[Lachwen]

Don't bash the movies too hard, Eorl. Lyta_Underhill has it right: the movies, despite their inaccuracies and hordes of screaming LOTR-geeks, have also brought around a new crowd of die-hards. Myself included. When I saw Fellowship of the Ring the first time, my total expreience with Tolkien was having read The Hobbit six years previously. Now, four years later, I am so very glad the movies came out, because they made me aware of a beautifully rich and complex world of literature. Had the movies not been made, I might still be ignorant of Tolkien's work. And that would be truly sad.