Filmmaker reacts to Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 

I almost have seen more lotr reactions than lotr itself... who am i kidding.. its not even close and i have seen a lot lotr reactions already.. 🤦‍♂️😅 a whole lotr love ❤

Already i have to tell you to please watch at least the third one in the extended version.. just for the beginning with Saruman alone, then you can do whatever you like ;D I know its one of the biggest changes to the books, but Saruman and Christopher Lee just really didnt deserve that.. (i mean the theatrical version of RotK)

Ian Mckellen said he very much preferred to play Gandalf the Grey..(compared to nothing special in case you really have no idea about the next two movies;)) for obvious reasons ❤

Bro i am sorry for spamming but in case you are really interested there are very rich and long official making of's to these movies (almost the lenght of the movies itself.. so you really got to love it tho.. but how could you not;))

I think you would absolutely love the making of the films features. The extended version improves the movies even for non fans. I had never read the books.

I consider this to be one complete film split into three parts. Like the books.

peter Jackson didn't even ask permission lol he just started filming scenes from the later movies when they did the first. when it was time to talk about more movies he already had a bunch filmed i think

if you add to that think how light it is when it chooses to be" Bc that just be sitting pretty in a pocket, held in your hand weightless light as a feather but then just a heavy thud when left behind abandoned. You don't really think about it.

Many people miss how the ring gets progressively heavier in the movies, to the point where Frodo's neck is bruised. It's symbolism of the physical and emotional weight the ring carries.

I believe they made a magnetic version for that effect

@@erikawilliams9558 Thats a common misconception. In a behind the scenes video they talk about how they made a 18-inch(45cm) diameter version of the ring for this close up scene

@@thedeep6570 They used a big ring for the close ups but they did use a magnetic floor for that one shot because the ring kept bouncing and rolling away. I watch the commentary too back in the day. @ErikaWilliams is correct.

xD this is the film that’ll perform magic tricks that even I can’t seem to crack.

@@JamesVSCinema they really had to use everything in their playbooks. Just as CGI was getting better, they even pioneered some mo-cap techniques and getting up-close, CGI facial movements. But they couldn't rely on only CG for most things, so a lot of physical and practical effects that really grounds everything very well!

@@JamesVSCinema Get the Special Edition opticals (DVD/BluRay). Tons and tons of featurettes. Also 4 commentary tracks for each film.

@@zvimur Second recommendation - if you REALLY want to know about all the tricks and forced perspective - and all the design and just sheer PASSION FOR THE ART - and RESPECT for Tolkien's works themselves - you'll find it all there!

some of the little things they do are almost unnoticeable, but set the tone so well - an early one is when Bilbo drops the Ring - it lands with a thud, no bounce ... the implied weight of it, how heavy the burden is ...

Nothing more to say.

Very very well stated my friend.

Facts. Absolute perfection.

Couldn't say it better myself.

Well, the book set the bar very high. For years, everybody thought that no movie could ever do justice to the source material. I must say, the movies, especially the 1st, are far from perfect. And it's not wonder that the weakest parts are the ones that Hollywood added. Rewriting the story to add more screen time for Liv Tayler is ok-ish. But it should be done in the spirit of the books If not, you're bound to create the premise for one of the cringiest scenes in modern cinema, dad Elrond scorning 17-yo Arwan for the "bad boy" (Aragorn) she's dating. A conversation that in the books, in which both carry the weigh of immortal beings (Elrond was born in the First Ege, making him 6000+ yo, Arwen at the beginning of the Third Age, she was 2778 yo when she married), never existed. At 2778 yo she's old and wise enough to make her own choices, Elrond never even came close to questioning them. There's only a slight hint of a "dad" moment, but in a conversation with Aragorn, not with Arwen. In short Elrond reminds him who he (Aragorn) is, all his lineage and his titles. He just adds that while he might be a King among Men, the leader of the lastest big alliance of the free people of Middle Earth in the final battle against Evil, he's still marrying up. And he's right, Arwen shares the same bloodline of Aragorn, the Kings of Men (they are cousins, like 30 generations apart cousins) but also that of the Kings of the Elves. And she has the beauty of Luthien. I mean every dad has the right of thinking of his daughter as the most beautiful and noble creature on the Earth, even Elrond. He just reminds Aragorn that in this case that's literally true.

