My wife and daughter are away overnight so my son and I decided to have a long-delayed Trilogy day. Which was his decision (Star Wars, The Matrix or Lord of the Rings) and he decided on Lord of the Rings (the extended editions, of course). We started late which means we won’t finish until after 3am, but there’s no school tomorrow and there’s always time for bonding, right?
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to dispute that this is one of the great masterpieces of film-making. Purists may nit-pick over Jackson’s commitment to the source but reasonable people realize that it represents the truest adaptation of Tolkien’s beloved epic we’re ever likely to see. The care and love that went into the production drips from every frame. The extended edition adds a tremendous amount of material for true fans and, despite of glut of others, is maybe the only truly worth while extended edition ever done.
Nothing is perfect. I believe that Ralph Bakshi’s sadly underfunded and often overlooked “The Lord of the Rings” [IMDB] did capture the essence of certain key scenes better. Jackson may also be guilty of overshadowing some of the performances with unneeded special effects. While I don’t agree I can see the point of those that feel the extended ending of the third film is more self-indulgent than effective.
Any complaint that can be levied against it is dwarfed by compliments that must be given. The scope of adventure and the depth of emotion have never been – and may never be – matched again.
