You have some interesting ideas, but you need to tie your paper more to Shippey’s article. Also you mention the problem of “being true to Tolkien’s world view,” but you don’t say what this is. The term is “scouring,” not “scoring.”
Read the general comments on the rough drafts that I posted on the “(Almost) Daily Bulletin from the Professor” page yesterday. Lydia Fish September 23, 2008, at 09:35 AM
You have good ideas about discussing scenes that are and aren’t put into the film. As i have learned from reading other people’s comments, I think you need to make some reference to Shippey’s article (which i have to do too). Sarah Chudyk?
I think you could include a little more of shippey’s article since its what the assignment stems from. Other that that it is very good thus far!! Great job! Brittany Thrun ? September 17, 2008, at 11:44 PM
When you speak of Gollum and the difficulties Jackson faced, I would suggest not saying that it ‘must’ have been difficult, because we all know it was! Not to mention the actor for Gollum was underappreciated (at first) for the most part, even though he did all that work. Other than that, you have strong ideas. Devon Cozad? September 17, 2008, at 10:59 AM
Great ideas. The template Jackson used to measure the importance of different events must have been difficult to create. Also the topic on how Jackson must round out each character at the end , relaying on the growth they have had in the other films, is another great idea. I hope you choose to write about this in depth on your final its interesting. Sarah McNutt? September 17, 2008, at 12:30 PM
I liked your comments on Arwen. You could tie the Shippey article in with your own ideas on this issue, because it is one of the points he raised.Annika Lauglin? September 16, 2008, at 09:41 PM
I really liked how you wrote about the development of the characters. I think that is a unique topic to dicuss in your paper, especially the development of Gollum, the ultimate destroyer of the ring. You made a point about the ring being an actual character in the film and I think this would be an interesting topic to discuss further in your paper. You have a strong rough draft to work with, I look forward to reading your final! Carly Lopez?
I agree with you about Jackson’s problems with scene selection. Maybe you can include in which scenes he had to devote more time and resources to make. I am interested to see how you develop the idea of the difficulties with Gollum in your paper. I think you made an interesting point about the ring actually becoming a character in the film. Steven Wilser? September 15, 2008, at 07:09 PM
I think you have a VERY solid paper by talking about the flow of the movie versus the book. You can even try to tie most of your other points into that general idea. I look forward to reading the final copy! Joseph Bella? September 14, 2008, at 05:04 PM
You could include the development Faramir,how he did not completely resist the Ring at first, in your discussion about the characters’ development. It seems like you brainstormed several ideas of your own, instead of just relying on what is said in the extras. Great job! You should remember to include Jackson’s successes and failures with these issues.Emily Marvin? September 13, 2008, at 11:14 PM
I think that your points about the difficulties in creating compassion for Gollum, the increasing weight of the ring on Frodo, and this movie as the last chance to show growth and development of the characters all valid and important statements. I think that you should say something more about hobbits- that although they are simple creatures in nature, there is much more to them than meets the eye. Good job! Kelsey Till September 13, 2008, at 05:00 PM
Hello everyone,
I know this is not perfectly put together or thought out yet but below are some of the points I want to bring up in my paper.
Writing the screen play probably gave Jackson a hard time because he had to choose what scenes absolutely had to be in the film and what other scenes could be left out with the messages that Tolkien conveyed in the book still coming across to the viewer. The book is full of battle scenes as well as other tense and suspenseful moments. Jackson must have found it hard to decided what scenes needed more attention on screen compared to the others. What moments were more important to the story and what ones could make do with little screen time. Staying true to Tolkiens worldviews but also having the story appeal to people also must have been a challenge.
Gollum became a major character in the Rerutn of the King movie. Peter Jackson found it difficult to bring a character such as Gollum to life on the big screen. Having the audience, some of which have never read the book and don’t know the outcome, feel a sense of compassion for a character that seems to be full of evil, deception and hatred must have been difficult.
The Return of the King was the last chance for Jackson to introduce the characters and make them have a lasting impact on the viewer. It was also his last chance to show the characters growth and full development. It must have been hard for Jackson to bring the full potential of every character to the screen because of the fact that the story follows a bunch of different characters journeys.
Choosing what ending to use is another huge difficulty that Jackson had to face while making the third movie. To leave out the whole Scorning of the Shire part of the book was a very risky move because of the criticism he would receive from faithfuls of the books. However, if he would have put the scene in the movie it would have lengthened the film considerably. The Scorning of the Shire is where we see the changes and growth in the hobbits, so by leaving out this scene Jackson has to find another way to show these things. Also, the whole series ending with Sam saying “Well…I’m back” was a very simple way to end the movie but it stayed true to the characters of hobbits. This stayed true to Tolkiens view about hobbits being simple creatures.
The way the books are set up is very unique. The reader follows Aragorn and the fellowship and has no clue what is going on with Frodo and Sam. They do not know if all hope is lost with Frodo and Sam. Jackson must have found it difficult to make the movie flow more easily than the book did to appeal to movie watchers.
The power of the ring weighed down Frodo tremendously and bringing the intense feeling of doom across to the viewers seems like a tough task. The closer Frodo gets to destroying the ring, the more it weighs on him. Especially in The Return of the King, making the ring to be a character in itself instead of just a trinket was an important part of the movie making process. The viewer needs to see the evil and manipulation that the rings brings on the bearer.
Having the relationship of Aragorn and Arwen on screen was a major task for Jackson to resolve because their love is what makes Aragorn the way that he is. The only way that he can be with her is if he becomes king and that means having his “awakening” and defeating the enemy. The two of them are seperated by miles in the story but Jackson needs to carry on their love relationship and finding the perfect way to do this was a challenge. How to bring them together and doing it perfectly was key for people to understand the love that they share.
Of course there were general difficulties that Jackson faced such as choosing the right camera angle to make the hobbits seem short, body counts and the large amounts of props and dressings that went into the making of the film.
After watching the extras in class, I have some other points that I want to touch on in my paper. One of which is the actual destruction of the ring. Jackson had the problem of deciding exactly how the ring would find its way into the fires. He did not want Frodo to have gone on such a far and horrendously difficult journey to only watch as Gollum dances and falls into the fire. The destruction deserved some sort of fight.
Also, how to portray Sauron at the meeting at the black gate. Jackson had to think over how the villain of the trology to be seen by the movie watchers. It is very uncommon for a movie with as big of a bad guy as the LOTR to not be seen as nothing but a smoldering eyeball. Jackson had to choose the best way to show Sauron to the viewers. Elizabeth Delano? September 10, 2008, at 05:59 PM
