Fair enough. I mean, discussing gender politics in Lord of the Rings can be tiresome enough in a pleasant room, with nice alcohol to hand. Which I'd be glad to do some time.

Ooo, yes!

Sometimes I have trouble separating my gut from my intellect. I know this. (Also had a nassty meeting to go to)

I was going to try again, but it's still not coming out right. Suffice it to say I'm seeing the movies placed within a larger framework of films that change a lot of 'historical' details, but won't mess with gender roles.

To change the topic (while staying on topic) amyth just played the 'fields of pelennor' track off of napster and it had me crying in FIFTEEN SECONDS. Even giving some credit for that to my hormones, I think that's pretty remarkable. I can't even remember what was happening, I didn't get any images. It just made me cry.

eta quotation marks to historical, b/c while the books FEEL like they happened...

Aragorn finding invisible signs of Merry and Pippin in the grass

I made the people around me snicker muttering, "There was a great battle. It ranged all over!" at that scene. (But I said it really quietly)

just played the 'fields of pelennor' track off of napster and it had me crying in FIFTEEN SECONDS. Even giving some credit for that to my hormones, I think that's pretty remarkable. I can't even remember what was happening, I didn't get any images. It just made me cry.

Oh, I know. I'm afeared to play my soundtrack cd again. I just got rid of the cried-too-much headache this morning.

There was a great battle. It ranged all over!"

Hee.

I'm taking my soundtrack CD out of the car player. I'm scared of that last track.

There was a great battle. It ranged all over!

*snorfle*

Kathy, thanks for the haiku pointer! Many of them were great but I agree the winner was best. (For those who haven't checked out this link, you should.)

The only thing that bothered me was that there was no scouring of the shire and no Saruman at the end. But I'm sure that will be on the DVD.

No to the first one; it wasn't even filmed. Yes to the second one.

eta quotation marks to historical, b/c while the books FEEL like they happened...

Funny you should say that. A friend of mine who is anything but a sentimentalist (and is in fact a history professor in his fifties who was a founder of the Tolkien Society at Michigan State) refused to go with me to the exhibition of props and sets from the movies that we had here in Toronto in '01 and '02. His reason: he didn't want to see things that would make him feel like the events of the War of the Ring didn't actually take place and he felt the exhibit might do that.

I understood his feeling instantly. I still went -- I can separate the movie version from the actual events in my mind, no problem. :)

I know that they filmed the stuff from the "Houses of Healing" and "The Voice of Saruman" and I remember seeing Eomer's grief on finding what he thinks is Eowyn's body and also seeing Merry being sworn to Theoden's service in the trailer -- but not in the films - - so likely to be in the EE. I think that if PJ had meant to film the he would have had Galadriel give Sam the same gift he got in the books.

Ahh! Whitefont disease!

Eomer's shoulders are twice as broad as everyone else's

This is quite true, and through TTT as well (though less obvious). I blame the Rohirrim armor, which has built-in shoulder pads. He's like Joan Collins in 1986, with a little bit less lipstick and probably a lot more hairspray.

Not that I would jump Joan Collins in a dark alley and tie her up for my personal delectation, but, you know.

You know what else wasn't in the movie? The "We shall see the Shire again" line from the trailer. I think it was supposed to be in the scene where Merry says goodbye to Pippin before he rides off to Minas Tirith with Gandalf.

Yes! I want that too.

And sorry for the white-fonted insanity.