Return of the King

[trekgeezer]

Anybody else seen it yet? I won't give anything away, but it is spectacular film making.

The battle scenes are great, but this is movie about the hobbits. Most people would give their arm for friend like Samwise Gamgee.  This is definitely the best of the three and I can't wait to see the extended DVD.

[Fearless_Freep]

I saw it  midnight when it was first released.  Great movie

[jmc]

I saw it this morning and will probably see it again next week.  I thought the beginning dragged a bit, but once it got going it was great and I loved the battle scenes.  But right now I'd say that I like The Two Towers the best of the three.

[Fearless_Freep]

I thought the beginning dragged a bit, but once it got going it was great

That's what I've been telling people as well.  Trying to connect the plotlines from Part II seemed to take a bit of time to get it moving

[Susan]

is there hobbit love?

I'm sorry but there were scenes in the last one that had me cringing -  i almost thought they would thrust themselves into eachothers arms in a passionate frenzy and.....

[Fearless_Freep]

The book is very much like that.  There's a lot of affection betwen Sam and Frodo in a non-sexual way .  If you can get past the modern perspective and think about it in terms of when Tolkien lived, it makes a big difference

[Scott]

LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING (2003) - seen this one Wednesday at the 3:20 showing with a 2/3 audience. Great film and great conclusion to an excellent trilogy. There will never be as great a film as this. It was simple a massive, epic, colosso film as ever could be produced. The battle scenes (another great siege) and the continuation of Frodo's journey with the Ring. That's all I can say. Well done.

I had trouble getting into the first one LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, but it was ok.

Then I liked the second one LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS. Mostly only the siege battle and the arrival of the elven archers.

Following Frodo was the hardest part for me through all three films, but it works out in the end. It was sad to note that Christorpher Lee didn't get into the last film of that will forever be a great film. Lee deserved it. Even if it was only a couple scenes. Other than that all the other characters come through well.

[jmc]

Now that I've seen it, I think ROTK wasn't really suited to have many scenes with Lee in it.  I think the mistake was that Saruman's loose ends should have been tied up at the end of The Two Towers.   ROTK was already long and I think haivng a tidying-up scene with Saruman would have been ill-advised.

The problem I had with the first film is that I felt like it had too much exposition.  I realize it was necessary since not everyone was familiar with the story but I found a lot of the various councils and meetings a little dull since I already knew what was going on.  I think some of the problem is that so much of the story involves the characters trying to decide what to do.  If you already know beforehand you might feel a little bored.  

I enjoyed the second film the most because there wasn't as much of that, and the battle scenes were superb.  I wasn't aware at all of how long the film was, and I can't say that for either the first or third films.  

I thought the end of ROTK seemed a little bit rushed, and it makes me curious as to what was left out.   I'm anxious to see it again.

[Scott]

I agree that the Lee wasn't necessary to make this a great film, but they did put some stuff in that could have been left out as much as Lee's scenes, but then again I have never read the book. Well all I can say is that I liked the film and the RETURN OF THE KING was a great conclusion.

[jmc]

From one of the Tolkien boards:

