Thread: LotR2-TTT-Seq11
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Old 04-26-2006, 09:02 AM   #1
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LotR2-TTT-Seq11

We shall do all we can to make amends, in any way which will not cause further harm. - Step 9 of the '12 Steps.'


Gollum goes fishing the old fashioned way, like some kind of emaciated hairless bear. You can see the making of this scene in the DVD appendices and it’s worth watching. To allow filming, the crew had to melt away snow as this wasn’t to be a winter scene. Though Melkor’s fine work was gone, this did not warm the waters by one degree, and so poor Andy Serkis had to splash down the stream three times (I think) to get it right.

He is one dedicated actor, and deserves any accolades heaped upon him.

Anyway, while Gollum fishes Frodo upbraids Sam for calling poor Sméagol names. Sam, not too put out, explains to his friend that Gollum is wicked, and will always remain so. Frodo, the enabler, is sure that he can fix Sméagol, and if he can do that, he knows that he too can come back from the dark road of the Ring. Sam protests, then is bitten by the Ringbearer. Frodo too is becoming quite the addict.

Sam is level-headed enough to see that it’s the Ring that’s poisoning his Master’s mind, but Frodo’s back’s up and will hear none of it. That’s the problem with three’s company, you always have two on one side and only one on the other. Frodo has Sam, the angel, sitting on one shoulder and Gollum, the devil, sitting upon the other. Which voice will he follow?

A side note: did you notice the structures in the background? There’s not much significant to them, but I assume they are present to remind us that we’re near civilization (or at least one that existed long ago) and/or tread a path used by others.

Another great scene, maybe the best, by Andy Serkis. I’m reminded of when Patrick Stewart (of Captain Jean-Luc Picard fame) played all of the characters in “A Christmas Carol.” Here Serkis plays two distinct personalities within one character, and it is excellent! Switching camera angles was genius, as it seems that Gollum and Sméagol stand facing each other, discussing ‘their’ relationship. I just love this scene with the CG (I know that that’s CG, but it’s just so lifelike), the psychology and the editing.

In the end, Sméagol finds protection not in Gollum but in Frodo, and so sends his former helper away, then dances on Gollum’s grave. You can already see how Frodo will fair, as instead of a Gollum he has Sam, who will help him bear the evil of the Ring.

Overnight Sméagol turns into Saint Nick, and drops rabbits onto his new master’s lap. He’s so pleased with himself, and the joy of doing something good must have reminded him of what life was like before the Ring found him. Sam, the wet blanket here, thinks that Frodo won’t appreciate coneys tartar, and so stews them up, much to Sméagol’s anguish.

While the two begin to discuss taters, fish and everything else that shows the two as completely different, Frodo hears something that just ain’t right, like a bird call from a large two-legged bird with thumbs. Without a word he walks off to explore. He finds a large army marching through the wood, and by their looks they are the enemy. Gollum fills us in on more of Sauron’s plans, and you start to wonder if the call that Sauron put out to summon all wicked things to Mordor doesn’t work both ways. The Wise should have got another chair and let Sméagol sit in, as he seems to be pretty knowledgeable in the ways of the enemy.

Oi! Oi! It’s oliphaunts!

Those are some big creatures. Sam wishes for a camera, as Ted, Rosy and the Gaffer aren’t going to believe what he’s now seeing. More birds, and Gollum slinks away, obviously having ornithophobia.

Just then, the evil men are ambushed, in a crossfire of the hidden bowmen of Ithilien. We see one of these men (Faramir, we will learn later) drop a baddie just behind Frodo and Sam. The hobbits hasten away, not taking any time to ponder the fate or the demeanor of the man lying dead behind them.

But it too late. Though not pausing, still they sat on their perch too long, and so are captured.

This ends DVD #1. We have Frodo and Sam in the clutches of some Men in Ithilien. Merry and Pippin are whooping it up in Fangorn in the company of Treebeard, Gandalf is playing Mearas Express, riding across the countryside on a convenient errand, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli accompany King Théoden and niece Éowyn to the tactically unsound (?) fortress of Helm’s Deep. Théodren is still dead, Wormtongue still smells of horse and has taken up a new residence, and Saruman, smarting from a long distance staff crack in the face (those are always the worst kind) sends the dogs of war after the bearer of Barahir’s ring.

Over an hour and a half, and the movie’s only just begun.
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