How I would have made it look

[me9996]

This is where you say how YOU would make the movie.

[Manveru]

well how would YOU have made it look?

[Nurvingiel]

I would blatantly steal everything from John Howe and Alan Lee's concept art.

Compared to Jackson's LOTR, there is one scenery that I would give a different look. Mordor - I would make it look and feel a lot bigger. This also involves changes to scripting, but look-wise, there would be a very definite Plains of Gorgoroth for Frodo and Sam to cross.

I think I would do Ithilien differently too. I say "I think" because I forget what it looked like in Jackson's movie. But in mine, the forest would be dominated by coniferous trees, with plants like fireweed along the roadside. I would also include the fallen statue of the King and his crown of flowers (IIRC).

EDIT: Legolas would have black hair, just to be contrary. And because it works.

[me9996]

Why thank you, I would have given the orcs a more uniform look and have given them round shields and sematars (Like in the book).

And I would have made the balrog more of a smokey preince with glowing red eyes that perced the smoke (But otherwise you could tell nothing about him).

I'd also give the uruk-hai strait swords (Like in the book).

Otherwise I think the movie makers got it right .

[me9996]

This is my first thread started!

[Nurvingiel]

It's a good thread.

The movie makers got a lot of scenery right - The Shire was bang on IMO. I'm not convinced that mini-Mordor was right on, and now that I think of it, I would have made Lothlorien less spooky too. IIRC, only Boromir thought of it as a spooky place, and his mind was changed by the end.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

In Lorien Gimli sounded like an expert and that he'd recently been and escaped from there, whereas he only had the knowledge of it that Boromir had.

[mithrand1r]

Originally Posted by me9996

This is where you say how YOU would make the movie.

At the Shire:

Portray Merry & Pippin a bit more serious and not as buffoons. Portraying them as people that enjoy a good joke/prank is ok, but not as idiots.


In Bree:

I would have had Aragorn give a better explaination (similar to how done in the book) of why the Hobbits should trust Aragorn instead of the abrupt manner portrayed in the movie.

In Weathertop:

Have the Hobbits huddled around the fire for warmth & protection. When Black Riders are detected have Aragorn organize the party with torches around the fire.

Forget about torching the nazgul (although nice visually this leads to awkward questions). Have the nazgul leave soon after stabbing Frodo. No need to show a Ranger sending 5 black riders running single handed. (This is LOTR and not a typical Western)

just some thoghts for now.

[Wayfarer]

The movie in general, or the 'look' specifically?

Aside from a double-handful of obviously foolish things (such as Orcs emerging from pods, Elves with Katanas, Orcs using 15 foot Pikes and still losing to a light cavalry contingent, and the fact that the 'plains of Rohan' were rocky hills), I thought the visual effects were pretty good.

[Manveru]

ya i liked most things except i would have had eomer at helm's deep, had more than just uruk-hai there (although that did look really cool so i dunno), i would have put in the ghan-buri-ghan thing and made the pelannor fields battle 10x better. every movie that has a battle scene has a shaky camera and short shots so that you cant see what is going on. it bugs the hell outta me. you never get to see any sword play or anything, this was done sooooo much in pelannor fields. also when the rohirrim show up practically all of the orcs flee the battle. i also would have made the army of the dead not look green and not be able to climb up walls and elephants, they would basically just be like normal troops, not like spiderman or somthing.

[mithrand1r]

Originally Posted by Wayfarer

The movie in general, or the 'look' specifically?

Aside from a double-handful of obviously foolish things (such as Orcs emerging from pods, Elves with Katanas, Orcs using 15 foot Pikes and still losing to a light cavalry contingent, and the fact that the 'plains of Rohan' were rocky hills), I thought the visual effects were pretty good.

Leave it to "The Insufferable" one to stay on the fence and not tell us how he really thinks about the movie.

Would you prefer elves using ninja stars instead?
The orcs were probably so amazed at the calvary riding down the steep slope that they could not use their pikes effectively anyway.

I would not have taken Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Cirith Ungol (sp?) via the scenic route of Osgiliath (sp?).

[Nurvingiel]

Well, this is a look thread. Scenery, costumes and etc.

As for the torching the Nazgul thing, well, it was kind of a stupid scene, but at least it was consistent with them not liking fire...

I would change that too actually...

I'm with Wayfarer on the plains of Rohan. If I was filming it I wouldn't constrain myself to only one country, after all we're trying to create Middle-earth, not film New Zealand (or another country).

[Elemmírë]

Um... I would have had at least one flashback to the Tale of Beren and Luthien. After all, Aragorn does mention it that once, and it is told in Rivendell, supposedly... I would have made sure the acting and everything was perfect in said flashback...

Okay! Okay!

I agree with almost everything everyone has said so far. Especially on the black haired Legolas part.

I would not have had the Elves at Helms Deep, nor had Faramir fail even temporarily against the corruption of the Ring.

I would have brought the Rangers and the sons of Elrond into it in the 3rd movie, you know... To show that they actually exist and that Aragorn isn't the last ranger left...

