October 23, 1999

Lately I've been playing around with the idea of an envelope for each of the three movies (though I doubt this will be done. I can still think about it, though, right?)

For those of you who don't know, an envelope is sort of a frame around the story you wish to tell in the movie. The Princess Bride is a good example, as it used a grandfather reading a special book to his grandson. Some envelopes break down the "fourth wall" and talk to the audience. The Return of the King (animated by Rankin Bass) had an envelope where all the Hobbits along with a few others were at Elrond's house listening to the minstrel of Gondor (who must have mistakenly thought he wrote quite the song to journey all the way to Imladris) tell the story of "Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the ring of doom."

Obviously envelopes are an advantage when dealing with many books, and it can give a film the advantage of using a narrator. However, the Lord of the Rings will be amply covered by three movies. And because of how it's written I don't believe it should have a narrator.

Nonetheless, I still think there would be advantages to having an envelope for each film. For one, it would create a definitive beginning and ending to each movie. As I've said before, the Lord of the Rings is one novel. And yet they are being produced as three separate films. What of this then? Should the films be done in the way of Back to the Future, where the ending of one is the beginning of the next? Or should it done as Star Wars... in more of a trilogy fashion? Obviously, Back to the Future had the advantage of specifically written clean breaks in the film, and Star Wars had gaps of time between it's three stories. I'm sure that each of the three Lord of the Rings' movies will be written to have somewhat of a logical breaking point, also... but will it be enough to satisfy the audience before leaving the theatre?

An envelope would give each movie a more clearly defined beginning and ending. And it could more gradually announce that the specific chapter (of the three) is coming to a close. In addition, it makes feasible a more standardized beginning and close for each (somewhat like Star Wars but more elaborate) without impeding the actual story.

What's my idea for an envelope?

I don't have a clue. Actually, I'm trying turning over ideas in my mind in an attempt to think of something useful, but so far have not found that yet.

I know what I wouldn't want to see: something such an old man reading a book- as this gives the impression that this is a fireside story (for children?) and it is not. I don't think it should be portrayed as a fictional story out of a book at all. If anything, it should be hinted that it comes out of an ancient manuscript.

I also don't want to see a "story" in the envelope, or have it include more than one character even. And it should be third person, and not break down the "fourth wall" to talk to the audience. Just a subtle introduction and close to a great historical time.

*************************************************

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

*************************************************

Somehow these words should lead each book!

I've also had a few other thoughts.

One fear of mine is that when the Fellowship of the Ring ends we'll see previews for the Two Towers. (And a lesser of a cringe fear is that when the Two Towers begins we'll see flashbacks from Fellowship) and etc. with the Return of the King.

One reason I don't like this is that I'd rather not see any of the story given away. But I realize that it's neccesary to do so in film. And the temptation is great to use the footage from the other movies when you already have it in the can.

Another reason I don't like the idea is because it wastes screen time on images that can be seen elsewhere. While it's more work to do something different, that toil impresses the viewer subconciously.

Now I'm sure you'll say, "Justin... we've got to give previews and flashbacks somehow, or the trilogy won't make any sense!"

Well yes! And I have an idea.

Why not use the conceptual art (by Alan Lee) as still photographs to tell what happened, and maybe a bit of what is to come (without giving away the story!).

I must admit, I have this thing for paintings- maybe over films, because they move at my own pace- and I admire Alan Lee's work a lot. So I can see how this would appeal more to me than to someone else. But I still think the idea has some advantages.

To start with, it gets more use out of the concept art- which traditionally has much effort put in, but never gets to be seen on the screen (which all efforts for the film are meant for.)

Also, it gives the viewer a greater sense that these are historical events. I believe Disney's Beauty and the Beast started with mosaic paintings to explain the exposition. The writers knew that it would quickly create a feeling of grandness and richness in the story. The Lord of the Rings is a living breathing story- it's not like reading a history book. When the actual story is happening the viewer should feel like he's actually with the characters on their journey. But in the opening and the closing it's alright to layer this with a reminder that the events are very historical.

So anyway, there are my ideas.

On one final note I'd like to discuss the music. I should first point out that the weakest point in the original movie, "The Lord of the Rings," was probably the music which was done all wrong (though the good news was that Leonard Rosenman conciously or subconsiously used his same score in Star Trek IV, and it worked there)

The music for the movie shouldn't be a symphonic assault upon Helm's Deep. It should be subtle at times, grand at others, and always filled with a feeling of mystery, wonder, and innocence. A good example of this would be the score of the Dark Crystal. (And no, I'm not saying they should track the music Trevor Jones into the films. Just that the composer should write with these feelings in mind.)

Beyond anything else, this type of music would make the film pleasantly different from much of what I hear in movies today.

[note: when typing this post I wanted to make sure that I spelled Leonard Rosenman's name right so I punched up the internet movie database to check. On the front page, what do I see? "IMDb Movie of the Day: Dark Crystal" This would interest me anyway, since this is still a slightly obscure movie that I own and love. But I had intended from the beginning of this writing ot mention it for its music, also. So I was really startled to see it there!]




The Two Towers: The Most Challenging of the Three
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