[Leica] Lord of the Rings

[msmall at aya.yale.edu (Marc James Small)]

I was rather distressed to note that several of you seem to have found the
film version of the Lord of Rings unsatsfactory.  I found the trilogy
reflected well most of the books though it comprehensively misses the
subtle nature of Saruman's degradation into evil.  Other than that, the
films work rather well.

(I can always nitpick:  the presentation of Elrond is far too harsh and
there is no real stress on his import within the forces of good, as the
surviving son of Earendil and the brother of Elros, the founder of the
royal line which Aragorn represents.  Thus, Elrond's disapproval of Aragorn
in the films is a bit of a problem, but, then, Elrond is a
behind-the-scenes player in the books so this mischaracterization is less
troubling than the failure to properly portray Saruman.)

Christopher Tolkien was extremely careful to ensure that the movies held
close to the books in their plot and this was accomplished.  Do the movies
represent MY views of the trilogy?  No, but they come close.

And understand that I am a Tolkien freak of the first water:  my copy of
the FELLOWSHIP, bought new, is a first-edition Ballantine printing and I
bought the Ace editions of the next two books as Ballantine delayed in
releasing theirs.  (Yes, yes, the copy I read now is a much later edition
and incorporates all of the later emendations.)  I appreciate the
conscientious effort to produce a series of movies being true to the
author's vision, something which I feel is lacking in the HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE.

Marc
msmall@aya.yale.edu 
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!

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