Hooray!

Hubby and I saw Return of the King today. It was, as most people are reporting, wonderful. I probably border on being a Tolkein purist. Actually, not really, because I've lurked at message boards containing Tolkein Purists and I don't come that close. However, I love the LOTR. Before we moved, I read the books every year simply to enjoy the lush language and attention to detail in the world Tolkein created. So with Spoilers (although it is likely that hubby and I are the last in this universe to see the movie), here is my good and bad list:

Good:
The Costumes
The Sets
The Lighting of the Beacons
Eowyn in Battle
The Paths of the Dead
The Music--intense, haunting and epic. I especially love the music for Rohan.
The Horses charging into battle.
How closely the ending mirrored the books ending.
Shelob--suitably disgusting, I cringed the entire time she was on the screen.
The Witch King
Gandalf in battle--he wields a mean sword and staff!
The expressions in the eye of Sauruman
Viggo owned Aragorn in this movie.

Bad:
Legolas and the elephant (though still not as bad as the surfing down the steps in Helm's Deep).
The bit about Arwen dying because.... (Gak. Who thought that was a good idea? If I had a box of popcorn I would have chucked it at the screen).
No Scouring of the Shire (The purist in me considers it essential to the story).

And unfortunately, I had read every page of this site several weeks ago, so I had lines from the diaries popping into my head at inopportune moments. It was hard to keep from giggling several times. Go read it. You'll see what I mean. {chortle}

It was a fantastic movie experience and I sincerely hope it wins the oscar this year. I can't honestly imagine any other film coming close, unless the academy wants to go for some arty flick for best picture. ROTK is truly a gorgeous film that will hold up over time.