Movie's success= New readers? Or no?

[Mithril 2000]

Ok y'all. This is a sociological/ anthroplogical/literary thread. The movie's been out long enough now so that we ought to be able to start getting some feedback re how many people it has inspired to actually READ the LOTR for the first time. I am extremely curious to hear from anyone who saw the movie BEFORE reading any Tolkien, as well as from anyone who had read-- or had had read to them as children- The Hobbit, but had not yet "taken on" the LOTR before seeing the movie. I am also interested in input from anyone who had been thinking of reading the book before seeing the movie but has now abandoned their plan-- why?

Were you pleasantly surprised or disappointed? Did you find the pace of the book too slow or "tedious", as some have said? Why did you go ahead and read or why have you decided not to?

The reason for my curiosity is that I had already read the LOTR several times before seeing the movie and cannot imagine the effect the movie might have had on someone who had never read LOTR. My biggest hope for the movie [and upcoming episodes] is that it/they will serve to introduce millions more to Tolkien's genius and inspire them to read him! If the opposite happens-- as is often the case with movies of great books[ eg Moby ****, Last of the Mohicans, etc]-- I will be disappointed, but I still want to know.
\ Thanks

[Strider97]

After reviewing some of the postings in this forum I have seen comments from several new readers. Whether they started reading before or after the movie I am not certain. I do have a nephew (13) that I have been encouraging to read the trilogy for the past year. He did not start until after he saw the movie and unfortunately tried to start with "The Two Towers" to see what happened next. I found this out after he called with several questions. I explained the difference and had him start at the beginning. Hopefully this will not be repeated to many times.

[LotR_Girl]

I'm not sure they will read it...My friends think I'm a freak when they hear I read books that have more than 200 pages...

[Snaga]

I went to see the film with 2 non-Tolkien fans. Both loved it. One said she would read the books and duly did, in about 2 days flat. The other said she would, but wanted to start from TTT, because mostly she was frustrated at not knowing what will happen next. In fact, she hasn't read it, and I don't think she will. She's not a book person as a rule.

[Lantarion]

A lot of the "newbies" arriving at this site recently are people who haven't read (or even worse, havem't even heard of) the LotR, and went to see the movie simply because it is the new 'groove', or 'fad'. I find these people, who have seen the movie but don' want to read the book, endlessly frustrating. I personally think it doesn't matter whther you've read the book before or after you see the film, but at least have the courtesy to read the book before posting at this forum. :) Oh, and welcome, M2k!
Of the eight people in my class who went to see the movie, only two had read the book first. They're not really LotR fans, and like DnD, or Dragonlance books more (shame on them). There's this one kid in my class who had read it partially in Finnish before he went to see the movie, and he knows pretty much nothing about Arda, or even Middle-Earth. He's bought the new collectable and paintable figures, and he has the soundtrack, but he has no idea what he's raving on about. Pitiful, really. The other two actually have even a vague idea of what happens in the books, and on the history; and another friend of mine has started to read it recently, although he hasn't seen the movie. But I am held officially as the LotR- freak, and the nitpicky historian of Middle-Earth. :D

[StriderX]

I started reading the LOTR after I saw the movie. The movie is what actually inspired me to read it. Before I saw the movie, I had thought about reading it, but I never actually came around to it. I have read the Hobbit a few times, but not LOTR. I am so glad that I am reading the LOTR because it is the best book ever. I just finished reading the Fellowship, and even after seeing the movie, it was still exciting even though you knew what was going to happen. If you havn't read the book, I suggest you do.

[angiebaggins]

i also started reading the book after i saw the movie. i already knew the animated movie when i was a little girl (i was a bit to young for that and so i was scared to death!)
over the years i thought about reading the book but i never really did... after the movie i told my parents a lot about it and how much i liked it, so at least this year christmas i got the right present (and no stupid pullovers and such)!
but unfortunately i do not have much time (lot work to do for university...) but i already started the 3th book! :)

[curious_nomad]

In my experience, literary-based movies usually spark a huge reading-trend. Most of my friends who haven't read the books saw the movie and are starting to read the book.

(Unfortunately, they keep falling asleep during the first chapter...)

[Afterglow]

From what I've seen, most of my friends who haven't read the books and saw the movie are reading them, or are going to. I don't know how many WILL...b/c some of them just don't like to read. So...that could be bad...but then at least they are AWARE of LOTR. But I think a lot of people are reading the books now.:)

[Rushlight]

I read the books many years ago, and read the entire series probably 2-3 times ("back in the day" as they say). At that time, in the 70's, LOTR was VERY popular.

Flash forward.......now I see the movie (which I did enjoy) and I realized that the movie didn't exactly follow the book. Hmmmm. So I start rereading all over again. Funny thing is....when I talk to people in my age group who have seen the movie, I always ask if they read the books. And a lot of them haven't. That always surprises me. I thought EVERYONE read LOTR back in the 70's.

