Diamond of Long Cleeve
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 1:46 pm |
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Lord Baltimore,
... there are some fundamental changes in character, intent, plot, and so forth that PJ has introduced to Tolkien's LR that, for whatever reason, we (speaking broadly) as Tolkien fans have accepted.
Yes, that is true ... but none of PJ's changes are as bad as the travesties Boorman had in mind!  Galadriel seducing Frodo? Gimli beaten up the Fellowship? Nothing in PJ's adaptation gets close to this level of travesty, IMO - not even Reluctant Aragorn and Grumpy Elrond. (Arwen at Helm's Deep would be getting close to the Boorman levels of outrage ... but thankfully that didn't come to pass. And not even that is as bad as Gimli getting beaten up, IMO!)
Again, not having seen the final product, it is difficult to say. (Aside from the fact that that statement is a "lesser of two evils" sentiment...) Apparently, the only thing we have to go on is a draft of the script to JB's proposed movie. We havent seen any footage shot, any in-depth interviews, any revisions to the draft, and so forth. It is quite possible that JB would've become more "purist" as he got a chance to work out and see some of his ideas come to fruition.
Possibly.  But you do seem extraordinarily forgiving towards Boorman, Lord B, in contrast to your more hardline stance on PJ!
I find that somewhat odd ...
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Prince_of_the_Halflings
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 7:58 pm |
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Any of you guys hear about Kubrick being interested in doing a version of LOTR way back in the day...?
Kubrick was apparently the Beatles' choice for directing the film. The problem was that he was busy finishing 2001 and planning his next project, which was to be Napoleon (which he never made, for various reasons, including inability to get the budget he needed).
Actually I didn't see any mention of the hobbits being short. If they were going to be played by the Beatles then they would have been the same height as everyone else in the film (none of PJ digital magic)
No, even the effects available back then could have enabled them to "shrink" the actors. The could have done it with the blue-screen technology available at the time (which is still used even in PJ's version). Plus there would been the use of smaller size doubles, multiple versions of sets made at different scales, and ingenious use of camera angles, which were all also used by PJ.
The big difference would have the impossibility of showing Isengard or Helm's Deep in the way PJ did - sure they could have used matte paintings to integrate live action with paintings of the locations, but it would have looked pretty pedestrian compared to what is possible now; the camera would have had to have remained static, for example. Although Kubrick did come up with a solution to this problem in 2001, where he had enormous models built with film projectors that were able to place human actors into the models to create the illusion of gigantic physical locations - you'll notice that if you look in the windows of the spaceships in 2001 you can see people inside - this is easy to do now with digital effects but was totally groundbreaking back in the sixties. Even Lucas didn't do it in the first Star Wars movies (although he did use matte paintings).
One thing is for certain, if Kubrick had directed LOTR it would have bankrupted the studio. He virtually bankrupted MGM making 2001.
As to who would have been in LOTR back then, I guess you don't have to assume the worst. They could have had people like Anthony Hopkins or Sean Connery or (I dunno) Marlon Brando or Peter O' Toole just to name a few.
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Chongnam
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 8:49 pm |
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I think Boorman's Interpretation of the "The Great River" chapter would have been particularly entertaining.
Just think of his film Deliverance.
"I want them alive... and unspoiled." - Saruman.
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Prince_of_the_Halflings
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 9:55 pm |
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Just think of his film Deliverance.
Merry and Pippin would live in fear of banjo music for ever.
That means they would have been played by Jon Voight and Ned Beatty. And Aragorn would have been played by Burt Reynolds.
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Chongnam
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 10:10 pm |
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lol... just think of that shot where Boromir is down on his knees, and Lurtz is standing above him... theres a really similar bit in Deliverance.
Ive just ruined FOTR for myself...
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Prince_of_the_Halflings
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 10:49 pm |
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lol Chongnam. I've guess you've found a unique angle on the "What If Boorman had directed LOTR?" question.
Maybe this could lead to a thread "What If LOTR was Directed by other Famous Directors" or has this already been done? I'm new here so I wouldn't dare 
I'm thinking Hitchcock, Coppola, Woody Allen etc etc. The less obvious ones. I'm sure without even checking that there've already been plenty of "Matrix meets LOTR" jokes, given that Hugo Weaving is in both. I read an article about Hugo the other day where he joked that he'd only done the Matrix and LOTR films so that he could stage battles between his Elrond and Agent Smith action figures.
