauron but he doesn't make an appearance in this verison. Oh well, hopefully on the extended DVD.

That aside, I found this an entirely satisfying conclusion and if anything, too short. If the spectacle level of Two Towers was a ten, this takes it, like Nigel Huffnel’s special amp, up to eleven. I’ve no doubt I’ll see this many times.

~E.E. Knight (snake65), author of WAY OF THE WOLF and proud Tolkien-geek FReeper.

[Professional Engineer]

Just don't tell us the Ring is destroyed!

[BibChr]

SPOILERS GALORE: don't read if you haven't seen!

Boy, HOTdog, you *are* obliging! (c8

Well, I had spoken to the management of the theater twice in advance to be clear on what was going to happen, so I showed up about 9:00. I was maybe 60 people back, for a theater holding 500. My wife and Josiah (8) joined me just as the line was going in, about 10:40-ish. We got fine seats.

FOTR:EE started without trailers at 1:00, to much applause. The audience was just great all the way through. Obviously filled with die-hard LOTR fans, they applauded and/or hooted at the right places, were silent at the right places. Wormtongue actually got hissed! It was a lot of fun, and wonderful to see the EE's on the big screen.

Then came the long break after TTT:EE, with ROTK to start at 10. (Aside to the midnight-show people: hahahahahahaha).

Every trailer got booed, mixed with laughter. The first logo's at the start of ROTK got applause, followed by silence through most of the movie, except for a few outbursts of applause.

Now to ROTK itself.

My simplest and shortest review is that I literally — and I only use the word "literally" literally — had to keep telling myself to close my mouth. It was a jaw-dropper, start to finish.

And I don't just mean the battle sequences which, obviously, were overpowering and amazing. But equally the cut-the-tension-with-a-knife intimate scenes, between Sam and Frodo, Faramir and Denethor, and so on. Equally, just some of the imagery — the stairway up which Gollum leads Frodo comes first to mind. Just overwhelming, masterful.

Peter Jackson is a genius working with geniuses. I continue to marvel at the man's ability to do a tight closeup on some intimate, personal little moment, then sweep seamlessly to some huge, epic scene of battle or confrontation. The moth-to-Saruman scene from FOTR is a classic example; ROTK is filled with others.

Sean Astin deserves SOMETHING. He deserves a LOT of somethings. Having read LOTR for over thirty years, I say: Astin NAILS Sam, he EMBODIES Sam. I can't imagine a performance one molecule better, truer. Everyone else is wonderful, too; and Merry and Pippin get to bring up depths hitherto only hinted at, at best. But Astin's doggedly loyal, truehearted Sam towers over all.

I laughed, I tensed up tight as a drum-head, I teared up, I yelled, I whooped, I clapped. What more could one want from a movie?

I'll get to my quibbles eventually, but here I turn to the inevitable question: so now which is your favorite?

I'd have to say, still FOTR. It still has a magic not quite in the others for me. BUT I reserve the right to revise that verdict (A) after repeated viewings and (B) after the EE. I'm pretty sure TTT will never take that place, but conceivably ROTK could.

I hope I've expressed enough love for the movie to avoid a lecture over my quibbles. And if not, I'll add this: I'm astonished at how much Jackson crammed into 3:20. A maz ing. I say again: the man is a genius, and works with geniuses.

QUIBBLES

Preface: most of these are totally conditioned on the EE. Most of them might be swept away by restored footage. I hope they ALL are.

First: in FOTR, though he can't swim, Sam sees Frodo heading across the river, and wades out after him. He'll DROWN rather than let Frodo go on alone. "I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise. 'Don't you leave him, Sam Gamgee.' And I don't mean to. I don't mean to."

Flash forward to ROTK: "Go home, Sam." He cries (very moving)... and then he goes home.

Huh?

And what changes his mind, and turns him around, is... finding lembas? Like he DIDN'T know BEFOREhand that GOLLUM must have done something with the lembas, but now he DOES know? It would have made sense if he'd put it in his pocket for proof to Frodo... but as it stands, it's an incongruous "Huh?"

Second: Aragorn hears that the love of his life, Arwen, has not left Middle Earth, and is dying. (An invention, but we leave that aside for the moment.) So he takes the sword, and does some kingly buttkicking. For Arwen (in part)! Okey doke.

