Kicked off February by watching The Lord of the Rings for the first time [extended editions trilogy]. Never before has a piece of cinema captivated me in the same way these three films have. How it has taken me 18 years to discover the likes of them is beyond me.
I can honestly say without fear of retribution that these just might be the best films I have ever seen.
This trilogy has opened me up to the idea of indulging new types of cinema - in terms of the types of films I usually watch - and the ones I usually steer clear of. I've never been particularly interested in the whole medieval/fantasy genre, and I've always been slightly hesitant to watch anything with wizards and dragons and magic of sorts - but with that being said, there was not a single moment in any of these films where I didn't find myself enjoying what was on screen.
You can tell how much love and passion was poured into these projects - it's palpable. There's a feeling of warmth whenever Ian McKellen takes screen as Gandalf - instantly quotable and unintentionally hilarious, but brilliant nonetheless. Andy Serkis' performance as Gollum is near-on flawless and pretty much perfect. Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) are great. Heard they each sustained injuries during filming and soldiered through the pain. Legends.
At the heart of this trilogy is the inseparable fellowship between Frodo and Sam (Elijah Wood and Sean Astin). Man I wish I had a friend like Samwise Gamgee. Funny how the two smallest guys in the room can convey an adventure of scale in a world as epic (in the truest sense of the word) as Middle-earth.
And speaking of Middle-earth, holy FUCK is New Zealand beautiful.
One of my favourite scenes in the trilogy comes from The Two Towers - where Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn hunt the Uruk-hai. Simple, yet effective. The visuals of this scene alone are enough to warrant a trip to New Zealand. Sweeping scenery scored by the MASTERFUL Howard Shore. The Lighting of the Beacons and The Battle of the Pelennor Fields are amongst some of the best pieces of music to pass my ears. Ear porn, if you will.
These films, to me, are a new gold-standard of epic filmmaking, and I get that that might sound ridiculous coming from someone who has only just watched them for the first time since their release almost two decades ago, but let it be said that I have never seen anything like them before. Epic is so overused, but it truly defines this trilogy.
Everything about these films is just so ridiculously well-done; the fantastic natural and artificial landscapes, a superb ensemble of actors, moods that shift effortlessly between mediaeval battles of colossal proportions and convincing bloodshed; to beauty and wonderment, the well-paced dramatic tension with touches of humour, and messages of humanism that extend beyond the screen.
Peter Jackson sucks you into an atmosphere of plain surrealism. From Fellowship's sense of spectacle and adventure, to Two Tower's amazing battles and downright eery ending, to everything about Return of the King. I wish I could watch them again for the first time - but since I can't, I've written this to try to convince some of the unwilling TOOKS out there to watch these films if you already have not.
Submitted February 05, 2020 at 06:53AM by australiughhh https://ift.tt/2Usv7rQ
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