57. There’s No Rule That Says a Girl Can’t Kill the Witch-king!

Peter Jackson’s version of The Return of the King.

Jared, Oriana and Ned discuss their collective choice of topic: Peter
Jackson’s version of The Return of the King. It’s been twenty years since
the conclusion of Jackson’s three-film effort to adapt the entire Lord of the
Rings was released, and it was easily the biggest profile release of the
series, coming in with massive interest and attention, setting a variety of
box office records in the process along with gaining widespread critical
acclaim. It all resulted in a series of worldwide film awards and honors
culminating with a famed clean sweep of Oscar wins including best picture,
resulting in a tie with Titanic and Ben-Hur with eleven Oscars total but also
the only one of those three films to literally win every category it was
nominated for, a combined record that still stands. The film’s general impact
and that of the series as a whole is at this point undeniable, but how it
holds up in a look back, caught somewhat between Fellowship’s own
unquestionable triumph and Two Towers’s more stop-and-go successes, warrants
its own discussion. What are the many changes made to the tangled relationship
between Frodo, Sam and Gollum, and how does that play out as a result for both
the film and the wider themes? How does the use of practical models and actual
landscapes feed into the feeling of how the film both landed in the moment and
held up upon later rewatching, even while it was also the biggest
demonstration yet of the possibilities for CGI with massive military clashes
and the like? Is it possible to actually lose count of just how many
remarkable moments on a grand scale exist throughout the film, even as there
are various “well, but…” caveats and questions to raise along the way? How has
the whole series of film changed both the perceptions of Tolkien and the film
industry in general? And how many endings are there, after all? (Surprise! It
never ended, it’s running somewhere in a theater right now, maybe.)

Show Notes.

Jared’s
doodle.
And that’s another epic trilogy down. (The earlier entries
here and
here.)

Hurrah for the SAG-AFTRA strike
ending and better (not
perfect!) terms won.

Our episode on evil. Evil!

TheOneRing.net
report on the return of
the Eagle & Child pub.

Jason Horowitz’s New York Times
story about that Italian Tolkien exhibition encouraged by
Italy’s favorite fascists. Sorry, did we say the quiet part out loud? (In the
Guardian, Jamie Mackey with more context.)

Our episodes on Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the
Ring and The Two
Towers, with lots of notes about
the series as a whole so we won’t repeat everything here…

The sole trailer for The Return
of the King. But that’s all they needed.

Trilogy
Tuesday!
It was a crazy time and it was great. Here’s a photo of the all-day
pass given out, and
here’s an example of that film frame
memento
given out as well.

The opening
scene
is really something, no lie. Friendly little worm there.

The screenwriting guru Ned mentions is Robert
McKee – per Brian Sibley’s Peter
Jackson biography, McKee had come to Wellington, New Zealand to give one
of his lectures in 1988, and the New Zealand Film Commission invited Peter
Jackson, Fran Walsh and future contributing screenwriter for The Two Towers
Stephen Sinclair to it and they all apparently took it very much to heart. So
a long term impact but even so.

The opening exchange between
Sam, Frodo and Gollum. Really are some beautifully shot moments in this
sequence.

Oh did Christopher Lee have things to say in the run-up to the
theatrical release.

Our episode on the Rankin-Bass Return of the
King. It is NOT very good.

Yeah yeah the Arwen
vision
and Arwen
dying
and…well whatever.

But boy that introduction to Minas
Tirith.
THAT’S how to make an entrance.

And the beacons
sequence,
wow, still. Time zone issues aside.

For examples of the Gondor theme earlier on in the series, skip ahead to
about a minute into this
clip.

Ride the Empire Builder! If you
like.

Hurrah for John Noble (and hurrah
for Fringe). Skip ahead
three
minutes
for “The rule of Gondor is MINE!” moment, and the parting between Denethor
and
Faramir,
phew.

Minas Morgul, a triumph of John
Howe design, glowing and clamped. (The skybeam is the skybeam but the sonic
buildup rules.)

The Holdo
maneuver
(it really was great, like the film itself)

When Theoden and Eowyn part at
Dunharrow,
boy that’ll ruin ya. That’s two good actors very much in the moment.

When Aragorn and Eowyn part at
Dunharrow,
it is very…shippy.

“...and Rohan will
answer!”
Perfect.

“The stars are veiled.” Are
they, Legolas?

Oh you know the Shelob scene.
You know.

“The Edge of Night” sequence is
unnerving, beautiful and horribly sad.

The Nazgul as the angels of
death,
in essence. However petty.

Grond! It is great design for sure,
plus armored trolls.

Gothmog isn’t bothered with your petty
trebuchets.

The Ride of the
Rohirrim.
No notes. But here come the
mumakil…

“I am no man!” Yeah, it
rules.

Air
Bud,
the lingua franca of us all.

That crazy Witch-king
mace.
Gotta love it.

And indeed skip ahead to the end of the
clip
for that mumak takedown by the scrubbing bubbles. Plus Tracy Jordan with the
wisdom.

It still only counts as one, we guess.

Sam finds Frodo in Cirith
Ungol
– it’s a good moment!

“On this good
earth!”
(Well, maybe not GREAT earth.)

“I can carry
you!”
A beautiful sequence, no doubt.

The Crack of
Doom.
Great acting moments, wonderful moment for Gollum, but not over the cliff
again…

And yeah when Mount Doom completely
explodes…

Will they? Won’t
they?

A great way to do individual
bows
via a movie.

“You bow to NO
one.”
(Cue big emotions.)

A wordless toast indeed. And a
pumpkin. (And a case of the not gays.)

The Grey
Havens
sends us off. It really is a great Turner-inspired scene.

“Into the West” and the end credit
portraits.
Great job Annie. (The young filmmaker who passed was Cameron
Duncan, to correct Ned there.)

The Triplets of
Belleville is a
real treat, see it when you can.

Enjoy all the Oscar
wins!

Ah yes the Eragon movie.
Welp.

And the Chronicles of Narnia
tried.
But. (Good luck Greta!)

This ran after the episode was recorded but the LA Times had a
piece on the movie anniversary and its impact, especially
in New Zealand itself.

Our Rings of Power and Hobbit
films episodes have more about our
general qualms there.

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