If you count this blog as a continuation of Pavlov's Cat, which is all it is really, then this is my 1,000th post: 871 at Pavlov's Cat and 129 here at Still Life With Cat. And I dedicate it to Shakespeare, Tolkien and Peter Jackson.
Because my favourite moment in this movie is the one where the warrior maiden Eowyn, in full battle gear and therefore not recognisable as a woman, faces down the Lord of the Nazgul on the plain before the gates of Minas Tirith. After she's cut off the head of his disgusting pterosaur airborne battle steed thingy and they're face to face on the field of battle, with her in full armour but still lithely dodging his nasty giant mace, he warns her: 'No man can kill me.'
Whereupon Eowyn lifts her visor to reveal the angelic face of Miranda Otto, shakes her blonde locks free, replies fiercely and triumphantly 'I am no man!' and stabs him straight through the face, upon which he crumples up, collapses like a piece of mouldy fruit, and dissolves into air. It's not quite what happens in the book, but the man/woman exchange is pretty much the same.
For those who may not remember the end of
The scene in the movie (and, I'm sure, the book), warning the would-be invincible to beware of language and not to take prophecies literally, is a nice bit of homage. And I was very happy to see it again.
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11 comments:
Lovely post, and happy thousandth, Kerryn!
The LOTR set is one of the best movies ever made (I consider the three to be one — and they were filmed together). And, yes, Eowyn's scene is great.
For another... interesting... movie, while we're talking about Macbeth, go find Scotland, PA. Chris Walken makes a wonderful Macduff character.
Regrettably, what she says is much more exciting:
'A sword rang as it was drawn, "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may."
"Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me."
Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm (Eowyn's alias - at this point she is not known to Merry as herself) laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn I am, Eomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."
(from the chapter, The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, various eds.)
Quite a study might be made of Eowyn's 'treatment' by Aragorn later too - he goes into the hospice where she and Faramir lie wounded and heals them (she is struck by the mace of a Black Rider immediately after killing the Nazgul.) No film script has time, alas, for this kind of detail.
Saw quite a bit of the film, too, then flicked over and found I'd missed most of the AFI awards. Grrr.
And happy millenial post! sorry.
*torriell
It's a Grand total.
Also in the book, it's Merry's dagger which causes the Witch-King to vapourise, and he's not a man he's a Halfling
I'm looking forward to the Davidd Wenham Tribute Post.
Thanks Barry, glad you enjoyed it.
Genevieve (I take it you mean 'what she says in the book"?) et al -- yes, I did look it up in the book, of course. That scene works brilliantly on the page but I don't think if the movie done it word for word, not a lot of people would have been able to follow it as spoken dialogue -- Tolkien's just a little wordy, don't you find? (There's also the timing factor again -- holding up a battle scene with a five-minute monologue might not be the way to go, movie-wise.)
My guess is that giving the honour of destroying the Nazgul to Eowyn rather than Merry was one of the ways Peter Jackson was trying to boost the presence of women in the story. Because let's face it, Tolkien didn't give him much there to work with!
Fine, the David Wenham Trubute Post will be lavishly illustrated.
I am very much looking forward to the David Wenham tribute post.
Also, I have a friend called Eowyn, how 'bout that? Yes, she is feisty.
And happy 1000th post, and here's to many more.
gracerp
I'm looking forward to your opinion on 'Australia'. Please? Pretty please?
I put my feet up, grabbed the remote to tape this and remove nearly an hour of ads, very annoying ads but anything for David Wenham. The blonde Elf isn't bad for dessert.
Rather interesting to read this about the Macbeth line, as just today I finished a sequence of three parodic sonnets in which, amongst other things, I use the lines:
I celebrate my snot, and sing my snot
That is from out my nose so timely picked.
As you can see, they're about nose-picking.
The Eowyn/Witch-King/Merry scene was my favourite moment in the book. As a pedantic point, Merry doesn't actually vapourise the Witch-King in the book; he enables Eowyn to do so by hamstringing the WK with an enchanted Dunedain blade which then makes him vulnerable to Eowyn's sword stroke
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