And lo, after endless amounts of bad luck and broken promises on posting dates, WeirdRaptor was triumphant in getting the latest part of his paper to it's destination.
Part Sixteen: The Game Attempts-Part Fourteen:The scene fades to the interior of Bilbo’s house and then he hear Ian Holm voice over as the camera moves through Bag End's scenery, which looks exactly like it stepped right out of our imaginations. I pictured the very same image when reading the book.
Eventually, the creeping point of point of view finally finds Bilbo at his writing desk. Again, the interior of Bad End is phenomenal, to say the least. Jackson and co spared no expense in creating it, twice. One set Hobbit sized, and one set of it full human sized. Not only that, but it really does look exactly the way Tolkien described it.
Moving on, Bilbo is attempting to start writing his book, which covers his adventures with Gandalf and the thirteen dwarves to the recovery the Lonely Mountain (Erebor) from the dragon Smaug. He see Bilbo from the back view as he considers where to begin while smoking a pipe. He decides to start by “concerning hobbits”. Holm, being a master actor and having all the charm and ability that comes with it, delivers a spot on Bilbo here. His mannerisms, voice, and attitude all match the audience’s expectations perfectly.
Note" Jackson thought he was going to have to fight to keep the pipe smoking in the films, because it's not politically correct. However, no such attempts executive meddling ever came.
Now, more about this scene: this second narration that appears on the extended edition in which Bilbo talks about the hobbits was an alternate opening to the film that Jackson considered and then reluctantly abandoned in favor of the more exciting Forging of the Great Rings and Last Alliance scenario. Originally, this and this alone was supposed to be how the film opened. Frankly, I think it could have worked, but both would, really. Retrospect, I think I prefer this one since all the backstory with the Rings and the Last Alliance are explained at Frodo's fireplace, later, anyway. Well, once the film crew had decided to go with opening the film with the history of the Ring, it was with great reluctance that Jackson cut what we are about to see, and it really is a shame. Thankfully, we have it restored to the extended version.
Moving on, cut to several scenes of hobbits going about their daily lives in Hobbiton as Ian Holm delivers a near perfect rendering of Tolkien’s own “Concerning Hobbits” Prologue which was at the beginning of the Fellowship volume. A lot of wit is in Tolkien’s dialogue while describing his creation and their culture and Jackson and co are quick to supply appropriate visuals to it. Such as when Bilbo intones that some say that a hobbit’s greatest love is for food. It shows a hobbit man on his knees before a hobbit woman as the guy gives her some flowers. She closes her eyes and readies for a kiss. However, the guy takes notice of a passing pedestrian with a plate full of muffins. He grabs one and starts eating it while she still waits for her kiss. Humorous things of that sort are followed up by plenty more in this sequence. The next part of shows that their love of food is just part of it, for they also love brewing and drinking ales (cue the hobbits doing just that) and smoking pipes (take a guess).
We also get a short shot of Samwise gardening while Bilbo continues on that they have a love “of things that grow“. Enjoy it, folks. This is the only time you will ever see Sam going about his daily job in any Tolkien adaptation that can be both watched AND listened to up to date. Heads up, there was a radio drama which was almost word for word from the books. A bit more on that, later.
Then Bilbo states that things rarely change in the hobbits’ homeland, The Shire, and that there has always been a Baggins at Bag End. Cut to a side view of Bilbo as he looks and softly utters, “And there always will be”, with a great amount of relief and satisfied contentment in his voice. In the original book, Bilbo was very choosey over who he let inherit his house, because most of his relatives, well…I will be ginger: left much to be desired, especially the Sacksville-Bagginses. Thankfully, these films imply this several times so both savvy and new audiences will get the message. However, the Extended version here makes it even more abundantly clear in an upcoming scene at the party I still canët believe they cut.
We will cover that later, so moving on: Bilbo hears a knocking at the door, and calls for Frodo to answer it. However, it seems the young heir is not in the house and the audience is treated to a humorous moment where a Bilbo frustrated wonders where his nephew has gone off to while the door rapping becomes louder and more annoying.
Then the scene cuts away to Frodo sitting against the base of a tree reading with Bilboës voice calling him added to the scene. In the theatrical version, we pick up right here after the history of the Ring sans Bilbo’s narration with the caption “50 years later” shown. I have to say, even if what we're just seen was second narration following another one, it is still an improvement, traditional story telling structure be damned. Here’s the thing with anything concerning Tolkien, whether it be his original writings or an adaptation: do not try to apply the norms of story writing and drama to it. You’ll just fall short. I believe our friends Bakshi and Rankin & Bass have already made that immeasurably clear. Jackson and co apply this as much as they can while keeping the films in watch-able lengths. Hence why I hope for a Lord of the Rings TV series someday.
