Before and after the movie - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Neferchoirwen · 08-31-2004, 09:58 AM

I, like a lot of others, read the books because of the first movie. I was a skeptic of books-to-movie projects (still am, but spotting the differences is something I find intellectually stimulating), and I had to ask my lit thesis mentor if the movie is worth watching in spite of not having read anything. Smart as she eternally is, she told me to go ahead and watch it. (I didn't have enough time to read it, so...)
The end result was my turning out to be a fan, and a member of the Downs.

The movies encourage me to think about new ways to think about the themes and the characters, and at the same time, encourage me to have an open mind.

I do regret that I have not seen Return of the King more than once in the theaters. It was all too overwhelming to see again (waiting for it on dvd is just sooo much better: currently asking dad to get me the EE). It all too much for me that I had to be absent from the Downs for half a year! ( I decided that I was overreacting that way, and poof! Signing in again)

Lalwendë · 08-31-2004, 02:10 PM

Another ace thread recovery from before my time!

Well, I was a fan long before the films, and I have to say that although I was terrified of seeing them, I was also excited. To my relief, I found they were great films. I can't, however, comment on the BarrowDowns pre-films as I didn't even have internet access back then, and when I did, I found this site quite by accident. I loitered for a while and found to my pleasure that it wasn't 'inane' like so many other Tolkien discussion forums.

Personally, I have nothing at all against the films and the new readers they've brought onboard. After all, a new reader is one who is fresh to the books and still possessed of that special, wide-eyed and fanatical new-found enthusiasm. If truth be told, I'm quite jealous of new readers...I wish I could read it all with fresh eyes again. The amazing experience of my first read will never leave me.

Some topics may come around again, but I think that's a good thing, after all, some of those who have been long-time members may have fresh input to make or have a change of heart. And I just cannot conceive of running out of things to say about Tolkien.

I refer to the 1990s as the dark-ages for a Tolkien fan, when it was considered uncool and it was nigh on impossible to find someone to discuss Tolkien with on a regular basis. Everyone was seemingly 'in the closet', so to speak. Like a Viking invader, Peter Jackson swept across all of this bringing widespread acceptance and a whole new audience. And like the Vikings, whether he was brutal or came in peace, well that's open to debate.

Azaelia of Willowbottom · 08-31-2004, 06:03 PM

I wasn't here before the movies happened... It took me a while to find the BD's, so I can't say what these boards were like before the movies, but I can comment on the whole Tolkien experience.
I will forever regret that I only became a fan of the books a month before the movies came out. Hence, I have hardly any knowledge of what it was to be a Tolkien fan in the long stretch before the movies happened...And the only world I know is one of drooling fangirls (though I don't deny that some of the actors are goodlooking) whose only reason for watching the movies is their "Orlie". I am enough of a fan of LOTR to be quite annoyed by these people. I know that these people are, for whatever reason, far less numerous here than on other boards I've visited.
I can say that, whatever BD was like before LOTR, it seems to me to be still a place of high standards where I can go to find truly deep and intelligent discussion. I feel that every time I come here, I learn something. Hooray!

On my general Tolkien experience... Before the movies, I never cared much one way or the other for the chapters in the book taking plce in the Old Forest. I had no violent dislike (though I know that some do), but I didn't feel totally amazed by them, either. Now, after the movies, I sort of treasure them because the chapters are hidden away in a corner of Middle-Earth completely untouched by anything PJ did... I'm not saying PJ's movies were bad: I loved them! But now the chapters in the Old Forest are somewhat sacred to me because the way I picture them is wholly my own, not affected by PJ's imaginings. What I picture is something unique to me...and I love that.

08-31-2004, 09:58 AM	#1
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	movie to books I, like a lot of others, read the books because of the first movie. I was a skeptic of books-to-movie projects (still am, but spotting the differences is something I find intellectually stimulating), and I had to ask my lit thesis mentor if the movie is worth watching in spite of not having read anything. Smart as she eternally is, she told me to go ahead and watch it. (I didn't have enough time to read it, so...) The end result was my turning out to be a fan, and a member of the Downs. The movies encourage me to think about new ways to think about the themes and the characters, and at the same time, encourage me to have an open mind. I do regret that I have not seen Return of the King more than once in the theaters. It was all too overwhelming to see again (waiting for it on dvd is just sooo much better: currently asking dad to get me the EE). It all too much for me that I had to be absent from the Downs for half a year! ( I decided that I was overreacting that way, and poof! Signing in again) __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

08-31-2004, 06:03 PM	#3
Azaelia of Willowbottom Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: By the Sea Posts: 446	I wasn't here before the movies happened... It took me a while to find the BD's, so I can't say what these boards were like before the movies, but I can comment on the whole Tolkien experience. I will forever regret that I only became a fan of the books a month before the movies came out. Hence, I have hardly any knowledge of what it was to be a Tolkien fan in the long stretch before the movies happened...And the only world I know is one of drooling fangirls (though I don't deny that some of the actors are goodlooking) whose only reason for watching the movies is their "Orlie". I am enough of a fan of LOTR to be quite annoyed by these people. I know that these people are, for whatever reason, far less numerous here than on other boards I've visited. I can say that, whatever BD was like before LOTR, it seems to me to be still a place of high standards where I can go to find truly deep and intelligent discussion. I feel that every time I come here, I learn something. Hooray! On my general Tolkien experience... Before the movies, I never cared much one way or the other for the chapters in the book taking plce in the Old Forest. I had no violent dislike (though I know that some do), but I didn't feel totally amazed by them, either. Now, after the movies, I sort of treasure them because the chapters are hidden away in a corner of Middle-Earth completely untouched by anything PJ did... I'm not saying PJ's movies were bad: I loved them! But now the chapters in the Old Forest are somewhat sacred to me because the way I picture them is wholly my own, not affected by PJ's imaginings. What I picture is something unique to me...and I love that. __________________ "Wherever I have been, I am back."

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08-31-2004, 02:10 PM	#2
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Another ace thread recovery from before my time! Well, I was a fan long before the films, and I have to say that although I was terrified of seeing them, I was also excited. To my relief, I found they were great films. I can't, however, comment on the BarrowDowns pre-films as I didn't even have internet access back then, and when I did, I found this site quite by accident. I loitered for a while and found to my pleasure that it wasn't 'inane' like so many other Tolkien discussion forums. Personally, I have nothing at all against the films and the new readers they've brought onboard. After all, a new reader is one who is fresh to the books and still possessed of that special, wide-eyed and fanatical new-found enthusiasm. If truth be told, I'm quite jealous of new readers...I wish I could read it all with fresh eyes again. The amazing experience of my first read will never leave me. Some topics may come around again, but I think that's a good thing, after all, some of those who have been long-time members may have fresh input to make or have a change of heart. And I just cannot conceive of running out of things to say about Tolkien. I refer to the 1990s as the dark-ages for a Tolkien fan, when it was considered uncool and it was nigh on impossible to find someone to discuss Tolkien with on a regular basis. Everyone was seemingly 'in the closet', so to speak. Like a Viking invader, Peter Jackson swept across all of this bringing widespread acceptance and a whole new audience. And like the Vikings, whether he was brutal or came in peace, well that's open to debate.