Rushlight

[Aredhel]

I have a friend who, after watching the movie, started reading the Fellowship of The Ring. She was asking me all these questions and I answered to the best of my ability.:rolleyes:

[Diabless]

I am 15. I read The Hobbit and FOTR in 4th and 5th grade.
I had always contemplated reading TTT but never got to it
When a year ago I heard the movie was coming out I decided it's time
I read TTT
Then I saw the movie and realized how much I missed as a kid of 11 or so
I read FOTR
Then I just finished last night ROTK
I am officially a huge fan.
I do not know if I should reread it all in order
or start the Sil
I signed to this forum after TTT and sadly accidentally saw some stuff I should not have but I still enjoyed ROTK

[Camille]

I start with Tolkien books before the movie a few years ago with A tolkien Bestiary, it fascinated me and then I started reading The FelLowship but in my country the Tolkien books were not available as easy as I wanted, I thinks is great the Movie boom because it makes me posible to get the other Tolkien books.
I saw the movie with my brother and he can hardly take a book and didn't know anything about Tolkien and after the movie he has read the Two Towers!! it is amazing!! I like the movie because it had made possible for more people to know Tolkien's work and that is a good thing
:D

[Jackie Reynolds]

i saw the LotR Fellowship movie when i was 1/2 way through ( at Elronds council) the FotR and got all confused and didn't want 2 read it any more. i stuck with it and did't skip 2 The 2 Towers and understood it alot better.

i think i like the movie better though.


Hey look 4 me on my new LotR sn: Anira the Elf: Princess of Lothlorien ;) ;) :p

[tookish-girl]

I'd always wanted to read the book, eapsecially as two of my friends would write out messages to each other in dwarven runes and sing the songs of Tom Bombadil everywhere they went, but with all my exams never got round to it. Read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings straight after each other last summer so I'd get them read before the film came out, and got 3 other of my friends to do so too.
When we went to see the movie another two of my friends were appalled at the ending and exclaimed "Oh no, we'll have to go and read the boks now!" and one of them has started it.

One small step for Peter Jackson...a giant leap for mankind!;)

[JoS Metadi]

I actually envy those who will read the LotR for the first time after seeing the FotR movie. Not only do they get to watch a totally awesome movie without all the worry and baggage of expectations, but they get to read the bok afterwards and find out that it is even BETTER.

JoS

[DGoeij]

Nice thought Terran. I'm a bad person to these statistics, I've encouraged at least 4 people to read the books before the movie came out. But another two are doing so, after the movie. So I guess I'll be lending my paperbacks to people for another year or so.:)

[Thorin]

Nothing to apologize for DGoeij.

I told my wife there was no way she was going to the movie with me unless she read the book first...She picked it up in October and finished it a few days after the movie came out..

As nice as it would have been to sit through a movie with no information to criticize or compare it with, it is much better to get your own idea of who the characters are and what they look like as well as let your own imagination guide you through ME then have someone else slap their own impression on you (especially when the characters were so poorly developed in the movie and Elijah Wood and Hugo Weaving would be absolute travesties to have of your first impression of Frodo and Elrond)

I pity the people who will never be able to formulate and speculate about what the Balrog looks like because they will always see what they first saw....

No, I'll take imagination over the screen any day and I gladly encouraged all my students to read the book before they saw the movies....they did, and their literary experience is much richer because of it.

[DGoeij]

Funny thing, when I'm reading FOTR now, Elrond is kept the same he was in my head, no Hugo Weaving around, but Boromir suddenly has the accent of Sean Bean.
Gandalf is still the Gandalf I myself created. Pretty weird, no?

[tookish-girl]

This is what I'm most afraid of. I can't re-read the novel myself because my head (and room!) is so full of movie images that I feel like I won't imagine my original characters again. My Frodo was thinner-faced and had brown eyes, unlike Elijah Wood and my Merry and Pippins were different too. So I'm going to wait a while and try to get through the Sil in the mean time!

[Thorin]

Originally posted by tookish-girl
My Frodo was thinner-faced and had brown eyes, unlike Elijah Wood and my Merry and Pippins were different too.

Goodness! Was your image of Frodo a ring-wraith? :D Elijah Wood was WAY to thin and gaunt for a round hobbit. I think EW needs a two-by-four strapped across his butt every time he goes to the bathroom so he doesn't fall in the toilet! I figure Frodo and Pippin are two hobbits in the movie who seem to be skipping out on their 6 meals a day

[tookish-girl]

Nice imagery there, Thorin!
I suppose Pip lost alot of weight running away from Farmer Maggot! And if hobbits have been eating six breakfasts all their lives for centuries then maybe their metabolisms have evolved so they don't get as stout as we would if us humans ate that much. Just a thought (or excuse!):)

[DGoeij]

Well, Frodo even mentionwed after they left from Bag end, that he got thinner on the way and even more when travelling with Strider. I never imagened him very round anyway. And I alwayspictured him a little older, so Elijah Wood is not in my mental picture, sorry.

Actually, when I come to think of it, Boromir is still a little darker in my head, only Sean Bean's accent survived in my brain. And I happen to picture the Merry from the movie, but not the Pippin.

