You may call me crazy, but this is my favorite of the three films. I feel that it has the best pacing, has the most interesting “cinematic tricks” going on, and I can tell who all the characters are. Once we go to Rohan and Gondor, sorry, I’m lost. Fellowship looks fantastic and almost every scene is an absolute delight.
I totally agree! I have been saying this for years! People say I am nuts! Yeah! Also, that shot of the Shire, that first shot, my heart stopped! Oh my god! There is The Shire!!! Childhood pictures in my mind brought totally accurately to life! You know how much I loved the first installment – I didn’t run to the bathroom once in the whole three hours! Visually gorgeous, ominous, perfectly acted!
I don’t agree about being totally lost in the other two, but I agree the first is the best. Book two has SO much action in it and less to do with the poetry and mystery of the story, so it may be inherent that the movie would suffer the same change in focus.
Kerry has the longer version of the third on DVD somewhere, and I want to go look at “the scouring of the Shire” and Tom Bombadil. Ok, have officially submitted my “nerd” credentials with that last comment….:)