Granted, the endless slog throught Mordor and "I can't go on...I must go on...it's so heavy..." is probably the hardest going for me these days on re-reading the books.

Just so. 'It's cold. We don't have much Lembas left. My shoulder hurts. This ring is heavy.' When I read it the first time I would keep stopping to wonder if Tolkien was doing it deliberately to try and make reading about it as mind numbingly horrible as doing something about it. Now, I'm just. 'Yeah, suck it up and march, Shire Boy. Let's get to the good stuff.'

Although, let us have a moment of propers for when Sam throws away his pots, and throws them into a deep fissure to make sure Gollum won't get any of them. Like Gollum would know what to do with a pot, but the very idea of Sam crying over his pots, and casting away the last vestiges of his sense of civilization -- sob!

Also,

"Are we nearly there?" "I don't know, because I don't know where we're going."

I don't know how you make clear that it's a (really dry) Bataan Death March unless you make it sort of a death march for the reader, too.

I actually like that whole section quite a bit now. (As a kid I merrily skipped straight ahead to Mount Doom.)

When I read it the first time I would keep stopping to wonder if Tolkien was doing it deliberately to try and make reading about it as mind numbingly horrible as doing something about it.

I'm pretty sure that's exactly the feeling he was trying to capture. Think WWI battlefield, not necessarily in a combat situation, but in a watch and travel situation. I think it works really well first time out, especially if you don't know the end as a foregone conclusion, but it's mighty hard going subsequent to that.

Now, I'm just. 'Yeah, suck it up and march, Shire Boy. Let's get to the good stuff.'

Suh-nerk!

Crazy, the lot of you. Frodo & Sam walking is the good stuff. Not like those skimmable skimmable battle scenes.

I don't suppose anyone grabbed any screen shots of Fran at the GGs?

I've got the oddest picture in my head of Gollum wearing one of Sam's pots on his head, now...

I don't know how you make clear that it's a (really dry) Bataan Death March unless you make it sort of a death march for the reader, too.

True enough. Unfortunately for Mr. Tolkien and his literary intent, I know a short cut.

Katie M, I wholeheartedly accept the premise that I'm getting more immature as I age, at least until I find evidence to the contrary.

Heh. Well, in most cases I have less patience as a reader now than I did then. I dunno why RotK is different.

re: crying hobbits

I noticed Dom tearing up when PJ was accepting the Best Director award. Wanted to hug him. John R-D was there, too. And I was happy Cate Blanchett came on stage with them when they accepted the Best Picture award.

re: sam and frodo's death march

Count me among the skimmers of this. I skim lots of Frodo and Sam walking and I skim Tom Bombadil and various Rivendell stuff everytime I read LotR.

For anyone who missed the Golden Globes, they are on Bravo next weekend, I'm pretty sure.

I hope this works: Howard Shore and Fran Walsh.

(Switched to the IMDB link.)