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Minerva the Bookwyrm Captain
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 Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:30 am
The books and/or the films: What did you think?
Personally, as far as the books go, I like The Hobbit better than Lord of the Rings. While LotR is good, it drags in places, which The Hobbit does not. I've read The Hobbit 3 times (Riddles in the Dark is my favourite chapter!) but I only read LotR once. It took me two months to read all 4 books.
The books are so lengthy that naturally the films leave many things out, but what they did include was AMAZING! The costumes, battles, props, make-up, graphics, acting, sets, and everything is just phenominal. biggrin Arwen and Aragorn's relationship doesn't play a large role in the books, but it's included a great deal in the Appendix. I like that the films emphasised it more than the novels did.
The only thing that bothers is Sméagol is pronounced "Smegol," not "Smeegol," the way that they say it in the cinematic production. The accent mark over the "e" indicates that this is the case in Tolkien's pronunciation guide at the back of the Silmarillon. The fact that Tolkien took the time to write a pronunciation guide and to have them pronounce it incorrectly...Well, it really makes me angry. evil
Anyway, what did you all think?
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:50 pm
I heart the Hobbit!! I have to admit.....l like both the books & the movies......l guess sometimes my minds' eye sees things alittle differently & l very much enjoyed the movies more than l can tell you...BUT both the books & the movies, ...left me...wanting more!! l want more!!
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:04 pm
i've never read the books, but i loved all the movies! smile they were exciting and extremely adventurous smile
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:03 pm
For the first time in my life, I liked the movies of a book series more then the books. The books were ok, but they got very lengthy.
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:02 pm
Umm.... I own all three LofR books and two copies of the Hobbit. Sadly, I've only read a few chapters of the Fellowship book. It really dragged and I just couldn't get into it. The movies were PHENOMENAL!!! Orlando Bloom is the SMEXIEST ELF of all TIME!!! *fangirl swoon*
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:58 pm
I like the Lord of the Rings books best. Along with the Silmarillion. Its probaly the best book series I've ever read. I love the way its entirely magical and adventurous.
But the movies were good. Arwen was so pretty and most the characters were done pretty good.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:54 am
I agree 100% that the books are very drawn out when compared to The Hobbit. I really enjoyed the movies a million times more then the books. lol I'm almost ashamed to side with the film industry over the literary original, but I think it was one of the few instances that I can say Hollywood did an amazing job with what they had to work with.
I also enjoyed the romantic emphasis. I felt it balanced out the despair and seemingly hopelessness of our beloved characters struggles.
The elves were done exceptionally well too. I don't think I've seen another film production that was able to capture the essence of superior grace and wisdom as well as LoTR did.
Oh, but I have to say, I absolutely abhorred Elisha Wood as Frodo! I don't like him! lol He's so creepy -.-
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:15 pm
Cricket, I couldn't agree more
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 10:01 pm
I'm a slavish slobbering devotee of the books. I cry pretty much every time the black ships arrive at the Pelennor Fields. As I stated elsewhere, I do in fact consider The Silmarillion a sacred text.
I am aware that budget and time constraints do set limits on what a movie can do, and overall I appreciated the movies' efforts to adhere to the story without getting bogged down. HOWEVER (and this is big), there were three parts that just pissed me off no end:
1)Faramir - did they not read that part, or what? He's supposed to be principled and intelligent and honorable, like Aragorn, not some conflicted git who only sees sense when an airborne ringwraith drives the point home with a massive slaughter. I shudder to consider that poor Eowyn had to end up with the slithery idiot they made him into in the movie.
2)The Ents - why on earth would the Shepherds of the Trees be unaware of a giant swathe of destruction being carved out in the forest? And why in the Nine Hells would a slow and ponderous race go off all half-cocked simply upon seeing a bunch of smoking stumps? The whole POINT is that Young Saruman has actually managed to finally piss off a very slow and patient race. That isn't something you do in a single stroke - it takes years of being a right b*****d.
3) Arwen - WTF?! Yes, I adored the way they made her more involved in the plot in the first two movies. That was pretty sweet, and also helpful for eliminating minor characters who, while cool in their own right (I'm looking at you, Glorfindel), just wouldn't have gotten enough screen time to warrant more casting. What pissed me off was the sudden wussifying that happened in the last movie. Boo hoo hoo, all of a sudden Arwen is sick because Sauron is evil. Oh alas and alackaday, who can possibly save the swooning heroine? evil Jeez, they spent all that time having her play the part of every minor badass from the books, and then all of a sudden we have to take Middle Earth back from the bad guys because evil gives Princess Elfypants a headache? COME ON! In the books, she sends Aragorn's rangers to find him and bring the banner she crafted for him, with the message, "It's time to reclaim your birthright, so grow a pair." Why not simply have her a** show up alone with the banner and accompany her beloved on the final stage of his conquest? Arwen rocking the Pelennor Fields and kicking major orc a**. That I could have totally gotten behind.
Soooo...yeah. My two cents.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 7:22 am
The Noisy Cricket
The elves were done exceptionally well too. I don't think I've seen another film production that was able to capture the essence of superior grace and wisdom as well as LoTR did.
I totally agree! biggrin
That's true, Nanny; Faramir was better in the books. I didn't hate him in the films, though, because I still managed to feel anger on his behalf when his father was going to burn him alive. evil
Who do you think was cast the best/worst? Frodo, Sam and Wormtongue weren't exactly how I imagined them, and Elrond had a huge forehead, but at least they got the basics of their personality vibes acrossed. Everyone else looked right, and most of them acted it perfectly, too. whee In particular, I liked Gandalf, Galadriel, Gimli, Legolas, Sauruman, Gollum, Aragorn, Eowyn, Eomir, Theodon, Merry, and Pippin. heart
Oh, and the Nazgul. They were sexy! wink
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Minerva the Bookwyrm Captain
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 12:53 pm
I loved most of the casting, though yeah I think Wormtongue needed to lean a little less heavily on the makeup and special effects. You *can* look like an evil backstabbing git without using an entire tube of white face paint in every shoot.
I loved most of the casting, including Faramir - if they'd written him true to the book, I'd have been perfectly happy. Oh yeah, and y'know how most girls felt about Legolas? Yeah, that was me swooning over Pippin.
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:22 pm
I'd have to say that my favorite character was Boromir, even though he was only in "The Fellowship of the Ring". I was practically devastated when he died. crying
But he died bravely and honorably defending Merry and Pippin, taking out a horde of Uruk-hai.
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B-rad the Vampiric Shadow
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Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:16 pm
Books, all the way.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the movies. But there is simply so much more to the books, Not only that, but it really felt more like a literary epic. The movies didn't quite do that for me. I have an even greater appreciation for that feeling and the fact that Tolkien managed to achieve it so well after having read Beowulf.
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