I think that it would be very hard to talk about costumes, you may want to rethink this. I like how you have it organized though and it seems to be some very good points. Donald Turner September 18, 2008, at 03:52 PM
You really set yourself up with a lot of information to work with, it seems like the final copy will flow pretty easily for you. I do agree with Devon as costume difficulties might not tie in so much with turning the book into film unless you elaborate on why certain costume decisions were made, such as Denethor’s beard being too similar to the other leaders. Eligh Hanning?
Well done in your second draft. I especially liked your point about Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul. When you talk about the difficulties of Frodo’s web costume, I feel like you’re backtracking to TT. It’s interesting, but I’m not sure costume difficulties have much relevance unless you really go in depth with several characters. Devon Cozad? September 17, 2008, at 10:49 AM
You have much better focus in your second draft, I especially like your point about how Jackson could not just add things to the other movies to address problem in the third. He really had to work hard to get all that needed to be in the story to fit in smoothly. You have alot of room to work with concerning how the descriptions in the book have to be translated into visuals. Good start. Sarah McNutt? September 16, 2008, at 12:21 PM
I think your ideas about the reforging of the sword are very strong. I think Elrond bringing the sword to Aragorn is important as well, it connects them both to Arwen and to the conditions of marriage that Elrond set down. Perhaps you could include this in some way. Nice Job! Annika Laughlin? September 16, 2008, at 09:37 PM
Good job but make sure you don’t make your entire paper about the props and etc. Focus on the actual difficulties script -wise. Jenelle Jones
Your ideas are at a good start. Definitely elaborate more! Remember to talk about Shippey’s ideas! I love your intro paragraph. To me, that is one of the strongest parts of a paper. You should be able to always connect sections of the paper to the intro if it has a good thesis and yours was very strong! Good job! Keilah Bradley September 16, 2008, at 05:35 PM]]
I think your comments about the scenery and the props are interesting, but I think those were difficulties Jackson faced with the trilogy as a whole and not just Return of the King. You mentioned a lot of different topics too. I think you should focus on a couple of strong topics rather than numberous small topics. Make sure you are following the assignment. Carly Lopez?
My interpretation was that we were supposed to discuss more of the content and storyline versus the props and costumes, etc…I could be wrong, but I definitely think you should focus more on the story. Joseph Bella? September 14, 2008, at 05:07 PM
You have a lot of great ideas! I agree with Joe, some of your points are more about props and other such things instead of the storyline which I believe is what we are supposed to be focusing on. The prop and costume points are very interseting and I would still use them, just dont make them the meat of your essayElizabeth Delano? September 15, 2008, at 10:18 AM
Wow! I missed a lot by not watching the extended version’s commentary! You mention several difficulties with the filming aspect of it, how about the script writing? How did Jackson preserve themes, events and characters?Emily Marvin? September 13, 2008, at 11:06 PM
Sorry- I just read that all examples might not be used. I think that you should focus on the few that I mentioned and maybe a couple more. Kelsey Till September 13, 2008, at 04:55 PM
I thought that your essay was very informative. I liked how you brought humor to some of the points, such as the slimming down the actor of Gollum’s muscular legs! I also thought that the point about Aragorn’s sword being given to him in the third movie instead of earlier was important, and Shelob’s web and the sticky material was interesting. I think that you have a lot of information, so maybe you should scale it down and focus on particular points. Good job! Kelsey Till September 13, 2008, at 04:53 PM
You have alot of examples and i am wondering how you plan to incorperate all of them into your final paper. Other than that, you have a great use of details. Please remember to develop the main idea of the paper in your essay. Trudy Antwi September 15, 2008, at 09:20 PM
Peter Jackson, a director for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, came upon many difficulties as he tried to turn Tolkien’s epic narrative into an equally epic film. The third book, and film, Return of the King, became the most difficult tale of the three to put into motion. The many problems that Jackson faced included time limits, proportions, costume designs, landscapes, certain limitations that could only be solved through technology, as well as not having sufficient details of certain aspects within the narrative. While Peter Jackson had created many differences and similarities between the film and narrative of Return of the King, he still managed to create a highly successful work of art. It is Jackson’s ability to overcome the problems from page to screen that continues to make Tolkien’s work a classic masterpiece.
One of the first challenges occurred through the writing of Return of the King’s script. While many of them do create differences between the narrative and the film, it’s imperative to recognize that most of the differences were due to the fact that the writers couldn’t fit any further information into the previous film, The Two Towers. One of the main problems was the inability for Peter Jackson to fit the entire Isengard sequence at the end of the second film. He had come to the conclusion that the battle at Helm’s Deep made the second film long enough. Another essential component of the narrative included the discovery of the palantir. The writers needed to find a way to incorporate the discovery, and managed to do so by having several key characters return to Isengard; Gandalf, Theoden, and Pippin, being several of the individuals of the group.
Another scene that should have been at the end of The Two Towers was the scene with Frodo being wrapped up in Shelob’s cocoon web. The directors had to come up with a gluey, string, material, to act as the webbing that wrapped up Elijah Wood. Unfortunately, the process in which it took to wrap this material around the actor was a long and arduous ordeal. Not only was it difficult to attach the webbing, but it was also impossible to slip out of easily. Therefore, the actor would be trapped within the costume for several entire days of filming. Making sure that the actor could withstand this sort of restriction for long periods of time was an aspect that had to be taken into consideration.
