David Murdock: On indulging myself in 'Lord of the Rings' films

Last weekend, I indulged myself with a treat — over three days, I watched the film trilogy of “The Lord of the Rings.”

“Indulged” because those films, in the original theatrical release versions I watched, are well over nine hours long in total. The “extended” versions are longer. That’s a lot of time to invest in watching movies. The only time I’ve ever watched any of the three movies without interruption was about 20 years ago when they were released in the theaters.

The movies are based on the series of fantasy books of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien. I indulged myself in reading that series back when I was about 13. I don’t remember exactly when I read the series in terms of the year, but I have a written record that I had read it by the time I was 14. I read it over a summer break;  I distinctly remember staying up late and reading when the rest of the family had gone to bed.

LOTR revampedReview: Thank Gandalf, 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' has that Middle Earth magic

Reading that series of books, including “The Hobbit,” the standalone Tolkien book that is a precursor to “The Lord of the Rings,” was an epic undertaking back then. Reading it all would have taken me well over 30 hours total, and that’s a long time when read in chunks of an hour or so at a time. And 30 hours is a minimum estimate, based on my reading speed now; it likely took me longer then. It’s the only series of books I’ve ever read where it felt like I was indulging in an epic adventure myself. Watching the movie versions feels a little bit the same.

Peter Jackson, who helmed the film series, and the entire cast and crew — everyone involved in their production — accomplished an extraordinary work of creativity.  The movies “hold up well,” as people say. In other words, they’re still as good 20 years later as they were when I first saw them. That’s rare, especially in movies that have a lot of visual special effects. Often, those special effects look dated decades later.

These movies are even better now than they were then. There are facets that I noticed on this viewing that I never had, and some facets that I did notice back then are even better.

Watch:Epic teaser for Amazon's 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'

One thing that I don’t think I noticed back then, for example, is how perfectly the movies are cast. Every actor in a major role is perfect for that role. Only Ian McKellen could have played the wizard Gandalf. Many other actors were considered before McKellen got the part — a whole list of well-known performers — but I cannot imagine anyone else playing the character.

It’s the same with all of the roles, from the leading roles like Frodo, played by Elijah Wood, on down to the roles with far less screen time. Take Arwen, for example. That character is expanded in the movie from what it had been in the books, and Liv Tyler plays the role with such aplomb and élan that it seems almost legendary now. It’s the same with Hugo Weaving in the role of Elrond, and also with Cate Blanchett as Galadriel — she has one of the most memorable scenes in the movies.

There’s one scene that really affected me deeply back then that still had the same emotional impact over the weekend — the death of Haldir, a minor character played by Craig Parker. The role of Haldir is expanded in the movies from how he is depicted by Tolkien in the books. Haldir is an Elf, a race that is essentially immortal in Tolkien’s world, which he names “Middle-earth.” Elves can only die in a handful of ways, one of which is to be killed in combat.

More from MurdockOn Mister Rogers (his Neighborhood and his ability to listen)

Unlike in the book, Elves join Humans in one of the major battles to resist the great evil overtaking their world — Haldir leads a contingent of 500 Elves that fights in the defense of Helm’s Deep. As he is dying from wounds sustained in battle, he looks around at all the fallen Elves lying dead on the ground. The look on Haldir’s face, as he considers the sacrifice of his fellow Elves — who did not have to die, but sacrificed themselves to defeat evil — is utterly heartbreaking. Then and now. That’s how well Craig Parker plays the role; he conveys that sense of sacrifice in a glance during a scene that lasts about one minute out of all of those 9-plus hours.

Of course, now I have to re-read Tolkien’s trilogy of books. I started just about as soon as the end credits of the last movie in the series were rolling. Obviously, it’s going to take a bit longer than watching the movies — I’m reasonably sure that I couldn’t read it over a weekend.

It’s been a while since I’ve read the whole series, just like it’s been a while since I watched the movies completely. Sure, I’ll read a favorite chapter or two from time to time, just like I watch a favorite scene or two from the movies every once in a while. But to read the whole thing start-to-finish is a real indulgence these days. But for the next month or so, I’ll gladly indulge in some epic reading … an hour or so a day.

David Murdock is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College. He can be contacted at murdockcolumn@yahoo.com. The opinions reflected are his own.     

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: David Murdock on experiencing Lord of the Rings film trilogy