Lord of the Rings Two Towers

I REALLy want to see this movie! I loved the first one, and Brent and the kids are going to see it saturday night, but since I don't think I can find anyone to watch Amber, guess whose butt will probably be stuck at home?? Suppose I'll just wait till it comes out on video. But she is worth it anyway!!!

ThirtySilver:
Yeah, most of the fantasy stuff now adays, and even years ago were based on the JRTolkien books. Like those "trees" Coco referred to are Ents (sp?) But now the rest of the fantasy world has transform the word into TreEnts (sp?)

I dunno, my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] is like a geek for all this stuff, and I just remember bits and pieces of him trying to explain things to me.

Thanks Ryan for the Lord of the Rings info! You sound like an expert on the subject How many books are there in the Lord of the Rings series? I am interested in reading them. Are they pretty easy to follow? Has anyone read them AFTER seeing the first movie?

Ginger

Has anyone read them AFTER seeing the first movie?

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I actually picked up the trilogy and read it after seeing the first movie. For The Fellowship, I found myself comparing what was in the book and what was in the movie. Personally, I didn't find the differences hard to get over. Although I really like the trilogy, I find the writing style stilted, Victorian and very male-based. I love fantasy, and it was neat to see how a majority of modern fantasy is a child of the trilogy. After all, before J.R.R. Tolkien, the elves were little fragile creatures, while he made them a warrior race.

In my edition of The Return of the King, there is a rather large appendix giving all of the history of Middle Earth (written by Tolkien). I have read that Tolkien based it largely on Norse mythology, and I'm pretty familiar with Norse mythology, but I have to admit I was lost. It's taken several readings to figure out the backstory Tolkien had created. For me, it added an additional layer to the story the movie told, but I don't think it's necessary to truly enjoy the movie, or the books.

Okee -I agree that LOTR is very male. Lots of swords and dragons and dark lords. I did however find the grace and beauty of the elves very feminine. All of the women in Tolkien's stories are very elegant, beautiful, and melancholy.
If the language seems Victorian, it's because Tolkien was a language professor -a philologist. The stories in LOTR and the Silmarillion sprung from his research in Finnish, Norse, and Middle English tongues (Middle English - Middle Earth). He wrote his stories as sort of a history of Europe, so it makes sense that he would use Old English language and grammar.

Well, Coco . . . the Lord of the Rings was released as a trilogy even though it was meant to be one big book with three parts. It technically isn't a trilogy since a trilogy is series of three books, each of which has its own separate ending. But the three Lord of the Rings books just blend directly into each other.
You can buy the books as a boxed set with all three, you can buy them separately, or you can buy them as one giant book. They are pretty easy to follow; there are lots of characters and the writing is very descriptive. The great thing about the book LOTR is the history behind it. The world in which it takes place is very old. Some people, myself included, love that sort of thing; but some may find it too heady and drawn out.
Depending on whether you prefer light reading or dark and heavy reading, you may like the book. I love it. I actually read it after I saw the movie, but I had listened to my dad tell me stories from it and the Silmarilion when I was a child. Once I read LOTR, I read the Hobbit again, and then devoured the Silmarillion. I guess I am sort of an expert on Tolkien's work, but I like to stay humble. I have written songs in Elvish, though!
-Ryan

Count me in for the one person in America who has not seen either of the movies. My ex-husband was/is a complete Tolkien freak. Always has been. I still remember buying him a leather bound set of The Hobbit and the Trilogy for Xmas one year. I guess I have avoided the films because of the connection to him, and no, I haven't ever read the books either. From what I understand, though, I think the films are better appreciated if you have read the books. My daughter found the new movie confusing.

For all of your major LOTR geeks out there. They have LOTR rings you can buy. They are solid gold, have the inscription and everything. Their about $300.00 each. I'd post a picture but I can't remember the site I saw this on.
I wonder what geeks will use these rings as wedding bands.

My husband just bought that rock creature in the 1st movie... It was that huge creature in the caves that they fought. They only have 700 that they are making. He pre-ordered it and wont get it til April or somethinglike that, but I guess the thing is huge.

Tigger: You can make a nice lawn ornament out of it.

Angel -I'm a fan, but I'd never spend $300 on a LOTR Ring. That's just silly. $20, that's my limit. I have the Ring I bought for $20 hanging from my rear view mirror.
But wedding bands? -sigh-

Deb -It really does help to read the books. I can see how your daughter would have found the new movie confusing: it goes back and forth, never giving any one character too much screen time, and they introduce all these new characters and locations. Rohan? Gondor? Fangorn? Gandalf the White? Without at least a little knowledge of how the story goes in print, the new movie kind of seems like it has no beginning and no end.
The one thing I didn't really like about the Two Towers was the weird comic relief. Gimli cavorts around the screen like Beavis. I didn't think that was necessary, but I guess the filmmakers threw it in because the movie is pretty dark otherwise. All that war and death.

Tigger -I believe you're referring to the cave troll. I didn't know they were making such a limited number. I saw a picture of the thing, and it's giant!
My question is . . . why?
What would one do with what amounts to basically a massive toy?
It's amazing the things people would rather have than money.
-Ryan

Originally posted by Thirtysilver
If the language seems Victorian, it's because Tolkien was a language professor -a philologist. The stories in LOTR and the Silmarillion sprung from his research in Finnish, Norse, and Middle English tongues (Middle English - Middle Earth).

