The offical ENWorld The Return of the King Extendend Edtion DVD reaction thread.

[kingamy]

Its official: PJ has outted himself. This is a great day! Geek Power.

Yeah, but did you hear what he actually said? He said he left scenes out because they were "too Dungeons and Dragons" in a very disparaging tone. It really sounded like a non-gamer speaking of his stereotypes rather than a gamer embracing his hobby.

I don't think it was a great day for Dungeons and Dragons.

 

[Droogie]

You're the only person I know who'd listen to the commentaries as the film is being shown.

Others here have already replied to you, but to clarify, I don't listen to the commentaries on the first viewing. After that, however, I'll listen to the commentaries on subsequent viewings.

My favorite is always the cast commentary - it's LOL hilarious at times esp. when Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan are talking; you should give it a try.

Next, I'll listen to the director commentary. I enjoy the play-by-play insight from PJ himself.

Although I'm a special FX geek, I won't listen to the WETA commentary - Richard Taylor's whiny, nasal voice becomes awfully grating. When I want to check out behind the scenes on the FX, I just watch the documentaries.

I don't bother with the producer commentary. (Zzzzzzzzzzz)

 

[Droogie]

Yeah, but did you hear what he actually said? He said he left scenes out because they were "too Dungeons and Dragons" in a very disparaging tone. It really sounded like a non-gamer speaking of his stereotypes rather than a gamer embracing his hobby.

I don't think it was a great day for Dungeons and Dragons.

Thats not the impression I got at all. PJ mentions D&D in the context of the movie heading more into the realm of the 'fantastic' at that point, meaning that the path of the dead sequence was more 'high fantasy' than in previous set pieces of the films (please, no debates on high/low fantasy, gang, just trying to get a point across).

It was never his goal for the fantasy elements to be too over-the-top, as he mentioned in a previous documentary. I assumed it was a matter of preference and a desire to match the tone of the books; it doesn't mean he regards RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons with contempt or that he has no experience with them. I'm a gamer, and I didn't want LotR to get too "D&Dish" either.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it sounded like he was making references to a campaign he played in or even ran, in which an army of the dead was a featured event.

C'mon, man. PJ is/was a gamer. I feel it in my bones. I feel it in the air, and the water...
Trust your game-dar.

 

[reapersaurus]

Same sort of thing as Aragorn saying "for Frodo" right before they charge the Black Gates. With the Mouth of Sauron scene, he's saying it because Frodo is dead, not because they're trying to help him. Good stuff.

Well, I don't agree with your interpretation here, Pcat.

As I see it, the Mouth of Sauron scene clarified that Aragorn DIDN'T believe that Frodo was dead (that much is fairly clear). He had not given in to despair.

Later, when he charges the host, him saying "For Frodo" (somewhat quietly, even) means to me that he still held out hope for Frodo, and that their fighting (and almost assuredly dying) was to buy Frodo the time and opportunity to destroy the Ring.

This is a sacrifice for the good of Middle-Earth.
Very Kingly actions, those.

 

[Orius]

My favorite is always the cast commentary - it's LOL hilarious at times esp. when Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan are talking; you should give it a try.

I'm not a huge fan of the cast commentaries myself, though sometimes they say funny things. My favorite is from the TTEE, where Frodo catches Sam's saltcellar:

Frodo: "What's in this?"
Dominic Monaghan: "Marijuana."

Next, I'll listen to the director commentary. I enjoy the play-by-play insight from PJ himself.

I listen to the director's commentary first, because PJ gives us some insight into why things were done the way they were. And he also mentions some trivial facts about the actual production which really aren't important to know, but which are interesting to hear about anyway.

Although I'm a special FX geek, I won't listen to the WETA commentary - Richard Taylor's whiny, nasal voice becomes awfully grating. When I want to check out behind the scenes on the FX, I just watch the documentaries.

I don't bother with the producer commentary. (Zzzzzzzzzzz)

I've never seen either. I'm really not interested about what any of those people have to say about the movie. And also, anything really important is probably mentioned somewhere in the documentaries.

 

[Ranger REG]

Yeah, but did you hear what he actually said? He said he left scenes out because they were "too Dungeons and Dragons" in a very disparaging tone. It really sounded like a non-gamer speaking of his stereotypes rather than a gamer embracing his hobby.

I don't think it was a great day for Dungeons and Dragons.

Unless he's referring to that movie we all hate.

 

[Arnwyn]

I don't bother with the producer commentary. (Zzzzzzzzzzz)

I haven't looked into the details of what extras are on the LotR DVDs... there's a producer commentary? What marketing wank thought that would be a good idea?

"Here's where we thought the scene needed more money, so we threw money at it." "Here's another place where more money was needed." "Whew! hahaha! Remember that sequence? Boy, did it need money!" Or: "It was during this scene that we were glad we hired that production team. That Best Boy was a pro. And the Key Grip was a genius."

 

[Umbra]

... there's a producer commentary? What marketing wank thought that would be a good idea?

Its actual post-production which includes the producers (who also directed, etc), plus Howard Shore (small comments), the sound guys, etc. I listened to it an enjoyed it.

 

[Banshee16]

Legolas is a pretty uber elf. Granted, he's not Noldor, but he is actually, Prince Legolas, son of Thranduil, Elf-King of Mirkwood. Although not explicitly stated, I believe he is a First Age elf (as, unlike most other major characters in LotR, he is given no birthdate in the histories of the Second and Third Ages). The only other individuals for whom this is true are explicitly First Age elves, such as Elrond and Galadriel, which makes Legolas something more than 6.500 years old (and gives the possibility that he fought with the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age). So, he's pretty uber.

The credibility of my source is somewhat suspect....but i remember reading the Official Movie Guide for the Fellowship of the Ring, and on pg. 44, Orlando Bloom says "As for Legolas, he has seen teh world. he is incredibly experienced inmany ways. Mind you, so he should be - after all, he is 2,931 years old!".

He's no Tolkien scholar, so I don't know the validity of the statement...but being a member of the cast, he would have had access to Tolkien scholars, so maybe one of the appendices mentions it. IIRC correctly, I *think* Legolas is mentioned in the Silmarilion.

Banshee

 

[Merlion]

Your right banshee, Leggy is a little under 3 millenia old. His dad however, is I believe a 1st generation elf, and therefore somewhere in the 10-25 or so millenia range (time was rather odd in the first age).

This makes him by far the oldest member of the Fellowship, excluding Gandalf (who actually existed before there was any such thing as time.)

But even a young elf is still going to be better at most things than most other people, especially physically.

Elrond isnt first generation, but he was alive during the First Age. Galadriel is 3rd generation...at least 10 thousand years old. Cirdan the Shipwright is 1st generation also...him, Galadriel and Elrond are more or less the oldest/strongest elves remaining in middle earth.