Fast-forward. Now Aragorn has won, and is being crowned king. The hobbits are recovered, Faramir and Eowyn are recovered, everything's been arranged, invitations sent out, catering paid for. So it's been, what, weeks? Months?

And, oh, who's that behind that banner? Why, it's old Arwen! Dang, haven't thought of her in months! How do I know that? She looks at him uncertainly, and he does the same. I guess in all the hustle and bustle, he has just COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN about her! But it's all okay now, because he hugs her and kisses her (now that she's here, uninvited), and they'll get married and have kids and she'll have a miserable, hopeless future (so vividly envisioned by Elrond, who now unaccountably seems cool with the whole deal) because of choosing to bind herself to this negelctful, absent-minded man.

So again I must say....

Huh?

Third: IF I'm remembering this right, UNLIKE the book, Denethor does not slam the door and insist on immolating himself. No, Gandalf knocks him back onto the pyre, whereupon he (by Gandalf's direct doing) bursts into flame, screams, and runs off, horribly dying as Faramir watches. Whereupon the now-immobile Gandalf philosophically muses (concerning the man HE just set on fire) something like, "Thus ends the stewardship of Denethor [because I just set him on fire]."

Huh?

All others are minor, unless I've forgotten something. I'd heard Bruce Spence was the Mouth of Sauron; but no MoS in this picture. Why didn't Eowyn hide her identity totally, like in the book? Since it's my favorite part, I wished they'd stuck to it close. I loved it in the movie, but miss the Witch King smugly saying "No man can kill me," then being stunned and rattled as this GUY starts actually LAUGHING at him -- and then, shock of shocks, pulls off "his" helmet and says "But no mortal man stands before you," and the rest. It seemed to go a little fast in the movie. I still loved it, and Eowyn rocks — but I'd prefer it to have been closer to the book.

The appreciation of the hobbits was cool, but I'd've liked more, like in the book.

Well, there's my review rattled off for your perusal.

Did I like it? Mercy, yes. Will I see it again? Oh yes, again AND again. How would I rate it? Oh, 4.5 or 5 stars out of five. Do I recommend it? Enthusiastically.

And there you have it.

Dan

[BibChr]

Snake jogged my memory of a couple of other things.

Yeah... no Palantir. So why did movie-Denethor wig out? Just went nuts, I guess? That was, I thought, an important plot-element: Saruman perverts Theoden's thinking, and Sauron himself perverts Denethor's.

Shelob is awesome, period, end of paragraph, end of essay.

So here's another thing I forgot. Okay, two. Lava is, like, how hot? Really hot. So scrawny little Gollum (with no cry of "Pre-e-e-e-e-ecious," darn!) falls in, floats (!) awhile -- in the lava (!!) -- and has the presence of mind to reach out for the ring (!!!), before finally sinking slowly.

But since heat rises, wouldn't you crisp up, say, thirty feet ABOVE the lava, let alone in it?

I have only one guess about that. As the Ring itself floats awhile before melting, maybe Gollum's connection to it made him that tough to kill. My best try.

But how do you explain Sam and Frodo napping on a rock in a sea of lava? How long would it take thar rock to become a frying pan -- to say nothing of (again) the rising heat?

Dan

[Jalapeno]

bumping for a read after I view this evening.

[DCBryan1]

Sipping coffee and trying to remember all I saw last night (this morning). I may be on sensory overload, but I do remember crying some, laughing some, and smiling through the whole thing.

LOL, its 1PM and I just woke up...that statement is EXACTLY what I wanted to say!

I had to get my Ticket on Ebay, paid $100.00 and then drove 150 miles to see the movie at the Malco Paradiso in Memphis, TN.

The theater is the newest in Mephis and had recliner seats, perfect view point (no heads in front, nice incline, wide aisles) and SERVED BEER!

Guys and girls were crying and I heard someone say, "How the hell can you go home and go to sleep after THAT"...I couldn't have said it better myself. Unfortuanely, I had to drive back 150 miles to LIttle Rock and enjoyed reminiscing a little.

Well, I have until 4PM and I see it again with my niece.