20 THINGS TO DO WHEN SEEING THE RETURN OF THE KING:

1. Stand up halfway through the movie and yell loudly, "Wait... where the hell is Harry Potter?"
2. Block the entrance to the theater while screaming: "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" - After the movie, say "Lucas could have done it better."
3. At some point during the movie, stand up and shout: "I must go! Middle Earth needs me!" and run and try to jump into the screen. After bouncing off, return quietly to your
seat.
4. Play a drinking game where you have to take a sip every time someone says: "The Ring."
5. Point and laugh whenever someone dies.
6. Ask the nearest ring-nut if he thinks Gandalf went to Hogwarts
7. Finish off every one of Elrond's lines with "Mr. Anderson!"
8. When Aragorn is crowned king, stand up and at the top of your lungs sing, "And I did it.... MY way...!"
9. At the end, complain that Gollum was offensive to Ethiopians
10. Talk like Gollum all through the movie. At the end, bite off someone's finger and fall down the stairs.
11. When Shelob appears, pinch the guy in front of you on the back of the neck.
12. Dress up as old ladies and reenact "The Battle of Helms Deep" Monty Python style.
13. When Denethor lights the fire, shout "Barbecue!"
14. Ask people around you who they think is the next "Terminator" sent from the Middle Earth of the future to assassinate Frodo Baggins
15. In TTT when the Ents decide to march to war, stand up and shout "RUN FOREST, RUN!"
16. Every time someone kills an Orc, yell: "That's what I'm Tolkien about!" See how long it takes before you get kicked out of the theatre.
17. During a wide shot of a battle, inquire, "Where's Waldo?"
18. Talk loudly about how you heard that there is a single frame of a nude Elf hidden somewhere in the movie.
19. Start an Orc sing-a-long.
20. Come to the premiere dressed as Frank-N-Furter and wander around looking terribly confused.

[Eirik]

You know, Susan, there are passages in the book that give one the same feeling.  Some have theorized some kind of homoerotic dynamic was supposed to exist between Frodo and Sam.  I don't think this is really the case, but some have put it forth as a theory.

[Brother Ragnarok]

The movie rules.  That's all there is to it.  For those who haven't seen it and haven't read the books, the battle of Helm's Deep is basically just an opening skirmish for what takes place in ROtK.  
However, I will say this.  I really really really really really HATE FRODO.  In both the books and the films.  He's the most worthless character in the whole damn thing, he wouldn't have made it out his front door if it wasn't for Sam, and I have a really hard time staying interested in the Sam & Frodo travelling scenes because Frodo is just such a f**kin' whiny load.  Which is unfortunate since their parts are the most pivotal to the story.

Brother R

[Mofo Rising]

I have to disagree with you strongly there Brother Ragnarok.  Frodo is dealing with the full brunt  of carrying the ring.  It's plainly said in the book that no other race besides the hobbits could even bear the ring without giving in to the temptation of absolute power.

Frodo is our only hope for carrying the ring to destruction.  Who else would carry it so far?  Not humans.  Not even elves, judging Galadriel's reaction.  It's telling of the ring's corrupting power that not even Frodo could bear the ring without succumbing to it and forsaking his friends.  He gave up at the end, remember?  That's the whole point of the epilogue, that Frodo could not live with the fact that he gave into power.  But who else could have carried it?  That's the point of Frodo's character.  He is constantly repudiating absolute power.

Whiny.  It's the wrong interpretation.

Sam is our heart, who we are all meant to identify with.  But it's Frodo standing up there fighting the worst impulses of all of us.

"Sure, everybody loves the stupid one, but nobody loves the jerk!"

[trekgeezer]

In the extended Two Towers extras there was left our premonition scene where Faramir see Frodo starting the Gollumization process. It was freaky, but basically that's what Frodo is up against. I think I would probably be whiny too.

On a note about what  got left out  of ROTK, I  think there was a lot of  pressure for PJ to make this come in at  under 3.5 hours. I read a blurb from the editor of the film that  the next to final cut was 4.5 hours. I think when the extended DVD comes out  the whole thing will come together better. I actually hope they do what  Lucas did when he put all the new stuff in the original Star Wars trilogy and release the extended versions of the LOTR films at theaters. These are the kind of films that can only be totally appreciated in  theater with a big screen and an  excellent sound system.

My only nitpick was the way Gollum fell into the lava. In the book he just got carried away dancing around because he had the ring and slipped off the cliff.

[Susan]

>>. Some have theorized some kind of homoerotic dynamic was supposed to exist between Frodo and Sam. I don't think this is really the case, but some have put it forth as a theory.
<<

Well it was an observation from the standpoint of the other hobbits not being anywhere near as "friendly" as those two were.  in fact some of the scenes in the second were so suggestive that i was taken out of the movie and into my chair and started giggling like some 13 year old. ;-)
Otherwise i'm skimming over this threat without reading, I haven't seen it yet and really don't wanna see any critical breakdown of it until I do