Usually this sentiment is felt strongest when I've just finished dedicating my life to the whole 12 hours worth of extended edition glory. But truly, and with the utmost reverence from the bottom of my being where the remotest shards of spirituality reside, Lord of the Rings is the greatest thing in the world.
I won't lie - I fell in love with the movies before the books. (Writing that sentence not only killed all of the purists out there, but the book lover in me died as well). Every word uttered in the films are perfect, weighed and cut through to the purest sense of etymology. It's the words I love most on the great and towering pinnacle of my adoration. After that comes everything else in a sweeping rush of brilliance. The sheer passion felt by everyone working on the set comes through so strong it is impossible to justly criticize. If ever there was a way to capture this trilogy to film, it was in these movies, with these actors, and these prop-makers, and these editors and scriptwriters and music scorers, and, especially, this director.
I will probably always think of the films first when LotR comes up in conversation. But everything - the books, The Hobbit, the art by Alan Lee and John Howe, even the shitty weird movies made way back when they still thought it was a good idea to mix live-action with animation - everything about the story and (nearly) everything that was a byproduct of the story is amazing. The world would be a darker place without J. R. R. Tolkien, and, at the very least, my own life is made better because of Peter Jackson.
The one thing that is always frustrating upon finishing the movies, though, is the feeling of disorientation that follows when you realize your own journey through this story has been a lot less impactful than Frodo's. It's rather a drag to peel yourself off the couch amid crumbs of chips and chipped mugs of emptied tea and remember you're in your parents' basement, still at school, working for minimum wage, and unlikely to change the world any time soon.
Except it tends to wake some little spark of determination inside like no other thing in this world.
Because, if nothing else, these movies make me want to write.
I highly approve of how this blog has become a place for recipes and nerdgasms.
ReplyDeleteNow I *REALLY* want to watch LotR! Did you read the graphic novel for the Hobbit yet? Is it any good??
I only got like halfway through, but I am thoroughly enjoying it :D
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