TAKE CARE, OH, and I took apicture of the audience and told them I would post it on www.Freerepublic.com....I just had to plug Jim's Hobbit Hole.....wait...that doesn't sound right.

You know what I mean.

[Tijeras_Slim]

How can there be spoilers if ya'll have read the book?

[RightFighter]

Great moments from a great film:

1. Andy Serkis' performance as Gollum/Smeagol was brilliant again, especially the interplay between Smeagol and Sam. It was great to see Jackson really show you the evolution of the relationship between Sam, Frodo, and Smeagol. It was actually believable when Frodo began to distrust Sam. Even though you knew Smeagol had set Sam up with the elven bread crumbs, later events at the outpost in Mordor led you to believe that Smeagol was right - that Sam WOULD try to take the ring for himself. It was great though to see that in the end, Sam was the rock that anchored Frodo and allowed (or forced) him to succeed. As one who'd never read the books, I was pleased to see this.

2. The continuation of the playful competition between Legolas and Gimli over the numbers of Orcs each killed in battle. Who can ever forget Legolas jumping on that huge elephant-creature (Olipant?) and killing the 30+ men that were riding on it, then sliding down the trunk to the ground, only to be greeted by Gimli saying "That still only counts as ONE!" What a great moment.

3. Inside Minas Tirith, when Gandalf takes command of the forces of Gondor, and he's standing at the front gate, he tells the terrified soldiers something like "You are soldiers of Gondor. Whatever comes through that gate, you stand your ground and fight!" Then the door is broken through and the meanest, ugliest, most terrifying trolls in full battle armor break through the gate. The look in Gandalf's eyes is classic - almost like he was saying, "Whoops".

4. The speech that Aragorn gives to the remaining forces of Gondor and Rohan at the Black Gate as they are being surrounded by the Orcs coming out of Mordor was awesome. The main gist of it was something like "There may come a time when the age of men ends and the age of orcs begins, when shields are cracked and swords are broken and we are driven away from this land, but that time is not today!" Then, when he hears the voice of Sauron calling to him from Mordor, Aragorn turns to Gandalf and says "For Frodo" and takes off at full speed toward the thousands of orcs in front of him. I literally thought Aragorn was about to die. If only we had great men today like the character of Aragorn.... (Oh, wait a minute, we DO! They're in the US military!)

5. At the ceremony at Minas Tirith where Aragorn is crowned king, which, incidentally, reminded me a lot of both the final scene from Star Wars: A New Hope and the final scene from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, I loved when the four hobbits bowed to the new king, and he said, "My friends, you bow to no one." Then he kneeled and bowed to them, and the rest of Minas Tirith followed suit.

I'm sure I'll remember more later. This movie is just incredible, and if Jackson doesn't win best picture/best director/best everything for this one, it's all a sham. There's no movie that can touch the quality and breadth of this one.

[Guenevere]

question...Has anyone bought & listened to the soundtrack for Return of the King?

any comments?

I am patiently waiting to see ROTK....perhaps this weekend.

Hubby has a very hard work week, and I wouldn't dare go without him....as he's the bigger Tolkien fan than I.....having gone through all the books...

..but I love the first two of the trilogy.

I can't wait!

[PMCarey]

Let's face it, Gandalf was a miserable failure. He needed a much larger coalition to go against Sauron. Instead he tried to organize men to unilaterally attack Mordor. Where were the Elves? Where were the dwarves? Sure he had small token Elf force at Helm's Deep and ONE dwarf!

Some people say that Sauron had WMD, but where's the proof? The only WMD were the three Elven rings and the One Ring and those were all in Gandalf's pocket.

The War of the Ring was a shameful episode in the history of Middle Earth.

[maquiladora]

Wow, what a ride! I really need to see ROTK a few more times, there was just so much happening. At least 100 times better than TTT and....wow...was there ever a more amazing piece of cinema? Not as emotional as I thought it would be to be honest, and the ending did reduce a lot of the energy in a way, but still, two thumbs way up, I loved it and I'm trying to work out how soon I can see it all over again, and again, and again.....

That still only counts as one!

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Brilliant. I saw the 11am showing in Skokie, IL. First of all, on a local note, indicted today ex-Governor of Illinois, George Ryan is a dead ringer for Gollum.

