Monday, December 22, 2003
The Return of the King or: How I stopped being an idiot and finally watched a good movie
After years and years of insisting that I was never going to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I finally succumbed over the weekend and caught the extended DVD versions of both Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers at a friends' place on Saturday night. This of course, was to prepare me for The Return of the King screening, last night at Orchard Cineleisure.
And I loved every bit of it.
Fantasy has always had a special place in my heart, for that was my first love. Even before the nuances of Star Trek, the complexities of Quantum Leap, the ultimate coolness of Knight Rider to the mind-blowing action of Minority Report, I was a great fan of knights, dragons and monarchies.
And what a treat it was to have all these aspects fluidly portrayed in a stunning production. Peter Jackson's epic gives such a strong visual representation of the world of Middle-Earth that it's hard not to appreciate all the effort that went into it. For me, there was just so much to love. From the fact that John Rhys-Davies, arguably the best character actor next to Johnny Depp, plays the heroic dwarf Gimli, to the coolness of Aragorn being a ranger (the first character class I've ever played) before becoming King, to the excellent presence of Bernard Hill as King Theoden of Rohan - thus redeeming himself from his Scorpion King role. It was a "Wow. Wow. Wow." thrill ride through the whole 3 hours in the cinema.
I guess what probably turned me off from the Tolkien books in the first place was the main characters being Hobbits. Anyone close to me would know how much I simply cannot identify with "little people". However, Sean Astin's portrayal of Samwise Gamgee simply melted my heart. His one line "I cannot carry the ring for you, but I can carry you!" is the ultimate sign of a pure friendship. I can only hope that one day, I may be able to say that same line and mean it with all my being.
But the one character I truly wanted to identify with, was Theoden himself. Here was a king, ruling over a glorious nation of horse-riders, with a great legacy of leadership upon him. His men are loyal to him and his niece and nephew are utterly devoted to their uncle. He has the support of the greatest wizard in the realm and the friendship of the elves. And yet, he becomes corrupted by Saruman, practically gives control to his evil servant Grima Wormtongue and banishes his faithful nephew from the realm. Despite all this, his niece stays by his side and finally, Gandalf returns and restores Theoden to his original status. Actor Bernard Hill, in his interview on the official site calls it Resurrection and Redemption in Rohan. And that kind of theme I can truly identify with, of faithful friends who stand by you, even when evil threatens to overwhelm you.
And then, when the past is behind, to stand proud before your armies, to lead them fearlessly into battle and to support the same friends who stood by you in the ultimate sign of kinship. And finally, to die honourably, being able to call the name of the one who has always been there for you. Now that, that is a life to dream about.
I am calling my daughter Eowyn.
After years and years of insisting that I was never going to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I finally succumbed over the weekend and caught the extended DVD versions of both Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers at a friends' place on Saturday night. This of course, was to prepare me for The Return of the King screening, last night at Orchard Cineleisure.
And I loved every bit of it.
Fantasy has always had a special place in my heart, for that was my first love. Even before the nuances of Star Trek, the complexities of Quantum Leap, the ultimate coolness of Knight Rider to the mind-blowing action of Minority Report, I was a great fan of knights, dragons and monarchies.
And what a treat it was to have all these aspects fluidly portrayed in a stunning production. Peter Jackson's epic gives such a strong visual representation of the world of Middle-Earth that it's hard not to appreciate all the effort that went into it. For me, there was just so much to love. From the fact that John Rhys-Davies, arguably the best character actor next to Johnny Depp, plays the heroic dwarf Gimli, to the coolness of Aragorn being a ranger (the first character class I've ever played) before becoming King, to the excellent presence of Bernard Hill as King Theoden of Rohan - thus redeeming himself from his Scorpion King role. It was a "Wow. Wow. Wow." thrill ride through the whole 3 hours in the cinema.
I guess what probably turned me off from the Tolkien books in the first place was the main characters being Hobbits. Anyone close to me would know how much I simply cannot identify with "little people". However, Sean Astin's portrayal of Samwise Gamgee simply melted my heart. His one line "I cannot carry the ring for you, but I can carry you!" is the ultimate sign of a pure friendship. I can only hope that one day, I may be able to say that same line and mean it with all my being.
But the one character I truly wanted to identify with, was Theoden himself. Here was a king, ruling over a glorious nation of horse-riders, with a great legacy of leadership upon him. His men are loyal to him and his niece and nephew are utterly devoted to their uncle. He has the support of the greatest wizard in the realm and the friendship of the elves. And yet, he becomes corrupted by Saruman, practically gives control to his evil servant Grima Wormtongue and banishes his faithful nephew from the realm. Despite all this, his niece stays by his side and finally, Gandalf returns and restores Theoden to his original status. Actor Bernard Hill, in his interview on the official site calls it Resurrection and Redemption in Rohan. And that kind of theme I can truly identify with, of faithful friends who stand by you, even when evil threatens to overwhelm you.
And then, when the past is behind, to stand proud before your armies, to lead them fearlessly into battle and to support the same friends who stood by you in the ultimate sign of kinship. And finally, to die honourably, being able to call the name of the one who has always been there for you. Now that, that is a life to dream about.
I am calling my daughter Eowyn.
