Pearly Di wrote:I have a hunch and a hope that the lighter nature of The Hobbit, albeit with many dark elements, might just suit PJ's style better.
Ya think?
Unfortunately, PJ's style is very different from Tolkien's and I prefer the latter, but I will still watch these and enjoy them, I suspect. I just have to accept it as a different writer's take on the same history.
axordil wrote:The thing about the Gollum scene in TH is that he's always hungry, but he's also always lonely. He hasn't seen someone like himself for centuries...and now, there Bilbo is, needing something from him. I think Sméagol *wanted* to be nice to him, within the context of still wanting to, you know, eat him. Gollum would simply resent him as a reminder of what he once was. And still want to eat him.
Yeah....but none of that should come off as cute. A hungry, lonely, killer shouldn't make you kinda giggle.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
Oh, I don't know. Pathos and bathos are only one letter away, and "psychopath" shares etymology with the former...
Seriously though, I know my snickering was at the incongruity of the character attempting "nice" and getting stuck at "creepy." The matter of factness of "we gets to eat Baggins" slides into "whole" in a way that balances "funny" with "scary detachment."
yov, I have always found the Riddles in the Dark scene funny, even when I was a child. Maybe that says more about me than it, however.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
I guess it says something about you, too, kzer_za!
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Voronwë the Faithful wrote:yov, I have always found the Riddles in the Dark scene funny, even when I was a child. Maybe that says more about me than it, however.
It is funny!
And scary. Gollum is hilarious in the Riddle scene, but he's also very scary, especially when Bilbo disappears and he's looking for him.
Ah, I'd forgotten how wonderfully atmospheric The Hobbit is. I'll have to read it again.
As for PJ v Tolkien, I am long, long over the days of comparing them. Of course Tolkien is superior, but I am looking forward immensely to immersing myself in Movie Middle-earth once more!
"Frodo undertook his quest out of love - to save the world he knew from disaster at his own expense, if he could ... " Letter no. 246, The Collected Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Avatar by goldlighticons on Live Journal
I first had The Hobbit read to me when I was eight, by my teacher. Her hissy 'Gollum' voice was pretty impressive, at least until I heard the superb performance by Peter Woodthorpe in the 1981 BBC radio LotR.
The voice of Woodthorpe's Gollum is the best Gollum-voice ever. Better even than Serkis (and Serkis is great). Also, Woodthorpe's Gollum is scarier.
But, anyway, the Riddle scene had us spellbound, and it was funny too.
"Frodo undertook his quest out of love - to save the world he knew from disaster at his own expense, if he could ... " Letter no. 246, The Collected Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Avatar by goldlighticons on Live Journal
I liked the funny, adorable, sharp-toothed Gollum of the trailer. Of course he's nothing like the Gollum I imagined to myself when I was a kid, but hey, film characters never are.
And I also thought Riddles in the Dark was funny, too. Sorry, those of you who are more dignified Hobbit Readers!
(I was a dignified LOTR reader, but not so much the Hobbit.)
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” E. B. White, who must have had vison in mind. There's a reason why we kept putting the extra i in her name in our minds!
I first had The Hobbit read to me when I was eight, by my teacher. Her hissy 'Gollum' voice was pretty impressive, at least until I heard the superb performance by Peter Woodthorpe in the 1981 BBC radio LotR.
The voice of Woodthorpe's Gollum is the best Gollum-voice ever. Better even than Serkis (and Serkis is great). Also, Woodthorpe's Gollum is scarier.
But, anyway, the Riddle scene had us spellbound, and it was funny too.
We listen to the 1981 BBC LotR when we're on road trips. Woodthorpe is indeed great in the role, and to my ear it appears as if Serkins was influenced by his portrayal - I detect similarities. Still, that could be due to the character, I have no idea if Serkis actually listened to Woodthorpe's portrayal or not.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Very nice mix of of the more epic tone of the first trailer and the more lighthearted tone of the second.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Once again, we are shown that The Hobbit can be an excellent film, and Freeman will be a good Bilbo, which is not shocking in the least.
However we also see that it is going to be terrible for the same good old PJ reasons.
For the TROUBLED may you find PEACE
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
I have something to complain about, though: the block of plastic "ice" (unless that's a plastic "diamond") at 3:40. I just hate blocks of plastic "diamond/ice." I really do. You should have seen me cringing through the NARNIA movie.
Now I've gotten that off my chest. Whew.
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” E. B. White, who must have had vison in mind. There's a reason why we kept putting the extra i in her name in our minds!
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
But horrible, right? Right? Like suddenly looking too closely at a really bad "Pirates Kapow Lego Adventure" toy or something, yes? aaaaargh!
[Teremia rants on and on in a swiftly emptying room, and then remembers, too late, that in week 2 after chemo she's always a little crabby . . . . ]
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” E. B. White, who must have had vison in mind. There's a reason why we kept putting the extra i in her name in our minds!
And yet here we all are, delighted to read your posts, crabby or not. It's not as if you haven't paid for the privilege.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Gollum is hilarious in the Riddle scene, but he's also very scary, especially when Bilbo disappears and he's looking for him. 
]
And yet here we all are, delighted to read your posts, crabby or not. It's not as if you haven't paid for the privilege.
