Fantastic, challenging, ultimately misunderstood

Rating: 10/10 (7 March 2005)

Love, friendship, courage. Persistence. That's what it's about to me. A fairy tale for the ages, over the expanse of time, a small band of quietly heroic brothers who have been given an impossible task.
It is the story we all dream about living (admit it)- but never will, except through films like these. Tolkein's books weren't especially great in the scheme of literature or storytelling quality (I must say I doze every time I read Bombadil, so thank goodness they left that out - sorry hardcore folks!), so the films were built on imperfection.
Though, Tolkein's brilliance shines through the imperfections, and no one else has been able to touch it since. So my take on the films is just that - they have the same brilliance built on imperfection. And does that not embody the spirit of the story itself? The harsh details, the flawed characters, the ugly and disgusting, the beauty of the landscapes and the music, the pain and triumphs of the ordinary being. To me, the changes from the book were appropriate for today's viewing audience. Of course J.R.R. would probably find the films completely incorrect - but he died 32 years ago. Audiences are very different now.
Each film is long, and too long for any person to sit still for. Especially the last hour of RotK, which was simply extended to please too many different audiences (unforunately failed to please many at all).
But watching in appropriately measured viewings on DVD, my soul still sinks at the tragedies, and tears flow when the incredible Howard Shore soundtrack tugs at my heart. The DVD commentaries are hugely important to those interested in the films, because the details are astounding.
After reading many of the extremely negative (and almost silly) reviews, it is clear many miss the message of it all - possibly a lack of attention span, forcibly having to read subtitles for Elvish, maybe not understanding the books - I can't really say why. This film trilogy, obviously, is not meant to compare to a "Die Hard" or other action films. And the comparisons of Lord of the Rings to the Godfather movies or even Star Wars scream ignorance at its worst. I hope that those folks will read the books (again) and watch the films again, so they can understand the limitations and triumphs of each medium a little better.
Namarie...