spelledaren posted some comments on the edit page which I thought I'd address:
The new intro works, but later references to Gollum for example become weird, because we know nothing about him.
True. I couldn't find a satisfying way to insert the Gollum parts from the prologue anywhere. However, I consider this edit to be the sequel to "The Red Book of Westmarch: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again" (my edit of the upcoming Hobbit movie
).
I wasn't too fond of Gandalf's ride through the Shire. I was going to buy it, but then there came another scene with focus on him speaking, and still with no words. I prefer Bilbo's sillyness.
I think the theatrical version of Gandalf's arrival is greatly superior to the EE version, so it was one of the things I really wanted to do in this edit. It was, however, the hardest part to edit, because so much of the footage was also used in the EE "Concerning Hobbits" sequence, so it does have some problems - four problems, in fact, as far as I can tell. Personally, I think the slight pause in the dialogue is the least of these four, and it is, in any case, necessary for the sequence to work.
About removing the black rider you say that "Frodo and Sam don't know as of yet that they are being hunted. In order to follow the book, neither should the audience." But isn't this just a smokescreen for the fact that it gets hard to cut from the hilltop to the field, because of the sudden shifts in music it would require? I mean, it's obvious that they are hunted, you have already shown us all the other Nazgul scenes.
Heh, busted
. Yes, it's true that I originally removed the shot for easier editing. But I ALSO did it to closer match the book, where they are aware that the Black Riders have entered the shire (Gaffer Gamgee was visited by one), but after that they are not seen until the hobbits encounter one on the road. So there
. However, it might be a good idea to remove the preceding Nazgul scenes as well to even further match the book. I'll have to look into that.
I think I noticed two sound cuts (apart from knowing that they are there), one was in Bree when they are nearing the inn, and the other was when the Nazgul enters the inn. Just some unevenness.
I can't find these, though I have smoothed out some audio transition since making the XVID, so they may already have been fixed.
A minor point: if you are trying to follow the books as closely as possible, why does Gandalf show off fireworks to the children? I mean, it's a good scene, but it wouldn't be too hard to remove.
Because it's one of my favorite scenes, and because it fits the
spirit of Tolkien's book, if not necessarily the content. There are a few places where I decided not to remove a brilliant scene, even if it didn't match the book - another example is the one on Caradhras, where Boromir picks up the Ring (which is also one of my favorite scenes).
I will try to watch the rest, but from TTT it gets increasingly difficult to keep the movie true to the books...we will see how it goes!
Yes, Books III-VI are for the most part considerably more difficult to edit than the first two. I am, however, very pleased with what I've done on Book III so far.
For those who've watched the edits, please follow spelledaren's example and point out any flaws you find (if any). That way I can (possibly) get them fixed for the DVD versions.