100,000 Views!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey folks, hope you are all doing well during these difficult times. 

Just thought I would put up a quick post to share a little good news on this blog that I've reached 100,000 views! :-)

So, yes very happy about reaching this milestone and would like to thank everyone who has stopped by to view the blog and contribute to its making this view count. 

So, thanks again for reading my blog and I will see you in the next post!

 

Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers Review (Revisited) "My....PRECIOUS!!"

 

 

 

 

 

So, now its time for the revisit of my review of the second part of the LOTR trilogy, The Two Towers and here I will do the usual tidying up sections and expanding on them here and there. 

So, with that said let's take another look at the 2nd part of this epic trilogy...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So the story begins not long after the events of the Fellowship of the ring with Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continuing their arduous journey to Mount Doom to destroy the one ring.  However during one night they are attacked by Gollum (Andy Serkis in voice and motion capture) who was the former owner of the ring but they manage to capture him.  Frodo however feels sympathy for Gollum recognising the burden he suffered at the hands of carrying the ring and instead offers him to help as their guide into Mordor, which Gollum accepts although Sam remains suspicious of Gollum.  

In the meantime Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) remain on their mission to rescue Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) from the Uruk-hai who have captured them.  However they soon come across an army of Rohan lead by Eomer (Karl Urban) who tells Aragorn that they attacked and killed all the Uruk-hai they encountered but couldn't confirm if the Merry or Pippin were also killed.  

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli soon arrive to find the smoking remains of the Uruk-hai and a charred piece of one of the hobbit's belts leading them to believe they are dead.  However Aragorn notices tracks in the grass that suggest that Merry and Pippin both escaped and decides to keep on their trail and they follow the Rohan army and meet with them who reveal that they have been abandoned by their king Theoden (Bernard Hill) who is being manipulated by Saruman's servant, Girma Wormtongue (Brad Dourif).

On tracking the hobbits Aragorn and the others go into Fangorn forrest where they encounter Gandalf (Ian McKellan) who has been resurrected after perishing in Moria (and is now white haired).  And with Gandalf they return to Rohan where Gandalf releases Theoden from Saruman's power (which had left him old and ameciated) and Theoden recovers his energy and has Wormtongue banished.  

Theoden learns that Saruman intends to wipe out Rohan with an army of Uruk-hai so he decides to move his citizens to the safety of Helms deep (a large valley in Rohan) meanwhile Gandalf goes off to try and locate the banished the Rohirrim soldiers lead by Eomer to help with the fight.  Aragorn also strikes up a friendship with Theoden's niece, Eowyn (Miranda Otto) who falls in love with him (although it remains unrequieted by Aragorn).  During their travels to Helms deep however they are attacked by Orcs riding creatures named Wargs and during a struggle Aragorn falls off a cliff into a river but he is later found by his horse and comes to and travels on to Helms deep but not before he witness the Uruk-hai ten thousand strong army marching toward the same direction.

Meanwhile Merry and Pippin who managed to escape into the forrest of Fangorn encounter the Ents, who are a race of tree-like beings lead by Treebeard (voiced by John-Rhys Davies).  Merry and Pippin attend an Ent council where Treebeard eventually decides that they will not participate in war, however Merry manages to convince them otherwise by insisting they travel to the forrests around Isengard to see the destruction at the hands of Saruman, which enrages Treebeard as they decide to march to war against the evil wizard.  Meanwhile Aragorn returns to Helms deep where he warns Theoden of the oncoming Uruk-hai army and they make their preparations as best they can to do battle.

Also going back to Frodo and Sam with Gollum now as their guide they reach the gates of Mordor however they find it is heavily guarded and Gollum insists it is too dangerous to try and enter and suggests there is another way in.  However they are later captured by Rangers of Ithilien led by Faramir (David Wenham) who is the brother of Boromir (who died in the last film).  And when Faramir discovers that Frodo has the ring he intends to take him to Gondor and he also captures Gollum.  

Meanwhile at Helms deep the Elves arrives to help out Aragorn and Theoden and this soon leads into the film's climactic action sequence as the large Uruk-hai army arrive and they engage in an intense battle.......

THOUGHTS

As a follow up to the first film, The Two Towers definitely doesn't disappoint as it is for the most part a thoroughly gripping and entertaining film with plenty of exciting action sequences.  The tone of the film is also that bit darker than the first one as the power of the ring starts to manipulate and torment Frodo's mind and also the film has imagery and action that is a little bit more gruesome than before (with the first film being a PG in the UK and the last two being given a 12 rating).  

The introduction of Gollum is also great and there is not much doubt that in terms of CGI that Gollum is one of the best examples of a computer generated character that you are likely to ever see on screen.  The film also nicely balances the different storylines as well with the fellowship now ended with Frodo and Sam continuing their journey, while Aragorn and the others are reunited with Gandalf and Merry and Pippin find themselves in the forrest with the Ents as well as Saruman's evil schemes to wipe out Rohan.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

Performance wise again things are excellent again here as the film features its regular top cast along with some new actors making a strong impression on the series as well.  

Starting with Elijah Wood again here he provides another solid performance as Frodo, who in this film starts to suffer the psychological stress and burden of carrying the ring (Frodo that is!) even more than before.  

Wood also has some good moments in the film and also I will refer to some moments from the extended edition of the film in this review too for certain scenes.  And one such scene involving Elijah which is good is their introductory scene which is a contrast in tone to the rest of their scenes as it starts with Frodo and Sam using some Elvish rope to climb down part of a mountain.  And Frodo says "We can't leave this here for someone to follow us down!" and Sam protests "Who's going to follow us down here, Mr. Frodo?  It's a shame, really. Lady Galadriel gave me that. Real elvish rope.Well, there's nothing for it - it's one of my knots. It won't come free in a hurry!".  And Sam proceeds to tug at the rope but it simply falls down from above and Sam looks sheepishly at Frodo who smiles and says "Real Elvish rope??".

Then there is the scene where Sam has Gollum on rope and he keeps yanking the rope roughly which annoys Frodo who says "Why do you do that?" and Sam asks what and Frodo says "Call him names, run him down all the time!".  And when Sam says all Gollum wants is the ring Frodo says "You have no idea what it did to him... what it's still doing to him. I want to help him, Sam" and Sam asks why and Frodo says "Because I have to believe he can come back!".  

Another good scene is actually closer to the start when Frodo is amused at Sam carrying some herbs for seasoning and Frodo asks "What's in this?" and Sam says "Nothin'. Just a bit of seasoning. I thought maybe if we was havin' a roast chicken one night or something...".  And Frodo laughs and says "Roast chicken??!" and Sam says embarrassed "You never know" and Frodo laughs again "Oh Sam, my dear Sam!" and opens up the small container looking at the herbs and Sam says "Oh its nothing special".  And Frodo sadly says "It is special, its a little bit of home".  

Then there is the scene when Faramir forces Frodo to reveal that Gollum is with him as Faramir has his archers poised to shoot Gollum below and Frodo says "Stop! This creature is bound to me and I to him. He is our guide!".  And later when Faramir plans to bring the ring to Gondor along with Frodo, Frodo pleads with him "The Ring will not save Gondor. It only has the power to destroy. Please, let me go!".

And last of all there is Frodo and Sam's last scene in the film where they cheerily resume their journey after all the trials and triabulations they have been through.  And Sam says "I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales?" (its almost like they knew it!!) and how "I wonder if people will ever say "Let's hear the one about Frodo and the ring".  And Frodo smiles "You've left out one of the chief characters - Samwise the brave!  I want to hear more about Sam" and he stops and turns to Sam "Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam".  And Sam bashfully says "Now, Mr Frodo, you shouldn't make fun.  I was being serious" and Frodo sincerely smiles saying "So was I".

Ian McKellan is also great again as Gandalf (dressed all in white), who returns after being resurrected from his apparent death at the hands of the Balrog.  

McKellan naturally has some great scenes in the film such as his reintroduction as Gandalf in Fangorn forrest where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli encounter him again as he appears in a blinding light.  And as Aragorn calls Gandalf by his name, Gandalf says " Gandalf? Yes... that was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Gray. That was my name.  I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now - at the turn of the tide!".  

Then there is the scene where Gandalf arrives at Theoden's castle to find him old and aged and he walks brusquely past Girma Wormtongue " Be silent!  Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth!  I did not pass through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm!". Then he move toward Theoden and says to him "Rise, King Theoden!" and he produces his staff much to Grima's annoyance, who says "The staff! I told you to take the wizard's staff!" and by then Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas start attacking Grima's men. So, Gandalf says to Theoden "Théoden, son of Thengel, too long have you sat in the shadows! Harken to me. I release you from this spell!". 

Theoden gives a weak laugh and says "You have no power here, Gandalf the grey!" only for Gandalf to then throw back his grey cloak to reveal his white outfit and blinding light. Gandalf then uses his staff to magically force Saruman's will out of Theoden, who struggle against Gandalf's power and says "If I go...Theoden dies!" but Gandalf remains defiant and says "You did not kill me, you will not kill him!" and Theoden in Saruman's voice says fiercely "Rohan is mine!" and Gandalf makes one last push with his staff and shouts "Be gone!". So, this sends Saruman flying back across his room and we then start to see Theoden released from Saruman's spell and he face becomes more youthful.

And I will keep this short to save some typing (and space!) so last of for Ian is his last scene after (SPOILER!!) the battle of Helms deep is over, Gandalf says "Sauron’s wrath will be terrible, his retribution swift. The battle for Helm’s Deep is over. The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits. Somewhere in the wilderness".

Viggo Mortensen also reprises his role of Aragorn very well as he takes on the role to protect the people of Rohan while they are at Helm's deep.  

Viggo also has some great moments in the film such as the scene where Aragorn, Lego and Gimli discover the remains of the slaughtered Uruk-hai at the hands of Eomer's men.  And when Aragorn finds the charred remains one of the hobbit's belts he angrily kicks away one of the Uruk-hai soldier's helmets and let's out a cry of dispair and sinks to his knees (and while filming that scene Viggo broke two of his toes after he kicked the helmet!).  

Viggo even though his role is primarily serious he does have the odd humourous moment in the film such as the scene where Gimli talks about the sparseness of drawf women "It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men!" and Aragorn quietly says to Eowyn "Its the beards!".  

Then there is the scene from the extended edition, where Aragorn tries to pour out the bad tasting stew, Eowyn turns back and asks him a question "My uncle told me a strange thing. He said that you rode to war with Thengel,  my grandfather but he must be mistaken". Aragorn tells her "King Theoden must have a good memory. He was just a small child at the time" and Eowyn seems amazed and says to him "Then you must be at least 60" and Aragorn shakes his head a little embarrassed and Ewoyn asks "70?" and he appears a bit awkward and she says "But cannot be 80!" and he finally tells her his age "87". Eowyn, stunned by this revelation says to Aragorn "You are one of the Dunedian. A descedant of Numenor, blessed with long life" and Aragorn nods and says to her "There are few of us left. The Northern Kingdom was destroyed long ago" and Eowyn smiles and says "I'm sorry. Please eat!" and she stands Aragorn, who is forced to eat the stew!    

Another good scene is when Aragorn makes it back to Rohan having witnessed the Uruk-hai army marching their way and he says to Theoden " It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men. They will be here by nightfall". And in the next scene, as they survery outside the keep, Aragorn tells Theoden "They do not come to destroy Rohan’s crops or villages. They come to destroy its people. Down to the last child" and Theoden grabs Aragorn and pleads with him "What would you have my men do?! Their courage hangs by a thread!" and Aragorn says to him "Gondor will answer".

And then there is the great scene where the battle of Helm's deep is about to begin as the Uruk-hai army march closer and with the Elvish army on their side Aragorn instructs them "Show them no mercy... for you shall receive none!".  

