I LOVED Peter Jackson's LOTR. I like also to study the extras on the dvds about how WETA accomplished it's model building and fx....really cool dvd extras there. I first got into reading the LOTR books when I was in grade school -- I had a very cool 5th grade teacher who introduced the classs to Tolkien's world of Middle Earth starting with of course The Hobbit. He even had a huge b/w photo poster of Tolkien on the wall. Then in high school I did a large painting based on the character Aragorn/Strider, which included elements in the background of Mordor, "The Eye", some of the Nazgul on their black steeds and winged ones, etc.... The painting I sold long ago, the shock to my system came when Jackson's LOTR came out and the actor Viggo Mortgensen and the other elements I'd put into that painting, over 20 years before Jackson's film was made, was just like what I'd envisioned! I wished now I'd kept that painting!!!! I've read LOTR many times...and while some things were cut out and Jackson has done his own vision of it I really enjoyed it...it meshed well with mine anyway. The cgfx are, imo, usually great, and Gollum is one of the most realistic cg characters I've seen so far.
John, I am also a fan of "Bell, Book and Candle," and have a copy of it on dvd! I once had a black cat I named "Pyewacket", inspired by the film's cat.... The combination of Novak and Stewart is really amusing, as well as the other actors/actresses. It has some very funny moments.
Yep, Klaus, once again I'd have to agree about Grant, Hepburn and Stewart! I love Hepburn -- she has that sass and spirit that comes through. I wouldn't be able to argue with you about any of those, I love them all -- including Hitch's "Rear Window" with Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart! I also have a copy of it on dvd and it's a great favorite of mine too. There was some interesting info I ran across regarding some of the special fx in N By NW -- that unique Vandamm house on the piers which leans waaaay out over the rocks was actually achieved with great matte painting fx. An interesting book on movie matte painting I've got is entitled, "The Invisible Art, The Legends of Movie Matte Painting," by Mark Cotta Vaz and Craig Barron, it's available at Amazon....if anyone here is a bit interested in the matte painting aspect in the special fx of these films. I have a real interest in it myself.
Klaus, since you loved the scenery in "The Trouble With Harry," I bet you will find Autumn in New England very inspiring!!! I lived in NY a few years ago and those seasons there were so enjoyable... Autumn is my favorite time of year and when the leaves turn their beautiful golden colors and the air becomes crisp I feel reborn somehow. I loved to jump in the leaves, watch them swirl in the air, wear soft wooly sweaters, view the orange pumpkin patches and golden harvest colors everywhere against the deep blue sky. Listen to the geese and crows. Watch the squirrels busily stashing the acorns and winged maple seeds away for their winter snacks. Taste the maple syrup, cider, and warm cinnamon apple pies too -- mmmmm. Be sure and sample it and some of the maple candy... Curl up by the fireplace at night and dream --- thoughts of it all makes me want to paint! I will be envying your Autumn stay there.
Best wishes, Klaus, for a safe and successful move to New Hampshire! And if you ever get to Vermont you might investigate about Bernd Heinrich's raven studies...he's written several books on his studies in Maine and Vermont. His book "Ravens in Winter" is full of interesting info.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover."
-Mark Twain
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