Has the "Lord Of The Rings" Movie Trilogy Held Up For You?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by mpayan, Sep 13, 2019.

  1. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off Thread Starter

    I remember when I heard of the first movie being made. Now, I didnt know "Lord Of The Rings" from "Lord Of The Flies" back then. So I had no idea what the big deal was. Id heard of "The Hobbit" and maybe even read parts of the book as a child. But I dont recall it being something that made a lasting impression on me.

    However, Ive always been a fan of fantasy in the form of knights, kings etc. King Arthur and the knights of the round table always peaked my hero side as a child. You have your army guy kid that rat-a-tat-tats and then there are those that slew man and beasts with our cardboard shields and wooden swords. I was the later child.

    When I finally educated myself about what this "Lord Of The Rings" hype was all about and read some of the book, I was very excited to see the movie.

    At the time it was as big an event as could be for each movie to come out. Maybe not since Star Wars had I been into a series of movies like I was with "Lord Of The Rings".

    I thought they were fantastic.

    For personal reasons I hadnt watched them in probably 12-15 years. Quite frankly they simply brought back memories of a time in my life that a long term relationship went bad.

    Anyway, the hurt healed and movies kind of forgotten, I saw that Netflix was showing the last two movies of the trilogy. I was once again in the mood to join the fellowship and revisit the movies.

    How did they hold up after nearly two decades?

    Im pleased to say that for me they still stand as very good films. I could probably say that there are many points in the movie that become a bit sappy. But this is a romantic adventure fantasy. Some sap is just fine. I love the story. I still found myself getting absorbed into the characters and action. Not an easy trilogy to make Id imagine and one that still is mostly a triumph.


    How has this trilogy held up for you?

    Has it stood the test of time?
     
  2. Denim Chicken

    Denim Chicken Dayman, fighter of the Nightman

    Location:
    Bakersfield, CA
    Still absolutely love them. Watch them almost yearly. Perfect fantasy films.
     
  3. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    Just watched all 3 extended versions last after I dug the Blu Ray box out of storage.

    They are still great films that successfully convey Tolkien’s work for the screen.

    It’s also worth noting that after all this time, Jackson’s special effects are still some of the most effective.
     
  4. eric777

    eric777 Astral Projectionist

    I enjoyed the books a lot. I saw the first film and hated it. A friend of mine begged me to watch the second one. I only made it half way through the film.
     
  5. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    They still hold up brilliantly for me (best fantasy films ever made? A very good case could be made for that argument)... not only that, they age like a fine wine... makes me wonder how the MCU films will age after two decades.

    Theatrical versions all the way though; the extended versions are way too long and wreck the careful and precise pacing, even though there is just under ten minutes in total of footage across all three films that rightly should never have been cut (which shows you just how right Peter Jackson got it in the first place)... the most egregious cut of all was Christopher Lee's excision from The Return of the King; no matter what P.J. has said over the years about that choice, it was neither justifiable nor defensible, and sadly it makes that otherwise magisterial film incomplete as a result, alas...

    Another good question is how well The Hobbit films will hold up in two decades from now... and I'm betting that with time and distance, history will be much kinder to those films than the contemporary consensus indicates; the digital HFR cinematography is ghastly, always will be, and darn well nearly spoils the whole deal; but the films themselves are much, much better than some people would have you believe...

    Hope P.J. gets around to his planned Dambusters movie someday...
     
    Stormrider77 and Jarleboy like this.
  6. Andy Smith

    Andy Smith .....Like a good pinch of snuff......

    Very much so. Dig them out every few years and have a wallow. Which is more than can be said for the books. They bored me to tears. Maybe, at 16, I was too young for them.

    Also, the '81 radio adaptation still sounds entertaining too.

    The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series) - Wikipedia
     
    Dignan2000 likes this.
  7. budwhite

    budwhite Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

    Location:
    Götaland, Sverige
    The trilogy is still great. Watched it last December for the tenth time or something like that.

    Some effects are iffy looking but that's to be expected. Gollum is a great character and Jackson and Serkis did great work, I just don't think that he looks very real, being all cgi.
    I wondered at the time why they decided to not use an actor in make up? Would have worked so much better!
     
    Mr Bass likes this.
  8. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Still great movies.
     
  9. I liked the first one when it came out. I liked some of the second one, but a lot of it left a bad taste in my mouth (blowing up 10 pages of Helm's Deep to 90 minutes of film, Smeagol not having heard his own name in 500 years?????). I absolutely hated the third one, so much that I haven't watched any of the previous movies ever since and I have never spent one cent on anything related to Peter Jackson again. Fortuntately there's still Tolkien's books. I've read the entire trilogy twice since then and the movies certainly haven't ruined my enjoyment of Tolkien's original work.
     
  10. FredHubbard

    FredHubbard Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    As a massive fan of the books I was sick with excitement when I heard there was going to be film adaptations. My dad and I followed filming news and rumours on the 'net obsessively. we watched Fellowship 3 times on the first day. Awesome. Couldn't believe Jackson had pulled the unfilmable off .... Was initially disappointed with Two Towers on first viewing but have come to love it with the extended editions. Came out the cinema shaking after the Return of the King. Felt like i'd had a very profound experience. Love them and prefer the extended cuts.
     
