The Game Attempts-art Twenty-Seven-Twenty-Five:
The Fellowship enters Lothlorien Forest at a jogging pace. Now, in this shot, the child or midget body doubles for the hobbits are especially obvious and easily the worst shot that uses them in the entire movie. I seriously wish they had just used green screen effects to actually insert Wood and the others, because it’s painfully obvious that the small people are not them.
The forest, by contrast, looks spectacular. Of course, this is because the crew used a real forest where they just to insert the silver and gold leaves of Lothlorien into as a shooting location. The natural forest really helps the scene by giving it a raw feel which helps sell the credibility of this fantastical location. Everyone begins making their way through the forest, but not with relaxed looks. There is a definite air of danger in this scene.
Then Frodo suddenly begins receiving messages from Galadriel, “You are on the footsteps of peril,” ; “You bring great evil here, Ring Bearer.” Frodo wears an expression that reads “oh great, another voice in my head” that’s almost comical.
Enter Gimli talking about the “witch of the wood” as if she were an Oz witch and that the hobbits need to be careful, else they will fall under her gaze. Then Gimli begins boasting about how finely tuned his senses are, and ends up staring down an arrowhead in a perfectly timed moment of hilarity. The rest of the Fellowship also find themselves in similar circumstances with Legolas being the only one with his weapon up and ready. Then Haldir comes out and announces that Gimli breathed so hard they could have sniped him in the dead of night. Gimli growls defiantly at that.
Then Haldir takes one good look at Frodo and announces that the party will go no further that day. In the theatrical cut, the film immediately jumps to Lothlorien, but in this extended cut, it instead jumps to a treetop hideout the Fellowship spends the night in. Aragorn and Haldir heatedly speak in elvish about Frodo. Gimli, fed up with being left out of the conversation, demands that the conversation be in a tongue everyone can understand. Haldir shoots back that the elves have not had dealings with the dwarves since the dark times.
Gimli then utters in dwarven that he will spit on Haldir’s grave (foreshadowing!). Haldir stiffens and walks away. Aragorn reprimands Gimli for this.
On Craig Parker as Haldir: he’s a perfect fit, and I think it’s a crime that of the two actors to play elves that did both expensive stunt work and had speaking lines, that Orlando Bloom is the only one to end up with a decent career. Seriously, after The Lord of the Rings, Bloom got Pirates of the Caribbean and Shakespeare, and Craig Parker gets…Power Rangers. Whereas Marton Csokas, who plays Celeborn, just stands there expositing at the Fellowship later has appeared in numerous major productions since the LotR films. Parker obviously needs a new agent.
Anyway, Frodo glances around the treetop lookout spot at the other Fellowship members. Each give him a stare, knowing that all of this is about him. Then he begins imagining that they’re turning against him, though the moment is so subtle that you could easily just miss it. Jackson assumed his viewers of being geniuses here. Some catch it, some don’t.
Finally, Boromir speaks up and tells Frodo that what happened to Gandalf is not his fault, and that he should not carry any guilt over it. This statement is deeper than one might expect of Boromir and this little moment displays the hidden depths of the character. That through the Ring working him over combined with the overall stress of the situation, he still manages to have the sense to put a comrade’s heart at ease over their unfortunate circumstances. Sean Bean carries the line with a weight that showcases just how many times Boromir has had this kind of thing happen to friends in the war against Sauron. This is yet another example as to why the extended cuts are superior. Scenes like this show us what really makes Boromir tick whereas this is missing the theatrical release.
Haldir then announces that they all must follow him. Cut ahead to the Fellowship following him through the woods. The elf captain stops and announced that they have arrived at the home of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. The film then cuts to the elven sanctuary Caras Galadhon, and it is exactly as Tolkien described.
The entire city glows with an otherworldly life as tall white buildings reach as high as the treetops, but have been cleverly built around the trees and thus weave here and there in total harmony with nature. Lothlorien is supposed to be the greatest haven of the elves, and that is showcased here, all the while retaining the mystery and intrigue that has been built up about it to this point.
