Re: PJ's lack of Preperation
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:59 pm
Answering a bit late here, but I just stumbled on this and I think you are all being unfair to PJ. Saying that he only did a great job because there was someone keeping him in check is a bit disrespectful. Whether or not you agree with every decision he made concerning the LotR or Hobbit trilogies, he is a very, very talented director. The Hobbit films were a disappointment but, after seeing the video posted above, you can’t seriously put the blame on the director (at least not exclusively on him).Elleth wrote:PJ... like Lucas, did a great job as long as there was someone to say "no, that's stupid" or even "no, that would work in another film, but it doesn't match THIS milieu."
The more free rein he got, the worse the movies became. :/
Yes, maybe someday we will get a remake of the LotR films that is more ‘faithful’ to the books and satisfies the most purist readers; but even then, PJ’s trilogy will be ‘for-the-ages’. The films are excellent, and The Return of the King is the most Oscar-winning film of all time, so it will be remembered. But I understand no adaptation can ever be perfect to every lover of the books.Elleth wrote:I rather suspect though the canonical for-the-ages version is yet to come.
Hey, even if our opinions on aspects of the films diverge we agree on this: Weta did an amazing job and Laketown feels a bit off among the rest of Middle-earth. Also, I completely agree Alan Lee and John Howe were an excellent inclusion in the design team.Elleth wrote:I think WETA did an OUTSTANDING job, with a glaring exception or two.
(Post-Smaug Laketown as broken-down late medieval Eastern Europe (even Byzantium!) on Venice-Stilts I could buy: but commercial culture or no, the 17th c. Dutch Republic vibe was way too late to mesh well with the rest of Middle Earth. )