Bet you can relate the most to this "king" (well steward) too huh?

[forsakndrkangel]

You know who you are, if you actually still read this which you don't. But it was a random thought.

Oh and let me be the first to post something MEANINGFUL about the LotR The Return of the King ;-)

Comments

[anonymous]

Also interesting with Eowyn is that, in general, Tolkein tended to shortchange female characters a lot. There generally weren't many very active women in the books, and next to none that actually fought, but here he takes the old folk-songish element of a woman disguised as a man to go off to war (monstrous regiment comes to mind) and instead of her getting in over her head and needing to be rescued, she successfully faces down and defeats one of the most powerful entities in middle earth.
I was very impressed in how Jackson treated Sam, as well, he very much did emphasize his importance. One of the things that didn't come up so much in the movie but did in the book is that Sam did feel the temptation of the ring, and saw visions of glory and power and all that, though about it and shrugged it off, saying, "Nah, I'm just Samwise, none of that's for me". And, to a lot of viewpoints, Sam was Frodo's servant, his gardner/butler/handyman, whatever, but in reality, Sam became kind of a big brother/father to frodo, the one who took care of him and watched over him.
The thing that separates "Rings" from much of the later Epic Fantasy and contemporary storys that have cashed in on it's success is that it's not just about the great and powerful, or about coming of age and acheiving power, it's about everyday people, the man on the street, thrust into extraordinary circumstances and doing the best he can. It's also about letting go and passing away. And, most importantly, in the end FRODO FAILS! He's pushed and tested and stretched to his limit and he can't do it. He finally succumbs, and in the end we have a scene of Frodo and Gollum scrambling in the dirt like a pair of junkies fighting over their last stash, it's pretty painful to watch our hero broken like he is, and see the horror in Sam's eyes. That, I think, is one of the reasons that Frodo can't live with himself anymore, he's been through too much to ever feel "human" again, so he takes the refuge offered by the Grey Havens, so he can finally heal.
All in all, a great story, and, in my opinion, the greatest "epic" movies that I've ever come across. They were the best adaptation that could have been made of the books and managed to hold a depth and import that is truly rare in any sort of adventure movie.
Cheers