It always amazes me how the movie industry comes to the conclusion that the millions of people who came to love a book or other work of art would somehow prefer to see its title alone, attached to yet another formulaic, dumbed-down cheese-fest. I know they have to sell it to a wider audience, but come on! Alienating the thing's original fan base CANNOT be a good place to start.
Fortunately, LOTR seems to be finally putting that philosophy to rest. Once the original, hardcore fans saw the movie, their enthusiastic "buzz" and word-of-mouth did wonders for the box office. New Line Cinema must be commended for taking such a huge (and it was, most certainly) gamble. It's not often that the label "Instant Classic" is appropriate nowadays, but they did it this time.
They really went all out, in every way. They had to meet the expectations of millions of fans of all ages, they seem to have been extremely successful.
There's something very different about LOTR. Different from other movies that are being made thesedays. There's an deep sence of...of something, it's hard to put into words.
But it doesn't feel like a motion picture. It feels like a timeless, stylish, wonderful piece of art. Just like the book.
I've read some comments by Andrew Lesnie, who's seen the whole 3hrs 20mins of The Two Towers, he seems very excited about it indeed. It really will be amazing if it can outshine Fellowship.