One Ring to Rule them All
And, speaking of hobbits ("real" hobbits, not just the good people of rural England) I finally saw the Lord of the Rings. This is a movie I have been waiting for for practically my whole life, since the age of 7 anyway. High expectations usually spell doom for the enjoyment of anything; indeed, the key to happiness in this disappointing life might just be a harsh regimen of mandatory low expectations, with draconian penalties for any and all wanton optimism and hope. This movie carried as heavy a burden of optimism and high expectations as anything that has yet entered my little life. I'm pleased to report that , against all odds, viewing it was just about the least disappointing experience I have ever had. In other words, it's bleeding brilliant. It has restored my faith in movies, "art," maybe even in humanity itself.
OK, maybe I'm laying it on too thickly here. But I just can't get over how great this movie is. Here's my "review," sub-assessments, and over-all grade.
Story, screenplay and dialogue: surprisingly good, considering all that could have gone wrong. Events in the early episodes are collapsed a bit, but the condensed version remains true to the spirit of the book at all times. I wish they hadn't trimmed the Prancing Pony scene so severely, since it's one of the most memorable and dramatic ones. The Shadow of the Past is likewise truncated. And unfortunately, as in the BBC radio production, they completely left out the Barrow Downs and Tom Bombadil. (This is a shame, but I suppose it's difficult to imagine how to put Tom Bombadil on the screen without seeming cutesy; and doing the barrow wight episode would involve hobbits running naked through the grass, which might not have been advisable.) No wargs, either, which is a pity.
The dialogue is uniformly excellent (as is, incidentally, the acting.) I was a bit disappointed that they left out some of my favorite crucial lines: "I cannot read the fiery letters." "Come back, come back, to Mordor we will take you!" "He who breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." They even excluded all but the coda of the"One Ring to Rule them All" poem, which was used so effectively as a Nazgul chant ("ash nazg...") in the radio version.
These are minor quibbles, however. Grade: 95/100
Art direction and special effects: once again, fantastic. This is the least "computer-y"-looking major film in a long, long, time. Major action sequences are also fabulous, especially Boromir and Aragorn vs. the orcs, Gandalf vs. Saruman, and Gandalf vs. Balrog.
All locales except the Elvish ones (about which see below) are terrific. Hobbiton and Bag End 20/20; Bree/Prancing Pony 20/20; Moria 20/20; the bridge of Khazad Dum 20/20; Orthanc 20/20. All armor, weapons, props of every kind, are perfect (especially the blue-glowing orc-indicating Sting.)
Grade: 100/100
Hobbits : fabulous. They used clever camera angles rather than cheesy special effects in order to make the hobbits appear "the right size" in relation to the other characters. Frodo, Pippin, Merry, and especially Bilbo are all cast and played perfectly. The one failing (and to me it's the film's only serious one) is that Sam, who is in many ways the most fully-formed character in the book (and whose devotion to Frodo is so crucial to the story's moral weight) is barely present in the film.
5/20 for neglecting Sam, plus 20/20 points for each of the other hobbits. Grade: 85/100
Gandalf: perfect. 100/100
Gimli: another easy 100/100.
Men: both Aragorn and Boromir get easy scores of 100/100 as well. The film even manages to uncover hidden depths in the character of Boromir, one of the least sympathetic characters in the book, whose moral failing, Roland-esque hornblowing and pre-death confession after the final battle scene is surprisingly moving.
Elves: even in Tolkien's book, the Elves are generally pretty dippy and hard to take. I have to say, though, that the film takes this inherent dippiness to an entirely new level. The Elves at the Council of Elrond are all wearing dresses. When the Fellowship sets out, Legolas is at least wearing a "normal" Robin Hood costume, but he still could have done without the Jan Brady hair-do (for which I believe there is no textual authority.) Galadriel has some cool, hobbit-frightening moments as she contemplates the ring's power, but her wispy, doily-clad presence makes all of the other scenes she is in look like a series of margarine commercials. Elrond, though, wins the prize for worst hair of the Third Age. Rivendell looks like a picture on a Swiss Miss packet; Lothlorien isn't much better. It's all very "wet," as the English say.
Legolas (7/20); Galadriel (8/20); Elrond (5/20);Rivendell/Lothlorien (10/20); hair (0/20). Grade: 30/100.
Baddies: great overall.
Sauron: the decision to depict Sauron in full view is a curious one-- he's a dark, mysterious, terrifying figure, who is only recognized through his searching eye. I don't think this depiction is entirely successful. Though the smoldering ring-wearing severed finger is pretty great, Sauron himself seems a bit too much like a Power Ranger. (Cool nuke-type effect of the ring during the battle, though.) (10/20)
Saruman was the biggest risk, since Christopher Lee tends to be more humorous than menacing these days, but he really has risen to the occasion. (17/20)
Fantastic Balrog! (20/20)
Orcs: once again fabulous. The regular orcs are pretty much perfect. The Uruk-Hai, on the other hand, are a bit over-the-top, even for me (a little too much oozing slime to be "convincing.") (15/20).
Terrific Nazgul (20/20.)
Grade: 82/100
MusicThis is one area where fantasy films tend to go horribly wrong. We avoid the worst-case scenario (rock/techno/hip hop) which is a great relief. Most of the incidental music is not particularly distinguished, but at least it doesn't get in the way. I'd say there's a bit too much Omen-style chanting in some scenes. The main disappointment is that they used hardly any of the songs and poems that are such a major part of the book. In addition to the neglect of the "one ring" poem mentioned above, they leave out Frodo's song at the Prancing Pony as well as the Ballad of Gil-Galad and "the sword that was broken..." one. "The Road Goes Ever On and On" is sung by Bilbo as he trots off after the party, but you only hear the first few words of it. The BBC radio production handled the poems and songs very well, and it's too bad the film doesn't include just a bit of them. In fact the radio drama's music overall is far, far superior.
Grade: 65/100.
Total grade: 657/800 or 82/100, but it gets a 50 point bonus for a general, unprecented lack of lameness. A+++
Wow, that was too long for a review I guess. It's a great movie of a great book. And I don't believe I've seen a movie of a book I have read that is as true to original's spirit. I want to see it again.
Posted by Dr. Frank at December 29, 2001 12:17 AM | TrackBack