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Screencap of the Day: Wrapping up ROTK :)

Loresilme
Valinor


Aug 20 2014, 4:33pm

Post #1 of 9 (1306 views)
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Screencap of the Day: Wrapping up ROTK :) Can't Post

Here we are, 'at the end of all things' - the last series of screenshots for this cycle of SCOD.


Frodo boards the ship and Sam looks to the West


Frodo's journey and Sam's journey


Elanor, Sam, Rosie and Frodo-lad


"Well, I'm back"


"The End"



1. Which of these images do you find the most meaningful?
2. Was this enough endings or would you have liked more :)?
3. Does the ending affect you differently when you watched the films in a theater, versus when you watch on your own?
4. Is your perspective on these scenes (composition, acting, music, etc.) any different now than when you first saw them?
5. Any other comments on our final SCOD of this series?


Thank you to everyone who joined in SmileHeartSmile.


CuriousG
Half-elven


Aug 20 2014, 9:03pm

Post #2 of 9 (1060 views)
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The End, and we really mean it this time [In reply to] Can't Post

I wouldn't mind more endings, but Sam's end in the book has forever been a disappointment to me because it seems flat, and I don't think the movie could improve on it.. I think the movie got the scene of the ship sailing west just totally perfect, and for my emotional end, it all stops there. The rest is credits. And, I think the ship sailing west gets better with every viewing.


BlackFox
Half-elven


Aug 20 2014, 9:51pm

Post #3 of 9 (1042 views)
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The End [In reply to] Can't Post

1. Which of these images do you find the most meaningful?
Boy, that’s a tough choice to make! I’d have to go with the last look at Frodo. That blissful smile on his face! There’s genuine happiness and hope in his eyes again. It’s the first sign of healing, brought on by the mere promise of peace and comfort across the Sea. This is not the end, but another adventure.
Honorable mention: the ship sailing away into the West. Every end is a new beginning. Evil
2. Was this enough endings or would you have liked more?
I would gladly sit through twice as many endings! Laugh For example, I would love to have seen this scene make it to the screen:

Quote
And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise. (ROTK, The Grey Havens)

Ah well, at least we got a taste of it through Gandalf’s words to Pippin during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
3. Does the ending affect you differently when you watched the films in a theater, versus when you watch on your own?
I unfortunately never got to see the LOTR films in the theatre. Frown Though I can say I like to watch scenes like this alone sometimes as I can cry like a baby without any shame then. Tongue
4. Is your perspective on these scenes (composition, acting, music, etc.) any different now than when you first saw them?
The deeper I dig into Tolkien’s lore and the more time I spend watching, enjoying and thinking about these films, the more I come to appreciate them, the stronger I feel they affect me. Nothing compares to the first impression, of course, but there might be even bigger joy to discovering new details and nuances on every new viewing.
5. Any other comments on our final SCOD of this series?
I’m happy they decided to end the film on a positive, bright note. Sam returns to his family. Life goes on. Goodness prevails. And the final shot of the door closing is simply perfect! It’s like closing a book (or the last of three books) after a magical journey in a fantastical world.
Thank you, Loresilme, for wrapping things up! Smile


“As he caught his footing, his head fell back, and the Milky Way flowed down inside him with a roar.” - Yasunari Kawabata, Snow Country

(This post was edited by BlackFox on Aug 20 2014, 9:58pm)


Loresilme
Valinor


Aug 21 2014, 3:34pm

Post #4 of 9 (1000 views)
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Er ....maybe, lol ;) [In reply to] Can't Post

Couldn't resist throwing in a few more ending SCODs Wink.

I'm curious, CuriousG Cool- which ending you're referring to:



In Reply To
Sam's end in the book has forever been a disappointment to me because it seems flat, and I don't think the movie could improve on it



Do you mean the "Well, I'm back." line? Or something else?


Darkstone
Immortal


Aug 21 2014, 6:20pm

Post #5 of 9 (995 views)
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Well... [In reply to] Can't Post

1. Which of these images do you find the most meaningful?

The fourth. Sam, the Romantic hero of the film (Frodo is the Germanic hero) returns to his life, with his new family, in a start-up duplex. A very meaningful statement of how war affects people. Sometimes you can get on with your life, sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you grow to can grasp the important things in life, like that girl you never had the courage to ask out. Sometimes you’re so wounded you feel like everything in life has slipped through your fingers like water.


2. Was this enough endings or would you have liked more :)?

More is good.


3. Does the ending affect you differently when you watched the films in a theater, versus when you watch on your own?

The first time I was expecting Sam to return to the magnificence Bag End, so I was delighted that Jackson chose to show what was truly important: Not the big empty box that Frodo had returned to, but a small humble duplex. Crowded, true, but filled with love and a growing family. If only Frodo had been so lucky…


4. Is your perspective on these scenes (composition, acting, music, etc.) any different now than when you first saw them?

I love how the color palette is graded towards yellow-gold, in honor of Elanor the Fair.