  11. scobb

    scobb Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Whilst I disagree with you I do get how you could feel this way and respect your opinion!

    Personally, even though I will love them forever, I think they are dating a bit and the effects are not that good. Give it another 20/30 years and I think kids will be laughing at them. If I am still around then I think I will still love them!!
     
    eric777 likes this.
  12. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Still great, still in my top 10 of this century.
     
  13. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    I still love the LOTR films but there are some issues that time has revealed.

    For example I don't want skateboarding elfs. That's dumb and spoils the mood. Things like that were put in I guess as they thought it was too dark but they are not needed now.

    And heroes who appear to be superheroes and can fight a hundred orcs and not die. It's really unrealistic when we are essentially in a realistic world. One blow to an Orc and he goes down but the heroes are untouched. They killed Sean Bean as I guess that was in the book but from that point on the heroes seem invulnerable. Aragon could never hold off so many Orcs on his own. Why wouldn't they just shoot arrows at him?

    I know it's fantasy but even in a fantasy world you need to maintain an internal logic and the director placed them in too many over the top situations. Hobbits are not going to last 20 seconds either fighting orcs.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2019
  14. Spaghettiows

    Spaghettiows Forum Resident

    Location:
    Silver Creek, NY
    I can still watch them every few years. Nothing like the first time, but I always enjoy watching the entire trilogy.

    However, The Hobbit trilogy is another animal entirely. What a disappointment. It still baffles me that the CGI effects in the LOTR trilogy were so much better than the unfathomably overwrought CGI in the Hobbit films. But effects aside, the Hobbit film trilogy, to quote Bilbo Baggins, was "sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread."

    Sorry for that slightly off-topic rant.
     
  15. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I love them. Seminal films for my generation. I saw all three in the theaters on opening weekends (Fellowship twice) and have watched them many times since. My husband and I just watched all three extended editions over this summer. Beautiful films, and perfectly cast.
     
  16. Jack Lord

    Jack Lord Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    Saw them when they first came out and enjoyed them.

    In recent years, my kid came along and started watching them. They have held up just fine. Great effort by Jackson.
     
    ben_wood and Chris DeVoe like this.
  17. robertawillisjr

    robertawillisjr Music Lover

    Location:
    Hampton, VA
    I enjoy them and still watch them.
     
  18. Uglyversal

    Uglyversal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    I've been meant to watch them for a long time, I am sure I still enjoy them however some of the effects, particularly in the fights are a bit sloppy. Now that I know the story I am more likely to concentrate on the defects, heavy use of CGI in movies never go well with me.
     
    Past Masters likes this.
  19. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Haven't watched them since the extended Blu-rays came out - holding out for 4K UHD to see them again.

    Liked 'em when I last saw 'em!
     
  20. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    They still makes most all other fantasy films look like cheap imitations.

    Including the Hobbit films.
     
  21. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    The Hobbit was even worse for this endless stream of enemies being knocked over like skittles.

    I thought the extended ‘Fellowship...’ was terrific, and still watch it from time to time. Jackson overreached in movies 2 and 3 and they became vehicles for his huge set pieces rather than serving Tolkien’s plot. There are some great bits in there, and some terrible old guff too.
     
    Past Masters, Jim B. and ianuaditis like this.
  22. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    I would be more than happy if the existing 1080p theatrical version Blu-rays had been reference-quality transfers... which, let's face it, there's no reason why they shouldn't have been; the Fellowship of the Ring Blu-ray transfer was a disaster; a DNR'd mess... The Two Towers was much better, and Return of the King looked spectacular... so why all three couldn't have been of equal quality is beyond me, considering Peter Jackson and DP Andrew Lesnie (R.I.P.) personally supervised and approved those transfers. I've seen all three films repeatedly broadcast in HD on television and all three looked immaculate... so make of that what you will... is there often a difference between an HD television broadcast of a film and it's Blu-ray transfer?

    The Hobbit films look really good on 1080p Blu-ray, even though the ghastly HFR digital cinematography stinks up the whole joint somethin' awful...
     
  23. ducksdeluxe

    ducksdeluxe A voice in the wilderness.

    Location:
    PNW
    Give it another 20/30 years and it'll be time for a remake. Why should this franchise be any different?
     
    scobb likes this.
  24. malcolm reynolds

    malcolm reynolds Handsome, Humble, Genius

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Still love the extended Trilogy of LOTR. I tried to read the Hobbit and LOTR but it just wasn't for me. This might be the one time that I prefer the film over the book. The Hobbit movies are a slog to get through though so I got rid of them.

    I want a 4K release of the Extended Cuts but since Peter Jackson is slower than James Cameron at getting things done I won't hold my breath. I don't want to start the green tint debate again but I can't watch Fellowship on BD because of the sickly color grading. I sadly still have to go to DVDs for LOTR.
     
    Contact Lost likes this.
  25. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    They are still near perfect.

    One thing that really helps is the reliance on physical models.
     

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