Films/DVD Asylum

• willful blindness - ishmael 14:05:24 01/01/02 (2)
  In Reply to: Re: Lord of the Rings! (spoilers!) posted by Joe S on December 30, 2001 at 15:03:06:

  I love pseudo-intellectuals who dismiss an entire genre of literature without having ever completed a book. I have a university degree in English Literature and have read, and studied, many of the classics from Russia, France, England, America, etc., etc. My favorite eras for literature are the late 17th to middle 18th centuries in England and early 20th century in America. I also love to read good Science-Fiction and Fantasy. Many of the themes covered in the classics are revisited in these genres effectively and innovatively.
  
  I read Lord of the Rings about 30 years ago, so I have been waiting a long time to see it represented on film. I went two days ago with my wife, who read the books about the same time I did, and has reread them recently. It seems that, for appreciating a movie like this, context is everything. I was deeply touched by the purity, courage and indomitability of the diminutive heroes. Like the books, the movie captures these qualities and effectively juxtaposes them against profound danger and evil. Because reading the books was an emotional experience, so was watching the movie. My enjoyment, and appreciation, derived from the ability of the moviemakers to recreate, not just my visual imagination of the places, but my emotional reaction to the characters and their plight. I am going to see it again soon, so that I can share it with my friends.
  
  
  

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  • Re: willful blindness - Joe S 18:21:39 01/02/02 (1)
    In Reply to: willful blindness posted by ishmael on January 01, 2002 at 14:05:24:

    I love pseudo-intellectuals who try to justify personal taste with logic. And I have tried to read fantasy on more than one occasion but my patience for good vs. evil, quests / vengance tales spiced with magical amulets and sorcerers is limited at best. Is that really so bad or hard for you to understand? And by the way I like SF and have been a voracious reader of all kinds of books over the years but Fantasy is the one thing I can't abide....

    I watched Lord Of the Rings two days ago and saw a simple minded drivative story as predictable as a grade school primer filled with cheap and manipulative directorial effects to advance an otherwise motionless story. I mean, how many times do we have to see directors make charcaters act like fools to advance the plot of their films without complaining? In this case I mean the painfully obvious device of having characters surrounding the hero act like fools in order to attract the attention of enemies just so another set piece battle can occur when things drag for just a bit too long. A device this film stooped to not once but twice!

    I didn't like it. I'm not saying you shouldn't. But I am saying that people who don't find fantasy interesting are not going to be transformed into fantasy genre lovers by this movie.

    joe
    
    

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    • Re: willful blindness - ishmael 11:23:41 01/04/02 (0)
      In Reply to: Re: willful blindness posted by Joe S on January 02, 2002 at 18:21:39:

      Fair enough. Pardon my presumption. My reaction to the movie was quite emotional because the books had an emotional effect on me. The director, in fact, follows the books very closely and what appear to be trite manipulations are accurate recreations of events in the story.
      
      

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