Spoiler Alert! (Lord of the Rings)

The midnight showing went GREAT! I haven't seen people so excited about a movie since Star Wars came back to the big screen 20 years after it was first released.

The ending was a bit studdered and not at all done well. The constant fake endings that would then fade back in - well, people in the theater were laughing because no one knew when the end was. Pretty closely following the movie except at the detruction of the Ring. The book is very clear that Frodo failed, Gollum grabbed the Ring, and accidentally falls over the edge of the chasm. In the movie, Frodo fights with Gollum after he gets the Ring, and in the fight, they both go over the edge, except Frodo manages to hang onto the cliff and Sam rescues him.

This has to be THE stupidest change of all! And all to redeem Frodo a bit, or make the Ring's destruction more interesting to viewers. (Later note: One person mentioned, and they may have a point, that Frodo's fighting with Gollum was to get the Ring back, not to destroy it, but to keep it for himself. The Ring did have a very powerful hold on them both by that point.)

I think that Frodo's failure in his quest, and the Ring being destroyed anyway, is very important.

As in the past, a reading of the books will give one an idea of what is going on on the screen. Much of the names in the dialogue, and a few props, will make no sense unless one has read the books: ex: King Elessar, and the swords that glowed blue when orcs were around.

Another big change was Gollum turning Frodo against Sam and leaving Sam behind. There was no need to add it and it only detracted from the purity of the book.

The Scouring of the Shire was completely cut, as was any mention of Saruman's death, or Gandalf taking his power away.

I was in tears at the very end when Frodo and Bilbo and Gandalf sailed away to the Grey Havens. It's hard to cry quietly in a movie, lol.

I think what gives LotR its beauty is precisely because it doesn't have a "and they lived happily ever after" ending. I was still crying when the movie ended.

I have to leave soon to go see it again. Last night I bought a ticket to the last matinee today.