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Wow!

DaughterofLaketown
Gondor


Jul 23 2014, 8:18pm

Post #1 of 16 (2078 views)
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Wow! Can't Post

I just finished watching Fellowship again and was blown away in a way that I never have been by any of the hobbit films. So does anyone else agree these movies are masterpieces that the hobbit cannot live up to?


(This post was edited by DaughterofLaketown on Jul 23 2014, 8:18pm)


Name
Rohan


Jul 23 2014, 8:28pm

Post #2 of 16 (1898 views)
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I've yet to see ANY movie live up to LotR. [In reply to] Can't Post

 

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Arwen's daughter
Half-elven


Jul 23 2014, 8:50pm

Post #3 of 16 (1918 views)
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I finally watched DoS for the first time this weekend [In reply to] Can't Post

I left my thoughts on the second Hobbit movie in the weekly movie thread on Main, but suffice it to say that the Hobbit movies do not connect with me in the same way that the LOTR movies did. The Hobbit movies don't really connect with me at all, really.


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Magpie
Immortal


Jul 23 2014, 8:54pm

Post #4 of 16 (1867 views)
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pretty much what she said // [In reply to] Can't Post

 


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Elutherian
Rohan


Jul 23 2014, 9:19pm

Post #5 of 16 (1873 views)
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It's not on the same level... [In reply to] Can't Post

...But unlike the Star Wars prequels I can accept them and watch them all enjoyably.

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DanielLB
Immortal


Jul 23 2014, 9:20pm

Post #6 of 16 (1890 views)
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I have a different relationship with both trilogies ... [In reply to] Can't Post

which is totally down to the age I was when I first experienced the movies.

I first read and watched The Lord of the Rings when I was a child (teenager), and I am now an adult. I've found I am much more critical of The Hobbit movies than I originally was of the The Lord of the Rings movies. There are things that I moan and groan about because I can make an informed decision of what a good (or bad) decision is, and what makes it a good adaptation compared to the books. Way back 10 years ago, I was just swept away with the excitement - XenaArwen or CGI Ringwraiths wouldn't have impacted my opinion of the movies - they would always have been good movies due to my naivety. However, there are things now that irk me about the original trilogy that didn't bother me in the slightest 10 years ago.

But right now, I view both of them as masterpieces - in that they are both works of outstanding excellence; they are triumphs of the production team, of everyone involved and of New Zealand; they are the sensation of the mind; and they are masterfully adapted from the original books.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up when the Rohirrim arrive at Pelennor and when the Dwarves are saved by the Eagles. I get that tingly feeling when Bilbo takes pity on Gollum and when Frodo saves Sam from the Anduin. My spine tingles when Shelob appears and when Smaug reveals himself. My heart sinks when Frodo is lost on the slopes of Mount Doom and (probably) when Thorin dies. And of course, I am elated when the Ring is destroyed or when Bilbo saves the day. All these feelings are just as strong, for me, for both trilogies.

However, I do maintain that The Lord of the Rings trilogy are a better set of movies, while The Hobbit trilogy are a better set of adaptations. So in that respect, no, The Hobbit cannot live up to The Lord of the Rings. That does not change my overall opinion, though.

I have a very different but also very similar relationship, over a very different set of movies.


(This post was edited by DanielLB on Jul 23 2014, 9:27pm)


Arannir
Valinor


Jul 23 2014, 9:57pm

Post #7 of 16 (1867 views)
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In a way, yes. [In reply to] Can't Post

Just as the book - for me - never came close to LotR.

If I am totally honest I do not like it that much and find it rather inferior to many other children's classics. I also find most of the characters better written than they are in the book, many sub-plots also help fleshing out the story and add some meat to it all. But I know that this sounds like heresy to someone who loves this book.

So my expectations were always different... I wanted to see more of Tolkien's Middle-earth brought to the scene by PJ & Co - and that I got so far.

"I am afraid it is only too likely to be true what you say about the critics and the public. I am dreading the publication for it will be impossible not to mind what is said. I have exposed my heart to be shot at." J.R.R. Tolkien

We all have our hearts and minds one way or another invested in these books and movies. So we all mind and should show the necessary respect.



DaughterofLaketown
Gondor


Jul 23 2014, 10:22pm

Post #8 of 16 (1853 views)
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Yeah [In reply to] Can't Post

I can relate to having an idealized outlook on The Hobbit as a book. And after seeing the first movie I went back and reread it hoping to enjoy to as much as the first time but see some new found depth. It was still charming in parts but I was surprised to realize a lot of the depth wasn't actually there. It still was the children's story I remembered. But now that I was older that wasn't so good anymore. My standards had gotten higher. Bit I guess that means a lot of credit deserves to be given to PJ's team to making the Hobbit as a film more accessible for older viewers.


IdrilLalaith
Rivendell


Jul 24 2014, 5:12am

Post #9 of 16 (1831 views)
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Definitely agree [In reply to] Can't Post

I greatly enjoyed AUJ but DOS was a disappointment to me. So much so that I'm not really that excited for BOFA. I'll still go see it and everything, but I don't care enough to follow all the news for it.

It's too late for me to formulate my thoughts clearly, but there's just something in LotR that the Hobbit movies lack.