And another rare amusing moment from Viggo comes when Gimli quietly asks Aragorn to "Toss me" while they fight the Uruk-hai and Gimli says "I cannae jump the distance!  You'll have to toss me!".  And Aragorn prepares to grab Gimli who says "Don't tell the elf" and Aragorn quietly says "Not a word!" before he tosses Gimli over to the other side.

And last of all is the scene where Aragorn desparately tries to make a last stand at the Helm's Deep as the Uruk-Hai are on the verge of breaking inside the the keep itself. So, Aragorn tries his best to help barricade the doors as the Uruk-Hai try to batter them down. And Aragorn asks "Is there no other way for the women and children to get out?" and there is no answer and he asks again "Is there no other way?!" and Theoden's man, Gamling says there is a way through the mountains but they would not get far. So, Aragorn then says "Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass and barricade the entrance!". Theoden however is by this point beginning to dispair and says "So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?" and Aragorn tells him "Ride out with me! Ride out to mee them!".  And Theoden suddenly brightens and says "For death and glory!" and Aragorn says to him "For Rohan. For your people!".

Sean Astin is also pretty good again as Sam, Frodo's best friend who he travels with together on their quest into Mordor to destroy the one ring.  

Astin also has some good moments in the film such as the scene where after Sam and Frodo have found Gollum and started their journey with him as their guide, Sam makes some food for them using a fire.  And Gollum looks on in disgust at what Sam is cooking and he says "What we need is a few good taters!" but Gollum doesn't what he means so Sam says more clearly "Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew... Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish!  Even you couldn't say no to that!".  And Gollum says how he prefers his fish raw and Sam looks on at Gollum with disdain and says "You're hopeless!".

Then there is the scene where Sam drags Gollum around with a rope around his neck and Frodo disapproves and asks why he calls him names and runs him down all the time and Sam says "Because... because that's what he is, Mr. Frodo. There's naught left in him but lies and deceit. It's the ring he wants; it's all he cares about".  And as Frodo snaps at him he apologises and says "I'm sorry.  I don't know why I did that" and Sam says "I do. It's the ring. You can't take your eyes off it; I've seen you. You're not eating. You barely sleep. It's taken ahold of you, Mr. Frodo. You have to fight it!".

And then there is the scene where Sam tells Faramir what really happened to his brother Boromir "You want to know what happened to Boromir? Do you want to know why your brother died? He tried to take the Ring from Frodo, after swearing an oath to protect him! He tried to kill him! The Ring drove your brother mad!".  

And last of all there is Sam's speech to Frodo after Frodo nearly knives him Sam says "Frodo!  Its your Sam!" and Frodo drops the sword and weakly says "I can't do this Sam".  And Sam says "I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo.  The ones that really mattered.   Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something".  And Frodo asks "What are we holding onto Sam?" and Sam emotionally says "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for!".

Of the new cast members Bernard Hill is excellent as King Theoden who was living under the spell of Saruman, which made him weak and ill but he is soon saved by Gandalf which restores his health and energy.  

And Hill has some good moments as well but I won't mention too many but I will mention the scene where Theoden is revived by Gandalf and he turns to his niece, Eowyn and says "I know your face... Eowyn". And he then angrily turns his attentions to Grima, who has done the bidding of Saruman to keep him weak and he kicks Grima out of his kingdom. So, Theoden angrily says to Grima "Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!".  

And then there is the scene where Aragorn tells Theoden of Saruman's Uruk-hai army that marches to Helm's Deep and Theoden desparately asks what he can do. So, Theoden grabs Aragorn and asks him "What would you have me do? Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread! If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance!". Aragorn then tells Theoden "You must call for aid" and Theoden angrily asks "And who will answer?! Elves? Dwarves? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead!" and Aragorn says "Gondor will answer". However, Theoden is less convinced and angrily says to Aragorn " Gondor? Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell? Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us? Where was Gon..." and he pauses and says  "No, my lord Aragorn, we are alone!".  

And last of all there is the scene where Theoden's men are almost overrun and Uruk-hai are about to breach the deep that he almost out of dispair whispers "Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. How did it come to this?!".

Then there is of course Andy Serkis who is great as Gollum and his mixture of voice and physical work for the character are so good it would be hard to imagine anyone else cast to do the role as well he did as Serkis really shows Gollum to be both deceitful but pitiful as well as the effects of the ring have twisted mind over the years.  

Serkis has plenty of good moments in the film as Gollum but its hard to pin them all down and give specific examples of too much dialogue so I will make it pretty short.  But one of my favourite moments is when Gollum argues with Sam over the merits of good food and how Gollum prefers to eat his food raw as Sam says he couldn't say no to his food and Gollum says "Oh yes we could. Spoilin' nice fish. Give it to us raw and w-r-r-riggling; you keep nasty chips!".  

Then there is the scene where Faramir's men capture Gollum and beat him and he lies in the corner sobbing and speaks to himself as both Smeagol (his hobbit name) and Gollum " Cruel men hurts us. Master tricksed us!" and then as Gollum says "Of course he did. I told you he was tricksy. I told you he was false!".  And then Gollum says "Filthy little hobbites. They stole it from us!" and Faramir intrigued asks "What did they steal?" and Gollum turns and shouts "Myyyy PRECIOUSSS!!".

WARNING: FAIRLY BIG SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH! 

And then there is the last scene of the film where Gollum feels betrayed by Frodo after he was captured by Boromir and talks to himself (in his split personality as Gollum and Smeagol) about killing Frodo and Sam in order to get the ring. 

So, in the scene Gollum says to himself "Master betrayed us. Wicked. Tricksy, False. We ought to wring his filthy little neck. Kill him! Kill him! Kill them both! And then we take the precious... and we be the master!". And as Smeagol he says "Fat hobbit knows! His eyes are always watching!" and Gollum says "Then we stabs them out. Put out his eyeesses, and make him crawl!" and as Smeagol he says "Yes, yes" and Gollum says "Kill them both!" but as Smeagol he says "No, its too risky!". Gollum then suggests "Would could let HER do it!" referring to the giant spider, the Shelob and Smeagol says "Yes. She could do it!" and Gollum says "Yes, she could precious. And then we takes once they are dead!". And then he comes out of hiding and goes to Frodo and Sam and cheerily says as Smeagol "Come on, Hobbits. Long ways to go yet! Smeagol shall show the way" and then turns away and says slyly as Gollum "Follow me!". 

Brad Dourif also does pretty well in his part as Grima Wormtongue, Saruman's sleazy servant who is later banished from Rohan by the revived Theoden and then goes to Saruman's tower at Isildur.  

And in his most noteable scene Dourif as Wormtongue says to Saruman "Helm's Deep has one weakness. It's outer wall is solid rock, but for a small culvert on its base, which is little more than a drain!".  And Saruman says cooly "If the wall is breached then Helm's deep will fall" and Wormtongue says "Even if it is breached, it would take a number beyond reckoning, thousands to storm the keep!" and Saruman says "Tens of thousands!".  And Wormtongue follows Saruman saying "But my lord there is no such force!" only to walk through to look down below from Saruman's tower at the sight of tens of thousands of Uruk-hai soldiers waiting to go to war at Saruman's order and Wormtongue sheds a tear in horror of what will happen.

Miranda Otto does well with her role as Eowyn, King Theoden's niece, who has a thing for Aragorn (although he isn't interested in her due to his relationship with Liv Tyler's character).  

And Miranda has a few good scenes such as the one where she griefs over the death of her brother and Grima enters the room and taunts her as she touches her face, she moves away and says "Leave alone, snake!". And as Grima approaches her again and coldly tells her that how alone she now is and he touches her face gently, Eowyn looks at him angrily and says "You're words are poison!" and she storms out.

Then there is the scene where Aragorn watches her practice with her sword and he says "You have some skill with a blade" and Eowyn says "The women of this country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain".  And Aragorn asks "And what do you fear my lady?" and Eowyn says "A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire".

And last of all is the scene, which appears in the extended additon of the film where Eowyn asks Aragorn about his age while giving him so rather bad tasting stew, which he pretends to enjoy. So, Eowyn approaches Aragorn with the stew and says "It is a stew, it isn't much" and he thanks her and takes some, which he clearly doesn't enjoy but is forced to say "Its good" and Eowyn surprised but pleased says "Really?" and she begins to walk away.

However, as Aragorn tries to pour out the bad tasting stew, Eowyn turns back and asks him a question "My uncle told me a strange thing. He said that you rode to war with Thengel,  my grandfather but he must be mistaken". Aragorn tells her "King Theoden must have a good memory. He was just a small child at the time" and Eowyn seems amazed and says to him "Then you must be at least 60" and Aragorn shakes his head a little embarrassed and Ewoyn asks "70?" and he appears a bit awkward and she says "But cannot be 80!" and he finally tells her his age "87". Eowyn, stunned by this revelation says to Aragorn "You are one of the Dunedian. A descedant of Numenor, blessed with long life" and Aragorn nods and says to her "There are few of us left. The Northern Kingdom was destroyed long ago" and Eowyn smiles and says "I'm sorry. Please eat!" and she stands Aragorn, who is forced to eat the stew!    

David Wenham is also pretty good in his role as Faramir, the brother of the late Boromir who died at the end of the Fellowship of the ring who captures Frodo, Sam and Gollum and briefly succumbs to the ring until Sam tells him the truth about Boromir.  

And Wenham has some good moments that include the scene where Faramir finally discovers that Frodo has the ring after he had captured Gollum. And in the scene, Faramir approaches Frodo and says to him "So... this is the answer to all the riddles. Here in the wild I have you. Two halflings and a host of men at my call. The Ring of power within my grasp" and he uses his sword to lift the chain around Frodo's neck to see the ring. And Faramir continues "A chance for the Captain of Gondor to show his quality" but Frodo backs away and shouts "NO!" and Sam explains that they are trying to reach Mordor to destroy the ring but Faramir says "Prepare to leave. The ring will go to Gondor". 

And then there is the scene where Faramir shows he has more inner strength when it comes to resisting the ring as he eventually agrees to let Frodo and Sam go. And Faramir says to Frodo "I think at last we understand each other, Frodo Baggins" and even though one of his men says to him "If you release them, your life will be forfeit" Faramir simply says "Then it is forfeit!  Release them". 

And lastly of the new cast members Karl Urban makes an early screen appearance as Rohan warrior, Eomer who lead a band of soldiers exiled from Rohan but he later makes an appearance in the battle of Helm's deep.  

Urban makes a good impression in the film in the role as the somewhat arrogant sounding Eomer and he get's some good lines such as when he first sees Aragorn, Lego and Gimli "What business does an Elf, Man, and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?  Speak quickly!".  And Gimli sharply says " Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine!" and Eomer warns him " I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground!". And as Aragorn asks of Merry and Pippin who were captured by the Uruk-hai party, Eomer grimly tells Aragorn "We left none alive and burnt their corpses. I am sorry". 

As for the remaining regulars, John Rhys Davies is great as Gimli and he provides much of the film's comic relief throughout.  

Davies as Gimli has his share of good scenes such as the one near the start where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli run cross country to try and rescue Merry and Pippin from the Uruk-hai with Gimli clearly exhausted. So, as Legolas says to Gimli, who lags behind "Come, Gimli, we are gaining on them!" Gimli exhausted tells him "I am wasted on cross-country! We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances!".

Another amusing scene is where Gimli cheers up Eowyn by telling her about dwarve women and he says to her "It’s true you don’t see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, haha that they’re often mistaken for Dwarf men". And Aragorn whispers to Eowyn "Its the beards" and she smiles and Gimli continues "And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women. And that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" and Eowyn bursts out laughing and Gimli says "Which of course is ridiculous!" but then Gimli's horse spurs and charges forward and it sends him flying off it with Eowyn running after him to help him up and Gimli says "Its alright! Its alright! No need to panic. That was deliberate!". 

