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i mean come on this had to be done sooner or later one of my dream videos since i started this channel seven years ago it is my great pleasure and true honor to finally be able to dive deep into the greatest trilogy in film history the goat itself let us explore why i believe the lord of the rings trilogy to be a masterpiece right first thing i have to address in this video is that i have done a lot of these why so-and-so is a masterpiece videos over the years and they typically follow a very specific formula but due
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to the sheer size and awesomeness of this trilogy i will be exploring a few other things that i don’t cover quite as much in past videos the first and main thing here being the actual production of this trilogy now when we talk about filmmaking on youtube video essays people tend to stick to the craft side of it the way the camera moves how the edit elevates the scene how the director’s style is present in all the most important moments and all that but what i want to look at here not only in
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this video but perhaps videos in the future is the actual process of getting it done they shot for over a year in over 150 locations and seven different units shooting sometimes at the same time that level of mental emotional and physical Stamina from the entire cast and crew is something the film industry will never see the likes of again that for me is the one aspect of filmmaking that film fans on the internet perhaps are not often made quite as conscious of and for a trilogy of this magnitude i have
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to spread some awareness for that think about how many locations they had to get not just people but equipment up to look at the mountains just look right imagine how many night shoots they had to do for
Helm’s Deep how complicated the lighting setups must have been for all these shots that ended up probably on the cutting room floor the intricate detail on the costumes and prosthetics that the actors must have woken up at 3 or 4 am just so they could apply the makeup and then the amount of consecutive days that would have been
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repeated the people who made this trilogy quite frankly are not human they are superheroes most people can wake up early or finish late or hike up a mountain with some kid but not everyone can do it for like a year the strain and stress that has on not just the human body but the mind is something i would not wish upon my greatest enemy
[U, C] pressure on sb/sth because they have too much to do or manage, or sth very difficult to deal with; the problems, worry or anxiety that this produces 压力；重负；重压之下出现的问题（或担忧等）
Their marriage is under great strain at the moment.
眼下他们的婚姻关系非常紧张。
These repayments are putting a strain on our finances.
偿还这些债务对我们的财务状况形成了压力。
Relax, and let us take the strain (= do things for you).
你歇一下，我们来顶一会儿。
The transport service cannot cope with the strain of so many additional passengers.
运输部门无法应对增加这么多乘客所带来的紧张局面。
You will learn to cope with the stresses and strains of public life.
你要学会应付公众人物生活的紧张和辛劳。
I found it a strain having to concentrate for so long.
我觉得这么长时间全神贯注挺累的。
and yet here we are with the lord of the rings team cracking on like a bunch of superpower professionals side note this is why i completely understand and sympathize with peter
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jackson’s desire to shoot the hobbit with more green screens and all that but aside from that i am so in awe of the strength and the willpower that this team had when they made these damn masterpieces that even if the end result had turned out subpar i would still have a tremendous amount of respect for them for going the extra mile just as i do for those involved in something like game of thrones season eight i’ve talked about that endlessly but of course in a case like lord of the rings these
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[ __ ] end up putting their blood sweat and tears into something that just so happened to turn out as the greatest three films to ever grace our history so now let’s explore why peter jackson this guy has a vision so damn incredible and filled with so much specificity in all areas this is somebody who can craft the most compelling conversation scenes with just two people sat at a table and also some of the greatest most intricate action sequences of all time that for me instantly puts him on the
that makes you pay attention to it because it is so interesting and exciting 引人入胜的；扣人心弦的
Her latest book makes compelling reading.
