[Amarinth]

hi maril! i just noticed this thread and crashing in late too! this is a great thread indeed!<P>your revision "wish list" sounds great, especially that gandalf vs. saruman revision. that fight scene bothered me too; a film friend told me that pj needed to amp the audience's concept of the wizards' power like what they do in anime shows, hence the over the top confrontation. but it was so disturbing to see two old men, however powerful, beat each other up.<P>i liked what you said about putting in some stuff about the elves and about what's important to them . this is a subtle touch that may be lost initially on non-lotr viewers but will enrich the film as an added medium of the story and catch-up with the viewers eventually. <P>some of the things my non-lotr friends got quite confused with and i'd want to rewrite are:<P>(1) galadriel's test: they couldn't understand what the hell she was talking about. her portrayal made her come across as eomer's dangerous "sorceress", rather than this wise, kind and sorrowful elf-queen who broke the company's heart with wonder. pj should have put a kinder expression on cate's face, and included the line where galadriel says "greatly are you avenged for my testing you during our first meeting" and maybe add "that now you test me by tempting me with this ring" or something so that "i pass the test" becomes clear.<P>(2) the council of elrond! i couldn't understand why it had to be abbreviated that way. there are cinematic approaches to show how long and intensive the discussion that decided the fate of middle-earth was; they should have been used. also, i can't understand why pj had to turn that very crucial meeting into a confrontational affair--the message was sort of "the fate of middle-earth was decided in the midst of (a) roaring argument/s". complete antithesis of the events in the book.<P>(3) when did aragorn turn into a shrinking violet? maybe you guys know the reason why the film "recast" him into the unwilling heir instead of the determined, returning king. had aragorn been portrayed as in the original, it would have given the film a different texture, and would have given extra force to compel the storylines in ttt and rotk.<P>(4) yeah arwen. if pj's purpose was to give her greater stature in the lotr framework, there are again other cinematic devices to do this, like flashbacks with aragorn on cerin amroth etc. i completely agree that the scene across the river took away from the audiences appreciation of frodo's strength. anyway, non-lotr friends again did not understand what the heck arwen was talking about anyway!<P>hmmm, i'll get back to you on other stuff i've to mull over first...<P>---------------------------------------------<BR><I>every man's life is a path to the truth -- hesse</I>