Yeah, see, fanwanking and EE do not a strong screenplay make. It was a helluva ride, though. And pretty!
And no, you weren't the only one. Our crowd was in hysterics, which redoubled with the fade-in of Sam and Frodo STILL ON THE ROCK.
Now, this would be the perfect time for a swear word.
Kaylee ,'Jaynestown'
LotR - The Return of the King: "We named the *dog* 'Strider'".
Frodo: Please, what does it always mean, this... this "Aragorn"? Elrond: That's his name. Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Aragorn: I like "Strider." Elrond: We named the *dog* "Strider".
A discussion of Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King. If you're a pervy hobbit fancier, this is the place for you.
Volans - Dec 17, 2003 6:06:23 am PST #21 of 3902
move out and draw fire
tina f. - Dec 17, 2003 6:08:51 am PST #22 of 3902
I think my biggest WTF was the missing Eowyn and Faramir story. (Not to mention the missing Faramir story.) Here is this character that you have been made to love and cheer on and etc. and she gets told "I cannot give you what you want" from the man she loves and then boom - she's all smiley watching that man kiss his princess. And all we get is a "How you doin'" sidelong glance from Faramir as the end of her story. It annoyed.
I'm very jealous of people who had good crowds. Again, because mine SUCKED.
Jessica - Dec 17, 2003 6:12:37 am PST #23 of 3902
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
The other totally inappropriate/unintentional laugh line is when Sam gives Frodo that look right after Frodo says "I'm glad to be with you" etc. The eyebrow raise utterly wrecks me.
megan walker - Dec 17, 2003 6:13:43 am PST #24 of 3902
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
When I saw the first night showing of TTT, there were two babies in the audience (crying off and on the whole time).
Cashmere - Dec 17, 2003 6:14:09 am PST #25 of 3902
Now tagless for your comfort.
RotK was balance for me with WTF moments and the thrill of the things PJ got exactly right (IMO).
I have a list of nitpicks, but I'm going to nap on them first.
Jessica - Dec 17, 2003 6:15:39 am PST #26 of 3902
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
My audience was pretty good except for one guy yelling "OH, COME ON, JUST *END* ALREADY!" when they faded up to Sam coming home.
Which was annoying, but I did kind of sympathize (it being nearly 4 am), except that the ensuing laughter threatened to drown out Well, I'm Back.
flea - Dec 17, 2003 6:37:28 am PST #27 of 3902
information libertarian
When I saw the first night showing of TTT, there were two babies in the audience (crying off and on the whole time).
This is why I am being a good parent, if a bad geek, and waiting. Until Xmas week so grandmother can babysit.
megan walker - Dec 17, 2003 6:46:37 am PST #28 of 3902
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
Putting aside the parenting issue, if you're geeky enough to want to see the movie on the first night, buying tickets ahead of time, etc., don't you want to enjoy it without distraction?
ted r - Dec 17, 2003 6:47:21 am PST #29 of 3902
"You got twelve, and they got twelve. The old ladies are just as good as you are." -Dr. Einstein
From the Salon review:
Tolkien purists may be less happy with "The Return of the King" than with the other chapters of Jackson's trilogy. Several subplots have been dropped entirely... and others...have been whittled to almost nothing. In some alternate universe, Jackson could have made a 30-hour miniseries to make such people happy. In this universe, he has merely made the grandest and most delicate of pop spectacles, an epic that is heroic but almost never grandiose, a story of war that understands that within every great victory there lies a kind of defeat.
§ ita § - Dec 17, 2003 6:53:54 am PST #30 of 3902
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Several subplots have been dropped entirely... and others...have been whittled to almost nothing
This is intensely frustrating. I'm assuming that's what accounts, for instance for the superpowers and the lost Faramir/Eowyn -- no time to go to the healing halls. It couldn't have been longer, but it should have been.
We didn't have those laugh points. There were some Gollum laugh moments that I didn't think very funny. Some "not done YET???" outbursts formed the bulk of our vibe harshers.
My "I totally don't see why you did THAT" for the movie was definitely the Arwen thing. Made precisely zero sense. Like the Ents coming to realisation so late in TTT and Carhadras in FotR, but moreso.