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The Hobbits: The Battle Of Twe Two Bagginses!


Who's the best Baggins  

25 members have voted

  1. 1. Who's the best Baggins

    • Bilbo (Martin Freeman)
    • Frodo (Elijah Wood)


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Well it's hardly like character development didnt exist in literature in the 40's and 50's. So i fear you are slightly off the mark there, Inky.

It was a deliberate choice by Tolkien to write the novel in the style of an ancient heroic saga. With characters set in stone.

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Well it's hardly like character development didnt exist in literature in the 40's and 50's. So i fear you are slightly off the mark there, Inky.

It was a deliberate choice by Tolkien to write the novel in the style of an ancient heroic saga. With characters set in stone.

I know that but I am talking about what the film makers thought and these films specifically. You can hear these reasonings for the changes made to the characters in the documentaries and commentaries of the movies.

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I can see, for people who saw the films first, where he would be the part that translated easiest into the part in the books.

Its really easy for me because my copy of the book has him on the cover ;)

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Well, not the only ones. I'm with the others: McKellen made a magnificent Gandalf. Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies fulfilled their roles better than I thought any actor would be able to. Another actor I thought was great for his (less-than-major) part was Karl Urban. He really brought a strength and solidness to Eomer that surprised me. He ultimately become one of my favorites in the whole series.

I think Mortensen was brilliant, and Bean, Hill, Noble, Blanchett, Urban and many others were spot on. They often differ from the books, sometimes (especially in Noble's case) at times for the worse, but they always fit the roles *they play* very well. And sometimes (again, especially in Noble's case) they sometimes, when the scenes allow it, let Tolkien's character shine through a bit more than the script itself does.

As to the original question... I always liked Wood's Frodo. He's... wooden (no pun intended), but it fits the character's addicted personality, and he does have a big moment in the Samath Naur scene.

But Freeman... I've always liked him since I first saw his Arthur Dent, but I'm pretty sure Bilbo is by far the best role I've seen him in so far. He's the nearly only redeeming feature of the third film, and manages to ground his character's emotions even when he's surrounded by ridiculous scenes.

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With less than twelve hours to go before I see the final film (Aulë willing), I've been thinking again of my dream casting for the Tolkien reboot, as I'm sure many others here have done. I haven't had time to cast the minor roles yet; there are so many. I'd be happy to hear of any better ideas, though this is pretty comprehensively thought out so far.

Glóin - George Clooney

Gandalf - Larry David

Saruman - Christoph Waltz

Denethor - David Strathairn

Aragorn - Ricky Gervais

Legolas - Mackenzie Crook

Gimli - Gérard Depardieu

Treebeard - Timothy Spall with branches

Boromir - Sean Bean

Faramir - John Turturro

Bill Ferny - Brendan Gleeson

Nob - Ryan Gosling

Bob - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Merry - David Tennant

Pippin - Rooney Mara

Tom Bombadil - Rolf Harris

Farmer Maggot - Michael Gambon

Grip - Ian Hart

Fang - Jim Broadbent

Wolf - motion captured by Joaquin Phoenix

Irmo - Chiwetel Ejiofor

Arwen - Russell Brand

Peter Jackson - Paul W. S. Anderson

Elrond - Marty Funkhouser

Eru - the late Pastor Fred Phelps

Fëanor - Bryan Cranston

Shadowfax - Jeff Garlin

Barliman Butterbur - Humphrey Bogart

Ilsa Mugwort - Ingrid Bergman

Khamûl - Shia LaBeouf

Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger - still open minded on this one

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With less than twelve hours to go before I see the final film (Aulë willing), I've been thinking again of my dream casting for the Tolkien reboot, as I'm sure many others here have done. I haven't had time to cast the minor roles yet; there are so many. I'd be happy to hear of any better ideas, though this is pretty comprehensively thought out so far.

