Two Towers - 12:01 screening

[Tmscience]

Just got my ticktets for the movie, any of you guys going to see it tonight?

[Naagi]

Bah it may be next week before i get to go see it now. Child has a Christmas thingy tommorrow night I have to go to. And pretty busy the rest of the week.

Naagi http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Gregoshi]

I would if I could. Last year, our local theatre had a 12:01am showing of FotR. For some unknown reason, they aren't doing it for TTT. I'm forced to wait until 11am to see it and then again at 6:30pm with my kids...I have to screen the movie first to make sure it is appropriate for them, right? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Knight_Yellow]

SAD ACT ur actualy waiting for a movie, god ur almost as sad as the stormtroopers who line up for tickets.

Why not just wander in and watch it when it will be quiet instead of believing the Hype every1 said fellowship of the ring would be great it was ok but way too long 3 hrs?
and where was the action?
not to mention when the elf told the guy to huck the ring into mount doom and he didnt, if i was the elf i would have hucked the guy in then the ring.

[Alrowan]

i will ignore your comments knight yellow, for the sake of your pride http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif i have to wait till boxing day to see it here in aus, but i cant wait

[terryblack825]

I have to wait till friday before I can go see it. I guess I'll just MTW to kill time or go outside and skate.

[Ueriah]

While I didn't check out TTT at 12:01 last night, I do have tickets for tonight at 9:30.

I'm just hoping that this is as good as the last one, which was a superb adaption of Tolkien.

[Gregoshi]

Knight, are you condoning sneaking into a theatre and not paying to see a movie? Not good. If it is not worth the money then just don't go see it. Simple and no laws are broken.

SAD ACT? Don't put down others for their interests. Remember, address the issue, not the individual. Right? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

A vast majority of people found FotR highly entertaining. And three hours is too long? I've seen the extended version at 3 1/2 hours and I thought it was much better. BTW, TTT is three hour, so you might want to avoid it. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[Knight_Yellow]

No im not saying sneek in im saying just go in at anytime over the holiday season instead of on the day of release,
and the only reason i will watch the 3hr long two towers is becos theres supposedly lots of action in it.

[rasoforos]

i would go and see it in the first day but noone i know is here ( they all went back home for christmas ) , so i m gonna see it about 5-6 days from now. concerning the 3 hours... i think the moovie was too short , they should show the whole thing and include tom bombadil , all in all i would be happy with 4 hours . And sitting in a cinema room for 3 1/2 hours is not that bad ...i did it 4 times with LotR http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Naagi]

Now if I could just keep my bladder from freaking out. I dont go all day but if I walk near a theater its like magic. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif Will more than likely be saturday or sunday for me, sigh. Just gotta stay away from any of my friends, who'll try and tell me everything.

Naagi http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Dark Prince]

when will they make movie for return of the king??? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

[terryblack825]

It's already made they did the filmig for all three movies at once.However the movie wont be realeased untill december of 2004 I guess they still have some editing to do.

[Gregoshi]

First, sorry Knight, I misunderstood your point.

Naagi - ROTFLMAO Ain't that the truth I manage to make it through TTT but right after the movie I had some urgent business to attend to. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

[Alrowan]

Quote[/b] (Dark Prince @ Dec. 18 2002,15:27)]when will they make movie for return of the king??? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif
it comes out 17th of december 2003

[Swoosh So]

Sheesh another year and 2 dvds later http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif Im a great fan of the book and im going to see it sunday http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Devastatin Dave]

I'm going to go see it tonight, I'll let you guys know if its worth the hype I'm sure it will be awesome... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[Foreign Devil]

Quote[/b] (Alrowan @ Dec. 17 2002,23:58)]i have to wait till boxing day to see it here in aus, but i cant wait
Boxing day.... thats the day after Christmas and refers to returning gifts, right? And don't the have it in Canada, too? I had a calender once that had the Canadian holidays on it and I think I remember seeng boxing day.

[rpasell]

I thought it was a good movie, but I left disappointed.

Far to much license taken in this one, not nearly close to the book.

[MonkeyMan]

Quote[/b] (Foreign_Devil @ Dec. 19 2002,16:22)]
Quote[/b] (Alrowan @ Dec. 17 2002,23:58)]i have to wait till boxing day to see it here in aus, but i cant wait
Boxing day.... thats the day after Christmas and refers to returning gifts, right? And don't the have it in Canada, too? I had a calender once that had the Canadian holidays on it and I think I remember seeng boxing day.
Boxing Day is celebrated in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada, not all that many in those countries have much of a notion as to why they get the 26 of December off. Boxing Day might well be a statutory holiday in some of those lands, but it's not a well understood one.

