Monday, January 11, 2010

Making of "The Lord of the Rings"

Tolkien, the author of LOTR had said that it is impossible for someone to make a film out of his creation. Not that he hated films, but there are so many details, and so many messages on those books, which literally make it impossible for someone to film all of it. Fortunately, Peter Jackson is great fan of Tolkien, and in fact almost every member of the crew is great fan, and so they gave their best to make those films for us to watch. Of course some changes happened, and some things had to stay off-screen, but the films manage to give us the main Tolkien theme, the main idea, with brilliant success.
There are many interesting themes on the trilogy, like strong friendship, despair (which leads in either suicide or a great action), love between a mortal Man and an immortal Elf, who gave away her immortality to be with the one she loves. And of course the movie is about the struggle between good and evil. There are great lines to be heard, lines that sometimes manage to give you courage, patience, strength. Lines that can even make you shed a tear or two...
I have kept in mind some interesting stuff about the making of the films, and I'd like to share it with y'all.
The first thing that comes in mind, is a scene where we see Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) kick a helmet and scream of both anger and sadness, because he thought he lost 2 of his friends. Viggo made that scene five times, and on the fifth he actually broke 2 toes! But instead of yelling "CUT! I'm hit!", he turned that pain into acting, and that's the scene we actually see in the movie, the moment when he breaks his toes!
Another fact is that he was very bound to his sword. (Here I'll have to say that there where different types of swords in the movie, real ones and plastic as well, for the intense fighting scenes) Viggo made all of his scenes with the real sword, the sharp one! He was even carrying it with him the whole time, no matter where he was. One day he was eating in a restaurant, and when he left, dressed half-Aragorn and half his casual clothes, he was swinging it down the street and the police stopped him to ask questions! He even broke a tooth during a fight scene! Viggo was also very bound to the horse he was riding as Aragorn in the films. Rumor has it that he was even sleeping with that horse!
Orlando Bloom (Legolas) fell once from his horse and broke a rib, and that was in fact the same day when Viggo had broken his toes. But there was a running scene that had to be made that day, so he and Viggo had to run long distances, with all that pain and a helicopter filming them from above. At least some of that footage is seen on the film.
Bernard Hill (King Theoden) got a nasty cut on the ear, during a fight scene, and they had to give him 3 stitches! But the accidents don't stop here: Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee) stepped on a nasty piece of glass, and they had to call for a helicopter to take him to the nearest hospital.
In other news, Peter Jackson, the director, made a short appearance (cameo) in all of the three movies. And Howard Shore, the composer, also has his own cameo.
Last, but not least I want to mention that Orlando's bow broke on the very last day of filming!
Well, that's all I can recall now. The films are great, and give a different note to my life. No other film has ever made me feel so many different kinds of emotions, strong or lesser! And watching the love of the people who made it, the determination they had to succeed... I don't think that there will ever be a film I will love more than "The Lord of the Rings". That trilogy means so much to me...
I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to give those films to the public.
Le hannon o gûr nîn! Navaer.


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