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Oh really? What is it that you love so much?

@ I love how weird it is, I love that it uses original quotes from the books. But mostly I love how weird it is. As a Tolkien fan, it's clear that Bakshi understood Middle Earth. The background paintings are so picturesque, it, the performances really capture this British folklore story (which was Tolkiens idea for the middle earth). The music is so good imo. The battle of helms deep track is one of my favorite songs to have on repeat while I while video games. The chanting and drums of the Mordor theme makes me think of how Melkor was sowing discord in the music, and that the Mordor theme is so opposite of the hero theme. The chaos of the Mordor theme really showcases that Sauron as a servant of Morgoth. The film releasing only a year after The Silmarillion being published, it can't be a coincidence. It's also my first introduction to the lord of the rings. I watched the tv hobbit special when I was 9, and then saw this. Anyway, I could go on and on about how much I love this film. The Nazgûl, orcs, Native American Aragon, Julius Caesar Elrond. It's great stuff!!!

I enjoy it more as fan fiction at this point

@mellonheads it's bad fan fiction. You can enjoy it of course, but I guess you admit that it's objectively a bad show

@g.t.werber4476 subjectively because I know quite a few people that adore it

@mellonheads Just because they adore it , doesn't mean it's good. I also enjoy bad stuff every now and then,but I can admit it's objectively bad

And they would say, just because you hate it doesn't mean that it's bad. It is art, thus, it is subjective like all art

👀

Absolutely couldn't agree more! Thank you so much for watching and for your lovely comment 😋

You're very welcome but moreso, thank you so much for watching and your kind comment! 😋

You're very welcome but moreso, thank you so much for watching and your kind comment! 😋

What a kind and thoughtful comment. You are welcome back any time my friend 🙌

Thanks so much once again Stephen. We really had a blast and we could have spent another 90 minutes picking your brain and nerding out over film scores!

Loved hearing your stories Stephen ! You are a great third addition to the Mellon Heads! 👏🏼

Monoverantus! Thank you so much, that means a lot coming from you! We are big fans of your channel and the way you break down Howard Shores pieces! Thank you again Mellon nin 👏🏼👏🏼

@@mellonheads My pleasure. You may not be surprised to learn that I've interviewed Stephen too, and have therefore been checking out as many interviews with him as possible (you certainly know the one with TheOneRing). I'm glad to see everybody approach it from different angles, making no 2 chats feel redundant. I'll certainly link to this one as well when I've finished mine.

You're a gent for doing that and I'm very much looking forward to seeing your interview as I'm sure with your expertise, you will be asking the more music analytical questions which we may not be fully qualified to ask but I'm so curious to hear about 👏🏼

@@mellonheads Oh you have no idea... ; )

Thanks for your comment Sarah!

Thanks Jorg! It was great seeing you in the chat! 😁

Definitely!

He is an absolute gentleman and so so gracious and generous with his time

Thanks so much for the comment and yes, we agree completely - the music in this movie is stunning and fits so well in the world of Middle-earth

Probably because of how beautiful the music is

Such an amazing guy and it was blast to talk to him!

Thank you so much, it means a lot! 😁

Our two biggest passions together! Christmas came early! 😍

Thank you so much!

Loved this 😍

If Stephen was in any way impressed with us, that would be an absolute win! 😂😂 we were really lucky to have such an incredible guest!

Love this! Can't wait for more interviews like this 😍👏🏼

I was impressed!

Stephen is just the best, honestly!

Great to have you along Sarah!

I also sat down with a cup of tea, then spilled it all over but still didn't miss the start 😂

Ya that's what we thought. It did seem a little bizarre that it was a wedding dress. As we said, maybe old shield maiden armour would have been better and more impactful. Thanks for the comment!

@@mellonheads I don't think Wulf would react strongly to a shield maiden armor not to mention in armor she could be just mistaken for one of the soldiers.

Hmm I think it would have been more impactful for the audience. Wulf didn't react regardless. Also it was only Hera on the horse on her own so it's not as if we would confuse her with anyone else. They could have given her some really cool interesting armour that stands out

@@mellonheads What do you mean by "Wulf didn't react"? He was immediately angered when he saw the dress, and it resulted in him doing exactly what Hèra hoped he would.

I don't remember him commenting on the dress is all. I know he was angered by her actions but the dress was still kind of random to me.

Delighted you enjoyed!

