Return of the King

[Dis]

and what about the Hobbit? Isn't that part of the story- at least unofficially. My brother has that book in the set he got as a present.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's a prequal. It actually reads much easier and is more story-like. I recommend it as a fantasy read.

[Carolus Rex]

Re: Return of the King

Originally posted by DanS

And here's Queen Margrethe II of Denmark taking in the movie. I must say that as a confirmed Republican, all this royalty stuff is starting to wear on my nerves.

IIRC, she illustrated Tolkien in Denmark. Don't remember if it was the books or just her own art, but she's a great Tolkien fan. Wouldn't you take advantage of being royal to demand a meeting with the people behind the movie, or to get tickets to the première?

Carolus

[Dis]

I'd demand to have sex with Liv Tyler

[Harovan]

You have to grow pointy ears to get this privilege.

[Drake Tungsten]

It's a prequal.

Is it? I don't know the official definition of what constitutes a prequel, but I always thought that a book can't be a prequel if it was the first book written. In my view, The Lord of the Rings is the sequel to The Hobbit, not the other way around.

[Dry]

I'll try this one.

What about the blond chick who was with the King? Why is she in love with Aragorn? And if she is in love with Aragorn- will there be a threeway at the end of Return of the King?

Eowyn, she is the niece of Theoden King. She is indeed in love with Aragorn. So a choice will have to be made ... but shhht, don't spoil...

And what is the King's name?

Theoden, king of Rohan.
But there is another King, the King of Gondor ... but shhht, don't spoil...

And what is the Dwarf's name?

Gimli

and who is Solomon? Is he the enemy wizard?

Saruman or Sauron?
Saruman is a wizard. He was the boss of all wizards but was seduced by the very big bad evil Sauron. He thinks he may use Sauron for his purposes, but in reality he is the puppet and Sauron is the master.
Sauron master of evil. I don't remember exactly who he is. I think he was once mortal, but now he is a spirit?... devil?... demon?... well... don't remember exactly.
He was defeated at the battle of ??? 3000 years ago by Isildur, the ancestor of Aragorn. He now tries to get back a material body, but so far, he only get this one eye.

And where did Gandolf go during the battle on Helm's deep.

Seek help. He tried to get back the banned Eomer and his Rohirrim (= Rohan's riders).
Eomer is the brother of Eowyn and was banned from Rohan by Theoden when Theoden was posessed by Saruman.

And how exactly did they win the battle of helm's deep. Who were those other people that showed up. not the elves, but the people on horseback. I was dismayed all those horses charged right into pikes and were not decimated. *sigh*

The Rohirrim. Gandalf succeed in getting them back.

Note: compare where they attacked from with the big picture of the fortress. You'll see they are complete idiots.

[Lorizael]

mm midnight showing. I'll be watching it in fifteen hours.

[Arrian]

[pedant] Quenya, the language of the Noldor, is based on Finnish. Sindarin, the language of the Sindar and the elvish most commonly quoted in the books, was based on Welsh. [/pedant]

I stand corrected.

Aragorn's been pretty badass in the films, but I know what you mean. And I too am sick of Arwen. Wanna have a strong female character? No problem, there is one: Eowen. But anyway...

Diss -

If you like adventure stories in a medieval setting, then you will probably like LoTR enough to read it. Fellowship (first book) starts slow, but like the movie it picks up steam.

I liked the books because Tolkein didn't just write a story - he really created a whole world, complete with languages, and history (legends). It's the History element that got me, I think. It made Middle Earth seem more real to me (the maps helped too).

-Arrian

[-Jrabbit]

I have to wait until Friday, first showing after my daughter's out of school.

Can't wait... Want to sneak out to early show... Must resist...........

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
And the books are VERY overrated (good, but nothing too special), as are the movies (FOTR was good, but TTT sucked).

What do you know? Harry Potter fans are not one to judge good taste.

[asleepathewheel]

have to wait til friday.

and far worse, have to see Mona Lisa Smile with my wife in exchange

[DinoDoc]

You poor bastard.

[Theben]

and who is Solomon? Is he the enemy wizard?

Solomon was a Judaic king.
Saurman was the original leader of the White Council, which was a guild of wizards (ishtari actually, a special type of wizard, 1000's of years old) only 3 were mentioned in the books. Radagast the Brown was the other.
Anyway, Saruman used that crystal ball (a palantir) in the movie and Sauron ensnared him thru it.

And Sauron was originally a Maia, an ancient god, but much less powerful than the Valar. The Balrog was also a Maia.

And how exactly did they win the battle of helm's deep. Who were those other people that showed up. not the elves, but the people on horseback. I was dismayed all those horses charged right into pikes and were not decimated. *sigh*

In the books Eomer was in Helm's Deep during the seige. Gandalf got another army of Rohirrim riders to lift the seige. In addition (and more importantly) the Ents sent a few hundred Huorns to Helm's Deep (mobile trees), and the Uruk-hai weren't as fearless in the books as the movie. They broke and fled when Gandalf appeared and the troops rallied in the fortress, and fled thru the forest of Huorns, which slaughtered every last orc that passed thru.
As for the movie, I just assume that with Gandalf leading the charge he somehow made the pikes ineffective. The glowing light and all.

[Theben]

Originally posted by Alex
Oooh how I would like to see this movie now... will have to wait till christmas... today i went with my wife to see "love actually" for the second time (it was her third! ) just because she said that there would be a ROTK trailer before the movie...

If you want to see the trailer so bad why don't you just download it from their website?