Dennis 1 Caleb Dennis Mrs. Tasha Bowlin ENG 100 Writing 1 15 Mar. 2013 The Lord of the Rings Films Everyone knows the story. Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit of the Shire, is charged to carry the One Ring of Power, the source of power of the Dark Lord Sauron, into the land of Mordor, cast it into the fires of Mount Doom and destroy it forever. He is joined by eight companions: three of his kind, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took, two men, Aragorn the Ranger and Boromir of Gondor, the wizard Gandalf the Grey, the elven prince, Legolas Greenleaf and a dwarf, Gimli. After Gandalf perishes in Moria, the Fellowship breaks. As Sam and Frodo are guided closer to Mordor by the creature Gollum, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find Gandalf resurrected as Gandalf the White. Frodo nearly dies during an attack by Shelob, the giant spider, and is taken into Mordor. As Aragorn and his companions distract the Eye of Sauron, Frodo and Sam throw the Ring into Mount Doom and save Middle-Earth. The Lord of the Rings trilogy are among some of the best films of their time, which have stayed popular for ten years after the release of the final movie. Director Peter Jackson did everything in his power to do justice to J.R.R. Tolkien's epic series, and triumphed in that regard. He did so through hiring superb actors for each part and converting some of Tolkien's sometimes too perfect characters into relatable and flawed beings. Jackson's films were popular when they were released, but that success has continued while other movies of the time have fallen into obscurity.
Dennis 2 One of the reasons for the continued popularity of Peter Jackson's movies can be attributed to the flawed characters he portrays. While in some movies, the characters shown are perfect, with no imperfections to their appearance or their character, it is not so with The Lord of the Rings. Jackson adapts the characters of Tolkien's mythology in such a way that they seem real and alive to the viewer. Boromir falls victim to the Ring's temptations (Fellowship). Frodo's hope fails as the Ring becomes a greater and greater burden (Return). Legolas and Gimli enjoy friendly competition among the battles at Helm's Deep (Two) and Pelennor Fields (Return). Merry and Pippin change from their happy, fun-loving selves of the Shire (Fellowship) to serious, pessimistic shadows of their former selves as they witness more and more evil (Two). Théoden is cynical of any help coming to the aid of the Rohirrim during the battle of Helm's Deep (Two). Aragorn does the best he can to lead the Fellowship, even in the face of the apparent deaths of Merry and Pippin (Two). No character of the trilogy can't be characterized in some way. These relatable characters give the movies an authenticity other series lack. Despite the fact that the characters portrayed are elves or wizards, beings far above ordinary, they feel very human. This is, however, helped by another factor. You make or break a movie on its casting. Jackson has said that "we'd gone around the world and we'd picked the best people for each of the roles individually" (Part 4). They were trying to find someone who could really embody the character, and they succeeded, in my opinion. The best example of this is shown in The Two Towers. When Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas find the pile of Orcs that kidnapped Merry and Pippin and then were slain by the Riders of Rohan, Aragorn kicks an Orc's helmet across the field (Two). In an interview, Jackson revealed that in one take of the scene, Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) broke two toes kicking the
Dennis 3 helmet. Most actors would demand a stop in filming to be treated. But Viggo didn't. Jackson says, "I mean, he stayed in the character of Aragorn. He was letting that pain feed and drive his performance which is pretty amazing. And, of course, you know, it was the best take, so it's actually in the movie" (Part 2). This show of spectacular mastery of their craft demonstrates the lengths (intentional or not) that Jackson and the cast were willing to go to make the movie perfect. Another example would be Sam's dialogue with Frodo at Osgiliath in The Two Towers, which illustrates one of the main themes of the trilogy. He begins: It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were, and sometimes, you didn't want to know the end, because... How could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those are the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going... Because they were holding on to something. (Two) "What are we holding on to, Sam?" asks Frodo. And in one of the best delivered lines of the trilogy, Samwise Gamgee, gardener, friend and budding philosopher, proclaims, "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for" (Two). The sheer power of Sam's speech, intercut with scenes of battle at Helm's Deep, hits audiences hard, and right where it hurts. This is arguably the most powerful scene of the entire trilogy, perhaps because of both its masterfully written philosophy and its applicability to both the movie and the real world. Relatable characters and superb acting will get most movies well started, but most begin to fizzle out before too long. Not so with The Lord of the Rings. The movie review site, Rotten Tomatoes, gives the trilogy steadily rising reviews as the trilogy progressed with a 92% for The Fellowship of the Ring (Ring 2001), a 94% for The Two Towers (Two 2002), and a stunning 96% for the climactic ending, The Return of the King (Return 2003). This evidence could be
Dennis 4 considered slightly dubious, given that the ratings were probably assigned in the midst of their popularity, days after the release. And I will grant this. But the idea that the trilogy has fallen from popularity is shattered by a survey conducted by myself. I asked 15 different people of varying genders, ages, and races about their experience with The Lord of the Rings. Of the 10 that had seen the movies, there was nothing but positives. Each of them agreed that the movies were highly enjoyable, and gave various reasons for their positive reviews, ranging from the idea that someone small could change the world to the 'ugly bad guys'. I kid you not. This was a legitimate response. Of the five who had not seen the movies, they all agreed that anything they heard was positive, and some displayed interest in viewing the movies. Overall the movies have made nearly $3 million and more than 250 awards, including 17 Oscars (Peterson). J.R.R. Tolkien was a master writer who combined powerful messages and interesting characters to create a wonderful mythology that spread across not only the three books in The Lord of the Rings, but also a prequel, titled The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again, and other companion books, like The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin. Peter Jackson and his crew, including a fellowship of Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis and others have created a world that seems completely real to the viewers. Everything from the Hobbit-holes in the Shire to the Mines of Moria, from the halls of Edoras to the White City of Minas Tirith and the hostile landscape of Mordor feels like Middle-Earth pulled straight from the books written so long ago by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson has brought the world to life in a way that can not be rivaled. When was the last time you visited Tolkien's magical land?
Dennis 5 Works Cited LotR Outtakes Part 2. Lexie Evans. YouTube, 2012. Video. 14 Mar. 2013. LotR Outtakes Part 4. Lexie Evans. YouTube, 2013. Video. 14 Mar. 2013. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)." Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen. New Line Cinema, 2001. Film. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)." Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen. New Line Cinema, 2003. Film. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)." Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen. New Line Cinema, 2002. Film. Peterson, Jeff. "Why Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' succeeded as an adaptation." Deseret News. 2012, Web. 14 Mar. 2013.