Then there is the scene where the battle of Helm's deep is about to begin as we hear the Uruk-hai footsteps grow louder and louder in the distance and as the camera pans over the faces of the men in the castle turrets we see that Gimli's head is nowhere to be seen.  But we hear Gimli groan and say to Legolas "You could have picked a better spot!".  And as they continue to wait for the Uruk-hai to come Gimli says to Aragorn "Whatever luck you live by... let's hope it lasts the night!".  

And Davies actually has some good rapport in the film with Orland Bloom as Legolas especially when they start killing the Uruk-hai and rack up their body counts.  And Gimli says to Legolas "Legolas!  Two already!" but Legolas boasts "I've got seventeen!" and Gimli outraged yells "Huh? I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!!".  

And last of all there is the scene (SPOILER!!!) after the end of the Helm's deep battle where Gimli sits triumphantly over the dead body of an Uruk-hai which appears to be twitching and Legolas says "Final count, 42!" and Gimli says "Forty-two? Oh, that's not bad for a pointy-eared elvish princeling. Hmph! I myself am sitting pretty on forty-THREE!".  But Legolas takes out his bow and arrow to make sure and shoots the Uruk-hai in the stomach and he says "43!" but Gimli protests "He was already dead!" and Legolas says "He was twitching!" and Gimili finishes by saying "He was TWITCHING because he's got my axe EMBEDDED IN HIS NERVOUS SYSTEM!".

Which brings me quickly onto Orland Bloom who despite being not the best actor ever still does pretty well in his role as Legolas and its one he is well suited to.  

Bloom also enjoys a good bit of chemistry with Davies in the film as Legolas and Gimli start to bond as good friends in the film after their bickering in the first.  

Bloom also has some good moments in the film such as the one where Legolas dispairs to Aragorn about their lack of men against the oncoming Uruk-hai force who march toward Helm's deep. 

So, in the scene Legolas says to Aragorn about how ill-equipped their men are and that they are using even young boys to fight as well as farmers, who have no experience in battle. And Aragorn says "These are no soldiers" and Legolas frustrated says to him "They're frightened. Look at them! I can see it in their eyes". Legolas then speaks in Elvish to Aragorn and says "And so they should be! Three hundred against ten thousand!" and Aragorn says in Elvish "They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras". However Legolas again in Elvish insists "Aragon we are warriors. They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!" and Aragorn shouts back in English "Then I shall dies as one of them!".  

And then there is the scene where just before the battle of Helm's deep begins and the Uruk-hai start their war cry, Gimli who can't see what's going hops up and down saying "What's happening out there?!" and Legolas says to him "Shall I describe it to you?  Or would you like me to find you a box?" which provokes a hearty laugh from Gimli.

Christopher Lee also continues to play the part of Saruman very well in this film as well as he was no stranger to playing villains and he certainly embodies the role of an evil loathsome old bugger here pretty well!  

Lee of course has some good scenes such as the one where see Saruman prepare his new Uruk-hai army and we hear his voice over say "The old world will burn in the fires of industry. The forests will fall. A new order will rise. We will drive the machine of war with the sword and the spear and the iron fists of the Orc. We have only to remove those who oppose us!". Then after that, he stands among a group of enemies known as Dunlanders and gives them a speech "The horsemen took your land. They drove your people into the hills to scratch a living off rocks! Take back the lands they stole from you! Burn every village!" and the Dunlanders cheer loudly and they stomp off to destroy the villages. 

And lastly there is the scene when Saruman shows Wormtongue his vast army of Uruk-hai as they are about to set off for Helm's Deep. And in the scene, Grima tells Saruman that Helm's Deep has a weakness, which is a small culet that acts as a drain. So, Saruman says "If the wall is breached. Helm's Deep will fall" but Grima says "But even if it were breached, it would take a number beyond reckoning, thousands" and Saruman says to him "Tens of thousands!" and Grima says "My Lord, there isn o such force!". However, Saruman leads him toward the balcony of his tower and below we see tens of thousands of Uruk-hai and he addresses them "A new power is rising. Its victory is at hand. This night the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan. March to Helm's Deep. Leave none alive. To war!!".  And as the Uruk-hai start their march Saruman coldly says "There will be no dawn...for men!" and we see even Grima is horrified as he sheds a tear for his former people.

And last of all Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan reprise their roles well as the other hobbit duo Pippin and Merry who end up stuck out in Fangorn forrest with the tree like race, the Ents.

And Boyd and Monaghan have a good scene where Merry tries to persuade the Ents to help fight against the Uruk-Hai at Helm's Deep but the Ent leader, Treebeard refuses to do so. So, in the scene Treebeard says to Merry "The Ents cannot hold back this storm. We must weather such things as we have always done" but Merry angrily asks him "How can that be your decision?" and Treebeard says "This is not our war" and Merry defiantly says "But you're part of this world! Aren't you?!" and the Ents all look at each other "You must help! Please!". However, after a pause, Treebeard says "You are brave, young Master Merry but you're part in this tale is over". 

So, in the next scene, Merry looks frustrated and Pippin tries to reasurre him "Maybe Treebeard’s right. We don’t belong  here, Merry. It's too big for us. What can we do in the end? We've got the Shire. Maybe we should go home". However Merry says to him "The fires of Isengard will spread, and the forests of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn. And all that was once great and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin!".

And last of all is the scene where Merry and Pippin are sat on Treebeard who says he will drop them off nearby a place where they can make their journey back home, however Pippin has another idea that will help convince the Ents to fight but he keeps it secret from them for now.

So, in the scene, Pippin says to Treebeard "Wait! Stop! Stop! Turn around! Take us south!" and Treebeard asks "South? But that will you lead you past Isengard. And Pippin says "Yes. Exactly. If we go south we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It’s the last thing he’ll expect!". Treebeard ponders for a moment and says "That doesn't make much sense to me" but he agrees to do it and he changes direction. Merry however is annoyed at Pippin and asks him "Are you mad?! We'll get caught!" but Pippin clearly has a plan and says "No, we won't. Not this time!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

Soooooo after that exhaust-athon I finally get onto the director and music section of the review (which is always considerably shorter!) and Peter Jackson (or Jeckson as Peter might pronounce it! ;-)) once again does a great job here with LOTR TTT.  

And Jackson once again displays his adeptness at dealing with J.R. Tolkein's work and translating it to the big screen in a thrilling fashion.  Jackson also produces some incredible set pieces in the film and the main one that stands out of course is that amazing battle at Helm's deep which is pretty much riveting from start to finish.  And Jackson throughout that scene builds up the suspense brilliantly as it starts with the distance noise of the Uruk-hai's feet stamping as they walk toward the fortress to them arriving and starting their deafening war cry.  Jackson also again makes a cameo appearance as a soldier during the Helm's deep battle sequence where we see him throw a spear at the Uruk-hai so obviously still can't resist getting involved!

As for the music again we are treated to another great score from Howard Shore who builds on the themes of his previous score in TFOTR and produces another classic with some great tracks and some memorable moments.  One of my favourites in the film is the music used for the Helm's deep sequence which is terrific and its perfect example of Shore's use of suspense and drama in his music also his theme for Gollum is great as it has a mysterious and sinsiter tone to it and even reflects the split personality of Gollum himself.  So again overall its a great score.

FLAWS

As for The Two Towers flaws....well OK it does have some issues.

For starters the film again is guilty of being a bit overlong even though I appreciate it is an epic there are are some scenes that kind of bog it down a bit in terms of pace.  And the scenes that primarily cause this lapse in pace are the ones with the Ents and Treebeard who Merry and Pippin encounter in Fangorn forrest as they are pretty slow moving and drawn out.  Treebeard (voiced by John Rhys Davies) even acknowledges in the film that it takes Ents a long time to make decisions and it right enough it sure does as they spend forever debating if they should go to war or not!  Just make a decision already!!  They also even take ages to decide that Merry and Pippin aren't Orcs but you only have to look at them to know that!!  I mean do they even remotely resemble orcs?!  They happens to be very small with big feet!  I think that would make them hobbits and not orcs!   

Another issue I have with the film is just how did Gandalf come back to life in the manner that he does as Gandalf the White???  His ressurection is vaguely explained by Gandalf himself and he says that he was revived until his task to bring down Sauron is complete but it seems a bit bizarre that Gandalf would be ressurected with brilliant white hair, fancy new white cloak not to mention a pretty cool white staff to go with it!  But we just accept it anyway even if it doesn't quite make alot of sense.

Then there is Grima Wormtongue, Saruman's weasly servant who Theoden actually let's go and let him ride back to Saruman where he can give the evil wizard the skinny on everything he mght need to know to break down Theoden's forces.  And this begs the question: if that was the case why didn't they just kill him then anyway!  Grima also later seems to fail to notice that Saruman had even put together such a massive Uruk-hai army yet he has been his loyal servant presumably on a daily basis so how would he have NOT seen this army in preparation or even just hanging about?!  It must mean that Uruk-hai must hang about underground or in the caves or perhaps Grima just isn't that observant! 

Also Grima mentions how Helm's deep has one weakness which is that the fortress has a culvert (arc shaped) drain which could be used to enter it.  And this weakness pretty much highlights the one flaw which is very similar to the one used in Star Wars with the Death Star which has that one small exhaust port which could be used to destroy it!  However to be fair the fortress would probably need to have a drain to filter out human waste (so to speak!) that might be thrown down it so it would need to drain out somewhere!  However it still remains a flaw because it ultimately allows the Uruk-hai to easily enter the fortress.

And lastly I just think it seems daft that both Legolas and Gimli would have such modest body counts after their battle at Helm's deep as they both announce they're kill counts were in the low 40s!  Now these guys have been slaying bad guys all night so surely their body count should be much higher than that!  I would have to imagine it would be somewhere in the region of 100 at least given that vast amount of Uruk-hai there were!  Tens of thousands of them and both men were knee deep in killing them so a very modest body count of 42 (for Legolas) and 43 for Gimli after a full night's battle doesn't add up especially as Legolas not long after the battle has started said he is already "on 17!".  And that's about five minutes into the battle!  So that would mean Legolas must have slowed down quite a bit overnight (maybe to let Gimli catch up???) which again does not make sense!

Anyway that's it for my grumbles about the film.

SUM UP

So, after that rather EPIC look at The Two Towers I can sum up and say it is an excellent second edition to the trilogy and it often makes for thrilling and exciting viewing as well as being very entertaining.  The film's cast are also on top form and the music again by Howard Shore is great and even though the film feels pretty long for the most part it works pretty well and its great to see the high quality of the first film was carried over with great confidence into its follow up. 

And I would have to say that its my second favourite film in the trilogy, so with in mind I will give this film a rating of...

9.5 out of 10 

OK, that's it for now and I will be back fairly soon with my look at the final film in the trilogy, The Return of the King. 

Till, then bye for now!

Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring Review (Revisited) "Go back to the shadow!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, well I figured it was time for yet another revisitation but this time it will be a more epic revisitation of sorts as the subject itself IS rather epic and the subject in question are my initial reviews of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The reason I'm looking at them again is because I just recently watched them all again, so figured why not?! 

So, I will start here with the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring and do my usual expanding on certain sections of my previous review. 

So, with that all said let's take another look at this film some 19 years on...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD! 

STORY 

So, yeah... LOTR is quite a detailed story, so breaking it down is never that easy without being long-winded but I will do my best! ;-) 

So, I will start with the introduction quickly which details the story of the creation of the One ring at Mount doom by the dark lord, Sauron.  An alliance of men and elves leads to a battle against Suaron who is killed by Isildur (Harry Sinclair) who takes the ring into Mount doom which is the only place it can be destroyed.  However the power of the ring corrupts and takes over Isildur's mind and he keeps the ring to himself but is later killed by Orcs.  The ring is later found thousands of years later by a hobbit named Smeagol, who is also consumed by the ring and later is named Gollum (Andy Serkis).  The ring however is soon lost to Gollum and is later discovered by another hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm).

