The Hobbit - The Movie: Speculation and Discussion

[MICHKA]

Il faudrait que je le revois!

[Philipa]

Since we have no school today (yay!), I stayed up late last night and watch parts of 'The Hobbit' again. One thing I noticed is that, after Thorin is clobbered by the pale orc and the eagle carries him to safety, he is at least unconscious. Gandalf passes his hand over Thorin's face and he regains consciousness. Do you think the moviemakers meant to suggest that Thorin was dead and Gandalf brought him back to life? Not sure I like that!

I'll be borrowing the Hobbit from the library this week and will have to refresh my memory. I'll have to really pay attention and see what I come away with on this subject. Perhaps PJ was just trying to show some magic but I'm not thinking he'd imply Thorin was dead. That's just my gut instinct guess.

[Lindariel]

Merry, I think Gandalf is just doing a bit of healing. Bringing someone back from the dead would be interfering with Namo's duties, and I don't think Gandalf is foolish enough to go toe-to-toe with the Lord of Mandos!

[MICHKA]

Pour parler du peuple des nains, j'ai une idée simpliste mais je vous l'expose quand même; je crois que pour Tolkien les races diffèrent selon leurs capacités et ceux-ci sont du genre grands travailleurs, sculpteurs du roc et de la pierre,des artistes en fait, et leur richesse est apparue , gagnée, grâce à leur labeur. Ils sont méritants , même si la convoitise est née à cause de çà. Les troubles entre gens de provenance différentes ne sont pas nouveaux et certains ont toujours cru être d'une espèce supérieure, c'est un peu le défaut des elfes ,( si ce sont des créatures parfaites aux yeux de Tolkien, il laissent apparaître des légères failles dans leur grandeur!)Les uns réagissent d'une façon tolérante aux évènements extérieurs, d'autres les jugent sans forcément avoir le monopole de la raison et du discernement . Et la rancoeur se mêle parfois aux sentiments alors qu'elle n'a pas lieu d'être. J'ai lu l'histoire de la création des nains et j'ai compris pourquoi il existait cette prééminence , cet esprit dominant de ceux qui devaient être les premiers-nés. Mais fonder la race des nains n'était pas une mauvaise chose en soi.( Aulë fut un peu trop pressé, c'est tout )

[Merry]

I think your reflections are correct, Michka. Aule was not as powerful a creator as Eru, so the dwarves are not as perfect. I think they seem to reflect their more earthly origins in the mythology. But this doesn't mean that do not have their own gifts. Isn't it said somewhere that both elves and men have fallen to the temptations of Sauron, but dwarves seem to be able to see right through him? Maybe being closer to the earth allows them not to be seduced by the heights!

I love the part of the story when Aule offers to destroy his creation after Eru explains that the dwarves were not in the original plan. But Eru does not allow that to happen and promises that the dwarves will be woven into the original plan and will make it even better!

This all reminds me of a couple lines in the movie that have me puzzled. In Bilbo's narrative, he says that the dwarves of Erebor had been so successful that they began to think they ruled by divine right. There are also some references to signs and omens and predictions at Bilbo's dinner table. I'm not aware of these elements in the dwarvish culture--although I'm not an expert. Did the scriptwriters just make this up?

[MICHKA]

Merci de m'encourager à donner mon humble avis , je ne suis pas aussi ''connaisseuse'' que tous les membres ici, mais j'adore partager toutes vos impressions. J'attends avec patience la sortie du 2ème film le 'Hobbit', et surtout je prends sur moi pour me fournir en DVD , je veux la trilogie pour ne rien louper, comme je l'ai fait pour LOTR. Et je pense que je vais à nouveau me pencher sur le ''Silmarillion'', cette merveille!!

[MICHKA]

Eh bien,Merry,je n'ai pas su attendre finalement ,j'ai acheté ''Le voyage inattendu'' pour le regarder avec mes petits-enfants qui n'ont pas eu la chance de le voir sur grand écran,et je suis très satisfaite de découvrir les bonus, fort plaisants et instructifs. Comme moi ,les enfants sont restés sur leur faim en apercevant l'oeil de Smaug, et aspirent à la suite,prévue cette fin d'année je crois. P.Jackson sait maintenir le suspense en faisant trois films

[Merry]

So glad your little ones enjoyed it, Michka! PJ sure has kept his secrets, particularly about what Smaug will look like, but he has also at the same time let us know that there are great secrets that he is keeping!

[MICHKA]

C'est merveilleux de visionner tous les bonus et les video-blogs un par un, et découvrir d'autres parties de ce pays magnifique qu'est la Nouvelle Zélande, un endroit magique, un tournage époustouflant, un humour toujours présent, et les réactions des acteurs nouveaux et anciens qui s'amusent vraiment! je suis enthousiasmée et ne regrette pas mon achat, réellement c'est extraordinaire de replonger dans cette atmosphère et cette région tout à fait typique de la Terre du Milieu!!!

[MICHKA]

j'espère seulement que les nains ne souffriront pas autant que Gimli( Jhon Rhys Davies) avec les progrès de maquillage depuis dix ans!!

[Merry]

Moi, aussi, Michka! I haven't read that there were any other problems like that, although I have read that it is all hot and uncomfortable. Perhaps it was JRD's personal allergy.

I read something recently, though, from Richard Armitage. He said that he had to work his facial muscles more to register the proper look with all of the facial prosthetics, so that he noticed that even when he didn't have all the stuff on his face, his face was much more animated! He really makes the character a part of him. I also read that he was having Thorin's dreams!

[Merry]

Oh, my, oh, my! I just saw the trailer for the next movie. I'm sure I'll need to watch it a dozen more times, but it looks wonderful! Have you seen it?

[Lindariel]

Yes I have Merry, and I'm very excited with what I've seen so far. Looks like Radagast and Gandalf are going to play their part in driving the Necromancer out of Dol Guldur. Evangeline Lilly's Tauriel looks very "badass" indeed, and it sounds like PJ may be using her "romance" with Kili as a means for beginning to adjust the attitudes of Mirkwood Elves towards the Dwarves of Erebor. I am further encouraged by the look, voice, and manner of Lee Pace as Thranduil.

And we get to see MORE of Smaug that just his eye!!! But alas, we don't get to hear his voice yet. After Benedict Cumberbatch's AMAZING performance in Star Trek: Into Darkness, I cannot WAIT to see and hear what he has done with Smaug. It should be magnificent!!!

[Lindariel]

[quote="Merry"]Moi, aussi, Michka! I haven't read that there were any other problems like that, although I have read that it is all hot and uncomfortable. Perhaps it was JRD's personal allergy.[quote]

Merry and Michka, they are using a newly developed material for the dwarf prosthetics precisely because they wanted to avoid the severe problems John Rhys-Davies experienced when playing Gimli. John had a much more severe reaction than most to the old prosthetics -- specifically, I believe, to the adhesive used to keep them in place -- but sensitivities and allergic reactions to the old prosthetics and adhesives are not unusual.

[Merry]

Well, I just watched the trailer four more times and I'm still not sure of what I'm seeing half the time! Here are some scattered impressions:

--I hope that wasn't Beorn.
--Open barrels with no lids: really?
--It'll be interesting to see the design elements of Thranduil's kingdom.
--Nice to see Legolas again! Hope he has improved as an actor.
--Will Galadriel show up at Dol Guldor? (not sure I spelled that right!)
--I bet many of those scenes aren't finished yet--they didn't seem 'atmospheric' enough.
--I liked the way Tauriel said, 'It is our fight'. That whole argument will be interesting, I hope.
--Martin Freeman's acting seemed wonderful, again. I'm looking forward to that.