LotR1-FotR-Seq09

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Several brief comments

I liked the Council of Elrond overall, (especially the
MTV easter egg ) but it was irritating that
PJ and friends didn't put in the obvious (book)
quote by Elrond: "And I will put the nine walkers against
the nine riders." (exact quote may be off). He could even
have said "nazgul riders" (or horsemen) to make the
allusion obvious to nonbook viewers.

I believe Barliman says "He's one of them rangers",
indicating that even in PJ's movie there are rangers
ranging somewhere around Eriador.

And Sean Bean does make a sympathetic Boromir.
And exactly why is Leggy, and not Elrond,
correcting Boromir? (Oh, yeah, more screen time
for the blond elf).

It was an excellent touch putting in Gandalf giving
his Black Speech bit. As for Gloin, I just assumed he was
the dwarf next to Gimli. And let's be thankful
that Gimli wasn't tossed away from the Ring when he
tried to destroy it.

[mormegil]

The Council of Elrond was good at accomplishing its purpose, telling us what had to happen to the ring. It can be presumed that the others in attendance, knew of the ring and were brought up to speed prior to our arriving on this scene. If I remember correctly though the theatrical release made less sense. They didn't have Gandalf standing up speaking the black toungue and they cut out some of Boromir. So it seemed, if I remember, more like:

Elrond: Okay we have Isildur's bane
Boromir: Let's keep it and use it
Elrond/Gandalf/Aragorn: NO we can't
Gimli: Well I'll break it
Everybody: Who will take it and let's argue now.

Boromir was greatly added to in the EE and I greatly appreciate this. It helps to showcase Sean Bean and I apprecaite his acting in this scene. It's great to see the seed of lust and doubt already begin to sprout in his mind. After it was just spoken that we cannot use the ring and the issue should be final he again hits the point and doesn't give up on wanting it. We're already getting the idea that Boromir will fall in the end.

As for Aragorn renouncing his claim on the Kingdom, I ask again why? I just see no need for this departure from the book. It weakens Aragorn as a character and he seems overly riddles with holes of self-doubt. Now when he has to lead the company sans Gandalf I can see and agree with his self-doubt but at this stage and on this issue I disagree wholly. Aragorn always prepared for the day when he would take up the Kingship. I would rather see a confident, yet humble Aragorn which PJ and company did not portray well at all.

Ian Holmes gets an A+ for his acting here, especially after our little "Bilbo Monster" attempts to grab the ring and he feels so bad about what burden has been laid on Frodo. I feel his sincerity and sorrow for this. A rather well done role and perfectly casted, unlike Elrond who was cast horribly.

[Lathriel]

The moment Bilbo reaches for the ring certainly made me jump a couple of times.
I really like it when the red book of Westmarch is shown but then I love books in general.
I like the council the way it is, if it had been longer I think it would have weakened the movie. For me one of the strongest part is when the people begin to fight and it is reflected in the ring. Essentially this is what it is all about. All of them, even Sauron himself are tied to ring. Actually the Title of Lord of the Rings translated in Dutch is "In the Ban van de ring" which literally translated means "Under the influence of the ring" and I find this really fits the book since each character is affected by it.
At first I didn't like Merry and Pippin bursting into the council but I have gotten used to it and I just can't help smiling every time I hear Pippin say, "Where are we going?"
As for Elrond looking somewhat happier, its because he is thinking, "finally I got rid of this ring and I can go back to the west and leave those stupid humans behind."

[Elladan and Elrohir]

Wait, no! He's smiling because he's thinking, "You're going to get there to Mount Doom with him, Gandalf, and he's going to refuse to throw the Ring in. Then you'll sympathize with me."

Alatar, thanks for heading this up and starting these threads. I actually laughed out loud when I read your bits in this sequence and the previous one about Elrond and his story. I think it's good to start these threads with a light heart.

Boromir . . . what can I say? He's awesome. Of course, the knowledge from TTT EE that he's a secret agent sort of puts a damper on things, but he's still awesome. Sean Bean is spectacular in that role.

As an actor, Hugo Weaving is everything I've ever imagined Elrond to be. Obviously the script leaves a little to be desired. Physical appearance, voice, both awesome. Of course, I'm coming from the seemingly unique position of never having watched any of the Matrix movies, so I don't think "Agent Elrond" every time I see him.

I think the Council is good overall; it's cut down, but still gets the gist in there. PJ doesn't have an hour to spend educating moviegoers on the finer points of Ringlore, and he wouldn't even if he did. The most important thing about it is that Frodo's choice is left intact. This is one of the most powerful moments of the trilogy, even if Merry and Pippin do milk it for laughs.

Oh, and I love the brief look Legolas gives after Gimli says, "And my axe."

In Ian Holm's last real scene, he's awesome as usual. He totally captures the essence of Bilbo. Is it me, or is his rubber mask, and the shot of it, intentionally reminiscent of Gollum? It reminds me of the first Gollum scene from TTT, the shot where he puffs his cheeks while reaching for the Ring. Maybe someone could come up with a side-to-side comparison of those two shots?

[alatar]

More people see Boromir as a "secret agent" than did I, and I wonder if this is due to my having more sympathy and understanding for this 'flesh and bones' Boromir than the one portrayed in the books.

I realize that in TTT Boromir is given a mission by Denethor, but I don't see Denethor's influence at the Council (thought that maybe it's some of those other humans that are hanging around). Surely Boromir is tempted by the Ring - wasn't Gandalf? - but this is something inside of him, not from his father. We will see that later. I think that with all that Boromir has seen recently - elves, Narsil, the heir of Isildur - that he's a bit snow blind. He reached out and handled Narsil, and my feeling is that he just wanted to get the Ring's measure also. He joins the Council, not for the dark whispering or cold council of the Steward's, but because this is an honorable man who knows better than even Aragorn that there's a job to do.

Maybe I'm just naive, or compensating for years of "Boro-bashing."

[Elladan and Elrohir]

Yeah, you know, alatar, when I look back on it, I do sympathize with Boromir. Especially because the scene in TTT EE gives the distinct impression that he doesn't want the Ring, that his father's forcing him to go. I guess "secret agent" isn't the best phrase for it. You can't look into his face at the Council and say, "Yep, this guy's just trying to get the Ring so he can take it back to Daddy."

I'm not sure about him being more heroic than Aragorn at this point, though. I mean, it's not like Aragorn's some naive little boy who doesn't know what it's going to take to get to Mount Doom. The dude was walking in the shadows of Ephel Duath before Boromir was born. In fact, I would almost say that movie 'Gorn is nobler than book 'Gorn in this scene, because book 'Gorn is on his way to Minas Tirith, while as far as movie 'Gorn knows, he's going to Mount Doom.

[Lathriel]

My opinion of Boromir never dampened after TTT EE because you could clearly see his reluctance in going to Rivendell. I actually began liking Boromir more as a character in the movie then I had when I read the book. In his speech about Gondor you can see he really cares about his country.
I actually haven't seen the whole first matrix movie but it was enough to see Elrond as "Agent Elrond"