I almost try out reading upside down, maybe it will all change then. :rolleyes:

[Terabithia]

I actually read the books last summer before the movie came out because the movie was coming out. I thought to myself, " I've been wanting to read those blasted books for 15 years, I best get on with it if I'm going to be able to follow anything in the film." And there was never any question I was going to see the film...I was as excited as a non-reader could possibly be.

Not yet having seen the film, yes I found some parts of the books to drag, slow and tedious, as you asked. There is an incredible amount of language and history to plod through and until one gets the rhythm of it, it can be boring. It took me several months to get through FOTR, though that is partly due to the fact that I was in the middle of it on September 11th, and after that I had to put it down for a while. But once I picked it back up, I breezed through the remainder, TTT, and about half-way through ROTK, where I got stuck again. I picked it up 2 weeks later and flew through it.

I loved and appreciated the movie for what it was....a great film telling of an epic and complicated story. I expected to keep to the same big themes and characterizations that move the story along, and it did. I didn't expect it to remain 100% faithful to the characters' actions and devices that while may have been beautiful, revealing, informative and inspiring in the book, were not crucial to the essence of the story itself. And it didn't.

Not that I wasn't disappointed in things, but overall it was a masterful version of what it was.

I say that to tell you I was even more motivated to read the books again after the film. I am on my second reading of FOTR now....just started this week, and just let me say it is like night to day compared to my first go round. There is so much more I capture and comprehend on the second reading, not having to spend so much concentration on funny names and geography. Yes I do have images in my head sometimes, but surprisingly that does not bother me, nor stop me from creating a different version where I like. In some instances film images help.

As to your hope....

My biggest hope for the movie [and upcoming episodes] is that it/they will serve to introduce millions more to Tolkien's genius and inspire them to read him! If the opposite happens-- as is often the case with movies of great books[ eg Moby ****, Last of the Mohicans, etc]-- I will be disappointed, but I still want to know.


I think LOTR will be widely read by novices because of these films. One quick comment...I don't know about the reading results for those 2 movies you mentioned, but they are different in character and setting than LOTR. I didn't anticipate a run on LOTM upon hearing it was being made into film. Somehow the genre does seem to matter. Magic and other worlds seem to me to be far more enticing.

[Snaga]

Its good to get such an honest post because saying you found LotR boring and difficult first time you read it is probably quite unusual for this forum. But I think you are just being more honest than most. The first time I tried to read it, I gave up after a chapter and a half. I'd read 50 pages and nothing had happened.

For some reason the second time I clicked with it and never looked back.

tookish-girl - I wouldn't worry about not seeing characters as you saw them pre-movie. When I re-read it I wondered, but everyone was still the same. (Actually, Glorfindel looked a bit girly, strange eh?? Just kidding)

I found myself thinking again... so did PJ get this character right. For example Gandalf, I'd say yes, he does look right. Except his face. That's just an actor... not the REAL Gandalf!! Funny isn't it?:)

[Terabithia]

Originally posted by Variag of Khand
Its good to get such an honest post because saying you found LotR boring and difficult first time you read it is probably quite unusual for this forum. But I think you are just being more honest than most.

I pray that doesn't come back to haunt me. Thank you for the compliment.

[DGoeij]

Well, I had trouble reading the Fellowship the first time (age 12 or so) and I really finished the entire story when I was 15.
But of course, I'm not as smart as most people around on this forum.:p

[Urylia]

In defense of the "newbies" here.
My friend and i (both teenage girls- gasp!) went to see the movie after I dragged her to it becasue it i thought it looked cool.
After we fell in love with it (and seeing ti several more times) both of us purchased the books and read them.
Now we are die-hard fans of the books and the movies.

[greypilgrim]

My friend and I went to go see it, two days in a row. Then I lent him my paperbacks. So far he has barely flipped a page. Says it's too slow. So I took my books back, forget him.

[fran]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mithril 2000
My biggest hope for the movie [and upcoming episodes] is that it/they will serve to introduce millions more to Tolkien's genius and inspire them to read him! If the opposite happens-- as is often the case with movies of great books[ eg Moby ****, Last of the Mohicans, etc]-- I will be disappointed, but I still want to know.

Ok, I understand your point. I also think that if the movie doesn't make new readers it should never be done. I've just leave the cinema and I think the movie was great. I already read the Silmarilion, the Hobit and all the LOTR books. I didn't want to see the movie before I ended the third book. That was because I thought that, if I saw the movie before, it would make a mental image for me that wasn't mine. Do you follow me?
I'm still thinking that I was right. I also think that I understand the movie, and enjoyed the details much more than those people who hasn't read any of the books. I could apreciate all the details, all the hide messages.

In conclusion, the movie make me want to read all the books again but I'm afraid that my imagination will be limited for all those images I've already seen. What a dilema, isn't it?

[protocal]

Well my experience witht he books and movie was that up until about early October I didnt even know there was a man named John Ronald Rueul Tolkien(hope i got the name right).