Ah brilliant! I knew it began with an "A" 😜 Thank you so much!

Thanks for your views Tim. This film is certainly not gonna be for everyone and is not a masterpiece but definitely had its enjoyable parts and we are trying to look at it from a "glass half full" perspective!

There's a lot more character development of Helm in this movie than in the book, and that should be easy given how short the story is in the appendices. But I think the introduction of Hera actually gives Helm a bigger character arc. I'm not saying it's the greatest story ever, just that characters do have development. But I get your point all the same and it's certainly not a masterpiece or anywhere near the LotR. Thanks for your views!

Who!???? 👀👀👀👀

Delighted to have you with us on the Council Shannon! Yes I know that saying the art style is bad is just wrong because it's completely subjective and down to people's personal preferences. If you enjoyed the movie, you're not going to want to miss our next video where we interview someone really special 😋 hopefully the episode drops tomorrow! 👀 Thanks again for the lovely comment

Ah brilliant! Well if you can understand a cork accent, you can understand any 😉

@@mellonheads Wouldn`t go that far. Aussies find it hard with any Irish accent mate

Wow I guess I missed the rotoscoping and Bakshi references! Where were they in the film? I didn't mind the watcher being there too much although I didn't love the design of him. Yes not only were the eagles cool, but they sounded amazing! I've attached our link to the Ralph Bakshi review if you want to check it out! It may not have been our favourite movie ever but we had such fun watching and talking about it 😁 th-cam.com/video/L8k3tF8PIx8/w-d-xo.html

Because you don't like the movie? Or the review?

Delighted you enjoyed the movie and the podcast even more! 😁

Glad you liked it Jack!

Badass indeed and I love the use of Boromir plot armour which is kind of a paradox as plot armour usually saves and doesn't kill but thanks for your comment!

@@mellonheadslol 😂 the Sean Bean certification card 🤣

Yes Wulf was contradicting every bit of advice offered to him from Targg but I believe that yes Wulf wanted to marry Hera originally and begrudgingly offered a last chance when capturing her at Isengard which she was about to accept with terms and this insulted Wulf. She then wore a wedding dress as an insult in the showdown. I do think Wulf was "out of range" from the bowmen in this shot that you're speaking of. I do appreciate your thoughts but this was good for me as I feel like Wulf is supposed to be an irrational and vengeful character and this is why he constantly goes against the generals advice which ultimately leads to both their downfalls. Like we mention in this chat, the mumak is a confirmed (by Weta) sub-species of the Mumakil that we see in return of the king and much smaller in size but yes agreed that it was fan-service filler that I didn't care for much really. I agree that one would have been perhaps more impactful alright. I don't know where I rank it right now. I feel lore-wise and story-wise, it works much better than (at least the last) Hobbit in a narrative way but I just prefer live-action that much more to probably agree with you in terms of rewatch value. I still think as a first anime in Peter Jackson's IP, this was a brilliant movie! Thank you so much for the comment!

I think four (or how many they had? it seems to me that they had four) mumakil was about the right number, but I agree that they should have made them a much bigger deal, showing Wulf arranging their arrival, their transportation across seas and mountains (maybe with some losses along the way) and the reaction of Dunlendings ("now we can beat those northern horsemen!") and Rohirrim (pure terror, since they are facing legendary creatures). Also, there should be other warriors from Harad and Umbar in Wulf's army, not just mumakil. If they wanted to have a fight between a mumak and another creature, I think an ent would be better. Ents live in Fangorn, not far-away from Isengard where Wulf gathered his forces, so logistically it would make perfect sense. Rohhirrim had some tales about ents, so for Hera to lure a mumak into the Entwoods makes perfect sense. In a verse about Oliphaunt is said "trees crack as I pass", and I doubt an ent would like that. And I think a fight between a mumak and an ent would be much cooler than what we've seen in the movie. And I completely agree that for Hera to fly on the Eagle to Dunharrow herself and thus participate in Frealaf's attack on Edoras would make much more sense both lore-wise and story-wise. I disagree that this movie is worse than PJ "Hobbit", though. I think it is better in many ways. The PJ depiction of the Dwarves was completely inaccurate and terrible, IMHO, and the whole Azog story-line didn't make any sense at all.

Which guys are you referring to?

