The Hobbit Film Trilogy Thread

[KK 3,307]

Return of the King remains one of only two times I've had a truly transcendental experience at the cinema, I shit you not. I was utterly transported by it and by all accounts it utterly blew my socks off. That I was already in the grip of a major LotR phase in my life probably played a part in it, but I still couldn't believe that Jackson could (even after two brilliant movies) nail the climax as well as he did,

This is exactly how it was for me. Very few (and by that I mean 2 or 3 at most) films have offered me the true theatrical experience at the cinema. And Return of the King was definitely one of them. It's a true epic in every sense of the word and I don't think I'll ever have that kind of the experience at the cinema again. Even with The Hobbit (although to be fair, this is an entirely different kind of film altogether, so...).

Return of the King remains one of only two times I've had a truly transcendental experience at the cinema, I shit you not. I was utterly transported by it and by all accounts it utterly blew my socks off. That I was already in the grip of a major LotR phase in my life probably played a part in it, but I still couldn't believe that Jackson could (even after two brilliant movies) nail the climax as well as he did.

The best thing about that film is actually the sense of trascencence at the climax. The journey from Fellowship to that point is like a complete shift in tone. It's almost real. It's inmense. I actually find it hard to describe exactly what it is I'm trying to describe.

Spot on Chaac.

I have no idea what I thought of the films when I first saw them. I don't remember seeing them for the first time, strangely enough... they've just always been there.

but they're easily my favorite films of all time too. I've seen fotr too many times this year, so I'm quite sick of it atm, so I'd have to go for rotk too if I have to pick one.

I think I'll have to pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. The last time I watched the films was back in December, when I got the blu-rays. I love Fellowship of the Ring, although that one sequence with the floating Elrond head and the transition to Rivendell always pisses me off. But it doesn't diminish the film in the least for me.

[Brónach 1,302]

Return of the King remains one of only two times I've had a truly transcendental experience at the cinema, I shit you not. I was utterly transported by it and by all accounts it utterly blew my socks off. That I was already in the grip of a major LotR phase in my life probably played a part in it, but I still couldn't believe that Jackson could (even after two brilliant movies) nail the climax as well as he did,

This is exactly how it was for me. Very few (and by that I mean 2 or 3 at most) films have offered me the true theatrical experience at the cinema. And Return of the King was definitely one of them. It's a true epic in every sense of the word and I don't think I'll ever have that kind of the experience at the cinema again. Even with The Hobbit (although to be fair, this is an entirely different kind of film altogether, so...).

The Hobbit is probably going to be more like the first two films.

[KK 3,307]

The Hobbit will be more like FotR. It'll be more about the sense of journey and adventure that was brought out so well in FotR without the prophetic impending doom and gloom. There are actually a lot of ways to approach this and I'm curious as to what this film will turn out to be.

[Incanus 5,715]

I think I'll have to pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. The last time I watched the films was back in December, when I got the blu-rays. I love Fellowship of the Ring, although that one sequence with the floating Elrond head and the transition to Rivendell always pisses me off. But it doesn't diminish the film in the least for me.

Floating Elrond head? I say what's that now?

Well as I am used to say LotR is really my Star Wars as a cinematic experience and phenomenon. I was already a devoted fan of the novel since age 12 but those films really blew me away. I remember my first viewing of FotR clearly, hearing the first strains of music against the bluish grey opening credits before the Prologue and feeling chills when the Lord of the Rings logo appears to the History of the Ring theme. I simply got chills throughout as PJ had in essence brought my favourite novel and this world to life so vividly and powerfully, capturing indeed the elusive spirit of Tolkien's creation. I did not mind the deviations from the exact dialogue or who said what or how events didn't quite follow all plot points of the novel to a T. I was transported and moved and inspired by Fellowship of the Ring and continued to be amazed by the sequel movies.

[alicebrallice 134]

I think The Two Towers is the best one.

interesting. I've seriously never met anyone who thinks TTT is the best one. it's one of my favorite films but it's still my least favorite of the three.

I think I'll have to pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. The last time I watched the films was back in December, when I got the blu-rays.

and I think my local cinema should pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. seriously. they can name their price! I know I saw TTT in the cinema (don't remember anything though), but not fotr and rotk. makes me sad when I think about it:(

[Incanus 5,715]

I think I saw FotR in cinema for whopping 8 times!!! I know, I know deep fanaticism but I went with different friends at different times and hey it was a opening of the film series based on my favourite novel.

[Brónach 1,302]

I think The Two Towers is the best one.

interesting. I've seriously never met anyone who thinks TTT is the best one. it's one of my favorite films but it's still my least favorite of the three.

