I agree that Boromir doesn't act out of character in that scene in particular, but taken in context with the rest of the Council sequence, I feel that Boromir is portrayed in too negative a light. I also feel that Gandalf is acting out of character by suddenly scaring everyone with Black Speech. It also ruins the pacing of the scene.Calgmoth said:I know it's not a very good scene, but Gandalf does not really say anything at the Council despite that, and Boromir is not really out of character when he shows interest in touching the Ring.
I can't remember at the moment, but probably yes - I think I had to use the shot where Saruman says that line as the opening shot of the scene (the original had a camera move that ended in a closeup of Saruman saying that Sauron can't take physical form, so I couldn't use it).Calgmoth said:Did you need to omit the line about Sauron hiding in Barad-dûr along with that that he cannot take on physical form?
The line itself isn't the problem, it's the way it was delivered and shot. It clearly sets up something that's about to happen, and would feel odd and out of place in the edit.Calgmoth said:Why did you cut the line about Minas Morgul? It really disturbed flow of the whole scene. Redundancy cuts are not really necessary, as Tolkien himself goes through all this redundant stuff when he lets characters tell things they have done before, although we already know and see the results (the destruction of Isengard would be the best example).
So such redundancy should actually be strength, not a weakness of your version.
I think the tree falling first works better visually - cutting from Gandalf in motion to Gandalf lying still felt a bit odd to me.Calgmoth said:Oh, and I'm in the camp that prefers to cut immediately to Gandalf awakening on Orthanc after the stupid wizard duel. The tree should fall later.
Yes, but these creatures are called either "half-orcs" or "goblin-men", meaning they're half orc, half human, whereas Gandalf's line suggests that they're half orc, half goblin, which doesn't make sense.Calgmoth said:Gandalf's line about Orcs and goblin-men is not really that out of place, as the books do establish Saruman has been able to breed a whole new stock of Orcish creatures (not called Uruk-hai, they were created by Sauron about 2500 TA) that are not hindered by sunlight.
Hm, I never thought about that. I thought it was the same in the book? That they originally planned to go through the Gap of Rohan?Calgmoth said:You should remove Gandalf's stupid voiceover regarding their planned route. They do already know about Saruman's betrayal, so taking the Ring close to Isengard would be madness. If there is no elaboration about the route, then changing the route after the crebain discovered them is not nearly as bad as it is now.
That line, which is indeed excellent, is in the edit as well. Also, in the book they didn't see any dead dwarves until they reach the Chamber of Mazarbul, so I felt I had to do it that way in the edit as well.Calgmoth said:I'm not sure about removing the dead dwarves from the entrance of Moria. Getting rid of the Cthulhu thing is perfect, but Gandalf has the good line about the foul things in the deep places of the world which, combined with his talk to Frodo shortly before, foreshadows the Balrog perfectly.
Wouldn't work because of the way he delivers the line - it's almost like a whisper, whereas if he was falling, he would have to use a stronger tone of voice or it'd feel weird. Also, I don't think he decides to let go - he just doesn't have the strength to pull himself up (he is a very old man, after all). That explanation doesn't really make sense, I know, since he apparantly has all the strength he needs to fight the Balrog seconds afterwards, but... Oh well.Calgmoth said:PJ has ruined the Balrog scene entirely. Gandalf falls in the book; he does not nearly fall, grabs the brink of the chasm, and then decides to let go for some occult reason. I'm pretty sure you could rearrange the scene so that Gandalf does fall properly, and is still able to say 'Fly you fools'.
Once again, thanks for the comments!