Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Theatrical Versions) - April 6, 2010

[Bunker]

Originally Posted by deeman54

good question maybe because its life related in your case :d:d:d:d

Sick burn.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Not really, no.

I know some of you guys think it's funny to change somebody's quote, but that's not cool. That is some jackass behavior, I'm not laughing. Grow up.





I was referring to the books, not the movie.
He's a jerk in both, Jackson didn't "mess up" that character at all. He cut his scenes down a little bit, (many of them are in the EE), but he is portrayed just as unflatteringly in both sources. There is nothing noble about having a total breakdown and watching your people burn because you saw your own doom in the palantir. He's mean to Pippin, dismissive of Faramir, openly hostile to Gandalf (and, by proxy, Aragorn), and he's wrapped up in personal pettiness at the worst possible time. None of that is "invented" for the movie.

Tolkien portrays Denethor as a broken depressed man. Haughty, in that he thought he could contend with Sauron by repeatedly using the palantir. Seeing the black fleet, he snaps. Tolkien did not portray him as a slob gobbling down food as his son is going to battle. In the books, Gandalf disagreed with him but still respected him. In the movies he didn't respect Denethor. Gandalf never struck Denethor with his staff either.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

UPS guy just delivered...windows are all taped and all breakables have been stowed (kinda sounds like a hurricane is a comin')

And send the children to stay with the relatives that live in the countryside.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Nightblackraven

ROFL! Too funny and yes that movie did cross my mind after reading Deeman's post.

wow this hit home for both of you Reply back once you moved out of mommies house ok.

[Russell_L]

Originally Posted by Mahatma

Just received my copy of FoTR on BD today,and again find myself baffled about it's reported PQ.Sure:not reference quality,but I would give it a solid 4/5.Was pretty sharp on my TV (waaaay better than DVD).Didn't see any evidence of it being DNR to death either.Probably some,but not excessive.

Strange how we perceive quality in such differing ways.Audio was very good.Can understand why people raves about it

One question:I have a sony BDP-500 blue ray player,and uses the stereo outputs to my denon PMA 2000 for sound.Do I get HD sound,or is that solely directed through the HDMI?FoTR only has one sound-option,and it sure does sound sweet on my setup so personally would guess I'm getting the HD sound.

First of all, I agree with you on your observations about the PQ. As for your audio question, I'm assuming that you're connected the L/R analog outputs of your BD player into the L/R analog inputs of your receiver using RCA cables, which is how my setup is connected as well. In this case, your BD player should be decoding/downmixing the DTS-HD MA track to 2 channel analog and sending that signal through the analog outs. I don't know whether your BD player is capable of decoding the full DTS-HD MA track (in which case you'll have HD sound, even though it's downmixed to 2 channels) or whether it is just decoding the "core" DTS track (as my player does). Still sounds pretty impressive, though, even if it's "only" 2-channel stereo!

[HDPlasma]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Not really, no.
The vitriol is coming from one side. It's only reasonable for people to get defensive when you call them blind and stupid.

I know some of you guys think it's funny to change somebody's quote, but that's not cool. That is some jackass behavior, I'm not laughing. There's nothing clever about putting words in someone's mouth, it's extremely rude. Grow up.

That is your opinion and you are entitiled to it. Those items you mentioned have been stated to those who find fault with the movie as well.
Like I said, it works both ways.
Welcome to the Internet.

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by radagast

Tolkien portrays Denethor as a broken depressed man. Haughty, in that he thought he could contend with Sauron by repeatedly using the palantir. Seeing the black fleet, he snaps. Tolkien did not portray him as a slob gobbling down food as his son is going to battle. In the books, Gandalf disagreed with him but still respected him. In the movies he didn't respect Denethor. Gandalf never struck Denethor with his staff either.

If you're going to defend Denethor, then I think you completely missed the whole over-arching point of Lord of the Rings: that bad circumstances do not justify wicked actions, no matter how serious those circumstances may be. Every murderer or rapist in the world has a "reason" why they do the things they do, it doesn't make it OK. People do not have control of the circumstances they are thrust into, "all you have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to you". Every character in LotR faces that test, and they either pass or fail. And just to make sure nobody missed that point, Tolkien paired the characters up so that a pair of characters would face the same challenge and one would pass while one would fail. Denethor is paired with Theoden; Theoden passes, Denethor fails. Both face the passing of the world they've always known... Denethor despairs and quits, Theoden fights. They both lose their beloved heir... Denethor gets bitter and vicious and turns on those who he still has, Theoden turns to greater love and appreciation for the family and friends that he still has. The comparison goes on and on like that.

[dolphinc]

Ok, just finished all 3 films. Took all week as but I made it. I watched in on my 106" Elite Screens white 16x9 screen with my Viewsonic Pro8100 1080P projector. Here is my review in a nutshell.

I NEVER want to eat small tomatoes again!

FIN

[petmic10]

I watched FOTR again last night and I must say the PQ has
grown on me, I was not as annoyed this time with the PQ.

