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Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2016 12:42:16 GMT -5
Has everybody seen that this is getting the Children of Húrin treatment? Scheduled to be released May 4th, 2017.
I really liked the Children of Húrin, so I'm looking forward to it.
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Post by geneweigel on Nov 16, 2016 13:31:17 GMT -5
Honestly? I think we all need THE HOBBIT (2012-2014) to be purged from thought and memory and this might do the trick. Sometimes I wonder if I ever ran into Peter Jackson on the street (I see everyone on TV all the time) if I might break down.. NO MORE TOLKIEN!!! NO MORE TOLKIEN!!! AAAAHHH!!! AAAHHH!!!!  |
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Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2016 14:14:40 GMT -5
I completely agree. What a travesty they were. I thought Christopher was just being a cranky old man, but he was 100% correct in his predictions.
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Post by GRWelsh on Nov 17, 2016 8:43:28 GMT -5
I also liked the way they put THE CHILDREN OF HURIN together, so I'm looking forward to this too. In reality, there was very little in THE CHILDREN OF HURIN that I hadn't read already... If you had THE SILMARILLION and UNFINISHED TALES you pretty much already have it. But I thought this epic tale deserved the book treatment it got and it had a nice final result... My favorite thing about it actually ended up being the audiobook because it was narrated by Christopher Lee! Unfortunately, we won't be able to get that with BEREN AND LUTHIEN. But it is another core tale that deserves the book treatment. I'm hoping for some scholarly notes on how the tale evolved all the way up from the earliest one in LOST TALES.
I think my evaluation of the Peter Jackson movies series set in Middle Earth is that they started out good but got worse as they went along, with FELLOWSHIP being the best and BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES nearly unwatchable. Like, for example, taking something I'd be happy to see -- a Legolas cameo, since it is logical he'd be in the area -- but ruining it by making him an action hero playing through unending video game-like garbage. The Legolas cameo should have been something like: "Hey, that's Orlando Bloom in the background -- that must be Legolas -- yeah, I guess he would be here at this time!" (i.e. delightful surprise) in the Woodland Realm, and then later a scene showing him shooting arrows at the battle ("Yeah, I guess he would have fought in this battle!"), and finally as part of the escort with the Elvenking accompanying Bilbo partway on the road home ("Again, that makes sense!") -- maybe give Legolas one line, but that's it, because he just isn't part of the story except on the outskirts.
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Post by Scott on Nov 17, 2016 10:18:32 GMT -5
I agree. I really liked FotR, but it just went downhill after that.
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Post by geneweigel on Nov 17, 2016 10:38:50 GMT -5
Yeah, Lee's weird Tolkien material before the Jackson era was probably the reason he was involved. But by the end of it they added no depth to Istari or Galdariel. Elrond they ruined forever. Its like the original character doesn't even exist anymore. I think the actor was good but his direction was awful and the vegetarianism was retarded. The dwarves were supposed to be the ones with the bad food and they made it the opposite.
I think this book will probably be something nice to look at least. That is key as well.
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Post by GRWelsh on Mar 24, 2017 8:05:31 GMT -5
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Post by grodog on Apr 1, 2017 19:55:59 GMT -5
Anyone remember when Sauron was "Tevildo, Prince of Cats"? Sounds like a good name for one of Rexfelis' ancestors Allan. |
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Post by grodog on Apr 1, 2017 19:57:22 GMT -5
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Post by geneweigel on Apr 3, 2017 9:11:59 GMT -5
I'm spaced out on Tolkien lately. Once I get a break I'm doing a complete HOBBIT and LOTR reread (will this ever happen?).
I do appreciate the efforts that Peter Jackson did but its almost like the case of George Lucas where fans thought he owned all those sci-fi concepts all over again. Jackson is like taking CASABLANCA making a remake and saying Rick Blaine was a puppet and the puppeteer was hiding under the Humphrey Bogart trenchcoat the entire time. Thats how I look at his LOTR and how I look at his Kong. Its like someone doing a vocal impression and their voice cracks several times.
Tolkien is such a visually demanding writer that you can tell the movies are being plotted and written by people who are using cliffnotes or easily throttled nerdy advisors.
I remain hopeful (especially after this new Kong) that the Tolkien material has yet to get its greatest treatment. Although it could go South into a politically correct nightmare. I just saw the trailer for yet another King Arthur movie and it looked terrible.
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foster1941
Warlock
Duke of California, Earl of Los Angeles, Knight Bachelor
Posts: 475
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Post by foster1941 on Apr 3, 2017 13:05:22 GMT -5
The Tale of Beren and Luthien was probably my favorite part of The Silmarillion, and I haven't read any of the other stuff (Unfinished Tales, History of Middle Earth), so I'm really looking forward to this book. It would be awesome if we could someday get movies of both this and Children of Hurin that were NOT made by Peter Jackson.
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Post by GRWelsh on Apr 3, 2017 15:40:19 GMT -5
Of the six Peter Jackson Middle Earth movies, the first was the best, but they got worse as they went along. It's too bad del Toro didn't do THE HOBBIT movies, as anything would have been better than the direction they went in... But del Toro has a creepy sensibility that may work with other movies set in Middle Earth, like I could imagine him doing the monsters of Morgoth in disturbing and creepy ways... Thuringwethil, Draugluin, and all of those things lurking in the dungeons of Angband. Hollywood has great special effects, but there is a blandness to a lot of the fantasy and they need to break out of that with some different and creative visions.
If you want to reread THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS I'd recommend as an option the audio books read by Rob Inglis.
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Post by geneweigel on Apr 4, 2017 7:19:33 GMT -5
I think the Beorn goat face and the Dain pig rider was the Del Toro influence for sure based on gauging his work on HELLBOY 2 GOLDEN ARMY (2008) and PAN'S LABYRINTH (2006).
As elaborate as all 6 films are do you ever feel like all the forced perspective work and CGI gives little room for palpability?
The film humanoid accuracy is orcs have elements at 80% but something is missing
. The elves are 50%. Hobbits 20%. Dwarves 10%.
If I saw a painting of Beorn that looked like that I would have thought it was on bad late 80's fantasy comic that tried to milk Tolkien.
The combat in Jackson always goes back to the karate priest and the swinging lawnmower in DEAD ALIVE (1992). Over the top (Legolas) and quick don't look for fx (ghosts and little guys).
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 9, 2017 15:56:25 GMT -5
This came last week. I haven't read it closely, but leafing through it I see nothing I didn't already see before -- other than the new Alan Lee illustrations and it is about what I expected it to be. I think I've read the various versions of this Tale, but it is nice to have them all in once place with scholarly commentary and new drawings and paintings.
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