chess

Caution: long, rambling, and possibly incoherent post.

Until the first LOTR film came out, I'd barely even heard of Lord of the Rings. I'm pretty sure I saw the Hobbit cartoon as a kid, but that's about it, and I didn't even know the two were in any way related. However, over the past two years, I've become more and more invested in this property, both emotionally and financially. When FOTR first came out, people talked about how great it was, but I balked. I mean really...wizards, elves and dwarves...how good could it be. Right? I mean, really, fantasy has just never been my thing, with the possible exceptions of Excalibur and Dragonslayer.

But I did break down and pick up the theatrical edition DVD of FOTR as a blind buy (for home theater value as much as any other reason). I loved it, but wasn't going overboard just yet. Of course, I did like it enough to buy the EE when it came out, and I was simply blown away. However, I passed on the gift set, because $30 seemed absurd for a pair of little statues. I also made the conscious decision to not read the book until I'd seen all of the films because I didn't want to be distracted by narrative changes. I was still quite sane at this point.

Two Towers was released to a bit of fanfare, and this time I made it to the theater...twice, which I rarely do. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed by TTT when I first saw it. It seemed a bit...i dunno...maybe "choppy" is the word. But I could see enough there that I completely trusted PJ to fix my misgivings in the EE. And, of course, he did, but that comes later. About this time, I bought the trilogy in paperback, in spite of my earlier decision, resolving that I would only read the first two "books" to decide for myself whether the changes made by PJ and crew were ill advised. At least that's what I told myself.

Of course, by the time I finished TTT book, I pretty much said screw it and read ROTK. Suffice it to say...HOLY SH!T! If ROTK the movie looked anything like ROTK in my head, I just knew that it was going to be f'ing incredible. But I don't think I was a true fanboy just yet. Truth is, I was probably a bit more excited about the two Matrix sequels than I was about ROTK...though some of that may have had to do with my knowing basically what would happen in ROTK and my COMPLETE faith in PJ getting it right on film. FWIW, I thought the Matrix films turned out several orders of magnitude better than most seemed to think...but that's another story.

Oh, and there's no way I'm buying TTT on DVD twice. Nope, no way. Not this time. Unless, of course, I buy it on release day and watch it repeatedly for two months. Of course I bought TTT EE as well and thought it had significantly better pacing than the theatrical edition.

I read the book again...and I don't think I've ever read a book twice.

By now, trailers are starting to come out for ROTK and I'm getting a bit excited. By a bit excited, I mean that my palms sweat at the merest passing thought of the impending cinema magic that would be ROTK. Then the reviews started coming in with praise upon praise and it's getting hard to concentrate on the semi-important things in life...like not failing out of the master's program that I've been muddling through. Of course I have finals the week of the theatrical release, and I expend my last threads of sanity in convincing myself to wait until Friday to see it. Must...avoid...the...DVD talk...forum.

ROTK: What can I say, I laughed, I cried, I was amazed...I decide that this is the pinnacle of my movie going life. And yes, I was around for Star Wars.

Then the voices appeared...and I became a complete merchandise whore.

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"You really need to display those EE's properly, and you can't do that without those little $30 argonath statues."

But I already decided not to buy them.

"Shut up, find them and buy them...you can affords it."

"You also need to get the book in hardcover."

But I've already read it, plus I have it on paperback.

"Shut up and buy it, you can alway sell that softcover."

"Xander (my son) would really like that toy Anduril for Christmas...and that Aragorn/Brego set looks cool too."

"Oh, and that unabridged book on CD set sounds sweet."

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And the moment I knew I was lost:

"You need a licensed LOTR sword hanging in your living room!"

That's crazy. $200 for a sword? Hanging in my living room!?!?

Narsil will be here Tuesday...and a corner of my living room will be a virtual LOTR shrine with a full size Narsil replica, the EEs between Argonath Statues, a nice hardcove edition of the book, and the 46-disc unabridged book on CD.

I think I need therapy...

QuiGonJosh

Haha...sounds like me...except I was driven to madness a lot faster...ever since the first few seconds of the FOTR movie...I had read the books and liked them a lot...but man that movie blew me out da theater...I hadn't felt like that about a movie since Star Wars...but TTT theatrical was a disappointment...thankfully the EE kicked ass...and ROTK just was great!