The story jumps forward 60 years where Bilbo is preparing to celebrate his 111th birthday and he is visited by his good friend and wizard, Gandalf the grey (Ian McKellan).  Bilbo tells Gandalf that he intends to leave his home in the rural Shire and go to live with the elves at Rivendell, leaving his inheritance to his nephew, Frodo (Elijah Wood).  At the night of the party Bilbo uses the ring to disappear and he heads back to his home to pack but he is interrupted by Gandalf who warns him to leave the ring he has for Frodo, which Bilbo reluctantly does before he goes.  

Gandalf then decides to go and do some research on the ring and discovers the truth behind of it as the spirit of Sauron is still alive in the ring.  Gandalf then goes back to Frodo to warn him and that he must take the ring away from the Shire as he has learned that Gollum was captured by Sauron's forces and he revealed to them of the ring's whereabouts at the Shire.  Gandalf then catches Bilbo's best friend, Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) who was eavesdropping outside and he tells him to accompany Frodo on his journey with the ring to the village of Bree.  

Gandalf then travels to Isengard to meet with his fellow wizard, Saruman the White (Christopher Lee) who reveals that he is aiding Sauron and then he has unleashed the ring wraiths to retrieve the ring.  Gandalf then fights Saruman but ends being imprisoned by him in his tower. 

After they start out their journey from the Shire they meet up with fellow hobbits, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) however the ring wraiths soon appear as they sense the ring when it is near and they follow them.  On their arrival in Bree, Frodo and the others find that Gandalf has not arrived as he agreed but are instead joined by a mysterious ranger named Strider (Viggo Mortensen) who escorts them to Rivendell.  

However on their journey the ring wraiths attack them and Fordo is stabbed by one of the ringwraiths holding a morgul blade and that the wound cannot be treated normally and Frodo will need Elvish medicine so he calls on his Elvish lover, Arwen (Liv Tyler) who takes him to Rivendell where he is treated just in time.  Frodo awakens to find himself at Rivendell and he is reunited with his hobbit friends and Gandalf who managed to escape from Saruman's tower via an eagle.

After this Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving) Arwen's father, holds a meeting with others to decide the fate of the ring and decides that it must be destroyed at Mount Doom where it was forged and only then Sauron's evil spirit can be destroyed with it.  After some bickering at the meeting when no one agrees on who will take the ring to Mount doom, Frodo volunteers to take the ring himself.  As a result a fellowship is formed consisting of Frodo, Gandalf, Merry and Pippin as well as a dwarf named Gimli (John Rhys Davies) an elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) Boromir of Gondor (Sean Bean) and Strider who is revealed to be Aragorn, a descendant of Isildur and the rightful king to the throne of Gondor.  

And its from here where all nine of these men embark an epic and incredibly dangerous journey to destroy the ring and end Sauron's power.....

THOUGHTS

Well there isn't too much doubt the LOTR trilogy remains the jewel of the crown in Peter Jackson's career and at its time at was such a remarkable and epic undertaking it must have been incredibly daunting for Jackson to try and condense the story for the big screen.  The film itself is quite lengthy but is also quite often exciting and thrilling to watch and the characters are mainly very likeable and rootable.  

Visually the film is also stunning and it was shot throughout various locations in New Zealand and the film's production in itself was a lengthy undertaking as it started back in 1997 with Jackson story boarding the film.  The film is also well noted for its groundbreaking use of special make-up effects as well as CGI effects and using such techniques as forced perspective, which comes in use during the scene where we see the hobbits lined up in the forming of the fellowship as they stand beneath the taller characters such as Aragorn and Legolas.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES 

OK we could be here all night with this one so I will TRY and keep it fairly short!  But yes the film's performances on the whole are excellent with a top notch cast all doing great work.  

Starting with Elijah Wood, who is excellent in his role as Frodo Baggins, the genial hobbit who is thrown in a dangerous journey and given the tremendous burdening task of carrying the ring.   

Wood has some good scenes in the film of course of which include his first one where Frodo sits at peace in the Shire reading and he suddenly hears the voice of Gandalf and he runs over to see him arrive riding his cart and horse. So, Frodo smiles wryly at Gandalf and says to him teasingly "You're late!" and Gandalf offended says "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, he arrives precisely when he means to!" but he then breaks into a smile and laughs and Frodo jumps over and hugs him and says "Its wonderful to see you, Gandalf!".

Then there is the scene where Gandalf returns to the Shire after discovering the truth about the ring, which he has entrusted to Frodo to keep it safe and he tells him that the ring cannot remain in the Shire and that Frodo must leave with it. 

So, in the scene, Gandalf tells Frodo of Sauron's thirst for the ring and "He must never find it!" and Frodo says "Alright, we keep it hidden. We never speak of it again! No one know's its here, do they? Do they, Gandalf?" and Gandalf admits that Gollum told the enemies where it was when he was captured and Frodo reacts in horror and says "But that would lead them here!". So, Frodo holds out the ring to Gandalf and insists "Take it, Gandalf! Take it! You must take it!" but Gandalf refuses and shouts "Don't tempt me, Frodo. I would use this ring with the desire to do good but through me it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine". Frodo however insists "But it cannot stay in the Shire!" and Gandalf agrees "No, it can't" and Frodo then asks "Then what must I do?" and Gandalf tells him he must leave the Shire. 

Another good scene from Elijah is where Frodo having been saved from death by the Elves after being stabbed by one of the Nazghul (i.e. the ring wraiths) talks to Sam, who is eager to head back to the Shire but Frodo is not quite so keen. 

So, in the scene, Sam is packing to go home and Frodo walks in and asks him "Packed already? I thought you wanted to see the Elves, Sam?" and Sam says "I do" and Frodo teases him slightly and says "More than anything!". Sam awkwardly tells Frodo "I do. Its just... we did what Gandalf wanted, didn't we? We got the ring this far to Rivendell and I thought seeing you're on the mend, we'd be off soon". Frodo takes a moment and then turns to Sam and says "You're right, Sam. We did what we set out to do. The ring will be safe in Rivendell. I am ready to go home". 

I won't mention too many but I will mention the scene where he volunteers to take the ring to Mordor while Elrond's council attendees argue.  And Frodo says "I will take it!" but they don't hear him so he says it louder and he says finally "I will take the ring to Mordor!" as the meeting falls silent leaving Frodo looking awkward who says "Though....I do not know the way!". 

Another good scene is where Frodo laments that during their fellowship journey "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened" but Gandalf reassures that something good will eventually come of Frodo having the ring. 

And of course there is the scene where Frodo watches on in horror as Gandalf falls into a chasm after the Balrog wraps it tail around his leg and Gandalf says "Fly you fools!" before he let's go and Frodo screams out "NO!!!!!!!!!!!" as he is taken to safety by Aragorn.  

Ian McKellan is superb as Gandalf, which is a part he was surely born to play and he inhabits the part with all he has and there is no doubt that no one else could have played Gandalf as well.  

McKellan has various highlights in the film such as his first scene when Gandalf arrives at the Shire and Frodo spots and says "You're late!" and Gandalf says to him somewhat sharply "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to!" but then they both start to laugh and then share a hug.  

And later there is the scene where Gandalf refuses to take the ring from Frodo and he pleads with him "Don't... tempt me Frodo! I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe. Understand, Frodo. I would use this ring from a desire to do good... But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine!".  

Then there is the scene where Gandalf meets with Saruman but learns that he has turned to helping Sauron and Saruman says "We must join with Sauron.  It would be wise, my friend" and Gandalf defiantly says "Tell me, old friend, when did "Saruman the wise abandon reason for madness?!!" before they launch into the battle of the staffs!  

Another notable scene is where Frodo in the mines of Moria, laments over how he wishes that the ring never came to him but Gandalf reassures him in a way it was a good thing. So, Gandalf tells Frodo "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought". Also in the scene, Gandalf and the others are lost in the mines of Moria and he has a light bulb moment and says "Ah! Its this way!" and Merry says "He remembered!" but Gandalf says to him "No, but the air isn't so foul down here! If in doubt, just follow your nose!".  

And last of all there is Gandalf's last scene in the film where he confronts the Balrog standing over a bridge in the mines of Moria and he shouts at it "YOU CANNOT PASS!!. So, Gandalf holds up his staff and defiantly says "You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun! Go back to the shadow!". And he raises his sword and staff together and yells "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!" and slams them down as part of the bridge gives way and the Balrog disappears into the chasm below but not before its whips up and grabs hold of Gandalf's leg who is pulled over the edge.  And Gandalf desparately tries to holds on as he looks up at his fellowship members and says "Fly you fools!" before letting himself go into the mighty chasm.

Viggo Mortensen is also excellent as Aragorn/Strider, who makes a mysterious first appearance in the film as a ranger but is later revealed to be a descendant of Isildur and the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor.  

Mortensen also has some great moments such as his intro scene where as the strider he keeps himself in the shadows and watches Frodo put on the ring and after he takes it off again, Strider grabs Frodo and says "You draw too much attention to yourself, Master Baggins!".  And later Aragorn tells Frodo about the ringwraiths "They were once Men. Great kings of Men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgul, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring, drawn to the power of the One!".  

Another good scene from Viggo comes when Aragorn arrives to fight off the ringwraiths and he checks on Frodo who has been stabbed and Aragorn picks up the sword which disintegrates in his hands "He has been stabbed by a morgul blade!  I cannot help him, he needs Elvish medicine".  And as Frodo get's weaker and weaker from his wound Aragorn explains that "He is passing into the Shadow World. He'll soon become a wraith like them!" but soon enlists the help of his girlfriend, Arwen to save Frodo.

And last of all there is the great fight scene between the leader of the Uruk-hai and Aragorn which ends with Aragorn beheading the big bugger.  And this is followed by his last line of the film where he decides to try and save Merry and Pippin who have been taken by the Uruk-hai.  And Aragorn says to Legolas and Gimli " We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc!".

Sean Astin is also very good in his role as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Frodo's best friend and Astin despite being American affects a really good Bristol-esque English accent that he holds convincingly throughout.  

Astin also has some good moments in the film such as his first scene where Sam is caught eavesdropping outside Bilbo's home and he is pulled through the window by Gandalf.  And Gandalf demands to know what he has overheard and Sam nervously says "N-nothing important. That is, I heard a good deal about a ring, and a Dark Lord, and something about the end of the world, but... Please, Mr. Gandalf, sir, don't hurt me. Don't turn me into anything... unnatural!".  

And there are a few other scenes I could mention but I don't know them offhand so I will mention this one from when Frodo and Sam set off on their journey and Sam loses Frodo in the crop fields of the Shire.  And Sam calls out for Frodo desparately "Frodo?! Frodo!" and Frodo appears who asks what he is shouting about and Sam says "I thought I lost you" and Frodo says "We're still in the Shire" and Sam says to him "I made a promise to Gandalf. "Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee." And I don't mean to". Sam then admits to Frodo "This is it. If I take one more step, it'll be the furthest away from home I've ever been". 

And lastly there is the scene from Astin is the one where Galadriel hands out each member of the Fellowship a gift on their departure from her. So, in the scene Galadriel hands Sam some elfish rope and says to him "For you, Samwise Gamgee, Elven rope, made of hithline" and Sam takes the rope but he sheepishly asks her "Thank you, m'lady...have you ran out of those shiny daggers?" referring to the ones she gave Merry and Pippin.

Christopher Lee is great as the secondary villain of the film, Saruman (formerly the wise but now just an evil misguided douchebag!) who does the evil bidding of the spirit of Sauron.  

Lee also has some great moments in the film such as his first scene where he reveals his betrayal to Gandalf who tries to leave his castle but he uses his wizardy to close all the doors.  

