thanksgiving wrapup

What I am thankful for: good friends.

The fair Samantha and I spent a relaxing few days in Minneapolis with Dean and Jodi, friends from my days at the University of Rochester. And a good time was had by all, including Thanksgiving dinner with Jodi's extended family; mocking the pretension and inanity on display at the Walker Art Center; enjoying some very fine beer (mmmm…java porter…”Beer with a little coffee in it or coffee with plenty of beer in it”); borrowing bandwidth from an intermittent wireless signal somewhere in the neighborhood; playing a few rounds of our favorite game; wondering over Dean's reference to “peninsula envy”; and, of course, watching The Two Towers: Extended Edition.

I was planning on an extended review of TTT:EE, but have decided to save my major Tolkien-blogging for a week from now, in the runup to the release of The Return of the King. (Do check back beginning next Wednesday.) Nonetheless, I can't help a few comments (mostly spoiler-free if you've seen the theatrical release).

• According to JRRT's Letters, Faramir was the character Tolkien felt was most like himself (sorry, don't have exact reference at hand). Many fans—myself included—were disturbed by the substantive alteration in his character for the theatrical version. But for me, the extended version fixes these flaws; certainly the motivation Jackson gives the younger son of Denethor is different than that written by Tolkien, but at least now the character is understandable, and even sympathetic. Sean Bean shows up in a flashback scene and we get to see a different side of Boromir as well.

• Unfortunately the relevant extra scenes don't fix the problems with the Ents. The initial decision by the tree-herders against going to war was an unnecessary departure from the book, and one that rings false. Moreover, Treebeard's change of heart, the arrival of the Ents in force, and the added two lines about the departure of the Huorns all happen way too quickly. (Just what did Treebeard think Saruman was burning in Isengard all that time?)

• Although the depiction of Gandalf's arrival in Edoras with the Three Hunters is defensible, it still seems odd to me, a year after first seeing it. Tolkien did not write the healing of Théoden as an exorcism. And a brawl in the throne room? PJ does not understand subtlety very well at all (see also: the Watcher in the Water).

• On the other hand, I was much more impressed with Bernard Hill's Théoden than I was while watching in the theater. He doesn't have much additional screen time in the extended version; he just seemed more believable this time around. (Perhaps I merely needed to get over the fact that he is younger in the cinema version than as Tolkien wrote him.)

• The theatrical release has one absolute groaner of a line, when Frodo chastises Sam for “always putting Gollum down” or somesuch. The extended version gives us another—something about a “nervous system”—which is very unfortunate, as it occurs in an added scene that fans will otherwise enjoy.

• And Gimli's excessively poor table manners and beery belch remain. So let's get this straight: the scion of an aristocratic dwarven line, who is nearly 140 old, can't drink without slopping on himself? I don't mind some comic relief, so long as it isn't at the expense of a character's dignity. Some of the jokes involving Gimli were genuinely funny. Others, however, went well over the top, and JRD deserves better.

But enough complaints. The added scenes, and even the short extensions of scenes already in the theatrical release, are taken as a whole very welcome; as in the extended edition of Fellowship, the main characters are given more opportunity for development. And I am more than ready for Jackson's next installment.