[HCIsland]

I've read the books long before I saw the movies and there are certainly things that I would have changed, but I'm still confused by some people's dismay over the movie adaptations.<P>I think the makers of this film have shown respect to Tolkien. Name a large, complex novel that has been faithfully adapted to screen to the standards that many people here are expecting from Jackson. I don't think it exists. Plot and character had to be played with to make the films workable, not just for length, but more importantly for pacing. The respect part came in with the extraordinary detail they put into each and every scene. It's absolutely spell binding what these folks have accomplished and to belittle it because Faramir more rash then he should be ... it's wierd. <P>Name a major film maker that would have done a better job with this material. Try to put Lucus or Spielberg into Jackson's shoes if you want to complain about what PJ has done. When I first heard they were making LoTR into a major feature film, I was worried. What they accomplished is well beyond what anyone could have reasonably expected.<P>You like the books more. Great, so do I. The books are cannon as far as I'm concerned. I don't blend them together to for 'my' version of LoTR. There's Tolkien and nothing else. That doesn't stop these from being great movies.<P>Take the movies for what they are. Take the books for what they are and stop comparing them. They're two different animals. Appreciate them both.<P>H.C.