A friend of mine told me about the upcoming movie and told me about the hobbit as well. So I read the hobbit finished that around end of October and started reading Fellowship of the Ring. Well I gotta admit it was a pretty slow moving story at the beginning and I only got halfway through the book when I saw the movie the first day.

After that I finished FOTR in a couple days and bought The Two Towers and Return of the King and finished the trilogy about a month ago. Also bought the Silmarillion and finished that last week. Im thinking of buying all 12 of the other Middle-Earth books when I have some money for them. Overall I did love the movie and saw it five times already. I prefer the book, but the movie was pretty damn close considering last years Hollywood failed movie attempts.

I'm sure I'll read them all over again in a while and again early November for the movie. I tried to get my little brother to read it as all, but he doesnt seem too enthusiastic about it even though he loved the movie.

[Beleg Strongbow]

Originally posted by LotR_Girl
I'm not sure they will read it...My friends think I'm a freak when they hear I read books that have more than 200 pages...



My brother went saw the movie loved it wanted to read lotr, i got him to read the hobbit 1st and he loved that. He got to lotr and read a bit and stopped. He thought it was 2 long amd not worth reading. I got him 2change his mind. He thought he new what everything was going to happen. But once he starts he will love it. He needs to get into it more.

[LuvLegolas]

I was inspired to read the series immediately after watching the movie and dutifully bought my box set of the books.

I raced through The Hobbit, but found that FOTR did move at a much slower pace and I had to force myself to continue - and I'm usually a fast reader. Of course I was also having some trouble with the differences between book and movie, namely Tom Bombadil's absence, Arwen & Aragorn's love affair, and the seemingly different time spans.

Just finished TTT and loved it, especially Tolkien's masterful suspense building toward the end.

But most amazing of all...my husband is reading them, and I've never seen him read a book in the 10 years I've known him! He liked the Hobbit but is struggling with the slowness of FOTR.

Tolkien has 2 new fans thanks to the movie!

[I.am.Smeagol]

*Grins* I had read the Hobbit about two years ago. Promptly after I saw the movie I went out, bought the three books and read them in a bout a week. I then proceeded to go and buy the Sil, which I am about halfway through. I am prolly the most die-hard fan in my school, (ok, Mayby tied w/ Goldberry344, but still..) I actually play in a LotR MU, and reasearched extra info online. All this in about a month...
The Movie=A Very Good thing. {Start Self Promotion}*Giggles* I also bought iamsmeagol.net {End Self Promotion}

I also picture the characters differently as I reread LotR again... I so cant picture Faramir w/ anything but black hair and beardless. Bah. On a lighter note, I am quite happy w/ Frodo's and Elrond's casting. Weeeee.

[Wide Boy]

For about a month after the movie first opened, one of our leading bookstores had a whole display devoted to copies of LOTR (mostly boxed sets) and the sales staff told me that they were disappearing out the door as fast as they could stack them.

That says to me that there are a whole lot of new readers as a result.

[Thorin]

Yes, unfortunately a bunch of new readers who will forever be judging the book by what they first saw in the theatres.

Hopefully, most of them will be able to imagine their own Middle Earth and appreciate the genius of Tolkien and his characters instead of seeing Elijah Wood's sappy expression and Arwen with her cheesy dialogue.

[Greenwood]

Yes, unfortunately a bunch of new readers who will forever be judging the book by what they first saw in the theatres.

What you really mean is that there may be huge numbers of fans who do not share your conception of Middle-earth. :D :eek: :(

[Thorin]

Originally posted by Greenwood


What you really mean is that there may be huge numbers of fans who do not share your conception of Middle-earth. :D :eek: :(

Noooo.....What I'm saying is is that most of these people will not have the chance to formulate their own idea of ME and use their imagination to see the landscape, places, and characters. Many will be tainted by Jackson's ideas and that is a shame (to be tainted with any images not of your own).

[Greenwood]

Noooo.....What I'm saying is is that most of these people will not have the chance to formulate their own idea of ME and use their imagination to see the landscape, places, and characters. Many will be tainted by Jackson's ideas and that is a shame (to be tainted with any images not of your own).

Then I guess it would have been better for these people to never have discovered Tolkien than to have such an impure experience of his works.

[Thorin]

If they could be encouraged to pick up Tolkien first....yes.

Unfortunately, in our fast paced entertainment society, visual images are the norm....Some people can not be inspired unless it is on their TV and picking up a book on their own can be a chore....In that case if it takes the visual medium to inspire them to pick up Tolkien.....so be it.

If this movie can sell more books, I must be thankful for that....However, I can't help but feel that they missed the wonderful advantage you and I have had reading it all those years first....But I speak a little pessimisticly. I'm sure that as more people read into ME, Jackson's rendition may be replaced by their own imagination. (Unless they've seen it 50 million times like some obsessed posters here. :) )

[I.am.Smeagol]

I have seen it four times, and a 5th soon enough. I also read the LotR after I saw the movie. I have my own ideas about ME and all the characters. But then again, I was always a major book worm.. ;P

[Goldberry344]

I read LOTR a long time ago for the first time. then i left them alone for a few years. when I heard the new movie was coming out, i had to read the book again before i saw it (and saw it again, and again, and again....), but i didnt own the books anymore, so i saw the movie, bought the books, and fell in love w/ JRRT all over again.