One final scene that appeared within Return of the King instead of a previous movie was Aragorn receiving the sword of Elendil. The directors of the film decided this was one of the most climactic parts of the narrative. While they needed to introduce the sword into the film, they knew that they couldn’t have it given to Aragorn too early in the trilogy. This way, once Aragorn finally received the sword, a new hope could then be realized, heightening the final climax of the film. Jackson wanted the storyline to appear hopeless for some length of time. By taking the sword out of the picture so early on, gives the spectators more anticipation to the resolution. The directors had eventually decided that Elrond would have to be the one to ride and deliver the sword to Aragorn.
One of the biggest noticeable challenges that every individual observes are the proportions in size between wizards, hobbits, orcs, and everything in between. To be able to make the hobbits shorter than most other individuals, the hobbit actors would either have to kneel, or other actors would have to stand on boxes. The other tricks that were used to create a variation in height mainly involved camera angles. In one particular scene, Pippin had knocked himself out after having looked into the palantir and had a mental battle with Sauron. Gandalf was directed to stoop over Pippin and to place his hand next to Pippin’s head. To be able to show the immense proportions between Gandalf’s hand and Pippin’s head, the directors had a seven foot man step in and to simply put his gigantic hand next to Pippin’s head instead. One other proportions challenge that was easily solved was the scene where Smeagol begins to turn into Gollum. Since an actual actor had been used during the transformation scenes, there had to be many prosthetics and computer graphics applied. Computer graphics were mainly applied because the actor’s legs were too muscular for an emaciated looking Gollum. Therefore, the directors used computer graphics to slim down the muscularity in the actor’s legs.
I plan on having a further discussion on some of or all of the following topics throughout the rest of my paper. I noted several possible examples under each of the topics. (Once again, not all of the examples might be used) I might also introduce some points from Shippey’s article about Return of the King going from page to screen, but I have not introduced any of his ideas into this currently posted draft. Most of the knowledge acquired was acheived through the Director’s Commentary in the 3rd Film. It was really insightful. (If you need any help with your paper, I strongly reccomend watching the Commentary):
Wigs and Facial Hair
-Wig falls off of an orc in one scene, and the spectator can see the bald head in a one second frame. -Denethor wasn’t given a beard because they had too many old guys with beards. -Had to reshoot close-ups of Aragorn, because he had a prior fake bear that looked too fake. So he grew a real one.
Orcs and Horses
-Orcs were always a problem. (Waddling, hunched) -Had to reshod horses’ feet because they’d slip with metal ones as they walked down cobblestones. -When Faramir was being dragged back by a horse, had to make sure he didn’t get dragged off by the horse and injured. -Horse charges, dangerous to go at full speed because rabbit holes can injure horses. -Hard to shoot battle scenes of fighting orcs from horses. Horses would shy away.
Landscapes, Scenery, and Nature
-Beginning Hobbit scene, not a river, but a shallow lake. (Gollum) -Lucky because landscape had a fire burn through 6 months prior to the designated place of filming. -Used fogginess in Fangorn to disguise painted backdrop. -Wind was problematic with hair of Saruman, but it helped the effect. At times, had to use fans to mimic real wind from certain takes. -Difficult to portray meaning of white tree. -Had to make up the rules of the white tree.
Special Effects, Camera Angles, and Filming Errors
-They cut out special effects, which made the strangling not as scary. -Sometimes shots (separate) people looked in wrong directions. Had to reverse/play backwards to fix. -Many scenes had to be intertwined. (i.e. moments shot during fellowship had to be used for Return of the King) -Eowyn and Aragorn scene. Difficult to film for actors because it was in the middle of the storm. Had to put re-recorded audio over it. -Didn’t want to make ghosts too “haunted mansion” -Denethor’s pyre was hard to stage. Did it frame by frame with a few computer graphic flames. -Day or night scene? (Night in extended) When Pippin looks for Merry on battlefield. To represent the length of time that Pippin spends looking for Merry. -Farewell scene was all out of focus, had to reshoot whole thing next day.
Questions. Parts of the novel not given any/enough detail
-“How does one differ between a Steward and a King?” -“What does Minith Morgul look like?” -Beacon sequence (What would it actually look like?) -Theoden had to go to Dunharrow (Know nothing about. Use a slight of hand to explain to viewer) -Had to decide what type of spider to use for Shelob.
General Difficulties
-Gollum talking to Smeagol through reflections in water (Worried about idea having been done too many times, overplayed) .-Needed to find a connection between Sam and Frodo/Gandalf and Pippin -Wanted to increase feeling that Sam will never leave Frodo. To build tension, Frodo had to go into cave by himself. Then Sam comes to save him from Shelob. -What could be done differently with Minas Tirith over Helm’s Deep. (War Scenes) -How to shape scene where Sam gives ring back to Frodo in the tower?
Issues Without Known Answers?
-Had to get Pippin to Minas Tirith with Gandalf was an issue -Didn’t have time to narrate relationship between Merry and Theoden in the movie. -Difficult to portray Arwen’s story, especially her giving up immortality. -Council in mid-war, with Aragorn possibly being King. Difficult to shoot.
General Differences (To Be Described into Difficulties?)
-Wormtongue stabs Saruman in the back at Isengard (Subbing the Shire) -Faramir had a dream of Numenor and crashing waves. Couldn’t find a way to have it with Faramir, so they gave it to Eowyn (to increase relationship of Aragorn and her) -Changed the story by having witch king show up and break Gandalf’s staff, and then fly away.
Lauren Brych? September 10, 2008, at 06:08 PM