Yeah, I wanted the Scouring of the Shire in it, too. The Woses, (the wild men who escort Rohan's cavalry past the Orc positions) were among the favorite peoples of mine in the ROTR book.

[DoctorMichael]

Left work at lunchtime.......got car.....drove to theatre.....all showings EXCEPT for the 2:45 were already Sold Out......bought ticket......went back to work to finish things I left 'cooking'......drove back to theatre.....went to 2:45 showing.......WOW!!!!!!!!!!! THIS truly WAS the 'Mother of All Battles'. Amazing!

[Gordian Blade]

I just got back from my first viewing, planning to see it again for the Saturday matinee.

I know where and when to go to avoid the crowds, so I hit the 3:30 PM showing in a theater that was maybe 1/3 full. That helps avoid the annoyances, but I didn't get much audience reaction either.

I have just a couple of nits to pick, mostly what has been said above but I'll add a couple.

1. The music was suitably Wagnerian, but I felt in many places that it was overwhelmed by the sheer noise of everything else going on. This is the classical music lover in me reacting. I bet most viewers wouldn't have noticed it or cared.

2. I didn't like the way the ring ended up in the lava. It's a wonderful build-up in the book the way Frodo uses the power of the ring to curse Gollum to be thrown into the Crack of Doom if he tries to hurt Frodo again, but we don't fully realize what Frodo did until it actually happens. I don't see why that couldn't have worked just as well in the film.

Oh well, there's the extended DVD late next year.

[Faraday]

The most important positive I can cite is that PJ, Walsh, & Boyens remained true to the spirit of Tolkien. They created a mythic world which contains the best elements of our culture and encourage us to live up to these ideals. Second, technique is stunning, particularly in the battle scenes. Third, the acting (thanks to the writing) was a step up from the first two films.

Niggles: I agree with several already cited and won't repeat. The character of Gandalf was considerably reduced from Tolkien's description. The character of the hobbits upon returning to the Shire is quite altered from the book--neglecting the major deletion of the Scouring. Frodo is nowhere near withdrawn and ill enough. Sam, Merry, & Pippin are all too introspective. They each become major dignitaries and personalities in the novel (& appendices).

The two most difficult elements to pull off from the books were the Ents and the Army of the Dead. The first PJ did brilliantly, the latter was not so successful.

See the movie by all means, but if you haven't yet done so, please read the books.

[Charles Henrickson]

I went to a special 10:15 showing this morning. Walked up to the window right at 10:15--no standing in line--and got a good seat right where I like it. Theatre was mostly full, but not sold out. I think it was the unusual time. When I came out, there was a line down the block for the 2:30 showing.

This is a wonderful movie, in so many ways! Just outstanding! I wanted the whole story to just go on forever! While Jackson has to delete or change some things from the books, he does capture the spirit and the imagination of the books so beautifully!

This is an uplifting story about courage, loyalty, friendship, hope, temptation. It is a story of big things--war, death--and of little things--daily vocation, doing your duty. There is feeling and warmth and emotion to this epic tale with big battle scenes. There is so much here to marvel at and mull over.

[Jalapeno]

Here's My Spoiler

Someone loses a finger

Where's that nine finger song?

[AlGone2001]

I never have read LOTRs. My only encounters with it are the movies. This means that there was less opportunity for me to be disappointed with Jackson.

I must say that ROTK was BY FAR better than the first two films.

It seemed to me that even the CG for Smeagol/Gollum was better than that of the 2nd film.

Not reading the book, I still had some knowledge that much happened with the Hobbits in the Shire after their return from Mordor. I had hoped that they would include that.

I know that they spent $millions on this movie, and had only 3 movies (11 or so hours) to use.

With that being said, they can't possibly cover every single scene. With it all behind them, I am sure that they would have done this in four films, including all elements. I think that they did well with the length of film given them, and the time on the set.

ROTK deserves to receive the Academy Award for Picture of the Year. I also believe that Sean Astin should win for Best Supporting Actor.

[sweetliberty]

Just got home. I laughed, I cried, I got chills and I even hollered a few times. I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of it too. That movie was simply amazing! I am still processing it.