The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Special Extended Edition)
by Peter Jackson
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Actor: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Viggo MortensenDirector: Peter Jackson
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Peter Jackson
Writer: Peter Jackson
Writer: J.R.R. Tolkien
Writer: Fran Walsh
Writer: Philippa Boyens
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 681 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-12-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: New Line Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Special Extended Edition)
DVD Review: Truly great, but not without some flaws.
Summary: 4 Stars
Let me begin by saying that I love Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's magnificent trilogy The Lord of the Rings. They are an amazing feat of moviemaking, and are films that can be immensely enjoyed by both longtime Tolkien fans, and newcomers who have never read a word of Tolkien's work.
On the plus side, the films benefit from almost perfect casting. Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, and Christopher Lee as Saruman were particularly inspired casting choices; I don't think ANY actors, past or present, could have filled these roles better. The New Zealand locations all stand in marvelously for the various places of Middle Earth where the action takes place. The production design is superlative, with the Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, Rohirrim, and Gondorians, all given visually distinctive cultural aesthetics, and each was a nearly perfect representation of how I had always imagined these various peoples of Middle Earth and their material culture would look. The hiring of veteran Tolkien artists John Howe and Alan Lee certainly helped immensely in this regard. For the most part, the special effects, a mix of CGI, matte painting, and miniatures, blended seamlessly with the live action. Watching the hours of special features documentaries on the film's principal photography, and pre and post production is an eye-opening experience, and gives one an idea of what a monumental technical achievement bringing a film like this to audiences truly was. It also gives one a greater appreciation for the considerable talents of Peter Jackson in supervising virtually every aspect of this incredibly complicated and lengthy process. Given the challenges he and the rest of the film's cast and crew faced, it's amazing how good the movies are. (These special features really make this edition indispensible for fans. It's truly fascinating to see all the work that went on behind the scenes.)
I could go on for pages praising the virtues of these films, and still not begin to do them justice. And I hope it will then be understood that despite that the lengthy critical comments that will follow, that these films are among my favorite movies of all time, and certainly belong in nearly everyone's video library. But no films are without flaws, and unfortunately, for all the stunning achievements of this film trilogy, there are also significant flaws in the films, some of them actually pretty egregious.
Let me first state what I do NOT think what one of those flaws is: the contraction and even outright exclusion of large parts of Tolkien's original story, especially the segments with Tom Bombadil, and the Scouring of the Shire. Yes, it would have been nice for those of us who love LOTR to have seen these things on screen, but realistically, there was simply no way on earth they could be included. It would have made the films - already quite long as it is - far too long for audiences to sit through. Books inevitably get some material cut out when being adapted into films; it's simply an inevitable concession to the time constraints of the medium, and LOTR cannot escape this. Some material had to come out, and Bombadil and the Scouring of the Shire got the chop because they could be excised without derailing the main story, which was about the Ring Quest. Numerous minor characters, such as Fredegar Bolger, Farmer Maggot, Barliman Butterbur, Glorfindel, Quickbeam the Ent, and many others had to go for similar reasons. Jackson was wise to make these changes, and these omissions don't hurt the films.
But some of the changes made are injurious to the film, and some are inexplicable. Let's start with dialogue. Watch Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation, and you'll note right off that while most of the dialogue is edited for length, what's left is generally Tolkien's original prose. Bakshi's version had several deadly flaws, but this wasn't one of them. Tolkien's prose was excellent, sometimes very beautiful and eloquent, and Jackson, Boyens, and Walsh used very little of it. Most of the dialogue is rewritten, and while it's still good, changing it was not an improvement.
Another flaw is what I call "blockbusteritis" - the evident belief that a film absolutely MUST have the most elaborate stunts, special effects, and action sequences that it is humanly possible to include, no matter how much this may slow the overall pace of the film, or hurt believability. Take, for example (spoiler warning!), the fight at Amon Hen where Boromir dies. In the book, unbeknownst to his companions, Frodo slips away just in time, and only Boromir encounters and fights the orcs Saruman sent to take the Halflings, and it costs him his life. None of the others ever even see these orcs (apart from Merry and Pippin, who get captured). This is as it should be; the orcs were so numerous that if the others had also encountered them, they would also have been slain. In the movie, by contrast, Aragorn lets Frodo go and turns immediately to charge what looks to be at least a hundred orcs, by himself. No problem; he's killing them effortlessly, and then Legolas and Gimli show up to aid him and then the three of them manage to drive off a whole company. I'm sorry but this is RIDICULOUS. The scene was far better as Tolkien wrote it. It was just as dramatic, and did not throttle suspension of disbelief with the ludicrous spectacle of one man charging a hundred and not being instantly overwhelmed and slaughtered. But they just HAD to include more swordfights, no matter how absurd they made the scene. More examples of blockbusteritis include Legolas' annoying showboating in the second and third films (surfing down a flight of stairs on an upturned shield while simultaneously shooting orcs with deadly accuracy, or leaping and capering over one of the mūmakil [giant elephants], and the "possession" and physical aging of Theoden [in the book Saruman's influence, through Wormtongue, was far more subtle, but had the same effect]). These are examples of things being made showier and more spectacular not to help tell the story, but just to make them showier and more spectacular. More often than not, it's to the films' detriment. Sometimes less IS more. CGI is a great thing, but ever since its advent, filmmakers seem to have forgotten how to tell a story without it.
