Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Sibley
I was disappointed that we weren't able to get the original cast back together (it was several years later and Ian Holm was already spending quite a lot of time in Hollywood) because, sadly, this meant that it could never really work for anyone who had listened to the original LOTR broadcasts and didn't make much sense on its own to anyone who hadn't!
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I've said before that I've always felt that the Old Forest/House of TB/Barrow Downs section is pretty self contained, with a beginning, middle & end, & can be done as a stand alone story. Nigel Planer as Frodo took a bit of getting used to if you know him as Neil from the Young Ones.
I was pleased that in the LotR adaptation you took into account that we hadn't been told that Merry had a sword from the Barrow & that when he stabs the Witch King his sword only serves as a 'distraction' (I think the Witch King says something like 'Halfling, you sting like a flea!').
One thing I will always be grateful to you for is in showing (as with Faramir later) that this episode, & Tom in particular, can work in a dramatisation. It annoys me when people simply dismiss the possibility as an excuse for not attempting it. The fact is that an adaptor who knows what they're doing can make the episode work well. Its the same with Faramir - the movie makers' constant refrain that they 'had to change Faramir's character because he woudln't have worked in a movie' always irked me. Tolkien's Faramir does not have to be changed into a thug (the beating of Gollum) who's only concern is getting Daddy's approval in order to be believable. In short, I think your adaptation worked so well because you clearly both loved & trusted Tolkien, whereas the movie makers always seemed afraid to just do that, & as a result a lot of stuff was changed unnecessarily or simply invented as a way of avoiding taking any 'risks'.
And I'll always be grateful for the fact that the Balrog in your adaptation didn't have wings