I would have kept Imrahil.

Some casting would have been different....

I'll think of more later, don't worry.



You know, this is weird... I actually enjoyed the movies, even though I hated so many things about them.

[Elfhelm]

I really like the movies and have accepted most of the changes for dramatic purposes. But one thing I would certainly have done differently is the ending.

Once it was obvious that each movie would bring in 200 million dollars in ticket receipts alone, I would have pitched a 4th movie to the producers. This one would be called The Scouring of the Shire. I would have the 3rd movie end with the coronation and wedding. And of course, Saruman wouldn't die at Orthanc.

Another idea: a weekly series called The Places of Middle Earth. Now this one's weird, but bear with me. What they would do is re-enact scenes from The Silmarillion under the guise of an anthropological/historical documentary. Fans would be attracted to the gorgeous landscapes of New Zealand and entertained by the passions of Beren and Luthien. I think there is enough material in all the supplemental books to make this series last for as long as people are willing to watch.

[Durin1]

I would have had less reliance on CGI for some of the scenes: Gandalf riding down a near 90 degree hill during the battle of Helms Deep etc.

[LickTheEnvelope]

1. I would have added Tom Bombadill and Goldberry + The Burrow Downs to the First Movie.

2. Also in the first movie I would have at least pretended that a large amount of time had passed from when Bilbo's 111th birthday to when Frodo leaves the shire.

3. Change the Hobbit farmer (Maggot?) to the wise Hobbit he is in the book as opposed to some nut that hates the 4 hobbits.

and :

Another idea: a weekly series called The Places of Middle Earth. Now this one's weird, but bear with me. What they would do is re-enact scenes from The Silmarillion under the guise of an anthropological/historical documentary. Fans would be attracted to the gorgeous landscapes of New Zealand and entertained by the passions of Beren and Luthien. I think there is enough material in all the supplemental books to make this series last for as long as people are willing to watch.

Is a great idea!

[Elfhelm]

You mean the hobbit arguing in the tavern in the Shire? I think that's Sandyman. I think they got him right.

Maggot is the one with the dog that tells the Ringwraith that Bagginses live over in the Shire. And it's Maggot's field where Merry and Pippin are raiding crops.

[thranduil]

Originally Posted by me9996

This is where you say how YOU would make the movie.

i am sure we have this thread already.

[me9996]

Who are you talking about Mithrandir1?

[Rosie Gamgee]

Well, I would have changed about a million and a half things in the script, but if we're talking solely about the look...

The Shire was perfect. I would, however, would have made Buckleberry Ferry look a little more established- not just a little hut by the river-bank. And speaking of the river itself, I would have made it a little wider, a little more boding, perhaps.

I would have made the Prancing Pony a big, friendly place, and added a few dwarves (that bugs me, there are no dwaves in Bree!). I would have made the huge hearth more of the focus of the room, and had the whole place be a lot more cheery.

Rivendell really needs some help. I couldn't put my finger on what the problem was with it for the longest time, but I finally figured it out. Because they made all that 'lacy', kind of frilly woodwork all about the place, it has the look of a construction site, with the two-by-four frames for houses yet uncovered. I don't like that. I would have made it look more... established. It's been there for years and years, it should look like it- but not crumbly and falling apart, mind you. More stone- maybe a little Greek looking, but less masculine. (By 'masculine' I mean that the stone-work wouldn't be so bold and mighty looking. More subtle, feminine.) And more trees. Big trees. OLD trees, their branches over almost everything, but not thickly, like leafy cathedral ceilings. And that little bridge where Aragorn meets Arwen was really lame. They should be in a wild, natural looking glade, with perhaps a tiny creek bubbling off somewhere.
And while we're on the subject of Rivendell- didn't anyone read the Council of Elrond part in the book. I remember one thing in particular- Aragorn sat in a shadowy corner. Now you can't have corners when the whole thing is a circular deal. I don't like that. I like that. in the book, how and where they sit gives off a little bit of their characters. It could have been a real asset to the character development in the movie.

Yeah, those orc-pod-birthing things really bothered me, too. Also, on the topic of orcs, I always imagined the Uruk-Hai to be a little more... devious. Um, less big, brawny and proud; more bent, sinister.

Lothlorien. Ugh, blue-light specials hanging from the ceiling, nasally voices floating from who knows where... Yuck. It needed to be more organic. The place was built in the trees, it should look less sterile and more clean, like a clear brook. Also, what happened to the little hill where Aragron plucks the elinor and thinks of Arwen? I would have liked to have seen that. And what was with that half of a tree at the harbor in the EE? I mean, this huge, impressive... STUMP? Of a tree that's supposed to live forever? That was dumb. The only thing I think was right was the Mirror of Galadriel. Nothing around it, not the idiotic stream, not the pitcher, just the pedestal and the basin itself.

I guess that pretty much it for FotR. I'll have to post again sometime when I feel like really getting ticked off with TTT.