Lord of the Rings: Books VS. Movies

[Orlion Blight]

Sooooo...?

[NameIess]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, poetry's not really my thing. Of course, the last time I read the entire series all the way through at once was when I was eight, so I might enjoy it more now.

[Frustration]

5 hours ago, Nameless said:

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, poetry's not really my thing. Of course, the last time I read the entire series all the way through at once was when I was eight, so I might enjoy it more now.

Older you ar the more you enjoy it.

[Merlin]

Just wondering, do y'all think it's wrong that every time I read the books I skip The Scouring of the Shire? I promise I don't skip anything else, it's just that chapter that I can't stand. Throughout the books, the Shire represents everything they're fighting for, the goodness and innocence. It just doesn't feel like a victory to me when they have to continue to get rid of the evil that's infected the land that has always been safe even after they've defeated Sauron. 

[Orlion Blight]

12 hours ago, Merlin said:

Just wondering, do y'all think it's wrong that every time I read the books I skip The Scouring of the Shire? I promise I don't skip anything else, it's just that chapter that I can't stand. Throughout the books, the Shire represents everything they're fighting for, the goodness and innocence. It just doesn't feel like a victory to me when they have to continue to get rid of the evil that's infected the land that has always been safe even after they've defeated Sauron. 

You do you... but yes, you're wrong

[Frustration]

20 hours ago, Merlin said:

Just wondering, do y'all think it's wrong that every time I read the books I skip The Scouring of the Shire? I promise I don't skip anything else, it's just that chapter that I can't stand. Throughout the books, the Shire represents everything they're fighting for, the goodness and innocence. It just doesn't feel like a victory to me when they have to continue to get rid of the evil that's infected the land that has always been safe even after they've defeated Sauron. 

Nothing is untouched by Sauron, there was evil before and there will be evil after, the scouring only embodies this.

[Ammanas]

Nothing is untouched by Melkor. Fixed it!

[Orlion Blight]

3 hours ago, Ammanas said:

Nothing is untouched by Melkor. Fixed it!

But it all serves the Grand design of Eru, the One, the Great Iluvatar... because Tolkien read Milton and was all like "Ima gonna take THAT for my mythology... what's that dead, blind jerk going to do about? Sue me? Mwahaha!"

Tolkien would later die from eating too many chocolates. 

[Frustration]

4 hours ago, Ammanas said:

Nothing is untouched by Melkor. Fixed it!

He who arises in might.

46 minutes ago, Orlion the Platypus said:

But it all serves the Grand design of Eru, the One, the Great Iluvatar... because Tolkien read Milton and was all like "Ima gonna take THAT for my mythology... what's that dead, blind jerk going to do about? Sue me? Mwahaha!"

Tolkien would later die from eating too many chocolates. 

I would say it was more Christian influence.

[Snorkel]

I started off quite biased against Peter Jackson, because I had to watch Heavenly Creatures half a dozen times in English class at school.  Heavenly Creatures is about a historical murder in the city I live in, in a park that I had previously quite enjoyed visiting.  X(

 

Anyway, for me it's books all the way, and the movies can take a flying leap.

I have many gripes about the films, but the one that annoyed me most was how whiny and antagonistic they made Boromir towards Aragorn.  In the books he was all "WOAH!  The sword that was broken!  Please come to Gondor and help us kick some bad guys", and in the film it's all "Gondor has no King and I don't like you!"

 

 

There are things I liked about the films too, like the poster below (how Alamy can claim it's a stock photo I don't know!)

And some of the music was AMAZING.

The last bit of The Bridge of Khazad Dum
Lothlorien
Gollum's Song
Misty Mountains (The Hobbit)

****************

Since I'm talking music, here's some stunning unofficial Middle Earth music.

Song of Durin - Clamavi de Profundis
All That is Gold Does not Glitter - Clamavi de Profundis
The Ent's Marching Song - Clamavi de Profundis
Song of Durin - Eurielle
Arwen's Promise - Eurielle (original lyrics)

 

And now I think about my experience reading the books, and I did find them quite dull and annoying at times.  The Two Towers especially, having one half being about Pippin, Merry and the rest with no idea what's happening to Frodo and Sam, and then the whole second half being Frodo and Sam travelling through dreary swamps.  I think these days the editor would have insisted on switching between the parties.  But they are what they are, and the movies annoyed me in so many ways that I still prefer the books.