EDIT: I've just done a search and there is one thread that is more or less like what I suggested above
[L]http://www.tolkienonline.com/thewhitecouncil/messageview.cfm?catid=13&threadid=66429#1[/L]
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Linden
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 11:10 pm |
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Prince - you might check out this onetoo
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Prince_of_the_Halflings
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2003 11:25 pm |
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Thanks Linden. I knew there had to be someone who'd thought of this!
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Gungnir
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:56 am |
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Actually I didn't see any mention of the hobbits being short. If they were going to be played by the Beatles then they would have been the same height as everyone else in the film (none of PJ digital magic)
I recently read somewhere (possibly in a magazine?) that Boorman had planned to cast four boys as the hobbits and stick mutton-chop sideburns and false feet on them.
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Lord_Baltimore
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 4:08 am |
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Gungnir:
Roger.
Diamond:
Yes, that is true ... but none of PJ's changes are as bad as the travesties Boorman had in mind!
That is also true, but then again Boorman's changes were only concepts: they were never truly visualised.
But you do seem extraordinarily forgiving towards Boorman, Lord B, in contrast to your more hardline stance on PJ!
I find that somewhat odd ...
If it seems as if I am forgiving towards Boorman, then that is because there really is nothing to forgive! Again, all we have to go on is this script, which was never discussed, casted, filmed, re-filmed, cut, and so forth. No finished product.
Now, if you want my opinion on what I have HEARD about the JB SCRIPT, then I would have to say that it seems pretty abyssmal. I mean Frodo and Galadriel? The Fellowship beating the password to Hollin Gate out of Gimli? Yeah, right: whatever.
I'd still like to read the script. I find it odd that something like that hasnt been posted to the internet, yet, on one of these Tolkien-themed sites.
Prince_of_the_Halflings:
guess you don't have to assume the worst. They could have had people like Anthony Hopkins or Sean Connery or (I dunno) Marlon Brando or Peter O' Toole just to name a few.
Anthony Hopkins would've made a great Saruman but for his height. He certainly has the voice for it.
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Daisy_Gamgee
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 5:32 am |
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I'm getting a lot of inappropriate mental images from this screenplay.
GANDALF: Saruman, I am the snake about to strike!
SARUMAN: I am the staff that crushes the snake!
GANDALF: I am the fire that burns the staff to ashes!
SARUMAN: I am the cloudburst that quenches the fire!
GANDALF: I am the well that traps the waters!
SARURMAN: I am rubber, and you are glue! Whatever you say bounces of me and STICKS TO YOU! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
GANDALF: Aiiiiieeeeee! [gets hurled up to the top of Orthanc]
Frodo and Galadriel? What does he do, stand on a ladder?
I kind of like the idea of a skinless horse for the Lord of the Nazgul, if no Fell Beasts were available.
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Kingasaurus
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:08 am |
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---Diamond:
Yes, that is true ... but none of PJ's changes are as bad as the travesties Boorman had in mind!
That is also true, but then again Boorman's changes were only concepts: they were never truly visualised.-----
This seems like a semantic quibble. Part of the reason for bringing up Boorman is to have a real-life example of what another director was considering doing with the project.
The fact that PJ looks like a raving purist next to what another respected director was thinking of doing is highly instructive. It makes PJ look even better by comparison, which is what the could-have-been-much-worse people like me have been saying all along. the fact that Boorman's film was never made is almost beside the point. His ideas about altering the story exist anyway.
-King
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ArPharazon
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:09 am |
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There is a creature of myth called the nuckelavee which is a horse turned inside out.
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Daisy_Gamgee
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 10:17 am |
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Boromir strode forward.
“Stuff all that! I say we give the dwarf a good kicking. Then he’ll remember all right!”
The Men of Gondor know all about how to throw a good blanket party.
Kabuki theater at Rivendell, eh? That would have been pretty bizarre. I kind of wish this Boorman guy had actually made the movie, as it would be fun to watch in a MST3K kind of way. Of course, it probably would have scared me off ever reading the book, or perhaps scarred me for life in other ways.
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Min-Rimmon
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 5:01 pm |
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LMAO at Hama's version. Well done, even if it was a long time ago. 
