Lothlórien Pt. 3 - “Welcome, Frodo” ~ Galadriel greets the Ring-bearer….
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This is the third and last of the Lórien screencap entries.
I did not make any caps of the Mirror scene in Galadriel's glade, and I apologize to those who might have been waiting for them. It seemed to me that there were plenty of caps from that scene all over the place. “Blue Frodo” is well-repesented in my Frodo image file, which is true for most fans, I suspect.
Suffice it to say that the Mirror scene, as well the one capped for this post (in which the Fellowship is introduced to Celeborn and Galadriel), are scenes where I tend to leave my brain at the door. All I want to do is lose myself in the enchanted atmosphere. I know the Purist vs. Revisionist arguments about what does and doesn’t agree with the book, and whether the material works in the film. But when I am watching, my jaw goes slack, my speech is reduced to little mewling sounds and sighed expletives, and I stare wide-eyed in a state of aesthetic bliss. “Canon? What canon?”
I am wowed by the lighting, camera work, set-design, set-dressing (Ah! for the beauty of the tiniest mosses growing in Galadriel’s glade!), the costuming (Ah! for the beauty of Galadriel’s gown--all the more since seeing it in person in the museum exhibit!), and superb scoring.
But my biggest wow is reserved for Lórien Frodo. Back in Bag End, Gandalf, marvelling at Frodo's pluck, declared hobbits to be “amazing creatures”. Lórien Frodo is the Amazing Creature par excellence. The scene is drenched in magic, and Frodo with it. Lovely, luminous lighting effects with music to match, heighten the dreamy, rarefied atmosphere. The Lord and Lady of the Galadhrim enter from above, emerging out of dazzling, pure, blue-white light.
The Fellowship is variously awed, abashed, or discomfited as Galadriel addresses them singly and as a group. Merry is frankly open-mouthed. Frodo, by comparison, seems to be in command of himself, if a little nervous and tentative. When she finally gazes into his eyes, he seems to surrender himself to the interaction, only slightly afraid, as if giving himself over to the flow of energy between them.
For this set of caps, I chose frames from Frodo’s reaction shots as he watches and listens, the camera moving closer as Galadriel speaks to the others, and turns to him in mind-speech.
I should note that there is no reaction shot for when she says “The EYE”, because the filmmakers didn’t include one.* The sequence ends with the close-up of her suddenly-flared eyes. If they had, I would imagine Frodo would have looked stricken, as he did when he first heard her harsh greeting when they entered the Wood.
Film Lórien is portrayed as a rather tricksie place, shifting unpredictably between beautiful and terrible, just as its Lady shifts between the frightening Elf-witch Gimli warned of, and the gentle-voiced adviser, the giver of precious gifts. While I don’t find this quite what Tolkien wrote, I do think it mostly succeeds as screen drama, so I have never complained very much.
Besides, how could I withstand...The Eyes?
*It occurred to me last night that in the book Frodo has not yet seen the Eye at this point; his first sighting is in Galadriel's Mirror. In the film, he's already seen it more than once.
Also, in the Comments discussion for Lórien Pt. 1, it came up that Frodo actually never practices mind-speech in the book. The only time it is depicted happening (in a way that resembles this film scene) is in Homeward Bound. After the hobbits are asleep, the Ring-keepers: Galdriel, Gandalf, and Galadriel, and Celeborn, sit in a circle communicating this way, looking back and forth into each other's thoughts, their eyes shining, but with no audible speech.
That the filmmakers included it for Frodo worked well, I thought. It showed what this sort of communication might look like, it singled Frodo out as specially perceptive and gifted (always a plus), and made some plot points easier to establish. Fanfic writers seemed to have taken to it pretty well, too. ;)
For a good discussion on the use of telepathic communication in Tolkien, jan-u-wine sent me this link. The formatting is awful to wade through, but the comments, if you persevere, are worth reading (if this is a subject that interests you).
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Book Scene, from The Mirror of Galadriel:
As he climbed slowly up Frodo passed many flets: some on one side, some on another, and some set about the bole of the tree, so that the ladder passed through them. At a great height above the ground he came to a wide talan, like the deck of a great ship. On it was built a house, so large that almost it would have served for a hall of Men upon the earth. He entered behind Haldir, and found that he was in a chamber of oval shape, in the midst of which grew the trunk of the great mallorn, now tapering towards its crown, and yet making still a pillar of wide girth.
The chamber was filled with a soft light; its walls were green and silver and its roof of gold. Many Elves were seated there. On two chairs beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough there sat, side by side, Celeborn and Galadriel. They stood up to greet their guests, after the manner of Elves, even those who were accounted mighty kings. Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold, and the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright; but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory.
Haldir led Frodo before them, and the Lord welcomed him in his own tongue. The Lady Galadriel said no word but looked long upon his face.
‘Sit now beside my chair, Frodo of the Shire!’ said Celeborn. ‘When all have come we will speak together.’
