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Lalaith .. I am clear on your point. I respect that you and others you may speak with feel that way. You have a right to see things the way you see them. I cannot argue with that if a line does not ring true to you. I myself, have no such problem that is so disturbing to me that it prevents me from enjoying the films.
I have said it before and will say it again now .. and probably will say it more times in the future - Some people who have read and studied LOTR for decades and view it as near Holy Writ had a severe handicap when it came to enjoying the films.
If you know the books well enough so that you can sit in a theater and divide the lines written by JRRT and the lines written by the screenwriters, then there are far bigger issues than what is on the screen. The mind of that person is set in a mode of negativity and not receptivity. That person can never enjoy the films on their own merits.
If you know the books well enough so that you can sit in a theater and watch every scene unfold and want to cry out "it did NOT happen that way. No no no no no". They you will never enjoy the films on their own merits.
If you know the books well enough so that when Denethor bursts into flames and dives off the precipice, you calculate that he ran 3.2 miles to do it, then you can never enjoy the films on their own merits.
If you have memorized the speech patterns and word usages of book characters to the point where they use a phrase in the film that you think is not in character even though nearly everyone else in the theater does not bat an eye, then you can never enjoy the films.
I run 2,000 miles every year and have done so for the past 32 years. I do so wearing very good running shoes, light clothing, and time my runs for the best possible environmental and traffic conditions that the day can present to me. If I ran in combat boots or sandals, a heavy coat, with a full stomach, and on a busy street during a snowstorm at rush hour I would be laboring under a severe handicap.
When you watch a film - any film - you have to do so with an open mind and be receptive to what you see on screen. Otherwise it does not work very well. Too many other things outside of the film can get in the way. For many here, there is a very big thing in the way - a 1,200 page tome that is constantly held up as a mirror to the films. And if that is not enough, they have all the wannabe Tolkien intellectuals who write the articles and help mold the semi-official Purist opinion.
There is a fundamental issue here that has been stated thousands of times but does not seem to sink in. I guess its that handicap that prevents some from accepting the basic idea that a book is one thing and a film is another. Each has its own properties, qualities, assets, liabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Each is governed by the reality of what is is.... and what it is not.
Until you are willing to accept that... and I mean really accept that and not just say you do but then vomit up all the same old garbage... then these endless debates will continue shedding far more heat than light.
It is more than interesting that pretty much the entire world embraced these films. The public embraced them with massive amounts of revenue. The professional film critics embraced them with very positive reviews. The film industry itself embraced them by showering them with their highest awards and accolades. That is a rare combination that does not happen that often.
But some cannot accept the films. Just like somebody in a wheelchair cannot run those 2,000 miles each year with me. Politically correct term or not - its a sad handicap.
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