The Fellowship is led up a long spiral staircase to be presented before the Lord and Lady of the Wood. Elvish singing fills the ears of the audience all the while this is happening. Then at last the Fellowship stands in the courtyard/platform before the throne of Lorien as the rulers descend the staircase to greet the Fellowship. Then Lady Galadriel herself comes into focus.
Each of the members reacts a little differently to this. Frodo stares ahead blandly, Sam seems apprehensive, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, and Boromir are in awe, Legolas seems neutral, and Aragorn just seems uncomfortable. Then Celeborn inquires where Gandalf is.
Galadriel then chimes in that the wizard has fallen, having seen into the minds of the Fellowship. That, and she’s also a seer. Legolas then cuts in with some snobby dialogue that was supposed to be Celeborn’s. He refers to Gandalf’s decision to go into Moria as “needless” (?!) and even seems to put the blame on Gimli, even though it was Frodo who decided to take them through the Mines. Galadriel then responds that none of Gandalf’s acts were meaningless.
Gimli turns his eyes downcast as Legolas cuts loose with this, but Galadriel tells the dwarf not to feel guilty, because it wasn’t his fault and that people all over are losing those dear to them in these troubled times. I love this about Galadriel. She completely lacks any form of racism or superiority. And she has good reason to lack any of those.
I always found it a bit bothersome that they gave Legolas this dialogue and made him seem more snobby than he actually is. That dialogue chiding Gandalf and the Fellowship were all Celeborn’s lines, since he was the one harsh one who didn’t let any of the mistakes that they made slide. Anyway, Galadriel continues on that the quest is at a delicate stage, and that it cannot afford to falter now.
She warns them against allowing the quest to get sidetracked by anyone or anything and then looks right at Boromir. He visibly reacts to her mental powers informing him of the fall of Gondor and he looks away, almost in tears. Then she states that there is still hope “while company is true”. When these exact words are said, the camera is focused dead-center on Samwise. I always liked that little nod.
She looks at Boromir again, and who is silently begging for some kind of hope and not get seeing it. This is important to his character. Boromir is proud, curt, and bit jerky, yet an overall loving leader of his people. The thought of his people and realm being brought to ruin strikes terror and heartbreak into him, and it is unfortunately also the hole in his moral armor.
Galadriel then tells them that they can stay and rest for a while and while she is saying this, she looks right at Frodo and mentally tells him in the creepiest tone she could muster, “Welcome, Frodo Baggins. One who has seen the Eye!” This is topped off with a creepy close-up of her eyes. I get that Galadriel was always an odd duck, but man Jackson and co ramp up the discomfort with their initial portrayal of her. I’m not complaining, mind you. It’s infinitely better than Bakshi’s hippy. Galadriel isn’t just a wise motherly figure. She was a wild one in her youth and did many bad things that left their mark on her. The reason she lacks any form of superiority in her attitude towards humans or dwarves is because she saw firsthand just how bad elves can go (having been one, herself).
The scene where the Fellowship is answering for what happened in Moria is near perfect, with the sole exception of Legolas’s inexplicable insensitivity. It portrays the sternness of Celeborn and the mystery of Galadriel perfectly.
We next see the Fellowship resting along the river that runs through Caras Galadhon. Elves sing a mournful song about Gandalf’s passing, as Legolas explains to the others. Merry asks for a translation, to which Legolas replies that he himself is still too grieved to sing it, himself. All the while, Legolas maintains his usual stoic posture. In other words, his normal mood is skin deep and he just might have broken down in front of the whole lot of them had he joined in the chorus. Nice touch.
Now in the theatrical version, this cut right to a scene with Aragorn and Boromir, but the extended version lets this present scene go on for a bit longer. Sam comments that he bets those songs don’t mention Gandalf’s fireworks which he thinks warrant a mention. Then he stands up for a recites a poem he made up right on the spot. This is a nod at one of Sam’s tendency’s from the book that just didn’t make it into the films for the most part. Frankly I wonder why they bothered cutting this, since it takes up about two minutes, tops.
“The finest rockets you’ve ever seen.
They burst into stars of blue and green.
And when they come down…
No, that doesn’t do them any justice.”