Still another flaw is Jackson's increasing tendency to change the original story. Each film featured increasingly severe deviations from the original, and I think that what happened was that as the first and second films went out, and the rave reviews came pouring in, Jackson became increasingly self-indulgent in making changes. It would be more excusable if these changes were improvements, but they usually aren't. Take, for example, the long, slow scenes between Elrond and Arwen in "Return of the King," it was all summed up in a few lines of dialogue by Elrond when he met Aragorn at the camp, so take the movie's limited time up with it - time which could have been used to include things that got left out? (I suspect Jackson was simply trying to give more screen time to Liv Tyler). What did the fight with the warg riders, and Aragorn's fall from a cliff on the way to Helm's Deep add to the film? Why did Jackson have to send Elves to fight with the Rohirrim at Helm's Deep? And then, there are the numerous changes Jackson made to many of the characters.
And this, to me, is the single greatest flaw in the movie trilogy. Most of the major characters were changed, and in EVERY SINGLE CASE, it's to weaken the character. Merry and Pippin, who in the books, were trusty, stalwart companions of Frodo (and smart enough to have seen through his attempts to leave the Shire without telling them), are changed into a couple of half-witted buffoons (especially Pippin) who blunder into virtually everything they do without having any idea of what they are getting into. They are played as a couple of clowns whose sole purpose seems to be to provide comic relief. Gimli, in the scenes where he is present, and Merry and Pippin are not, assumes this role, to the detriment of his character. Aragorn, is changed from a noble, hardy, unwavering, opponent of the enemy in Mordor, working ceaselessly toward his destiny - his DUTY - to restore the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor so as to protect his people from the enemy, into a weak, vacillating character, filled with self-doubt and running from his responsibilities just as hard as he can.
Secondary characters also suffer badly at Jackson's hands. Elrond, whom Tolkien wrote as a wise and noble figure, who became foster father to Aragorn, and helped him in all ways to fulfill his destiny (to become king), is changed to a proud, haughty figure, who is scornful of Men, and actually tries to deceive his own daughter about what her future holds in store for her, in order to prevent her from remaining in Middle Earth with the mortal man she loves. Theoden, in the books, once he had been restored to health, was "a kindly old man" who led his people to the best of his ability, unhesitatingly riding to the aid of Rohan's historical ally, Gondor, once the threat to Rohan has been overcome. Jackson, on the other hand, makes him callous, mule headed, and rather peevish, obstinately refusing to confront Saruman, even though Saruman is now openly attacking Rohan. And where his decision to take his people to safety at the stronghold of Helm's Deep rather than to confront the enemy in open battle, is, in Tolkien's book, a necessary stratagem until the muster of Rohan can go out and its forces can be gathered for battle; it is presented in Jackson's film as a grave strategic blunder, again made because of his stubborn refusal to face reality, and requiring Gandalf to save his bacon by finding Eomer in the barest nick of time. Theoden is also initially reluctant to aid Gondor, even though he's doubtless been informed that Gondor has been under attack as well, and may have been simply unable to send men to his aid.
Gondor's leader, Denethor, is changed from a man who has done his best, and in the end has just given up in despair at the apparently insurmountable odds against him, into a man who is simply totally irrational. In the books, Denethor made what provisions he could for the defense of his city, and lit the beacons calling for Rohan's help (though he expected none to come); in the movies, Denethor sits on his hands and refuses to do ANYTHING to prepare his city for the coming assault. He coldly sends his son Faramir out to retake Osgiliath on an obvious suicide mission, even though he knows the enemy is too strong for Faramir to have any chance whatsoever (in the book, it was not so clearly a suicide mission, as the city had not yet been taken, and Faramir had merely to defend it, not retake it from a vastly superior foe). At one point, Denethor even loses control and shrieks to the defenders of Minas Tirith to flee for their lives, and Gandalf has to knock him unconscious before he starts a panic, and assume command himself. And finally, Faramir, who in the books was shown as possessing a nobility and strength of character (and thus resistance to the Ring's evil influence) that his brother Boromir (also a good man but too hungry for renown) tragically lacked, is, in Jackson's hands transformed into "Boromir-lite" - just as eager to gain acclaim and approval (especially that of his father), and just as willing to take the Ring by force if need be, only not getting as close to actually doing it, despite having Frodo far more firmly in his power than Boromir did. Jackson stated he changed Faramir in this way because in the first place, it would have destroyed the credibility of the Ring as an almost irresistible corrupting influence if Faramir had been able to resist it, and in the second place, it would have been less dramatic for Frodo to be captured, and not really face the threat of having the Ring taken from him. In response to the first point, I have to ask why then were Bilbo, Gandalf, Galadriel, and then Aragorn all able either to give up or refuse to take the Ring? And to the second point: I just don't find that convincing. Properly written, it would have been quite possible to have Frodo, and thus the viewer, unsure whether or not Faramir would try to take the Ring right up until the second he let Frodo go, and that would have been more than sufficiently dramatic. As it is, Jackson missed the whole point of Faramir's purpose as a character - he was meant to show that while Men are weak, and corruptible, and frail, and all the rest, there are, nevertheless, men with true nobility and strength of character, and it is because of such men that we can hope to prevail against the evils in the world that always threaten and tempt us.
It's really a shame that Jackson chose to mistreat some of the characters in LOTR as badly as he did. I don't think it made any improvement to the story to alter them as he did. Still, despite these flaws, the movies are marvelous films that absolutely should not be missed. There's more that is right with them than there is wrong, and if I choose to devote far more of this review to the negative, it is only because so many other reviewers here have more than adequately addressed the virtues of the films.
More The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Special Extended Edition) reviews:
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Description of The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Special Extended Edition)
This critically acclaimed epic trilogy follows the quest undertaken by the hobbit Frodo Baggins and his fellowship of companions to save Middle-earth by destroying the One Ring and defeating the evil forces of the Dark Lord Sauron. With new and extended scenes carefully added back into the film the 12-disc set also includes hours of bonus features.Running Time: 785 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY UPC: 794043734724Bestsellers in DVD
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