Despite the lively images suggested by the name, it has nothing to do with pugilistic expositions between tanked-up family members who have dearly been looking forward to taking a round out of each other for the past year. Likewise, it does not gain its name from the overpowering need to rid the house of an excess of wrappings and mountains of now useless cardboard boxes the day after St. Nick arrived to turn a perfectly charming and orderly home into a maelstrom of discarded tissue paper.

The name also has nothing to do with returning unwanted gifts to the stores they came from, hence its common association with hauling about boxes on the day after Christmas.

The holiday's roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.

And that's about as much as anyone can definitively say about its origin because once you step beyond that point, it's straight into the quagmire of debated claims and dueling folklorists. Which, by the way, is what we're about to muddy our boots with.

Although there is general agreement that the holiday is of British origin and it has to do with giving presents to the less fortunate, there is still dispute as to how the name came about or precisely what unequal relationship is being recognized.

so now you know. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Devastatin Dave]

Wow, that sounds like a nice holiday Being a greedy, self-serving Yank, I've never heard of it. But it sounds wonderful. Well, I have to go torture the subordinates for mre work production and more wealth, have fun Boxing....

[Rwraith]

Wow what a movie...awesome battle scenes. So when is the middle earth mod coming out for this game? I wanna play some Elven archers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[gabrielvilleda]

Well I did recently hear about a LOTR RTS game in the works. Maybe this time they will get the hero aspect right? (Blizzard http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif ) Actaully it would be worth the 50 dollars if I could just renact Helm's Deep. What a great movie BTW.

[Gregoshi]

Welcome, welcome friend gabrielvilleda The Entrance Hall is yours to roam and do what you will here. The windows give you a lovely view of our other forums. You can join in the festivities of the other forums as soon as I can find the right key... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/dizzy.gif

TTT is a great movie. I saw it twice opening day - once alone and once with the kids - who loved it too. I do agree somewhat with rpasell. They did take more artistic license with TTT. I think most of it was for the sake of character development/interaction and I can live with that. One change I was not very happy about though (and won't mention it now since so many have yet to see the movie).

Many of the parts where Jackson took artistic license were in the books but mainly just minor references. The Aragorn/Arwen bits come to mind. Here was a great love story - as described in the books - yet it yielded few sentences in the story.

Helms Deep was unbelievable, the Ents were awesome and Gollum...Andy Serkis deserves a nomination for Best Actor/Supporting Actor for the Oscars.

I wonder what parts they filmed but edited out and we'll see on the extended DVD version next year? I can't think of any major ommissions like the Gift Giving scene in FotR.

[Devastatin Dave]

Man, i loved the movie. I really loved the Ents. Those guys put on a total butt-stomping I would love for CA to make a LotR games. I think it would probably cost them alot in royalties so I doubt it would ever happen, but we can still dream can't we. I thought Gollem's character was well done and it really made you feel pity for the little basta... any way, the battle scenes were incredible, and the orlephants (sp?) were amazing. I truely loved the movie and would definitly go back and watch it over and over and over and over..... again

[Shahed]

Just got back from watching the movie I loved it The hall was even more lively because there was a school full of kids on a night out. They were howling/whistling at the women and cheering every time the good guys got some hits in. I loved the first movie, never read the book, I loved this movie too. It's really a great piece of work from a producer who probably risked his entire career on this trilogy. I don't think everyone will like it because it has those hints of alternativeness. You all watch out for some great battle scenes, specially watch out for the Elf (forgot his name) he does some wild stuff this time around. There was a scene at the start of an ambush where the Elf completely flipped out the entire crowd, almost everyone stood up and started cheering. Man this was a great movie

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Take the kids, they'll probably love it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[lancer63]

Rohan riders are Vikings on horse and the Uruk Hai are like black SAPs But it´s better than The first one, specially the battle of Helm´s deep and the Ent battle in Isengard. You have to see it several times to catch all the details, it´s HUGE http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[_Martyr_]

I totally hate what Peter Jackson has done to Tolkien's work, it is destroyed... WTF are all the stupid changes for??? I saw it in the second screening. After the first movie I thought to myself, hey he has changed a few details but at least the basic plot is the same as the book, now Jackson has destroyed Tolkien's world. Do you know that the Rotk will finish directly after the destruction of the ring? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif No scouring of the shire...

Ok, in the book the battle of the Hornburg (helm's deep) Is in the 7th chapter of 21, the film basicly finishes with it so the entire 3.5 hr film is about one third of the book and a hell of a lot of made up nonsence that would make tolkien turn in his grave WTF are the elves doing at helm's deep? where did they come from, If they came from Lorien then then it would completely ruin the character of galadriel..

il stop ranting now... theres lots more i could say (ie wolf riders?) but ill shut up now.

ps. i wonder has Jackson read the silmarilion?

