Finnish LotR

[davem]

Don't know if this has ever been linked to, but its a Finnish TV series of LotR from the early '90's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InLfF...eature=related

[Aganzir]

Most of the cast & crew had taken part in a theatre production of LOTR a few years earlier, and then they apparently just decided to make a TV series. I've only seen a few episodes, but Lommy has them on video and we've been planning to watch them all (9) for ages. You can't obviously cram the whole story of LOTR into nine episodes, so the story concentrates on FOTR and Frodo & Sam's journey to Mordor.

[Thinlómien]

They really have it on YouTube?

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love love love.

I was so depressed a few weeks ago when I decided to watch it from the very old self-recorded VHS we had and found out that our video player doesn't work anymore (probably thanks to my little cousins sticking all kinds of small things in there) and that the cassette is possibly not working.

That miniseries is simply a part of my childhood and even when I'm trying to be objective I have to say it beats PJ 10-0 most of the time. There are just so many more nuances and the atmosphere is more tolkienish. Besides the actors are quite good even though they sometimes look funny. Fun fact: Strider and Gollum are portrayed by the same actor!

If you need more info on the original play or something, you should ask Nogrod. I did not see it because I wasn't even born yet! And I was very small when this was broadcasted and my parents say I was terribly afraid of Gollum.

[Bêthberry]

I haven't watched it all yet, but the first one looks very fine. It has an aura of authenticity to it, nothing prettified by Hollywood standards, yet still beautiful. I like especially how Merry and Pippin capture different English types.

I'll be watching more as time permits. Nice find, davem. And to Lommie and Aganzir and Noggie for keeping it hidden.

[davem]

This site http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat...ies_173642.asp has ep 1 with english subtitles.

[Thinlómien]

If I had more time, I'd just love to learn to use some movie maker and make English subtitles for the rest...

[narfforc]

I have sat and watched all the episodes on youtube, thanks Dave. I must say I quite enjoyed it, though I couldn't understand their speech, you don't really need to if you know the story.

[A Little Green]

Wow, I can't believe they have it on youtube! Love!

Originally Posted by Lommy

If I had more time, I'd just love to learn to use some movie maker and make English subtitles for the rest...

If you get me a movie maker (and time) I could do that, I know how to make subtitles. (At least with one particular program the name of which I can't remember, don't know if they all work the same way..)

[Pitchwife]

Just noticed that the videos davem linked to in his original post seem to have been deleted from YouTube, but I found episodes 1-4 and the beginning of 5 with English subs here - are those by any chance your work, Greenie?

Anyway, this is a very interesting version: very gloomy (most of it makes Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz look brightly lit by comparison), very minimalistic in it's use of scenery and sfx (you can tell it evolved from a theatre play and was probably made on a small budget), relying mainly on atmosphere, music and acting, its visual side about as far removed as you can possibly get from the popular images PJ, Howe & Lee, the Hildebrandts e tutti quanti have implanted in our heads. They condensed the story a lot, of course (e.g. by cutting from the Nazgûl attack on Weathertop straight to Frodo awakening in Rivendell, so no Glorfindel), but they kept Tom Bombadil (bonus points for that!, even though he looked nothing like I imagine him), and all in all I think they captured the gist of the story quite well.
Some of the highlights: Frodo looks like an adult and indeed quite tough, Gollum is scarily mad and depraved and utterly uncute, and Gandalf is an impressive wizard even without the usual yardlong beard. And I love the idea of having the whole story told/read by old Sam Gamgee to his kids (or grandchildren?); that actor did a great job - the wistful smile when he first mentions "Frodo Reppuli" has all his love and dedication to his former master in it, all the fond memories of the good and hard times they shared, it's brilliant.

(Side-note: I watched the first three episodes without the subs while they were still available, and it's marvellous how much you can understand even without knowing the language, just by knowing the story; if nothing else, I've picked up that "ring" is "sormus" in Finnish. Learn a foreign language with LotR - not a bad idea, is it?)

