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Lucasfilm to sell Physical Effects Unit — Page 5

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Kong was fantastic! A bit too long with some unnecessary scenes, but in regards to visual effects, say what you will about the bronto sequence, every shot with Kong was an excellent digitial creation. Especially his last moments clinging to the top of the tower. Knowing that that was CGI, my jaw was on the floor when I saw that in theaters.
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Shifty,

Have nothing against Kong. But like most of Weta's work, its the work outside of the main visual effect that I have a problem with. Inconsistent. ILM isn't nearly as inconsistent, even in the Prequels.
Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader.

-Yoda; Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
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WETA are a new company. Give them time . In all seriousness, you pose some good points. The wide shots doubtlessly look better because they need not be as detailed. By contrast, the closeup shot vary somewhat.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Yes, there are som dodgy shots in LOTR. This doesn't surprise me seeing as WETA was relatively new to the whole game and the fact that LOTR--especially the first film--did not have nearly as big a budget as Lucas. But yeah, there are a few really poor shots. Gollum however, i always felt looked real--the texture of his skin, the way you could see veins under the flesh, and most importantly his face: i remember the first time looking at his eyes and remembering that he wasn't real and being really creeped out because it was one of those "looking into the soul" moments that was totally artificial. It amazed me. I think Gollum was what Lucas wanted Jar Jar to be, this incredible creation that was real and loveable and that everyone was talking about in amazement. As it stands Jar Jar was a sometimes-impressive technical achievement that benefited the film in pretty much no way at all.
And i think the main thing that Jackson achieved is that he achieved suspension of disbelief. You know that the Tatooine matte painting is not completely photorealistic in ANH but you never get pulled out of the moment because you are emotionally engaged in the film. The PT always seemed more jarring because we never properly connected to the characters or plot.
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Well, Lucas' budget on wasn't that much higher than Jackson. The Rings films started out budgeted at 94 million a piece but then had to ask for me to finish them so its reasonable to assume that each film cost a bit more than 100 million.

Episode I costed 115 million. Episodes II and III were made for 100 million a piece instead of the 115 million that's been reported.

So, essentially both trilogies were made for reasonably the same amount.
Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader.

-Yoda; Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
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I know which one I prefer, whatever its flaws.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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I maybe would've preferred the Rings Trilogy if Jackson hadn't killed The Two Towers. No matter what form it's in, extended or theatrical, it's a mess. The book is so much better.

Even still, The Fellowship of the Ring Extended is pure Tolkien and pure genius. It's pretty much the close cousin to A New Hope from where I stand.
Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader.

-Yoda; Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
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The extended version of ROTK is a *mess*.
Right off the top of my head, that whole business with the running-away-from-the-skull-avalanche scene just looks stupid; I can't believe they put such time and effort into it.
And also - they removed any sort of suspense over the ghost army, when he wanders out of a wall and says 'we fight' in a crappy money shot.... that is a truly on-the-nose example of when a filmmaker doesn't know when to leave something alone; when they feel the need to spell something out in ridiculous fashion.

Really liked LOTR for the most part, but for movies that people insist are the 'best ever made', there are a crapload of flaws in there. They are very much products of their time, and some shots will not age terribly well (that ridiculous shot of Legolas jumping on the horse, could've been straight out of Spiderman).
VADER: Let me look on you with my own eyes...

LUKE: Dad, where are your eyebrows?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WO_S6UgkQk0
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I thought TTT was the best of the bunch. But anyway. I agree that FOTR captures Tolkien the best and is a nice successor to the "whimsical fantasy adventure" genre that Star Wars is part of. In fact, other than Wizard of Oz there really isn't any other significant entries in it.
I think this also i more like TPM should have been. Its innocent and whimsical, but also serious and very character-centred in a dramatic and realistic way. Lucas has tried to bring out every excuse he can--people didn't want a light story, people didn't want a kid to be the main character, people wanted to see Darth Vader being the Terminator and killing everyone. The truth is that is all bullshit. We wanted a good movie and Lucas didn't deliver. FOTR is very similar in tone to what Lucas was trying to do with TPM, sort of a lesson in "here is how to do a fantasy film wrong--show TPM--and here is how to do a fantasy film right--show FOTR". The difference between the two is very dramatic when you watch them back to back and the difference is one is compelling and one is not-so-compelling.
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Originally posted by: Jumpman
I maybe would've preferred the Rings Trilogy if Jackson hadn't killed The Two Towers. No matter what form it's in, extended or theatrical, it's a mess. The book is so much better.

