Rank the Middle Earth films!

[Lejuan]

I really don't think it was Jackson's ego turning things into a trilogy. From everything I've seen, read, and know he really felt like he had enough material to do three films. As far as Radagast the worst thing about him is the bird poop the rest of the character is fantastic IMO.

I think it's more likely that, given the pacing of the novel, he could've done it in either one or three films, and he opted for three. But he only had enough for three by including characters and events that were presented radically different from how they were treated in the book. ie Radagast, almost a throwaway line in the book, gets an entire scene. The character may have been 'cool', but he had no place in the film. The most generous thing one could say about his inclusion is that it fleshed out the universe a bit and provided some diversion from the heavy focus on the company.

 

[Rotfish]

I heard they discovered some of Tolkien's notes that talked about what certain characters were doing "off-screen," so Jackson decided to fit those bits in.

 

[Lejuan]

I heard they discovered some of Tolkien's notes that talked about what certain characters were doing "off-screen," so Jackson decided to fit those bits in.

...yup. Filler

 

[The Josh]

I think it's more likely that, given the pacing of the novel, he could've done it in either one or three films, and he opted for three. But he only had enough for three by including characters and events that were presented radically different from how they were treated in the book. ie Radagast, almost a throwaway line in the book, gets an entire scene. The character may have been 'cool', but he had no place in the film. The most generous thing one could say about his inclusion is that it fleshed out the universe a bit and provided some diversion from the heavy focus on the company.

That's not correct. One film was never an option for The Hobbit. It was always going to be two but when Jackson saw that he had a fair amount of material they went to WB and wanted to use more. The stuff from the appendices was always planned to be in the film so the three films didn't just get added to make three films. Sure they gave more depth to Radagast than what we get anyplace and IMO as a avid fan of the world it's a good thing. So I disagree he has a total place in the film.

 

[The Josh]

I heard they discovered some of Tolkien's notes that talked about what certain characters were doing "off-screen," so Jackson decided to fit those bits in.

That would be incorrect.

 

[Niltusk]

That would be incorrect.

I've read similar things as well, that Jackson has drawn information from other Tolkien writings, you don't think there's much accuracy to those articles?

 

[Lejuan]

In any case, I was bored witless by the first Hobbit flick. The peripheral stuff should've been delivered as extended DVD material imo.

My ranking of the flicks to date:

1. Fellowship
2. Two Towers
3. Return of the King
4. Daylight
5. Unexpected Journey

 

[The Josh]

I've read similar things as well, that Jackson has drawn information from other Tolkien writings, you don't think there's much accuracy to those articles?

Certain things they've used have been from the Appendicies and I believe the Annotated Hobbit. They've been very careful on what they used and haven't because there is only so much info they have the rights to.

 

[NAZGUL-KING]

Me too, though my favorite part of all of them is the Battle of Helm's Deep.

As epic as the Battle of Minas Tirith is, I much prefer the grittier Battle of Helms Deep as well. It's the one thing that sometimes pushes TTT in front of FOTR and makes me flip-flop my rankings every so often.

 

[K07]

LotR is hard to seperate into parts to me. I watch the Extended Cut over a weekend or even in one sitting if I'm able to. I do know that RotK is my least favorite of the three. It's just so dark and depressing by the end and I just want it all to be over but the endings drag on and on. That might be the point but it makes it hard to endure for repeat viewings. It's a minor critique but one quibble I have nonetheless.

I liked the Hobbit 1 when I saw it in theaters. I got it on Black Friday for $9 on Bluray and it felt like such a chore to finish. It's loaded with way too much content and I have no desire to revisit it or bother with the sequels.