Certainly the idea of Galadriel bonking Frodo is upsetting. Why would Galadriel, one of the original rebel elves, survivor of the crossing of the ice, etc., feel the need to sexually molest a hobbit?
Frankly, I was always disappointed Tolkien had her marry Celeborn. He never seemed to be the brightest bulb.
And Gimli? Do you really think he'd let anyone throw him in a hole? I bet he'd hurt a few people pretty badly before that foolishness could happen!
I'm probably being unfair to Boorman, since I've never seen Excalibur, but I'm not sorry his version of LOTR never came to be. I remember watching Dune, one of the worst movies ever made, from one of the best books ever written. It was like being kicked in the gut. Those of you who say you enjoy the Bakshi film, for comparison purposes to PJ's efforts, have a stronger stomach than I.
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Jorus_Kando
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 5:19 pm |
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I enjoy Bakshi's film quite a bit, not as a full film, but as a collection of a few very nice "pure Tolkien" moments wrapped up in a long series of ineptly made sequences. Bakshi's heart was in the right place, but his unskilled editing of the book (as well as his pedestrian and generic choices when designing characters and sets) really hurt the end product. But I still own the DVD, and I do watch it on occasion.
Boorman's vision for LOTR is quite frightening indeed. I'm glad it was never made, as I can't think of a bigger slap in the face to JRRT and his readers, except perhaps for Rankin-Bass' ROTK.
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dudalb
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:46 pm |
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I admire much of Boorman's work, but his LOTR script is ridiculous. And I am really skeptical that nobody at United Artist had heard of Tolkien. IMHO UA realized that Boorman was not the right filmaker for the project and passed.
I can just Hear Frodo in the Scene with Galadrial: "I'm gonna make you scream like a chicken. Lady!".
Boorman made some very good films....Deliverance being his best, with Hope and Glory second and Excalibur third..but thank the Valar he did not do LOTR.
BTW I agree that objecting to the design of "Excalibur" because it is not authintic to the Sixth Century is not viable. Boorman was filming the High Medieval legend of Arthur, which, although it supposedly takes place in the Dark ages, really has a thirteenth/Fourteenth century cultural background.
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Ichjua
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 12:06 am |
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Here is some more info on Boorman & Pallenberg’s screenplay:
Missing characters of note:
Bombadil & Goldberry; Butterbur; Bill the pony; Glorfindel; Haldir; Celeborn; Théodred (Éomer & Éowyn are Théoden’s children.) Treebeard (no Ents at all) Hama; Ghân-buri-Ghân and Faramir.
Missing locations and events:
The Barrow-downs; Bree; the Watcher in the Water; Lórien (Galadriel and her people are relegated to a tent by a lake) the Argonath; the Falls of Rauros (relegated to rapids) Helm’s Deep; Isengard/Orthanc (no Rohan location at all, save Edoras) the Corsairs; the Houses of the Healing (Merry & Éowyn are healed at the Gate as the battle rages) Minas Morgul; Cirith Ungol (Shelob and the events at Cirith Ungol are relegated to Barad-dûr) the Eagles and the Scouring.
Some notable changes over the book:
Hobbits live in cottages.
The four hobbits leave the Shire within hours, perhaps minutes of Bilbo’s departure: Gandalf suggests the hobbits “take a holiday” to Rivendell upon learning that Sam, Merry & Pippin have seen a Black Rider. (Note: The script never offers an explanation for where Gandalf spends the time between the hobbits’ departure for and arrival at Rivendell. Nothing is said as to why he would send the hobbits out alone when he knew that at least one Wraith was - at that moment - practically on their doorstep. The fact that Aragorn somehow has pre-knowledge of the hobbits and their purpose is the only hint of Gandalf‘s possible off-screen deeds.)
The Black Riders have “blind skull-like” faces.
At one point on the road to Rivendell, the hobbits find and eat…mushrooms. The language here is somewhat ambiguous, so you be the judge of what exactly is happening:
“A path leads them out of the swirling petals into a field covered with mushrooms. The HOBBITS are delighted. They set to, picking and eating them as fast as they can. They begin to laugh and giggle, becoming rather unsteady on their feet. They lurch on their way with contented smiles on their faces. The world looks a little misty, different.
Suddenly they are in a field of buttercups. Naked children run and play among the golden flowers. The HOBBITS blink and grin and MERRY belches.