[Shadowfax]

I had read "the hobbit" and "fellowship" before I saw the movies, but I couldn't get into them precisely BECAUSE I was not able to picture the characters! (A rare occurence for me- I am an incredible bookworm too;) ) So the movie really helped me gain an empathy for the characters that idid not have before. (I even stayed home "sick" from school for two days to read the entire series-[i cried for 3 hours after finishing RotK])

PS: Don't knock Elijah Wood, or I may just have to do some unspeakable things!:p

[tobiwan15]

OK, so I'm a newbie. To this forum and to Tolkien. I had tried umpteen billion years ago to read The Hobbit, and just couldn't get into it. Don't remember why, just couldn't. Never tried to read LOTR. When I heard the movie was coming out, and saw some preview stuff about it, it looked interesting. I was going to visit a good friend of mine out-of-state in early Jan '02, so I decided to wait and see the movie with her. I knew she was a big fan, and couldn't afford to go to the movies (long story) so I was going to surprise her and treat her to the movie. I knew some of the character names (Bilbo & Frodo Baggins, Gandalf), and had flipped through some of the companion books at Barnes & Nobles. Other than that, no idea of what the movie or story was.

Once my friend got over the incredible shock that I had never read LOTR (I'm a huge reader, and love Sci-fi & some fantasy) we went. I was floored. Just loved the movie. I am a big Harry Potter fan, and went to that movie with A LOT of expectations, and felt a bit let down due to the pacing and lack of emotion in the movie. I'd set myself up. But with LOTR, I had no such baggage, and was just able to enjoy the movie for the amazing adventure that it was. There was, of course, the requisite "WHAT!!!! The movie can't just end there!!!!" wherein my friend assured me that that was where the book ended. So I knew I'd have to read the books. I had to know what happened, and there was NO WAY that I'd be able to wait a year. I ended up in a bookstore while still on vacation (fancy that!) and picket up FOTR just to browse through. When they came to tell me the store was closing, I knew I couldn't just leave the book behind, so I bought it, and started reading during down time on vacation, and continued at home. Went right into TTT. Luckily, I had ROTK handy when I finished TTT, because if I thought FOTR had a cliffhanger ending...

Anyways, to make a long story only slightly shorter :-) I am now a LOTR fanatic. Rather obsessed. I readily admit that there are parts of the LOTR that are VERY hard to get through, very slow, but, having seen the movie, I knew there were good parts to come if I could just stick it out, which I did. I've finished all three books, and finally DID get through The Hobbit (still hard). I even went out and bought the red leatherette one-volume version of LOTR, 'cause now that I'm re-reading it, I hate to flip between volumes when I have to refer back (or forward) to something. I also think I like Frodo much more than I would have because I can picture the angelic Elijah Wood playing him. And Sean Astin is perfect as Sam. I don't think my vision suffered from seeing the movie first, plus, I had all of the second and third book to exercise my imagination on stuff I haven't seen yet. It will be interesting to experience the movies of TTT and ROTK, now that I HAVE read them, and do have expectations.

I've now seen the movie 6 times, including the second time, when I saw it with my nephew while still on vacation. It was his second time, also, and we both loved it just as much. He's dyslexic, so reading something like LOTR is more than a *bit* daunting to him, but he loved it so much that he checked out the unabridged audio version from the library, and read along. He's through The Hobbit and FOTR so far. So the movie got him reading, too.

Sorry for the length.
tobiwan

[Minas]

It's great that your brother can alos get to enjoy the books and great to hear you've joined the ranks of the Tolkien fanatics, you're in good company

[Hornburg]

In response to the original post, I am another who has read the books after seeing the movie.

I don't why I never read the books -- they're right up my alley. Many people who know me well were surprised to learn I hadn't read them. I read nearly all of Robert E. Howard and Frank Herbert as a teen and I'm surprised that these didn't somehow lead me to Tolkien.

Nevertheless, I was pumped to see the movie. Loved every minute of it (and can't wait for TTT). My wife gave me the LOTR Houghton Mifflin box set (and a paperback of the The Hobbit) as a Christmas present and I read them all in about a month (which is pretty fast for me).

As with the writers referenced above (and I'm not inviting comparison), I was deeply drawn to the massive complexity of Tolkien's world. Perhaps what makes it challenging to get through -- the lore, the songs, the language -- is a big part of the payoff one gets from this incredible story. Now I'm sorry the read is over, which is kind of why I'm here.

I'm delighted to find that many of the longtime readers here are welcoming to new readers. I expected more like Thorin:

unfortunately a bunch of new readers who will forever be judging the book by what they first saw in the theatres.

