The newsletter has changed.
(I tíw has virya.)
I feel it in the bandwidth.
(Im fel ha in i band width)
I feel it in the Grammarly extension.
(Im fel ha in i Grammarlui sámo.)
I smell it on the servers.
(Im nosta ha bo i golbar.)
Much that once was, is lost;
For none now live who remember it.
Naaaaaaah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-naaaaah-nah
The Lord Of The Rings is a series of films from Sir Peter Jackson based on books of the same name. Lord Of The Rings follows the adventures of Frodo, a Hobbit from The Shire, as he and his friends set off to destroy The Ring Of Power, a terrible series from Amazon Prime.
These films are unique in many ways but there a few things I’d like to focus on in particular.
Peter Jackson wrote LOTR (Lord Of The Rings) with his romantic partner Fran Walsh and writing partner Philippa Boyens. Famously Peter eschewed the romance scenes and Fran and Philippa would write “they fight” for the battle sequences and Peter would take it from there.
You can watch a featurette about their writing process below.
The reason I bring this up that it’s noteworthy that 66% of the writing team were women. Franchise films are often solely lead by men and consequently they little heart and too many quips.
What makes Lord Of The Rings so special is its sincerity which I think is desperately missing from modern blockbuster films. I think this openness comes largely from the female influence of the writing team.
I think the tenderness and love that is instilled in all of the characters comes from not only Tolkien's writing but also the perspective of the writers.
People cry so much in these movies and it’s beautiful.
Hobbits?
Men?
Women?
Elves?
Dwarves?
Even Wizards?
Yes.
Peter Jackson started off as a horror film maker and you can tell. To this day the Ring Wraiths scare me. When I saw Fellowship in theaters two summers ago, during the scene where Frodo is running from The Nazgûl and leaps onto the boat at Buckleberry Ferry that I began to feel uncomfortable: I was sweating, my heart was racing, and I couldn’t look away from the screen. I said to myself, “Tristan,” I says, “What’re you feeling?’ (I often ask this of myself because I’ve been to therapy). I came to the conclusion that, “Oh, I’m scared for my friends.”
This is but a taste of Jackson’ ability to raise hairs and disgust his viewers. The films are filled to the brim with grim, dark, gross, and massively unpleasant creatures. This is incredibly juxtaposed with Aotearoa’s (New Zealand’s) landscapes. There is horror encroaching on a beautiful world that needs to be defended.
A issue that I have with these films is that the films are anti-war films, just as Lord Of The Rings was an anti-war book. But, in the films there are a bunch of sick stunts that make war look cool as hell.
There are enough moments where war is clearly depicted as terrible that I think it nearly balances it out, but not quite.
It’s hard to go from Théoden dying to Legolas absolutely merc’ing an elephant and it ends with a joke.
But, conversely, life is full of terror and joy, dying and living, laughter and tears.
So, I’ve thought so many extras were so beautiful since I first saw these films. I hope none of my New Zealand friends know these folks, or if they do, they can get me in contact with them.
Welcome to the hear me out corner:
These two gal Hobbits in the front I’ve always thought were just so beautiful as they look up in joy at the fireworks.
This orc lady is hot! I know. Who cares? The world is in turmoil, do we really mind that I think this orc is hot?
Special performance commendations:
Ugluk And Grishnakh played by Nathanial Lees and Stephen Ure. I love these two idiots and their stupid cockney accents. I’ve always loved Grishnakh and Ugluk’s whole deal really hit for me this watch through.
Figwit played my Bret McKenzie. Half of Flight Of The Conchords is in this movie! He says “My lady, we cannot delay.” and nails it!
Gorbag played again by Stephen Ure! Apparently I’m a fan! Such a fun characterization!
A more obvious performance to praise is that of the late Ian Holm. His portrayal of Bilbo is exquisite. There’s depth, warmth, and conflict in every moment, a masterclass in film acting. Also, anyone with ADHD will relate to that first scene with Gandalf. He’s zipping around talking a mile a minute and making offers that don’t quite make sense. A true icon.
Incidentally, Ian played Frodo in a radio version of Rings and does a fantastic job.
The Fellowship Of The Ring
I’ve done a whole bloody review about this film already! (So read that here)
This is by far my favorite film in the series and I believe it is the best adaptation of the books out of the there films I think the first films in a series are often the most successful because they need to work in order to continue on. Even though Lord Of The Rings was shot all at once, Jackson and co. were nervous that that if Fellowship didn’t work the rest would be straight to home video sequels. Consequently FOTR goes hard.
The Two Towers
I’ll be honest folks, I almost fell asleep during this one. (perfect for Movies To Fall Asleep To, I suppose.) It’s long and boring with all the walking. But, I still do love it.
Treebeard rules and his arc is truly a moderate being radicalized because he can finally see that things are affecting him personally. (CLASSIC.)
I love the Iago/Jafar dynamic they have in the extended editions. I laugh every time Saruman says” You stink of horse.”
I think this film perhaps suffers the most from the extended editions. The extended editions are fantastic if you’re a fan of the books and the special features have shaped a generation of filmmakers, but woof are they hard to sit though when you’re in a theatre.
But, it’s all worth it to see Miranda Otto smile like this:
I’ve seen Danny Deck Chair at least five times because I thought Miranda was so beautiful.
Return Of The King
The longest and perhaps most emotional film of the trilogy. Return is by far my least favorite of the films. It’s still bloody good and I love it. But, I feel like many trilogies that by the third the scope and scale of the story is as such that it feels disconnected to the first film. (e.g. Force Awakens and Rise Of Skywalker, really every Star Wars trilogy.)
Return Of The King both benefits and suffers from the extended editions. The boon is the scene where Saruman is killed and the main antagonist of the first two films is wrapped up. Whereas, there’s a bunch of broad comedy with Gimli that frankly doesn’t work for me. (A lot of burping.)
Does this film make me cry? Yes! Was it the first film I ever cried at? Yes! Was I fine with crying because the series says it’s fine for anyone to cry? ALSO YES!
Well, that’s all I want to say for now about my favorite film series for now. I have a bunch of other thoughts to express and opinions on the filmmaking aspects of the series. But, my fingers are aching and my eyes are tired.
I feel stretched, like butter over too much bread.
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