Was Gandalf really that tall?

[darkmane]

I dont remember Gandalf being recalled as so tall in tolkiens novels.
do you think they may hav exaggerated his height a little in the movie?
let me know what u think

[Thorin]

Those this probably belongs in the movie forum, I'll answer in the best way I can. I don't recall Gandalf being that tall in the movie, or too tall that I would take notice, so I don't think the movie botched his height in any way. My guess is that Gandalf would be average height for a man in ME.

The Elves, however were not portrayed well in terms of their height. I'm sure that there were shorter elves, but as an average elves were between 6-7 feet tall. Of course that would probably look a little strange on the big screen.

[Snaga]

Wizards being wizards, its always difficult to know how tall they are. They can appear as tall as they wish to be.

I don't think Gandalf went around trying to be really tall as a rule, but he wasn't averse to trying to look big and intimidating if it suited him. The episode when he convinces Bilbo to leave the ring springs to mind, and perhaps in Edoras too (I'd need to look that up though).

[Curufinwe]

One thing that pipped me off in the movie was when bilbo wouldn't put the ring down in the house. Gandalf is meant to grow taller but he didn't grow tall enough for my liking.