[Sauron the White]

Folwren... thank you for taking the time to offer your explainations on the items which I brought up. I have read them before both here and in other forums and they did not satisfy me then and do not now.

I certainly cannot discuss the films versions of Jane Austen books turned into movies. Not being an impressionable woman who is struggling with her role in society, I never caught the Austen bug either in book form or cared to see it on screen. Sorry.

Bombadil is more than just another unnecessary character. To me he is a huge contradiction that gets in the way. Tolkien gives us this being who has powers beyond the ring and then does nothing with him beyond the barrow wight saving episode. Sure, JRRT attempts to plug this "hole" (and I do not want to get into another endless internet discussion in which 90% of it is defining terms to fit into our respective arguments) by telling us that Bombadil would not want venture far from his stomping grounds and would eventually trade it for a comic book or pack of baseball cards. I am being sarcastic but in the end that is what his reasoning comes down to. I did not buy it when JRRT wrote it and have not bought the additional explainations of others in the passing years. You could omit the contradiction of Bombadil from the book and not miss a single beat.

The idea that you create a powerful being who is beyond the power of the ring and then do not use him to resolve the problem of the ring is - for me - a gaping hole.

Let me get this straight. The eagles can fly around everywhere they desire - and do so several times at pivotal plot points - but they cannot cross into Mordor? What is there to stop them that would not stop lesser creatures or beings? You mention the Nazgul on their flying steeds - sure that is the defense. But is that any different than 10,000 orcs in Mordor joined by other peoples to stop a couple of hobbits? How is that any different?

Allow me to answer. It is different because the eagles might have a better chance of success. They are much faster and have the advantage that speed and their numbers bring with them.

You say it would have ruined the book - AND I AGREE WITH YOU - because it would have simplified and shortened everything. I agree. I want a 1200 page book too. But its still one of the more logical solutions to the problem and is a glaring hole.

The free peoples I am referring to are the same ones who rallied to the cause and marched to the Black Gate. Yes, at the time of the Council there were the political obstacles you accurately refer to. But those could have been planned for and in fact were overcome by the varied forces present at the Council. Denethors plight was not fully known at the time of the Council and instead we heard the boastings of Boromir giving everyone the picture of the armies of Gondor ready to fight the good fight.

As to the forces of the Last Alliance being more powerful - I would partially agree with that and concede some of your reasoning. But only partially. However, let us remember that the Elven king Gil-galad was killed in that military effort as was Elendil. So they were not as powerful as we may think compared to Sauron with the ring. The fact is this. Sauron had the ring firmly on his finger and it did not lead him to domination of Middle-earth. But later we are told that if Sauron gets the ring all of ME will come under his dominion. That is a contradiction and a hole.

My overall point is a simple one. A book is one thing - a film is quite another. This whole business of comparing the book to the movie is like comparing apples to cinderblocks. They are two very different things. In the end we have some folks coming forth and declaring that after exhaustive study they have determined without a doubt that apples do indeed taste better. And cinderblocks are much harder.

And this is news?

I first read LOTR right out of college in 1971. I lost count of how many times I have reread it. I love that book and everything that JRRT wrote about Middle-earth. I also love the movies and have seen them too many times to count. I view them as two very different things and can appreciate the merits of both. I also am not a perfectionist. I do not expect perfection in even the best of what I love. I am more than happy when my glass is half filled. With the adaption of a great book into a great series of films, I think I drank from a beautiful cup that was 90% filled.