The Capturing of Myth

[Encaitare]

Well, contrary to what many here are saying, I think the movies did a rather good job of capturing the mythic elements, mainly points 5 and 6.

The movies certainly do capture the graveness of the book. Although the "good guys" win and the world is saved, and no matter how much I love RotK, I always feel sad at the end. It's a very dark story.

I think that there are moments in the films that might be described as mythical. Certainly the "feel" of them is (the imagery, particularly). And I think that moments such as Gandalf's confrontation with the Balrog, the Ride of the Rohirrim, the scenes at Sammath Naur and the appearance of the Eagles have that sense about them. They certainly raised the hairs on my neck, and got the tear ducts flowing, in a way that no other film has ever done. --SpM

I also find the movies very awe-inspiring, especially the part with Eagles coming and rescuing Frodo and Sam. The books are wonderful and in the end are preferable to the movies, but they don't get me teary like the movies do.

And I agree, much of the humor was really unnecessary... for example, Gimli's talk of "the nervous system" in EE TTT.

Gimli: ...because my axe is embedded in his nervous system!
Legolas: Umm... what's a nervous system?
Gimli: Beats me.