They run over a hill and into a flock of sheep, which opens up to let them through and closes behind them again.
Now they are in a vast ploughed field. And there are perhaps fifty scarecrows, very nasty faces and scraggy arms fluttering in the wind. They hurry on, somewhat sobered.”
Frodo first uses the Ring when the hobbits encounter a group of men working in a field. The men have been told that a reward is being offered for capturing a Halfling, and Frodo teases them, saying, “Oh, I’m a Hobbit of the Shire. Am I the Halfling you desire?“ Then he somersaults through the air, putting on the Ring as he does so. Afterwards, Frodo excuses himself to Sam: “It just got itself to slip itself on.”
Aragorn makes his first appearance when the wraiths attack. He fights them with both halves of Narsil: the hilt-less half has a makeshift handle of leather. The wraiths fight with lances and scimitars.
All four of the hobbits ride with Aragorn on his horse to the Ford.
Actual Elves appear from behind the wall of water unleashed on the wraiths.
The “Palace of Rivendell” is made of crystal.
In the great hall, Frodo, unconscious, is lain naked and covered with leaves on a large, round crystal table. Arwen is assigned the task of removing the fragment of the wraith’s lance from Frodo’s shoulder, and she does so with a knife. Arwen is “about thirteen years of age.” The surgery is delicate in that it is, as Gandalf says, “a struggle, a test of strength, between the power of Sauron and the power of the Elves.” During this scene, Gimli - at Elrond’s behest - stands poised, ready to chop off Frodo’s fading arm should Arwen fail.
Elrond is bearded.
Sauron, Elendil, Gil-galad, Saruman, Gandalf, Déagol, Gollum and Bilbo are all portrayed in the kabuki-like play mentioned earlier in this thread. (The actor who plays Sauron is described as “a combination of Mick Jagger and Punch.”) Additionally, the play features one representative juggler for each of the three races of Middle-earth. Each performer handles a number of juggling rings equal to the number of Rings of Power that was entrusted to the race he represents. Throughout the play, a dog, which symbolizes fate, plays with a ball that is decorated by an encircling gold ring. The ball symbolizes the Ring itself.
As the Fellowship travels south, a flashback to Rivendell reveals Arwen (yes, Arwen) presenting the hobbits with elven-cloaks and lembas. There are no other gifts given or requested.
Arwen is something of a spiritual guide to the Fellowship -- a sort of guardian angel. She makes two appearances soon after the Fellowship leaves Rivendell. The first is brief: she shows herself to the Company from afar. The second takes place as Aragorn and Boromir come to blows over the fate of Narsil. (Boromir wants to take it to Minas Tirith. Aragorn refuses, and Boromir snatches away one half of the sword.) When their blades meet, Arwen appears, declaring that they shall each bear one half of the sword. They bow, presenting the blades. She kisses the swords, drawing blood. She then kisses each of the men. Both men are moved; and Boromir, weeping, kisses Aragorn, cementing a blood bond.
At one point, the Fellowship is crossing a glacier in the Misty Mountains. While resting around a campfire, Wargs attack them. Wargs are “furry-white mutants of men and animals, ferociously savage.” Gandalf concocts a rather unusual method for escaping the Wargs. First he burns the hobbits’ elven-cloaks to strengthen the fire. (The roaring fire assists in warding off the Wargs.) Next he has his cohorts drink from a flask, the content of which makes them “tipsy and giggly.” Then Gandalf has them lie in the ice water flowing from beneath the fire, and he rubs their eyeballs in a circular motion. Eventually Aragorn (who has kept the Wargs at bay) joins the party. After administering to him, Gandalf drinks from the flask, and then rotates his own peepers. “The companions are caught in helpless and infectious giggles, as they drift into unconsciousness.” Finally the water freezes over them, entombing them in the glacier.
The ensuing scenes describe the glacier breaking up and the Fellowship floating down a stream. At length, they are freed from their Popsicles, and they climb onto the bank -- where Gandalf hangs his cloak up to dry, and Boromir blows water from his horn. (The script uses Legolas’ ‘Nay, time does not tarry…’ discourse to help address the issue of how much time actually has passed. The question, though, is never answered.)
In this script, as in Jackson’s, it is Frodo who solves the ‘friend’ riddle at the Gates of Moria. The reason Gandalf has to beat the password out of Gimli is that the words on the door are written in the forgotten ancient dwarf-tongue, which Gandalf can read, but no speak.