At this point the Fellowship is introduced, one by one, and invited to sit. A lovely touch, which I suppose the filmmakers forwent because, already beleaguered by New Line for being over-budget, they’d have to made a spate of beautiful prop chairs. They didn’t build a hall or an interior for the same reasons, I imagine, having the group stand on an open talan, instead. (I love the note that the Elf-lords typically stood for guests, regardless of station.)
Another touch I particularly missed was the sense of compassion the Elves of book-Lórien displayed. The film Elves seemed terribly chilly. But in the book, when Galadriel asks about Gandalf (“her voice...clear and musical, but deeper than woman’s wont”), and Aragorn tells that the great wizard was lost in Moria, the response is immediate and intense:
At these words all the Elves in the hall cried aloud in grief and amazement.
Another nice touch is that because the Fellowship is seated, Gimli is able to make a visible demonstation of his newly-kindled feelings for Galadriel, standing up and making a bow.
After she speaks so compassionately to him about how it was understandable that he would wish to see the fabled realm of his forebears, using all the Dwarvish names, she looks at Gimli and smiles.
And the Dwarf, hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding. Wonder came into his face, and then he smiled in answer.
He rose clumsily and bowed in dwarf-fashion, saying: ‘Yet more fair is the living land of Lórien, and the Lady Galadriel is above all the jewels that lie beneath the earth.’
That passage moves me so much! Not only does it show why Gimli might be the only Dwarf ever permitted to sail West (per the Appendices), it’s a powerful statement of the theme of mercy and forgiveness. Perhaps inchoate feelings like these, which were fully-formed in Gimli, strove in Gollum’s breast as he watched the hobbits sleeping on the Stairs of Cirith Ungol, another great, pivotal scene that did not make the film. Oh, well. Perhaps in the next screen version.... ("Ha!")
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Film Scene: The Fellowship is presented to Galadriel.
FotR EE Screenplay transcription taken from Daniel’s LotR Page.
Note: This is an “extended” scene (as opposed to a totally new one), I have indicated the lines that are only in the EE by using a different colour.
The Fellowship enter Caras Galadhon and are brought before Galadriel and Celeborn, ascending a stairway to a high wide flet.
Celeborn: The enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone. Eight that are here, yet nine there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar.
Galadriel looks at Aragorn, reading the answer in his eyes.
Galadriel: Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen into shadow.
Legolas: He was taken by both shadow and flame. A Balrog of Morgoth. For we went needlessly into the net of Moria.
Galadriel: Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in live. We do not yet know his full purpose. [Looks at Gimli.] Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dûm fill your heart, Gimli, Son of Gloin, for the world has grown full of peril and in all lands love is now mingled with grief.
Celeborn: What now becomes of this Fellowship? Without Gandalf, hope is lost.
Galadriel: The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail to the ruin of all. . [Looks at Boromir, who is very uncomfortable.]
Galadriel: Yet hope remains while the company is true. [Looks at Sam.]
Galadriel: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace.
Galadriel: [Voice-over.] Welcome, Frodo of the Shire, one who has seen the Eye!
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Note: The screencaps have been cropped and adjusted for brightness, contrast and focus. Not too much could be done to sharpen the images because the originals have been filtered for a luminous effect.
~ Frodo returns the gaze of Galadriel in Lórien, from the FotR EE:
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For the sake of comparison, and just for the pleasure of looking at more “Eyes of Frodo” images, I am posting caps from another version of this scene.
The screencaps below are made from a theatrical trailer of FotR, one of two trailers included in the FotR TE (theatrical edition) DVD Extras. These caps are distinguished by not having been digitally graded. There is no luminous filtering, and no blue. The lighting is natural.
They seem to be a slightly different series of frames than the theatrical version, too. Frodo's expression is keenly attentive but less nervous as he enters more and more deeply into shared eye contact.
I so love these “Natural Lórien” caps, I decided to make a new version of them, tweaked for greater clarity (considerably brightened and sharpened). Even though there are no luminous lighting effects, I think Frodo’s face is even more beautiful without them.
~ Lórien caps from “Teaser One”, FotR TE DVD Extras, considerably retouched:
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As a bonus to those whose love for Frodo in this scene knows no limits, here are links to two of my old LJ entries featuring caps for "The Eyes of Lórien.”
The first caps are the same as the ones above, but unretouched (except for sharpening the focus).
The second set, the "Purple Lórien" caps, are unretouched (except for some sharpening), too. They come from another FotR trailer, taken from a slightly different angle. Apparently, before the filmmakers settled on blue grading for Lórien, they had toyed with the idea of using some sort of purple or orchid colour. The orchid caps are gorgeous, but, when I imagine the entirety of the Lórien night scenes shot in these hues, I am glad they went with blue.
~ Unretouched caps from “Teaser One" of FotR.
~ Purple caps from "Teaser Two" of FotR.
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~ Mechtild
Recent Screencap Entries:
Lothlórien Pt. 1: "The Voice of Galadriel", plus reflection on Frodo’s heightened powers of perception.
Lothlórien Pt. 2: The Fellowship is admitted to Lórien (EE scene).
Links to all other LotR screencaps: HERE.