I've realized that nobody shares that opinion lol

I think I'll have to pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. The last time I watched the films was back in December, when I got the blu-rays.

and I think my local cinema should pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. seriously. they can name their price! I know I saw TTT in the cinema (don't remember anything though), but not fotr and rotk. makes me sad when I think about it:(

You were, like, 9?

At least you saw one at the cinema. My first view of TTT was a horrid bootleg copy seen on a computer because we didn't DVD player yet.

[Incanus 5,715]

I remember how a 7 or 8 year old boy came to one showing of FotR with a grandparent who was worried that this film would be too exciting and frightening for the lad. The boy put on a brave face and laughed at those concerns, until about 30 minutes into the film when the Nazgûl appeared he hurried out with his granny, obviously scared, and Úlairi screams ringing in their ears.

And yes a LotR film marathon at local theaters before the opening of the Hobbit would be excellent idea. I hope they do something like that here.

[alicebrallice 134]

I think I saw FotR in cinema for whopping 8 times!!! I know, I know deep fanaticism but I went with different friends at different times and hey it was a opening of the film series based on my favourite novel.

I don't blame you. I think I saw hp and the order of the phoenix 5 or 6 times with different friends at different times (and it wasn't even that good), and we even dressed up as voldy on the premiere night

good times.

[Incanus 5,715]

Yeah good times those. I even went to line up for the premiere tickets for FotR, the only movie I have ever done that for. It was a cold November morning if I remember correctly. The staff at the theater offered us pepparkakkor and some hot glögg so we would stay warm. Ah fan antics of youth.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Incanus 5,715]

The staff at the theater offered us pepparkakkor

Is that something you need to fuel the Trochaic Trocameter?

- Ah, ah! Mister Bond! You thought I wouldn't be able to use my Trochaic Trocameter, but now, look! Tons and tons of pepparkakkor stolen from Silvelonia by my best men! Enough to blow up your beloved England twice in a row! Muahahahahahahaha!

- Damn you, Mikkovitch Ojalanov!!

Sorry to disappoint you but they are (and I am sure you Googled it already) just gingerbread cookies. But it could be used to fuel Trochaic Tetrameter. So England is not completely safe.

[KK 3,307]

I think I'll have to pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. The last time I watched the films was back in December, when I got the blu-rays. I love Fellowship of the Ring, although that one sequence with the floating Elrond head and the transition to Rivendell always pisses me off. But it doesn't diminish the film in the least for me.

Floating Elrond head? I say what's that now?

[media=]

Can't find the whole thing, but right at the end of that epic scene, with the stupid floating Frodo and Elrond heads....made it look terribly cheap and low-budget. Irks me every time I see it, but doesn't damage the film experience.

Well as I am used to say LotR is really my Star Wars as a cinematic experience and phenomenon. I was already a devoted fan of the novel since age 12 but those films really blew me away. I remember my first viewing of FotR clearly, hearing the first strains of music against the bluish grey opening credits before the Prologue and feeling chills when the Lord of the Rings logo appears to the History of the Ring theme. I simply got chills throughout as PJ had in essence brought my favourite novel and this world to life so vividly and powerfully, capturing indeed the elusive spirit of Tolkien's creation. I did not mind the deviations from the exact dialogue or who said what or how events didn't quite follow all plot points of the novel to a T. I was transported and moved and inspired by Fellowship of the Ring and continued to be amazed by the sequel movies.

Well put Incanus. Lord of the Rings is very much to me what Star Wars was to most people around here. Funny enough, the trilogy is also what got sparked my interest in film scores. I used to hum the fellowship theme or bang the 5-note Isengard rhythm on the walls all the time. And then a year or so later, I found out that you can actually BUY film music, and guess what I bought?

Watching the trilogy in cinema remains to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. And Cate Blanchett's haunting voice gets me every single time with that awesome prologue! For me, the trilogy just got better and better with Return of the King being the penultimate conclusion. That film just blew my mind to bits when I first saw it on the big screen.

[Quintus 5,399]

I think The Two Towers is the best one.

interesting. I've seriously never met anyone who thinks TTT is the best one. it's one of my favorite films but it's still my least favorite of the three.

That's the thing though isn't it: TTT is the "weakest" of the trilogy, but damn it's still better than pretty much every other fantasy movie ever made. It's still five star brilliance.

[Jay 37,370]

ROTK has always been the weakest of the trilogy for me

[KK 3,307]

I think The Two Towers is the best one.

interesting. I've seriously never met anyone who thinks TTT is the best one. it's one of my favorite films but it's still my least favorite of the three.

That's the thing though isn't it: TTT is the "weakest" of the trilogy, but damn it's still better than pretty much every other fantasy movie ever made. It's still five star brilliance.

Yup. But I gave up ranking the LotR films along time ago. The whole trilogy stands far above anything the fantasy genre has offered in the past and continues to offer today.