The bridge of Khazad-dûm is a rope bridge.
The Balrog’s presence “has a paralysing effect” on the Fellowship, causing them to progress in “strange slow movements.” This power wanes, waxes, and wanes again as the Balrog struggles with Gandalf, triggering the rest of the Fellowship to speed up and slow down obligingly as they make to cross the bridge. When Gandalf and the Balrog finally fall, they cut through the bridge, which the Fellowship are still crossing. They do, of course, manage to climb up the vertical remains of the bridge and escape.
-----------------
I’ll post more later.
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Last edited by Ichjua on Tue May 18, 2004 7:56 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Primula_Baggins
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Leonides*
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NienorNiniel
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 2:32 am |
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This is hurting me deeply... 
If The bridge of Khazad-dûm is a rope bridge, how come the Balrog didn't fry it off and fall down because of that?
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merlyn
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 3:28 am |
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Thakns for the information, Ichjua. I've got to admit that it was truly bizarre. Some of it makes the changes that Jackson made bearable by comparison (at least his Wargs were animal all the way).
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thebachelor
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 10:31 am |
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Since I don't know how the beating-Gimli and Galadriel-and-Frodo scenes would have played out, it's possible that they would have been extremely unpopular with Tolkien fans. However, overall Boorman's script seems to have been so wildly different from the book that I suspect Tolkien fans could have accepted it as a totally separate entity, a bizarre and highly imaginative movie that took LotR as its starting point. I think it would have been much more popular with Purists than PJ's version, which so often disappoints by being almost, but not quite, like the book.
In fact, I seem to recall reading somewhere that JRRT actually approved Boorman's script! Could it be that he himself found it so different from the book that there was nothing to complain about, and imaginative enough to enjoy in its own right?
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Last edited by thebachelor on Mon May 17, 2004 3:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Voronwe_the_Faithful
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thebachelor
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 11:14 am |
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Quote:
I completely disagree that most purists would have preferred Boorman's LOTR to Jackson's. I consider myself a purist, and I can tell you that there is no contest between them.
Fair enough. Maybe I'm not a Purist, then, but some strange kind of Revisionist or Pragmatist. I just think I would have been happier watching a LotR movie where the Hobbits started eating some "magic mushrooms" and seeing things, and I could have thought, "Boy, this isn't LotR, but it's one cool movie. I wonder what happens next?"...
...than seeing a trilogy where everything is almost right, where the designs look right and many of the characters behave correctly, and then having Faramir drag the Hobbits to Osgiliath, and Saruman written out in two sentences after having his role beefed up, and Denethor jump off the keel of Minas Tirith, and Frodo send Sam home from Cirith Ungol.
In other words, I think Purism would have been a more-or-less irrelevant reaction to the Boorman film, especially if it was superbly made with excellent acting, designs and effects. Purists would either have had to ignore the movie entirely or consider it a totally separate entity from the book. By contrast, the Jackson version is so similar to the book that it becomes reasonable to say, "I think some scenes would have been more cinematically effective, more enjoyable for Tolkien fans and no less enjoyable for the general public if they had hewed closer to the book."
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Last edited by thebachelor on Mon May 17, 2004 3:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Lord_Morningstar
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 2:25 pm |
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I’m with Voronwe, I’m a purist and to me marketing Boorman’s script under the name of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ would have been an abomination.
How could we LotR fans even hold our heads high in public?
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Ichjua
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2004 2:11 pm |
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This should cover it. (Sorry so lengthy.)
-----------------
Galadriel is treated as a sort of oracle/sex object. While the Fellowship doesn’t seek her out, she is, apparently, something longed for. (Maybe she has to find you, I don’t know.) Late in the script, Denethor asks Pippin how Boromir fared with Galadriel. (Poor Pip has to say she chose a hobbit instead.) Boromir’s failure isn’t for a lack of trying, though, for within minutes of Galadriel’s unexpected appearance (she emerges from a lake in the midst of the Fellowship as they are bathing) he bares his muscles and makes a pass at her. And that’s the way of it. Where in the book the Fellowship may have been awed by Galadriel, in this script some openly lust for her. After recognizing Galadriel, Legolas - who is “clad in feathers and leaves.” - tries to catch her attention by doing a “bird-like dance.” Gimli ogles her at the lake, and later says “Galadriel! A mighty piece of stone she is, for a Dwarfish tool to carve.” When Galadriel rebuffs Boromir’s advance, Sam says, “She is a pretty flower, but she badly needs watering, she does!”
