So i just finished watching the LOTR trilogy again....
 

First I must say that all 3 of these movies are just an amazing example of great filmaking, major respect for Jackson and what he accomplished. Now I still think these movies are great, I noticed something after watching them all again, that I didnt really notice the first time....

Is there a 10 minute stretch in the entire movie where someone doesnt cry? It seems like every scene has someone at least on the verge of tears. I realize that being in the middle of a war to save middle earth is a dramatic event, but my lord, you'd think that after a while you'd be a little less apt to break down and cry everytime something bad happens. After a while it really started to become very distracting.

At least I now have a new idea for a drinking game, everytime someone sheds a tear, take a shot. To bad I'd probably die if I ever tried it.

I'm not bashing the movies, I still think their great, but man all the crying really seemed overdone.

I'm not a fan of these films. I respect the great job Jackson did, but I just find the stories and characters boring.

Having said that, I do have two things that annoyed the sh*t out of me with these movies. One, why the hell does everyone whispher through these movies, rather than speaking up in a normal tone? Two, I did not like the way Jackson tried to manipulate the audience. What I mean when I say this is many times he made us think a character had been killed, only he wasn't. He did this at least 5 or 6 times throught these films. Didn't care for it.

But they did a great job. Just not my cup of tea. If he satisfied the hardcore fans, or most of them, he succeeded. It's not people like me, who had never read the books or been a fan that he needed to succeed with. It's the people who love the book and were fans before the films were made. I think he did that, despite many seemingly being pissed at some of the changes. Oh well, can't please everyone.

God, I hate thread titles that end with .........

It's an emotional film with a lot of moments that are very much a tear jerking situation. A lot of stress is going down and a lot of bad mojo all over the place. It's just that type of movie.

Plus it's a film steeped in high drama and a romanticism about the characters. They're not intended to be realistic, instead more dramatic than anything else. I happen to think it works in the heightened fantasy environment.

And, with regard to him killing off characters (well, seeming like) you have to remember that in each of those instances, that is what the other characters saw. They thought Gandalf was dead, they thought Aragorn was dead, Sam thought Frodo was dead. Over ther course of 11 hours, that's really not that much, and each one was played really well (especially Gandalf and Frodo) imo. The only other one would be Gollum going off the ledge, so four examples in total. Not too excessive, and each one is unique in its plotting and importance. It's not really heavy handed manipulation, since we as the audience know as much as the characters in the movie do, as opposed to doing that to the audience with no relevance to the plot whatsoever. As a part of the running plot (with Gandalf's and Frodo's false deaths being of particular import to the plot) they exist way beyond just manipulating the audience's emotions (not that that's always a bad thing, otherwise music in movies wouldn't exist).

It certainly comes off that way, at least to me. Oh well! Just a thought. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, nor did I intend to change anyone's mind. Like I said, I admire Jackson's efforts, just not a fan of the story or the characters to begin with. Tried reading the books and couldn't get into it.

I enjoy the Harry Potter books immensely, as well as the films. Different strokes I guess. :)

I have never read the books at all, and was mostly ignorant of the characters and situations, and I loved the movies. I think Jackson definitely needed to succeed with the non-hardcore fans, and I think he did. If he only tried to please the hardcore fans, he would have included every extraneous and useless scene and character in the books, so the nerds would be happy. He didn't; instead he made the films according to what he thought were the most important dramatic and emotional beats and strengths from the books.

I know I'm probably not going to change your mind either, but it seems like you were going in with a certain point of view regarding the books that tainted the way you viewed the movies. I don't know if it is possible to change that outlook, but I think understanding that these stories are essentially legends and myths, a lot like Norse sagas, and not supposed to be based in our reality. These characters are bigger than life, and have emotions and desires that can seem very melodramatic. And, different from Harry Potter, they aren't supposed to inhabit our same world.

If you need another drinking game, try every time Frodo falls down ... ;)

When was the first cry? It had to be more than 10 minutes into the first film. I really think you latched onto to something here and are now exaggerating.

Actually, I just watched FOTR EE last night, and I don't recall any character crying until Rivendell. So over an hour into the film.

As for the whispering, most of that occured while the Fellowship was trying to be stealthy, so it makes sense. There's an awful lot of shouting in the film as well, and even quite a bit of speak at a normal speaking level.

In regards to the fake-out deaths, most of those were in the novel, so at the least they're not Jackson's fault. Only Aragorn's "death" was scripted by Jackson and the other screenwriters. Still, out of 9+ hours of film where the characters are in near constant peril, 3 major situations where a character is temporarily thought to be dead isn't that drastic.

I'm a huge fan of these movies, and this bugs the hell out of me too. I'm going to have to get a larger center speaker so I can hear all the dialogue without being blasted out of my chair when the music starts up.

I've noticed this too, but it has more to do with the sound mix than with people whispering. A lot of movies have sound mixes which set the music and effects way too high. In the theater, it tends not to be a problem, but it's annoying at home. I even have my receiver boosting the audio going to the center speaker, and it still isn't loud enough for some movies.

Most receivers have some sort of "Midnight Mode" or otherwise named mode that compresses the dynamic range so that the volume levels between the quietest parts and loudest parts aren't as dramatic.

Yup what he said. It's only the fate of all of all of middle-eart, all that is good & everyone's souls & all they love & care for on the line here. If that doesn't call for a lot of crying I don't know what does. Plus, I can think of a ton of movies that have way more crying in just 1 film then all 3 LOTR put together.