So, in the scene, Saruman explains to Gandalf that it is already too late to prevent Sauron's forces as the Nazgul have left to hunt down the ring. So, he says to Gandalf "The hour is later than you think. Sauron's forces are already moving. The Nine have left Minas Morgul" and Gandalf asks "The nine?" and Saruman says to him "They crossed the River Isen on Midsummer's Eve, disguised as riders in black" and Gandalf now worried asks "They have reached the shire?" and Saruman says "They will find the ring and kill the one who carries it".  

So at this point, Gandalf instantly tries to leave as he mutters Frodo's name only for Saruman to magically seal every exit door now revealing his true nature, he smiles and says to Gandalf "You did not seriously think that a Hobbit could contend with the will of Sauron, there are none that can!".  And Saurman continues by saying to Gandalf "We must join with Him, Gandalf. We must join with Sauron. It would be wise, my friend!".  But they engage in a battle of the staffs and Saruman gains the upper hand and uses his staff to spin Gandalf around helplessly and he says to him " I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly, but you have elected the way of pain!!" and sends Gandalf spinning helplessly into the air towards the top of his tower. 

And lastly there is the scene where Saruman explains to the newly bred Uruk-hai leader, Lurtz "
Do you know how the Orcs first came into being? They were elves once, taken by the dark powers, tortured and mutilated. A ruined and terrible form of life. Now... perfected. My fighting Uruk-Hai. Whom do you serve?" and Lurtz shouts "Saruman!". 

Ian Holm does very well also in his role as Bilbo Baggins and he too has some good moment in his performance such as his opening scene where Gandalf turns up at Bilbo's door and knocks it.  #

And Bilbo testily says as he walks to the door "No, thank you!  We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations!".  And in the next scene when Gandalf says that he suspects Frodo knows something of Bilbo's intended departure, Bilbo says "Of course he does, he's a Baggins, not some blockheaded Bracegirdle from Hardbottle!".  

Then there is the scene where Bilbo is about to depart but is reluctant to give up the ring so willingly to Gandalf and he says "Now it comes to it, I don't feel like parting with it. It's mine, I found it. It came to me!".  And after Gandalf yells at him, which causes Bilbo's house to shake and Gandalf's voice to deepen Bilbo finally gives up the ring and let's it slowly drop off his palm onto the floor as if it was a lead weight.  

And lastly there is the scene where Frodo is reunited with Bilbo at Rivendell and notices that Bilbo has aged considerably as the ring prolonged his life but the effects have since worn off.  And as Bilbo gives his armour called Mithril and a sword called Sting he notices Frodo wears the ring around his neck as a chain as Frodo buttons up his shirt after putting on the armour and he says "Oh my old ring!  I would like to hold it once more" but Frodo instead buttons up his shirt wearily causing Bilbo suddenly lash out at him and his face becomes ghoulish and Bilbo afterward alarmed, apologizes.

Hugo Weaving is pretty good as Lord Elrond and again its a part that is almost tailor made for his style of acting.  

And I will mention a couple of his scenes starting with the one where Elrond talks with Gandalf and shares his concerns over Sauron's growing armies. 

So, Elrond says to Gandalf in the scene "Gandalf, the enemy is moving. Sauron's forces are massing in the East; his eye is fixed on Rivendell. And Saruman, you tell me, has betrayed us. Our list of allies grows thin!". Gandalf then explains that Saruman's trechery runs deeper than Elrond knows as he has bread an army of hyrbid orcs/elves, the Uruk-hai. Elrond them warns Gandalf that the ring cannot stay in Rivendell "This evil cannot be concealed by the power of the Elves. We do not have the strength to withstand both Mordor and Isengard. Gandalf, the Ring cannot stay here. This evil belongs to all of Middle-Earth. They must decide now how to end it. The time of the Elves is over, my people are leaving these shores. Who will you look to when we've gone? The Dwarves? They toil away in caverns, seeking riches. They care nothing for the troubles of others". 

Elrond then laments over his lost faith in humanity as he recalls when Isildur refused to destroy the ring.  And he says to Gandalf "Men are weak. The Blood of Numenor is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. It is because of Men the Ring survives. I was there, Gandalf. I was there three thousand years ago. I was there the day the strength of Men failed!".  And after the flashback of Isildur waking away from the firey pit of Mount Doom, Elrond says "Isildur kept the Ring. It should have ended that day, but evil was allowed to endure. There's no strength left in the world of Men. They're scattered, divided, leaderless!".  

And later on there is the scene where Elrond and the others hold a meeting where they decide that the ring must be destroyed. So, Elrond says to the others "You have only one choice. The ring must be destroyed". So, Gimli suddenly says "Then what are we waiting for?!" and he charges up and strikes the ring with his axe only for it shatter into pieces and it sends him reeling back. So, Elrond tells Gimli "The ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. The ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. The ring must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this".  

Then there is Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan as the hobbits Pippin and Merry, who are almost like an inseparable couple in the film who provide some comic relief along the way and the two of them share a nice onscreen rapport with one another.  And Boyd has some fun moments in the film such as the scene where Aragorn leads the hobbits and Pippin complains about being hungry and he says of Aragorn "What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?!" and Merry says "I wouldn't count on it!".  

Then there is the moment where Merry and Pippin gatecrash the council meeting Elrond holds and Pippin says to Elrond "Anyways, you need people of intelligence on this sort of... mission... quest... thing!" and Merry says "Well that rules you out, pip!".  And as Elrond announces the fellowship to include them and Pippin says "Great!  Where are we going?".

Another amusing scene from Billy and Dom is the one where on leaving Lothlorien, the group have been given packs of Elvish bread (Lembas bread). So, Legolas proudly tells the others "One small bite is enough to feed the stomach of a grown man!" and Merry asks Pippin "How many have you eaten?" and Pippin tells him "Four" and he let's out a burp.

And lastly there is the scene where the fellowships begins to break up as the Uruk-Hai attack them and Merry and Pippin hide in the woods from them but see Frodo nearby, who is set on leaving them behind to carry out his task alone. So, as Pippin call over to Frodo "Frodo! Come here!" Frodo looks at them and shakes his head and Pippin asks "What is he doing?" and Merry realises "He's leaving" and they see the Uruk-hai soldiers nearby and Merry tells Frodo "Go, Frodo!" as Merry and Pipping shout to gain the attention of them.   

Sean Bean does well in his role as Boromir of Gondor who is quite an arrogant character who also falls foul of the ring's influence and he tries at one stage to take it from Frodo but later redeems himself at the cost of his life.  

Bean also has some good moments such as his first scene at the council where he warns the others of the dangers that lie in Mordor "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!".  

And lastly there is the scene where Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo as he falls under its spell and his greed takes over. So, Boromir in the scene says to Frodo "None of us should wander alone, you least of all. Frodo? I know you suffer, I see it day by day. Are you sure you do not suffer needlessly? There are other ways, Frodo, other paths we might take". And Frodo says to Boromir that he is wary of his words and are a warning to him and Boromir says "Warning? Against what? We are all afraid, Frodo. But to let that fear drive us to destroy what hope we have... don't you see? That is madness! I only for the right to defend my people!". 

Boromir then tries to approach Frodo and says "If only you would lend me the ring..." and Frodo backs off and shouts "No! You're not yourself!" and Boromir taken aback asks "Why do you recoil? I'm no thief!". Boromir then continues becoming more angry "What chance do you think you have? They will find you. They will take the Ring. And you will beg for death before the end!" and Frodo starts to move away quickly only for Boromir to follow him. Boromir then continues "You fool! Its yours by happy chance!" and he runs after Frodo and grabs him and says "Give it to me! Give it to me!". And as they struggle Frodo puts on the ring to get away from Boromir and he vanishes and Boromir recovers himself, shaken, he calls out for Frodo "Frodo?! What have I done?!" and as we see Frodo run away under the veil of the ring, Boromir shouts "Frodo, I'm sorry!".   

Then there is John Ryhs-Davies is great as Gimli, the dwarf who joins the fellowship but he get's to a somewhat spiky start as he argues with Legolas over the ring during the council meeting. So, as Boromir suggests that they could use the ring for good, Legolas tells him "Have you heard nothing of what Lord Elrond said?! The ring must be destroyed!" and Gimli angrily says to him "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?!" and he shouts at him "I will be dead before I see the ring in the hands of an elf! Never trust an elf!". 

And later Gimli provides one of the film's funniest lines when during the mines of Moria sequence when Aragorn is about to grab and toss him over a gap in a bridge and Gimli shouts "Nobody tosses a dwarf!".  But as Gimli tries to make the jump he nearly falls and Legolas grabs his long beard and Gimli shouts "Not the beard!  Not the beard!".

And lastly there is the scene where just before the fellowship are about to leave Loriendel and are given parting gifts, Galadriel asks Gimli if there is anything he would like and the scene moves forward to Gimli and the others on a boat having departed from Loriendel. So, Gimli says "I have been dealt a wound beyond all healing, for I have looked the last... upon that which was fairest. Henceforth I will call nothing fair unless it be her gift to me" and Legolas asks "What was it?" and Gimli tells him "I asked for one hair from her golden head... she gave me three".

Cate Blanchett is as good as you would expect her to be in her role as Galadriel, the co-ruler of Lothlorien where she forewarns Frodo of the ring's power and later gives the hobbits gifts before they leave.  

And Blanchett's best scene is where Frodo meets with her and Frodo at one point offers her the ring and she admits her temptation, which takes on an elemental transformation that terrifies her. 

So, in the scene Frodo speaks to her telepathically "If you ask it of me, I will give you the One Ring" and he holds it out to her and Galadriel does appear tempted. And Galadriel says to Frodo "You offer it to me freely? I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this". And as Galadriel nears the ring, she transforms into a darker figure with a distorted voice "In place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Dawn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!". However, Galadriel recovers herself and says shakenly to Frodo "It seems I have passed the test. I shall diminish into the west and remain Galadriel". Frodo then tells her "I cannot do this alone" but Galadriel tells him "You are a ring-bearer, Frodo. To bear a ring of the power is to BE alone!".  

Liv Tyler also does pretty well enough in the part as Arwen, Aragorn's love interest and one of the Elves and daughter of Lord Elrond although she does deliver alot of her dialogue in a very hushed manner but she still does it well and she looks quite fetching in that grey outfit she wears.

And I will mention a couple of Liv's scenes starting with her first one where Arwen holds her blade to Aragorn who his unaware her and she asks "What have we here? A ranger caught off his guard?". And Arwen then tends to Frodo who by this time has been stabbed with one of the Nazghul and has become gravely ill. So, Arwen says to Aragorn "He is fading fast, he will not last long, I must get him to my father" and she rides off with Frodo on horseback only to be soon chased by the Nazghul.

So, in the next scene, the Nazghul follow Arwen and then stop by a river as the wraith can't appear to travel over water and the Leader of the wraiths says "Give up the half-ling, she elf!" and Arwen draws out her sword and says "If you want him, come claim him!". And as the Nazghul finally ride onto the water toward her, Arwen chants in Elfish language and conjures a spell that causes a big tidal wave that sends the Nazghul flying away. However at this point, Frodo is near death as his breath becomes shallower and shallower and Arwen tearfully says to him "Frodo?! No! Frodo, don't give in! Not now!" and she hugs his close and says "What grace is given me, let it pass to him. Save him!".

And last of all is Orlando Bloom who is the weak link in the cast if you ask me and Orlando Bloom should really be called Orlando Bland! OK, perhaps I'm being a bit harsh here as he does do well enough in the role.  

And I will mention the scene where Legolas properly introduces Aragorn at the council meeting at Rivendell after Boromir seems dismissive of him. 

So, in the scene, Aragorn warns Boromir, who is tempted to use the ring for the sake of his own people at Gondor, that no one can wield it. So, Boromir asks "So, what would a ranger know of this matter?" and Legolas stands up and tells Boromir "This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance!". And Borormir looks at Aragorn and says "So, this is Isildur's heir?" and Legolas tells him "And heir to the throne of Gondor!" but Aragorn seems a bit embarrassed and tells Legloas to sit down. 

