Stuff Appreciation Day
This is kind of a meme.
Name and describe 6 scenes from literature, drama, or film (good television counts) that "get you every time." By which I mean, they never fail to evoke an emotional response from you.
I'll go first. Spoileriffic.
Scene 1:
Literature/Audio Drama/Film: The Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf's fall into Moria, and the aftereffects thereof. My favorite rendition being the BBC audio drama done by Mind's Eye, as Frodo's cry is truly heart-wrenching. The mourning scene in the film also makes me misty especially the shot of pippin doubled over in pain, and the line "let them grieve for pity's sake!" Yes, I know Gandalf's not dead, but I didn't know that the first time I read the book, and the memory of the pain and shock still linger.
Scene 2:
Film: The Fellowship of the Ring. The death of Boromir. Sean Bean is the best Boromir I can imagine. When I read the books, I did not like Boromir because he was a stupid jerk-face. Sean Bean's noble yet creepy and tragic performance literally made me fall in love with the character and he is now my favorite character in the entire series. By the time it came for him to die, something inside of me said, in small voice, "no..." and I felt the impact of each arrow, and a tiny swell of hopeless hope each time he stood back up, even though I knew he would fall. While I sometimes do not agree with Peter Jackson's choices, this is one instance where he did it better than the original.
Scene 3:
Literature: 1984. The scene with the rats. If you don't remember the scene, count yourself lucky. It's just horrible, in the truest sense of the word. Just because I love it doesn't mean I can't hate it.
Scene 4:
Film: American Beauty. The scene where the daughter and the neighbor boy are watching his video of the plastic bag and he talks about, how sometimes there's so much beauty in the world that he feels like if he tries to hold onto it all that it will destroy him, so he just lets it flow through him...anyway, I feel like that sometimes and hearing him say it fills me with a kind of serenity rivaled only by communion with nature or being in love. Yeah, I'm a dirty hippie, sue me.
Scene 5:
Film: The Return of the King. Faramir's doomed charge on Osgiliath. Pippin's song really makes the scene for me. Faramir's relationship with his father, coupled with his commitment to doing what he believes to be right despite the utter hopelessness and guarantee of failure and death, interwoven with the beautifully tragic vocals truly make me feel as if the Age of Men is ending. Another example of one of the rare times when Jackson does it better than the Professor. Also, Billy Boyd's (Pippin's) singing voice, and the fact that he composed the piece (though the lyrics are Tolkien's) earn him a big old man-crush from me.
Scene 6:
Film: Serenity. The moment in the space battle when you realize that Serenity is no longer flying, but falling, and then spinning out of control toward the planet's surface. The slow build to the spin and the shaky camera work cement the sick feeling in my stomach, that the feeling that all my beloved characters are going to die creates. Things just don't get better from there. You're a dirty bastard Joss Whedon.
So what have we learned about me? Well, I'm a Tolkien nut and I apparently enjoy tragedy and hopelessness. Who knew?
Name and describe 6 scenes from literature, drama, or film (good television counts) that "get you every time." By which I mean, they never fail to evoke an emotional response from you.
I'll go first. Spoileriffic.
Scene 1:
Literature/Audio Drama/Film: The Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf's fall into Moria, and the aftereffects thereof. My favorite rendition being the BBC audio drama done by Mind's Eye, as Frodo's cry is truly heart-wrenching. The mourning scene in the film also makes me misty especially the shot of pippin doubled over in pain, and the line "let them grieve for pity's sake!" Yes, I know Gandalf's not dead, but I didn't know that the first time I read the book, and the memory of the pain and shock still linger.
Scene 2:
Film: The Fellowship of the Ring. The death of Boromir. Sean Bean is the best Boromir I can imagine. When I read the books, I did not like Boromir because he was a stupid jerk-face. Sean Bean's noble yet creepy and tragic performance literally made me fall in love with the character and he is now my favorite character in the entire series. By the time it came for him to die, something inside of me said, in small voice, "no..." and I felt the impact of each arrow, and a tiny swell of hopeless hope each time he stood back up, even though I knew he would fall. While I sometimes do not agree with Peter Jackson's choices, this is one instance where he did it better than the original.
Scene 3:
Literature: 1984. The scene with the rats. If you don't remember the scene, count yourself lucky. It's just horrible, in the truest sense of the word. Just because I love it doesn't mean I can't hate it.
Scene 4:
Film: American Beauty. The scene where the daughter and the neighbor boy are watching his video of the plastic bag and he talks about, how sometimes there's so much beauty in the world that he feels like if he tries to hold onto it all that it will destroy him, so he just lets it flow through him...anyway, I feel like that sometimes and hearing him say it fills me with a kind of serenity rivaled only by communion with nature or being in love. Yeah, I'm a dirty hippie, sue me.
Scene 5:
Film: The Return of the King. Faramir's doomed charge on Osgiliath. Pippin's song really makes the scene for me. Faramir's relationship with his father, coupled with his commitment to doing what he believes to be right despite the utter hopelessness and guarantee of failure and death, interwoven with the beautifully tragic vocals truly make me feel as if the Age of Men is ending. Another example of one of the rare times when Jackson does it better than the Professor. Also, Billy Boyd's (Pippin's) singing voice, and the fact that he composed the piece (though the lyrics are Tolkien's) earn him a big old man-crush from me.
Scene 6:
Film: Serenity. The moment in the space battle when you realize that Serenity is no longer flying, but falling, and then spinning out of control toward the planet's surface. The slow build to the spin and the shaky camera work cement the sick feeling in my stomach, that the feeling that all my beloved characters are going to die creates. Things just don't get better from there. You're a dirty bastard Joss Whedon.
So what have we learned about me? Well, I'm a Tolkien nut and I apparently enjoy tragedy and hopelessness. Who knew?