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**lindil** · 11-27-2003, 12:17 AM

Welcome to the Barrow Downs Fangorn Forest [and Valandil]!although I must take a moment to say that I can not characterize pj's [or fran and phillipa's] adaptations as ' ... they may change things a little']. I feel your pain Valandil, although hopefully many of the gratuitous changes such as Saruman on a spiked wheel have gone the way of Xenarwen [one nice thing in the exTTT app. is that we the fans helped change the course of Arwen in the movies ].Personally I can understand leaving things out, such as [alas] the Scouring of the Shire and the events between Buckland and Bree, although they could have been left out a little better and perhaps flashed back when Frodo is recovering in Rivendell as at least quick blurry feverish dreams read by Gandalf [as the book mentions]. For me though, and omission is very different from the many major and even more minor changes. It hurts, to see such incredible scnery, special effects, costuming, good casting and acting [for the most part], etc all damaged by major character re-motivations. Arwen, Elrond, Aragorn, Faramir all become 'variations on a theme'. A more honest title for the films would have been, Almost The Lord of the Rings.To give PJ and co a little more credit, it is all the more frustrating that they do some scenes with such aplomb: Gandalf at the Bridge], the extended Lothlorien, much of the Shire, etc. That to see PJ stumble over the simple rule of sticking to the characterizations and storyline of the book is sad. A 200 million dollar monument to our favorite fictional world that is permanently enshrined with graffiti. Of course everyone will experience the Movies in their own way, and I am just explaining my responses. Personally I would not at all be suprised to hear PJ [or the writing duo] express regret in a few years [or more] once these folks have distanced themselves from the hoopla and sit down and read the books again, and really feel how far they diverged.Of course I have read [and heard from the horse's [phillipa and PJ] mouths their justifications for ever major change, but I am sorry, I think if they had used 1/2 of the energy they put into re-writing the story into figuring out how to faithfully bring the books to life we find a glowing reception amongst newbies, oldtimers and purists alike.Those who had the good fortune to see Children of Dune recently will know exactly what I mean. The little peek I took into various Dune boards afterwards showed a virtual 100% approval [and astonishment] at the faithfullnes] for the effort. No the movies [so far] are not horrible, they are not bad, they are not poor, they are not even average, they are in so many respects amazing, but when it comes to the essence of the story, PJ could not resist the temptation of the power to remake the movies according to his fancy, any more than Frodo could at the end resist the Ring. Unfortunately there was no Gollum to bite into PJ's finger and bring him back to reality.[ 1:46 AM November 27, 2003: Message edited by: lindil ]

11-27-2003, 12:17 AM	#13
lindil Seeker of the Straight Path Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: a hidden fastness in Big Valley nor cal Posts: 1,680	Welcome to the Barrow Downs Fangorn Forest [and Valandil]!<P>although I must take a moment to say that I can not characterize pj's [or fran and phillipa's] adaptations as ' ... they may change things a little']. <P>I feel your pain Valandil, although hopefully many of the gratuitous changes such as Saruman on a spiked wheel have gone the way of Xenarwen [one nice thing in the exTTT app. is that we the fans helped change the course of Arwen in the movies ].<P>Personally I can understand leaving things out, such as [alas] the Scouring of the Shire and the events between Buckland and Bree, although they could have been left out a little better and perhaps flashed back when Frodo is recovering in Rivendell as at least quick blurry feverish dreams read by Gandalf [as the book mentions]. For me though, and omission is very different from the many major and even more minor changes. <P>It hurts, to see such incredible scnery, special effects, costuming, good casting and acting [for the most part], etc all damaged by major character re-motivations. Arwen, Elrond, Aragorn, Faramir all become 'variations on a theme'. A more honest title for the films would have been, <B>Almost The Lord of the Rings</B>.<P>To give PJ and co a little more credit, it is all the more frustrating that they do some scenes with such aplomb: Gandalf at the Bridge], the extended Lothlorien, much of the Shire, etc. That to see PJ stumble over the simple rule of sticking to the characterizations and storyline of the book is sad. <P>A 200 million dollar monument to our favorite fictional world that is permanently enshrined with graffiti. Of course everyone will experience the Movies in their own way, and I am just explaining my responses. Personally I would not at all be suprised to hear PJ [or the writing duo] express regret in a few years [or more] once these folks have distanced themselves from the hoopla and sit down and read the books again, and really feel how far they diverged.<P>Of course I have read [and heard from the horse's [phillipa and PJ] mouths their justifications for ever major change, but I am sorry, I think if they had used 1/2 of the energy they put into re-writing the story into figuring out how to faithfully bring the books to life we find a glowing reception amongst newbies, oldtimers and purists alike.<P>Those who had the good fortune to see Children of Dune recently will know exactly what I mean. The little peek I took into various Dune boards afterwards showed a virtual 100% approval [and astonishment] at the faithfullnes] for the effort. <P>No the movies [so far] are not horrible, they are not bad, they are not poor, they are not even average, they are in so many respects amazing, but when it comes to the essence of the story, PJ could not resist the temptation of the power to remake the movies according to his fancy, any more than Frodo could at the end resist the Ring. Unfortunately there was no Gollum to bite into PJ's finger and bring him back to reality.<p>[ 1:46 AM November 27, 2003: Message edited by: lindil ] __________________ The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night exchanging lore & wisdom such as they still possessed that they should not fall back into the mean estate of those who never knew or indeed rebelled against the Light.