But Galadriel chooses Frodo, of course. When he peers into the water-filled basin that she keeps, Frodo sees nothing. Galadriel tells him that he does not yet have the knowledge to see. When Frodo admits that he doesn’t know the questions to ask, Galadriel says, “Your eyes ask questions…already.” As it turns out, the basin isn’t the Mirror at all; it is, instead, Galadriel’s Elven Ring.
While rafting on the Anduin, the Fellowship is fired upon by orcs on the riverbank. Merry, Boromir, Sam, and Gimli are each hit by an arrow, but none of their wounds are life-threatening.
After Boromir dies, he is buried beneath a tree. Gimli places the weapons of Boromir’s victims on the mound of stones marking his grave.
Aragorn & Co. meet the Riders of Rohan at the edge of Fangorn. Legolas and Gimli find the hobbits’ tracks leading into the forest, and they take it as a sign that the hobbits are still alive. As Aragorn and Éomer talk, a Nazgul rides across the plain. Alarmed, Éomer announces that he will go to Théoden and make “one last plea for war;” and he gives Aragorn three horses. Aragorn in turn announces that he, Legolas and Gimli will ride to Minas Tirith. And that’s just what they do -- with no more thought given to Merry or Pippin.
In Fangorn, Merry and Pippin try to kill Gandalf, who they mistakenly believe is Saruman, “the bad wizard.” Gandalf (who isn’t quite himself yet) remains silent, watching as the two hobbits ham their way through a demonstrative retelling of their story. When the hobbits reach the part of the tale where the Riders of Rohan appear, they ask Gandalf for his sword. He remains silent as they take it. Merry then hops on Pippin’s back, and together they charge Gandalf; but the sword is too heavy, and they fall down. Gandalf busts out laughing, becoming his old self again.
That scene is inter-cut with one on the Dead Marshes. As the sleeping hobbits sink unknowingly into the mire, Gollum’s hands fight each other. His right hand wants to pull Frodo to safety, but his left hand wants the Ring.
“The two hands clasp and claw each other.”
One of his feet kicks him in the stomach. Eventually Gollum becomes “contorted in a paroxysm of conflicting parts,” and he falls into the mire. Frodo and Sam finally waken, but too late to pull Gollum free. (Gollum escapes somehow, though, as he reappears later on Mount Doom.)
In Fangorn Gandalf causes a hawk to circle down and land on his arm. By peering into the hawk’s eyes, Gandalf is able to see what the rest of the Fellowship are up to. He also sees Shadowfax approaching. When the horse arrives, the alarmed hawk flies away.
In Edoras Shadowfax kicks Théoden’s doors open with his hooves, and carries Gandalf into the throne room. Wormtongue is a hunchback. Once Théoden regains himself and assents to aid Gondor, Wormtongue lunges at him with a dagger, but Merry and Pippin knock him over:
“WORMTONGUE lies on his hunchback, trapped like an upturned beetle.”
Merry and Pippin separate soon after leaving Edoras: Pippin rides on with Gandalf to Minas Tirith, and Merry (with Dernhelm) goes with Théoden’s men to gather reinforcements.
Frodo and Sam enter Mordor with the aid of an old oak tree at the base of “the Great Wall of Mordor.” They’ve taken cover beneath the tree’s branches, and have fallen asleep. They awaken to find the tree’s roots breaking up a section of the wall. (Earlier in the script, a tree in the Old Forest assists the hobbits by moving them to the edge of the wood as they sleep.)
Legolas and Gimli are shown recruiting members of their own kind to ride with them to Minas Tirith. Aragorn (who has assembled a group of Rangers off-screen) is seen summoning the Dead from their earthly graves on an ancient battlefield.
In Mordor, Frodo and Sam are espied. To escape, they jump into a canal. The canal carries them to the base of Barad-dûr where it drains into a hole. (The Tower is very close to the Wall and Gate.) To evade being sucked down the whirlpool, Frodo and Sam grab hold of a “thin silvery wire.” The wire then recedes, pulling the hobbits up into the Tower…
Shelob uses her “narrow tongue with a sharp point” to sting Frodo.
