Lord of the Rings Movie Marathon

So I saw on one of my favorite websites a notice about a Lord of the Rings Extended Edition movie marathon occurring today. As big of a fan as I am of the movies, I've never watched all three of them back to back in one sitting (that's about 12 hours viewing for those of you not familiar with the length of the extended editions). I thought it would be great fun to watch the movies back to back to get a better feel for the epic-ness of the story. In addition, according to the website, during the marathon, movie fans from all of the globe would be watching at the same time, all the while chatting online on TORN's servers about the movies. So I decided to give it a shot.

I settled in just before 10am with the first movie loaded on my desktop with my laptop nearby...ready to watch and chat.





Update: It's now 2:20pm and I've finished the first movie and about to start the second...The Two Towers. Watching with up to 100 others in an intimate setting (even if it is online) is certainly a different experience. I like it.

Update: It's now 9:30 pm est and we are about to start disc two of the Return of the King -the final disc. Can't believe I've almost made it. Can't feel my legs from sitting all day but still in a great mood.

Update: It's now 11:37 pm. I made it but I'm exhausted! Who knew watching three epic movies back to back would be so exhausting? It's been so much fun but I'm mentally drained...gotta stretch my legs then go to sleep.

Final Update: It's been several days now and I thought I'd post my final thoughts. First of all, I'd like to thank Maegwen from TORN for putting together the LotR Marathon, keeping all the participants in sync during the viewing (in sync via well planned stops every 30 minutes or so to keep all the viewers in roughly the same spot in the movie), and for moderating the chat for almost 14 hours. I'd also like to thank all the folks that dropped in during the day. I'm not sure I could have lasted that long without the all the great comments, jokes, and discussions from some of the greatest LotR fans in the world. But most of all I'd like to thank the four of five others that lasted the entire marathon with me. You were all great fun.

Now that it's over, would I do it again? Yes...definitely. It was a long day but totally worth it. I only wish there was a way for me to watch the movie more closely while keeping up with the chat. I'll have to experiment with a few options before next year's marathon.