"My friends, you bow to no one"

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Essex

So to say it is superfluous or honey sweet then we must include Tolkien's work itself in this criticism.....

Not necesarily. You can watch a scene from a movie, who is identical to what is written in a book and still they have a very different influence on you. . .
When reading the passage you highligted, I did not feel it was to honey sweet, but it did not move me either. Still when I see that "bowing scene" I think it is awful. . .

[Essex]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

When reading the passage you highligted, I did not feel it was to honey sweet, but it did not move me either.

Then I must pity you as you sound like not much could "move" you then!

The "common man" has succeeded and saved the World. We have lived and breathed through thick and thin with these characters, esp. Frodo and Sam - we've gone to the brink of Death and Disaster with them - We stood by Frodo at the Cracks of Doom as he nearly threw the Quest away - but his compassion for Gollum redeemed him and they saved Middle-earth in the end.....

Now we move onto the field of Cormallen. Our protagonists have completed their quest - they find their kindred and friends alive, and are greeted by a friend who is now King of all the Western lands and he bows to them and orders all his kindred to Praise them.

This seems very moving to me...............


PS let's compare the two scenes in a nutshell

Movie - "My friends, you bow to no-one" and Aragorn and all Kneel down

Book - "Praise them with great praise" as Aragorn Kneels and sits them on his throne.

They seem very simillar to me - one works well on paper and the other on celluloid. Neither seems crass or honey sweet to me. What I'm saying is that if one criticises the movie, one must criticise the novel too.......

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Essex

What I'm saying is that if one criticises the movie, one must criticise the novel too.......

and i disagree. . . It is not everything that works well in writing that automaticaly works well in a movie. So when I criticise a movie, that does not mean that I criticies the book.

[calandil]

it was a nice touch t the whole things,imagine these blokes who have never been out of the shire before being respected by all the lords and ladies of middle-earth

[Lalaith]

Praising the Ringbearers with great praise is fine. Bowing to all four hobbits is not. Pippin and Merry were vital members of the Fellowship, yes, but so was Aragorn himself, and the rest of them. Carrying the One Ring was a particular, specific and unique burden, and it was for that Frodo and Sam were being singled out and honoured.

But the bed-scene was far worse, makes any sensible adult viewer want to stare at their feet with embarrassment. Mostly because of the expression on Elijah Wood's face: he is not a good enough actor to carry off such a potentially ludicrous situation with any sense of innocence or dignity.

[Essex]

I think Elijah's acting was excellent.

And yes the bed scene was a bit 'schmultsy' - but I think its a fair eonough scene for Frodo - he thought most of his friends were dead, so why can't he be happy? And the look between Frodo and Sam was beautiful.

Across the whole trilogy, jackson has got his actors giving so much, just by a look and an expression - he really got as much as possible out of the characters in this way, and all (in my opinion) did a really good job.

[Rikae]

Essex, I'm glad you mentioned the scene from the book. I knew there was something similar, but I couldn't remember what.
I'll have to forego the elevated status that cynicism gives & admit that I loved the bowing scene, and yes, I even got teary-eyed the first time I watched it. I hate superfluous "feel good" scenes as much as anyone, but I can't count this scene among them. I suppose much of the credit for that goes not to Jackson, but to Tolkien for crafting the story which led up to it. The scene is not (in my opinion) over-the-top because the pain and darkness that precede it are so intense, and after following Sam & Frodo on such a harrowing journey the honor seems, if anything, less than what they deserve. At the same time, knowing how humble the hobbits have always been it's obvious that they don't see it that way. Still, I can't really understand the inclusion of Merry and Pippin either, but it somehow felt right to see them standing with Frodo & Sam.

As for the bedroom scene...
I saw a video clip of it before actually watching the movie, and I thought it was a spoof. Slow motion? Gandalf cackling like a maniac? The unavoidable "orgy" analogy? I can't imagine what possessed PJ...