[The_Archivist]

I'm currently reading The Two Towers for the first time, since last time I tried reading LOTR, I was too young to enjoy it and stopped right before the good parts in Fellowship.

Until now, I find the movies to be far more focused on CD, while the books focus on the world and how it works. The exceptions to this are Aragorn and Boromir.

The books, especially the part I'm reading right now, show Aragorn's struggle with being a leader, how he doesn't want to make choices, but he's forced into it, and the culmination of his arc (I'm guessing) is that he accepts becoming a king, which includes making choices for a lot of people on a daily basis. Movie Aragorn is a lot more fine with making choices for others, so it isn't as meaningful when he does.

Boromir. It's actually really annoying how they handled Boromir in the movie. In the books he's a pretty nice guy who's somewhat arrogant and sometimes contradictory. But when he is, there's usually an understandable reason behind it. He's also very kind towards the Hobbits, and often helps them with his superior height and strength. You actually feel bad for him when he falls under the influence of the Ring, and when he dies. In the movies though, he's just some generic jerk who doesn't like anyone, you feel nothing when the Ring affects him because there isn't really any difference.

Wow, I wrote a lot more than I thought I would.

Edited May 30, 2020 by The_Archivist

[Dresden_Stormblessed]

I too started with the movies and I'm actually grateful. I've only recently read the books and my honest review at the moment is that both are spectacular in their own way. I honestly don't think the movies made a single mistake. Not. One. And that's saying something for Hollywood.

Both are enjoyable but if I had to pick, I'd choose the movies all day.

[Spren of Kindness]

I read the books first, and am a bit biased towards them, but I like the movies as well.  I feel the books are something to be read over a longer period of time - a chapter a day, while the movies should be one day-long gathering with your family of friends.

And don't get me started on the music. It's so good!

[Merlin]

6 hours ago, Spren of Kindness said:

 I feel the books are something to be read over a longer period of time -

Yeah, I've been reading Fellowship for about a month, but I actually found a really awesome audiobook of it on YouTube, so I've been listening to that while doing puzzles.

[Elegy]

I've recently finished my re-read (I love it even more than before), so I have a more specific opinion now. Basically, I think the way the movies cut things together is brilliant. They combine different scenes/situations/pieces of dialogue in such logical ways, and tighten it up. It's not as thorough anymore (and wow, are the books thorough; the attention to detail is amazing), but the pacing has been greatly improved. I think I prefer Fellowship's first half in the film version for that reason. Altogether, the films just do an astonishing job, and most of the decisions were logical and good (except for the Aragorn tangent in the middle of the second one, which just wasn't necessary, and the ghost army's presence in battle in the third, which cheapened the victory).

Also, Théoden in the films is a whole new level. I love his conflict, his hopelessness. In the books it lasts one paragraph, right before the Pelennor battle. Sowing the seeds for that way earlier has made that sequence much more powerful.

[Orlion Blight]

Clearly, the cartoon is the best! 

 

 

[Iarwainiel I]

Reading books (including audiobooks) allows me to co-create the characters' appearance and costumes, and the scenery, and everything else - I get to make up what it looks like. In that sense, I feel like movies stifle my creativity.

I first read the Rings in the 70s, before there were any movies, and for my personality I'm glad it happened that way. Still haven't seen the movies or even allowed my eyes to focus on any photos from them: I want my Frodo, my Gandalf, my Bag End, my Rivendell, etc., to be the images in my mind, not someone else's no matter how good.

However, I am SO glad that the movie versions were high quality and have expanded the fandom now & for years to come - happy to have all of you in the Middle Earth tribe!

[FriarFritz]

23 hours ago, Orlion the Platypus said:

Clearly, the cartoon is the best! 

 

 

That is a terrible adaptation of Tolkien's work, while at the same time being completely hilarious.