她新出的书读起来扣人心弦。
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table of goats when you look at all of the greatest directors i would say that only spielberg scorsese kurosawa kubrick and lean have done something similar to what jackson has accomplished here and by that i mean creating films that have both epic set pieces but also intimate character-driven moments the rest of those on the gold list in my opinion have not hitchcock for example has never directed something like this and james cameron probably doesn’t have quite as much interest in a movie where
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the first half an hour or so is like this and peter jackson did it all in three movies his range as a filmmaker is maxed out he has done literally everything on the movie director’s bucket list in three films he’s got action adventure romance comedy horror all in a fantasy setting he’s worked with practical effects computer generated effects fake locations real locations fake animals real animals fake people real people fake moments real and nearly either nearly got you there my point being
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the guy could have retired after making these films and still have a legacy as one of the greatest to ever do it the biggest compliment i could give to mr jackson is that these are the only three films in existence that i have watched where i’m not analyzing the filmmaking at every turn it is so hard for me not to do doesn’t matter if you’re nolan fincher tarantino i never switch off that part of my mind except for these three films that alone should prove how highly i think of them i could just stop the
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video now to be honest but we haven’t even talked about the visuals andrew lesni shot the films and he shot the [ __ ] out of look at this camera move composition slow-mo this must be a cinematographer’s dream the amount of locations you shoot and the different styles of people you would light and compose for this is one of those rare cases where the camera feels like a part of the action at all times never calls too much attention to itself unless it wants to and when it does well [ __ ] me
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this again proves that the big action blockbusters so to speak don’t always need to be pigeonholed into one aesthetic you don’t need to be super desaturated and grounded and gritty or super colorful and super vibrant at all times perhaps the best way to go about this is the perfect duality created by jackson and lesnar there are so many moments where the camera will go crazy and do these movements that to this day i still don’t know how they pull it off but also where they know just to leave
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it still and let the beauty of the awe and the wonder speak for itself also one thing i just love about the approach to the lighting is a fun fact about lord of the rings that you might actually not know about this isn’t actually a joke you might not actually know about this one uh but when they were lighting the nighttime scene for helms deep someone came up to peter jackson apparently and said that this is nighttime where is all this lighting coming from and jackson replied it comes from the
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same place the music comes from or something like that and i can’t remember exactly you know what was said or whatever but i how cool is that in a world where so much of the film community on the internet has become so accustomed with realism and everything being realistic and nitpicking anything that’s not or not believable here are the goats and lord of the rings not giving a two [ __ ] flying [ __ ] and just doing stuff because it’s awesome i mean just let me play this clip of cgi legolas again getting
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on a horse come on like i just love the philosophy of getting great stories and going all out when it comes to craft now for me personally this is a weird one so bear with me but i think the best example of this philosophy is in the grand battering ram now i don’t know how it’s described in the books i can’t really remember it’s been a long time since i read them but in the movie i love how there’s fire inside the wolf’s mouth for no real reason again it might be a purpose in the book so do correct
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me if i’m wrong but when i watched it as a kid i used to laugh at how the fire was behind the front metal so you kind of know it’s not really going to make it different when it comes to actually battering the the gate but you know i just thought that maybe like the blacksmith and mordor were feeling a bit spicy that day in the design room so they decided to put fire in there for some extra sauce this is so good also one point in terms of the battle structuring and the structuring of the action
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tons of videos have already been made on the mastery of helms deep but for me a moment that always puts a smile on my face is when we hear the elephant horns right here nice very nice thanks it’s just that bit in the movie where everything is firing on all cylinders and you’re like how could this get any better this is already the best battle scene in history and suddenly a horde of war elephants rock up and then a ghost army rocks up [ __ ] oh this is so good now as i wrap up my first chapter on filmmaking it is
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imperative that i at least give a few minutes to talk about what is arguably the most beloved thing about this entire series of films howard shaw’s music now i have previously done videos about inception and la la land and avatar the last airbender and it ends up being lord of the rings where i do a dedicated section on the composer and the music that should tell you how incredible this score is now i don’t know much about music but when you listen to a score like this you don’t need to know [ __ ]
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except how insane it is every single theme is iconic and once again unlike so many film schools nowadays where they’ll say something like ah the music should complement the movie not stand out on its own and all that kind of stuff [ __ ] that if the music is as good as it is in the lord of the rings trilogy it speaks for more than just the movie and it takes on a life of its own we need more like that the emotions that shaw is able to elicit is spellbinding comfort fear sheer excitement power
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sheer excitement and power but on horses [Music] this score is honestly the best ever the world will never see it jrr tolkien arguably one of the greatest most detailed and imaginative writers of all time the hobbit book is actually my all-time favorite book so it makes sense for me and millions of others to be so in love with this story and its characters when it comes to tone the film balances that so well with moments of levity that turn into something sinister moments of joy and warmth that
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come out of peril just look at pippin’s song as an example such an iconic scene you get this hobbit with the voice of an angel belting out one of the most iconic songs in film history whilst this [ __ ] is munching on some chicken and his son rides off into battle to face an army of orcs and that sounds cool right but obviously we’ve we’ve all watched lord of the rings we’ve seen how it actually looks and sounds and feels oh my god and it’s the most poetic thing ever how like
