Lord of the Rings' Oscar Merit
Congratulations to Peter Jackson and the entire cast and crew of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In my opinion they deserved all eleven of their Oscars, plus some. There should have at least been a 12th, I think it was a shame that Sean Austin was not even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Samwise Gamgee.
Let’s remember that very very easily the adaptation to film of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece could have been a disaster (just look at what Lucas did with the SW prequels). Jackson, the writers, the cast, and crew were all so devoted to staying true to “the spirit” of Tolkien, and that’s what shown through most clearly. I’m thrilled that the public’s influence was able to convince Hollywood of it’s true Oscar merit.
Amen. I'm already getting excited for "The Hobbit"..
Posted by: Karl Thienes at March 1, 2004 07:23 PMWell, mostly true to the spirit of Tolkien. They muddled up a few things in there, mostly with the plot, and Saruman, and Denethor and the Dead.... But overall, I agree, it was rather pleasing not to see it ruined.
Posted by: James at March 1, 2004 09:41 PMJames,
Your comments are well taken. I too was dissatisfied with The Return of the King on several points.
I thought that the Return of the King relegated Gandalf to little more than a sub-manager of Gondor's defense. Whereas the Return of the King, the book, demonstrates some of Gandalf's most urgent and amazing authority and power, not to mention some of the greatest lines of the entire book (that were all but non-existent in the film).
I too was also quite disappointed in the entire "Paths of the Dead" adaptation to film. The entire Paths of the Dead part of the story is, in my opinion, some of Tolkien's most illustrative, indeed brilliant writing. That writing was lost on the film. Too short, and Aragorn seemed too unsure of himself (I actually fault Vigo for his acting during that sequence).
I also thought that the Return of the King (the film) did a poor job of showing Aragorn's ascendancy to King of Gondor. In the book he is a confident and determined man seeking his rightful throne. In the film he is at best a reluctant grantee of the throne. This was a stylistic choice on the part of the movie makers that I just did not understand.
However, (and this is a BIG however), I thought the “ending” (from the point of Sam Gamgee carrying Frodo up Mount Doom to the closing credits was absolutely awesome film making. For me, the entire film was vindicated for how it ended. And keep in mind, the 11 Oscars were in recognition of all three films, and not just the Return of the King.
My favorite of the trilogy is the Fellowship of the Ring, second being Return of the King (b/c of it's ending) and third the Two Towers.
One last note: I have much hope that Jackson will vindicate himself with the release of the "extended version" of the Return of the King. It is my hope that our Return of the King woes will be corrected in that showing.
Posted by: jeremiah at March 2, 2004 02:29 PMKarl,
Amen! Heck, I can hardly wait for the DVD release of the Return of the King just so I get to watch all the behind the scenes stuff AND the extended edition, AND the Hobbit, AND..... uhhh please tell me there'll be more?....??
;-)
Posted by: jeremiah at March 2, 2004 02:31 PMJeremiah,
LOL! Yes, the extended verision on DVD should "fix" a few of the problems...I can't wait.
I was just reading in the paper that Peter Jackson has already verbally committed to "The Hobbit" and is waiting for the studios to fight over distribution rights....It could be in theaters as early as 2006.
And who knows? Between things like The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales et al, you never know!
Posted by: Karl Thienes at March 2, 2004 06:59 PMYou have got to be kidding, I fell asleep 20 minutes into the first movie. this drivel can't compare to "RAN" a true epic!!!
dad
I'm not sure who this Jeff guy is, but he sounds like a Detroit Lions fan. ;-)
Posted by: jeremiah at March 6, 2004 09:58 AMKarl,
Yes, I am very excited about the Hobbit, however, it will be hard for me not to see it as somewhat anti-climatic. I mean, how can you compare the Battle of Five Armies to the War of the Ring? ;-)
Another thing, the Hobbit reads much more like a children's story; I hope the movie makers don't reflect that in the film.
Posted by: jeremiah at March 6, 2004 10:04 AMjer, on a different subject. michael cimino was the director of the deer hunter.
Posted by: jeff at March 8, 2004 08:15 PM