[Dininziliel]

I have said on another thread that if people leave the theatre more taken with the themes--love, faith, forgiveness, the inescapable wages of fear and lust for power--that much could be forgiven. I am a very grateful Tolkien "fanatic" tonight.<P>I'll try to keep this short (but warn you it is still long ), so here go the non-chronological bullets in two categories.<P>What worked/was brilliant/what I'm grateful for:<BR>*Gimli finally getting his dignity back while retaining his movie function as comic relief.<BR>*Aragorn's battle speech was not just another rehashing of <I>Braveheart</I>. I found myself moved by it.<BR>*Sam's very human reactions to the stress and extreme hurt, which made his decision to return to Frodo a wonderful underscoring of the book's themes.<BR>*Gandalf telling Pippin about passing from this world to the next. Gave the aforementioned themes much needed clout.<BR>*Merry & Pippin's deep friendship.<BR>*Sam & Frodo's friendship.<BR>*The bravery of Jackson and actors to show innocent affection of friendship.<BR>*The Dead while in the cave/castle.<BR>*Faramir's scene with his father--"Then you wish it were me instead of Boromir . . ."<BR>*Famamir and his small army leaving Minas Tirith.<BR>*The forging, giving and unsheathing of Anduril.<BR>*Gollum's embodiment of sheer and utter self-abandonment to the Ring. (If I ever need an inducement to stay with natural highs, I need only recollect his face in a couple of scenes.)<BR>*That Jackson, Walsh, Boyens kept most of the classic, must-have (IMO) lines that define and give scope and profundity to the story--the best example being the last line in the movie. <BR>*Boyd's performance and part--the singing-battle montage, oath to Denethor . . .<BR>*The Rohirrim--Theoden's rousing speech and then their galloping attack. The thought occurred to me, "Now I know why Grima cried at Isengard."<BR>*Astin's, Wood's, Monaghan's, Mortensen's, McKellan's, Otto's, Hill's, and Serkis'/Pixar's? performances.<BR>*Frodo's inner struggle with the Ring at the Crack of Doom.<BR>*Frodo's decision to opt for life instead of death when he grabs Sam's hand.<BR>*The editing and lack of glaring continuity gaffes.<BR>*The songs in Tolkien's languages.<BR>*The credits.<P>Things to do differently/things missing:<BR>*Shelob could have been the more disgusting and bloated horror described in the book.<BR>*No Saruman/Grima--it was as if Jackson, Walsh & Boyens couldn't figure out what to do and so ignored it, hopefully so they'd have more time to think and get it right in the EE. <BR>*No 3rd palantir to more fully explain Denethor's descent into madness through despair. They got the pride right, though.<BR>*Unless I spaced out, the more descriptive name "Paths of the Dead" was never mentioned. It was always referred to by its more obscure name. Seems like a wasted natural chance for tension.<BR>*Eowyn & Faramir--too fast, too convenient; there has to be more in the EE.<BR>*Gollum setting Sam up w/lembas theft instead of the wonderful scene where Sam is startled awake, thinks Gollum is pawing Frodo, believes the worst and ruins the last chance Gollum has for redemption. This would was another place where tension and pathos in the story would have worked onscreen.<BR>*Same strange dismissal of another natural book tension/pathos element--Mouth of Sauron comes out and sneeringly displays the mithril coat and Frodo's clothes. The fact that the West fights despite believing all is truly lost was key to the story; however, the point made by the shot of their being surrounded and outnumbered was okay.<BR>*Jump-cutting back and forth between Frodo-Gollum struggling with Ring and Batttle of Cormallen during the very climax of the story (and all 3 movies) was frustrating and undercut the effectiveness of both scenes for me. I almost shouted, "Stop doing that!"<BR>*The deletion of the line, "It will not occur to Sauron's mind that anyone who possesses the Ring would seek to destroy it." This could have been easily included in one of at least two places either by Aragorn or Gandalf, and, would have added to understanding the way Sauron/Evil works. <P>The changes in RotK didn't affect the story, or me , as much as TT. I loved FotR and could accept the changes there. I feel they did an even better job at staying faithful to the story's themes and meaning <I>and</I> delivering a wonderful movie in the process.<P>So, I too, wish to thank Peter Jackson, the actors, writers, and everyone connected with the making of the film, for what they did for me as well as the audience today. It was a joy and a sorrow. It brought to our sad and insane 4th Age world something it needs very much right now--the story of Love and fear struggling within all of us, and that Love is the better choice . . . no matter what happens around us.