Don't get me wrong, I still think this could have been much
better but it is definately not the worst Blu-ray I have seen.

[beanham22]

Great post about Denethor Mjbethancourt, unfortunately he was one of the characters that had his arc shortened considerable for the films. Imo though his character is still somewhat true to the books.

Boromir considered him to be Noble, and also mentions how he is overwhelmed with the threat of mordor. Also Gandalf says to Faramir that Denethor loves him and that he will remember that before it is too late, and imo he does remember when he sees Faramir looking at him before he makes his jump.

Anyways i have watched lotr twice (lol yeah I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment) and I would personally rate the PQ like this.

FOTR: 3.5/5 (Shire bad, Moria and Amon Hen great. Also the purple and green lines are barely noticable.)

TTT: 4/5

ROTK: 4.5/5

Definitely not the mess I thought it was going to be after reading this thread. The only truly terrible PQ part is when Bilbo and Gandalf first meet up at Bag End.

[Underworld54]

I just read somewhere that someone doesn't recall if the Evenstar pendant that Arwen gave Aragorn was even in the book. Can someone confirm or deny?

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

If you're going to defend Denethor, then I think you completely missed the whole over-arching point of Lord of the Rings: that bad circumstances do not justify wicked actions, no matter how serious those circumstances may be. Every murderer or rapist in the world has a "reason" why they do the things they do, it doesn't make it OK. People do not have control of the circumstances they are thrust into, "all you have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to you". Every character in LotR faces that test, and they either pass or fail. And just to make sure nobody missed that point, Tolkien paired the characters up so that a pair of characters would face the same challenge and one would pass while one would fail. Denethor is paired with Theoden; Theoden passes, Denethor fails. Both face the passing of the world they've always known... Denethor despairs and quits, Theoden fights. They both lose their beloved heir... Denethor gets bitter and vicious and turns on those who he still has, Theoden turns to greater love and appreciation for the family and friends that he still has. The comparison goes on and on like that.

Other examples of this please because I actually think Samwise had as much to do with destroying the Ring as Frodo did.

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

I just read somewhere that someone doesn't recall if the Evenstar pendant that Arwen gave Aragorn was even in the book. Can someone confirm or deny?

The pendant was invented. It was not in the book.

The trilogy invents a jewelled pendant called the Evenstar which Arwen gives to Aragorn as a reminder of their love. The Evenstar pendant also appears in Electronic Arts' The Battle for Middle-earth series of real-time strategy games. It gives powers, purchased by power points, to the forces of good, as opposed to the One Ring which gives powers to the forces of evil. In the novel, Arwen gives a similar necklace to Frodo before he leaves Minas Tirith. (from Wikipedia- Arwen)

[Batman1980]

The evenstar was supposed to give a more melancholy and romantic feel to the trilogies I guess, even if it doesn't exist.

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

The evenstar was supposed to give a more melancholy and romantic feel to the trilogies I guess, even if it doesn't exist.

That really bothers me. I love the idea of the pendant being "real", and not a manifestation of the movie trilogy.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

That really bothers me. I love the idea of the pendant being "real", and not a manifestation of the movie trilogy.

Love is something you cannot put into a physical item, you simply know you're in love. Arwen and Aragorn got married, I would imagine that was a far greater symbol of their everlasting love than that pendant ever could've been.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

That really bothers me. I love the idea of the pendant being "real", and not a manifestation of the movie trilogy.

From the book:

But the Queen Arwen said: 'A gift I will give to you (Frodo)... wear this now in memory of Elfstone and Evenstar with whom your life has been woven! And she took a white gem like a star that lay upon her breast hanging upon a silver chain, and she set the chain about Frodo's neck. When the memory of fear and darkness troubles you,' she said, 'this will bring you aid.'

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

From the book:

But the Queen Arwen said: 'A gift I will give to you (Frodo)... wear this now in memory of Elfstone and Evenstar with whom your life has been woven! And she took a white gem like a star that lay upon her breast hanging upon a silver chain, and she set the chain about Frodo's neck. When the memory of fear and darkness troubles you,' she said, 'this will bring you aid.'

That sounds sooo wonderful Grand Bob. So what was this necklace called? It sounds similar to the Evenstar pendant from the movie.

[dcowboy7]

kaput.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

That sounds sooo wonderful Grand Bob. So what was this necklace called? It sounds similar to the Evenstar pendant from the movie.

No name in particular, but it might have been the seed of the idea for the movie.

Middle-earth trivia: the greatest necklace ever was made by the dwarves for the elven King Finrod of Nargothrond. It was made of gold and set with jewels that were brought from Valinor (paradise). After the death of Finrod, it was brought by Hurin (greatest man warrior of the First Age) to King Elwe who had the Silmaril set in it. Eventually Luthien, the most beautiful Elf of all time wore it and (from "The Silmarillion"), 'it is said that Luthien wearing that necklace and jewel was the vision of the greatest beauty and glory that has ever been outside the realm of Valinor.' The Silmaril was the source of all the woes for the Elves that migrated from Valinor to Middle-earth in the First Age.