And the Two Towers incident. All I’ll say for now about that is OUCH.

@@0okamino He said, "Aaaauughhh!!!"

He did very well in these sets of movies. Hildago is easy a close second this *smiles*

@@theshadowfax239 This is accurate. Well.... assuming they still named that horse Asfaloth lol. It was actually the horse Arwen rides in the first movie, the woman was Arwen's riding double for stunts and also took care of all the horses on set. She fell in love with the horse she rode, but it was a top bred stallion, worth way more than she could ever afford. Viggo bought himself the horse he rode in Two Towers, Brego, and also bought the other horse, the stallion, the woman loved, outbidding a studio exec to do it, and gifted it to her for nothing, as he felt it was just right that she have that horse.

the stuntman also accidentally threw a real knife, was obviously suppose to be a stunt knife, but he used the wrong one

Exactly. The sheer stunned terror.

Surely Gimli would’ve known about it as well? That Balrog is, after all, Durin’s Bane, the one that killed the greatest Dwarven king of all.

I have always said first timers should not watch the extended versions. I saw the originals for years before they came out and appreciated it so much more. Smart on you.

Thanks hahaha. Appreciate you for getting it 🙏🏽

I came looking for this comment. One definite exception to the campy horror stories he and Fran Walsh made was Heavenly Creatures, which stars Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey.

Worth noting that the films were actually made despite Harvey Weinstein. Harvey and Miramax wanted one film and threatened to replace Jackson with Tarantino. Credit goes to New Line and Bob Shaye and Mark Ordesky for taking the chance. HW (who still demanded a producers credit) was such a thorn in the side of Jackson and crew that they actually made an orc costume that looked like him as a final "fuck you" to him

@@Owlyross That is hilarious (& interesting). I think it's the one with the bulbous head in Two Towers who says "The Age of Men is over...The Age of Orcs has begun" (I'm paraphrasing). -x-

A Tarantino Version of Lord of the Rings?! Oh God nooooo..... nononono.... no!!!

@@bluelagoon1980 I think it’s probably fair to say that without Heavenly Creatures (which also got them an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay) they would not have been able to convince New Line to let them make LotR.

It’s definitely in a tier of its own.

@@JamesVSCinema Hey James, if you think the characters and the lore, is deep in the film, the books the lord of the rings trilogy and the Simarillion, the Hobbit and the unfinished works of Tolkien, is so deep, its literally like taking a college level course. it's been 20 years of watching these movies, and learning about the lore and I still don't know everything about the characters and the lore. Its probably the deepest and richest lore there is.

@@isasooner5 The books suck dude. And Tolkien's writing style is gay.

Kids these days! Lol

So true haha ^_^

This. People have just seen the million copies

Except Joseph Campbell would be the more responsible

@@willemreyniers9187 Well, yes and no. Campbell was publishing his books about the Hero's Journey at around the same time Tolkien was inventing Middle Earth.

Gandulf the Godson. Hahaha

@@Drax514 It's a Hip-hop reference derived from the musical term. Rappers who put together a particularly impressive lyrical display are described as "spitting bars", and its use has extended to basically any scenario where someone says something profound or articulate.

@@JamesVSCinema I recommend you go back and watch the extended cuts privately. They are more than worth it. The last 2 movies had about 30 minutes of footage added, so that's not a small insignificant amount, and the extra scenes do add even more weight and epic feel to the trilogy. Please don't do yourself a disservice and watch them.

What does it mean?

@@retromillenium didnt he watch the extended version? The fight with the water and Isildur at mount doom are only in the extended version, right?

Extended Editions for the win!! Fellowship was my favourite in terms of the extended versions as it only added little bits you wouldn’t notice until you compared.

@@andrewburgemeister6684 yeah, of the extended editions, Fellowship has the smoothest pacing and every extra scene feels like it belongs

@@sir_maim_iii9716 I watched the Theatrical Cut with my parents and it felt weird without those extra scenes that added so much!