I would refute this not just for its unbridled snobbery, but because I'm not altogether certain it's true. I'm sure some imagery from the movie impacted my vision of the characters and settings, but these books had me in a tight grip. I really did like the movie, but the book has kind of wiped that out. In fact, on many issues, I find myself struggling to remember how things were done or looked in the movie. Anyway, have you ever heard of anyone being disappointed in a book because it offered so much more detail than a movie?

Thanks for reading!

[Thorin]

Snobbery? Hey, easy, there! Alright, so I'm over generalising a bit....It does me well to hear your perspective Hornburg, and the more people that prove me wrong, the better! :)

Unfortunately, I am basing my opinion on those who have said, "The books are so boring! The movie's better.." And then go on and tell me how much they liked Arwen at the Fords.....Hopefully, those kind of folks are few and far between...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Tolkien!! :)

[Greenwood]

And then go on and tell me how much they liked Arwen at the Fords.....Hopefully, those kind of folks are few and far between...

Thorin

As long as we are on the subject of words such as snobbery, do you know the meaning of the word misogyny? Just wondering? :D

[LadyGaladriel]

I read it before the movie and loved it totally but at first i thought i would never read fotr in time for LOTR movie but fortuninty I did. in actaul fact i read all 3 books. shows you the power of tolkien doesn't it?!

[#1ArcherLegolas]

i hadn't even heard of The Lord of the Rings until i saw the movie preview on TV then i saw the movie and thought wow that was really good i think i'll read the book then i bought the book and started reading.

[isilior]

Frankly, I think it best to read the book before seeing the literary-based movie. Unfortunately, (and fortunately, at the same time) FotR, the movie, is terrfic. A major, MAJOR boom in movie and book industry. Everyone rushed to see it (and some still are) whether they had or hadn't read the trilogy. Those who read or are still reading the trilogy, <i>after</i> you watched the movie, I really commend you. Most would just sit around and wait for TTT, or keep right on watching FotR. Nothing wrong with the latter, though two thumbs up for all the reading Tolkien fans out there!

My friend heard about the movie, and since everyone got all hyped up about it, she wants to see it too. But she wants to read the trilogy first. I have some positive and negative thoughts on this. The positive: I'm always glad when Tolkien receives a new die-hard fan. (who isn't?) The negatives (which seem to outweigh the positive, since they directly influence one another): she's not an action/fantasy type (ever know people who just seem...to like pink dolls with bows...all their lives? I don't mean it badly, trust me, but LotR is FAAAAAAAAR from ribbons and lace and all things sweet and nice...), and no one has time to sit and read anything because of school. I swear our teachers want to kill us. I just recently got a copy of Unfinished Tales, and a few weeks ago I borrowed The Book of Lost Tales I and II from the library. Needless to say, they remained nearly untouched because I had far too much homework. Right now I shouldn't be in a forum typing because I have too much homework [despite the spring vacation we had]. But I love Tolkien's classics, and I have slowly worked my way into Unfinished Tales because I had to return the BoLT I and II so other Tolkien fans can get the chance to read them.

As for the movie, I thought it was great. Despite all the changes Peter Jackson made, I think it was an amazing outcome. What do you think would have happened if some other director decided to come and destroy this brilliant literary work? Some may argue that that's exactly what Peter Jackson did: change everything Tolkien wrote. He didn't. He did exactly what he had to do, though some of the "musts" relate to Hollywood standards (number of leading female roles, number of characters, length of film, etc etc). Instead, look at it in a positive way. The film is three separate films, probably six DVDs altogether, instead of one three-hour worthless piece of nothing. The casting is as good as it can get, and the features and special effects are superb. So there are some mistakes, and lots of things had to be left out. Well then, read the book. All the details are there. But the book isn't alive. The movie has made the story come to life. Isn't that more than we could ever ask for?

I don't know how well this relates to the original question, but I just thought I'd put in my opinion. I'm new to the forum, and I really don't know what I am doing, though I do know, for sure, that I love LotR and everything Tolkien!

[Lord Snotty]

i got inspired to read the book by seeing the Lord of the Rings action figure ads.

[Shadowfax]

HaHa! that's the first time I ever heard of THAT happening!;)

[Garm]

I think after the movie the book has had more followers. A lot of my friends only read the book after the movie hype. Personally, I have read the LOTR twice before the movie. The movie has made Tolkien popular and I hope it will encourage people more to sample the genious of Tolkien

[Carantalath]

I had read The Hobbit in the fourth grade and had wanted to read the Lord of the Rings but couldn't get into the story. I thought that it looked to long (remember, I was only in the fourth grade!). So when the movie came out and it was really popular, I dug through my bookshelves and found the books. I read The Fellowship of the Ring and part of the Two Towers when I'd begged my dad to take me to the movies. The movie actually made me want to read the books in the first place, though I only saw the movie after reading the first book. Without the movie, I don't think that I'd ever have read the books.

