Fond memories

[Flittermouse]

Good stories, guys... anybody got more?

[Encaitare]

My memories of FotR and TTT are nothing special, since I didn't see FotR in the theater, and only saw TTT once. But RotK... oh man, I remember being so damn excited for the whole day in school. I couldn't go to the midnight showing but I went right after school on December 17. The first time seeing it was amazing (I dressed up, too), but not the best. The best time was when I went with a bunch of crazy friends, and we sat in the front row because there were no other seats. We had the most fun time, and we got the whole theater to clap at around 7 different points in the movie... such little instigators we are. ^ ^ Then we stayed for all the credits and screamed like madwomen for all the actors... loudest of all for Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Howard Shore, and the brilliant Prof. Tolkien. I remember feeling incredibly sad to see "The End" on the screen... I couldn't imagine it drawing to a close. Very sad but wonderful... that's why I have mixed feelings about watching RotK. It's my favorite movie, but I always feel a little sad at the end because it's, well, the end.

Good times, though, good times.

[Meela]

Return of the King was the first of the trilogy I saw on the opening night, and so was the first time I experienced the first-night frenzy. It gave me such a buzz, seeing hundreds of Lord of the Rings fans gathered in the theater. A lot of them were in costume or wore some sort of Tolkien token. It was great to be part of something that was special to so many of us.
I remember I took a notebook and pen with me so I could take notes about the movie (details of what was included, moments I'd read about beforehand, etc), and I was furiously scribbling down random words such as "heads!" "eek!" and "Gandalf to the rescue!" through the interval.
It was a frantic rush at the start, getting decent seats, braving certain death by trampling to get candy and novelty Pepsi cartons. I don't think I breathed properly until I emerged in the foyer several hours later, my tunic crumpled and picking bits of popcorn out of my hair (yes, I wore a Gondorian tunic. Nothing else would do). The evening was an adrenaline rush; the Tolkien fanatic's alternative to four consecutive bungee jumps.

[Jjudvven]

I agree. Although the movies didn't turn out to be everything they could be, around Christmastime of every year was a time of unparalleled excitement for me, and something that I will always remember. I only saw the Return of the King on opening night as well, but I will never forget any of the other times I saw the movies. I still have all my ticket stubs(and there are quite a few!).

[Lathriel]

I think one thing that will be funny is that in the future when ( for those who are still teenagers and in the early twenties) you have kids you can tell them... When I was young the LOTR movies came out etc. etc. etc.