An Observation on The Two Towers- Extended Edition
Warning: This article contains many spoilers! Do not read if you don't want to know.
I finally got hold of a copy of the extended edition of The Two
Towers and a few things occur to me that I find interesting, funny, weird, etc:
I watched The Appendices first (as I had too with the FOTR-EE) and..
1) It struck me in watching the interviews how much more grown up
the Hobbits and The Elf seemed. Elijah with his little scruff on
his chin, Dom with his beard and mustache, and Orli with his longer hair.
2) The boldness of their speech, if I may be so poetic as to refer
to it that way. Much more cussing (which they bleeped out--
sometimes). A true reflection on how life in New Zealand affected
everyone.
3) I wonder how much of the interviews with Elijah were filmed in
relation to his appendix operation. He looked a little thinner than usual in some shots and sometimes his eyes looked a little vacant as if in pain. Before or After, what do ya'll think?
4) Dom's outrageousness is really shown to great effect on these. That boy can tell some lies and with such a straight face too. Although I got the feeling that some of the stories were true.
And when I finally got around to watching the actual movie with the extra bits in:
5) It was nice to see why the Elven Rope was significant as I had
heard some people comment on. And it occured to me (and only after my 4th time watching it) that THAT'S what they had tied Gollum up with (Duh!). That may also explain why he kept saying "It burns us, it does!" like maybe Elven Rope had some kind of intuitive qualities that knew how to distinguish and punish bad people from good people.
6) Pippen & Merry's mutual concern for each other was excellently
shown. Pippen's worries over the state of Merry's health and
insisting that his cousin be given something to drink, which
unfortunately turns out to be the evil Uruk-draught. But Merry was equally as touching in that he actually lied to Pippen and told him that he was not really hurt just so that he would not be so frightened.
7) Finding out Aragorn's age. I see why they did not metntion this in the 1st or 2nd movie though. As it was felt that people who had not read the books would have major problems trying to grasp that Frodo at the start of his journey was supposed to be 50 years old, you can totally imagine the brain meltdown they would have had knowing that Aragorn was over 80!
8) The flashback scene with Boromir & Faramir. I thought when I
first saw this (only to have it further justified by hearing The
Writers mention this in the commentary too) that whenever Return of the King comes out on DVD it will be nice to take all 3 parts of the movies to an editor and have all the scenes re-ordered to put all of the events in the movies in true chronological order. Boromir's actions in FOTR would have been so much clearer had we seen this bit first.
9) The restored ending scenes showing what happened to each set of characters. I really think that Merry & Pippen at the Storehouse scenes are so funny and will cause a lot of comment from those who look at the end of the scene. At least those who look at it with a jaded eye ;-)
And watching the actual movie with the commentary turned on:
10) It was a shame not hearing it with all of the Hobbits in the
same room, but I did understand why. The commentaries were grouped together the way they were in the film you were watching--Frodo, Sam & Gollum-Merry & Pippen-Gimli,Legolas & Aragorn. And can anybody tell me why Viggo does not do commentary on these? What is really funny about listening to the commentary is how much each set of actors are in their element, particularly Dom & Billy who seemed to be doing everything except watching the movie. They are talking so low at one point in the recording that you really get the feeling that they were laying down somewhere (Oooh now there's a thought!)
11) It was really interesting to me to note that anytime the Aragorn / Legolas scenes come up, and one of the numerous soulful looks they give each other throughout the movie is exchanged, that there is a deliberate ignoring of it by the commentators ( and I watched the ones made by Cast and also those made by The Writers). I speak particularly of the scene when Aragorn returns from the dead, as it were. I notice after, having watched this scene I don't how many times, that when Legolas hands Aragorn the Evenstar necklace, that Viggo holds Orli's fingers just a little too long and then gives him this literal look of love. And on the extended edition there is a brief shot where Legolas is doing an almost "wifey/lover" thing by insisting Aragorn get some sleep. And it could not be made more obvious than when The Eowyn character complains to Aragorn that she is being sent away with the 'useless' women and children (sic) but those that "love...and cannot bear to be parted from" Aragorn get to stay by his side. But nevertheless Mirando Otto's comments that are used over these scenes haver her talking about something else altogether. Of course realistically speaking, it probably would make too many people squirm if any of these elements were pointed out to them. I guess I will just have to be patient and wait to see the gag reel that Orlando Bloom says was put together depicting the Loving Moments of Aragorn and Legolas underscored by romantic music. I guess it just goes to show that this was not lost on anybody, just politely ignored.
