The missing detail of Galadriel handing out the gifts might muddy the story for people not familiar with the books. "Where did that phial thing come from and what's the big deal about it?
Especially if they heard Galadriel's line, as one critic did, as "Frodo Baggins, I give you the light of Air India." -g-
I've heard that the gift-giving scene is back in the Extended Edition and I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'm still waiting for Amazon to deliver my dvds.
It is hard to do well. Especially when, as you said, it's not considered a serious story vehicle. Kid's stuff. So what you get out of fantasy is stereotypical fairy dust fluff with cutesy squeaky voiced muppets
I liked one British reviewer who said that fantasy films were the dodgy holiday section of the movies. First they promise you a mystical otherworld, then they dump you in a medieval cardboard village with a yodeling lesbian warrior, a young hunk with a sword and a headband, twelve surly dwarves and a horse with a horn pasted to its forehead. I think I remember that movie -g-
Lord of the Rings has stood the test of time because it is a believable Homeric epic. It resonates with all ages, even 50 years after its publication, because it deals with serious issues that are timeless. Good and evil, nature vs technology, war and pacifism, courage against all hope in the face of overwhelming evil, duty and sacrifice, nobility of spirit. I think the Greeks would have approved
Agreed. Or the Goths or the Finns, who wrote the original source material (the Elder Eddas and the Kalevala). |