Lastly, Bloom also still does have the odd cool moment in the film such as the one where Legolas during the final fight scene of the film, stabs one of the Uruk-hai in the face with one of his arrows and he uses the same arrow shoot another Uruk-hai soldier. This of course became a trend in the following films where Legolas has one cool scene where he can dispatch enemies in a fancy way. 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

OK so with that section FINALLY over with I at last get the to the direction and music paragraphs starting with Peter Jackson, the director who does a tremendous job with LOTR: TFOTR and he shows an uncanny understanding of the source material and cleverly condenses down the story to make it into a largely thrilling film.  Jackson also effortlessly handles the film's exciting action scenes which include of course the fights in the dark bowels of Moria, Gandalf's scene with Saruman and their fight and the Uruk-hai fight near the end of the film and also Aragorn's fighting off the ringwraiths.  Jackson also even appears in the film himself as a drunkard chewing on a carrot in the village of Bree (and I wonder how close that is to the habits of the real life Jackson! ;-)).

As for the film's score well.... frankly it sucks!  No just kidding!  No the score by the great Howard Shore is simply terrific and memorable, particularly its intro main theme which perfectly sets the tone of the film.  The score is filled with exciting and dramatic passages particularly in the moments when the orcs and Uruk-hai are present or in the scenes in the mines of Moria which features the highly memorable music when we hear the noise of a thousands orcs in the background head the fellowship's way and Gandalf utters the line "To the bridge of Khazad-dum!".  In short its a great score and it received a well deserved Oscar that year at the Academy awards (although the merits of these awards can be debatable but this instance its well merited here).

FLAWS

As for LOTR FOTR's flaws.......well yeah OK perhaps there are few and for starters the film itself while understandably it needs to be long it is arguably just a bit too long at times.  And we all know that there were indeed three books (unlike with The Hobbit in which there was ONLY one yet Jackson decided to make three whole films out of it regardless!) so there is a lot of story telling to be done.  But it has to be said the film is somewhat slow moving at times and its pacing can threaten to leave you yawning a little especially as there are plenty of moments such as the opening scenes at the Shire which seem to go on forever!  This is also notable even during the mines of Moria and the sequence where they try to enter the mines and Gandalf can't find the proper password or magical phrase to enter it!  And in terms of epic length films there is always a trade off between being epic and just being overlong.   

And then there are few plot points that lack logic within the film (and indeed the book for that matter) such as the scene where Elrond reflects on how Isildur was corrupted by the ring and refused to destroy it and in the flashback Elrond looks on in shock as Isildur walks away from the edge atop of the firey pit.  Now OK Isildur was corrupted by the ring I get that but why didn't Elrond try and stop him????!!  I mean all it could have taken was for Elrond to fight and struggle with Isildur himself and just maybe he might been able to to subdue him long enough to take the ring and end the evil threat there and then by casting it into fire himself!  But of course then again we wouldn't have had a trilogy would we???

You could also argue that while the ringwraiths are hyper sensitive towards the presence of the ring whenever Frodo takes it out it seems a bit daft in the scene where Frodo and the other hobbits hide in the woods that when one of the wraiths nearly spots them that it is so easily distracted by Merry throwing a log of wood!  The ringwraiths also are too quick to make their presence known in the film with all squealing they do as well but wouldn't it be better if they moved silently so that way they would attract less attention to themselves?! I mean they did actually manage that in the scene where they sneak into the room where they believe the hobbits are sleeping to kill them only to find the beds they stab are empty and THEN they squeal lol!  

Then there is the scene where Gandalf is held captive in Saruman's tower all it eventually takes is for him to escape is one of the large eagles to come along and rescue him.  But given Saruman's powers of wizardy you would at least think that he could have put up some sort of magical force field around the tower to prevent Gandalf from escaping in the first place!  Although perhaps that form of magical power didn't exist back then in the Tolkien books or indeed Jackson's mind when he had scripted the film.

And last of all in what has often been criticised in the trilogy is of course the use of the eagles themselves which begs the question: why didn't they use the eagles to fly out and carry the ring to Mount doom themselves, fly in and just drop the ring into the fire to destroy Sauron's spirit there and then!  Its a fair point that has been made by various fans over the years and it would have again saved a long and very arduous journey being made on foot by the fellowship and later Frodo and Sam, which would have saved Frodo alot of psychological scarring down by the effects of the ring!  But again these are mute points I guess since we would have no trilogy if that were the case.

However, further to that point and in defence of the books and trilogy, Mordor is actually guarded by the Ring wraiths, who fly on large demonic birds that patrol the sky, so actually for the eagles to try and get past them would of course be difficult. So, yeah that is a fair point in itself and they could only get by if Gandalf had stealth eagles that could fly under Sauron's radar! ;-) 

Anyway that's it for my look at the flaws.

SUM UP

So to stum up, LOTR Fellowship of the Ring which for the most part is a very entertaining and often exciting film which features an excellent cast, some great CGI effects and some good old fashioned storytelling.  It is of course a very long and drawn out film at times (and the extended edition released later on DVD and also Blu-ray is even more so!) which seems to take its time in get going but ultimately it is worth the wait. 

And with that said as for a rating, I will give LOTR - The Fellowship of the Ring:

9 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will be back with another revisitational look at the second film in the trilogy, The Two Towers.  

So, till then its bye for now!

Raiders of the Lost Ark Review (Revisited)

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I figured it was time for another revisit of an older post from this blog and the post this time was my review on Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg's action classic (which was already a revist of the original one I did!). So, I will do the usual expansion of sections here and there and add in some news quotes of dialogue and whatever else.

So, after nearly 40 years, how does Raiders fare? Well, let's crack that whip and take another look...

And the usual warning is coming up...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

In 1936 in South America, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), an American archaeologist, makes his way into a Peruvian temple, which is filled with booby traps, to find a golden idle, which he successfully obtains.  However on his way out, he is surrounded by a tribe of Hovitos, who are lead by a French archaeologist, Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman), one of Indy's main rivals, who takes the idol from him, but Indy manages a narrow escape.  

Indy makes it back to America, where he returns to a local college where he teaches archaeology and he is approached by two army intelligence agents, who tell him about Hitler's quest for the occult and has sent his Nazi soldiers across the world in trying to find artefacts.  The agents also tell Indy that the Nazis are looking for his old mentor, Abner Ravenwood, who apparently has in his possession the head piece to the staff of Ra, an old relic.  From this information Indy deduces the Nazis are trying to locate the resting place of the ark of the covenant, the biblical chest buit by the Israelites, which is supposed to contain fragments of the ten commandments, and if the Nazis get their hands on the ark, it will make them invincible.

Indy agrees to go and locate the Ark and try to obtain it before the Nazis do, with his first lead being Abner's daughter, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who was a former lover of Indy's and now lives in Nepal and owns a bar.  After a drinking contest, Indy waits for Marion and she bitterly tells him to get out, angry for how their relationship ended, and Indy asks if she has the head piece he needs, but she tells him her father is dead, and to come back tomorrow.  Indy leaves, and after he does, Marion reveals she is wearing the head piece on a chain under her shirt, shortly after this, one of the Nazi officers, Toht (Ronald Lacey), enters the bar with some men who raid her place, and Toht is about to interrogate her (with a hot poker no less!) when Indy comes back and rescues her.  After the fight is over, Marion vows to go with Indy until she gets her money back that he gave her for the medallion head piece.

Indy and Marion then travel to Cairo where they meet up with a friend of Indy's, Sallah (John Rhys Davies), a talented digger, who's services have also been utilised by the Nazis who are excavating the site called the Well of Souls, where the Ark is said to have been kept.  The Nazi dig is of course lead up by Belloq, and Colonel Dietrich (Wolf Kahler) who have managed to obtain a copy of the staff head piece from the scar on Toht's hand.  

Meanwhile Indy and Marion are attacked in the local market by Nazi operatives, and the kidnap Marion, with Indy chasing after her, he is lead to a truck where he sees a basket which Marion unsuccesfully hid in is loaded onto, he shoots the truck driver, which turns on its side and explodes, leaving Indy believing Marion is dead.  After this Indy goes to a friend of Sallah's who tells them what the markings of the head piece mean, and they also deduce that the Nazis are digging in the wrong place.  

Indy and Sallah then take advantage of this and find the actual location of the Ark by using the staff with the head piece, and soon excavate the dig site, and uncover the entrances to the well of souls.  Indy goes down inside but it is filled with snakes, some of which he burns with gasoline, Sallah soon follows down and the two of them find the Ark in one of the chambers, they place it in a crate and hoist it up outside.

By the morning however, Belloq, who by now has been holding Marion (it was revealed that they had switched the basket she was in prior to the truck being blown up) sees the dig site, and sends the Nazis up where they seize Sallah's men, and seal Indy into the well of souls, not before Toht throws Marion down into the well of souls also.  Indy manages to break through the walls with one of the giant statues to allow them to escape outside, where they see the Ark is about to be loaded onto a plane.  Indy fights with one of the plane mechanics, while Marion gets trapped inside the plane after knocking out the pilot, at the end of the fight the mechanic gets diced in the plane's propellers, and Indy rescues Marion from the plane, just before gasoline that leaks from it, catchs fire and blows up the plane.  

After this, Sallah tells Indy that the Nazis are loading the Ark onto a truck for Cairo, and Indy intercepts the truck and manages to dispatch the Nazi soldiers who are inside it.  Indy and Marion with Sallah's help manage to leave Cairo on a cargo ship, but the next day the Nazis intercept the ship and board it, capturing Marion, although Indy escapes, and smuggles himself onboard the Nazi u-boat, where he dons the disguise of a soldier.  

The U-boat travels to an island in the Aegaen sea, where Belloq and the Nazis plan to hold a ritual ceremony to open the Ark and test its power before presenting to Hitler.  Indy tries to stop them by threatening to use a rocket launcher, which he aims at the Ark, but Belloq disuades him from doing so, and let's himself be captured.  

And this leads into the films supernatural and dramatic climax.....

THOUGHTS 

Well I think its safe to say that Raiders of the Lost ark remains to this day still stands as one of the best and most entertaining action adventure films in modern cinema.  Steven Spielberg and George Lucas with Raiders of course were doing their nod to the old 1930s cliffhanger serials seen in the cinema back then, and there plenty of cliffhanger moments in Raiders.  

And what makes Raiders also that appealing is of course its action set-pieces which are superb as well as very well staged, particularly Indy's chase of the Nazi's truck with the Ark onboard, and how he dispatches them, and ends up being flung out the windscreen of the truck, only to crawl underneath it and use his whip to trail behind it and get back on again.  Then there is of course the gunfight in Marion's bar near the begninng of the film, and the opening sequence with Indy braving the temple to find the golden idol, where he has to dodge booby traps that feature big spikes coming out the walls, darts, and that giant boulder!

Perhaps one thing that is noticeable about Raiders is the level of violence in it is quite strong, especially for a PG certificate, as the baddies get spiked, sliced, shot, burned alive, and wiped out nastily by the Ark, complete with melting and exploding faces.  For its time it was pretty strong stuff, but the Temple of Doom would take things even further in that arena and became the film that introduced the PG-13 rating from the American film censors. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES 

So cast wise, the performances here are all great, with Harrison Ford giving a great performance as Indiana Jones, the adventurous archaeologist, and its hard to imagine any other actor play the part as well as he did, with a dry wit, intelligence, and fair bit of grit as well.  

As Indy, Harrison has his fair share of great scenes and he has a great introduction at the start of the film where we don't see his face but his figure as he walks through the South American jungle but soon does after one of his guides turns on him and he whips a gun out of their hand and he steps into the light. And in the scene, Indy then turns to his other guide (Alfred Molina) and tells him as they stop at a temple entrance and Indy starts to fill up a big with sand "This is it, this is where Forrestal cashed in" and the guide asks him "A friend of yours?" and Indy says to him "A competitor. He was good, he was very very good".