The audience sees Frodo about three-fourths turned away from the camera, resting against the tree. Suddenly, he hears a distant voice half-humming-half-singing a pleasant song (“
The Road Goes Ever On and On”, which was intrroduced in
The Hobbit), and recognizes the person as Gandalf. Frodo jumps to his feet and turns towards the sound, conveniently located so that he can mug for the camera. Frodo wears an overjoyed expression, so also enjoy this while it lasts, folks, this is the happiest he gets. It is all downhill from here. The young hobbit rushes towards the familiar voice.
The film cuts over to Gandalf, who is seen from behind while riding on horse-pulled wagon. That makes this the third over-the-shoulder-view introduction of a major character in a row. It works well. It is also the last as Jackson opts for traditional frontal or big reveals styles of visual introductions from here on out.
Frodo ascends to the top of a bluff just to the left of the road as Gandalf is riding past and tells Gandalf that’s “[he’s] late” in a mock scolding manner. Gandalf shoots back with, “A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.” The two hold the uppity expressions for a beat before bursting into laughter. Frodo leaps from the bluff to Gandalf and the two embrace. Gandalf light heartedly chides that Frodo couldn’t really think that he'd miss Bilbo’s birthday.
The two talk about the upcoming party, it’s ridiculous scale, and have a good laugh. All the while, Ian McKellen’s Gandalf is soft spoken, friendly, polite, witty, quick, and visibly having a good time. In other words, he has a personality. And not just any personality, mind you. This is THE Gandalf we know and love from the books.
Meanwhile, during the wagon ride, Gandalf and Frodo pass by the party grounds where the locals are preparing for Bilbo’s 111th Birthday. In the original book, Bilbo and Frodo shared the same birthday and this party was for both of them. Frodo was turning thirty-three, which is a hobbit's Coming Of Age. Jackson and co cut it because they were concerned about confusing the audience, but I think they were giving us far too little credit on this one since a single line of dialogue and a good look at the sign the other hobbits are setting up at the party grounds saying “Happy Birthday Bilbo and Frodo Baggins” would have remedied any confusion. However, the loss is not lamentable, as the detail impacts the central plot in no way, shape, or form.
Moving on, now Elijah Wood gets to show us what he’s made of as Frodo gets to show some of the cunning he is known for from the books as well. It turns out that the younger Baggins is well aware that Bilbo is up to something, what with the older Baggins locking himself in his study and taking up reading maps and books of adventurous nature lately. After Gandalf remains tight lipped about the affair, Frodo cracks a smile and announces that Gandalf can keep his secrets, letting the wizard know he knows that he and Bilbo in cahoots. But younger Baggins isnët done yet. He cuts loose with some inoffensive teasing about Gandalf’s title as “Disturber of the Peace”. The wizard insists upon his innocence concerning the events of the Hobbit other than nudging Bilbo out of his front door.
While this talk goes on, the two pass by a grumpy looking hobbit, who I think is supposed to be Mr. Proudfoot, who is sweeping his front doorstep. He glares up at the Istari spirit as he and Frodo pass by one his wagon. Case in point, I suppose. Then some hobbit children run up to the wagon begging for some of the wizard’s fireworks. Gandalf pretends to ignore them, then cuts loose with a minor display that shoots out of the back of the wagon where the rest of the fireworks are stored to appease them. Mr. Proudfoot is even laughing, but Mrs. Proudfoot, who came out between shots, gives him “The Look” and he clamps up and goes back to glaring. Oh, I rarely hear audiences crack up as much as they did in the theater when I first saw this.
Frodo tells Gandalf that he’s glad the wizard is back genuinely before hopping off the wagon. Give it to Elijah Wood, ladies and gentlemen! He put a lot of genuine emotion and humor into his introduction scene here. He shifts between innocence, mock snobbishness, and to more intellectual and clever manners smoothly, all the while practically reeking of the essence of Frodo. Gandalf quietly answers the feeling in mutual.
Gandalf’s wagon pulls up to Bag End in one final breath taking wide shot that zooms in as the old spirit pulls up to it. He looks lovingly at Bag End and even chuckles at the sign posted at Bilbo’s fence: “No Attendance Except Party Business.” He precedes up to the front door and knocks with his staff, a characteristic right out of the book yet the only rendition to ever feature it is Jackson's. Yes, Jackson even had the actors adapting the character mannerisms described in the book. Name me one other director who has ever gone that far for any other book-to-film adaptation.
Back to the film, after Gandalf gives the door a good rapping, Bilbo’s voice calls out from the other side. “No thank you! We don’t want anymore visitors, well wishes, or distant relations!” - “And what about very old friends?” Gandalf calls back.