Pants

This seems like the perfect thread to share my deeply held belief that here-to-for I've never been able to share

Corvin

What do people do with stamps? With DVD's they never plan on watching? With spoons? Brew ha.

chess

I probably would have backed you up 100% until this trilogy warped my perception on the matter. If you'd have told me 2 months ago that I would even CONSIDER hanging a sword (a SWORD for chrissakes!) in my living room, I'd have

But for what it's worth, I think the official LOTR swords are pretty tasteful, and I think (hope) that it blends with the rest of my fairly conservative decor. Regardless, the answer to your question, I suppose, is that it will be strictly for decoration...and as a declaration of my newfound geekiness.

I think I've seen that infomercial guy you're talking about and it is pretty creepy. Still, to each his own. Seems like somebody collects just about everything, and swords are actually sort of a neat thing to collect, assuming you have the space. Still, just one for me, thanks. NARSIL!!!

dcswirl

Welcome to the club.

chucks888

I have just about a little of everything imaginable as far as LOTR collectibles/merchandise with two exceptions:

Toys 'action figures' and replica swords.

chess

considering how much you like the weta figurines, i would really recommend a stop at toys r us the next time you're bored. The Toy Biz line is pretty nice...not necessarily my thing, as i'm not sure where i'd put something like that, but i did get that Aragorn/Brego set for my boy, and must admit that I was jealous as GI Joes were never that cool.

chucks888

Nah, the action figures just don't do it for me. I actually have one (FOTR gandalf) that was a gift really.

I agree with you, I just don't have space for em even if I liked em. Especially if I just keep it in the package- I don't really think I would be 'playing' with em. Oh, and come on, some of the old GI's were pretty cool

Supermallet

This descent happened to me for Neon Genesis Evangelion. I'm now considering buying a chip to modify my PS2 so I can import games from Japan. I am insane.

As far as The Lord of the Rings goes, I've got the soundtracks, the books in paperback, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion.

chucks888

I know nothing about Evangelion except for that it's a Japanese robot(i think) cartoon, but I can't wait to see the movie with WETA doing the effects.

Supermallet

I hate to hijack the thread, but while Evangelion has giant robots, it's not a typical giant robot anime. It's a multi-layered, psychologically complex odyssey. That being said, I don't know how it will translate to film, even with WETA doing the effects.

About Narsil: Is it the shards of Narsil, or the sword before it was broken by Sauron, or the sword that was forged from the shards (I think Anduril is its name)?

TCG

This sounds similar to me (although not to this extent). I had barely heard of LOTR before Fellowship came out. my friend had read the hobbit as a kid, and i always thought it was about a frog (i dont know why), and it just never interested me.

then i saw FOTR 2 or 3 times in the theater, rented the theatrical dvd (watched it twice during 48 hours) which held me over until Nov. when i bought the EE. i watched it lots and lots. then came TTT. i saw it 3 times in the theater. i decided to read the epic. i bought and read the hobbit and FOTR and TTT. i held back on ROTK so as to not spoil the film. i bought TTT EE. after seeing ROTK, i read it, and the appendix, and I'm about to read Unfinished Tales, and the Sil. i cant get enough of ME now!

QuiGonJosh

Hey now...the swords are just like any other collectors item...cept you can actually use a sword if you need too...I have Narsil...Sting...and a couple a Samurai swords...love em to death...the Samurai swords I actually practice with sometimes though...

chess

HA! I completely forgot the soundtracks! I have all 3...non LE, but I'm sure I'll upgrade once the LEs are going for $50+ on Ebay.

I guess I didn't mention them because buying soundtracks isn't that odd of a thing to do for me. I probably have 10-15 movie scores on CD.

chess

Narsil before it was broken by Sauron:

talemyn

Not sure if you can get full-sized shard replicas, but you can get Anduril, too . . .

chucks888

I'm sure I saw pics of that some where. Not sure if it's 'sold out' or "oop" but I'm think I've seen a full size shard replica.

chess

hotaru_san

I can't afford to go crazy buying stuff, but I did have a vivid dream last night that frodo had died and I had to carry the ring (and gollum was acting a lot like my cat)...I'm not sure, but I think that qualifies as a fairly high level of madness.

chucks888

Agreed!

talemyn

I think that you should buy a ring and wear it around your neck on a chain . . . just as an experiment.

hotaru_san

but before I put it on a chain I should probably throw it in some fire and drop it in my hand to be sure it's the real one and if I'm wrong I'll at least have an interesting scar


I was even aware of the ending but I kept hoping that gollum (who kept riding on my shoulders, like my cat) would like me well enough to stay loyal.

Supermallet

Man, that is hot. I can see why you would get one of these LOTR replica swords.

dcswirl

For LOTR replica swords and a ton of other stuff try http://tolkientown.com/shop/. Great stuff on there.