Still forming your own images of Middle-earth, or stuck with Elijah and co.? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lalaith · 07-13-2004, 07:10 AM

I do now see Arwen as Liv and Legolas as Orlando but they are both very handsome and elf-like IMO, so I have no problem with that!

ninlaith · 07-13-2004, 08:12 AM

Orlando is exactly how I pictured Legolas but with a few differences. In my minds eye Legolas had short blond hair, yet braided here and there, and had a frailer build. Orlando is frail enough but not quite enough, however, he fit the bill completely. I'd have to say one of the best supporting characters was Kate Blanchet's Galadriel. I have always held a certain affinity to Galadriel and when she swaned onto the screen it was purely magic, chills up & down. She jumped right out of the book.

Osse · 07-14-2004, 02:50 AM

Yes, her portayal was suprisingly good... a bit under-jovial (remember: the Queen of the Wood went from being as "merry as any hobbit lass with daisies in her hair" to being over poweringly serious and back again at the drop of a hat) I think she got the seriousness bits right... needed to weigh that out with the joviality!

Mithalwen · 07-16-2004, 01:48 PM

Actually to be fair, although Sam says that about her...there aren't actually many moments of cheer recorded in FOtr that I recall..... and I do see Galadriel as Cate now.......but then she very much ressembles aiee either John Howard or Alan Lee's famous pictures of G so I guess that that helped...seeing as they were responsible for so much of the design....... and I was lucky enough to see the LOTR exhibition in London last october and that dress was amazing..it really did seem to radiate light..in a non tacky way.....

Liv Tyler was not my idea of Arwen and her acting did not win me over ..... and though I have mellowed because she does seem saner and more grounded than you would expect given the unorthodox upbringing amd marrying someone named after the "League of Gentlemen" village but I am afraid I still find her profoundly irritating... irrational maybe but there you go.... To be fair I think she would have been more convincing somehow if they had kept Stuart Townsend as Aragorn (but thank the Valar they didn't) somehow they make a more convincing couple... I feel Viggo needed someone with more depth and although neither he nor Miranda Otto exactly fitted my ideas of their chars (think Hugh Jackman maybe and oh bother can't think of the name...) ....there was a much stronger chemistry between them and both have now usurped my previous mental images...

For me Frodo and Sam have Iam Holm and Bill Nighy's voices from the BBC radio version - I think they outclass the too young and irritating Elijah and Dopey Sean.... and I think it got the nature of the relationship better .... far less gay... With Elijah and Sean... I just thought "Ted and Ralph"..... and nearly got thrown out of the cinema for laughing during Shelob....

Christopher Lee won me over as Saruman aslong as I forget the "honey tongue" ... his voice is powerful but not enchanting....

Darling, beloved Hugo is definitely Elrond.... *thud*... Legolas was not a plutonium blonde I am sure but he's got the moves if not the touch....

Sean Bean as Boromir was good, though I wish he had diluted the yorkshire accent a bit .......

However Faramir and Denethor were definitely impostors..... Denethor would never have had such table manners and Faramir should have looked more Numenorean ...... I mean David Wenham looks nice enough but Fararmir was rather special.... should have looked like a younger Hugo Weaving

VanimaEdhel · 07-16-2004, 05:16 PM

Quote:

This opinion surprises me.

In Maine, back in 1979, I knew a lithe, extremely talented cowgirl (named Karen) who had a barrel-racing palomino named Buck. While the horse was standing still, she could swing up onto his saddle one-handed.

A few of my friends are able to perform this trick, but there is completely different motion involved. In order for it to work, the horse cannot move forward at all. Typically, if they horse did move forward, it is not so much that the person would most likely misjudge the jump as it is that, no matter how light the person, the horse would be thrown off-balance. Arod is going to gallop right down a hill after the maneuver and, while Legolas is supposedly lighter due to his Elf-frame, I would think that it would still make it more difficult, especially with the compact Gimli already on his back.

And I cannot see how Orlando could have done that stunt himself unless he was attached to a harness. It is a very difficult stunt to perform without some sort of equipment aiding in lifting him onto the horse.

Actually, one flaw that irked me is that they obviously used two different horses to play Shadowfax. Look at the horse throughout The Two Towers and you will see that there are two horses of very different appearances. As well as basic physical appearances, they also had very separate demeanors. While one was very docile around horses and the other frequently moved to bite them. I do not know whether, as an avid horseback rider, I just noticed it because I was paying special attention to the horses or whether it was generally very obvious. Did anyone else notice this?

On the topic of the horses, the horse that played Asfaloth was great. He was so beautiful, and he was a real stallion rather than a gelding. Actually, he looked just like a horse at the barn at which I ride.

Viggo Mortensen, in my opinion, did very, very well in the scene where the horse that played Brego knelt next to him like that and licked his face. Although I am sure the horse was a very sweet creature, accidents do happen. If the horse was off-balance, it may have kneeled on him, breaking ribs or worse, and when it was licking him, even the most well-meaning horse can accidentally catch you with his or her teeth. These guys really did a lot for the job.

Mithalwen · 07-18-2004, 10:37 AM

I read an interview with Sir Ian McKellen and they did use two horses for Shadowfax - quite reasonable if your actor is and aged thespian who hadn't ridden before as I recall bareback and reinless would have been a bit of a challenge... "the galloping double" was indeed coinsiderably more fiery. They used a horse and a pony for gandalf's cart scenes for scale but his favourite was the pony who played Bill if I remember rightly.