@@sir_maim_iii9716 it’s the only one of the three where the Extended Edition is an improvement over the Theatrical Edition.

Super happy to hear. Always happy to give value in places that are often overlooked. Main point of this channel so thank you!

To be fair, it makes sense that not a lot of reactors have a more technical film perspective. People like that tend to be movie buffs, while being a reactor inherently requires limited film experience.

"other reactors" They're just people, you can't "do reacting", it's a natural thing that even cats do when they see basically anything, just like us.

Ooh what are your favorite ones? I've seen a bunch of reactors too and I'm really picky 😅

Well it was written in the 30s back then Marijuana in England wasn't as prominent as something you smoke

Not to be more fantasy but to pay homage to the hippy crowd.

@@jima6545 He wrote these long before hippies were a thing. The book was written between the 30’s and 50’s, and published in 1955. Pipe weed was just another form of tobacco, like Tolkien smoked. He didn’t smoke marijuana. As a matter of fact, he commented that he didn’t like the hippie culture when they all took notice and became fans of the story.

@@Ryotsu2112 I was referring to the movies, not Tolkien himself. One of the pop culture references in the movies I found annoying. I'm certain he didn't mean marijuana

Tolkien didn't want to use the word "tobacco" because it's a Carib word for a New World crop and he felt it would have been incongruous because Middle-earth is supposed to be our own world in a remote past, i.e. before contact between Europe and the Americas. Didn't stop him from using "potato" and "tater" though, and after all he could always have justified it by saying it's part of the translation convention, since the books are supposed to be translated into English from the original Westron

These DVDs were the peak of "bonus content". It was like a Ken Burns documentary.

i wonder if the lord of the rings trilogy was the last time i experienced special effects like it was proper magic tricks. nowadays i hardly think about it at all.

" We all need a friend like Sam" why? Why says no one, every boddy can be a sam, I can be a sam?

"This story was forged in the trenches of WWI" Yupp, Mordor influenced by The Furnace of Verdun' and Gandalf's line You Shall Not Pass was definitely taken from the 'They shall not pass' Nivelle's slogan about Verdun. Tolkien never fought in the battle but would have heard the stories and the propaganda line was everywhere on posters.

I was 39 when this was released... Opening night for all three movies, like a kid :-D I even treated some friends to Return Of The King just to see it again... and that's the only time I've been to the theater to watch a movie a second time.

I'm reading now book and I understand why they changed so much,if they make it movie like a books they must be 6 movies 10 hours long,I think the movies are masterpiece

Tolkien was a brilliant world builder but a sub par writer. His writing style is meandering and he trivializes shit.

I read unlike other composers who view a rough cut of the film and build the score around it, Shore actually went to New Zealand to be on set with the cast and crew and started building the score for all three films from the dailies and the filming he was witnessing. It’s why I feel it’s really unique in terms of film scores!

Generally speaking, I think the Theatrical editions are well easier to digest. (Especially for first time viewings.) Overall, there's only so many scenes from the Extended I wish they kept in the general release. They may fill the story out more fully, but they can be more tedious for many to sit through.

@@maximillianosaben Plus, there's actually footage in the theatrical (FotR especially) that isn't in the extended.

Hbomax has all the extended versions

i think the theatrical are the superior versions. I feel like a lot of stuff cut was cut for a reason. The last 2 films are bloated with a lot of unnecessary comic relief.

@@garyjones2561 is that some of the stuff in Lothlorien? As far as I know, they did use a different sort of scene they shot for the Extended version.

Thanks for understanding man! Excited for you guys to run through the video haha. A lot of good moments!

@@JamesVSCinema There is a plot resolution in the third movie that was cut from the theatrical. But we can let you know what was left out if you want to stick to the TE. 😁

@@the-NightStar I'm not really sure there's anything pressing in TTT EE that he'd miss out on. But it's been years since I've seen it, and even longer for the TE. It's the ROTK TE that leaves a plot thread unresolved. And the way it's resolved in the movie completely deviates from the books anyway.

@@the-NightStar Everyone who loves the extended versions saw the regular version in theaters and loved them enough that they were down for twice the length a second time. Let him have that too.

Hell yeah!

