And the Trilogy Saturday party is over! :) (Just a little under 13 hours after it began.)
We had nine guests total (or maybe ten? I’m not sure) at one point or another, plus me and Becky, of course. Not bad, methinks, for such a specialized, nerdy event. :) Thanks to everyone who came! Special kudos to Alex, who stayed for the entirety of all three movies, and Patrick, who arrived less than an hour into Fellowship and stayed till the end. Dmytro wins the bronze medal, having missed Fellowship but watched all of the Two Towers and Return of the King.
Alex and Patrick, left picture, and Patrick and Dmytro, right picture, watch the climactic scene of Return of the King.
There are three audio posts below. The first is a recording of our reaction to a funny line in the Mouth of Sauron scene, the second is Aragorn’s “Stand, Men of the West!” speech, and the third is Sam’s “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!” scene.
For me, this was the second time I’d seen all three movies in a row (the first was Trilogy Tuesday in Albuquerque, of course), and the first time I’d done so with the Return of the King Extended Edition. I really enjoyed it, and it gave me a great opportunity to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses (mostly strengths) of all three films as I saw them “as they’re meant to be seen,” consecutively, as a single work of cinematic brilliance.
Here, tentatively, is my top five list of favorite scenes from the entire trilogy:
1. Gandalf-Nazgul confrontation followed by Rohirrim charge into battle (Return of the King; Gandalf-Nazgul confrontation only in Extended Edition)
2. Frodo-Gollum fight on Mount Doom, Ring destroyed, Mordor destroyed (Return of the King)
3. Theoden’s last stand and the sounding of the horn at Helm’s Deep (The Two Towers)
4. Gandalf vs. Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-Dum (Fellowship of the Ring)
5. Frodo-Sam conversation on Mount Doom slopes ending with Sam’s “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you” speech (Return of the King)
Anyone else want to offer their favorite scene(s)?
UPDATE: Alex: “Yes, I’m a big dork. But it was a lot of fun.”
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Categories: Lord of the Rings
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February 19th, 2005 at 11:37:29 pm
no one really cares that you watched movies all day. thanks for making a difference in the world. maybe tomorrow you can pick your butt for 13 hours.
February 20th, 2005 at 12:51:23 am
no one cares what you think Anonymous, you don’t want to read about it GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
February 20th, 2005 at 3:31:37 am
Hello? Shelob vs. Sam? Are you nuts–the best live actor vs. CGI in film…period.
February 20th, 2005 at 11:48:45 am
Sam and Frodo are obviously gay lovers. True Christians should not watch these movies.
February 20th, 2005 at 11:54:54 am
Hmm, at the risk of even tangental agreement with a complete jerk… Option a) spend 13 hours watching movies you’ve already seen. Option b) Spend 13 hours going to returning from and looking at the Gates in Central Park. In case you were wondering, yeah, they are pretty cool… Okay freezing really it was damn cold yesterday in Manhattan. I think the most interesting part of the project is not the gates, per se, but how many people it got to come out and take advantage of the park — which was extremely crowded. Other observations include: Central park is a really really big.
February 20th, 2005 at 1:49:31 pm
Sorry I couldn’t make it at all. I set my clock for 8:00am to make the first movie but I (really!) overslept. Then I fell behind on everything else in my day and I had to be somewhere at 8pm. By afternoon I wasn’t dying to see the movies anymore, I just wanted to meet your pets. But I’m really slow on Saturdays.
Anonymous: you’ve got to be a complete loser to read / comment on something you find to be of absolutely no interest or significance. Get a life, wouldya? Spend your time on things you actually like.
February 20th, 2005 at 6:26:32 pm
Heh… yeah, I thought about the NYC thing, Dane (sorry I never returned your call), but it was just too expensive… Becky and I have been spending money like drunken sailors (in case you couldn’t tell from the whole giant aquarium thing) and so I deemed such a trip unwise. Not that hosting a party wasn’t also really expensive, but nevermind that… :)
February 20th, 2005 at 10:36:47 pm
Anonymous,
If Brendan’s a loser for watching movies all day and posting about it, what does that say about you, who posts a reply?