OK — I take back what I said here about not being thrilled with Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” movies.

I bought “The Two Towers” on DVD last Tuesday, and I’ve been back on a LOTR kick ever since. I’ve watched it, I’ve watched some of the special features, and so forth. Finally, last night — really needing an escape — I decided to sit down and watch the entire 3 1/2-hour extended DVD version of “The Fellowship of the Ring” in one viewing. I’d seen the original twice in the theater; and I’d watched the extended DVD version before, but never in one sitting. So at 8:30 last night I sat down, turned off the lights, and began at the beginning. I took a 30-second pee break, and then another quick break to switch to the second DVD as fast as possible. Other than that, I didn’t pause the movie, I didn’t go back and listen to certain bits of dialogue over again or watch certain shots again. I just let the whole thing roll, so I could get as close to the moviegoing experience as possible. I really watched it, really listened, really paid attention. I finished just after midnight.

My God, what a beautiful, beautiful movie. It’s really baroque, or even rococo, in its scope; actually, a better word would be decadent. It’s longer, more elaborate, more detailed and more dramatic than any movie has a right to be. And that’s OK, because “The Lord of the Rings” deserves that.

The movie is so long. How long is it? It’s so long that when Boromir, Legolas and Gimli first arrive at Rivendell and jump off their steeds, it feels jarring, because for at least an hour and a half you’ve become absorbed in the story of the four hobbits, and you feel like you’ve already watched an entire movie, and then these new characters appear, and (if you’re familiar with the books) you realize you haven’t even gotten into the meat of the story yet! You’ve still got almost two hours to go. And yet the movie is so long that by the end, these “new arrivals” have become your dear friends.

Howard Shore’s music — gorgeous. There are some moments that always get to me. For some reason, the music that moves me the most is the slow, sad, majestic melody that is heard when the Fellowship walks through the enormous halls of the Dwarrowdelf in Moria, built for a civilization that no longer exists. The music has history and age and mournfulness. Gets me every time.

I’ve always loved the last 20 minutes or so of the film, with the death of Boromir and the breaking of the Fellowship. But you only get the full emotional payoff if you’ve been sitting there for three hours already, absorbed in the adventure and drama and combat. Finally it ends, quietly and poignantly, with Frodo and Sam slowly hiking down the Emyn Muil, and our 3-1/2-hour adventure is over. We fade to black and the credits roll.

Fellowship has always been my favorite of the three books; similarly, I like the first movie more than the second. And I’ve realized that watching this movie in one viewing is one of the most effective escapes there is. It really is a world.

I can’t wait until I have all three extended films on DVD and I can sit there and lose myself in Middle-Earth for more than 11 hours. Guess I’ll have to wait until November 2004 for that, though.
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