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Originally Posted by alatar
Wood elves?!? Are we to assume that Frodo knows the difference between Wood elves and Stone elves (and their assorted cousins) by the sound made by their passing? But we get more information about the elves regardless, and Sam's line is fitting, as the world is a sadder place now that the elves have left. By the way, in these processions/caravans, who decides who gets to ride the horses? Is it always a person of higher station, someone frail, the owner of the horse, what? And what happens to the horses when they reach the Grey Havens? Just something that I've always wondered.
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Any other thoughts on the Wood Elves in this sequence? I must admit that I've always been far more a fan of hobbits than of Elves, all remote and world-weary and perfect. They're definitely a challenge to portray, and I have pretty mixed feelings about Jackson's take on them.
The soft-focus glowiness sorta throws me, but I think it's the music that really doesn't work for me in this bit. As a piece of soundtrack, it's very nice, even gives me chills as I watch this scene. But at the same time it seems too stylized. I mean, we're supposed to get that the song we hear on the soundtrack -- with all its perfect studio harmonizations -- is being sung by the Elves as they march to the Havens, right? Technically I don't see any violation of Tolkien here, but I can't say I buy these Elves. Again, it's a very small detail, but I think I would have preferred the Elf-song to sound more like it was being sung by real creatures walking through a forest.
We'll have more, and perhaps better, opportunities to discuss Jackson's take on Elvishness later, but I'm still curious about others' reactions.
It's also interesting to note this scene's dislocation from its function in the book: the approach of the Elves at a fortuitous moment causes the Black Rider to withdraw. Maybe it's better to save more in-depth discussion of the plot effects for the upcoming encounter with the Nazgūl, but I think it's worth observing that Tolkien uses the scene with the Wood Elves to serve an important story function, whereas Jackson's seemingly minor rearrangement of events causes the scene to lose its purpose, resulting in its rightful excision from the theatrical cut.