Say 'friend' and enter

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2004)

Comments on the now completed film - not just ROTK.

Say 'friend' and enter, else let your prejudice prevent your respecting what is categorically the greatest cinematic achievement to date.
Imagine having the arrogance to believe that you have the vision and imaginative energy to put together a ten hour film that does justice to the seminal work of fantasy literature..... Take a step back my cynical friends and measure this extraordinary accomplishment against the mountains of uninspired patronizing Holywood rubbish with which we are daily assailed.
Consider the sheer hotspur and determination required to see the work to it's conclusion and to remain consistent and steadfast to the vision over many years. Think of the thousands of actors and technicians with whom you must have the energy and communication skills to share your vision.
No. No one has come close to this as an achievement. Even if the end product were merely 'so so', I'd be saying the same thing. But regardless of the quibbles that you are bound to have with something this provocative - Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' is a far better movie than anything this long has a right to be.
LOTR is comparable in breadth and success with Wagner's Ring Cycle, or the Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel and with Tolkien's original novel of course. To bring together convincingly all the elements required to make the film a success is no less a worthy achievement than these 'gesumptkunstwerk'.
Many criticisms arise from judging the three movies separately. This is incredibly unfair imho. The ending of ROTK is not too long when considered the end of a ten hour movie. Similarly, the final Opera of Wagner's Ring cycle is fairly pointless without the proceeding three, and is rarely performed or judged on it's own. (Now Im not a Wagner nut myself - but this doesn't stop me from appreciating what is an incredible work of art.)

It's a shame that small, rather petty prejudices - born often out of loyalty to other movies as much as basic 'fantasyphobia' - prevent some (a tiny minority for sure) from appreciating the film for what it is.
I'd ask the cynics to take the time and effort to stand back and admire LOTR from an objective distance. For some this is a long walk. However the view, like the location in which it was shot, is breathtaking.