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how mastery of one’s craft that’s how on a thematic level this is a story of friendship and connection above all else a story of people from all over the place of different backgrounds and beliefs coming together to help one another and embarking on the adventure of a lifetime united by a cause a singular cause but also by a shared level of willpower resilience and determination what better message is there what idea more powerful and timeless than that of human connection and trying times
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and all this in a film series with elves and dwarves arguing over kill counts and one of them does this elephant take down and the messages and themes still come through more clearly than the political oscar bate film movies we get today that still only counts as one i just had to kill a lot of people those characters some of the greatest most iconic characters to ever grace fiction without question the greatest trio in film history sean bean’s most iconic death character may be tied with ned
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stark one of the most wholesome mentor type characters to ever grace the silver screen perfectly realized protagonist with enough poise but also enough space to also be corrupted whilst maintaining likability you’ve got feyden king like fade and king kate blanchett rocks up for a bit and does some cool stuff the character that started off the motion capture trend one of the most dynamic and unique performances of all time thanks to andy serkis this harvey weinstein orc thing the orc with the mini lego skull on its
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head which to this day i still don’t know if that’s a man or a woman this top bloke who couldn’t hold his bow and single-handedly kick-started helms deep the script supervisor who did such a precise job that orlando bloom elbows this guy at the exact same moment in both the wide shot and the close-up leading to one of the coolest most slept on edits in the entire trilogy i know he’s not a character but they deserve to be one eowyn who does more for female characters and big tentpole blockbusters
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and all of these lot combined and of course the single greatest best friend in all of film samwise gamgy personally i see him as the heart of the entire trilogy and it is ultimately his perseverance his undying hope in the face of desolation his faith in people and his inability to give up during the darkest of moments that make these films shine so damn brightly sean aston thank you if mjolnir existed on middle earth sam would be the first to lift it now for this section i usually talk about how the film inspired me to be a
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filmmaker whatever of course and of course this trilogy has absolutely played a role in my growth and approach to my job my love for films and filmmaking return of the king fun fact was the first ever film i ever saw in cinemas so it’s a pretty awesome movie to have as my first ever cinema experience apparently i was dead quiet the entire time didn’t cry once didn’t make any noise so mesmerized by the entire thing that i shut my mouth as a toddler and didn’t make a single noise but that aside what i really want to
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talk about on this section briefly since its effect on me has been made pretty clear at this point is the trilogy’s effect on pop culture and social media and the internet as a whole because we live in a world where a lot of fandoms are typically filled up by mostly toxic idiots who don’t really know what the hell they’re talking about and quite frankly ruin the experience for everyone else the lord of the rings franchise however probably has the best set of fans because they know they’re
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the best even the hobbit films are pretty good especially if you pay attention to the craft and the acting it’s a really great set of movies whenever there is some kind of disagreement i see on the internet regarding this series of films it’s always conducted in a very intelligent interesting and respectful way this is something i think other fan bases can seriously take from especially those star wars fans i am one of them as well but still the only real disagreement or debate amongst rings fans is which of these three films
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is the best and although personally i believe they’re all equally good and there is no objective right answer i would love to weigh in on what my personal favorite is and why so i think return of the king is the best one this is because i believe it to be an amalgamation of the best elements of the first two films fellowship is in many ways the best one because i believe that once they leave rivendell the movie is literally flawless it is this quest movie through and through and a perfect one of that my only thing is that the
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opening chunk is a bit slow and then you move into two towers which is what i like to call the connective tissue movie it picks up from fellowship and sets up return of the king if you take out helms deep in my opinion i would say that it is quite clearly the weakest one especially if you watch it on the extended edition which is the only way to watch these films by the way on the extended edition there is some filler but i think it’s really fun filler and i don’t mind i’m just nitpicking here but yes uh for me
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if you take out helmets deep it kind of feels like the age of ultron of the trilogy in that it exists to elevate the other two movies in a way and i know that a lot of people will disagree with me but that’s just my opinion and then you go into return of the king which for me is the best one because it’s only real responsibility as a movie is to end the trilogy so the rest of the four hours and 20 minutes or whatever it’s just freedom and so they really go all out no emotional stone is left
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unturned no set piece moment is short changed every scene every fight every conversation is the best possible version of itself adventure this is in my opinion as good as films are gonna get and in case you’re wondering what some of my favorites are from this series aside from which one is my favorite film of the three let me list some of them for you to close out the video my favorite character is legolas favorite scene right of the row hirum favorite fight scene aside from Helm steve because that’s the best one the
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fellowship versus the goblins in that maurya favorite character moment borrow me as redemption favorite moment that gets me close to tearing up but not quite because i’ve similarly cried in one movie ever gandalf and amir charging down and bringing the light at helmsd [Music] favorite non-action non-character moment the lighting of the beacons favorite storyline aragorn gimli and legolas favorite villain sarah man but also the weinstein orc favorite death held it because he looks like the guy who just
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realized he drank way too much at brees and is now about to chunder right after arriving at the club favorite shot can’t choose one there’s too many options favorite theme slash piece of music can’t choose one there’s too many options favorite line i thought i could do that and also honorable mention to potatoes and finally favorite moment that inspired me as a filmmaker and i’ve drawn from in all my work that’s a trick question it’s the entire bloody trilogy because lord of the rings say it with me
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is a masterpiece