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Fordim Hedgethistle · 02-11-2005, 09:06 AM

The decision to have Faramir take Frodo to Osgiliath is an excellent excample of what I'm on about. It is a major change in the plot, and necessitates a major change in an important character, but it is a necessary change in order to preserve the import of that moment in its translation from text to film. In the story, Faramir has a counsel and they sit down and talk for a long time about what to do with Frodo and Sam. The drama of the scene is there, but it exists in the dialogue, and in the comparison/parallel that the scene enacts between itself and the earlier conversation between Aragorn and Eomer, as well as with reference to Boromir and his betrayal. In the book, it is the final movement in a long and intricately worked out/structured conversation. Were the film to have replicated this exactly -- well, boring is a word that comes to mind (20 minutes of talking heads). And simply cutting it down in length doesn't help, as that renders it shatteringly anticlimactic:

Faramir: You have the One Ring that destroyed my brother!

Frodo: Yes.

Faramir: Very well. Off you go.

CUT TO: Battle of Helms Deep. Then, End Credits.

Such a version of the tale would do the story a terrible disservice by suggesting that the "real" action of any importance or peril is the war going on in the west and not Frodo's journey. The decision to have Faramir take Frodo to Osgiliath dramatises (that is: makes it suitable for presentation as a drama, not more 'dramatic') a struggle that exists in the book in textual form, as words that people speak to each other.

Not only does the film preserve the importance of this struggle, and maintain its importance as equivalent to the military conflict elsewhere, it also allows the film to demonstrate how fully Faramir is the 'good' reflection of image of Boromir.

This is what I mean when I say that the films did a wonderful job of translation: the sense of Faramir as the better-Boromir, and of the terrible peril that Frodo passes through, these are maintained. As with all acts of translation, something is lost: the possiblity of direct and perfect translation is a dream only -- "je ne sais pas" is not the same as "I dunno". But the sense comes through loud and clear. And I do see PJ et al as translating and not interpreting -- interpretation is still left to the audience.

One More Thing: going to Osgiliath in the second film makes good narrative sense in at least two ways: first, it gives viewers a much better sense of the geography of the scene for the third film, and it introduces the realm of Gondor is an effective way so that it does not just emerge like a surprise in the third film.

Oh, and the Nazgul seeing the Ring in Osgiliath also makes sense in terms of later events. In the film, Gandalf does not know where Sauron will strike, so this must be a matter of some doubt. The fact that Sauron goes full bore after Minas Tirith makes sense if he has a report of a Halfling with the One in Osgiliath, under guard by the Men of Gondor. . .

(Shelob was wrong though: they should have made her more maia-like and not just a big spider.)

02-11-2005, 09:06 AM	#88
Fordim Hedgethistle Gibbering Gibbet Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Beyond cloud nine Posts: 1,844	The decision to have Faramir take Frodo to Osgiliath is an excellent excample of what I'm on about. It is a major change in the plot, and necessitates a major change in an important character, but it is a necessary change in order to preserve the import of that moment in its translation from text to film. In the story, Faramir has a counsel and they sit down and talk for a long time about what to do with Frodo and Sam. The drama of the scene is there, but it exists in the dialogue, and in the comparison/parallel that the scene enacts between itself and the earlier conversation between Aragorn and Eomer, as well as with reference to Boromir and his betrayal. In the book, it is the final movement in a long and intricately worked out/structured conversation. Were the film to have replicated this exactly -- well, boring is a word that comes to mind (20 minutes of talking heads). And simply cutting it down in length doesn't help, as that renders it shatteringly anticlimactic: Faramir: You have the One Ring that destroyed my brother! Frodo: Yes. Faramir: Very well. Off you go. CUT TO: Battle of Helms Deep. Then, End Credits. Such a version of the tale would do the story a terrible disservice by suggesting that the "real" action of any importance or peril is the war going on in the west and not Frodo's journey. The decision to have Faramir take Frodo to Osgiliath dramatises (that is: makes it suitable for presentation as a drama, not more 'dramatic') a struggle that exists in the book in textual form, as words that people speak to each other. Not only does the film preserve the importance of this struggle, and maintain its importance as equivalent to the military conflict elsewhere, it also allows the film to demonstrate how fully Faramir is the 'good' reflection of image of Boromir. This is what I mean when I say that the films did a wonderful job of translation: the sense of Faramir as the better-Boromir, and of the terrible peril that Frodo passes through, these are maintained. As with all acts of translation, something is lost: the possiblity of direct and perfect translation is a dream only -- "je ne sais pas" is not the same as "I dunno". But the sense comes through loud and clear. And I do see PJ et al as translating and not interpreting -- interpretation is still left to the audience. One More Thing: going to Osgiliath in the second film makes good narrative sense in at least two ways: first, it gives viewers a much better sense of the geography of the scene for the third film, and it introduces the realm of Gondor is an effective way so that it does not just emerge like a surprise in the third film. Oh, and the Nazgul seeing the Ring in Osgiliath also makes sense in terms of later events. In the film, Gandalf does not know where Sauron will strike, so this must be a matter of some doubt. The fact that Sauron goes full bore after Minas Tirith makes sense if he has a report of a Halfling with the One in Osgiliath, under guard by the Men of Gondor. . . (Shelob was wrong though: they should have made her more maia-like and not just a big spider.) __________________ Scribbling scrabbling.