In an instant, Bilbo at his opened front door, looking breathless. Ian Holm’s performance is really great for the duration of all his scenes. Bilbo’s over-whelming emotions at seeing his old friend for the time in a long time before running up and hugging him is a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming in it’s own right.
Gandalf conversationally comments on how Bilbo’s respectable age. Immediately afterwards, Gandalf takes a good look at Bilbo and seems a little concerned at how well preserved the elderly hobbit still is. Then he shrugs it off and is welcomed into the abode by his host.
The only problem with this scene is that when Bilbo was shown in the prologue earlier he still had with his trademark red hair and an unwrinkled face. Here, some wrinkles are starting to show, but not by much, and all his hair has gone gray. In the book he was supposed to have been kept perfectly unravaged by time by the Ring. Here, though, he's aged a bit. Well, on the other hand, he doesn’t look too much older. This decision the crew apparently decided on really doesn’t bother me or any others I’ve talked to at all, but I just have to ask why. I guess the angle that Jackson and co were going for is that the Ring will keep it's users in relatively good condition, but some negative changes (looking older) will will come to pass, in keeping with what happened to Gollum. So there is some justifiable logic behind this one.
Gandalf enters Bag End stooping in order to get through the doorway, which is yet another thing that you would think should not be difficult to demonstrate but alas only Jackson seems to bother with. Never in Bakshi’s or Rankin-Bass’s is the fact that humans are cramped in hobbit homes ever touched on or even just shown. In fact, operating under less information, one might even conclude that Jackson was deliberating trying to make up for the other two with the coming sequence.
After allowing Bilbo to take his hat and staff, Gandalf wanders the halls of Bag End for a bit while Bilbo calls out various foods and beverages he can get Gandalf in the background, merrily and energetically going here and there. While looking around, Gandalf backs right into a chandelier, which is level with his head, stops to settle it, and then bumps his head on a room portal. This is actually just Ian McKellen bungling his way through a set far smaller than heës used to, but the camera keeps rolling and he stays in-character and finishes the scene. You will find many other examples of the actors in this series soldiering on in spite of disruptions including actual-honest-to-God
injuries, including, but not limited to,
broken bones, to finish a take.
Anyway, Gandalf enters Bilbo’s study and finds all manner of document, map, and book laying about confirming Frodo’s earlier claim that the elder Baggins has been pouring over them. Finally Gandalf comes to Bilbo’s writing desk and finds the Map to Erebor/The Lonely Mountain laying atop. It looks exactly, up to the last detail, like it did in the books. Though it seems Bilbo has scribbled the formerly hidden moon letters onto it with visible ink.
Note: Moon letters, for those unfamiliar, in this setting, are just words written using a special ink that turn invisible unless held up so that the moon shines behind them. It also has to be the
same moon that shined the night they were written. So if the messages was written on a full moon, it would be a full moon on which they were next visible. As such Tolkien also stated that it was common in Middle-earth to find multiple messages scrolled just by holding up any work that was tooled with said ink on different nights.
Bilbo also then enters the study expecting to find Gandalf there. He offers to make up some eggs, but Gandalf is gone from the study and instead appears right the hobbit. The wizard states that tea will do. This causes Bilbo to jump, spin around, and have a chuckle at Gandalf’s teleporting antics. Suddenly, there’s a banging at the door as the Sacksville-Bagginses yell and demand to talk to Bilbo.
Bilbo stealthily sneaks up a window and looks out. He confirms that it’s the Sackvilles. He exclaims that they’re after the house and have “never forgiven [him] for living this long!” Then Bilbo begins a short rant about how he has to get away from his relatives who just keep bothering all day, and how he longs to see the things of his youth (The Misty Mountains, Rivendell, Erebor the Lonely Mountain, Lake Town, and such). Then he also wishes to finish writing his book. Gandalf puts in that Frodo suspects something and dearly loves his uncle. Here, you can tell the Istari is just trying to get Bilbo to think about his actions before doing anything. As such, the elder Bagginse respones that he knows, but still intends to go through with his plan and will leave Frodo behind because the younger Baggins is still to in-love with the Shire to leave happily just yet. Bilbo then goes on to explain that lately he's been restless and weary. He sits and continues: "I need a Holiday. A long Holiday, and I expect I shall not return. In fact I mean not to."
Final Note: both the Sir Ians' acting here is top notch, and you really get a fell for both characters and immediately start to connect with them. Of course, that the productions values on this series were so great that you believe what you're seeing also helps. To quote McKellen:
"The Lord of the Rings is a mythology, it is a fairy tale, it is an adventure story. It never happened, except somewhere in our hearts. And yet, there it was, in three-dimensions."End of Part Sixteen.Next part, we pick up at Bilbo and Gandalf's talk over-looking the party, and ending with Gandalf taking off to investigate the origins of his old friend's magic Ring.
