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worst ending ever?

Old 12-23-03, 04:04 PM
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Originally posted by Sierra Disc
What absolute nonsense. One of the BEST endings ever IMO. How dare the moviemaker take the time to properly fade out rather than ending it with a series of explosions and a catchy quip.
Now THAT'S what I was looking for!

I imagine it's something like this:

Everyone bows to the hobbits. Suddenly, Pippin has an explosive fart. It's so bad, people run right off the ledge of the courtyard, flinging themselves to their deaths, like Denethor. Pippin looks ashamed. Suddenly, Yosemite Sam rushes in with a live stick of dynamite, which goes off. Everyone is covered in soot.

Aragorn: I'd buy that for a dollar!

THE END.


Honestly, there was nothing wrong with the ending. I enjoyed it a lot. And I have seen far worse endings to many films, good or bad. And I've also seen better films than the two Godfather films (although they're both amazing). I could see Return of the King beating out The Godfather, although 2001: A Space Odyssey should be at the top, anyway.
Old 12-23-03, 04:07 PM
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The ending at the Gray Havens is critical. The story is not about triumphing and becoming a hero, as would be implied by ending at the coronation. It's about self-sacrifice and acting on behalf of others. The Gray Havens scene closes out that theme with an exclamation point. Frodo took on the toughest job and paid the price of not being able to live in the world he saved. Sam loses the friend he risked it all to protect.
Old 12-23-03, 06:38 PM
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Originally posted by chess
as it is, we get fade after fade after fade...
Perhaps star wipes would've been better...?
Old 12-23-03, 07:27 PM
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Originally posted by Rogue588
Perhaps star wipes would've been better...?
ooh, sarcasm, that's good.

maybe my memory is failing me, but i don't think that those fades were "middle of the movie" fades...they were "now the credits are gonna roll" fades and i don't think most people really knew what to make of them. i'm sure i've got this wrong, but i fully expected that the movie was over not once, but twice...they didn't get me with the fade to black at mount doom, but they did after the coronation and after the grey havens.

i didn't make it clear in my post, but i have read the books and do know that the ending was fairly faithful...minus the scouring. in fact, the ending didn't bother me at all, i just thought it could have been handled a bit better and that the time invested could have been better invested elsewhere...particularly on aragorn in gondor.

bottom line is that i got it, but the non movie-geek guys i went with didn't, and it's a shame to hear reasonably intelligent guys say that the movie was great but the ending was ridiculous. i'm not sure why, but on some level it was important to me that they liked it without any qualification.

basically, i would equate the christening to the medals scene at the end of star wars, and to most people, everything from there was superfluous and could have been handled beautifully in a narrative by galadriel. plus i think it would have been interesting to close this one 10 hour film the same way we started it. just an opinion.

star wipes...cute.
Old 12-23-03, 08:11 PM
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THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENDING!!!!

Thank you. Move along now.
Old 12-23-03, 09:00 PM
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Originally posted by chess
ooh, sarcasm, that's good.

maybe my memory is failing me, but i don't think that those fades were "middle of the movie" fades...they were "now the credits are gonna roll" fades and i don't think most people really knew what to make of them. i'm sure i've got this wrong, but i fully expected that the movie was over not once, but twice...they didn't get me with the fade to black at mount doom, but they did after the coronation and after the grey havens.

i didn't make it clear in my post, but i have read the books and do know that the ending was fairly faithful...minus the scouring. in fact, the ending didn't bother me at all, i just thought it could have been handled a bit better and that the time invested could have been better invested elsewhere...particularly on aragorn in gondor.

bottom line is that i got it, but the non movie-geek guys i went with didn't, and it's a shame to hear reasonably intelligent guys say that the movie was great but the ending was ridiculous. i'm not sure why, but on some level it was important to me that they liked it without any qualification.

basically, i would equate the christening to the medals scene at the end of star wars, and to most people, everything from there was superfluous and could have been handled beautifully in a narrative by galadriel. plus i think it would have been interesting to close this one 10 hour film the same way we started it. just an opinion.

star wipes...cute.
easy there...

