Return of the King
no responsibility taken for spoiliers becky1 and ookey!
Fantastic
Went and saw Return of the King last night. I thought it flowed far better than the first two films in a first viewing. It gained a lot of breathing space from having most of the story set up by two prequels. That, and the fact that it has a happy ending and two weddings makes it likely that it has a better chance of a best director Oscar for Peter Jackson.
Minis Tirith looked fantastic. While I assume the seven level wedding cake layer design is unique it may have been inspired by the hilltop towns of medieval Italy. To me the buildings looked very German - especially the throne room of Denethor. The black and white arches and the stonework were very similar to St Mary's Cathedral that Charlemagne built at Aix-la-Chapple (Aachen) in the late 8th century. So I liked Denethor's throne room. And from a completely unhistorical perspective I could not help but think that the large flat outcrop of rock near the citadel would make a great landing strip if George Lucus ever wanted to make another Star Wars movie.
When I visited the museum at Edinburgh Castle early last year I was interested to learn that the Stewart name originated from the Scottish royal house originally being referred to as the 'High Stewards' - I wonder if Tolkein gained any inspiration from this?
What is in, and what is not
Some, including Christopher Lee, have criticised the decision to leave out a scene of Saruman's imprisonment in Isenguard. Personally I did not see that as a significant cut as Treebeard told of Saruman's fate, and Treebeard needed to be there to explain that Isenguard was to be taken over by the Ents. Sure it would have been nice to have Saruman, but it doesn't appear to be absolutely necessary and PJ has already promised it will be in the extended edition. The most significant editing mistake was the cutting of the 'scouring of the shire', especially as Sam and Frodo used the image of the safety of the shire as motivation during the difficult ascent of Mt Doom. In my opinion a reminder of the fate of the shire should they fail would have added to the dramatic effect. I also would have liked to have seen more attention given to Sam on his decision to take up the ring but I hope this will also be covered in the extended edition.
Fantastic
Went and saw Return of the King last night. I thought it flowed far better than the first two films in a first viewing. It gained a lot of breathing space from having most of the story set up by two prequels. That, and the fact that it has a happy ending and two weddings makes it likely that it has a better chance of a best director Oscar for Peter Jackson.
Minis Tirith looked fantastic. While I assume the seven level wedding cake layer design is unique it may have been inspired by the hilltop towns of medieval Italy. To me the buildings looked very German - especially the throne room of Denethor. The black and white arches and the stonework were very similar to St Mary's Cathedral that Charlemagne built at Aix-la-Chapple (Aachen) in the late 8th century. So I liked Denethor's throne room. And from a completely unhistorical perspective I could not help but think that the large flat outcrop of rock near the citadel would make a great landing strip if George Lucus ever wanted to make another Star Wars movie.
When I visited the museum at Edinburgh Castle early last year I was interested to learn that the Stewart name originated from the Scottish royal house originally being referred to as the 'High Stewards' - I wonder if Tolkein gained any inspiration from this?
What is in, and what is not
Some, including Christopher Lee, have criticised the decision to leave out a scene of Saruman's imprisonment in Isenguard. Personally I did not see that as a significant cut as Treebeard told of Saruman's fate, and Treebeard needed to be there to explain that Isenguard was to be taken over by the Ents. Sure it would have been nice to have Saruman, but it doesn't appear to be absolutely necessary and PJ has already promised it will be in the extended edition. The most significant editing mistake was the cutting of the 'scouring of the shire', especially as Sam and Frodo used the image of the safety of the shire as motivation during the difficult ascent of Mt Doom. In my opinion a reminder of the fate of the shire should they fail would have added to the dramatic effect. I also would have liked to have seen more attention given to Sam on his decision to take up the ring but I hope this will also be covered in the extended edition.