Another good scene comes when near the start of the film when Indy runs for his life as he's chased by the tribe of Hovitos and he screams at his bi-plane pilot, Jock (Fred Sorenson) who is fishing "JOCK!!!  START THE ENGINE!!!  JOCK!!!".  And then after Indy manages to get onboard the plane and fly away he looks in his seat and sees a snake and he yells at Jock "There's a big snake in the plane, Jock!" and Jock says "Oh, that's just my pet snake, Reggie!" and Indy yells "I hate snakes, Jock!  I hate em!!" and Jock says "Oh, come on show a little backbone, will ya?!".  

Then there is the scene where Indy is about to set off for Nepal and Marcus pays him a visit who warns him about the ark saying "Its like nothing you've gone after before!".  And Indy laughs "Oh, Marcus! What are you trying to do, scare me? You sound like my mother. We've known each other for a long time. I don't believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I'm going after a find of incredible historical significance, you're talking about the boogie man! Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am!" and he picks up his gun and tosses it into his suitcase. 

Then there is the scene where Indy after he thinks Marion is dead, drowns his sorrows at a bar but is taken by some Nazi officers to meet with Belloq. So, Indy angrily looks at Belloq and says "Belloq! I ought to kill you right now!" and Belloq says to him "Not a very private place for a murder" and Indy says "Well, these arabs don't care if we kill each other, its none of their business" but Belloq politely says to him "Please sit down, before you fall down!". 

So as they talk, Belloq says to him how Indy is a worthy adversary and where can he find a similar one to himself and Indy says "Try the local sewer!". However as they talk more, Belloq asks Indy "Jones, do you know what the ark is?! Its a transmitter!  A radio for talking to God!" and Indy says to him "You wanna talk to God??  Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do!" and he draws his gun but then so do all the other patrons of the bar only for Indy to be rescued by a group of children. 

Another good scene from Harrison is where the ark is loaded onto a truck by the Nazis and Indy watches them from a nearby dune. So, Indy tells Sallah "Get back to Cairo and get us some transportation to England. Boat, plane, anything! Meet me at Omar's, I'm going after that truck" and Sallah asks him "How?" and Indy tells him "I dunno how, I'm making this up as I go!". 

Then we have the scene where Indy and Marion are onboard Katanga's ship and Indy takes off his shirt to reveal his scars from his adventures so far. And Marion looks at Indy and says to him "You're not the man I knew 10 years ago" and Indy painfully tells her "Its not the years, honey. Its the mileage!" as she starts to tend to his wounds and they end up kissing but Indy soon falls asleep from exhaustion. 

And then there is the scene where Indy having sneaked onboard the Nazi's submarine follows them onto an island where Belloq will perform a ritual and open the ark. So, Indy, disguised as a Nazi officer, soon presents himself to the Nazis and Belloq (who have Marion captured at this point) armed with a rocket launcher. So, Indy shouts "Hello!" and Belloq and the Nazis turn around and Belloq shouts up to him "JONES?! JONES??!!!" and Indy says "I'm gonna blow up the Ark, Rene!". And the Nazi general, Dietrich asks Indy "Dr Jones? Surely you don't think you can escape this island?" and Indy tells him "That all depends on how reasonable we're all willing to be, all I want is the girl" and Dietrich asks "And if we refuse?" and Indy says "Then you're fuhrer has no prize!".

And then there is Indy's last scene where he leaves angrily from his meeting with the intelligence agents who tell them the ark is being studied by "Top men!".  And Indy angrily says to Marion "Fools!  Beauracratic fools!  They don't know what they've got there!" but Marion tries to reassure him by saying "But I know what I've got here!  You wanna get a drink?" and he ends up linking arm and arm with Marion as they leave together.  

Karen Allen is also excellent as Marion, Indy's love interest who starts off the film as being very feisty, and halfway through becomes more of a damsel in distress, but she nonetheless is a welcome change to the usual screeching females you can get in these types of roles.  

Allen also has some fun moments in her role such as the scene where she first meets up with Indy and she smiles as she turns around and looks at him saying "Indiana Jones!  I always knew some day you'd come walking back through my door.  I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable!".  And then after asking Indy a question and he answers, she springs a surprise punch in the face to him and she angrily says "I learned to hate you in the last ten years!". And Indy ruefully rubs his chin and tells Marion "I never meant to hurt you" and Marion shouts at him "I was a child! I was in love! It was wrong and you KNEW IT!" and Indy tells her "You knew what you were doing!" and Marion shouts "NOW I DO! THIS IS MY PLACE! GET OUT!". 

However, Indy says to her "Look I did what I did. I don't expect you to be happy about it, but maybe we can help each other out now". So, Indy asks her if she has a medallion piece that her father used to have "You know the one I mean?" and Marion tells him "Yeah, I know it but I don't know where it is" and Indy insists "Well maybe you can find it!" and he holds out a wad of cash "3000 bucks!" and Marion tells him "Well that will get me back but not with style". Indy then says to her more calmly "I can you get you another two when we get to the states. Its important, Marion. Trust me!". Marion takes the cash from Indy and she grins and says "Come back tomorrow" and Indy asks "Why?" and Marion insists "Because I SAID so, that's why!" so Indy gives in and heads for the door and Marion smiles and says "See you tomorrow, Indiana Jones!".    

And later after Indy rescues Marion from the Nazis and her places has been burned down by a fire starting during the fight, Marion yells at him in the freezing winter night "Well, Jones, at least you haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time!". Indy shouts back "Boy, you're something!" and Marion shouts in return "Well, I'll tell you what?! Until I get my 3000 dollars back, you're gonna get more than you bargained for!" and she holds up her medallion that Indy was looking for and she shouts at him "I'M YOUR GODDAMN PARTNER!!".

Another good scene from Allen comes when Marion is chased by an Arabian and she grabs a frying pan from a nearby stall in the market but he produces a knive and she rans away and he follows and we hear a loud clunk and then see the arabian's unconscious body fall out.  But then Marion is captured by the Nazis while she tried to conceal herself in a laundry basket and as the Nazi agents carry her away she yells "You can't do this to me!  I'm an American!".  

Another good scene from Allen is when Marion is held captive by the Nazis in a tent in the desert but Belloq gives her a dress and they share a bottle of Vodka and Marion outdrinks him.  And Marion then grabs a knive during their laughter and she tries back out the tent "I like you, Rene, very much. Perhaps we'll meet again under better circumstances!" but she backs right into Toht who disarms her and forces her back.

And there is the scene where Marion is thrown down into the well of souls by Toht and she clings onto one of the giant statues but loses her grip and is caught by Indy and Marion shrieks when a giant Python snake snaps at her and she leaps on Indy's back in panic.  And as Belloq looks down below he says to her "It was not to be, cherie" and Marion looks and yells back "YOU BASTARDS!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!!".  

And lastly there is the funny scene where Indy and Marion are onboard Katanga's boat and in their cabin, Marion enters wearing a new outfit and Indy asks her "Where did you get that?" and Marion says "From him" and Indy insits "WHO him?" and Marion says "Katanga. I don't think I'm first woman to have travelled with these pirates!". And as Indy examines his bruised chin in a large mirror on one side and Marion stands on the other side and she rubs the mirror and flips it right round but it connects sharply with Indy's chin and he let's out a loud scream of pain and afterward Marion looks at him and says "What did you say?".         

And in the same scene, Marion tends to Indy's wounds from his fights so far in the film and as he takes his shirt off painfully, she looks at him and says "You're not the man I knew 10 years ago" and he says to her "Its not the years, honey, its the mileage!". So, as Marion tries to rubs his wounds with some sort of anti-septic and cotton, Indy painfully tells her "Just go away, leave me alone! It hurts!" and Marion angrily asks "Well, goddamn it, Indy! Where doesn't it hurt?" and Indy points at his elbow and says "Here!" and she kisses it, and he points to his forehead and Marion takes off his hat and kisses on it. So, Indy points at his eye and he says quietly "This is not too bad" and she kisses him near his eye and then he points to his lips and says coyly "Here?" and she kisses on the lips but he soon falls asleep much to Marion's annoyance who says "Jones?! Jones?! We never seem to get a break, do we?". 

Paul Freeman as Belloq is great as well, playing Indy's rival, with a sly charm, and clearly is not overly furnished in the morals department, as he doesn't mind working with the Nazis to get his hands on the Ark.  

Freeman get's his share of highlights as well and as a few examples there is his first scene where Belloq stands over Indy with a whole Hovito tribe surrounding them and he says to Indy "Dr. Jones. Again we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away!". So, Indy is forced to hand over the idol he obtained from the temple and he says to him "Too bad the Hovitos, don't know you the way I do, Belloq" and Belloq says "Yes, too bad. You could warn them, only if they could speak Hovitos!" and he holds up the idol and speaks in their native tongue, which allows Indy to escape. 

And later there is the scene where a drunken Indy sits with Belloq after believing Marion is dead and Belloq says to him "How odd that it should end this way for us after so many stimulating encounters.  I almost regret it. Where shall I find a new adversary so close to my own level?" and Indy replies "Try the local sewer!".  And in the scene Belloq says to Indy "Jones, do you realise what the ark is?!  Its a transmitter!  A radio for talking to God!".  And as Indy goes to pull out his gun all the arabs draw their guns but Indy is rescued by a group of children as they lead him out leading Belloq to say "Next time it will take more than children to save you!".

Then we have the scene where Belloq and the Nazis arrive at the well of souls and prepare to trap Indy down in it by sealing the entrance up top.  And Belloq calls down and says to him "What a fitting end to your life's pursuits. You're about to become a permanent addition to this archaeological find. Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something!". However, as the Nazi officer, Toht, enters the scene grappling with Marion, he throws her into the Well of the Souls below with Indy, who catches her much to Belloq's fury. So, Belloq shouts at Dietrich "The girl was mine!" and Dietrich dismissively says "The girl's means nothing, only on our mission for the Fuhrer did she meet us!" and Belloq looks down at her and says "It was not to be, cherie!" and after Marion shouts "YOU BASTARDS! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Belloq says to Indy "Indiana Jones...adieu!".  

And lastly there is the scene on the island where the Nazis carry the ark toward a place to carry out a riutal but Indy interrupts it by aiming a rocket launcher from a mountain top above them, so Belloq saus to him "OK, Jones! You win! Blow it up!" but the Nazis troops shout in protest and Belloq suddenly grabs one of their machine guns and tells them in German to back off.  So, Belloq tries to talk Indy out of doing it by saying " Yes, blow it up! Blow it back to God. All your life has been spent in pursuit of archaeological relics. Inside the Ark are treasures beyond your wildest aspirations. You want to see it open as well as I. Indiana, we are simply passing through history. This..." and he points at the ark "...this IS history!" and he takes a moment for Indy to think over what he's saying and calmly tells Indy "Do as you will" before walking off and Indy relents and is captured.

John Ryhs-Davies is similarly great as Indy's good friend and digger, Sallah, and he get's some good scenes as well such as his first one where Indy has just arrived in Cairo with Marion.  And Sallah voices his concerns over the ark by saying to Indy "Indy there's something that troubles me" and Idny asks "What is it?" and Sallah says to him "The Ark. If it IS there, at Tanis, then it is something that man was not meant to disturb. Death has always surrounded it. It is not of this earth".  

Another good scene for John is when Indy and Sallah come to the conclusion that Belloq's staff is too long and they say together "They're digging in the wrong place!" and Sallah sings triumphantly "I am the monarch of the sea...I am the ruler..." however as Indy is about to toss a date into his mouth, at the last second Sallah catches it as he sees the little monkey lie dead from having eaten a poisoned one (belonging to one of the Nazi's spies) and Sallah says cautiously to Indy "Bad dates!".  