[Gregoshi]

I'll address two comments _Martyr_:

1) the book tells the whole of the Rohan story in the first half, and the Frodo/Gollum in the second half. The movie had them intertwined so movie does not cover only 1/3 of the book. TTT movie does fall short of the book though. In the book the story progresses to Theoden/Gandalf going to Isengard to talk with the ent-imprisoned Saruman and Frodo captured in Minas Morgul at the top of the mountain pass into Mordor.

2)There were such things as warg (wolf) riders. From chapter 7 (Helms Deep) of TTT on the ride to Helms Deep: Swiftly a scout rode back and reported that wolf-riders were abroad in the valley...

[_Martyr_]

Yes if you read my post again, you will notice that i did not say that wolf riders dont exist, what i am saying is that the large part of the movie that deals with wolf riders ambushing rohan refugees is BS And the following bit about Aragorn being killed is even worse

And seeing as the movie spends so much time focusing on the Rohan, shouldnt the Hold of Dunharrow be mentioned?? Not once in the film can I remember hearing the term riders of the mark or host

And why on earth does Aragorn keep urging Theoden to meet the 10,000 strong orc army in the open. Firstly, us mtw players as tactitians know that a cavalry charge of a few hundred vs. an army of 10,000 pike-orcs as the film portrays them is just.... well, stupid

The film deals with 7 of 11 chapters of book 3, it deals with 6 of 10 chapters in book 4 and then makes up a new one, where jackson managed to destroy the character of faramir. Now, Gregoshi thats not a great conversion of a book to a film is it. This morning i heard an interview with jackson where he clamed that he had religiously kept to the book... ? Hence, i got a bit angry

[Stormer]

iv seen two towers best film in ages iv seen battle scens is the best.

Stormer http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Syterion]

I've only read the first LotR book, and that was so I'd know what it was about before I saw the movie. IMO, the books develop WAY too slowly. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif But they are still good books. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Any way, I need to read TTT, but I'm being drawn in with The Shining. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif Scary Anyway, then I am going to read Prey by Michael Crichton, so I don't know if I will be able to read TTT before I see the movie.

Should I read TTT before I see it or vice versa? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[KukriKhan]

I guess it was the 70's when I quit hoping that movies would be true to the book, after always being disappointed. Different media, different approaches to storytelling, 'tho purists from both camps argue every time.

The wife and I agreed (having seen LotR last year) to wait 'til '03 and get the whole shebang on DVD. So although I'm interested, I'll stay out of the Hobbit-esque threads here to avoid spoiling that.

[Hasek]

I think Jackson tried to appeal to a greater audience and the such by using Tolkiens notes along with the book to create a more compelling version of the story. I know that if I had to watch the fellowship wait for night to enter Moria it would start to get dull after a bit (ok I'm exagerating) but I still feel that if you expect a movie to capture every nuance of the book its not going to meet your expectations if they manage to put it into even a 5 hour movie. The point is that we dont need them telling us everything that happened in the book ((ie. I'd love to have seen Tom Bombadil but the money to create the character would probably of been a little high for someone who get only a few minutes of screen play.

All In all I aknowledge that it'd of been nice to see what was in the book but doing that really limits someones creativity if you have to do everything exactly the same as the creator of the book. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/flirt.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[Gregoshi]

Er, _Martyr_, you still sound angry. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

I guess I was assuming you were making a point you weren't making about wolf-riders. The scene with the wolf-riders looks to be one of those additions to show the human suffering that moviemakers so like. I do agree that Aragorn dying wasn't necessary in my eyes, but attempt to add suspense.

The point on Riders of the Mark not being used in the movie: In LotR, many of the people and things have multiple names - which would just confuse the heck out of movie-goers who have not read the books. Aragorn has 4 names I can think of right off the top of my head.

Regarding you point on the cav charge into pikes: I've clipped this from my post in the Tavern on this very issue:

-----
Regarding the comment about the charge into spears/pikes:

I wondered too about that scene when I saw it in the trailer. It took two viewings of the movie to get exactly what happened there. The key was that Gandalf told Aragorn to look for him in the east at dawn.

Gandalf is a very, very smart wizard with great timing. Just before the Rohirrim and Gandalf reached the orc spear/pike line, the sun came up over the ridge directly behind them, thus blinding the orcs. The orcs raised their hands to cover their eyes from the glare of the sunlight and most of the spear tips were raised up when they did so. That is how they didn’t get slaughtered by the orc spears. After the first viewing, I though Gandalf did some kind of light burst from his staff. The second viewing I noticed it was just the sun rising over the crest behind them. Simple but brilliant…so to speak. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
-----

Regarding where the movie ends: Ending at the battle of Helms Deep makes for a more climactic ending than taking that story thread to Isengard. I'm curious how much of the Isengard trip we'll see in RotK. The '77-'78 animated LotR also ended at Helms Deep.

Regarding Faramir: This is by far my biggest gripe with the movie I agree with you all the way on this one. The movie takes one of my favourite characters from the books and butchers his, er, character (personality). Faramir was his own person and quite strong willed, but the movie turns him into a clone of his brother Boromir.