5. Any other comments on our final SCOD of this series?

I remember some people criticized Frodo’s nod of the head as “too modern”, but then some people think the current generation invented sex, aliens had to build the pyramids, ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians had no idea what the central nervous system was, and not one single medieval soldier was ever stupid enough to think “Hey! I could stand on my shield and surf down these stairs!” Kids today!

******************************************
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man pierced with many black-feathered arrows, must be in want of a funeral."


CuriousG
Half-elven


Aug 21 2014, 7:56pm

Post #6 of 9 (988 views)
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"And they lived happily ever after. The end." [In reply to] Can't Post

Sorry, I wasn't more clear, but yes, it's the "Well, I'm back" that I've never liked, and I think I dislike it so much in the book that even if there was a huge Sam parade in Hobbiton in the movie, I'd still just want it all to stop at the Grey Havens in both book and movie.


FrogmortonJustice65
Lorien


Aug 21 2014, 11:56pm

Post #7 of 9 (986 views)
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quick Q [In reply to] Can't Post

would you care to elaborate on the distinction between germanic and romantic heroes?

 photo cbccab4e-f61e-4be5-aaa1-20e302430c7c.jpg


FrogmortonJustice65
Lorien


Aug 22 2014, 12:02am

Post #8 of 9 (985 views)
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another interesting perspective, RE: Germanic heroes and LOTR [In reply to] Can't Post

http://books.google.com/books?id=B0loOBA3ejIC&pg=PA269&lpg=PA269&dq=frodo+germanic+hero&source=bl&ots=hiBHbIad1i&sig=WW3B6_5lxjR29buEFVdM9lUgh38&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j4f2U4zRJ5O1yASt5IHYCQ&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=frodo%20germanic%20hero&f=false

this book seems to say Frodo is the opposite of a Germanic hero. Page 269

 photo cbccab4e-f61e-4be5-aaa1-20e302430c7c.jpg


Darkstone
Immortal


Aug 22 2014, 1:44pm

Post #9 of 9 (1041 views)
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"Weird often saveth The undoomed hero if doughty his valor!" [In reply to] Can't Post

Sam is the Romantic hero. He goes on a quest, fights a monster, comes back home, sets things right, and gets the girl.

Frodo is the Germanic hero. He is the Ringbearer. (Note he is not the "Ringdestroyer". Thats a *very* important distinction!) It is his wyrd, his destiny, to bear the ring to Mount Doom. But he doesn’t have to. He can betray his wyrd and turn away. Which in Anglo-Saxon culture was the absolute worst thing you could do. (Like breaking an oath in Middle-earth.)

Now Wyrd or Fate is often represented as a thread being spun. Various fibers are twisted together to form a thread, which in turn is woven into a pattern. Note the various fibers that make up the threads of Aragorn, Frodo, and Elrond:

Aragorn:

"I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again!”

Frodo:

"You see: Mr. Drogo, he married poor Miss Primula Brandybuck. She was our Mr. Bilbo's first cousin on the mother's side (her mother being the youngest of the Old Took's daughters); and Mr. Drogo was his second cousin. So Mr. Frodo is his first and second cousin, once removed either way, as the saying is, if you follow me.”

Elrond:

"'So it was indeed,' answered Elrond gravely. `But my memory reaches back even to the Elder Days. Eärendil was my sire, who was born in Gondolin before its fall; and my mother was Elwing, daughter of Dior, son of Lúthien of Doriath.”

So Aragorn can turn away from being king (as initially in Jackson’s films), but it a great betrayal of his ancestors, his wyrd, and himself. (Which is a big reason why a lot of readers were really upset about the change.)

Frodo can turn away from the ringquest, but is a great betrayal of his wyrd, his Tookish side, his Uncle Bilbo ('Very well, very well, Master Elrond!' said Bilbo suddenly. 'Say no more! It is plain enough what you are pointing at. Bilbo the silly hobbit started this affair, and Bilbo had better finish it, or himself.’), and, as the work you cited below points out, the love of friends and family.

Now the three Wyrd sisters who spin the thread have names that translate into “That which has become”, “that which is becoming”, and “that which should be”, or Past, Present, and Future. But note that the "Future" is that which *should* happen, not that which *will* happen.

Just because a person has been chosen for a destiny doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll actually achieve it. And failure to achieve one’s destiny, whether it is be a great king or craftsman or whatever, is the greatest “sinne” or error to the Germanic mindset.

So, yes, Frodo is meant to bear the ring to Oroduin, but he will only get it there by the strength of his own will. Frodo was destined to stand on the brink of the Crack of Doom and have his finger bitten off. Despite many adversities and many temptations to turn back, he persevered and was true to his destiny. This, not killing monsters or becoming a king or getting the girl, is what makes Frodo a hero.

******************************************
Brother will fight brother and both be his slayer,
brother and sister will violate all bonds of kinship;
hard it will be in the world, there will be much failure of honor,
an age of axes, an age of swords, where shields are shattered,
an age of winds, an age of wolves, where the world comes crashing down;
no man will spare another.

-From the Völuspá, 13th Century


(This post was edited by Darkstone on Aug 22 2014, 1:47pm)

 
 

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