Denethor meets Gandalf and Pippin at Minas Tirith’s gate. He doesn’t immediately let them in, despite there being a Nazgul approaching from over the plain. Only after being promised the details of Boromir’s death does Denethor let them into the city. When the dust kicked up by the Nazgul’s horse clears, Mordor’s invading army is revealed.
Pippin is shown later “dressed as a court jester, with cap and bells:”
“The clothes do not fit too well, and are blood-stained and full of arrow-holes, suggesting the fate of his predecessor.”
Some of the orcs on the Pelennor Fields ride horses. There are also some who spit fire in the manner that flame-eaters do. Still others, with “bat-like wings,” are catapulted over Minas Tirith’s walls. On the other hand, the Gondorian soldiers are joined by some of Minas Tirith’s populace:
“Among these are the BEE CULTIVATORS, dressed entirely in leather, with wicker masks, and bees swarming around their gloved hands; BLACKSMITHS with leather aprons and long-handled hammers; FARMERS with an array of pitchforks and spikes; WOMEN, some pregnant, some nursing, clad in armour improvised from kitchen ware.”
Using his lance, the Nazgul jousts Théoden off of his horse and onto his feet. Théoden spins himself around, using the lance impaling him to trip the Nazgul’s horse. Éowyn doesn’t reveal herself to the Nazgul; her sex isn’t discovered until Merry removes her helmet. After the Nazgul dies, his horse carries his helmet back to Mordor.
Denethor keeps his crown tethered to his belt and lets it drag on the ground. With Gandalf, Pippin and others looking on, Denethor lies down next to Théoden - who is still alive - “and grotesquely goes through the motions of dying although he has suffered no wound.” When Éomer arrives on the scene, Denethor is “writhing on the ground ranting crazily.”
After Théoden crowns Éomer and dies, a giant snake - “perhaps a hundred yards long” - slithers onto the battlefield. Éomer charges the snake, but before reaching it, the banner of Elendil suddenly breaks through the snake’s head. Then the rest of the snake breaks apart, revealing its components to be Aragorn’s collective army of Rangers, Elves, Dwarves, and the Dead -- their shields having been painted to resemble the patterns of a snake.
After being stung, Frodo is taken by orcs to a torture chamber, where Saruman becomes his jailor. When the invisible Sam arrives, he sees an orc putting the Nazgul’s helmet on Frodo’s head. The helmet has clamps that hold Frodo’s eyes open.
In a Shakespearian-like scene, Aragorn inadvertently kills Denethor. He tells the Steward that Boromir is his blood-brother, and moves to embrace him. But before Aragorn tightens the embrace, Denethor holds a dagger to his own heart. Without a word Aragorn turns to the unconscious Éowyn…
Aragorn lies on top of Éowyn, placing his hands on hers.
“After a moment, she moans, and her body writhes, trapped under ARAGORN’s great weight. When he feels her stir, he rises, lifting her with him, enfolding her in his arms, pressing her mouth and body to his.
While this is happening Gandalf is performing a nifty tie-dye trick with a banner of Elendil. He folds the flag just so, and dips it into Denethor’s blood. When Éowyn comes to, Gandalf unfurls the banner to reveal “a beautiful mandala in blood, radiating from the centre of the white tree.” Then he holds it over Aragorn and Éowyn, and proclaims “The hands of the healer are the hands of the King! The King has returned to Gondor!” A group of onlookers chant “Aragorn King! Éowyn Queen!” From their stuck position in the ground, the two halves of Narsil begin glowing, and Aragorn lifts them up and then joins them together.
Saruman is the Mouth of Sauron. Wormtongue accompanies him to meet the Captains. He carries with him an effigy of Frodo dressed in Frodo’s clothing. A cobra coils itself around Saruman’s staff. At one point, the cobra strikes Saruman, but the bite causes the snake itself to die. This prompts Gandalf to initiate a wordplay contest between he and Saruman -- the extent of which was quoted earlier in this thread.
To aid their escape from Barad-dûr, Frodo and Sam exchange the Ring no less than four times. From a distance, some of the orcs chase Frodo and Sam up Mount Doom. (Barad-dûr is right at the foot of the mountain.)