[Talimon]

One trend I've noticed is this: People who had never read the books before started reading Fellowship in the months leading up to the movie. They wanted to read the book first. This is indirect, but it still shows how the movie has inspired people to read the books.

[Theoden]

I read the book after I watched the movie and I must say that though the movie was good, the book was better!

[Talimon]

I'm glad you're here to tell us such things :).

[Legolas_lover12]

well, i read the three lotr books right after i saw the movie. most of the ppl i picture like in the movie. but i don't mind that too much. and there are still some ppl that i can make a picture of. like, tom bombadil, glorfindel, fatty bolger (sp?), and i picture sauron much differently than in the movie too. i have not looked at ant pictures from ttt or rotk yet. that way i can still keep the pictures i have of the characters. but in some ways seeing the movie first was helpful. i would have had no idea what to think gollum looked like. i would have thought he looked pretty much like a hobbit. cuz gandalf said he was once a hobbit. and i like to movies image much better than that. and i wouldn't want any other picture of legolas than in the movie.........hehehe. ok, end of rant. will continue when i have time. have a party to go to.;)

[Lady Greenleaf]

Woo hoo! first post!

I saw the movie first and then read the books. I had no interest in LOTR whatso ever and really didn't even want to go see the movie, but my aunt and uncle were going and I wanted to get out of the house so I went. And I LOVED it! I saw the movie a second time and then decided to read the book. It took a while to get through the first one because I had seen the movie and there were a few changes and stuff, but i think that can be normal, but with Two Towers and Return of the King, I absorbed them. I loved them and now I'm completely obsessed with LOTR! So if I hadn't seen the movie, I wouldn't be the fan I am today! :) And as always the books are much much better :)

[Darth Saruman]

The books aren't always better. 2001 was light years ahead of its printed counterpart. ;)

But yeah. LOTR rocks.

[Talimon]

I don't know if "ahead" is the right word there. It was "different", to say the least. Once a adaptation starts treading higher ground then the material it's adapting from, it's hard to call it a better adaptation.

[Shadowfax]

Don't even get me started on "2001". It had 45 minutes of dialog in a three hour movie. I am still mad at my moogie for making me waste some of my precious mortality watching that thing.

[Talimon]

Waste? 2001 is one of the most disturbing and powerful movies I've ever seen. Your not supposed to "enjoy" it. It's supposed to have another meaning.

[Shadowfax]

Sorry, I am too dense to get it. Enlighten me? Like what WERE those chimps doing? What is up with the baby's weird eye? Did you know that HAL is what you get from the letters before IBM in the alphabet?

[ReadWryt]

I think that 2001 is a bad example of a movie motivating people to read a book though, if I am lead to believe that this is what this thread was originally about, as the movie and book were written at the same time...

[ErinB77]

Mithril
In response, the movie inspired me to read the books. I read the Hobbit in high school and saw the animated movie but was not impressed. My father has read LOTR about 20 times and has been trying to get me to read it for years. I reluctantly saw the movie and now I am hooked! I have now read LOTR, the Sil, and I am working on Unfinished Tales. I had no grasp of the magnificent and complex world Tolkien created and I think the movie gave me a glimpse of that. Without the movie, I may have never picked up the books.

[Lily from Bree]

I read the books a few months before the movie came out. They got me real excited. After that, the only thing I talked about was LOTR.

[pohuist]

I read the books (for the first time) 15 years ago or so. Except the Hobbit which I first read at the tender age of 5, and first re-read in high school. However, I do know a few people that get to reading LOTR because of (doesn't really matter before or after) the movie came out. And for me this is a positive effect that outweighs all negative things I have to (and often do) say about the movie.

[Legolas_lover12]

what is 2001 about. i have never heard of that movie.

[Shadowfax]

".............."

HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE HEARD OF 2001??!! It is only about the most famous movie of all time! You know, "I can't let you do that Dave."

The dramatic music: baaaaaa-Baaaaaaa-BAAAAAAAA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

The obelisk?

Anyhoo, next time you have three hours of your life to kill, rent it and watch it. It something one has to do in order to be culturally literate.

[Legolas_lover12]

but WHAT IS IT ABOUT???????????????????? i'm not going to go rent a movie that i know nothing about.

[Shadowfax]

It is about this big, black obelisk that advances human evolution. And a computer named HAL that zaps anyone who tries to disconnect it.

[Legolas_lover12]

sounds kinda weird. i might check it out. talking machines that zap ppl aren't really my thing.

