The Two Towers
This weekend, I got the chance to watch the entire "Appendices" for The Two Towers movie, which is the extra footage on the making of the film. I am continually amazed as I learn more about this production, getting to see how things worked behind the scenes. It has real value to me. I think it gives me a better understanding of life and a greater appreciation for the larger story that is always present but is often not visible to us. (I want to talk more later about the importance of myth in understanding life. That is a subject very important to me. I plan to cover that in later posts.) The Lord of the Rings story is very thrilling to me, but it is incredibly delightful to see not only the story in a movie form but to know the story behind the making of it, which has many of those same delightful elements. In this case, what was happening offscreen was translating into what was seen onscreen. A brief personal background and then I'll jump into what I am talking about.
I certainly lived much of my young life sloppily and lazily. I didn't care, so I didn't take the time or effort to do things well or right. It's important as I grow older to try to do things with more quality. It's easy, particularly in your workplace, to fall back into sloppy habits, to do things just to get them done, to not show love for what you are doing. So I always need to see inspiring examples of people working with excellence in a way that produces real value for others. This movie production showed me something quite extraordinary in that regard, on the far opposite end of the spectrum. I'm going to go so far as to call the movie production a heroic effort. And the greatness of it is not just in the effort but much more so in the quality demonstrated in it. Anyone can work hard, not everyone can be apart of an effort that is quality, smart, creative, illuminating, pioneering, and complete.
This crew of people, many of whom were New Zealanders, showed me an amazing example of collaboration, sacrifice, unselfishness, humor, and quality. It would take many pages to even scratch the surface of those things. Perhaps one of the most overarching qualities I found represented was the New Zealand ethic of getting the job done. One of the quotes used by a filmmaker was "Alright we all know it's impossible, so let's just go on and get it done." And "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it."
Let me take this another direction though. When I praise this film, I am praising something beyond its cast, its makers, its story. I am profoundly impacted by a more genius design that got impressed into this film than those human elements together add up to be.
Let me give some examples that lead me to conclude what I am saying.
1) A first scene in The Two Towers is Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli (a man, an elf, and a dwarf) chasing a band of evil, foul creatures through the land to regain their captured hobbit friends. If you remember the film, you perhaps can visualize images of the three characters doggedly running through the land. The Making Of shows that all the three actors were actually injured and in pain at the time that scene was filmed. The man in the role of Aragorn had broken toes, the actor playing the elf had a broken rib, and the stand-in for the dwarf had a twisted knee. The art was accompanied by a reality behind it.
2) Another scene happens when the same three come upon the burned carcasses of the bad guys (orcs) and think their friends have perished with them. In that scene, the script called for Aragorn the leader to kick an orc helmet in frustration. He did that four times for the takes. The director asked the actor for one more kick to see if he could get the helmet closer to the camera to perfect the shot. He did but broke two of his toes in the process. Unfazed, he then continued the scene by falling on his knees in frustration (in character) with a fierce cry. That scene was very powerful in the movie, full of very real emotion. And it was only possible due to the fact that he broke his toes and could tap into that pain. The drop to his knees was improvisation. It was that combination of actor's skill and commitment and the exact right circumstances to produce a memorial image for posterity. The term for that would be "serendipitous." I'm going to call it grace, because I know who it comes from. It is the marvel of the Creator that He puts the right circumstances into play and the skill into the agent who does the thing. It wouldn't be possible if He didn't allow for it to happen and provide for it.
3) The big battle at Helm's Deep is another scene of brilliance benefited by favorable circumstances. Once again, only this group and these circumstances could have allowed for the powerful images that resulted. I don't think that another crew could have completed the task of fully shooting that scene the way this Kiwi crew did. It's built into their DNA apparently, this stick-it-out and get-it-done mentality. The conditions for the shooting of this scene were cold and wet, night after night, for the many weeks of production. To get through it, the cast and crew had to push through much like soliders. Once again, the behind the scenes had to rise to match the reality that was being presented.
I think the LOTR films have a good impact on people. They reflect to me the goodness of the Kingdom, they preach encouragement and hope without a pulpit and a place of authority. They make me want to resist sin with more faith and confidence, sacrifice with greater love for those who need to be fought for, take encouragement just from the fact that I am in a great story, and believe in good endings if you keep going. They warn of dangers, they speak to the nature of evil, they show consequences. I don't really know if God wanted this film to be made, if He was behind it or what not. I do see a lot of amazing things that happened to let it be made. But I am going to take it as a gift from Him and be in awe of how He can make beautiful reality out of the vessels He chooses.
I had a sense this week of the heightened presence of the Spirit around my workplace. There were conversations about God going on this week around me that I hadn't seen happening before. I couldn't help but think of the opening of the movie The Passion of the Christ this week. And I see a connection between the LOTR and this too. Who knows, maybe God allowed for this incredible film epic of LOTR to happen first to draw people's interest into movie and story, to bring people into the theaters? As Paul reasons in Romans 8, "if God did not spare His only Son but has graciously given Him up for us all, how will not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?!" (NIV). If God paid like He did by sending His Son to die, it is unthinkable that He would not continue to give in the same manner, to fill up whatever is lacking. I can only think that God would be preparing people to be able to be engaged by this movie, all for the glory of His Son and so that many people would come to Him. For those are the true benefit of any endeavor. You could say that the LOTR filmmakers went to such great pains to make a great movie. I think rather that our God is the one who has gone to the really great lengths and paid the exorbitant costs. Any great efforts of ours would have to be only a reflection of what God did for us. All so that we could know Him.
