My rant about Return of the King (extended) **Spoilers**

[Coventina]

Ok, so I rushed out and got the extended ROTK yesterday (my xmas present to myself) and immediately watched it.

I have to say that I am VERY DISAPPOINTED!!

Almost an hour has supposedly been added, but where????

Yes, there is the resolution of the Saruman story, and I believe it was well done, pretty much like the book, but in a different setting (those who have read the books will know what I mean).

My beef is the Faramir/Eowyn story. AAAARRRGGHHH!!!!!!
I was hoping, no, EXPECTING to see their relationship play out, not just some quick cuddle that has no build up or explanation!!!!!
:mad:

Why, oh WHY did Peter Jackson spend SO MUCH TIME with those two characters, show both of their heartbreaks and physical collapses AND THEN JUST LEAVE IT?!?!?!?!?!
It's bad storytelling and bad moviemaking and frankly, we (and the characters) deserve better!!!!!!!

For me, this ruins the whole thing. I accepted it in the theatrical release, thinking, "Well, it'll be in the extended version". Bah!
Instead, there's plenty of time for dumb Arwen scenes that were never in the original story to begin with.
:mad: :mad: :mad:

on edit: improved grammar

[tjdee]

Agree Arwen was overdone--but Aragorn is more important than

Faramir/Eowynn, I guess, is the point Jackson is making?

I thought just the two of them standing together at the end of the theatrically released version was hilarious, I chuckled when I saw it, because as you said they didn't bother to even explain what was going on.

[Crunchy Frog]

1. I feel for you. I haven't actually watched

the third installment yet because I was so disappointed with the first two. I've just been waiting for the extended version to come out so I can rent it. Haven't gotten to it yet though.

As a lover of Tolkien's works, I absolutely hated what Peter Jackson did to the story.

Preparing for the flames now.

[impeachthescoundrel]

2. I love d the story

Having read the trilogy at least 15 times, I was thrilled that Peter Jackson was making the movie.

My only real disappointment is at the end. When the hobbits returned home from the quest, the Shire was like a cesspool. Wormtongue was there. Never saw him in the whole movie.

[DrWeird]

3. I disagree. I liked the Arwen scenes.

The Arwen and Aragorn story in the appendix of LOTR was one of the best parts of the book. It couldn't have been translated literally to film, so the best approach was how they did it.

The Faramir Eowyn thing in the books was more like an arranged marriage. Faramir was second choice, as it were.

[Coventina]

4. You better have your asbestos undies on!!!

:P

How can you say that?!

The romance of Faramir and Eowyn is one of the most touching parts of the whole trilogy. The two wounded souls finding solace and healing in each other!!!! It's beautiful and moving and very fulfilling!!!!

Now go sit in your shame closet and think about what you've done!

:evilgrin:

[DrWeird]

5. It was about as romantic as a bad blind date.

It's like somebody hooking up their two loser friends.

[Coventina]

7. OK, that does it!!!!!!!!

:spank:
:spank:
:spank:

And what, pray tell, is so great about Arwen?

In the books all she does is sew a dumb flag or something.
She doesn't do anything cool like KILL THE FRICKING WITCH KING!!!!!

[DrWeird]

8. First off, Eowyn only got the Witch King on a silly technicality.

And if you want to talk about general badassery, Arwen could have walked all over Eowyn in that deparment.

Secondly, you did read the appendices, right?

[Coventina]

9. Hey Eowyn had the guts to put it on the line.

She didn't know about the "silly technicality" that allowed her to accomplish the feat. She was brave enough to face down Witchy-Poo when most people (men) ran screaming from his presence.

Yes, I have read the appendices, but I'll admit it was a long time ago.

I just have to admit that I never found Arwen that interesting.
Eowyn was always my girl.

[Crunchy Frog]

10. I totally agree with you concerning Eowyn and Arwen.

Arwen does so little in the books that she might as well not even be there. Eowyn is a truly interesting, complex character who totally kicks ass when she kills the Witch King.

The romance story in the Appendix is nice, but ultimately does very little to make Arwen a more interesting character, which is too bad, because Tolkien was very good at creating truly interesting and active female characters.

I also agree with your characterization of the Eowyn/Faramir romance.

I would be very happy to get into a flame war with anyone concerning the subject.

[Coventina]

11. Thanks Crunchy! And I re-read the appendices last night.

It didn't change my mind about Arwen vs. Eowyn either.

Heck, Arwen was already more than 2000 years old when she met Aragorn. How the heck does someone with (hopefully) the wisdom and knowledge of 2000 years fall in love with a mortal of a few decades?
Was she just really, really immature for an elf? Oh well, love is love. You can't argue with the heart I guess.

Thanks for the support on the Eowyn/Faramir romance.

The heartbreak of the movie version for me is that I REALLY LIKED both the actors that played Eowyn and Faramir. I thought they really did well with the characters (we won't discuss the CHANGES made by Jackson, that's a different issue). So I was really looking forward for the BIG PAYOFF of them finding each other and falling in love. *sigh*

[WMliberal]

12. whatever. You know she's going to be doing it

with Faramir, but thinking of Aragorn. Convenience was the first word that came to mind when I read it. It was as if Tolkein had a checklist of good guys still alive that needed happy endings. Eowyn didn't get the guy she wanted, but hey, the guy just below him is available!
It just seemed more like "rebound guy" than true love.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. That wasn't my interpretation at all.

My feeling was that the "love" she felt for Aragorn was more a product of her unhealthy mental state at the time. Aragorn is someone she latches on to out of her own sense of desperation and being trapped. That the feelings she had for him were not genuine love, but were mistaken by her for it.

I felt that the love that eventually grew between Eowyn and Faramir was more far more "real", something that Eowyn was only capable of after the transformative and maturing experiences that she had gone through.

Anyway, if you want to take this into the Fantasy Literature forum and battle it out there, I'm game.:)

[TlalocW]

6. Ha, You Silly Person

Don't you realize that in a few years, an even more extended version of the LOTR movies will come out? And then a few more years after that will be another one. Finally around the 10th anniversary of the first movie, they'll release the "Super-Duper, Mega-Gargantuan, Me Love You Long Time, Super-Gold, This Is the Last One, We Promise (just kidding - written in very small font) Edition." That one will have the Eowyn-Faramir stuff that you want.

By then the DVD will have been replaced by something 1/3rd its size, but the box holding all the disks for the extended movies, interviews, behind the scene specials, where are the actors now bits, history of Lord of the Rings, and other special features will weight 50 pounds.

TlalocW