What unpretty 🧝Galadriel!

[AlisaGoldielock]

Why did Peter Jackson choosed an actress sutable for the part of Elisabeth of England to perforn Galadriel?She is unpretty!(I mean Blanchett).

 

[Hammersmith]

Somehow I think yours is a minority view there.

 

[DGoeij]

I dunno about that being a minority view, but in all the critical examnination of the movies that has been done here, I do not remember that the casting of Cate Blanchett was much of a point of argument.

Personally I'm more attracted to the actress that played Rosie Cotton, but mss (mrs?) Blanchett was IMHO a magnificent Galadriel. The looks, voice, stance etc., to me she radiated White Lady of the Forest.

 

[e.Blackstar]

She wasn't especially drop-dead gorgeous (but on that note, neither was Liv, whose character really SHOULD have been), but she was pretty, had the hair for it, and definitely had the commanding presence.

 

[Barliman Butterbur]

Why did Peter Jackson choosed an actress sutable for the part of Elisabeth of England to perforn Galadriel?She is unpretty!(I mean Blanchett).

Well, unless a woman is covered with fur, has warts and fangs, dirty finger- and toenails, a hooked nose with a hairy mole and green snot running down — my opinion is that almost all women have their own beauty. (The older I get, the more I appreciate the looks of just about all women each for their own uniqueness.) It's when one adapts the current popular standard of beauty — the Hollywood standard, the Playboy centerfold standard — that one runs into trouble. I think that all the women in LOTR looked just fine because they had their own beauty and were not cookie-cutter Hollywood types. In fact one of the reasons I enjoy non-Hollywood studio productions is that they allow human beings to look like human beings, not Barbie and Ken dolls.

There was a PBS special about Walter Matthau the other night, and he was discussing this very thing: had the movies not started to broaden out the standards of what was acceptable on the screen, he claims he never would have had a chance. In the studio system, the main actors were "the beautiful people," and the rest were almost stooge assistants by comparison. Thankfully that has changed!

I will say this: the movie (Jackson's trilogy) was not shot in sequence (there's only one I know of that was — Long Day's Journey into Night directed by Sydney Lumet), and that did have an effect: when we first meet Galadriel on the flet, Blanchette seems to fully own the part. When we get to the final end in ROTK, at the Grey Havens (which was shot at the very beginning), I was shocked by a kind of "unfinished" look to Galadriel — as if the part was not yet wholly owned.

But to pass judgment about someone's beauty or lack of it — is just that: someone's judgment — mere opinion, not fact.

Barley

 

[Gothmog]

Well Barly, a matter in which we almost totaly agree.

The very slight point I have a different view on is how Galadriel appeared in that scene. To me the impression was not of 'Unfinished' but Diminished. That Galadriel had lost much in Middle-earth and was now ready to leave.

On your points about judgement. Total agreement

 

[Hammersmith]

@ Barley: Hear hear!

 

[Barliman Butterbur]

A problem solved

It was 12:30 AM in Los Angeles when I got up (my insomnia), and of course went to TTF. I saw something in a post (#5 above) I wanted to make a minor change to and clicked on the EDIT button. Instead of the usual area, what opened up was an area without all the usual bells and whistles, and with another set of control buttons (see paragraph below). I made the change, clicked on the SAVE button and promptly lost all text! I made a few very grumpy posts about it, while I was trying to find a workaround.

Meantime, Gothmog (for whom it was a cheery 8:30 AM in Wales — imagine the sun streaming into his breakfast nook window, lighting up his corn flakes and milk and orange juice) was up as well, and did a brilliant job of restoring the post! Thank you Sir! Meantime, the problem persisted, and just might be particular to Macs and not to PCs. But for those who need it:

I found one solution at least: When you first click on the EDIT button, and the EDIT POST area opens up, IMMEDIATELY click on the GO ADVANCED button, and you will be taken to the "usual" area with all the buttons and controls. So I suggest that the area with the GO ADVANCED button be taken out altogether — it's an unnecessary step that leads to trouble. (Beorn's suggestion with the control/F5 keys does not work on Macs — at least not mine, a G4 eMac.)

(One thing more: Alisa — I don't appreciate the way you toss out what seem to be very judgmental and rather snobbish questions and remarks, then pull back to see how others react to them without making any other contribution yourself. Simply throwing sand in the gears isn't the proper spirit here. I am on the verge of putting you on my IGNORE list.)

Barley

PS: And while we're at it: Pleathe, thir, when may I have my ORANGE THKIN? Thank you thir.

 

[Gothmog]

Re: A problem solved

Meantime, Gothmog (for whom it was a cheery 8:30 AM — imagine the sun streaming into his breakfast nook window and lighting up his corn flakes and milk, and orange juice) was up as well, and did a brilliant job of restoring the post! Thank you Sir!

I too have to imagine the sun streaming in. It is rather cloudy here at the moment

Gald to be able to help

 

[e.Blackstar]

Re: A problem solved

(One thing more: Alisa — I don't appreciate the way you toss out what seem to be very judgmental and rather snobbish questions and remarks, then pull back to see how others react to them without making any other contribution yourself. Simply throwing sand in the gears isn't the proper spirit here. I am on the verge of putting you on my IGNORE list.)

A little harsh, isn't that.

 

[Barliman Butterbur]

Re: A problem solved

A little harsh, isn't that.

That's how I see it...

Barley

 

[AlisaGoldielock]

Re: I know the reason...

Why PJ choosed Blanchette.He had just wasted his money on decorations and special effects,and had nothing to pay Hollywood godesses with.

