I agree. And I thought the actor showed Eowyn’s dismay at how hard battle is–it took everything she had. I wish we had more of the Houses of Healing stuff, though. And about the only deleted scene I dislike is the one where they chose to make Eowyn bad at cooking–as if a woman who hungers for glory can’t also make stew. :rolleyes:
Things PJ got right:
I’d say about 90% of it all. Arwen clanks sometimes, but overall she’s ok. The rest of the casting is inspired. I never like Elrond much to begin with, but I liked his depiction in the films.
Viggo as Aragorn is massively wonderful, but then I prefer the more ambivalent Aragorn to Mr Throw Your Head Back and Crow About Who You Are Book Aragorn.
The setting, the sets, the light, the moods, the atmosphere. All perfect. He captured Middle Earth and its antiquity very well. The costumes as well, especially the elves and the soldiers. The score is phenomenal–did he win an Oscar? He should have.
I really like the acceptance of other kinds in the world–there is some childlike wonder from the Hobbits re the Elves, but other than that, oddities of each race is just there.
The seamlessness of the EE on DVD. I wish Harry Potter would do the same.
My nitpicks:
Some of the dialogue. Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. Especially between Aragorn and Arwen (do you remember the night we met? or some such. The line by Aragorn about the White Wizard putting a spell on them etc). And yet there is some wonderful, moving dialogue there as well (some of it taken directly from Tolkien). The parting scene between Eowyn and Aragorn always makes me tear up.
I cannot think of anyone who would have done it better. I think we should be glad that it’s been done and done to such a high standard that it won’t be done again anytime soon. When I think of how awful it all could have been, I think we all dodged some very nasty bullets.
Everything, everything, and everything (especially excising Tom Bombadil). PJ took a dull, tedious, and overwrought book series and turned it into nine hours of something at once moving, beautiful, thrilling, and terrifying.
The casting was virtually note-perfect, from the bigger stars to the lesser-known players (e.g. Bernard Hill) who routinely blew those bigger stars off the set.
The constructed sets (Shire, Rivendell, Moria, Lothlorien, Minas Tirith, etc.) were absolutely stunning. The Shire looked lived-in. Minas Tirith looked ancient and in decline. Fantastic.
Pretty much everything I could think of has already been said, but I will add one point: Filming it New Zealand. Mainly because it provided an endless amount of jokes for the Flight of the Conchords.
Agree with most of the above, especially the casting and how dedicated everyone involved was. Watching the EE documentaries, you realize this was a life changing project for all the people involved, and their dedication really shows in the look and feel of the films. And for that I will forgive PJ and crew for the silly stuff like Legolas shield surfing, Gimli the comedian, and the other stupid things. I don’t think anyone else would have or could have made a Middle Earth that actually looked like Middle Earth. Speilberg would have strayed farther from the books than PJ, IMO. Lucas…just…no. Not after the hash he made of his own series.
Also: The costumes. Everything looked just right, the Orcs, the Gondorians, the Rohirim, the Elves, and Dwarves, all looked exactly like I’d pictured it. Especially if you watched the documentaries on the Extended Editions and realize how much work went into everything, how all the weapons were hand forged, the little touches on the main pieces, it all looks awesome. The people involved in making the armor and costumes deserve a special commendation for really making Middle Earth come to life.
The Sets. I have to say I didn’t know anything about New Zealand before watching these films, but now I realize it must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Especially impressive to me were: Hobbiton, Rivendale, Moria, and Minas Tirith. I had a lot of trouble picturing Minas Tirith in my head as I was reading the books, but it really came to life in Return of the King. Helm’s Deep I kind of liked, but it seemed much smaller than I’d pictured it.