Glóin - George Clooney

Gandalf - Larry David

Saruman - Christoph Waltz

Denethor - David Strathairn

Aragorn - Ricky Gervais

Legolas - Mackenzie Crook

Gimli - Gérard Depardieu

Treebeard - Timothy Spall with branches

Boromir - Sean Bean

Faramir - John Turturro

Bill Ferny - Brendan Gleeson

Nob - Ryan Gosling

Bob - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Merry - David Tennant

Pippin - Rooney Mara

Tom Bombadil - Rolf Harris

Farmer Maggot - Michael Gambon

Grip - Ian Hart

Fang - Jim Broadbent

Wolf - motion captured by Joaquin Phoenix

Irmo - Chiwetel Ejiofor

Arwen - Russell Brand

Peter Jackson - Paul W. S. Anderson

Elrond - Marty Funkhouser

Eru - the late Pastor Fred Phelps

Fëanor - Bryan Cranston

Shadowfax - Jeff Garlin

Barliman Butterbur - Humphrey Bogart

Ilsa Mugwort - Ingrid Bergman

Khamûl - Shia LaBeouf

Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger - still open minded on this one

Mahmoud would be wasted on Bob, surely. He must have great range. Marty Funkhouser is spot on for Elrond though. Also you've nailed most of the "hot button" players on the scene now, but most concerning is the omission of Lupita Nyong'o - one wonders if some racial prejudice is at work here.

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I don't think I have any major quips with any of the cast, including Wood, as "wooden" as he may have been. They all sold their roles very well, even if they differed from the source.

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John Noble is a very good match for the book Denethor. Despite the fact that his role was quite different. He just looks and sounds spot on!

Patrick Stewart would have made a great steward!

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Michael Fassbender would have been a great Aragorn.

Was he like 15 when LotR came out?

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So you did but I wasn't paying attention! Good god man, you don't think I have the patience to read everything through diligently! Where would that take us?!!! My befuddlement would be for naught!

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When reading TTT my image of Theoden started as a Richard Harris type figure. Old and worn, but with a hint of former glory and pride, to a more tall and proud Max von Sydow character. An achient but hale warrior who recaptured the flames of old and it out for one last deed of heroism.

Love this. Next time I read the books (which may be soon, after these recent threads have stirred the old flame), it'll be hard not to picture Sydow, bent, old, and sad, looking out over the chaos on the Pelennor—and then sitting up at the rooster's cry and gettin' fired up for battle. Awesome.

I agree with them, and support their descision of shoring up the emotional journey for these characters. Even if the result doesn't always work 100%.

So do I. We're talking about casting points, and so I'm bringing up my own personal nitpicks. But I wouldn't dream of arguing against anyone else's impressions. As I said in the other thread, everyone sees Middle Earth through their own mind's eye. For some people, Bean's Boromir will doubtless be very close to what they pictured in their own head.

John Noble is a very good match for the book Denethor. Despite the fact that his role was quite different. He just looks and sounds spot on!

Noble won me over. He started off being too different than my own mental sketch, but his absolute stubbornness, willful degradation of his younger son, the regret that later surfaced as a result, and the insanity that followed all combined to create a characterization that paralleled the novel's wonderfully. In fact, I might have to say that, for me, Noble took the longest journey out of the whole cast from not-quite-right to very appropriate indeed. (Though he was central to the single most ridiculous and stupid visual indulgence PJ took in the entire series. I shouldn't have to tell you what I'm referring to there. . . .)

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His fall? I loved his fall! A bit excessive maybe, but paired up with Gandalf's lines, just sends the chills! And it helps that it has one of my favourite Shore moments in the film too!

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I finished my last exam today, so I might just watch FOTR tonight! Gear up for the final Middle-Earth film of our time on Tuesday.

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His fall? I loved his fall! A bit excessive maybe, but paired up with Gandalf's lines, just sends the chills! And it helps that it has one of my favourite Shore moments in the film too!

That choral stuff right after his fall is one of the best choral bit in film music history!

Yes!

It feels very much like what Tolkien is talking about at page 820 (not sure what page it is in other versions) in LOTR (The Ride of the Rohirrim).

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...most concerning is the omission of Lupita Nyong'o - one wonders if some racial prejudice is at work here.

Good point, but it's more that I hadn't yet figured out which role would suit her best. Narrowing in on either Primula Brandybuck or Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth.

Mahmoud would be wasted on Bob, surely. He must have great range.

But I've been thinking of a much expanded role for Bob, possibly involving a love triangle. It could be more complex than it seems.

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Denethor was taking part in the first ever endurance race of Minas Tirith! In the end he burned so much calories he just spontaneously combusted!

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Weird that Denethor burned just by setting himself ablaze with a flaming brand, yet Gollum never did even as he swam in the lava of Orodruin!

Magic of the Ring and Cinema! Just like Denethor's half-a-mile blaze of glory.

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Based on the horrible incident of an Olympic running carrying the torch!

Did he also burn out?

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