 

[DGoeij]

Why PJ choosed Blanchette.He had just wasted his money on decorations and special effects,and had nothing to pay Hollywood godesses with.

First, he did IMO, absolutely not wasted his money on special effects and decorations. It was an investment that was well worth it.

I have more trouble with the way the story was told by PJ & Co than by the way it all looked. Liv Tyler is, if I'm not mistaken, one of those 'hollywood godesses' you mention, and she was less of an elf than Cate Blanchett. A lot less too. Again: That is my opinion.

May I add I find your opion not only hard to grasp, but also not too well explained? And your reasoning that he could not afford soemone (who exactly??) isn't very solid either, he had quite a budget for these movies and I think he saved a lot by shooting it in New Zealand, using his own special effects studio (WETA IIRC).

May I focus your attention on something Barley said only days ago, in this same thread. Your well thought out reasoning in your latest post (see above) does not exactly counter his statement, now does it? That was a little sarcastic perhaps, but I nevertheless feel the need to point out that you aren't making friends by these, in my view, rather childish remarks.

(One thing more: Alisa — I don't appreciate the way you toss out what seem to be very judgmental and rather snobbish questions and remarks, then pull back to see how others react to them without making any other contribution yourself. Simply throwing sand in the gears isn't the proper spirit here. I am on the verge of putting you on my IGNORE list.)

Maybe you could explain much clearer why, in your view, Cate Blanchett wasn't fit to play the part of Galadriel in this movie? Right now your are not very convincing.

 

[Ithrynluin]

It took some time for me to get used to Cate as Galadriel, because I was (and am) quite smitten with Bakshi's Galadriel, whom I see as perfect in all aspects - voice, bearing, appearance.

I agree with Barley, except for the part Gothmog comments on, where I agree she looked diminished.

I especially liked Cate's acting in the FOTR EE where she hands out gifts to the Fellowship and her (elvish) convo with Aragorn.

 

[HLGStrider]

I actually did like her acting but not her appearance. . .however, I doubt there is a suitable actress who could have played Galadriel in my mind because in my mind Galadriel had a figure that now a days most actresses would go bolemic to avoid. I saw her as "voluptuous." Blanchett is on the thin side. . .and what modern actress isn't?

Maybe it doesn't go with Elves, everyone thinks slight, but I didn't see her or Arwen to be so. Liv Tyler has closer to the figure I thought Arwen would have, but her face is wrong. . .but who can get it right?

Plus I should have played Eowyn. . .I could do method acting on that part. . .

 

[Barliman Butterbur]

Re: I know the reason...

Why PJ choosed Blanchette.He had just wasted his money on decorations and special effects,and had nothing to pay Hollywood godesses with.

Had no money? Alisa, he had all kinds of money to play with! The trilogy was one of the costliest movies ever made! And New Line backed it up all the way. If you have it on DVD, play all the interviews, and you'll get the understanding that money was, quite literally, no object.

Hollywood goddesses? Interesting thought. But I daresay he could have gotten anyone he wanted. And he wanted comparative unknowns, because Hollywood goddesses (and gods for that matter) would have been too distracting. He said so several times in interviews.

Alisa, I didn't know until this post that you are from Russia, and that English isn't your first language. I see your posts in a whole different light now — if I'm not mistaken, you're overcoming a language barrier, and that casts (at least for me) all your posts in quite a different light, and I apologize if I was impolite with you. Keep posting — the more you use your English, the better it will get, and the more you'll make yourself accurately understood! Nazdrovya!

Barley

 

[celeste]

can't say i'd mind looking like her . but regardless of appearance, her acting seemed accurate, that is to say, she seemed to "radiate", as DGoeij said earlier.
i DO think Liv Tyler was perfect for her part as Arwen, her beauty in the film actually struck me speechless..as i imagine Tolkien would have had HIS version of Arwen do, had he been in charge of it. but that's just personal opinion

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

She wasn't especially drop-dead gorgeous (but on that note, neither was Liv, whose character really SHOULD have been), but she was pretty, had the hair for it, and definitely had the commanding presence.

Live was the perfect Arwen. Galadriel in my own opinion though was excellent in voice and the way she talked and all. but looks, i agree with AlisaGoldielock on that one. She should have been stunningly beautiful (wich she was not).

AGAIN, THIS IS AN INSTANCE OF MEN DISCRIMINATING AGAINST THE ELVES! THE RACE OF MEN SHALL FAIL AND ELVES SHALL RUL AGAIN! MUAHAHAHAHA

 

[Berserker]

Though I prefer Liv Tylor, I think the character of ARWEN needed an actress with strong personality. I think Blanchette was the right person for that role.

 

[Mike]

I am in complete agreement that Cate Blanchette is "unpretty". "Unpretty" is the difinate word for it, because she's not ugly, she's just...well...unpretty. I don't much like her voice either, so I felt a bit disapointed by her role.

Though, to tell you the truth, I don't know which actress would be "perfect" for Galadriel.

(It's not Pamela Anderson. Imagine that casting. *Shiver*)

I would have liked to see Kira Knightly as Eowyn, though. I just remember an odd feeling I had--I had read the book, and when I saw Kira Knightly in the new "Dr. Zhivago" from BBC, my first thought was "Eowyn". Of course, people are bound to disagree with me.

Liv Taylor was a great elf, although I got this wierd vibe during her performance that she never read the books. Don't ask why. I just did.



Completely agree with Barliman on the non-hollywood movies. Most hollywood actresses look anorexic, and it's great seeing an eastern European film with "real" women, and men who look like "men" and not slightly masculinized women (Orlando Bloom).