Last movie you saw?

[Michael Wilson]

they should make a movie of the silmarillion. and then release an extended cut.

I agree, but the story would have to be worked on, to make it more coherent.

[Clare]

The Fellowship of the Ring on Sunday, The Two Towers yesterday, and The Return of the King today.

The extended version is much better, and captures more of the books nuances.

There's a longer version?? Of all of them?

Yes, they add many scenes from the book that aren't in the regular versions.

I wish they had added the whole Tom Bombadil part

Big gap in the films.

Tom would have made for beautiful cinematography and the River Daughter.

Peter Jackson did a wide range of interviews with LOTR fans before filming the movies; asking them: "What scene absolutely had to be in the movie. I guess that one didn't garner enough votes.  Its a shame that the whole book with all the dialogue couldn't have been made into a movie.  But I love the movies all the same.

I gather Saruman takes over the Shire for a bit at the end of The Return of the King, but the film missed that out too. (I did start reading the book over a decade ago, but I only got half way through. I will try again though!)

[Michael Wilson]

Yes, he doesn't get stabbed to death by Wormtoungue  when he was expelled by Gandalf from Orthanc.  He and Wormtoungue make their way to the shire with a gang of evil men, and they take it over, killing some of the Hobbits, and turning the place into an industrial wasteland.  Frodo and his companions return to find the Shire in ruins, and rally the hold-out Took and Brandybuck clans to help them reconquer the Shire. The men are defeated in the "Battle of Bywater"; The Hobbits wanted to kill Saruman, but Frodo prevented it.  He offers Wormtoungue amnesty, and a chance to leave Saruman's service, but Saruman reveals that Wormtoungue was the one that murdered the Mayor.  Wormtoungue then slits Saruman's throat; the Hobbits kiledl Wormtoungue before Frodo could prevent it. Then Saruman's spirit rises from his dead body,  looks longingly towards the West and is swept away Eastward, away from the Gray Havens.  The Hobbits  re-build the Shire, and Sam Gamgee becomes the new Mayor.  The rest is pretty much like the movie.

[red solo cup]

The Rite with Anthony Hopkins. Very different from the book by Matt Boglio.

[Mono no aware]

[Arun]

The Rite with Anthony Hopkins. Very different from the book by Matt Boglio.

watched it a couple years ago, good flick.

[red solo cup]

It was a little disconcerting with Hopkins. I kept expecting Fr. Lucas to start biting people in the face.

[LouisIX]

they should make a movie of the silmarillion. and then release an extended cut.

The Silmarillion would be hard because there's no over-arching story.  It's a series of story/histories thrown into one compilation.

[Adeodatus]

Peter Jackson's Tolkien movies fill me with anger and disgust. I'm glad that at least the Silmarillion is safe. I'm sorry that they let him pollute the Hobbit with his vomitous incompetence, however.

[Michael Wilson]

Adeodatus,
why do you state the above?

[verenaerin]

Peter Jackson's Tolkien movies fill me with anger and disgust. I'm glad that at least the Silmarillion is safe. I'm sorry that they let him pollute the Hobbit with his vomitous incompetence, however.

Tell us how you really feel.

[Arun]

they should make a movie of the silmarillion. and then release an extended cut.

The Silmarillion would be hard because there's no over-arching story.  It's a series of story/histories thrown into one compilation.

yep and a lot of people, myself included, have found it impossible to read. my comment, as usual, was a pisstake. sorry if i misled you bro.

[Adeodatus]

Adeodatus,
why do you state the above?

Oy vey don't get me started. In essence, it is because most of the scenes in all of his movies are either not in the book at all or are drastically different in tone and meaning from what is in the book. I don't mean minor details like the balrog suddenly being the size of Godzilla. I don't care about all that. I mean characters or scenes being so different as to be unrecognizable.

I'll give you a few examples. I could actually carry on all day at acrimonious length, but these are mere samples. For example we have Elrond sputtering with disgust about "men", i.e. humankind. That's rich coming from Elrond "Half-Elven" (guess what the other half is...), whose ancestors were the greatest heroes of the human race. But if you change that character and make him haughty and imperious, you really change a point that Tolkien is subtly making. Virtually all the ancient elves you encounter in LotR, by the time they are at that advanced age, are wise and even-tempered. Glorfindel is an excellent example though he doesn't make it into the film: the Nazgul fear to engage this lone elf in battle (that should tell you something) but he is warm, friendly and sagacious in his manner. That's a comment about the nature of sagacity and how it relates to personality.

Here's another: when Theoden is roused to action by Gandalf. In the movie, Gandalf shoots magic into Theoden's face. Vintage Jackson. In the book, Gandalf actually rouses Theoden from his sullen state by good conversation about the deeds of previous days. Theoden wasn't covered by cobwebs due to some weird and obvious magic... he was lulled into quietude by bad and cynical advice. Gandalf rekindles the heroic spark in Theoden not but a gross wave of his staff, but by good conversation. Again, this is an observation about morality and culture. Totally stomped into the mud by Jackson.

We could consider the pivotal scene in the entire trilogy, when Sam puts on the ring at his point of lowest morale and in the very vestibule of Mordor. Overlooked by Jackson. We could consider (from the deleted scenes) the Mouth of Sauron... in the books a sere and inscrutable Atlantean sorcerer, somehow kept alive for eons by the dark witchcraft of the black tower... in the movie, a giant mouth. Who is then (in the movie) murdered by Aragorn during a parley, a horrific breach of chivalry and decorum.

OK, I'm getting started and I shouldn't. And I can barely even stand to think about the travesty of the Hobbit part 1, a three hour movie with something like 5 minutes of material from the book. They can't do the Misty Mountain song or the riddle game, but they can have a whole bunch of baloney with some white orc and an absurd chase through goblin town and a guy covered in bird crap riding a rabbit-drawn sled through a forest and... ugh.

I know there are a lot of bad movies in existence. These transcend badness. They are dark inspirations of seething hatred. Even if every copy were burned I don't think that would be sufficient.

[red solo cup]

Battle Los Angeles. Nothing to write home about.

[Michael Wilson]

Adeodatus,
thanks for your reply.
I just loved both the books and the movies; but I admit that they sometimes don't resemble each other.  You're very observant.