My Views on TLOTR!!

[Woo]

Hello everyone ive just seen the film and it was soooo grrreat!!
it was just soooooo amazing?
but i have not read the books, is it worth my while to read the books?
i think that i know everything that there is to know about allll JRR Tolkiens works!
i men come on, whats missin in the books that the film hasnt already shown!?
im new also i just joined this forum!

[Ancalagon]

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt in this matter and accept that you are young and impressionable. I would not however wish to test your understanding by asking you questions relating to Tolkiens work as you can only base your answers on the knowledge gleaned from the movie.

I will however offer my humble opinion on this matter.

i think that i know everything that there is to know about allll JRR Tolkiens works!

For one thing, feel free to scan the various threads that have debated the changes between book and film, this is a decent place to start. Though, for my part, I would simply advise you to begin reading the books, for your interpretation of middle-earth may differ immensely from that which was portrayed on screen.

Your statement (quoted above) worries me to a large part, for you have more to learn about Tolkien than you could ever imagine. It saddens me that you were left with this impression after viewing the movie, not because it lacks beauty or glamour, but because it simply cannot do justice to Tolkiens realm, irrespective of CGI and technical wizardry. Your imagination is one of your most precious assets, use it wisely and delve into the books, only then might you see into Tolkiens mind and begin to know everything you should know about the author.

As a point of interest, you will need to spend more than the cost of a cinema ticket to enjoy the wonders of Tolkiens realm; are you prepared to pay the price?

[bunnywhippit]

Ancalagon, well said. Woo, get a copy of the books and start reading poste haste, you'll find more within those pages than you can possible imagine, and if you liked the film that much, i think you'll be more than pleased that you took the time to read the original. :D It's a whole new world.

[Bill the Pony]

:D
http://www.thetolkienforum.com/showthread.php?postid=34093#post34093
see first post on 01/11

Just curious, Woo, what are you trying to achieve here?

[PRH]

http://www.thetolkienforum.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=28512#post28512

Woo, Ancalagon,

What's going on here? Why did you edit this post and why is he still saying he's never read LOTR? Is Woo some sort of crazy sock puppet of yours?

[bilbofan]

Hi, Woo. I've found the books much more fulfilling. The plots are more involved and intricate, and the scenes last longer. When I watched the movie, it felt like they were abbreviating the scenes, jumping from one to another.

Peter Jackson was apparently cramming as much from the story as he could in order to be true to the book. In my humble opinion, since P.J. couldn't include everything from the book anyway (without having a ten-hour-long movie), why not have even fewer scenes but do those scenes justice, instead of ending each episode almost before it starts? I can't speak for everyone, but I think I personally would have enjoyed the movie more if, let's say, there were 15 scenes instead of 20, with more attention and detail given to each of those 15.

No offense meant to anyone.
:)

[Rigel]

I read the Fellowship of the Ring when I was only 9 years old, straight after seeing Ralph Bakshi's adaptation.

I read all Tolkien's major works, debated for countless years the Silmarillon with the few readers I managed to find abroad and in my country.

I read LOTR in two different languages, and (yes this may sound stupid) bought 4 different editions of the Trilogy.

When I first heard of the film, I was indeed sad about it. The best part about reading Tolkien is using your imagination to depict the situations, the landscapes and the characters. That's what Tolkien wanted the reader to do when reading his books. He praised imagination as the most powerful of human mental abilities.

The arrival of a movie has, indeed, destroyed much of this. The future generations of readers will have to cope with the pre-made existance of the wild and fascinating landscapes that will provide a handy representation (even if spectacular). They will only have to part with a few bucks to rent the movie and finally see what Aragorn looks like (or better, what Peter Jackson wanted Aragorn to look like).

In 8 hours, Ill drive to the cinema with a chick to see LOTR for the third time.

I love this movie, and I don't know why. I can't find a fault in it and that's because I don't consider the movie as a substitute for the book. I'll still read the LOTR as I ever did. It doesn't have to be absolutely truthful to the book for me. I don't care. All it has to be for me is enjoyable, that's all. And Jackson's LOTR is brilliant in this. He made the film, a very costly film indeed, to please the fans of the book first. You can see that in Galadriel, in what she says, in Gandalf briefly telling of when he gave Bilbo a "little push", in the tributes to ralph bakshi's adaptation.

And, there is one scene that means the most to me. It's the Gandalf's grievance moment. To anybody who has read the book, it isn't a very emotional moment (compared to Boromir's death for example, since any viewer who knows nothing about Boromir might regard his death as a dutiful elimination of a guy who kept ****ing the fellowship off), but for me, it nearly makes me shed tears.