I'm curious how they handled the later parts of the story - especially the Elves, but also the development of Sam's character - , so I hope whoever made the subbed versions will go on uploading the remaining episodes.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Just noticed that the videos davem linked to in his original post seem to have been deleted from YouTube

Hey, what a pity That's bad, it was still there a few days ago when I was looking...

(Side-note: I watched the first three episodes without the subs while they were still available, and it's marvellous how much you can understand even without knowing the language, just by knowing the story; if nothing else, I've picked up that "ring" is "sormus" in Finnish. Learn a foreign language with LotR - not a bad idea, is it?)

I can assure you it isn't a bad idea at all

[Morthoron]

Yes, I was able to finish Lord of the Rings quite handily. Good book. An easy read. In fact, I've finished reading it several times.

[Blind Guardian]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Yes, I was able to finish Lord of the Rings quite handily. Good book. An easy read. In fact, I've finished reading it several times.

>.< You stole my words!




Except I haven't finished it. I really should. Maybe after I read Sean Astin's There And Back Again: An Actor's Tale

[Thinlómien]

This guy has uploaded and translated the whole series: link to his YouTube uploads

I didn't watch it yet so I can't guarantee the translation is good - the parts I saw were good except that he had misspelled Minas Tirith, but he had taken care to use the exact wordings of LotR when the original script was doing that, which at least is good.

Going to watch at least some of this tomorrow, so excited!

[Thinlómien]

Watched most of it today. It's really quite awesome - you can poke Legate for some impressions since he watched it with me and he hasn't seen it a gazillion times before - but the subtitles are kind of bleh. They are too big and too in the middle of the screen and sometimes the English is quite bad. Not saying that it's ununderstandable, though, and quite many lines are straight from LotR so it's ok (except take everything Tom Bombadil says which a pinch of salt 'cos the guy apparently didn't understand him at all: TB is definitely not asking the Hobbits to tell their story to their sisters or warning them against cold aspens - I'm not sure what he said exactly in the sister case but he meant that they should tell him and the thing the Hobbits should be careful with is cold wights (kylmiä haamuja) not cold aspens (kylmiä haapoja)! And also whenever the translation says "treacherous", it doesn't mean treacherous but terrible. )

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I will second Lommy - it was an amazing way to honor the 25th March. The subtitles are unfortunate thing, just as Lommy says - too big and too in the middle and sometimes rather bad English, but I guess for a Tolkienist it is something one can withstand and in any case, the series itself is too well done for one to bother over the quality of the subtitles.

It is no Hollywoodian miracle, but I'd choose it over PJ any day. The only possible advantages of PJ's version I can think of are Saruman, Galadriel, and some of the music score (but just some. This does not have much of a music score, but in the places where it has, it is fitting and sort of "modest", which is nicely refreshing among today's epic music which starts to be a bit annyoing when being in every movie from Gladiator to Terminator).

Indeed, the sort of "modest" and also a bit "alternative" approach (I won't spoil people) is actually really nice. I like Boromir, the hobbits, Tom Bombadil (aka "shaman advice to white - and black - Americans lost in the reservation")... of the less alternative things Gandalf (who has somehow a lot more, hmm, temper, and perhaps even personality in general, than Gandalf in PJ's movie - even though I like that one too), and what is really wonderful is how the scenes are handled. At least, of course, as the movie-hater I am, I must note that THIS is how I would imagine a LotR-movie to be like: no added Arwens, no deleted Bombadils "because that'd be too long and too boring for the audience". No, instead we can cut some other parts (not going to spoil here again) - but the point is, I realise I didn't miss them at all! But even otherwise... my favourite scene is probably Frodo's attempt to "save the day" at Prancing Pony, it looks really "live" and "believable", all the people... and of course I don't even have to mention that PJ's VERY BAD "somebody runs across the room, stumbles and the ring falls on his finger" has no chance here at all.

Yes, my recommendation would be, for all those and who were displeased with PJ's version, for all those who prefer things that stick more to the canon, for friends of minimalism and creativity, for those who are not afraid of Boromir who had spend his lifetime in a Shaolin monastery - go for it. It is really worth it.