Voronwë asked me to relate how I liked the all day LOTR movie showing we (my wife, 9 yr old daughter, and I) attended on Saturday. I enjoyed it even more than I expected I would.
The event was very well organized. It was sold out but we arrived early enough to get great seats right in the middle of the theater. Everyone was given a goodie bag with a tee shirt, a poster and a couple other items. FOTR started at 11:30 AM and ROTK ended about 11:00 PM. Dinner, a buffet set up by Outback Steakhouse at the front of the room, was served after FOTR and dessert was served after TTT. About 100 door prizes were given away by lottery. The theater staff members were quite friendly and efficient.
There really is a big difference in seeing the films on a big theater screen as opposed to watching them on my not particularly big TV in letterbox format. There are so many gorgeous visual scenes that can only be fully appreciated in a theater. I spent a lot of time looking at details and things on the periphery of the screen which can hardly be made out at home. I also really appreciated the theater surround sound system which enhanced Howard Shore's wonderful score.
Since I've seen the movies several times on DVD over the last few years, I was afraid I might get tired or lose mental focus over the course of the long day but this never happened. I was fully absorbed in the story the entire time and was actually sorry when it was over. It was a pleasure to see the long story unfold in one long sitting. I wouldn't have minded watching the extended versions which would have added another couple hours.
It was interesting to see the shorter theatrical versions again. I'm pretty aware of what entirely new scenes were added for the EE's but occasionally I would notice that a few lines or seconds were "missing" and I would think "I didn't remember that part was not in the theatrical version". One example of this are the lines Faramir says about the dead Southron right after Frodo and Sam are captured by the men of Gondor in Ithilien "What lies and threats led him on this long march from home?", etc., paraphrasing what Sam thinks in the book.
The scenes I particularly missed from the EE's would include the extra Lothlórien footage, Faramir's flashback in Henneth Annun to Boromir and Denethor in Osgiliath, and the extra time Frodo and Sam spend in Mordor after escaping from the Tower before arriving at Orodruin. And as I expected, the Paths of the Dead scene is a lot more effective with the absence of the skull avalanche and the Three Hunters encounter with the Corsairs on the river.
My wife and daughter also loved the 3 film marathon and even said they would do it again tomorrow if possible. Interestingly, though, on the 2 hour drive home we spent much more time going over all the things we don't like about the movies - such as the sidetrip to Osgiliath, Frodo sending Sam away on the stairs , and a bunch of logical inconsistencies in the second and third movies which I won't get into here, but which always bother me and momentarily take me out of the movie. This is not to say I don't love PJ's films (even if I wish I could have talked him out of some of the things he did with the screenplay), I just love the book much more.
Marathon LOTR Film screening
- Primula Baggins
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Húrin, I envy you the chance to see the marathon! It's never come around where I live, and times when I've promised myself a day to watch all three films right in a row, something always comes up to prevent it.
Your take on the films sounds very much like mine—I love them, but it's definitely a "warts and all" love, and I agree with the flaws you point out and could add to them!
But all in all, the good far outweighs the bad, and I am so glad they were made. They still bring me hours of pleasure and moments of indescribable delight.
Your take on the films sounds very much like mine—I love them, but it's definitely a "warts and all" love, and I agree with the flaws you point out and could add to them!
But all in all, the good far outweighs the bad, and I am so glad they were made. They still bring me hours of pleasure and moments of indescribable delight.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- Voronwë the Faithful
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Thanks for posting your impressions of the marathon screening, Húrin. That must have been interesting. Was there anything in the films that you felt you reacted to differently by seeing them all together? Scenes in the second and/or third films that seemed to make more sense when viewed as part of a continuous whole, rather than as separate films?
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
In response to your question above, Voronwë, I'm afraid I can't really think of anything I reacted to differently by seeing them all continuously in one day. This may be because I'm accustomed to watching all 3 films over 3 days, which is not too different from 3 in one day. Since I bought the ROTK DVD in 2004, I don't think my wife and I have ever watched it (which we do about once a year) without watching FOTR and TTT over the previous 2 days.
Prim, i very much agree with you about the films. They are my favorite movies ever but I can't say that I consider them the best movies I have ever seen. I went into the movies wanting to love everything about them but there are some flaws I just cannot overlook. Still, about 90% of the films is superb, in my opinion.
Prim, i very much agree with you about the films. They are my favorite movies ever but I can't say that I consider them the best movies I have ever seen. I went into the movies wanting to love everything about them but there are some flaws I just cannot overlook. Still, about 90% of the films is superb, in my opinion.
One other thing I found interesting at the LOTR movie marathon was the reaction of the audience to the humor. Every joke or humorous remark on screen got a laugh, from a few folks at least. I assume that the great majority of the people in the crowd had seen the films one or more times before. With this in mind, I thought that there would not be much laughter at the funny parts, since jokes are usually funniest when you first hear them.
But every single "joke" got a laugh. The good ones got laughs; the not so good ones got laughs. Gimli the buffoon was a prime source of amusement. There was a lot of laughter when Gandalf whacked Denethor, even though this scene makes me cringe. I'm not generally particularly critical of most of the humor in the films, because I enjoy a lot of it. But I guess that PJ knew what he was doing in trying to appeal to a wide audience with some of the lowest common denominator type jokes, even if I don't like all of it.
But every single "joke" got a laugh. The good ones got laughs; the not so good ones got laughs. Gimli the buffoon was a prime source of amusement. There was a lot of laughter when Gandalf whacked Denethor, even though this scene makes me cringe. I'm not generally particularly critical of most of the humor in the films, because I enjoy a lot of it. But I guess that PJ knew what he was doing in trying to appeal to a wide audience with some of the lowest common denominator type jokes, even if I don't like all of it.
I've seen the movies as a marathon three times.
I invited some friends over, and we watched the 3 EE versions in a weekend - FotR Friday night, and the other 2 on Sat. That gave time for breaks and meals and sleeping .
At the Gathering in Toronto in 2005, they showed all three movies on one day. I think it was the EEs, though to be honest I don't recall any more. So, they probably started about 8 AM and ended at midnight? With short meal beaks between them all.
And a movie theater in DC (Arlington Drafthous) showed the Theatrical version as a marathon on a Sunday last spring. I enjoyed that.
Basically, the movies are great, and seeing them like that is quite the experience. And we wouldn't be Tolkien fans if we didn't tear them to shreds while gushing afterwards .
I invited some friends over, and we watched the 3 EE versions in a weekend - FotR Friday night, and the other 2 on Sat. That gave time for breaks and meals and sleeping .
At the Gathering in Toronto in 2005, they showed all three movies on one day. I think it was the EEs, though to be honest I don't recall any more. So, they probably started about 8 AM and ended at midnight? With short meal beaks between them all.
And a movie theater in DC (Arlington Drafthous) showed the Theatrical version as a marathon on a Sunday last spring. I enjoyed that.
Basically, the movies are great, and seeing them like that is quite the experience. And we wouldn't be Tolkien fans if we didn't tear them to shreds while gushing afterwards .