[Melian Le Fay]

Although I'm a fanatic for SF, fantasy and all that, I didn't read the book before the film....I tried to read the Hobbit once, but I was bored (?!!!), then my friends forced me to read LOTR, but I was also bored at the beggining...(?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
I just couldn't get into it...
Then I saw the film.............
I got the books 2 days later and read them in 3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
And then I forced my sister to read it...and she hates reading....so you can only imagine how thrilled I was...........
And then I took her to see the film...........
And she simply adores Tolkien!
And I'll buy her The Sil for her birthday...........
the good thing about seeing the film before the reading is that you can't compare it to the book!!!!
But, generally, no one should compare these two things: they are completely different, and both great in their own way..
But the book will always be better than any film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gate7ole]

I know many people that got confused by many aspects of the film and didn't bother reading the book. I somehow think that the absence of an end discouraged many people

[Melian Le Fay]

but I'm surprised those people don't know it's a 3 - part film!!! You know the ads - FOTR Christmas 2001, TTT Christmas 2002.....
But I met some of those morons, one saying the film sux because you don't know after all that fuss what will happen to Frodo and the ring, and the other one saying it's a great film - you get to think over the end...:confused: :confused:

[Ariana Undomiel]

I saw the movie after reading the book several times so I can't really give a good opinion on this. However, I have a couple of different cases in regard to the discussion on this thread. One friend of mine read the book so that she could go see the movie afterwards. Two friends of mine went and the books after having seen the film and loved them. They have actually now read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Sil. And then saddly enough, my best friend is slowly crawling through the first book because she just isn't that interested in it. Argh! Oh well, life goes by.

~Ariana

[ilovehobbitfeet]

I only read the book (finished it last night) after watching the movie.

I had heard that the movie missed out a lot of what happened in the book, so I was fairly interested to see what was missed out.

I'm glad I did, JRR Tolkien was just the most amazing writer, and I had more fun reading the book than watching the movie (and I really enjoyed the movie). I loved the descriptions of the locations, the characters, and the depth of history he goes into. It enabled me to get a really good feel for the story. The book seems larger than life. You can almost believe there are elfs and hobbits running around in some hidden part of our world. Just so believable.

I actually bought the LOTR paperback at the supermarket - they've got stacks of them, and they are much cheaper than at the bookstore. If it wasn't available at the supermarket, I probably wouldn't have actively searched for the book, but just waited to come across it.

I'm going to wait for TTT to come out at the movies before I read the book - I don't want to be disappointed by the movie!!

[Melian Le Fay]

Nah, don't worry you'll be dissapointed by the film! If you regard the books and the films as two different "worlds" and not compare them, then you'll enjoy both of them!
I believe that books are always better than films, meaning the arts of books offers you more than the arts of film making, but just don't be too bothered with details and different presentation and you'll enjoy twice!!!

[Talimon]

I believe that books are always better than films, meaning the arts of books offers you more than the arts of film making

Um...That's deffinitely arguable. While certainly reading a whole book can be much deeper then watching a whole movie, I have yet to see a book that does in 2 hours what many movies have. I think books can't be matched in terms of subtelty of charachter and plot, but when it comes to the actual punch-line, the climax of events, movies can do incredible things. For example, no matter how many books I read on war, I have yet to read one that startles me as much as the opening 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. While certainly people's imagination has no limit, some things you just can't get across as well on page as you can on screen, and vice versa. A film really doesn't assume too much on your part. It sets its own pace. While a book can certainly be written in such a way that it suggests a pace, it is ultimately up to the individual reader to play along.

[Melian Le Fay]

Well, it only depends on how good the book is...
A great book can offer excellent thrill, and if written good, really good, it can set a pace of its own... Have you ever read a book you just couldn't stop reading, at least until the next chapter? But, on the other hand, action can often be better presented on the screen than in the book. But books/films which have not got that much action...? And my comparison goes only for great books and great films. There were many examples of not-so-good books and excellent films!
But my primary comparison was reffered to LOTR books and LOTR films! Well, at least I couldn't stop reading those parts with battles, although it was verry, very late...:)
I tried to say in my previous post that films and books should not be compared - just make sure you observe each one as a world of its own, you can thus enjoy in both presentations, and not be bothered like some "purists" here...

[Talimon]

I tried to say in my previous post that films and books should not be compared - just make sure you observe each one as a world of its own, you can thus enjoy in both presentations, and not be bothered like some "purists" here...

I completely agree. I posted an article by Terry Brooks on this, and I think he summarizes a lot of opinions I agree with. You can check it out here:

http://www.thetolkienforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5913

[Melian Le Fay]

tahnx, I'll definitelly read it, adn tell you my opinion on it...:)

[Legolas_lover12]

ilovehobbitfeet -

i am going to tell u this here since this is the only post u have made and u do not accept PMs or e-mails. would u like to be in the hobbits guild??? if u would or u think u are interested then go to the general guilds section and go to the post entitled "hobbits guild."

Mods - please do not give me a spamming warning for this.:(

[Elbereth]

Ok...I read the LOTR after I saw the movie...and I am glad that I did. Because this way...I can appreciate both the book and the movie.

Also, by watching the movie before I read the book...it helped me visualize many scenes that I would otherwise have a hard time imagining such as the dark mines of Moria or majestic home of Elrond in Rivendell (in the book, I did not get the sense that it was as large or grand as it was in the movie)

And now I am interested in seeing the next few movies, to see how they translated the war scenes...(which didn't really interest me while I was reading it....I generally have a hard time visualizing war scenes, since it is not something I am familiar with in real life)