Even still, The Fellowship of the Ring Extended is pure Tolkien and pure genius. It's pretty much the close cousin to A New Hope from where I stand.


I agree about the Two Towers, the books were so much better. But Return of the King was an even greater travesty upon the books. Fellowship was the most accurate in this sense, but still with a number of scenes that make me cringe.

In terms of plain movies, ignoring the books, Two Towers was the best with Return of the King and Fellowship winning a tie in my mind.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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Essentially, what they did was Towers was make it a bloated mess that ultimately affected how King turned out.

I mean, seriously how can you bring down Isengard and not show the demise of Saruman at the end of The Two Towers or the beginning of King in its threatical form? And then when you put it at the beginning of the King Extended, it's logically and tonally a mess and feels really tacted on.

The Fellowship is just pure Tolkien and even in the scenes they changed slightly, it's still more Tolkien than the rest of the trilogy.

Just give me The Fellowship Extended, Revenge of the Sith, and A New Hope if I had to be strained on a island.
Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader.

-Yoda; Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
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Originally posted by: Zebonka
The extended version of ROTK is a *mess*.
Right off the top of my head, that whole business with the running-away-from-the-skull-avalanche scene just looks stupid; I can't believe they put such time and effort into it.
And also - they removed any sort of suspense over the ghost army, when he wanders out of a wall and says 'we fight' in a crappy money shot.... that is a truly on-the-nose example of when a filmmaker doesn't know when to leave something alone; when they feel the need to spell something out in ridiculous fashion.

Really liked LOTR for the most part, but for movies that people insist are the 'best ever made', there are a crapload of flaws in there. They are very much products of their time, and some shots will not age terribly well (that ridiculous shot of Legolas jumping on the horse, could've been straight out of Spider-Man).

Perhaps, but on the whole, they're a breathtaking achievement in my view. I don't mind a few crowd-pleaser moments . By and large, I don't remember being so exhilarated by a film since I first saw the OOT on video years and years. As I left FOTR I thougt, "This is why I go to the movies." Some of the visual effects may not age well, but the characters and the story, thanks mostly to Tolkien, are rich and timeless, and Jackson doesn't forget them.

I maybe would've preferred the Rings Trilogy if Jackson hadn't killed The Two Towers. No matter what form it's in, extended or theatrical, it's a mess. The book is so much better.

I think that the extended edition rectified much from the theatrical version. I certainly altered the character of Faramir, but in the EE, he is redeemed as one of the great Men, as Tolkien intended him.

But Return of the King was an even greater travesty upon the books.


In what way, precisely?

In terms of plain movies, ignoring the books, Two Towers was the best with Return of the King and Fellowship winning a tie in my mind.


But shoudn't that be the terms upon which the film is evaluated? As a film?

And then when you put it at the beginning of the King Extended, it's logically and tonally a mess and feels really tacted on.


I don't think so, I mean Tolkien wrote it as a complete story anyways. Good points all. Thanks.

And stop calling it "A New Hope ."

I find it interesting that the best of the Harry Potter films, the third, is the one that deviates most from the book.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Comparing the LOTR trilogy to the Star Wars Prequels is comedy.

Keep in mind that the Prequels aren't even good movies.

Revenge of the Sith sucks a crazy dick. Why anyone would want to be secluded on a desert island with only three movies and have Revenge of the Sith among them.... well, it just boggles the mind. Terrible movie. "Anakin you're breaking my heart!" Hahahaha. Have a good one.

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