The Ultimate Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Marathon

This is what you can call a day well spent: On the Wednesday before New Year's Eve my friend and I watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended editions, of course) at pretty much one sitting, with only a couple of breaks of a few minutes. Took us almost precisely eleven hours and eleven minutes. Plus extra twenty minutes for the final end credits that have to be watched every time. Because of the drawings. And the music. Did you know that at the very end of the credits there're five minutes' worth of names of fanclubbers? We spotted some of the actors and quite a few Finnish names, too. Why didn't I get my name there, that would be a big enough life achievement for me...

I don't know what I'll do with this post. I will probably just keep repeating how fantastic the trilogy is and mindlessly list all the awesome things about it, but hey, what else can you do if you love something so much?

Ah, so what do I love about The Lord of the Rings? To mention a few things: the ridiculous attention to detail, the flawlessness of every armor, sword and floor tile, the Hobbit feet, that everyone has a long hair and that the men look so masculine despite, the use of the Middle Earth map, the intro of the first film with voice over by Cate Blanchett, Cate Blanchett's Galadriel who's the most beautiful thing ever, Shire, the Shire theme music, the accent of Billy Boyd, Boromir's line "They have a gave troll" in FotR (don't know why but I always got a kick out of it),

Gandalf's fireworks, Gandalf, Merry and Pippin's Green Dragon song, the overall colours of the film, how Andy Serkis and technology made Gollum a real living thing, Saruman's perfect nails, Tree Beard, how New Zealand IS Middle Earth, Legolas's moments to shine in each film (gave troll fight, shield surfing and the oliphaunt), the comic relief Gimli, how the Ring whispers to Frodo, the insane fact that Elijah Wood was only 18 when they shot the film (I just can't get over this! It's ridiculous!), the horrible moment in Helm's Deep when the young boys are being prepared for the battle, Peter Jackson's cameos,

Pippin's song in RotK, the Battle of Pelennor Fields ("Death! Death!" and the dead people kicking ass), "For Frodo" and how Merry and Pippin are the first ones to charge after Aragorn, "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you", how every time I'm absolutely certain Frodo will let go at the Mount Doom (it's the look in his eyes. Thank you, 18-year-old Elijah Wood), "I'm glad you're with me, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things" and all the sixteen endings. And so on.

That list could've been so much longer. I had to tie my hands to stop there.

What else can I say? The Peter Jackson super trilogy is one of what I like to call my Ultimate Favourite Films. Though the pack is all the time sneakily growing larger, it's still quite an achievement to be accepted into that highly prestigious group. (Alright, people, I'm kidding a little here...) I hope they'll never remake these films, and I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to even think about that anytime soon. I'll be eternally grateful for Peter Jackson for being a real badass and not settling for anything less than perfection in creating Middle Earth and the peoples of it.

I could make another mindlessly long list of the things I love about the special features of the DVD's. They are awesomely awesome. (And I'm regretting a bit that this Christmas break I won't have time to listen to the cast commentaries... I did that last year, and it's amazing how they keep a hold of you almost as much as the films themselves.)

For me, it wasn't until I had watched all the Making Of's and other Behind the Scenes material, when I fully understood the magnitude of the whole project, the ENORMOUS amount of effort and hours that the ENORMOUS amount of people put in making the films happen. They all have my earnest respect, everyone from the set designers and stunt cordinators to the extras and catering staff. Also, I am openly and endlessly jealous at them, because they have experienced something larger that life, something I never will, and where ever they go in life, they can always say that they have been taken part in making something freaking spectacular.

 P.S. The urge to travel to New Zealand is once again getting a bit unbearable. Please give me time and especially money, please, pretty please with a cherry on top?

P.P.S. Did you ever think where you would like to live if Middle Earth actually existed? Of course you did, who woudn't! I would definitely live in the Shire, no doubt about it, because I can't think of anything more awesome than being a hobbit. Also, I could have a nice retirement home in Rivendell and maybe a summer cottage in Lórien... Anyway, I wouldn't mind just travelling to New Zealand instead. Hmm? Extra time or money on your hands, anyone?

P.P.P.S. Oh oh oh, two more things I simply HAVE to say, in honour of the way the walls of my room looked like when I was about 14: 1) I'm still a big fan of Elijah Wood, even though he doesn't really do anything anymore. Those big blue eyes will have me forever! 2) A lot can be said about Orlando Bloom and his actual acting talents, but the man sure looks good doing action scenes in a blond wig, with that elf-like agility. Who cares if he just hangs around looking dumb and confused for the rest of the time...