So I saw Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring on Wednesday. I wasn't foolish enough to see the midnight show -- I'm too old to stay up that late, even with a vacation day the next day. 3:00 a.m. is when it would have been over. I'd arranged for a bunch of friends and two co-workers (including my boss!) to go to the 11:00 a.m. show.
It was worth every minute of the wait. And I believe the next two will also be worth the year of wait to see them.
A beautiful feast for the eyes, and for the ears. Tolkien purists will despise it, those who can't get past the rewriting of their beloved god, JRRT. (I heard on Talk of the Nation on NPR yesterday a caller who walked out before they reached the Ford of Bruinen) I can accept the rewrites. I would have liked some things to remain the same, but others I don't mind. Merging Arwen and Glorfindel for one. No, it wasn't Arwen, Warrior Princess. But it was Arwen, Elf Lord.
I want to see it again. I'll even pay full price. It should be seen on the big screen. While I want to own it on DVD (my precioussssss), it will do a great injustice to put it on the small screen. Letterboxing will help, of course.
Little things I loved:
Legolas walking on top of the snow on Caradhras while everyone else was plowing through it;Bilbo's face when he sees the Ring around Frodo's neck, and asks to hold it;
The Mines of Moria;
Sam running after Frodo as he was leaving alone, and Frodo pulling him from the water;
Gimli's and Legolas' faces as Aragorn invites them to hunt some orc;
I hadn't finished the reread of The Fellowship by the time I saw the movie (too many other things to do and read), but I am hoping to finish before I see it again.
Do yourself a favor. Go see it. Take a walk in Middle Earth. Relax and enjoy it. We can all use a bit of fantasy in our lives right now, and Peter Jackson gives it to us.