viewing #2

[cimorene]

i am less pissed at pj over the particulars. it has managed to be a very good movie which just happens to be telling a story that's not the same story tolkien was telling, really. many of its ills come from oversimplification. for three hours, it had to happen. some others come because the epic format of the books didn't suit the movie-maker's sensibilities. did you see the minor shifts--you know, elrond talking to galadriel, being oppressive to arwen? arwen flashbacks? the reinforcements and troopers at helm's deep at the wrong times and in the wrong numbers? these, it seems to me, were mainly done to--streamline the story. to cut it down into one main plot arc with one main point, and to tie the three storylines together a bit better. in that it succeeded.

along the way, there were some casualties. many of these were acceptable. i read the interview with pj. i don't accept their reasoning for fucking up faramir. yes, you've just invested two movies in showing how powerful the ring is, and because you underestimate your viewers' intelligence you've played it up maybe a bit more than you should have, and then tolkien wants to introduce you to a human man, the son of kings, who can resist the temptation. yes. he does. does he do that because it hasn't occurred to him that that would 'undermine' everything he has been saying about the ring? because you weren't around to tip him off?

NO.

faramir's reaction was SUPPOSED to be unusual.

it was MAKING A GODDAMNED MOTHERFUCKING POINT.

that said: i don't hate pj, i don't hate the movie. i'm very pissed about faramir. but i loved the movie.

Comments

[phineasjones.livejournal.com]

mmhmm. and even if you have to show faramir being tempted by the ring (which i agree that you don't), he doesn't have to be all sneer-y and slimy and mean about it. and his sudden and complete of heart is downright bizarre.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

hm. yes, i think the change of heart was sudden because they ran out of time. morons.

[tavellafic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I didn't mind him being opaque and scary and hauling them off to Osgiliath, because in the book he was pretty opaque and scary to Frodo and Sam for a while and that's just stretching it out. But the whole damn NATURE of Faramir was that he was a scholar and a thinker and he *knew* the ring was bad juju. So having him be perky about what a great gift it was for dad just... eviscerated him.