The Stairs of Cirith Ungol Pt. 1 ~ EE scene, “You listen to me” ~ plus essay….

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Well, I’m back.

We spent two weeks visiting my sister who lives where it is sunny and warm and gorgeous. I tramped along river beds winding through gorges, hiked over yellow hills, and sat long hours under a canopy by her swimming pool set amid roses, live oak and tall grass. Wild turkey gobbled unseen in the pasture below, vultures wheeled and horses neighed. I listened to the audio book of “The Order of the Phoenix” (as a refresher before seeing the new film—my hearty recommendations for Jim Dale's readings of the Harry Potter series, less hearty recommendations for the fifth film), read my print-out of a huge and famous Frodo fanfic, and had time left over for some books on myth and Jungian archetypes (the last will make its way into my discussion below).

Note: I started writing the essay for this post before my trip, but it became so long and involved I couldn’t finish it. So beware. The remaining parts to this series will have only brief discussions. Also, until I get the full series posted, the links to the other parts won’t work. The book excerpt, since the film and book versions of this scene have nothing in common, is at the bottom.

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The Stairs of Cirith Ungol Pt. 2 ~ ‘He wants it….”

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This, I think is a brilliantly acted scene, but moreover a brilliantly shot scene. I love the way the camera closes in on Frodo and Gollum as Gollum whispers his insinuations, so that Sam is almost excluded from the picture—which is just what is happening in the scene.

Again, because the film scene bears so little resemblance to the book scene, I have posted the book excerpt below the caps. Regarding the book excerpt, I think Ian Holm and Willian Nighy's acting of this scene in the BBC radio play is *perfection*.

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The Stairs of Cirith Ungol Pt. 3 ~ “I could carry it….”

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What a scene this is. The previous Stairs scene (“He wants it!”) sets it up beautifully. And just look at that face! How could he have been so young and produced this performance? But I become tiresomely redundant.

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The Stairs of Cirith Ungol Pt. 4 ~ “Go home.…”

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I know, I know, it's blasphemy, but what a scene! What a face! Both actors do even more stunning work in the conclusion.
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