[Knight of Gondor]

Shizuku, I think you make a really good point!

There was a longer stay and big feast at Rivendell..

Just because they didn’t show it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. In movies, it’s a little difficult to show the passing of time. But with shots of Frodo and Sam exploring Rivendell, and with the Council, and with Aragorn’s slight encounter with Boromir in Elrond’s library, it’s somewhat evident that time passes. Heck, for the extended edition, that’s where disc one ends! Kind of like the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. There’s a lot of space in between!

Arwen at the River, I think was Glorifindel in the book..

You’ve got a lot of people that join you there...but if you only “think” it was Glorfindal...!

There was a 'special' relationship between Galadriel and Gimli..

Repeating this again, but if you’re going to judge PJ for his adaptation, then judge it by merit of the extended edition, which might just as well be called the Director’s cut. Peter Jackson showed the special relationship between Gimli and Galadriel there. Granted, he did not show the three hairs, but in the behind-the-scenes, the actor who plays Gimli, John Ryce-Davis explains the cinematic difficulties of showing three hairs to the audience.

They left out Bombadil and GOLDBERRY...

A common lament. Check out TheOneRing.net’s pictures of those two, however.

Gimli was made a comic character...

There was already a bit of humor contained in the contest for who can kill the most. They just embellished Gimli’s role a bit, to add the comic relief. (Probably for the kids who don’t belong watching it anyway)

Legolas is the son of a King, but in the film takes on the aspect of 'an archer'...

So how are they going to describe his lineage. “Greetings, Lord Elrond,” says Legolas. “Oh, hello Legolas, the prince, son of the king Tharanduil, the king of Mirkwood, and a darn good archer,” says Elrond. If you look above, I refer to this as “TTM” (based on a book that used these a lot), using dialogue to explain events and circumstances to the audience, dialogue that would not take place in the ordinary world because the two individuals already KNOW what’s happened.

The idea of the burial mound(barrow) is important in European History...

Hey, you’re right. I wonder if that’s why they showed the burial of Theodred.

<<They never mentioned The Elessar, which Galadriel used to grow Lorien and which Arwen uses as an ornament...>>

I believe you are confusing a couple of jewels here. The Evenstar was Arwen’s ornament. The Elessar was the green stone that Galadriel gave to Aragorn, and I believe she used Nenya to aid in the growth and protection of Lórien.

The idea of the White Tree is treated in passing, as if it had only a vague significance. In the end, Gandalf takes Aragorn into a mountain and shows him the young sappling which is the hope of Middle Earth in the Fourth Age...

Believe me, no one is more upset about seeing that beautiful white tree look like a tilting geezer. It should, at the least, have been straight and pretty. Either way, there was so much to cram in, I can just barely understand PJ’s need to shorten it all. I hope to see more of it in the EE.

In the book, Eomer becomes King of Rohan, Eowyn marries Faramir who becomes Prince of Ithilien...

Éomer became the king. Éowyn did marry Faramir. They just can’t show Éomer becoming king very well (audience could get a little confused; two crownings?), and they probably will expound a little on Éowyn and Faramir.

They left out the scouring of the Shire where the Hobbits become heroes

I thought that was a bit of a bad move. I understand that many complained of “too many endings”, but from the behind-the-scenes stuff, PJ explains that he pretty much never intended to do the scouring, pretty much because he didn’t like it. I think that wasn’t a good reason, but for others, it will pass.

and Wormtongue kills Saruman(Very important part)...

Extended Edition, coming this fall.

But Most importantly: Except for the little ditty Gandalf croaks in the first Shire scene, there isn't a single song or poem sung or recited all the way through until Aragorn in the final scene, which I don't remember in the book. The Poetry means so much, both as an inspiration and to the story line and spirit of Middle Earth because it had been a special gift of the Noldor..

“Hey ho to the bottle I go, to heal my heart and drown my woe! The rain may fall, the wind may blow, though there still be many miles to go! Sweet is the sound of the falling the rain, and the stream that runs from hill to plain, but better than rain or rippling brook:
is a mug of beer inside this Took!”

You can drink your fancy ales, you can drink 'em by the flagon! But the only brew for the brave and true comes from that Green Dragon!”

“Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare þe ure maegen lytlað”

I'm still baffled why he thought it was necessary when he's dealing with a book that is still a huge best seller, being read, enjoyed, even loved by this same 'modern audience'. Why the need to change what is already successful?

It’s probably necessary to remember that the films succeed as they are, despite the disappointments and protests from Tolkien big-time fans like us.

If it is simply to appeal to non-readers, then I feel he is tragically underestimating the intelligence of the movie-going public, and their desire to see good old-fashioned heroism.

I agree that the crowds do want to see heroism and chivalry again (as Mirando Otto put it, “ 'Lord of the Rings' reveres things I think society is aching to go back to [such as] honor, loyalty and dignity - qualities we tend to forgo so quickly for money.”), but I do not think he underestimates audiences. Remember, he’s been in this business for a while, albeit in the very corner of the spotlight. And a lot of run-of-the-mill movie goers don’t want to have to think about what they watch. For them, it’s mindless entertainment. PJ knew he had to target those people while still remaining as true as he could to us fans.

It needs characters with an instinctive sense of Good in order to function as Tolkien intended. It's a very sad day for all of us when heroism and nobility are seen as traits to be played down rather than celebrated.

That’s a pretty acute observation, Reg. And a lady by the name of Megan Bashem (spelling?) wrote an article about how the whole big picture of the general Good vs. Evil theme was overlooked (intentionally, Basham believes, and I agree) to keep the cast, crew, and audience more comfortable with their worldview that there is no such thing as a true, concrete sense of Right and Wrong. (Such a thing would mandate a Creator of Right and Wrong, which they don’t believe in, and really don’t want to) Instead, friendship, loyalty, naturalism, heroism, etc. are the themes that the cast/crew tout as prevalent throughout the books, without mention of the deeper spiritual themes of redemption, victory over evil, sacrifice, etc. Such values are entirely inert unless Someone created them.

I'd also rather sit down with the books than sit through the movies.

I think that’s a difficult thing to say for sure. I’m sure lots of people who would disagree, and would rather watch the action unfold quicker and more entertainingly on screen. (I mean, hey, like it or not, fights are much more exciting to watch then to read about, no matter how good the writer is) Most, like me, would probably want to do either, depending on their frame of mind. Since the books are more accessible for me (and I’m always reading in spare time), I’d probably opt for the movie, which I don’t usually have time to sit down and watch all the way through whenever I want.

*Brandishes sword* Who else wants to object to the movie?