After 20 years, "The Lord of the Rings: The Messenger of the Rings" ushered in its first re-screening in the mainland.
Surprisingly, there were polarized reviews along with the re-screening of the film, as well as countless one-star bad reviews:
We have mentioned it on Weibo before, and it has also triggered extensive discussions.
Here, we don't want to continue to judge more, but want to take this opportunity to return to the film itself, to talk about the birth of the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" series and the enduring charm that is still fresh and enduring 20 years later.
For friends who are familiar with the film, you can think of this as a retrospective.
For those who are not familiar with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I also hope that through this article, I will try to get closer to this series, to understand why it has been a favorite of countless people in the past 20 years, and a classic that has never been surpassed.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is based on British author J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings and revolves around a powerful, demagogic ring of evil.
As a recognized originator of modern fantasy literature, the novel "The Lord of the Rings" has been a best-seller for more than half a century since its inception in 1954, and has become an indispensable part of Western mass culture.
How influential was Lord of the Rings? A comment from The Times can be quoted to explain —
"There are only two kinds of people in the English-speaking world: those who have read The Lord of the Rings, and those who are ready to read it."
From the Beatles and Zeppelins to the creator of A Song of Ice and Fire, George W. Bush. R· R. Martin, are all overt quit fans.
Uncle George was also a fan of Tolkien
The film and television adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings" has begun since the beginning of the publication of the novel.
But neither live-action movies nor anime series have been able to set off any influential splashes.
By the 1990s, the adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was in a good time.
At that time, the special effects technology could already support such a huge and magnificent fantasy epic, and Peter Jackson, a veteran quit fan, quickly realized this, so after obtaining the film adaptation rights, he put all his energy into the preparation of the shooting.
Director Peter Jackson (center)
But it wasn't long before the film ran into a tricky problem:
The original investor suddenly announced his withdrawal, and Peter Jackson did not have the box office appeal and influence he has today, there was no new investment, the project came to a standstill, and all the previous efforts would be in vain.
Fortunately, new line pictures in the United States had the insight to not only agree to Peter Jackson's plan to shoot the first two films, but also increased their weight and proposed to shoot a "trilogy".
That is, we later saw "The Lord of the Rings: The Messenger of the Rings", "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "The Lord of the Rings: The King of the Rings" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Invincible", which corresponded to J.R.R. Tolkien's three original "Lord of the Rings" and merged to form a complete adventure legend.
Even so, while retaining the main threads of the story, the film has greatly simplified the plot of the novel.
The first part, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Messenger, is the beginning of the series, unveiling the fascinating face of Middle-earth and the ups and downs of the Ring Alliance.
The story uses a single-thread narrative, like a road blockbuster full of fantasy adventure. The RingIng Squad, led by Frodo the Hobbit and the human king Aragon, embarked on a long journey to destroy the Supreme Ring by Mordor.
At the same time, it also uses both epic and delicate brushstrokes to depict a magnificent and majestic Middle-earth world.
The second part, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, takes on a more complex multi-line narrative:
After the Ring Alliance disperses, they embark on a different journey, with Frodo and his hobbit friend Sam continuing to march towards Mordor to complete their mission to destroy the Ring;
On the other side, Aragon joins the elven prince Legos and the dwarf nobleman Jimley in defending against the evil forces of the Demon King Sauron.
Compared with the previous one, the film's layout has also been upgraded more magnificently. It was in this series that the Lord of the Rings Trilogy ushered in the first full-fledged war scene, the Battle of the Valley of the Sacred Helmets.
As more races join the battle, more thrilling adventures unfold, and this fantasy land opens up a new and more powerful side.
If in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Alliance, the good and evil sides are still secretly wrestling, then in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the forces of light and darkness have ushered in a full-scale confrontation.
The army of evil is ready to attack, Middle-earth is in jeopardy, and the task of destroying the Lord of the Rings cannot be delayed. This contest finally reached an absolute climax in the third part of "The Lord of the Rings: Invincible King".
The Lord of the Rings: Invincible is the culmination of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy series:
The grand and tragic Battle of Perano's Plains offers the pinnacle of war scenes in the history of cinema, and Frodo's shocking transformation at the end of the journey also achieves a penetrating human exploration.
It's no wonder that The Lord of the Rings: Invincible has become the most recognized and awarded film in the entire series, and its impressive record in 2004 at the Oscars 11 11 (including Best Picture) is still impressive.
The Three Parts of the Lord of the Rings Come Together to tell a complete story.
When filming was first made, Peter Jackson adopted the method of set shooting, shooting three films in one go, and then editing and releasing them separately.
The 10-hour story is like a majestic, colorful and epic dream.
And this is also the biggest charm of the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy".
Leaving aside many of the fame and accolades the series carries, it is a very wonderful set of film works in itself.
The reason why the film is good is that it has the magic to pull people into an unprecedented fantasy world.
