[Diamond18]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>So why is it that people are so disturbed by my disappointment and insist upon telling me that I'm wrong to be so? I don't care about budgets and time worries - I only care that these are not the books. So what? Why is that bothering you so much? I'm not forcing my opinion on you, merely expressing it - why am I wrong? No one (that I have seen so far) has told anyone who enjoys these films that they shouldn't, so why are you all so intent that we who are disappointed in them not be? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Hmmm, are we on the same website? The people who complain about the movie are the vast majority on the Downs, so I think this plea is aimed at the wrong people. By telling Saucepan Man, Tar-Palantir and others that they "don't get it" you are forcing your opinion on them and telling them there is something wrong with them. Just what you said you don't do.<P>PJ did sell out. But when it comes right down to it, it's just unfortunate, and nothing more. It's not the end of the world. I'm in the camp who was rather disappointed in TTT, but after getting over the initial disappointment, I've resigned myself to the fact that in the world of movies we inhabit, the chance for a perfect rendition of LotR was slim to nill.<P>Please don't clobber me with your book, but that really is the upside of it and the optimist's view of life. If you really love the book, you won't let a little thing like a movie disrupt it for you. My view of the situation is that people who get overly emotional or morose about the movie and its many faults, are somehow afraid that PJ changed the book itself and made his "vision" into fact. Be stronger than that, and don't let the sell out upset you so much. In the end, my question is, if you love the book, do you really <I>need</I> the movie to be perfection to be happy?<P>I'm very forgiving, I guess, when it comes to the movie. I've gone through several emotions and viewpoints regarding TTT, and though I haven't changed my mind about the faults (and Faramir still makes me wince) right now I've become resigned to it.<P>I have encountered posts here that make it sound like anyone who liked the movie or forgives the "travesties" should be shunned by "true purists" who think PJ should be taken out and shot. Not very many, of course, but they do make me feel guilty when I consider that I went to see TTT twice and will go again before it's out of the theatres. I will complain about the things I didn't like and thought were wrong, but in the end (sad as this may sound) I'll take what I can get.<P>Doug makes some very good points about where the blame should lie, and I tend to agree that:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>It's sad, but I think that in this day and age, where audiences are (perhaps fairly) vastly underrated, we would have to choose between a Cheesy Version, or a Budget Version.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>So does this make me a dumb, nose picking yahoo? I don't think so... Maybe any Tolkien fan who goes to the theatre and watches these movies has also sold out, somewhat. But LotR isn't a religion, so selling out is perhaps not as bad as it may seem.<P>Tar-Palantir states my view very ably:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> *-it doesn't have to be a travesty or boon, black or white, sell-out director or "true-storyteller"-* <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>TTT was very grey for me. So I'll forgive the mistakes, crimes, differences of taste and opinion. I was in a funky mood after the first time I watched it. But after I saw it again I liked it better, because I reset my expectations and turned on my selective enjoyment defense.<P>But neither will I condemn people who hated it. I can see why they do. What I don't like is to be told that if I'm a real Tolkien fan I won't settle for anything less than perfection. I don't like that holier-than-thou attitude.<P>I like to think that my imagination is strong enough to read the book, watch the movie, and still have my own view of Middle-earth. In other words, PJ can do something terrible, but it won't hurt me.<p>[ January 19, 2003: Message edited by: Diamond18 ]