How Do You Envision Middle-Earth?

[The Saucepan Man]

Excellent thread, Bill.

I was surprised at how similar and dissimilar the images presented in the movies were to my own ideas and visions.

Actually, I would go along with what many have said above. On seeing FotR and TTT, I was incredibly struck by how similar practically all of the characters and locations were to my own imaginings when I first read LotR. The Shire, Rivendell, Moria, the river Anduin and the Argonauth, Rauros, Emyn Muil, the Dead Marshes, Isengard, Edoras, Helms Deep (my personal favourite in terms of visualisation), Henneth Annun and the Forbidden Pool, and what I have seen of Minis Tirith are all disconcertingly similar to how I had imagined them.

Good point, Tigerlily, about whether we have been influenced by the art we have seen. I wondered about this after seeing FotR. After first reading LotR, I verged on the obsessive in my quest for illustrations of the book, but there was very little around (commercially) and we did not have the wonderful world wide web in those days. What little I could find was largely disappointing.

I alss wondered whether I might have been influenced by the Bakshi animated film, but I recall that the characters were very disappointing. (Gimli looked like a Shropshire farmer and as for Boromir!) I can't remember much about the locations in it.

Which is a very long winded way of saying how spot on the visualisation in the films is for me (the films have their weaknesses, but I consider this to be one of their main strengths).

I do have a book called "a middle-earth album" with illustartions by Joan Wyatt (dating from 1977) which I think portrays the locations very well (although many of the "creatures" - Balrog, Ents, Orcs etc) are not to my taste and the Great Mallorn is a bit space age).

Here is a link.

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[ January 17, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]