1000% you can tell when someone LOVES their story. Even amongst some bigger directors now, there’s a special tier for people like this..true artists which is so cool and inspiring to witness.

Not strictly true. Peter Jackson actually pitched the project as two films, because he didn't think that any studio would agree to fund a trilogy. It was actually the Exec producer at New Line who said "Why are you pitching us two films when it should be 3?" Jackson couldn't believe his luck!

@@richieclean This.

The other impressive thing is how each film has a sort of internal arc, so even though the end of each of the two parts is not the end, there is still a feeling of completion, and there is also the faith in the viewer that no reprise was made at the beginning of the new movies, showing complete confidence in the audience. There's a lot of skill in this, and even a good director in Denis Villeneuve wasn't able to achieve the same thing with Dune. Jackson will never be able to match this film making again, but what a legacy!

You saw it in theater dude?

Once in a lifetime kind of project.

I don't think LOTR will ever be topped. King of the fantasy genre.

THEY SHALL NOT PASS!

I cannot think of a single reason to deny myself all the great content of the extended editions.

The fans don't determine what's official. The theatrical is the best cut for all 3 films. The extended versions ruin the gritty serious nature of Lord of the Rings and turn the trilogy into a comedy.

@@DestinyAwaits19 "the fans don't determine what's official" followed by "the theatrical is the best cut", do you even read what you type

@@aidanrock8719 The theatrical is superior.

@@DestinyAwaits19 lol, what? :)

Definitely see it now more than ever!

The

Amazing to see 2 of my fav yters commenting on my fav movie lmao

Ah that’s so great to hear man!! Beautifully summarized the entire goal of this channel. Cheers man!

appreciate this! Hahaha definitely seeing some heat for it but honestly I already know it’s the best approach for watching these after so long.

I absolutely love LOTR in all its incarnations, but I have to agree. The theatrical editions are better films by almost every metric, and IMO are the way they should be experienced for newcomers.

@@JamesVSCinema you don't deserve any "heat" for not watching the extended versions but, imho, they really don't "change" anything, other than giving you more detail. They really are "better," with no downside, imho, but your reasons for not doing it are understandable.

@@topperformanceify Honestly I think the extended editions are awesome to watch first, especially because you can just watch them in the comfort of your own home instead of having to sit in a theater for 4 hours.

Lotr and the Godfather triology are movies I try to rewatch at least once per year. :) When I were still living with my parents my dad literally boight a home cinema 5-1 set just for Lotr and we had a tradition to watch one at the time during 23-25 december together.

Happy to hear it Andrew! Yeah this is going to be a damn good ride!

Thanks homie!

🥰♥️

Play right after dinner homie 🙏🏽

@@JamesVSCinema I'm too sleepy usually haha. Them Souls games require 100% focus!!

Hahaha the fact the second movie came out the next year is hilariously awesome.

@@JamesVSCinema the best part of the story is my best friend at the time went with me but had no idea it was part one of a trilogy. He loved the movie but was so pissed that I didn’t tell him ahead of time.😂

@@JamesVSCinema iirc they filmed the movies back to back to back so they could achieve that

Strictly speaking, The Lord of the Rings is not a trilogy. It is a single novel that was broken up into three volumes for economic reasons. In the 1950s when they were published, the average book buyer would not be able to afford it in a single volume. But you can certainly see why these movies had a built-in audience of millions of fans anxiously awaiting their appearance on the big screen. Peter Jackson did a masterful job translating the books visually.

@@jimtatro6550 my Uncle took his parents to see it Boxing Day on the premiere in 2001, his Dad was not a Tolkien fan and also had lower back pain from surgery that made sitting for long periods uncomfortable, so he kept looking at his watch to see when it would end. After it was all over thinking it was just one film, he was horrified to hear that two more were coming out the next two years and that they were going to take him to see them!

Yes, he was very much like Sam to Elijah. Also, the four hobbits were really close (they still are) and spent time together even in their spare time. I love how the cast speaks with so much love about the films and their experience to this day.

@@tedito1231 i only recently discovered Merry and Pippin have a podcast together nowadays :P

@@Musabre Yes, and it’s what you would expect. They already had Elijah and Sean as guests.

Well noted!