You know why?

I secretly desired to see a movie of LOTR when I was young, I wanted to see real people travelling through a real Middle Earth. I wanted to see a real Frodo, as I guess anybody who loved the book wanted.

Jackson seems to have hidden an easter egg in the movie in this sense, imho.

When Aragorn calls for Frodo...the camera slowly chases up to Frodo's face, who slowly turns to face it, with the landscape of MiddleEarth behind him.

It's like he's saying, and the background music provides a key to this intepretation, "this is Frodo, this is Middle Earth, your dream has come true..."

I can't say anything bad about this movie, I love it....that's all...

[Rigel]

addenda:this is how the movie works for a tolkien reader

"This is the movie you long awaited: you already know the plot and both of us know that we can't fit the book in three hours time. So, while I give a barely understandable movie plot so the casual viewer enjoys him or herself, just relax (if you can :D) and enjoy my live representation of Middle Earth and it's inhabitants, treated with the fantastic music. When you see a leaf lying on the ground, or a mountain peak, let yourself believe that it really belongs to a real Middle Earth and let this magic emotion and entertain you. Just to remind you that I really made this film for you, I'll throw in some kinda secret messages for me and you to understand."

again, respect goes out for Jackson. He did what any other director didn't dare to do. And he gave me yet another intepretation of my beloved Arda to sink my teeth in.

[armeda]

Woo,

I don't see how you can make such statements when you don't know what it is that you don't know. If you have only seen the movie and haven't read any of his works, you are only scratching the surface. First, it all starts with The Hobbit. You don't know the true history of the ring, anything about Gollum or the truth of how he became to be Gollum, or Bilbo's mission. Second, the movie is only 1/3 of the story. It doesn't cover the dialoge that was said at the meetings and the concerns of the various parties involved, which is a big part of the story. Many other things were skipped over in the movie. You don't even know how the story ends. Third, JRR Tolken wrote other books that tell of other worlds that aren't even similar to LOTR. I could go on. Yes, the movie was excellent but doesn't begin to cover Tolken's works and some of the story has been changed. I feel bad for those who are seeing the movie without reading the books first. I would have been lost. There is so much more to it.

Armeda

[Woo]

To all who have replied to this post it was a post that I posted just to see how u all would react to movie goers who have seen the moive of TLOTR by Peter Jackson and think they knows everything about Middle Earth and believe me I have seen, spoke and corrected quite a few of these people, they are out there and will need our help!
Nuff respect to PRH, and Bill the pony for reading my posts and noticing who I am.
I am not the ignorant person who I have made myself out to be in the post!

The post was simply a little test to see your reactions!
:D

[armeda]

I wondered how someone who claims to know nothing could manage to put up 34 posts. I don't think I have retained enough knowlege to do that. I am honest and frank and so anyone who is in that boat knows how I feel about it. :)

Armeda

[baraka]

Originally posted by Woo
To all who have replied to this post it was a post that I posted just to see how u all would react to movie goers who have seen the moive of TLOTR by Peter Jackson and think they knows everything about Middle Earth and believe me I have seen, spoke and corrected quite a few of these people, they are out there and will need our help!
Nuff respect to PRH, and Bill the pony for reading my posts and noticing who I am.
I am not the ignorant person who I have made myself out to be in the post!

The post was simply a little test to see your reactions!
:D
Woo, that was an interesting experiment, but not very nice. 34 posts and no knowledge of TLOTR. Hmmmm. You deceived a lot of people.

[Woo]

Im just wondering what exactly was not nice about my post?
I was not trying to be rude or nice, I just wanted to know how individuals who understand Tolkiens works would handle that kind of situation?
And besides if u noticed that I had posted 34 posts why didnt u question me what my other posts were about!?
If one feels decieved thats just how one feels, and one who answers the posts would have handled the situation differently if I had just simply asked "how would u handle movie goers who claim to know everything about TLOTR" in a different manner as has not been currently in my post because of the way I posted my post.
There was a post a little while back on a theory on how to handle movie goers coming to the forum who may/maynot claim to know everything about P.J. TLOtR which is not Tolkiens TLOTR, and I feel that members of this forum handled it badly!
But thats just the way it is I guess!

[ssgrif]

sorry to put a spanner in th works here, but reading your initial post in this thread Woo made me think straight away that you were being sarcastic. I was half expecting you to come back and say ha ha fooled you...

I dont see however what was nasty or "not nice" in your post...

Nice one fellow Brit!

:)

[baraka]

I really think that it was kind of "fishy", i withdraw my words about not nice. I think you achieved your goal in this post. What does it has in it´s pocketses?