Then there is the moment where Sallah and Indy finally open up the entrance to the well of souls and they look down below.  And Sallah says "Indy, why does the floor move?" and Indy asks him for Sallah's torch and throws it down into the tomb where we sees loads of snakes slithering about.  And Indy looks back up in fear saying "Snakes!  Why did it have to be snakes!" and Sallah says "Asps.  Very dangerous!  You go first!".   

Then there is the scene where Sallah tells Indy that the Nazis have loaded the Ark onto a truck enroute to Cairo. So, in the scene, Sallah is whistled into a nearby tent where Indy is hiding with Marion and Sallah delightedly says "Oh my smoke, my friends! I am so pleased you're not dead! Indy we have no time, if you still want the ark, it is being loaded onto a truck for Cairo!" and Indy angrily asks "Truck?! What truck?!". 

Denholm Elliot is also excellent as Marcus, Indy's friend and museum owner who plays a smaller part here but his role would be expanded on in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  

Elliot has some good scenes as well such as the scene where Marcus and Indy meet with the intelligence agents and Marcus tells the agents the lore behind the Ark. So, Marcus says to them "However, an Egyptian pharaoh..." and Indy interrupts and says "Shisak" and Marcus continues "...yes, invaded the city of Jerusalem round about 980 B.C., and he may have take the Ark back to the city of Tanis and hidden it in a secret chamber called The Well of Souls" and one of the intelligence agents warily says "Secret chamber?". Marcus then continues "However, about a year after the pharaoh had returned to Egypt, the city of Tanis was consumed by the desert in a sand storm which lasted a whole year. Wiped clean by the wrath of God!". 

Then as the agents ask what does the Ark look like, Indy opens a book showing a picture of it and one of the agents says "I'm beginning to understand Hitler's interest in this" and Marcus says to them "Oh, yes. The Bible speaks of the Ark leveling mountains and laying waste in entire regions. An Army that carries the Ark before it... is invincible".  

And then there is the scene where Marcus visits Indy and tells him that the agents have given him the go ahead to find the ark. And Indy says he will follow up his first lead which is Marion's father, Abner and he asks Marcus "Do you think she'll still be with him?" and Marcus says "Possibly.  Marion's the least of your worries right now, believe me, Indy!".  And as Indy asks what he means, Marcus continues "Well, I mean that for nearly three thousand years man has been searching for the lost ark. It's not something to be taken lightly. No one knows its secrets. It's like nothing you've ever gone after before!".  

Quickly I will mention Alfred Molina who makes an early onscreen appearance as Satipo, one of Indy's guides in South America at the start of the film who betrays him but ends up paying for it.  

And Molina has some good moments in his brief role such as the moment where Indy and Satipo arrive inside a temple and see a golden idol in the room ahead of them and Satipo says "Let us hurry!  There is nothing to fear here!" and as he makes to go ahead Indy stops him and says "That's what scares me!".  

And in the next scene after Indy takes the idol the temple begins to collapse and they come a chasm which Satipo swings over with Indy's whip.  And from the other side Indy has the idole and Satipo says to him "Give the idol!" and Indy says "Give me the whip!" and Satipo sees a big stone door coming down ahead of him "No time to argue!  Give me the idol, I give you the whip!".  So Indy throws the idol to Satipo who catches it and Indy says "Give me the whip!" but Satipo drops it and smiles saying "Adios senior!" only to be killed by traps and spiked to death.  

Wolf Kahler is also pretty good as the ruthless Nazi, Colonel Dietrich who leads the operation for the Nazi army's recovery of the Ark.  

And Kalher has some good moments as well in the film such as the one where Indy is left trapped in the Well of the Souls with the Nazis up above and Dietrich taunts Indy. So, Dietrich says to Indy "Our prize is awaited in Berlin. Yes... we are finished here with everything. But we do not wish to leave you down in that awful place... all alone". And then afterward Toht appears with Marion and throws her down into the well but Indy manages to catch her. However, Belloq furiously shouts at Dietrich "The girl was mine!!" and Dietrich tells him "The girl means nothing to us! Only on our mission for the Fuhrer did she meet us! I wonder sometimes, monsieur, if you have that in mind!".

And lastly there is the scene onboard Katanga's boat where Katanga says he killed Indy but he wants them to leave him Marion with him to cover the loss of his cargo at the hands of the Nazis.  However, Dietrich says "Savage!  We will take what we want, and then decide whether or not to blow your ship from the water!" and he roughly grabs Marion and takes her away.  

And lastly I will mention Ronald Lacey who is excellent as the Nazi agent, Toht, and he plays the role in a very creepy manner who is quite memorable and he fits the part of a chilling Nazi.  

Lacey also has some good moments such as his first scene where he enters Marion's bar in Nepal and he greets by saying "Good evening, Fraulein!". Marion then tells him "The bar's closed!" and Toht smiles, still shivering from the cold "We are not thirsty! We here for the same thing that Doctor Jones wanted. Surely he must have told you there would other interested parties?" and Marion lights a cigarette tells him "Must have slipped his mind". Toht then says "The man is nefarious, I hope for you sake he has not acquired it" and Marion asks "Why? Are you willing to offer more?" and Toht says "Oh, most certainly! Do you still have it?" and Marion blows smoke in his face and says "No, but I know where it is!".  

Marion then asks Toht "Hey, how about a drink for you and your men?!" and Toht starts to stoke a fire nearby with a poker "You're fire is dying here. Why don't you tell me where the piece is right now?" and Marion angrily tells him "Listen, Herr Mac. I don't know what kind of people you are used to dealing with but nodoby tells me what to do in my place!". Toht then laughs and tells her "Fraulein Ravenwood! Let me show you what I'm used to!"  and he orders his men to grab Marion as he takes the piping hot poker over to Marion who pleads "Wait! I can be reasonable!" and Toht coldly says "That time has past!".  And Marion panics and pleads again "Please! I'll tell you everything!" and Toht goes close up to her and says "Yes! I know you will!" as he holds the red hot poker right up to her eyes only for it to be whipped out his hands by Indy and a big gunfight ensues.

And last of all there is the scene where in Cairo at night while Marion is held captive in a tent and she tries escape, Toht appears out of nowhere and disarms her.  And he coldly says to her "We meet again, Fraulein!  You Americans are all the same.  Always overdressing for the wrong occassions!".  And Marion cowers back in fear as Toht takes off his leather coat and he produces what appears to be a nunchuk, which he turns into a coathanger and one of the Nazi soldiers hangs his coat for him on it.  And Toht then takes a chair and sits across from Marion and Belloq and he says creepily with a big smile "Now... what shall we talk about?!".

DIRECTOR

As for the film's director, Steven Spielberg well he rarely puts a foot wrong here and he is no stranger to know how to direct a suspenseful and exciting action film and Raiders is no exception and he more than confidently handles the film's superb and creative action setpieces.  Spielberg also get's the very best out of his cast here as well and as a director this was always one of his main strengths.  Spielberg starts the film with the memorable image of a mountain in the South America serving as a real life backdrop to the Paramount pictures logo.  

But Spielberg also was no stranger to putting his cast into fearful positions such as having to deal with snakes or tarantulas, such as with the actor Alfred Molina whom he put a number of tarantulas on his back during one of the film's opening scenes!  Spielberg for the well of souls scenes also had over 7000 snakes imported in for the scenes and he had to have a sheet of glass placed between Ford and a large Cobra snake in the scene Indy crash lands into the tomb.  But regardless of that this still is one of Spielberg's very best directorial efforts and one of his most fun.         

MUSIC 

As for the music, there is of course a wonderful score by the great John Williams, which perfectly captures the mood of the film, and gives Indy the perfect signature theme, which is totally memorable, not to mention catchy and hummable!  And like alot of Williams's scores, and the scores has many great tracks throughout that highlight the film's heroics, drama, suspense and most of all fun.  And to this day it still stands as one of Williams's very best scores, which is readily available for download from Amazon or even listen to it on Youtube for free if you like. Overall, this is one of my favourite film scores without a doubt.

FLAWS (Warning: this section contains spoilers!) 

As for Raiders flaws..... well yeah even though its a great film, it still does have some...

For starters you'd have to say in the scene at night where Indy and Sallah dig for the Well of Souls, its seems a bit bizarre that the Nazis wouldn't post guards around the dig site to check out for night activity.  As you would think the Nazis would be extremely security conscious, they would try and look out for a sneaking bunch of diggers trying to uncover the very artefact they are looking for!  Perhaps I'm wrong, and its reasonable to assume at night time, the guards will be just posted around the soldiers and officers tents.

I also find it just a bit improbable in the scene where Indy is thrown out of the Nazi truck by one of the soldiers, after being shot in the arm, that he would be able to cling onto the front of the truck and then make his way underneath and use his whip to cling onto the back of it and drag himself along the ground while the truck is in motion, WITHOUT scraping his legs and knees to hell!  But somehow Indy miraculously manages to do just that without any problem and most likely his legs are fine in the film.  In real life when they filmed that shot though Harrison did it for real but he wore protected pads around his legs during filming.  But it seems a bit daft that Indy would come through that without any massive scars on his legs!

I have to say I found the scene between Indy and Marion that implied their previous romantic relationship was a bit dodgy as Marion shouts at him that it was wrong and she was just a child at the time. Hmmm! I mean what are we talking about here?! Was she under 18?! Under 16??! I mean, its a scene that kind of makes you think twice about Indy as a hero and rather was he actually a bit of a pedo?! I'm guessing of course that just maybe Marion was in her late teens but who knows and it makes you wonder how old Indy would have been at the time, maybe 10 years older than here but that's not explained at all. So, yeah after all these years, this is the first time I've come to question this scene and it does appear to make Indy sound a bit dodgy although it is just a superficial reference in the end, it does make you wonder!

Further to this point, I just read that in a What Culture article that apparently Indy was said to have been 25 and Marion was 17 at the time of their romance, so I guess that 8 years in itself isn't a big age gap but its still under age though! So, yeah based on that I might just let it pass but its still a bit questionable all the same!

Its also a bit strange how Indy knows not to look at the supernatural powers of the Ark in the scene where Belloq opens the Ark, yet Belloq seems unaware of this himself, being a rival archaeologist, you'd imagine he would have this knowledge, and should have been more wise to have dealt with opening the Ark.  It also begs the question: how did Indy know not to look at the contents of the Ark in the first place??!!  That's something that is never explained.  And if they had opened the Ark for Hitler in Berlin, it would have also probably saved WWII from having happened!  Marcus's statement about the "army who carries the ark before it, is invincible" also proves redundant in the end, as the Ark is a source of power that no one can control, so in the end it just seems a bit pointless excavating it, especially if they can't control its power!  So in short they should have left the Ark where it was! 

And lastly I find the idea at the end of the film that the Ark would be just put in a wooden crate and stored away in a big warehouse filled presumably with other strange and invaluable aterfacts is a bit daft.  As the army intelligence agents want to just keep the Ark under wraps it seems they would rather not take any risks with it, but at the same time rather than study it, they decide to just stick it in a big warehouse with probably another bunch of strange finds.  And funnily enough they do revist that very warehouse in the most recent Indy film, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull where we see a sneak peek of the crate carrying the Ark! (a nice moment in an otherwise dull sequel!).

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up Raiders of the Lost Ark is still a thrilling and highly enteratining action movie, which has plenty of great action, suspenseful moments and above all a great sense of fun and its also film that will never date with age.  The film also benefits from its excellent cast, great set design and location shooting (not to mention Douglas Slocombe's excellent cinemaphotography) and last but not least, its memorable and superb music score by John Williams.  And for me its still one of the best action films of all time and as such is one that warrants repeated viewing time and time again.

So my final rating for Raiders is...

10 out of 10  

Right, so that's it for now and I will be back again with another post quite soon.

Till then its bye for now!