Actually I was convinced there were 2 Asfaloths ..... one in close ups one in long shots (again understanderble since Liv Tyler was another novice) seems to have different markings if not different breeds...... and in half the shots he is overbent and int he others he has normal head carriage.....

Encaitare · 07-18-2004, 07:59 PM

I used to have a crush on Orlando Bloom but I've since moved on and now I think he's just a pansy. Legolas had dark hair! So that's how I've begun to think of Legolas. Also, Faramir and Boromir had dark hair, but I love David Wenham and Sean Bean's performances, so I don't mind. Eowyn was more or less how I pictured her, but I only read the third book without seeing the respective movie.

I thought Brad Dourif was perfect as Grima... I wish PJ had done the Scouring of the Shire, because he and Christopher Lee would have done it AMAZINGLY.

07-14-2004, 02:50 AM	#3
Osse Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The Encircling Sea, deciding which ship to ruin next...could be yours. Posts: 274	Yes, her portayal was suprisingly good... a bit under-jovial (remember: the Queen of the Wood went from being as "merry as any hobbit lass with daisies in her hair" to being over poweringly serious and back again at the drop of a hat) I think she got the seriousness bits right... needed to weigh that out with the joviality! __________________ 'A thinking tyrant, it seemed to Vetinari, had a much harder job than a ruler raised to power by some idiot system like democracy. At least HE could tell the people he was THEIR fault.'

07-16-2004, 01:48 PM	#4
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,461	Actually to be fair, although Sam says that about her...there aren't actually many moments of cheer recorded in FOtr that I recall..... and I do see Galadriel as Cate now.......but then she very much ressembles aiee either John Howard or Alan Lee's famous pictures of G so I guess that that helped...seeing as they were responsible for so much of the design....... and I was lucky enough to see the LOTR exhibition in London last october and that dress was amazing..it really did seem to radiate light..in a non tacky way..... Liv Tyler was not my idea of Arwen and her acting did not win me over ..... and though I have mellowed because she does seem saner and more grounded than you would expect given the unorthodox upbringing amd marrying someone named after the "League of Gentlemen" village but I am afraid I still find her profoundly irritating... irrational maybe but there you go.... To be fair I think she would have been more convincing somehow if they had kept Stuart Townsend as Aragorn (but thank the Valar they didn't) somehow they make a more convincing couple... I feel Viggo needed someone with more depth and although neither he nor Miranda Otto exactly fitted my ideas of their chars (think Hugh Jackman maybe and oh bother can't think of the name...) ....there was a much stronger chemistry between them and both have now usurped my previous mental images... For me Frodo and Sam have Iam Holm and Bill Nighy's voices from the BBC radio version - I think they outclass the too young and irritating Elijah and Dopey Sean.... and I think it got the nature of the relationship better .... far less gay... With Elijah and Sean... I just thought "Ted and Ralph"..... and nearly got thrown out of the cinema for laughing during Shelob.... Christopher Lee won me over as Saruman aslong as I forget the "honey tongue" ... his voice is powerful but not enchanting.... Darling, beloved Hugo is definitely Elrond.... thud... Legolas was not a plutonium blonde I am sure but he's got the moves if not the touch.... Sean Bean as Boromir was good, though I wish he had diluted the yorkshire accent a bit ....... However Faramir and Denethor were definitely impostors..... Denethor would never have had such table manners and Faramir should have looked more Numenorean ...... I mean David Wenham looks nice enough but Fararmir was rather special.... should have looked like a younger Hugo Weaving __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

07-18-2004, 10:37 AM	#6
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,461	I read an interview with Sir Ian McKellen and they did use two horses for Shadowfax - quite reasonable if your actor is and aged thespian who hadn't ridden before as I recall bareback and reinless would have been a bit of a challenge... "the galloping double" was indeed coinsiderably more fiery. They used a horse and a pony for gandalf's cart scenes for scale but his favourite was the pony who played Bill if I remember rightly. Actually I was convinced there were 2 Asfaloths ..... one in close ups one in long shots (again understanderble since Liv Tyler was another novice) seems to have different markings if not different breeds...... and in half the shots he is overbent and int he others he has normal head carriage..... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

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07-13-2004, 07:10 AM	#1
Lalaith Blithe Spirit Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,779	I do now see Arwen as Liv and Legolas as Orlando but they are both very handsome and elf-like IMO, so I have no problem with that!

07-13-2004, 08:12 AM	#2
ninlaith Wight Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: in my hobbit hole Posts: 204	Orlando is exactly how I pictured Legolas but with a few differences. In my minds eye Legolas had short blond hair, yet braided here and there, and had a frailer build. Orlando is frail enough but not quite enough, however, he fit the bill completely. I'd have to say one of the best supporting characters was Kate Blanchet's Galadriel. I have always held a certain affinity to Galadriel and when she swaned onto the screen it was purely magic, chills up & down. She jumped right out of the book.

07-18-2004, 07:59 PM	#7
Encaitare Bittersweet Symphony Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise Posts: 1,814	I used to have a crush on Orlando Bloom but I've since moved on and now I think he's just a pansy. Legolas had dark hair! So that's how I've begun to think of Legolas. Also, Faramir and Boromir had dark hair, but I love David Wenham and Sean Bean's performances, so I don't mind. Eowyn was more or less how I pictured her, but I only read the third book without seeing the respective movie. I thought Brad Dourif was perfect as Grima... I wish PJ had done the Scouring of the Shire, because he and Christopher Lee would have done it AMAZINGLY.