In Memoriam • Page 64

Return of the King extended edition is an hour longer
Two Towers extended edition has some really great additions. lots of fun Merry + Pippin moments.

 

I’ve always thought the one that benefitted the most from the extended edition was The Two Towers - for Faramir in particular.

 

oh yes my boy Faramir
man I really need to do a rewatch soon...

 

I always loved the scene with the Mouth of Sauron in the extended version of Return of the King

 

The extended editions have some occasional great stuff but I would not recommend them for a first time LOTR viewer. The extended version of ROTK especially feels a bit bloated and spoils several moments of tension that are present in the theatrical cut. Overall they’re a fun watch but I think I slightly prefer the leaner theatrical cuts. (Unpopular opinion, I know!)

 

I can mostly agree with this other than preferring the theatrical cuts because I have a lot of love and nostalgia wrapped up in the extended cuts. That said, I do agree it undercuts the tension with the ghost army agreeing to fight alongside Aragorn being a good example.

 

ROTK is the only extended edition I've seen and it just didn't flow

 

I wish there was a somewhat extended ROTK with the best additional scenes. especially since the extended edition is 4 hours long lol

 

When I was in high school, I watched all three extended films in one day w/ my youth pastor.

 

The extended editions are the only ones I've watched since they were released. They aren't necessarily better films - the theatrical Fellowship of the Ring is pretty much perfect as is - but Peter Jackson had the habit of relegating some extremely important story beats off into the extended editions. The biggest example for me is the ultimate fate of Saruman, but there are others.

So for me it ends up with the extra scenes being probably about 85-90% fluff that didn't need to be on screen for the story - but is still mostly enjoyable to see, mind you - but the other 10-15% of the extra scenes are so crucially important that they just can't be done without. The ratio could honestly he closer to 95-5, but I still maintain that that 5% is so important to the story you can't lose it.

When it comes to the extended editions, for every scene like the one dealing with Saruman at the beginning of the extended Return of the King there are three or four scenes like Aragorn in the Paths of the Dead being bombarded by a river of approximately FOUR BILLION CGI SKULLS. But Saruman was a HUGE part of the first two films and his story needed to be wrapped up better than just a quick shot of him looking bewildered underneath an inspiring voice-over by Sam / montage.

 

Bummer! I really like his Batman films and The Lost Boys rules. Need to watch some of his others

 

Rip king
Hollywood director Joel Schumacher claims he’s had sex with 20,000 men

 

Batman and Robin is fucking legendary. RIP

 

Can't say I have enjoyed everything that Joel Schumacher directed but I can name at least four films I do at least like. RIP.

 

Schumacher spent way too many years endlessly apologizing for the Batman films. He didn’t have to. Batman Forever was my shit when I was a kid. Dude made pop art. I still love the Batmobile chase sequence from B&R down the arm of that massive statue in Gotham City.

 

Damn, have a soft spot for him since I’m a huge Batman fan. Enjoyed Falling Down, 8MM, The Client and Phone Booth as well. Lost Boys and Flatliners definitely deserve love too. RIP.

 

Tracy: We just need to have our next great roles lined up. Like how after ER, Clooney had Dumb Gay Batman
Jenna: But parts like Dumb Gay Batman only come around once in a generation

 

Batman & Robin is not a good movie. But as an adult, I've always kinda admired the fact that Joel basically went all out to make elements of those films with, for lack of better phrase, an explicit gay-male gaze. And a few of the specific criticisms of those movies, such as the nipples on the batsuit and the gratuitous butt shots, were leveled because it made hetero males uncomfortable.

And just straight up, I adore the fact that he cast Arnold as Mr. Freeze. It is about as dumb an idea as I can imagine but I am so glad it exists.

 

Counterpoint: It is a good movie

 

His Batman films understood that it is a cartoon for children. He famously yelled out repeatedly that it was a cartoon while filming Batman and Robin. They are extremely fun, allowing actors to go wild and making sets and locations that are far more memorable than anything in the modern superhero films.

 

batman and robin has got to be a hell of a midnight movie watch. i hated it when i saw it years and years ago but it honestly sounds like time has been good to it for several reasons

 

I'd way rather watch Batman & Robin than an Affleck batman lol

 

I'd take Joel over Zach Snyder every day of the week and twice on sunday.

 

St. Elmo’s Fire slaps