I may have missed a "", but I was not being sarcastic..your "fade after fade after fade" comment just kicked my Simpsons geekyness into drive. And, for the record, I usually don't think a movie's over 'til I see the credits start scrolling. And even THEN, i'll just stick around to see if there's a brief scene after the end of the credits.

And I see that the ending didn't bother you at all...so if we agree, then why are we arguing...?
Old 12-23-03, 09:12 PM
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Originally posted by Rogue588
[size=1]easy there...

I may have missed a "", but I was not being sarcastic..your "fade after fade after fade" comment just kicked my Simpsons geekyness into drive. And, for the record, I usually don't think a movie's over 'til I see the credits start scrolling. And even THEN, i'll just stick around to see if there's a brief scene after the end of the credits.

And I see that the ending didn't bother you at all...so if we agree, then why are we arguing...?
we're not...i was being sarcastic too. i don't have a problem with fades, those were just awfully long fades and the crowd at my screening was getting restless.

plus i thought sam and frodo were gonna make out for a minute there...
Old 12-23-03, 11:20 PM
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Yeah, why couldn't they just cut to a hip-hop song and shown hilarious "blooper" outtakes instead? Character development = BORING. "Blooper" reel = AWESOME.
Old 12-23-03, 11:48 PM
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I thought the ending stretched on way too long for an already long movie. Could have shaved a good 5 minutes off of it. I don't know what happens in the book, but i was certainly waiting for it to finally end.
Old 12-24-03, 01:00 AM
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Originally posted by chess
we're not...i was being sarcastic too. i don't have a problem with fades, those were just awfully long fades and the crowd at my screening was getting restless.

plus i thought sam and frodo were gonna make out for a minute there...
The only fade that was really long was the first one. The rest had your typical delay between the fade and the next shot.

Aren't there only three fades anyways?

1. Fade to black (long) on Mount Doom as Frodo and Sam await death.

2. Fade to black (or was it white) as Frodo is carried away by an eagle

3. Fade to white as the ship is leaving the Grey Havens.

There might have been a fade between Frodo in the bed surrounded by Fellowship and Aaragorn's coronation... I can't remember. Aaragorn's coronation to Hobbits in the Shire doesn't have a fade between it though; the camera zooms out and transforms into a map of Middle Earth. The shots in the Shire have no fades between them.
Old 12-24-03, 05:25 AM
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Originally posted by Astro
Aaragorn's coronation to Hobbits in the Shire doesn't have a fade between it though;
It most certainly does
Old 12-24-03, 05:47 AM
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Re: Re: worst ending ever?

Originally posted by Rogue588


I was disappointed that PJ didn't show us the conclusions to ALL the characters stories.
me too. hopefully in the EE.
Old 12-24-03, 05:50 AM
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Originally posted by Groucho
Yeah, why couldn't they just cut to a hip-hop song and shown hilarious "blooper" outtakes instead? Character development = BORING. "Blooper" reel = AWESOME.


we have spent 3 movies, about 10 hours with these characters, i want a real ending to the whole story. ending it after the coronation would have been far too abrupt.
Old 12-24-03, 08:02 AM
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Originally posted by TCG


we have spent 3 movies, about 10 hours with these characters, i want a real ending to the whole story. ending it after the coronation would have been far too abrupt.
i wasn't suggesting that they end the film after the coronation, just that they wrap it up in much the same way they opened the first film...a series of short clips (including the scouring, the death of saruman, and the grey havens) with a voiceover by galadriel. Then cut to the final scene with sam and roll credits.

use the spare screen time for aragorn in gondor and the black gate/voice of sauron.

just what i'd have done, doesn't make it right. incidentally, i'm planning to go see it again the day after x-mas. maybe i'll see it differently on repeat viewing.

and for the record, i am praying for a blooper reel on the EE. there are some really funny people involved with this project.
Old 12-24-03, 10:30 AM
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Re: Re: worst ending ever?

Originally posted by raven56706
I would actually like to thank Peter Jackson for a great ending to the trilogy. Drawn out and stupid.... hmmmmmm.....

What a travesty...... hmmm.... Everyone please raise your hand if you agree that The Godfather part 3 beats out ROTK? Anyone..... Anyone......