@ nerdrotic criticism drinker and etc rage baiters

@@DrewbattleTheGreat are you asking why "rage baiters" as you have called them, are mad? 😂 I don't really get the reason for the rhetorical question but it's funny

Ah yes! Well I guess they know their audience and what they are expected to say. On our channel, we know we have listeners that both love and hate some of the things that we review but we don't like to buy into what is expected of us to say (shills/haters) no matter what some of the comments may say 😂 we prefer to take every project at face value! Thanks for your comment

@@Sarah_jm_1993 sometimes it’s actually valid tho

Aww absolutely! Probably the best thing about this! It all helps that the music, sound design and story were top notch!

Yes deep down, I would love the Silmarillion adapted in live action but it would need to be at the quality of Peter Jackson's holy trinity for that to happen. Unfortunately with the rights all being tied up, this would be an issue for the foreseeable future so there is definitely nothing in the pipeline for this type of adaptation anytime soon.

@@mellonheadspersonally I think an animated silmarillion would be a better choice for its first adaptation. Even Peter Jackson’s movies would not be what they are without the influence of the animated movies made back in the 70s and 80s. A lot of people hate animation for some reason, but there is an even greater audience out there divided and leaderless waiting for the crown jewel of stories to arise.

Thanks for your comment! I agree that it's double standards when it comes to girl/guy bosses (I hate that term). Also very interesting take on Hera's private converstion and I have to agree with you, I think that maybe it is not her rebelling against customs but just expressing her genuine desires. Great take 👏

I couldn't agree more! I understand people may have reservations but I encourage people to watch and form their own opinions!

Yes because everyone who enjoys something you don’t is a ‘shill’

Why shill? We talk about what's good and what's bad

@@Hannah-hq8ne you would think Tolkien “fans” would have better vocabulary to criticize something besides “shill” and “woke”. A shill knowingly fake-acts enthusiasm to trick someone into believing something for their personal gain. Our hosts are not faking enthusiasm any more than they care what peak-aussie thinks and are therefore by definition, not shills, but fans. Fan are enthusiastic on their own and don’t care what people think about it.

@@mellonheads Nay, you nerds are brought and paid for bruhs. Tolkien would be ashamed at what his novels have been devolved into with this gross bilge.

@Peak_Aussieman this Aussie's spelling tells me he's never finished any book, nevermind a Tolkien one lol

Delighted that you actually received some valuable information! Haha yes the Disney brain-rot can delude some people but I love how a lot of this movie is steeped in reality 😁

@@MrGlenbw there are many charters in Tolkien’s Legendarium that refuse marriage. What makes you think that’s a Disney thing? Because it’s a girl? If you’re fluent in Tolkien, why don’t you name a few? My daughters are strong, rebellious, and not interested in marriage until they start their careers if ever, and we’re not big Disney fans.

Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy it. Did you at least enjoy the lore?

That's awesome to hear too! 👏🏼 And as one commenter suggested that maybe it was still custom but Hera's conversation with Wulf is in fact in private where she expresses her honest desire not to be betrothed to anyone. Thanks for the comment!

Not only in the Legendarium, but in the real life as well. There are cases when princesses and queens declined such offers of diplomatic marriages (or even killed their suitors).

@ have you had a chance to watch the new Dune Prophecy series? Those are some powerful women! Mind, body, and spirt.

Yes but few and far between. It's not about the refusal of marriage, we were commenting on how it may have seemed that she was surprised to be betrothed when it has clearly been the custom amongst Rohirrim royals for hundreds of years

@@mellonheads As far as I understand, it was customary to ask the opinion of the princess herself, so it was reasonable to Hera to be annoyed that nobody asked her opinion.

At least the animation in this movie has been consistent and excellent compared to recent animes such as (cough cough) Uzumaki and Blue Lock S2.

Looks like a traditional cel animation rotoscope hybrid , which maybe a homage to the LOTR movie of 1978 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_%281978_film%29. I loved it, it gave an other worldliness and out of time feel to the story.

@ did you see The Blue Eyed Samurai? Realistic animation doesn’t automatically make it good.

@ yes! I loved the rotoscoping parts! Very respectful to Bakshi

Wow a glowing critique to have and as two Irishmen, we will certainly check out this Celtic style animation! Thanks

They told that story in the recent movie...

Good one haha

The MVP speaks 😎🎙️ thanks mellon nín, looking forward to the next one!

You guys were awesome! 👏🏼👏🏼

So great to see Yoystan teaming up with the Mellons!! Such a fun podcast!!!