“A Long-Expected Party”: Fellowship of the Ring Scrapbook by HairOfTheDog

Free Republic | HairOfTheDog

[HairOfTheDog]

I really had a good time these last months talking about the coming of the Lord of the Rings. Now that the hype is winding down, and all of us have said so much about it, I am mourning just a little, the fact that all good things must come to an end. I have been slowly re-entering the old discussions about politics here on Free Republic. I feel though, as if I have been to church and heard a great sermon, and feeling very inspired, I leave the church, only to find that everyone around me is talking about stomach ailments.

I wasn’t ready to do that yet, so I have spent this Sunday revisiting Tolkien threads, adding some to the Tolkien Bump List that were missed by Marianne and ecurbh (thank you both). I seem to remember others that are still not there, hopefully others will find and post them to the Tolkien Bump List

I started re-discovering some of the really great stuff that Freepers wrote about the LoTR, and started compiling this scrapbook of my favorites. Of particular interest to me is the emotion the movie brought out as you watched it, and all of the reviews I remember fondly were written by Freepers, not by the “pros”. Some of you Freepers can write! - The “best of Freeper LoTR Reviews” nominees (IMHO and in no particular order):

"The Fellowship Of The Ring": review by Darth Sidious - 12/19/01

favorite quote: ..."At this point I want to say something - a three word phrase - but I'm trying awfully hard not to take the Lord's name in vain. It's commonly used, however, to indicate that one is completely and utterly overwhelmed by an event. And gosh-darnnit, I want to say those three words, over and over and over again... until it becomes absolutely clear to you, Dear Reader, that this writer has indeed become completely and utterly overwhelmed by this particular event."

A very good review, buried within another review, deserved its own post:

Reply by East Bay Patriot - 12/19/01

favorite quote: ..."Bilbo. I don't know why, but Ian Holm as Bilbo really got to me. To see the horrible power of the ring on this very gentle, innocent hobbit, is heartbreaking. When he runs to Gandalf and hugs him, I really teared up. When he is tempted by the ring in Rivendell, and then turns from it and weeps, I lost it. This was only the first of many times in the film I blubbered. But I blubbered here. Bilbo is such a gentle soul, such a loveable character in the hobbit, that to see him played so well by Holm, and to see the lust and evil the ring brings out of him...well, for some reason this just stood out as a favorite part of the film for me, and it really, really moved me. I wept when Bilbo wept."

My review of Lord of the Rings : Fellowship of the Ring - by maquiladora - 12/21/01

favorite quote: ..."The film begins and somewhere in my mind I can feel something change. I sit back...I watch...I listen, and I hardly move an inch for 3 hours. I gasp in awe at the battle of the Last Alliance, I expected epic, but this was so much more than just epic...this was Biblical in scope. My eyes unscrewed in disbelief as I watched the prologue...I couldn't begin to tell what was real and what was generated by other means. Nor did I care. It was too vast, too fluid, too vivid to even question. I gripped the armrests and just watched....and watched"

Another very good review, buried within another review, that deserved its own post:

Reply by austinTparty - 12/21/01

favorite quote: ..."Elijah Wood's Frodo is all expressive eyes and innocence and reluctant hero. He carries the burden of the ring visibly, and it progressively adds to the emotional depth of his character. Acceptance, longing for what once was and can no longer be and sad courage play across his face when he realizes what he must do."

Texas2step's Lord of the Rings Movie Experience -12/22/01

favorite quote: ..."I was literally blown away. I was so hyped about watching this movie, I didn't realize that the movie had started until about 30 seconds into Galadriel's prologue intro."

I of course, have a very hard time finding just one quote to encapsulate the great discussions I have had and seen here with all of you. BibChr, RosieCotton, 68 Grunt, John Farson and many others also said some great stuff. But some good quotes:

Those who have resisted reading the books, are missing out on one of the great literary achievements of the last 100 years. This isn't post-modernist navel gazing, it isn't MST3K worthy schlock, and it isn't touchy-feely Hollywood dung.

This is an epic work, filled with real good and real evil, with noble characters going on a quest that they know from the start will result in significant changes to their world -- and not necessarily good changes. It's about power and the pursuit of power and the corruption of power. It's about the nobility of friendships and loyalty, about fighting for something you believe in and sometimes discovering what you believe in by fighting with your friends. And it's about the honor found in performing a quest that must be performed even though it may destory something or someone you love.

And, on top of that, it's a kick-a** story.
15 posted on 12/11/01 2:03 PM Pacific by Njal

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Lord knows we need good medicine like this after a season of grief.
11 posted on 12/19/01 2:39 AM Pacific by Darth Sidious

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The director did not depict them. He found them in time and teleported there for the filming. I was mesmerized by the scenery. I have imagined them so many times and there they were. I wanted to keep looking and gazing. I wanted to walk over that hill and see the view from there.
78 posted on 12/19/01 6:50 PM Pacific by Samwise

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I dig chicks who speak Elvish.
4 posted on 1/10/02 6:58 PM Pacific by Dialup Llama

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And what could I say about ecurbh but this:

An ode to the ring ping king

To ecurbh joyously I sing!
Praise for his tireless pings!
For without all the pings for the one ring!
How could we have kept up with all these ring things?
~HairOfTheDog

And I would have to give some honorable recognition to Ambrose, the hardest worker in the anti-Lord of the Rings Movement, who never failed to grace many threads with quotes like this: “You make me want to vomit. How dare you compare this piece of dung to Star Wars. HOW DARE YOU?!”

And to Boris, who said, in more threads than I care to find reference to: "If I see one more albino ectomorph, I'll puke."

There were maybe two other critics who would occasionally “p*ss in our corn flakes” (jrherried said that if I can begin quoting without links, as I am getting tired…)

There were some memorable rebuttals, like my own to semper_libertas (an admitted fellow fan of Monty Python): “So would you have liked this film better if the ringwraiths had simply been on foot, followed by servants with coconut-halves?”

And the best comrade pep talk in the heat of battle came from 68 Grunt (different thread): “Hair, my friend, you are casting pearls before swine. Pearls the swine will never appreciate.”

There were some conversations that no one “outside” could possibly even understand, like:

Pippin is a Took, which is even more aristocratic than a Brandybuck. The head Took holds (or used to) the office of Thane. He is also often called The Took. The Baggins family is also well-to-do. Sam is the only "commoner" in the bunch. 43 posted on 12/21/01 9:10 AM Pacific by Restorer

My hunch is that they will show the reforging of Narsil/Anduril in The Two Towers, and probably have Arwen deliver the sword to Aragorn just before or after the battle at Helm's Deep. Anduril does not become crucial until The Return of the King, where it functions as a legitimizing symbol of Aragorn's ancestry and claim to the throne of Gondor. Plus having Arwen deliver it helps solidify her larger role in the movies. 50 posted on 12/24/01 5:26 PM Pacific by Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy

I will close with one more reply to BibChr, who said a lot of beautiful stuff. It summarizes my feelings too:

I notice that feeling you describe, of reminiscing about the movie… The anxiety (and I was excited and nervous BOTH times watching this film) comes to an end when the performance is over. When it's all over, there's a palpable sadness and sense of loss. 155 posted on 12/22/01 12:31 AM Pacific by Skywalk

[HairOfTheDog]

By the way, I regretfully announce that my Webshots photo albums of Lord of the Rings are now "out of business" I deleted them after being warned by Webshots. It is apparently a deeper issue than just copyright, as those photos aren't supposed to be any that I didn't take myself, and no "professional" photos are supposed to be in the community section.

[Monkey Face]

Bump

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks for the bump bump!!