The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post

doug*platypus · 12-31-2002, 03:15 AM

Oh, yeah! I remember him, now. Encino Man was called California Man in NZ, cos noone would know where Encino was, but yeah I loved that movie. As I recall he was none too slender in that movie, but that's really not what I was talking about.<P>I couldn't care less how well Sean Astin played characters in other movies, because I wasn't interested in debating his talent. This is the Barrow-Downs, not the Sean Astin Fanclub Page. My problem is with the depiction of Sam in the movies, which is a result of both Sean Astin as actor and Peter Jackson as director. Also, less directly, Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh for their over-simplified script. <P>A great man said, "you can't keep all of the people happy all of the time." While movieSam was obviously perfectly accurate to a lot of people, I thought he suffered the most of any character in the transition to film. Yes, even more than *poor Faramir, sigh* because Sam is one of the most important characters in the book (if not THE most). In the book he is thoughtful, insightful, dreamy and wistful in his thoughts of Elves and Dragons, and possessed of a wealth of commonsense as well as cheerfulness. In the book, he and Frodo have a rope because Sam thought to ask for one from Haldir for his own use - not simply because Galadriel gave it to him. You Sam fans should be up in arms about her hogging the credit! He is the one who remembers the Phial, time will tell if that is kept in ROTK. While he might seem fairly rustic, he doesn't talk like an inbred halfwit, and while he doesn't trust or like Gollum, he is never as cruel as movieSam was. I know Gollum's only CG, but I really hate it when Sam hurls him to the ground by the rope around his neck. It's like watching someone kick a dog. And why was the rope around Gollum's neck, anyway?<P>I think that the movie's portrayal of Sam was over-simplified and unfair. Sean Astin is definitely one of the people to blame for this. And yes, he was too fat! It's unrealistic - why were Merry and Pippin so much leaner, when unlike Sam they apparently never did a hard day's work in their lives?

12-31-2002, 03:15 AM	#19
doug*platypus Delver in the Deep Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Aotearoa Posts: 960	Oh, yeah! I remember him, now. Encino Man was called California Man in NZ, cos noone would know where Encino was, but yeah I loved that movie. As I recall he was none too slender in that movie, but that's really not what I was talking about.<P>I couldn't care less how well Sean Astin played characters in other movies, because I wasn't interested in debating his talent. This is the Barrow-Downs, not the Sean Astin Fanclub Page. My problem is with the depiction of Sam in the movies, which is a result of both Sean Astin as actor and Peter Jackson as director. Also, less directly, Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh for their over-simplified script. <P>A great man said, "you can't keep all of the people happy all of the time." While movieSam was obviously perfectly accurate to a lot of people, I thought he suffered the most of any character in the transition to film. Yes, even more than poor Faramir, sigh because Sam is one of the most important characters in the book (if not THE most). In the book he is thoughtful, insightful, dreamy and wistful in his thoughts of Elves and Dragons, and possessed of a wealth of commonsense as well as cheerfulness. In the book, he and Frodo have a rope because Sam thought to ask for one from Haldir for his own use - not simply because Galadriel gave it to him. You Sam fans should be up in arms about her hogging the credit! He is the one who remembers the Phial, time will tell if that is kept in ROTK. While he might seem fairly rustic, he doesn't talk like an inbred halfwit, and while he doesn't trust or like Gollum, he is never as cruel as movieSam was. I know Gollum's only CG, but I really hate it when Sam hurls him to the ground by the rope around his neck. It's like watching someone kick a dog. And why was the rope around Gollum's neck, anyway?<P>I think that the movie's portrayal of Sam was over-simplified and unfair. Sean Astin is definitely one of the people to blame for this. And yes, he was too fat! It's unrealistic - why were Merry and Pippin so much leaner, when unlike Sam they apparently never did a hard day's work in their lives? __________________ But Gwindor answered: 'The doom lies in yourself, not in your name'.