by Adam Linton » July 6th, 2005, 5:45 pm
To help get things started, I thought that I would ask what people thought of the Peter Jackson movie version of The Lord of the Rings. In my household we have quite a range of opinion. My son (loyal Episcopalian though he is in temperament and training) comes very close to arguing for “verbal, plenary inspiration” of Tolkien’s final text (although he has read Christopher Tolkien’s History of Middle Earth with great interest). He has no use for the movies – and sees the fact that others of the household enjoy them (in varying degrees) as something of a sell-out.
In brief, for myself:
“I found them enjoyable,” but they could never come close to the books. I would say that Gandalf, Sam Gamgee, and Boromir were well played and presented; Theoden and Gimli were well played (but I regretted the extent to which Gimli was reduced to comic relief); and the Ents visually were very striking.
I regretted the elimination of Saruman after Helm’s Deep (especially the “showdown” with him at Orthanc, after the battle); the presentation of Faramir (in my view, simply off the mark); the elimination of the Houses of Healing (even in the “Extended” version one misses the key role of Aragorn as Healer). The lack of the Scouring of the Shire compromised both the structure and content of Tolkien’s work. I recall Lewis’ letter to his friend after reading the completed typescript: “the long coda after the eucatastrophe…has the effect of reminding us that victory is as transitory as conflict.” (cited in J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, H. Carpenter, p. 206-207).
This should get us in practice for December (the release of TLWW).
Regards.
Adam Linton
we have not loosely through silence permitted things to pass away as in a dream