This thread has moved very quickly, and there are many great observations and insights here. I only have time to chip in a few thoughts here and there:
Voice-over narration
According to Hollywood legend, Harrison Ford did the studio-ordered narration for
Blade Runner in the flattest monotone he could manage in hopes that it would be so bad that they wouldn't use it after all. It seems to me I've since read denials of that story, but make of it what you will. I love the narration in
Conan the Barbarian, which is presented in the form of a "sidekick" character recounting a tale from the past, and in
Apocalypse Now, in which the narrator -- Willard -- narrates events more or less as they happen, almost as if they were journal entries or something. Narration provides an elegant solution to the exposition problems in
Braveheart.
Overall I don't think I'd have liked more of it in LotR than is there, but I might have more to say on this later...
The Time-line
I think PJ definitely fails to give the sense of much time passing while Gandalf is away, particularly in the theatrical release. I saw it in the theater with non-fans and fans who hadn't read LotR in years, and I distinctly remember that they were confused by the sequence. Tolkien, though he was no dramatist, may have had the right instincts here when he said he favored abridgement over compression "with resultant over-crowding and confusion, blurring of climaxes, and general degradation". I'd like to come back to this point later with more ideas, but no time right now, alas.
Frodo
We start to see the differences between the book and the Jackson/Woods characterization. I really dislike the vacant, dumb smile on Frodo's face at the Green Dragon when he toasts Sandyman's "wisdom". This is the beginning of a trend of weakening Frodo's character which I can't quite understand. Is it the Gaffer who comments that Frodo is "cracking", just like Bilbo? The only sign we've seen so far that he's different from any other hobbit is the first shot of him reading a book.
Like
Essex, I missed the scene where Frodo can't throw the Ring into his hearth.
Cheap Suspense
In this sequence, Jackson also unveils for the first time his willingness to trade plot and character logic for cheap suspense. The already rough Gandalf-research/Nazgul-unleashed sequence becomes even more confusing with the inclusion of an attempt to trick the audience into thinking that there might be a Nazgul waiting in Bag End for Frodo. I hate how Gandalf reaches out of the darkness and grabs Frodo's shoulder -- would anyone ever do that except in a movie?
Another of these is the bit with the "fiery letters" on the Ring. Why would the letters flare up several seconds
after the Ring has been taken from the fire? It's little details like this that add up and bother me over the course of the trilogy.
One of my biggest disappointments in Jackson as a director is his eagerness to go for these transient sort of moments even at the expense of the overall picture.
Things I Like
The models of Barad-dūr and Minas Tirith are fabulous. I really enjoyed the preview of the latter, in particular. The design of the Nazgūl is excellent. And, as has been mentioned many times, lines straight from Tolkien are always welcome.
Back for more later, and maybe more on the POV albatross I raised in the previous thread.