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If anyone is interested in hearing the Finnish language go to this link and listen to the samples. If you have seen the films, you will see how the Finnish language is a base for some of the language spoken. It is a very soft, fluent, and poetic language that works perfect for some of Tolkien's characters.

((((I knew I would use my Finnish background at some point on this site, even though it has nothing to do with cats!!))))



Samples of the Finnish Language

I just saw the movie, and it was amazing! I really loved it. It has been a long time since I read the books, so I couldn't remember much beyond the Ents and Gandalf. I think I will reread them before the last film.

I did reread the Hobbit last year. Although the stories are very male-based as has been mentioned, I loved Tolkiens descriptions and the language he uses. Another world wouldn't use the same kind of language we do.

And Aragorn is my favorite character, too. I loved that scene where he returned to King Theodrin and pushed open those massive doors. He rocks. Of course, Legolas is pretty cool, too.

The one thing I didn't really like about the Two Towers was the weird comic relief. Gimli cavorts around the screen like Beavis

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OK, not having seen the movie yet, this may be a spoiler, so be forwarned....



There was one bit in The Two Towers (the book), that I found to be comic relief, but pretty funny nonetheless. During a large battle (Thirtysilver, feel free to remind me of the name ) Gimli and Legolas have a competition about who killed the most enemies. During the battle, they meet several times and compare their scores. Legolas always leads, until the end, where he admits Gimli has killed one more than he has. Reading that whole bit, I feel that Legolas lied to make Gimli feel better. Also, I felt it was a little forced, perhaps to lighten the mood. But, it did make me giggle.

Okee: Mind you most of the comic releif was corny and only 'funny' to specific crowds of people. The rest of us felt it was unnecessiary. HOWEVER. 1 or 2 parts were a little funny, because they helped potray an aspect of certain character(s).

I have to admit, I giggled at most of the silly bits. In retrospect, they weren't necessary. Some of the stuff with Gimli was funny, but some was definitely overkill. The battle Christy mentioned is the main one of this movie, and Gimli and Legolas do keep track for a little while.

Okee -you refer to the battle of the Hornburg. You may hear people call it "The Battle of Helm's Deep," but it was known in the books as the battle of the Hornburg.
At that battle, Legolas and Gimli make a game out of who kills the most orcs.
Gimli wins 42-41.

Aragorn was one of my favorite characters, as was Legolas and -of course- Gandalf. But my two favorites were Boromir and Samwise.
Boromir may have given in to the Ring, but he redeemed himself in the end and died in valor -as a hero.
Sam was the most self-scrificing character I've ever read in any story. Especially in the confrontation at Cirith Ungol. I won't say any more, because that's coming up in the next movie (even though it should have been in The Two Towers)!

In truth, it's really hard to pick a favorite character, because all of Tolkien's characters have so much depth and realism that it's hard not to like them all.
Especially the Ents!

Hoom-hom-musn't be hasty!

-Ryan



The Elf Fingolfin and Morgoth, Sauron's Master. . . from The Silmarillion

Kassandra- That Finnish language website does sound like the language used in the movie. Do you speak Finnish and do you understand what they are saying in the movie when you hear them talk?

Ginger

Ginger,

In the movie they are not speaking Finnish, the language was just influenced by the Finnish/Norse dialect. I grew up with my mother and grandmother speaking fluent Finnish, and my father sometimes speaking Gaelic.

My older sister can speak and understand the language better than I can. Once my grandmother passed away, I lost the ability to comprehend the language because I did not hear it on a daily basis. My mother remarried a Finnish man so they speak Finnish all the time in their household. I hope in the near future (when I have time) to become 'somewhat' fluent!

If anyone is interested in folklore and mythology I can highly recommend The Kalevala (a Finnish epic). This was created in the 1830's and is based on authentic folklore collected and compiled by Elias Lonnrot.

You would probably be able to pick up the language quickly if you were to study it since you have somewhat of a base to grow on.
I got a learn to speak Gaelic tape from Books-A-Million a few years ago. I tried to learn how to speak it because I think the language sounds really cool! Wow was that hard to learn!!! I didn't get very far But...it was a good learning tool. It had a tape and a book to follow along with. It started with the very basics of pronouncing letters and simple words. They have tapes for just about every language you can imagine at the bookstores.

Gigner

I come from an Irish family. I would love to learn to speak Gaelic, but I don't think I have the patience! I took French in HS, and I found it intersting; it's a beautiful language, but I get distracted so easily!
That's not to say I have no interest in other lanuages. I'm very interested in the way we use our own language. Plus, I love the languages Tolkien invented. I did invent a language of my own, it's currently in use in my cat story, "The Parking Lot Cats." Here's a sample:

Dal Bebelun tetu sol thlat?
Dal Fren hom Eltlind sol thlat?
In dal lórs gurnen es tiren dal Elt
In dal frazken sellórs henden?

Dal Vail hom Basef Sóta sol thlat
Hom dal Kigul Letrelal, Rait?
Let dal hella, grae prol ea, in dal trigól hom Theth.
Mru gal fril prol velded shóan.

It's an Ailurian (Cat Language) poem that reads:

Where is the son of Bebelun?
Where is the King of Cats
Born in the hills when the World was still
Raised on the Ice-cleft flats?

Where are the Whales of the Eldest Tales
Gods of the Western Sea?
They sing as the wind in the fields of Men
And there, they shall ever be.