NOTES ON VIEWING #13
hmmm, change of theatre in Evanston. I wonder how many different theatres I will see this movie in? Not as many as if I'd gone in Lausanne!

Why does Bilbo drop the ring on the floor, anyway? Just for dramatic purposes? We know he can't hand it to Gandalf, but neither he nor Gandalf knew that at the time. Would make more sense for him to do that, or walk back and set it on the table.

Isn't Frodo strangely expressionless coming home to Bag End (after leaving Sam on their way back from the local)? Had a bit too much to drink, tired, or just miles away in thought? And is Sam smoking?

I love to listen to the voices. Frodo's voice doesn't just have an accent where Lij's doesn't, but the whole cadence and timbre is different. He sounds more like Lij when he shouts and the pitch is higher. Viggo's voice bothered me a lot at first--nearly everyone else's is better, especially (of course) the Brits, who are stage-trained. His voice is most effective in a near-whisper, which is very sexy besides. Liv does much better than I expected, given I'm not all that wild about her speaking voice. Ian McKellen **swoon** no comment. Christopher Lee has one of the great voices in the universe, and as Sir Ian says on his webpage, the theatre lost something when Lee chose to concentrate on film. But the scene in particular, when he is standing atop Isengard bringing down the avalanche on the fellowship--what mastery.

OK, so who's writing a decent movieverse history (not just a slash one) about Legolas and Aragorn? They obviously know each other, although we can argue about how well, and that's a departure from the book. Legolas' defense of Aragorn at Elrond's Council gave a lot of people pause. And Leggy always seems to be whispering to Aragorn, usually when he thinks they need to move on (or, at least, those are the ones we hear...)

An additional favorite Council moment: the sigh from Frodo when he sets the ring in front of the council. He's finally rid of it, no matter what they decide. HUGE relief... for a very short time. Poor Frodo.

God, I love Boromir's lines, and the way Sean Bean delivers them. Especially:

Gondor has no King. Gondor needs no King.
Such a little thing.
They have a cave troll.
The lords of Gondor have returned.
My brother, my captain, my king.

Yup, Gimli has the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox. He keeps them in a jar at home.

Did I ask already about Frodo pointing out that Sam can't swim? I always want Sam to reply, "What? Is Mordor an Island then?"

OK, so we don't get as much Legolas/Gimli interaction as people would like. We get more Gimli/Boromir than I would have expected, though. Boromir's hand on Gimli's shoulder at Balin's tomb. Boromir comforting Gimli outside of Moria. And of course, Gimli paying homage when they give Boromir his warrior's send-off. The respect of one warrior to another. I love it.