Cinema is the art of dreaming, and human beings need to be briefly withdrawn from life.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy provides an opportunity for people to experience a different kind of legend, to embark on an unparalleled adventure, to feel another, imaginative reality.
As the story unfolds, we will follow Frodo on a journey full of dangers and obstacles, and experience growth with Aragon, from escaping to facing up to the fate and responsibility on our shoulders.
Peter Jackson's dedication to production also ensures the authenticity of "Middle-earth".
Many of the scenes in the film have chosen a 1:1 live-action construction, and each prop, from armor and weapons, to the masks of the strong orcs, is full of exquisite details.
Therefore, when we look back at the film after 20 years, in the 2D/IMAX/China Giant Screen/CINITY theater, we still feel that the visual effects of the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" are shocking and classic, and we will not feel that the special effects are fake, the scene is suspended, or the props are shoddy.
Even, at many levels of production, the film can hang many so-called blockbusters later, including the present.
Feel the majestic Pillar of Kings on the Lower Anduin River;
Dreamlike mysterious golden garden Rose Roheen;
The mighty, sacred "White City" Minas Tiris;
Beautiful and peaceful, full of joy and tranquility, the Shire:
Seeing these scenes today is still extremely emotional and exciting!
In the story and scenes full of fantasy colors of the film, there is a heavy texture of reality, especially the portrayal of human nature, which is easy to understand, but profound and timeless.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is a group portrait film with a large number of characters, but each character, even if it is only a supporting role, is vivid and three-dimensional, with a complete and rich personality arc, from which you can see the complexity and jaggedness of human nature.
For example, in the first "Lord of the Rings: The Messenger of the Rings", Shaun Bin played the son of the regent of Gondor, Polomere, the real guardian of Gondor City.
In the film, he has always been vigilant and vigilant, and is full of hostility towards Aragon and his party. Along the way, he is constantly seduced by the Ring, eventually snatching the Ring from Frodo's hand.
Poromir is not an absolutely positive character, as his greed causes the Ring Squad to break up.
But is he a purely negative image?
When he wakes up in time to confront the powerful rings, and even protects Frodo with his life, you will find the goodwill, integrity, and reason lurking under the selfish desires of human nature in this role.
Another example is Frodo, a carefree, innocent and kind hobbit who resists the evil thoughts and temptations of the Ring, and is finally overwhelmed after a long journey.
The Rings destroyed his body's mind, and the chain carrying the ring made a shocking mark on his neck, and when he finally reached his destination, he suddenly decided to take the Ring for himself.
It is also this radical transformation that makes people realize that seemingly indestructible justice and goodness can also be corrupted by greed and malice.
Including such an epic male-dominated story, it still portrays many impressive female characters.
In the first part, the elven princess Al wei, who leads Frodo to escape from the rings, draws her sword and confronts the nine precepts, proving that she is not only assuming the image of a protected weak person;
In the third part, the human princess Iowen, who joined the Battle of Perano with a single armor, single-handedly killed the terrifying witch king Angmar and left behind the classic feminist quotes of film history:
It can be said that every character in the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" series is worth writing.
Their experiences and growths, qualities and weaknesses constitute the film's greatest empathy with the audience.
In fact, the characters are the absolute core of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
All the special effects and techniques, all the excellence in production, are in the service of the characters and the narrative.
And now many fantasy blockbusters have reversed the relationship:
IP first, special effects second, characters third, the narrative is fragmented.
So, when we go back and look at the Lord of the Rings Trilogy series, it's still the best in film history and has never been surpassed.
On the IMDB fantasy charts, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is still firmly in the top three
And it also deserves more patience, to quietly experience and savor.
Taking advantage of the opportunity of re-screening, I also especially want Amway to give you:
Must, must, must feel this series on the big screen!!!
You know, this re-screening, is a new 4K remake, as well as IMAX / Chinese giant screen / CINITY different formats to choose from, if placed in the past film festival for screening, it must be a super hit in the second space.
Now we don't have to grab tickets to see, really happy!
On the other hand, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy series itself was born for theaters.
In addition to the spectacular spectacle visual effects, the sound production of the film is also very good, especially the soundtrack created by musician Howard Shaw, which has become a recognized film and television classic, and has won him two Oscars for best original soundtrack.
Only the theater, which is relatively closed and relatively focused, can strengthen the sound and picture effect of each frame, so that people can fully immerse themselves in the magical and colorful country in the movie, like witnesses, and join in this adventure of ups and downs and legends.
Just today, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" will also join the luxurious package of the theater re-screening, I believe that it will not be too far from the return of "The Lord of the Rings: Invincible King"!
I sincerely hope that the theater line can provide three consecutive screenings, so that people can relive a brilliant and magnificent Middle-earth dream for 10 hours.
And I only hope that this dream can be longer, longer.