Among the forces of Mordor fighting at the Gate are “Giant-men,” which are ridden by whip-bearing orcs. They are little match for Gandalf:
“Stabs of lightning fly off his oscillating staff. At his mysterious behest, some of the GIANT-MEN turn their clubs against their ORC masters.”
At the Gate, Éowyn and Aragorn are seen fighting side by side.
When Frodo claims the Ring, an earthquake develops, and all of Mordor’s hosts (including those at the Gate) race towards Mt. Doom’s summit. Some of the good guys chase after them.
After Barad-dûr tumbles, there is this:
“On both sides, weapons are thrown down; all thought of war is gone, all heart for fighting, lost.
The ORCS, rather like snakes, shed their scaled skins of armour, revealing themselves to have disgusting white slug-like skin, but rather human. The RISEN DEAD stretch with relief in the sun and fade from sight.”
When Aragorn goes to meet Frodo, the crowd calls out, “Hail Aragorn, King of Men and Orcs Repented!” At one point during the ensuing celebration, the effigy of Frodo is passed through the crowd, which tears it into bits for souvenirs, and chants, “Frodo lives! Frodo lives!”
Pippin (the court jester) and Merry (“acting as page-in-waiting to Éowyn”) both stay behind in Minas Tirith when the rest of the Fellowship leave.
As Gandalf & Co. cross the Pelennor Fields, they see Shadowfax pulling a plow. This demonstrates the renewal of things.
Soon after, they see men and orcs gathered around someone:
“He is squatting on the ground playing the sleight-of-hand game of the cups and the pea. He has three helmets instead of cups and he uses a marble -- or is it an eyeball? The man glances up with an apologetic smile. It is SARUMAN. GANDALF shakes his head, despairing of SARUMAN.”
They pass by Boromir’s grave, over which the tree is blossoming. Legolas and Gimli silently pay their respects.
Sam and Frodo part ways as they approach the Shire:
“From below a crowd of HOBBITS with banners of welcome comes up to meet him. SAM’s buxom GIRLFRIEND runs ahead and embraces him.”
As Gandalf, Frodo, Legolas, and Gimli approach the Grey Havens, Arwen beckons them from the sand dunes. As the westward boat fades, Legolas and Gimli decide to stay where they are:
“GIMLI: Let us stay here. ‘Tis neither cave nor forest …
LEGOLAS nods contented agreement.
LEGOLAS: It is not quite leaving, nor is it yet remaining, for a beach is between, like the twilight.”
----------
edit: "she keeps," not "seeps" 
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Last edited by Ichjua on Sun May 16, 2004 3:20 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Lord_Morningstar
Mariner
Alliance: default
Last Visited: 26 Aug 2010
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 7416
Location: Queensland, Australia
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2004 2:36 pm |
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No words can describe my reaction...
(words within the TOS that is)
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Primula_Baggins
Ranger of the North
Alliance: Angband
Last Visited: 26 Feb 2008
Joined: 23 Jul 2002
Posts: 3254
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2004 3:36 pm |
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Most illuminating.
Especially to see an adaptation that really
was
done with utter disregard for the book and for Tolkien's intentions.
It puts things in perspective. . . . 
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PrincessIlarian
Ranger of the North
Alliance: Rohan
Last Visited: 23 Oct 2007
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 1466
Location: Colorado & New York
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2004 4:26 pm |
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Ichjua, I think you are trying to give me heart failure.
I consider myself a moderate Revisionist, but had this utter dreck been put on the screen, I would have become a purist of Kelannar-like proportions.
That is NOT LOTR.
Aragorn 'inadvertently' killing Denethor? Pippin in jester's motley? Galadriel the sexpot? Bee keepers fighting Orcs? Aragorn getting it on with Eowyn while quote-unquote 'healing' her?
SARUMAN the MOUTH OF SAURON????
Arwen the guardian angel goes around kissing Boromir/Aragorn/shards of Narsil?
???!!!!!
What was this guy ON?
If you got a three-year-old to write the screenplay, I think you could get more faithful to Tolkien. I don't think the guy read the books at all. He just knew the name and more or less what happened.
I mean, puristy quibbles like, Shelob moving to ROTK or, the order of events was changed here, it seems so INSIGNIFICANT.
PJ got the names right, the characters right, and for the very great part, their actions right. When you read this in comparison, I think all we can do is thank heaven that PJ made LOTR, not this Boorman-on-drugs man.
*shudder*
~Ilarian
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