In Reply to: The only thing that you left out was "IMHO" which can be shortened to "IMO" for absolute accuracy. posted by Audiophilander on January 10, 2004 at 07:07:03:
When I say that these films are poorly directed, I am saying that Mr. Jackson has made them by piling scene over scene, losing any sense of continuity, and then his sense of rhythm shines just because it´s absent, and his tempo changes suddenly, from too fast to practically stopping, making these films look like the poor collage they are.As an example, just consider how boringly slow, and lacking any minimal tension, is the hobbit´s ascent to Mount Doom: it´s repetitive, and it lacks any sense of progress, with them being now here, an eternity later there, and finally there they are, in what look like the banks of a river of molten lava (which should burn anything at distances much further than where they are, while they don´t even show a single drop of sweat in their faces...). That scene, if properly directed, would have been carrying the viewer towards a climax, in the same way a good conductor would when playing a symphony..., but he doesn´t.
Telling a story well is not so easy, and requires much more than just a lot of technical equipment, which he had in spades..., but no talent to squeeze the juice that fruity story has.
If you want to have a clear idea of what I´m saying, just find a copy of Minnelli´s "The Bad and the Beautiful", and look at what happens when Kirk Douglas asks that director to make things happen at a different pace in the film they are doing at that time, and the director tells him that "he needs to hold the pace now, so he can grow better on the final climax"...: then, Douglas fires him, takes the rheins, makes the film, and finally drops it away, because he undrstands that he has made just a piece of shit. Minnelli´s is a very good film, deserving being seen once again, if you already know it.
And actors are generally bad: Elijah Wood doesn´t fit well as the hobbit who, being full of bonhomie, finds himself entangled in a risky adventure, being shattered to the every marrow of his bones, and then finally transforming himself, through his struggles, into a mature, richer person: that´s what happens in the books, but Mr. Wood is always like a child, always so far from the much better playing the man doing Sam´s role shows every time, so much that he literally wipes him away... Mr. Mortensen is a stiff, wooden Aragorn, showing no greatness at any time; Liv Tyler is one of the worst in her blank inexpressiveness; Gandalf´s eyes show just as much intelligence as Mr. Bush´s reading one of his speechs...
Well, now I have, without entering in too many details, told you why I consider these films not to be at the height of the original work. And I don´t mind if they are acclaimed by tasteless people as the biggest thing since sliced bread (which I despise too: have you ever had a loaf of good bread, baked in the old style..., or a good baguette? there simply is no contest!), as I am dead sure that, in a couple of years, time will put things in their right place, and they will have been forgotten: Mr. Jackson´s work is at the same height as Rowling´s "Harry Potter" when compared to the sheer height of Tolkien´s books.
Regards
BF
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Follow Ups
- Well, enough is enough: let´s call a spade a spade - orejones 09:23:45 01/10/04 (4)
- Spades are also great for shallow digs; you certainly shoveled a lot of dirt at fans of Peter Jackson's LoTR films. - Audiophilander 22:46:24 01/10/04 (3)
- Do you want to see what a perfect casting looks like? - orejones 07:44:58 01/12/04 (2)
- Re: The best casting I have ever seen - rico 12:28:46 01/15/04 (0)
- LOL! The only thing Ford deserves credit for is finding a non-western role in which John "One-Note" Wayne could act! - Audiophilander 16:27:47 01/13/04 (0)