Lord of the Rings redux.
Last weekend I made Jimmy watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Extended editions, even. I guess I shouldn't say I "made" him because he willingly entered into this endeavor, but nevertheless it feels like a huge imposition to ask someone to watch an 11-hour movie. Especially when you've constantly raved about how it's the greatest movie ever made.
Friday night, we had planned to go out and see True Grit. But after making a substantial dinner at home -- steak and potatoes and salad, oh my -- I got lazy and said I didn't feel like going out into the cold again at 9 o'clock. So I suggested we start chipping away at the Trilogy by watching Fellowship of the Ring.
Then Saturday, after another fan-fucking-tastic dinner (turkey burgers and sweet potato fries and birthday cake for Jimmy, all homemade, yum), he suggested continuing the trilogy, and we watched The Two Towers. And of course, we figured we might as well finish it up on Sunday. So we made it through all of Return of the King, finally finishing it up a good 30 minutes past midnight.
It was the first time I've watched all the movies in their entirety in years. Occasionally one of the regular versions will come on TV -- TBS or TNT, I believe -- and I'll watch for a bit because I can't help it. But it had been so long that I had forgotten many of the scenes, especially some that were added in the extended editions.
The movies are still awesome. There's no disputing that. I think most of the special effects hold up decently -- nothing looked absolutely ridiculous, like the way that the original Tron is laugh-out-loud hilarious nowadays. Orlando Bloom's acting skills are still as bad as I remembered, although Legolas did indeed look just as pretty as I remembered. I still loved Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. David Wenham as Faramir. All the hobbits. Andy Serkis' amazing acting/vocal work as Gollum. And although I didn't cry four separate times like I did when watching ROTK for the first time in the theater, I did still cry once towards the end. It was this scene:
Frodo: I can see the Shire. The Brandywine River. Gandalf's fireworks. The lights in the party tree.
Sam: Rosie Cotton dancing. She had flowers in her hair. If ever there was anyone I was going to marry, it would have been her. It would've been her.
Frodo: I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things.
It kills me. Every time.
That being said, watching the whole trilogy again made me kind of sad. I had talked it up so much to Jimmy, and I felt like this viewing didn't live up to the wildly elevated expectations I had set. And it's not that the movies aren't good or have lost their edge. I think it's the environment. Viewing them at home, even on a decently sized 42" television, doesn't do them justice. They've lost some of that epic scope. Watching them in the theater was like a life-changing experience. Watching them while snuggled up on my couch was merely a nice way to loaf away the weekend.
LOTR, as a whole, is still my favorite movie of all time, by far. But then I realized that I'll never get that rush from these movies again. But I'll never again get to see them for the first time, or experience that excited, itchy feeling as I wondered what scene would come next, and what elements from the book would be brought to life on screen. I cried when the beacons were lit during ROTK because the visual of those tiny fires lighting up day and night across that wide expanse of mountainside -- the desperate call for help -- was so much grander than what I had envisioned in my head. This time, I just leaned over to poke Jimmy and whisper, "This is so fucking epic." And it was, but it wasn't. Deeply embedded into my couch, I didn't get swept away like I did in the theater.
So... when's The Hobbit coming out, again? I need some more movie magic, Peter Jackson.
Friday night, we had planned to go out and see True Grit. But after making a substantial dinner at home -- steak and potatoes and salad, oh my -- I got lazy and said I didn't feel like going out into the cold again at 9 o'clock. So I suggested we start chipping away at the Trilogy by watching Fellowship of the Ring.
Then Saturday, after another fan-fucking-tastic dinner (turkey burgers and sweet potato fries and birthday cake for Jimmy, all homemade, yum), he suggested continuing the trilogy, and we watched The Two Towers. And of course, we figured we might as well finish it up on Sunday. So we made it through all of Return of the King, finally finishing it up a good 30 minutes past midnight.
It was the first time I've watched all the movies in their entirety in years. Occasionally one of the regular versions will come on TV -- TBS or TNT, I believe -- and I'll watch for a bit because I can't help it. But it had been so long that I had forgotten many of the scenes, especially some that were added in the extended editions.
The movies are still awesome. There's no disputing that. I think most of the special effects hold up decently -- nothing looked absolutely ridiculous, like the way that the original Tron is laugh-out-loud hilarious nowadays. Orlando Bloom's acting skills are still as bad as I remembered, although Legolas did indeed look just as pretty as I remembered. I still loved Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. David Wenham as Faramir. All the hobbits. Andy Serkis' amazing acting/vocal work as Gollum. And although I didn't cry four separate times like I did when watching ROTK for the first time in the theater, I did still cry once towards the end. It was this scene:
Frodo: I can see the Shire. The Brandywine River. Gandalf's fireworks. The lights in the party tree.
Sam: Rosie Cotton dancing. She had flowers in her hair. If ever there was anyone I was going to marry, it would have been her. It would've been her.
Frodo: I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things.
It kills me. Every time.
That being said, watching the whole trilogy again made me kind of sad. I had talked it up so much to Jimmy, and I felt like this viewing didn't live up to the wildly elevated expectations I had set. And it's not that the movies aren't good or have lost their edge. I think it's the environment. Viewing them at home, even on a decently sized 42" television, doesn't do them justice. They've lost some of that epic scope. Watching them in the theater was like a life-changing experience. Watching them while snuggled up on my couch was merely a nice way to loaf away the weekend.
LOTR, as a whole, is still my favorite movie of all time, by far. But then I realized that I'll never get that rush from these movies again. But I'll never again get to see them for the first time, or experience that excited, itchy feeling as I wondered what scene would come next, and what elements from the book would be brought to life on screen. I cried when the beacons were lit during ROTK because the visual of those tiny fires lighting up day and night across that wide expanse of mountainside -- the desperate call for help -- was so much grander than what I had envisioned in my head. This time, I just leaned over to poke Jimmy and whisper, "This is so fucking epic." And it was, but it wasn't. Deeply embedded into my couch, I didn't get swept away like I did in the theater.
So... when's The Hobbit coming out, again? I need some more movie magic, Peter Jackson.