You are by far, the worst judge of movies ever

I bet you think that Back to the Future was the greatest of the three also
Old 12-24-03, 12:30 PM
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Originally posted by caligulathegod
You don't find out in the books what happened to Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Arwen, Sam, etc, until you read the appendices. It's not in the book proper.

I really don't understand this whole attitude toward the ending. We've just spent 9-11 hours with these characters and it's supposed to end the instant the Ring is destroyed with absolutely no closure for our characters? People need to learn more patience.
This was my thoughts also at the end of the movie. They story was about the people, so the ending should be about what happened to the people.

I am glad Jackson stuck to the ending that was in the book, it made for a complete circle for the movie and it showed the movie was about heart - not just battle.
Old 12-24-03, 12:32 PM
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Re: Re: Re: worst ending ever?

Originally posted by mwdkill
You are by far, the worst judge of movies ever

I bet you think that Back to the Future was the greatest of the three also
easy there...this stuff is very subjective. no need to discount anybody's opinion. for instance, i'm glad that you love the godfather trilogy. i think they are absurdly overrated, but that doesn't have anything to do with your opinion...it's just mine.

different strokes.

incidentally, i don't recall any particular dislike for BTTF 3 either, and would be more likely to rewatch it than any of the GF trilogy.
Old 12-24-03, 01:05 PM
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Re: Re: worst ending ever?

Originally posted by reubs82
My only beef with the ending was that Merry and Pippin were not taller than Frodo and Sam at the coronation. Maybe it was b/c the Ent Draught scene wasn't theatrical, but I was still hoping that they would be true to that aspect.
At the end of The Two Towers EE
Spoiler:
Merry stands next to Pippen and notes that he is taller again and back to normal. The Ent Draught wore off.
Old 12-24-03, 01:13 PM
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I imagine most complaints about the ending would be gone if it weren't edited so poorly, with the constant pan-backs, slow motion, and long black fade outs. One thing I have a problem with, why go to a black fade-out while Frodo and Sam are on the rock? I agree with the poster who said a Galadriel voice over explaining the events afterwords similar to the beginning of the story would've been ideal. It could've covered all and even more bases in about the same amount of screentime. I also don't think it would cause too many complaints.

(I think many of those who loved the ending would've loved it no matter how they did it)
Old 12-24-03, 02:18 PM
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I never read the books and I thought the ending dragged -- though mostly because it felt like it could have ended several times.

I loved the movie and consider the series to be my favorite movies of all time, but I did think the ending seemed ... not as well done as it could have been.

However.. that didn't bother me nearly as much as the cheesy "bed scene".

Last edited by DodgingCars; 12-24-03 at 03:42 PM.
Old 12-24-03, 03:33 PM
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Originally posted by DodgingCars
...However.. they didn't bother me nearly as much as the cheesy "bed scene".
ughhh...i forgot how much that sucked.
Old 12-25-03, 01:02 PM
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Well, i'll go with the ending wasn't long enough, but obviously people already have problems so guess they couldn't have gone on any more. But if the movie had ended with anything but "Well, im back." there would be much more dissapointment/outrage... THAT is the 'ending' and it rightfully wasn't messed with to make it more 'cinematic'.
But I do hope there is more in the EE.

Greg
Old 12-25-03, 10:32 PM
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All that was missing in the "Bed" scene were the pillow fights with down feathers flying everywhere...
Old 12-25-03, 10:43 PM
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Originally posted by necros
... and then save the longer, drawn-out ending for the EE DVD.
I was thinking that too. The bow would've been a good place to end. Do that, and not piss off all the regular movie-goers with 'fake endings.'

Don't yell at me for saying this, I loved the endings. But when I went to see it a second time with not-as-big fans of LOTR, the whole "20 Minute Wrap-up-ending" pissed em off.
Old 12-25-03, 10:45 PM
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Actually, if he didn't 'Fade To Black' so many times, this wouldn't have been a big of a problem. It wouldn't have felt like there were opportunities to end it. Plus, the audience wouldn't have felt tricked. But I guess PJ was getting at a style there.

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