Regarding how well the movies are translated from the book: I still have to say that as books-to-movies go, LotR is one of the better ones. Compare the LotR translation to one like Starship Troopers, who's only similarity to the book is character names and place names. The upcoming film I, Robot looks to be another translation in name only. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pissed.gif

To Hasek:

Quote[/b] ]All In all I aknowledge that it'd of been nice to see what was in the book but doing that really limits someones creativity if you have to do everything exactly the same as the creator of the book.

Then why bother doing the book? Just write your own story and you have unlimited creativity. I understand skipping parts because there is just too much story to tell. I also understand that some things in books don't translate well to the film. However, I don't understand why filmmakers feel such a need to improve on time tested stories like they do. Why did Jackson change Faramir so? I'm quite miffed about that at the moment, but I hold out hope that it will make sense in RotK next December.

[_Martyr_]

About the pike issue,

I noticed that too, and i excused that charge as possible, but what about Teodens charge out of Helm's deep, thats the one I was talking about You made some good points, many of which i agree with http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Iv calmed down a bit now, im going to watch it again.
Today I bought the entire Silmarilion on audio cd, 12 cds in total, for 30 Euro

[Korror]

I saw The Two Towers on Friday and I liked the movie. I thought I was well aquatinted with Tolkien but I didn't know that wolf rider were mentioned at helms deep, thanks for pointing that out Gergoshi. The Two Towers is my least favorite book of the three but I think that the movie was better made then Fellowship of the Ring. FoTR feels like a 3-hour movie, TTT seems to be only half the length.

I agree with the general opinion that most of Jackson's alterations did not add to the film. There are two alterations I liked though.

Lord of the Rings is full of fascinating events that occur off camera. We hear about them from other characters or in the Appendix. Examples would include Gandalf's fight with the Balrog, The Ents’ sack of Isengard, Gondor's retreat from Osgiliath, The Destruction of Dor Guldur by the elves of Lorien. Peter Jackson has indulged his desire to show some of these scenes and some what-ifs.

I liked Frodo's side trip to Osgiliath because it gave me a chance to see Gondor's retreat from that city and to see a winged nasgul before the third movie. I like the Elves at helms deep because it makes me imagine what the elves of the first age might of fought like and what the downfall of Dor Guldur would have been like. Elves are neat and make for a neat movie. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

I hope Jackson makes time in the third movie to show the Battle of The Lonely Mountain, which could show the extent of Sauron's war on middle earth and take the focus off Gondor.

I did not like the changes to Faramir’s character or the changes to Theoden’s. Jackson should just give up and admit that he can’t create as interesting characters as Tolkien. I especially despise the Aragorn/Awirn dream sequence. If Awirn gets this much screen time in a book that does not mention her, heaven help us in the next book when she actually says something. I expect the movie’s name will be Return of the King (‘s elf girlfriend)

Korror

P.S The scene where Aragorn sees the orc army while on his way back reminded me so much of M:TW. The formations the orcs were marching in looks so much like the armies I’ve seen marching towards me. I almost tried to move a mouse on the movie screen and see what unit types they were.

[Gregoshi]

To _Martyr_: I'll have to watch Theoden's charge out of Helms Deeps a little closer, i.e. a third time. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif I kept thinking why don't the orcs just cut down the horse?. However, the charge is in the book so I have to ask us how is that charge supposed to look? and how did Theoden and company get as far as they did (in the book and movie)?

To Korror: I agree with you about all the things going on across Middle-Earth in the books. What I find interesting is Jackson's decisions to shift emphasis of events from the book. The wolf-riders is a perfect example - it is a one sentence mention in the book which Jackson turns into a full scene.

The biggest shift in emphasis has to be Aragon/Arwen. Here we have the second greatest love story in Middle-Earth history behind Beren & Luthien. Yet it is mentioned almost in passing at Rivendell and then resurfaces when they get married after the war. This was the hook needed to get a love story going and help draw in women movie-goers. Arwen saving Frodo at the forge was a change to 1) simplify things by eliminating a character (too many as it is) for another; and 2) show Arwen as a strong elf rather than sitting in Rivendell wringing her hands waiting and crying. Arwen was very important to Aragorn, so I don't begrudge Jackson for showing more of that.

We did already see a flying Nazgul in the Dead Marsh, so the one in Osgiliath was redundant. I'd have preferred to see the battle of Osgiliath as a scene with voice over as Faramir is getting the report on news events while the camera pans back and forth over the map. That would also be a nice way to get in the Battle of the Lonely Mountain, Galadriel and the elves throwing down Dor Guldur, etc.

I'm not sure I follow your comments about Theoden's changes. Are you referring to his uncertainty? Or Saruman possessing his body?