Why Can't Movies Be Like Books?

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Originally Posted by davem

Images are still more powerful than words, & thus require more control in their depiction. My memories of the movies are overwhelmingly of violence, bloodshed & beheadings. My memories of the book are overwhelmingly of beauty, sadness, loss, vast landscapes & the like.

The books contain violence. They contain gore. Do you not remember this? And the movies are action movies. They need excitement to keep the plot going. This means violence. Would you prefer the camera cut away every time Gimli and Legolas killed an Orc? Would you prefer that the words "death" and "kill" were replaced with euphemisms? Gore in moderation is good. And the movies have gore in moderation.

Yes, but Jackson was told to aim for a wider audience in order to make as much profit as possible. In the UK FotR got a PG certificate (for a general audience) & TT & RotK got 12 certificates (for 12 & over). Gladiator was given an 18 certificate.

I can't answer this.

I did. By that point the whole thing had descended into farce for me. Actually I cheered when the ugly fat Elf bought it.

Why do you have this strange ability, davem? Can't you think something good about something in the movies for a change? But of course not. [sarcasm]You worship at the altar of Tolkien. You probably consider him a saint.[/sarcasm] Jackson is a heretic, a blasphemer who dares change what doesn't work. You don't care about the quality of the material or the way it appeals to the audience. All that matters is the degree of change from the book. And that is Bad, in your opinion. But it isn't. Some changes are necessary. In fact, a lot are.

I don't interpret that as humourous.

It is, even if the humor is unintentional, which is unlikely.