To that end, let us press forward.
I certainly lived much of my young life sloppily and lazily. I didn't care, so I didn't take the time or effort to do things well or right. It's important as I grow older to try to do things with more quality. It's easy, particularly in your workplace, to fall back into sloppy habits, to do things just to get them done, to not show love for what you are doing. So I always need to see inspiring examples of people working with excellence in a way that produces real value for others. This movie production showed me something quite extraordinary in that regard, on the far opposite end of the spectrum. I'm going to go so far as to call the movie production a heroic effort. And the greatness of it is not just in the effort but much more so in the quality demonstrated in it. Anyone can work hard, not everyone can be apart of an effort that is quality, smart, creative, illuminating, pioneering, and complete.
This crew of people, many of whom were New Zealanders, showed me an amazing example of collaboration, sacrifice, unselfishness, humor, and quality. It would take many pages to even scratch the surface of those things. Perhaps one of the most overarching qualities I found represented was the New Zealand ethic of getting the job done. One of the quotes used by a filmmaker was "Alright we all know it's impossible, so let's just go on and get it done." And "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it."
Let me take this another direction though. When I praise this film, I am praising something beyond its cast, its makers, its story. I am profoundly impacted by a more genius design that got impressed into this film than those human elements together add up to be.
Let me give some examples that lead me to conclude what I am saying.
1) A first scene in The Two Towers is Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli (a man, an elf, and a dwarf) chasing a band of evil, foul creatures through the land to regain their captured hobbit friends. If you remember the film, you perhaps can visualize images of the three characters doggedly running through the land. The Making Of shows that all the three actors were actually injured and in pain at the time that scene was filmed. The man in the role of Aragorn had broken toes, the actor playing the elf had a broken rib, and the stand-in for the dwarf had a twisted knee. The art was accompanied by a reality behind it.
2) Another scene happens when the same three come upon the burned carcasses of the bad guys (orcs) and think their friends have perished with them. In that scene, the script called for Aragorn the leader to kick an orc helmet in frustration. He did that four times for the takes. The director asked the actor for one more kick to see if he could get the helmet closer to the camera to perfect the shot. He did but broke two of his toes in the process. Unfazed, he then continued the scene by falling on his knees in frustration (in character) with a fierce cry. That scene was very powerful in the movie, full of very real emotion. And it was only possible due to the fact that he broke his toes and could tap into that pain. The drop to his knees was improvisation. It was that combination of actor's skill and commitment and the exact right circumstances to produce a memorial image for posterity. The term for that would be "serendipitous." I'm going to call it grace, because I know who it comes from. It is the marvel of the Creator that He puts the right circumstances into play and the skill into the agent who does the thing. It wouldn't be possible if He didn't allow for it to happen and provide for it.
3) The big battle at Helm's Deep is another scene of brilliance benefited by favorable circumstances. Once again, only this group and these circumstances could have allowed for the powerful images that resulted. I don't think that another crew could have completed the task of fully shooting that scene the way this Kiwi crew did. It's built into their DNA apparently, this stick-it-out and get-it-done mentality. The conditions for the shooting of this scene were cold and wet, night after night, for the many weeks of production. To get through it, the cast and crew had to push through much like soliders. Once again, the behind the scenes had to rise to match the reality that was being presented.
I think the LOTR films have a good impact on people. They reflect to me the goodness of the Kingdom, they preach encouragement and hope without a pulpit and a place of authority. They make me want to resist sin with more faith and confidence, sacrifice with greater love for those who need to be fought for, take encouragement just from the fact that I am in a great story, and believe in good endings if you keep going. They warn of dangers, they speak to the nature of evil, they show consequences. I don't really know if God wanted this film to be made, if He was behind it or what not. I do see a lot of amazing things that happened to let it be made. But I am going to take it as a gift from Him and be in awe of how He can make beautiful reality out of the vessels He chooses.
I had a sense this week of the heightened presence of the Spirit around my workplace. There were conversations about God going on this week around me that I hadn't seen happening before. I couldn't help but think of the opening of the movie The Passion of the Christ this week. And I see a connection between the LOTR and this too. Who knows, maybe God allowed for this incredible film epic of LOTR to happen first to draw people's interest into movie and story, to bring people into the theaters? As Paul reasons in Romans 8, "if God did not spare His only Son but has graciously given Him up for us all, how will not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?!" (NIV). If God paid like He did by sending His Son to die, it is unthinkable that He would not continue to give in the same manner, to fill up whatever is lacking. I can only think that God would be preparing people to be able to be engaged by this movie, all for the glory of His Son and so that many people would come to Him. For those are the true benefit of any endeavor. You could say that the LOTR filmmakers went to such great pains to make a great movie. I think rather that our God is the one who has gone to the really great lengths and paid the exorbitant costs. Any great efforts of ours would have to be only a reflection of what God did for us. All so that we could know Him.
To that end, let us press forward.
Labels: Lord of the Rings
posted by David at 5:12 PM
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