With that, Sam sinks back to the ground, pouting that he couldn't come up with a rhyme to do them more ustice. Aragorn, while this was going on, elbowed Gimli for snoring too loudly while he was trying to listen to Sam’s poem. Hey, looks like you have at least one fan, Sam. I am so glad the crew decided to put little moments like this back into the film in the extended cuts, since they really seemed to have a thing against letting them go over three hours with the sole exception of The Return of the King. Though why is still a good question, since if audiences are willing to sit through banal snorefests like Dances with Wolves and Titanic, sitting through an action packed epic should not a problem.
Aragorn then spots Boromir sitting away from the others, by himself. He goes over to him and tells him to relax, nothing bad can happen to them inside Lothlorien. Boromir replies that he will find no peace of mind within that place. He recounts what Galadriel told to him to Aragorn, and says he just doesn’t see what hope Gondor has. Aragorn sits down next to him, and remains silent.
The warrior then continues on, speaking of his father, Denethur, who he refers to as “a great man”. Perhaps in the books… Eh, I’ll get to this saga’s portrayal of Denethur when we get to him. Anyway, Boromir asks if Aragorn has ever seen the White City. Aragorn concurs that he has and Boromir goes on to further describe in loving detail, speaking of the beautiful powers and the banners caught on the morning breeze.
He turns to Aragorn and assures him that their path will take them there someday, and Aragorn will be accepted as their king. I rather like this moment. It shows that Boromir is satisfied with Aragorn’s place as king and has accepted him. Knowing what happens to Boromir later though also makes this scene all the sadder when he starts talking about their triumphant return.
Later, we see the Fellowship sleeping peacefully. Frodo suddenly wakes up, reckoned by Galadriel. He sees her wandering through the trees and follows her. He steps by Sam, who in the book accompanies him and should have here. He slowly pursuers the elf queen and finally finds himself at the Mirror of Galadriel. She asks him if he will look into it. He inquires about what images he will see.
“Things that were, things that are, and something that have not yet come to pass.”
Galadriel empties a pitcher she filled with water into it, and Frodo steps up to stare into it. He sees his companions from earlier giving him weary looks, but then it switches to even more unhappy imagery. He sees The Shire, and then he sees it ravaged by goblins and hobbits slaughtered by the hundreds. This culminates in a shot of a bunch of hobbits being led, single file, with interconnecting bonds. He sees Sam in the line being whipped by a goblin. Finally, a shot of the ruined Shire enters the screen and the Eye of Sauron appears. The Ring works its way out of Frodo’s shirt and tries to lean in closer. Frodo pulls himself away and falls to the earth below.
Galadriel gives him a sideways state and says she knows what he saw. She also warns him that the Fellowship is breaking and Boromir will make an attempt to take the Ring. She does so telepathically. Frodo then responds with his thoughts that he would give her the Ring if she asked. She is astonished and glad that he offers it freely. She lustfully reaches for it, and outstretches her arms and then…HOLY COW!
Suddenly she undergoes a terrifying transformation into a glowing blue phantasm and starts speaking with the Voice of the Legion! I remember all too well that children that had no business being at a PG-13 movie anyway were crying out of pure terror at this part. I didn’t blame them. This…startling display comes out of nowhere and dear lord is it creepy. At least Ian Holm’s brief crap-your-pants moment was just an instant long. This one keeps up for a whole speech about how Galadriel would take Sauron’s place at supreme ruler of Middle-earth.
She then reverts to her original form and Backs away from the Ring. She then explains that she passed the test. She will remain as plain old, creepy Galadriel and will pass into the West. This scene does a good job in portraying that the elves (especially Galadriel) can be very dangerous.
Frodo whines that he knows what must be done, but is terrified out of his wits to go alone. He also explains he cannot carry the burden alone. Galadriel explains that to carry a ring of power is to be alone. She holds our Nenya, the Ring of Adamant. She then tells him one of the iconic lines of the saga: “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” He, looking somewhat comforted, puts the Ring back around his neck.
With the sole exception of the absence of Sam, this scene was near perfect. It showed the full consequences of the quest failing, we now see fully where Frodo's resolve lies, and we get to scream in terror at Galadriel. Still, it should have included Sam.
