Is all the "magic" gone? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Vanya · 05-24-2004, 02:43 AM

Bombadil said:
"A huge part of taking away from the magic, i believe, was the lack of sinign. Except for a few songs by the hobbits, and Aragorn at the end, and Eowyn in TTT EE,( and possibly a few others that may have slipped my mind) the whole trilogy was missing the merry singing and folky spirit that was embodied in LOTR."

I agree with that. I missed party in ihe Hall of Fire, in Rivendel, and more elvish singing. It gives magic to ME, but in movies it's put far aside.

Lhunardawen · 05-24-2004, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Saucepan Man
So here, I think, is one area, where the film does have an added ability to convey the "magic" over the books. Although I still feel that the books win out because, even though we might not have our own score running in our head while we read, the sense conveyed by the score is still there, I think, while we read. For me, it was Shore's genius which actualised that sense in musical form.

I have agreed to this statement all along, but it is only until lately that I have realized how much the LotR soundtrack has affected me. I felt as if my standards of a good movie now include the music behind it, which normally I ignore. Because of the magic conveyed by the LotR soundtrack, I feel that every good movie's music should be as captivating as it is.

Lalaith · 05-26-2004, 05:43 AM

Regarding the singing: it's a tricky business to portray as I don't think we today are used to communicating through song the way our ancestors did.
Actually I thought Miranda Otto's singing in TTT EE *was* quite a magical moment, and one of the few times she seemed to be Tolkien's Eowyn. I wish they'd kept that in the movie edition.

Kath · 05-26-2004, 12:34 PM

But if they'd kept it in they would have had to put subtitles up and as there were already subtitles for the elvish conversations it would have been a little odd. If they had put it in without them it would have been good, though Eowyn never really seems upset by Theodreds death apart from when he actually dies.

Laitoste · 05-26-2004, 04:46 PM

For me, the magic simply did not ever exsist in the movies. After all, how can any movie ever hope to compare with what I saw the first time I read a book, any book? Even though I have a hard time imagining faces.

I think that they could have included some singing. Even nowadays, people still like to sing. I mean, lots of people sing around campfires when they're camping. The least they could've done was to NOT twist a hobbit walking song into something sad. I wouldn't like to walk to that, I can tell you!

The first movie really did come the closest to the books, as has been said before. The Two Towers was WAY off the mark, and I really did enjoy the Return of the King, and wept through the entire thing (when I wasn't telling my brother to stop whining about Irmahil~and he doesn't even LIKE LOTR!), but it didn't come anywhere near to the magic of the books.

In conclusion, I really do enjoy the movies, but they're just that: a movie. They are constructed so that everyone can understand in the shortest amount of time. The books can be more "confusing"~it's easier to go back and reread a few sentences than to rewind a movie. No one can reproduce what I have in my head, not even me.

Lathriel · 06-10-2004, 02:27 PM

For me the movies had magic, it was just different from the books. But I never tried to see the movies and books as one. I keep them seperate. I will be talking about just the movies or just about the books other than when I am comparing them of course.

I don't think the magic was gone in the movies, it justr felt different but usually that is what happens when a book is made into a movie. For me the feeling usually changes anyway.

Arwen Evenstar · 06-13-2004, 05:05 PM

You know, some things about the movie did bother me a bit, but I still loved it. I think the absence of some things improved the movie a bit.

05-26-2004, 12:34 PM	#4
Kath Everlasting Whiteness Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Perusing the laminated book of dreams Posts: 4,533	But if they'd kept it in they would have had to put subtitles up and as there were already subtitles for the elvish conversations it would have been a little odd. If they had put it in without them it would have been good, though Eowyn never really seems upset by Theodreds death apart from when he actually dies. __________________ “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

05-26-2004, 04:46 PM	#5
Laitoste Wight Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Behind the hills Posts: 164	For me, the magic simply did not ever exsist in the movies. After all, how can any movie ever hope to compare with what I saw the first time I read a book, any book? Even though I have a hard time imagining faces. I think that they could have included some singing. Even nowadays, people still like to sing. I mean, lots of people sing around campfires when they're camping. The least they could've done was to NOT twist a hobbit walking song into something sad. I wouldn't like to walk to that, I can tell you! The first movie really did come the closest to the books, as has been said before. The Two Towers was WAY off the mark, and I really did enjoy the Return of the King, and wept through the entire thing (when I wasn't telling my brother to stop whining about Irmahil~and he doesn't even LIKE LOTR!), but it didn't come anywhere near to the magic of the books. In conclusion, I really do enjoy the movies, but they're just that: a movie. They are constructed so that everyone can understand in the shortest amount of time. The books can be more "confusing"~it's easier to go back and reread a few sentences than to rewind a movie. No one can reproduce what I have in my head, not even me. __________________ "If we're still alive in the morning, we'll know that we're not dead."~South Park

06-10-2004, 02:27 PM	#6
Lathriel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wandering through Middle-Earth (Sadly in Alberta and not ME) Posts: 612	For me the movies had magic, it was just different from the books. But I never tried to see the movies and books as one. I keep them seperate. I will be talking about just the movies or just about the books other than when I am comparing them of course. I don't think the magic was gone in the movies, it justr felt different but usually that is what happens when a book is made into a movie. For me the feeling usually changes anyway. __________________ Back again

05-24-2004, 02:43 AM	#1
Vanya Animated Skeleton Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Belgrade Posts: 43	Bombadil said: "A huge part of taking away from the magic, i believe, was the lack of sinign. Except for a few songs by the hobbits, and Aragorn at the end, and Eowyn in TTT EE,( and possibly a few others that may have slipped my mind) the whole trilogy was missing the merry singing and folky spirit that was embodied in LOTR." I agree with that. I missed party in ihe Hall of Fire, in Rivendel, and more elvish singing. It gives magic to ME, but in movies it's put far aside.

05-26-2004, 05:43 AM	#3
Lalaith Blithe Spirit Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,779	Regarding the singing: it's a tricky business to portray as I don't think we today are used to communicating through song the way our ancestors did. Actually I thought Miranda Otto's singing in TTT EE was quite a magical moment, and one of the few times she seemed to be Tolkien's Eowyn. I wish they'd kept that in the movie edition.

06-13-2004, 05:05 PM	#7
Arwen Evenstar Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 131	You know, some things about the movie did bother me a bit, but I still loved it. I think the absence of some things improved the movie a bit.