brig0027

I am a HUGE fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have probably read the books 6 or 7 times, cover to cover. I read it aloud to my children, all 1000+ pages, and I have a cat named Gandalf, the Mostly Gray.

I find Peter Jackson's LoTR film rich, evocative, and true to Tolkein. It has gotten better each time I have seen it--which is maybe 10 times now. How many films can handle that level of scrutiny? The script, written by people who obviously love the books, takes a brilliantly conceived but often clumsily written fantasy-saga and transforms it a real world with real people and real feelings! I have been impressed by the clarity of the script, the decisions the writers made to compress a complex epic into a 3 hour movie, and by how the writers managed to get at the emotional heart of scenes. Though I was a bit sad that the Tom Bombadil interlude and the barrow wights had to be cut, that was too bad.

Despite the many times that I have read the book, some of the characters and scenes were hazy to me, and P. Jackson has made them vivid and true. If I have a criticism, it's that they go overboard on the special effects--like the gazillion ooze-y orcs in Moria, the dripping-with-blood Nazgul or the variably sized cave troll. Could Sauron have more big sharp metal angles??? But the acting is exceptional: Ian McKellan as Gandalf is the moral center of the film, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian Holm are convincing as noble Frodo, wise Sam and jolly Bilbo, Viggo Mortensen is a manly Aragorn, and Orlando Bloom is a totally persuasive warrior wood-elf. I thought Sean Bean's Boromir was complex, troubled and nuanced portrayal. A film adaptation of Tolkein deserves the best of everything: best acting, best sets, best props, best costumes, best music, best script, best directing, best fighting, best effects, and I believe this film has given it the best of the best.

I have to admit I am astonished by those viewers who complain that the Aragorn and Arwen romance wasn't in the book. !!!! It must be a guy thing to miss a major plot line if it doesn't involve swords. Go back, re-read. Tolkein was big on the whole myth-saga thing, and an Englishman to boot, so relationships are deep and feelings suppressed, but it's all there. For me, the fact that the writers understood and brought it out makes me giddy: We can trust these people. We are in the hands of Masters! I can't wait for December 18.

The performances were well done: Peter Sellers was so sweet and committed, Capuchine and Claudia Cardinale were quintessential sixties females, David Niven as perfect as ever. A few scenes--eg, when David Niven and Robert Wagner (in a sweater stretched down to his knees) are hiding in Cousteau's bedroom--are nicely directed. But, but....what a profoundly nasty set of values and underlying assumptions! Infidelity, drunkenness, lechery, theft are 'cool' and sophisticated. The one genuinely good guy, Cousteau, is a figure of fun, apparently because he was clumsy, loving and blind to his wife's infidelity. What an extraordinarily weird, weird time the early 60s were! I'd recommend sticking with modern comedies that are mindless, scatological or just plain silly (anything post-Airplane, for example). It might be a good reference source if you are wondering about the styles and attitudes of the 60s jet-set, though 'Charade' would be a more pleasant evening.

The 13th Warrior is mythic, compelling, powerful and moving--a cross between Beowulf and the Seven Samurai. I found it violent, yes, which is hard for me because I am a very tender-hearted viewer. (Jane Austen is more my usual fare.) A second viewing was worth the time. It let me see the scenes I couldn't watch the first time, and gave me greater appreciation for the myth and saga of it all. It has a fresh perspective, spare narrative, excellent performances and crisp pacing. The designers did a vivid job of creating mysterious, distant cultures. Hollywood movies are not used to cold, mist, mud, pine forests and giant blonde and red-haired pagans--I relished the look of the film. I loved the development of the Northman--from strange raw brutes to courageous, noble warriors and friends. The movie is uncompromising in its depiction of Viking life. A gem of a film. I'm going to buy a copy. Its worth seeing more than twice.