[Incanus 5,715]

I think I'll have to pull a LotR marathon soon for the Hobbit's sake. The last time I watched the films was back in December, when I got the blu-rays. I love Fellowship of the Ring, although that one sequence with the floating Elrond head and the transition to Rivendell always pisses me off. But it doesn't diminish the film in the least for me.

Floating Elrond head? I say what's that now?

Can't find the whole thing, but right at the end of that epic scene, with the stupid floating Frodo and Elrond heads....made it look terribly cheap and low-budget. Irks me every time I see it, but doesn't damage the film experience.

Ah now I know exactly the moment you mean now. I never found it much "off" but we all have our irksome things about these films, large and small that could have been done better. I for one would have loved a more dramatic and in line with the novel confrontation at the Ford of Bruinen with breaking swords and chanting Ringwraiths and Nazgûl sorcery.

[Quintus 5,399]

For me it's FotR > RotK > TTT

[KK 3,307]

For me it's FotR > RotK > TTT

It changes for me from time to time. At the moment, I'm thinking Rotk > TTT > FotR.

[Quintus 5,399]

One of the things I find great about FotR is it holds up terrifically as a self-contained adventure. Like The Matrix, I guess.

[Brónach 1,302]

Except it wipes the floor with The Matrix.

[Jay 37,370]

Yes. FOTR is the most self-contained (despite the open ending) film and score.

[KK 3,307]

One of the things I find great about FotR is it holds up terrifically as a self-contained adventure. Like The Matrix, I guess.

That's true.

Except it wipes the floor with The Matrix.

That's very true.

[Incanus 5,715]

Yes. FOTR is the most self-contained (despite the open ending) film and score.

It is also by its very linear nature most coherent and narratively clear lined of the three films which further enhances the feeling of self-contained whole.

But as one viewer after we were getting out of the theater remarked to his girlfriend about FotR "What? This was it? They toiled and trudged on for three hours and didn't get anywhere in this film!"

[Quintus 5,399]

The biggest asset of FotR? Gandalf the GREY.

Roll on The Hobbit and Ian McKellen's uber badassery

[Incanus 5,715]

The biggest asset of FotR? Gandalf the GREY.

Roll on The Hobbit and Ian McKellen's uber badassery

I can't but agree.

[Brónach 1,302]

I think Thorin is going to steal the show.

[Incanus 5,715]

I think Thorin is going to steal the show.

I will never forgive him that. Nor his short beard. Never.

[KK 3,307]

The biggest asset of FotR? Gandalf the GREY.

Roll on The Hobbit and Ian McKellen's uber badassery

I can't but agree.

As do I. Ian McKellen is one of the reasons I love the films so much!

I think Thorin is going to steal the show.

I will never forgive him that. Nor his short beard. Never.

He better not.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[KK 3,307]

But as one viewer after we were getting out of the theater remarked to his girlfriend about FotR "What? This was it? They toiled and trudged on for three hours and didn't get anywhere in this film!"

Yeah. I remember someone saying something similar at one of my viewings of FOTR. it was like: "Wow, three hours, and they didn't even reach Mordor!" And I was thinking: " You'll have to wait about 6 hours more to get there, boy!"

I wouldn't be surprised if they thought Khazad-dum was Mordor...

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[KK 3,307]

But as one viewer after we were getting out of the theater remarked to his girlfriend about FotR "What? This was it? They toiled and trudged on for three hours and didn't get anywhere in this film!"

Yeah. I remember someone saying something similar at one of my viewings of FOTR. it was like: "Wow, three hours, and they didn't even reach Mordor!" And I was thinking: " You'll have to wait about 6 hours more to get there, boy!"

I wouldn't be surprised if they thought Khazad-dum was Mordor...

I would'nt be surprised if YOU thought Khazad-Dûm was Mordor, the first time you saw the film (which is why you say this). I'm sure you were such a LOTR noob at the time. The kind of guy who thinks Orcs and Goblins are basically the same thing. What a noob!

Be silent. Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I did not pass through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm.

I first read the trilogy in the 5th grade...trust me, I was no LotR noob. I'm quite confident my knowledge of Middle-Earth exceeds that of all who inhabit this board, especially you, you bull-headed boal.

[Brónach 1,302]

I first read the trilogy in the 5th grade...trust me, I was no LotR noob. I'm quite confident my knowledge of Middle-Earth exceeds that of all who inhabit this board, especially you, you bull-headed boal.

I defy that statement.

[KK 3,307]

I first read the trilogy in the 5th grade...trust me, I was no LotR noob. I'm quite confident my knowledge of Middle-Earth exceeds that of all who inhabit this board, especially you, you bull-headed boal.

I defy that statement.