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Arannir
Valinor


Jul 24 2014, 9:28am

Post #10 of 16 (1829 views)
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I agree. [In reply to] Can't Post

I really do have troubles finding the depth and subtleness of the book that some refer to when critisizing the movies.

I am not saying it isn't a well crafted and sometimes clever children's book. But that is where it ends for me.

"I am afraid it is only too likely to be true what you say about the critics and the public. I am dreading the publication for it will be impossible not to mind what is said. I have exposed my heart to be shot at." J.R.R. Tolkien

We all have our hearts and minds one way or another invested in these books and movies. So we all mind and should show the necessary respect.



Mr. Arkenstone (isaac)
Tol Eressea


Jul 25 2014, 3:03pm

Post #11 of 16 (1774 views)
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Totally agree [In reply to] Can't Post

they are both works of outstanding excellence

Quote

The flagon with the dragon has the brew that is true!


Mr. Arkenstone (isaac)
Tol Eressea


Jul 25 2014, 3:07pm

Post #12 of 16 (1782 views)
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Hobbit movies have their own flavour [In reply to] Can't Post

wich is different to LOTR, there are moments in The Hobbit were I have a determined emotions and that gives me a precisely feeling of the flavour of the movies

For exeample the scene were Bilbo is walking through Rivendell, or when the hidden door opens, or all trough the unexpected party. Or the excitement and secrecy when Thorin and co discuss over the map in bag end, or when the camera moves thowards Erebor and the map turns into outstanding vistas. I JUST CANT FIND that kind of feeling in LOTR

But in LOTR i can find the sense of doom and transcendence I CANT FIND in the hobbit movies

They are part of a world in a different stages, they are a whole

The flagon with the dragon has the brew that is true!


sauget.diblosio
Tol Eressea


Jul 27 2014, 2:46am

Post #13 of 16 (1764 views)
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Yeah, the Lord of the Rings films [In reply to] Can't Post

are some of the greatest films of all time, and the greatest trilogy of all time (according to me), and i can watch them at any time and become completely engrossed in them in minutes. I still get chills during certain scenes (ride of the Rohirrim, the explosion of the Deeping Wall, the arrival of Mumakil at Pellenor, the three eagles rescuing Frodo, Sam, but not Gollum, everything after the breaking of the Fellowship, etc...), and there are just too many instances of great acting or cinematography or music to list here.

The Hobbit films are merely entertaining. There are a few stand-out scenes, mostly in AUJ (Riddles in the Dark, the eagles, Gandalf's arrival in Goblin Town, the stuff with Bilbo and Elrond in Rivendell, and the White Council), but there are a couple in DoS (Gandalf vs. Sauron, Bilbo's conversation with Smaug). Maybe they will grow on me with time, but right now i have almost zero desire to re-watch them.


(This post was edited by sauget.diblosio on Jul 27 2014, 2:57am)


Salmacis81
Tol Eressea


Jul 27 2014, 4:08pm

Post #14 of 16 (1737 views)
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This about sums up my feelings... [In reply to] Can't Post


Quote
However, there are things now that irk me about the original trilogy that didn't bother me in the slightest 10 years ago.


I loved the LotR movies when they came out, still do. But being that I was mostly introduced to the books by the first film, I wasn't quite as knowledgeable about the lore then as I am now. So when I saw Faramir kidnapping Frodo in TTT, I knew it wasn't the way it went down in the book, but I was just so blown away by the films that I didn't really care.

Fast-forward to AUJ - by the time that film was released, I knew The Hobbit and it's supplemental appendices material pretty much like the back of my hand, and so I had much higher expectations. The Hobbit films are mostly fun, but the changes stick out much more to me than the ones in LotR. I personally think The Hobbit films are poor adaptations of the source material, while LotR were fair adaptations.


sauget.diblosio
Tol Eressea


Jul 28 2014, 1:51pm

Post #15 of 16 (1714 views)
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This. [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
...The Hobbit films are poor adaptations of the source material, while LotR were fair adaptations.



weaver
Half-elven


Jul 28 2014, 9:54pm

Post #16 of 16 (1738 views)
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*Crawls out of bed to comment...* [In reply to] Can't Post

I've been a bit under the weather, so with some extra downtime on my hands I spent some of it rewatching the LOTR films -- first time in a few years for that.

And it was wonderful.

They have lost none of their magic -- and comfort -- for me. They are finely crafted, beautiful labors of love that are uplifting in a very genuine, earned way that I find rare in films or stories. My appreciation for the LOTR trilogy has only grown stronger over time. The ending of ROTK, for example, is just beautifully done -- the music and the images sweep you down from Mt. Doom to the very end of the film, until Sam's return home. It just carries you along until the door closes on Sam's family and it's time to go back to your life, but renewed in a way that only a good "fairy-story", to quote Tolkien, can do for you. That to me is the real power of the LOTR films.

By comparison, the Hobbit films are a good fantasy, but I felt I only got glimpses of that "fairy-story" experience with them, which is so abundant in the LOTR films. Watching the BOTFA trailer today, this final Hobbit film seems it has the potential to hit that mark, so I am cautiously optimistic there. Without that element, the first two Hobbit films were entertaining, but not as satisfying for me. But that is true for the Hobbit book and the LOTR books for me as well, so I try to keep that in perspective...

Weaver


 
 

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