Still trying to catch up…
Leaving the matter of Bombadil aside for the moment, there are a lot of things about this sequence that bother me. I don't like the deliberate, agonizingly slow, synchronized Nazgűl. Stop-drop-and-cringe Frodo, as has already been mentioned, bugs me mightily too. What do you suppose is the motivation for this change in Frodo's character? Off the top of my head I can't see any real narrative benefits. If I were stretching, maybe it makes Aragorn seem stronger by comparison, but that's really reaching.
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Originally Posted by Essex
Remember the high majority of people seeing this film at the Cinema would be non-LOTR readers - I'm sorry, PJ can't always pander to us. Just having Frodo shout out the Star Queen's name would not have worked for your average movie goer - They would have laughed at this, surely...
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Well, we were all "first-timers" once. Did you laugh when Frodo cried out on Weathertop in the book? I think it could easily have been made to work – indeed might make better sense in a way: Frodo's invocation and his resistance helping to drive the Nazgűl away. When you think about it, which is more comical – the Ringwraiths being “turned” by a mystical invocation, or them being so easily torched by Strider? He should have armed the hobbits with Bic lighters instead of swords of Westernesse.
Besides, PJ wouldn’t be pandering to us (book fans); what’s pandering is making changes based on what you suppose some theoretical mass audience’s reaction will be to strange names instead of just telling the story.
On the subject of the swords -- yeah, rather clumsy job I'd say. I think they could have at least had a beat where Aragorn pulls the blades from a hidden Ranger stash at Weathertop. Didn't they find some firewood left there by Rangers in the books? Still not the greatest solution, but I think it beats him conveniently pulling four hobbit-sized swords from his pack at this point. If he had them, why not arm the hobbits earlier?
I wonder if PJ put the beat here for practical reasons: knowing that he was shooting more than he could possibly use for the Bree-Weathertop sequence, he might have hesitated to have a scene where Strider passes out swords earlier, knowing that it might be difficult to fit into a tightly edited version of the trip. Putting the scene here in its simplest possible form gets the hobbits armed in time for the fight and banishes worries about editing later. Although, come to think of it, since the swords are put to such ineffectual use, a case could be made for dropping them from the journey altogether and having the hobbits armed in Rivendell.
One other thing I really dislike is the shot of the last Nazgűl running away with a torch sticking straight out from his hood. No doubt this gag appealed to PJ’s sense of humor. The whole Nazgűl-set-aflame bit also begs the question from a logic standpoint – where did they get fresh robes from for the subsequent chase?
Now for the good stuff. Things I like:
The model of Isengard is really cool. I’m glad PJ decided to go miniature rather than CG for these shots (though of course there are CJ elements beefing the shots up). Miniatures have a reality, a “there-ness” which is still hard to duplicate with computers.
I love the way the music changes from the strident, clanging Uruk theme to the lone rising voice as the camera follows the moth up to Gandalf, then back again to the Uruk theme as we tip over the edge of Orthanc. I also like the moth device; this is the sort of visual shorthand that is perfect for a film adaptation.