I'm willing to take on a challenge

[Brónach 1,302]

So. It has come to this.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Wojo 2,453]

Goblin is what Tolkien called Orcs in The Hobbit, with the exception of Gandalf's line "goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs," once by the narrator, and of course, Thorin's sword. In TLOTR, Tolkien called them Orcs predominantly, and it was basically the Hobbits who called them Goblins, with the exception of a few times when JRRT referred to the Uruk-Hai as "goblins." The movie definitely makes clear the distinction between orcs of Mordor and orcs of Saruman.

It might be a cultural thing. You say tomato, I say potato.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Brónach 1,302]

Orc is Anglo-Saxon for demon (later respelled as ork). Goblin comes from Medieval French gobelin. Gobelins are small orks.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[KK 3,307]

Tolkien had this to say:

'(2) Orc is not an English word. It occurs in one or two places but is usually translated goblin (or hobgoblin for the larger kinds). Orc is the hobbits' form of the name given at that time to these creatures, and it is not connected at all with our orc, ork, applied to sea-animals of dolphin-kind.' Tolkien The Hobbit

[Brónach 1,302]

Tolkien later said in a footnote that there wasn't nothing Elvish about orcs. His son got it wrong selecting the material. Or at least I remember that, I could be wrong.

I agree that the orcs seem more brutish. I think the Mordor orcs are the more capable of the lot.

[KK 3,307]

Chaac just kicked KK's ass. That was quick and clean. Chaac wins this round.

Stupid Safari

Tolkien later said in a footnote that there wasn't nothing Elvish about orcs. His son got it wrong selecting the material.

I agree that the orcs seem more brutish. I think the Mordor orcs are the more capable of the lot.

Oh, I didn't know that. So Tolkien wasn't for the whole "mutilated elves" idea? Hmm...

[Wojo 2,453]

Tolkien had this to say:

'(2) Orc is not an English word. It occurs in one or two places but is usually translated goblin (or hobgoblin for the larger kinds). Orc is the hobbits' form of the name given at that time to these creatures, and it is not connected at all with our orc, ork, applied to sea-animals of dolphin-kind.' Tolkien The Hobbit

Even JRRT admitted that is a mistake, because "hob-" means smaller, not larger. Such as in, I don't know...HOBBIT. Though I don't know what a BIT is to say the HOB variety is larger (or smaller) than it.

[Brónach 1,302]

Tolkien later said in a footnote that there wasn't nothing Elvish about orcs. His son got it wrong selecting the material.

I agree that the orcs seem more brutish. I think the Mordor orcs are the more capable of the lot.

Oh, I didn't know that. So Tolkien wasn't for the whole "mutilated elves" idea? Hmm...

I think he was at first and later changed his mind. But I read this like years ago so I don't know.

I still think The Silmarillion is like an unfinished work stiched together by other guy. I think if JRRT had gone to publish that he would have rewritten it in a different style and changed many details.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[KK 3,307]

Tolkien later said in a footnote that there wasn't nothing Elvish about orcs. His son got it wrong selecting the material.

I agree that the orcs seem more brutish. I think the Mordor orcs are the more capable of the lot.

Oh, I didn't know that. So Tolkien wasn't for the whole "mutilated elves" idea? Hmm...

I think he was at first and later changed his mind. But I read this like years ago so I don't know.

I still think The Silmarillion is like an unfinished work stiched together by other guy. I think if JRRT had gone to publish that he would have rewritten it in a different style and changed many details.

I've also read that the orcs was Melkor's way of mocking Illuvatar's seemingly perfect creation for the Eldar. I don't know which idea he settled with at the end though.

Chaac just kicked KK's ass. That was quick and clean. Chaac wins this round.

Stupid Safari

Don't blame your web browser. Blame yourself.

I WILL blame my browser. What will you do about it?

[Brónach 1,302]

I'll support the browser blaming for Safari.

[KK 3,307]

Thanks Chaac

Goblin is what Tolkien called Orcs in The Hobbit, with the exception of Gandalf's line "goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs," once by the narrator, and of course, Thorin's sword. In TLOTR, Tolkien called them Orcs predominantly, and it was basically the Hobbits who called them Goblins, with the exception of a few times when JRRT referred to the Uruk-Hai as "goblins." The movie definitely makes clear the distinction between orcs of Mordor and orcs of Saruman.

I wish the films made more clear the conflict between the orcs of Isengard and the orcs Lugburz. But then again, they kind of changed Saruman's motives too; I didn't like that decision much. Saruman was a loyal puppet of Sauron in the films contrary to his personal desire for the ring and power that was so prevalent in the books.

The distinction between orcs and goblins is very hazy in Tolkien's writing. Often the terms were interchangeable as they were probably intended to be and then there were certain statements were he uses all variations of the name at once (as has been listed in this thread).