Ok, I went to Butt-Numb-a-Thon this weekend. We saw the movie and Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh were there and did a Q&A after the movie. The film was extremely well-received. If anybody has questions, ask away. Please put spoilers in boxes though.
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Is the climax of the Frodo / Sam / Gollum story handled properly? (no details necessary, just your opinion, please.)
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Is Eowyn’s fight with the Witch King handled properly?
vibrotronica: If by properly you mean “by the book”, I can’t say. Never read them. However, both sequences you mention were handled beautifully. I cried. My husband, a lifelong fan of the books, also cried and thought the adaptation was wonderful.
I was a huge fan of the #2 part. Freaking awesome. Got massive cheers from the audience. I choke up just remembering it.
“I am no man!”
cbawlmer, can I play, too? I may not be the person who’s seen “Return of the King,” but I’m a person who’s seen “Return of the King.”
You’re cordially invited to share some of your opinions in this other thread.
yay!
TWDuke: Where’d you see it? You’re welcome to comment in this thread too. 
Woo-hoo! I saw it a fundraiser for PBS station KCET.
- I thought it was handled well. I won’t go into detail, but just to play it safe:
It’s very similar to the way the book depicts it, but different enough to offend some purists. It weakens the theme of salvation through grace, but it’s much more cinematic.
- Absolutely!
I can believe no one has asked this on yet:
At what point during the movie can I safely get up and visit the restroom without missing too much? Are there any visual cue? In TT, it was when Aragorn was floating in the river. Great 2 minute dash, and I missed nothing.
Anything like that here? On a good day I’m on a 2-hour bladder.
I guess this one is more for TWDuke since he knows the book: What do you think is going to be the biggest gripe from the book purists? (you know, like elves at helms deep or frodo and sam at osgiliath)
If you’re asking about additions rather than cuts, they won’t have nearly as much to complain about with ROTK as in TTT. Almost everything is directly from the book or closely parallels the book. I think of myself as a moderate purist, in that I can accept changes that make the story more cinematic but I dislike changes that needlessly weaken the themes of the book. This was the addition that bugged me:
Elrond tells Aragorn that if the Shadow isn’t defeated soon, Arwen will die. The stakes were already high enough without arbitrarily linking Arwen’s fate to the Ring, and it diminishes Aragorn to suggest that he’s leading people into battle not to save Middle-earth, but to save his bit of elven stuff. I half-expected him to say, “All right, Sauron: Now, it’s personal.”
cbawlmer, as someone whose opinion wasn’t skewed by reading the books first:
Do you think the film would have been any better if
we had another scene with Christopher Lee to explain how Saruman lost his power and how the palantir ended up in the water outside his tower, even if it would have meant adding another seven minutes or so at the beginning of the film? How about no Christopher Lee, but a brief explanation? Or do you think it was better to get right into the action?
In general, was the story easy to follow, or did you find yourself asking questions like, What was that about? Who’s he supposed to be? Why is he doing that?
Did the film go on too long after the climax? Where would you have ended it?
TWDuke: As for the question in your spoiler box:
No, I think they did the right thing. They’re starting a new movie; I think it’s best to jump into the action so you gain some momentum from the start. Otherwise it feels like you’re seeing the end of another movie. I understood what was going on and finding the palantir floating in the water was a pretty good indicator that Sauramon wasn’t a factor anymore. Plus, that scene will be on the DVD.
I found the story very easy to follow. I wasn’t confused about anything that I can remember. The movie did a good job of explaining what was necessary so I could infer anything important.
I don’t feel the ending went on too long at all. We’ve just completed this huuuuuge story; we’ve spent a lot of time with the characters and want to see how they end up. If they finished the battle, high-fived each other and cut to the credits, I’d feel really cheated. Full circle is a good thing, and
it’s good to see them get what they were fighting for, and the effect the events of the whole adventure had on the characters. They’re not the same people they were when they started, and it gives the entire saga a lot of resonance to see the hobbits back in their native surroundings where we first met them and notice the change. Sam has more self-confidence and is able to build a nice life in the world he helped save. Frodo is also able to see the results of his sacrifices even though he cannot enjoy them very much. It’s the resolution of all this that separates this story from any generic fantasy/action yarn.
I was concerned re: one thing I saw in the way the trailers were cut:
[spoiler]From the trailers, it appears that Aragorn is leading the Rohirrim–including the disguised Eowyn–into the battle of the Pelennor Fields.
In the book, though, Eowyn rides into battle with Theoden, and kills the Witch-King, all while Aragorn is sailing up from the south in the stolen Corsairs. Aragorn later leads everyone to battle before the black gates–but at that point, Eowyn is lying in the hospital. What gives? Was this just tight editing of two widely spaced scenes? Or did PJ mush all the action together?[/spoiler]
toadspittle: Don’t worry, that’s just the way the trailer was edited.
whew!
cbawlmer, your answer to my question about the ending is beautiful, and I’m glad you were able to get that out of the film. Some reviewers have criticized the film for going on too long or having “too many endings,” so comments like yours are refreshing and encouraging.