Three straight evenings I’ve enjoyed the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings trilogy with a packed theater of fans. Thinking back 23-years ago when the first movie of the trilogy came out I don’t remember why I was so attracted to the story. I gave up on reading through the Hobbit at least once, being under the mistaken notion that I had to read the Hobbit if I was going to read the Lord of the Rings (and that I needed to do this before the movies came out). It probably took me over a year, but I got through the Hobbit. I don’t know, I didn’t seem to have a problem with the Fellowship of the Ring and as I mentioned before, and felt rewarded for my efforts because the Peter Jackson movie felt so close to the source material. After that I couldn’t get enough. I know… “nerd!”

I know that on the surface it looks like a boys’ adventure tale, but there’s a lot of open crying going on and it isn’t damsels-in-distress crying, especially in this third film. It was also probably something I was going through when I read the books and watched the movies, but I very much caught the impossible love story between Aragorn and Arwen. I love that line, “this is but a dream…” 

I also loved that Eowyn refused to let herself be limited to or defined as a maiden or princess but insisted on riding into battle with the soldiers, aiding the Hobbit, Merry, to do his part fighting the enemy. Also precisely because she was a woman she was able to kill the Witch-King of Angmar, who proclaimed that he couldn’t be killed by a man. Oops. Most of all I love that our heroes were determined to “do the right thing,” because it’s the right thing to do, not because of possible reward or glory or even victory. I could go on… there is so much here. Enjoy. 

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Tags: Do the right thing, extended editions, LOTR, movie fan, the return of the king

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