Well this is all the opinion I will share at the momment.
Love to hear your comments.
I finally got hold of a copy of the extended edition of The Two
Towers and a few things occur to me that I find interesting, funny, weird, etc:
I watched The Appendices first (as I had too with the FOTR-EE) and..
1) It struck me in watching the interviews how much more grown up
the Hobbits and The Elf seemed. Elijah with his little scruff on
his chin, Dom with his beard and mustache, and Orli with his longer hair.
2) The boldness of their speech, if I may be so poetic as to refer
to it that way. Much more cussing (which they bleeped out--
sometimes). A true reflection on how life in New Zealand affected
everyone.
3) I wonder how much of the interviews with Elijah were filmed in
relation to his appendix operation. He looked a little thinner than usual in some shots and sometimes his eyes looked a little vacant as if in pain. Before or After, what do ya'll think?
4) Dom's outrageousness is really shown to great effect on these. That boy can tell some lies and with such a straight face too. Although I got the feeling that some of the stories were true.
And when I finally got around to watching the actual movie with the extra bits in:
5) It was nice to see why the Elven Rope was significant as I had
heard some people comment on. And it occured to me (and only after my 4th time watching it) that THAT'S what they had tied Gollum up with (Duh!). That may also explain why he kept saying "It burns us, it does!" like maybe Elven Rope had some kind of intuitive qualities that knew how to distinguish and punish bad people from good people.
6) Pippen & Merry's mutual concern for each other was excellently
shown. Pippen's worries over the state of Merry's health and
insisting that his cousin be given something to drink, which
unfortunately turns out to be the evil Uruk-draught. But Merry was equally as touching in that he actually lied to Pippen and told him that he was not really hurt just so that he would not be so frightened.
7) Finding out Aragorn's age. I see why they did not metntion this in the 1st or 2nd movie though. As it was felt that people who had not read the books would have major problems trying to grasp that Frodo at the start of his journey was supposed to be 50 years old, you can totally imagine the brain meltdown they would have had knowing that Aragorn was over 80!
8) The flashback scene with Boromir & Faramir. I thought when I
first saw this (only to have it further justified by hearing The
Writers mention this in the commentary too) that whenever Return of the King comes out on DVD it will be nice to take all 3 parts of the movies to an editor and have all the scenes re-ordered to put all of the events in the movies in true chronological order. Boromir's actions in FOTR would have been so much clearer had we seen this bit first.
9) The restored ending scenes showing what happened to each set of characters. I really think that Merry & Pippen at the Storehouse scenes are so funny and will cause a lot of comment from those who look at the end of the scene. At least those who look at it with a jaded eye ;-)
And watching the actual movie with the commentary turned on:
10) It was a shame not hearing it with all of the Hobbits in the
same room, but I did understand why. The commentaries were grouped together the way they were in the film you were watching--Frodo, Sam & Gollum-Merry & Pippen-Gimli,Legolas & Aragorn. And can anybody tell me why Viggo does not do commentary on these? What is really funny about listening to the commentary is how much each set of actors are in their element, particularly Dom & Billy who seemed to be doing everything except watching the movie. They are talking so low at one point in the recording that you really get the feeling that they were laying down somewhere (Oooh now there's a thought!)
11) It was really interesting to me to note that anytime the Aragorn / Legolas scenes come up, and one of the numerous soulful looks they give each other throughout the movie is exchanged, that there is a deliberate ignoring of it by the commentators ( and I watched the ones made by Cast and also those made by The Writers). I speak particularly of the scene when Aragorn returns from the dead, as it were. I notice after, having watched this scene I don't how many times, that when Legolas hands Aragorn the Evenstar necklace, that Viggo holds Orli's fingers just a little too long and then gives him this literal look of love. And on the extended edition there is a brief shot where Legolas is doing an almost "wifey/lover" thing by insisting Aragorn get some sleep. And it could not be made more obvious than when The Eowyn character complains to Aragorn that she is being sent away with the 'useless' women and children (sic) but those that "love...and cannot bear to be parted from" Aragorn get to stay by his side. But nevertheless Mirando Otto's comments that are used over these scenes haver her talking about something else altogether. Of course realistically speaking, it probably would make too many people squirm if any of these elements were pointed out to them. I guess I will just have to be patient and wait to see the gag reel that Orlando Bloom says was put together depicting the Loving Moments of Aragorn and Legolas underscored by romantic music. I guess it just goes to show that this was not lost on anybody, just politely ignored.
Well this is all the opinion I will share at the momment.
Love to hear your comments.