Speculation about the new Tolkien movie...

[Lufbery]

The best I can hope for is that a movie is what I'd call faithful to a novel; in other words, it catches the spirit and enough of the story and characters to suggest that the writer(s) and director actually read the book. Expecting a movie to be a true reflection of a novel is a mug's game.

Well-said, and I agree. The interesting thing about the books is which spirit do you adhere to? I?ve read TLOTR four or five times since I was in sixth grade (16 years ago). Each time I read it, I got a different feel from it. Early on, my focus was on the adventure and the magic, but the last time I read it I was struck by the hopelessness of Frodo's quest and the fact that he (sort-of) failed in the end. Whole parts of the story have opened up to me with each reading that I hadn't seen before. I wonder what the director and screenwriter(s) saw?

I think it will be neat to find out.

(And I rather liked "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," perhaps because I hadn't read the book first. When I saw it a second time with some Potter fans, they claimed the movie lacked some of the magic of the book.)

Ironically, a lot of the criticism of the movie is that it loses the magic of the book by trying to stay too close to it. Whatever. I liked the movie quite a bit, and I had read the book. Maybe the disappointment is from people who were struck more deeply by the book than I was. I enjoyed it, and found some truly delightful things about it, but it's no LOTR...it's not even The Hobbit (which I find incredibly delightful).

Early on, my focus was on the adventure and the magic, but the last time I read it I was struck by the hopelessness of Frodo's quest and the fact that he (sort-of) failed in the end.

Wow I got the same impressions as a youngster and the same impression the last time i read it.

[RLWP]

My problem with this film is not with me, but with my kids. I have also read the book many times (about seven) and have a lot of imagery in my mind that should survive the film. Some may remember there was a previous go at this film some years back that only got through the first book. I can only remember one scene from it ( flight to the ford).

However my kids have not read the book, and so the film images will probably be the ones they remember. Will the book be a problem after the film?

[Kirby]

Let's face it Gang. We've all formed pictures in our minds of Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, and all the rest. That's because those images are the way we wanted them to be. I love LOTR and read it several times. IMHO no matter how good the movie is made, it's not going to compare to our mental imagery. The cast and crew will never be able to duplicate OUR PERSONAL LOTR. So let's go see and enjoy it and give those who made it kudos for a damned nice try and then go back and read the books again and bring our own images back to life.

VBR
Kirby

P.S. Some Jimmy Hennesy or Courvoisier goes quite well with J.R.R. Tolkien on a cold winter evening.

...However my kids have not read the book, and so the film images will probably be the ones they remember. Will the book be a problem after the film?

Maybe (how's that for a definitive answer?). More likely, though, is that the movie becomes a problem after you've read the book. And the image you have in your mind, courtesy of the movie, might not affect that.

For example, I used to love the movie The Thin Man. Saw it many times, loved the banter between Powell and Loy. Then I read the novel, which has depth and levels of detail the movie couldn't begin to approach. The first time I saw the movie after reading the book I was appalled at how flimsy and thin the movie was. In time, perhaps, I'll enjoy the movie again. But I sure can't say that the movie spoiled the book for me.

I've never read the book but I hope the film will break the records of that piece of sh*t Harry Potter.

[BobE]

When my son was in his teens he was into Dungeons and Dragons and we played a lot of related fantasy games too.One of these was "The Fellowship of the Ring". Not the greatest game but better than some and an excellent map taken directly from Tolkien's work.
We enjoyed the old cartoon movie and were disappointed that they never completed the trilogy.My main reason for posting here is to spread the good news that even though they are releasing this in three parts with a year between each,they filmed the whole thing in one shot.Understand it took them sixteen months! Now I have to live at least two more years. :- Bob E

P.S. Just wondering. One of the games we tried was "Magic Realm" by Avalon Hill. We were never able to get through the rules. In fact we had more fun trying it than playing it because we could never put our finger on exactly where we lost our way. We used to see it listed at some game conventions so apparently SOME people could figure it out! Any one here had experience with it?

Well, I'm also a big Tolkien fan and started reading his books before they became a fever here in Brazil. As a movie critic, I had the chance of seeing the same 26-minute footage shown in Cannes Festival, which includes the complete breathtaking sequence of Moria Mines.

True, no Tom Bombadil and Arwen's role was... well, increased. It seems that she'll take Glorfindel's place also, but I'm not sure of this yet. I really can understand such changes. It was already mentioned that Eowyn is a well developed female character in the book and so Arwen's role wouldn't need changes in the movie. I agree, but remember that Eowyn doesn't appear in the first book. However, if I had to choose a female character in the first movie to enrich it'd be Galadriel, not Arwen.

Anyway, good news: the movie is gonna be great. REALLY great. It'll make history, be sure of that. The cast is superb, and a favourite of mine is Ian McKellen as Gandalf. He will be much better than Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". Art direction is something unbelievable, everything is faithful to descriptions. I was delighted with Frodo's house and the hobbits' village. Just remember that known Tolkien artists are part of the crew.

I'll see the movie tomorrow, Dec. 14th, in the only Brazilian press screening. I promise to tell you more later.

Best regards

Marcio Campos
www.modelismo-ww1.cjb.net

Well, I wanted to write this on Friday but I had no connection here at work for some failure. I went to the press screening and there's no reason to worry, folks! The movie is outstanding!

Some of the things that most amazed me: Rivendell, Isengard and the effects that let hobbits with their right size. Cast is superb, especially Ian McKellen, as I supposed.

There are lots (actually, not so many) of dialogues in Elvish.

There's a short introduction about the story of the Rings, narrated by a woman, but I couldn't identify if it was Tyler or Blanchett's voice. Very well done!

Well, no Tom Bombadil, and Arwen took Glorfindel's place. Honestly, these things don't bother me. The only thing I really missed was the part when Gimli changes his mind about elves after meeting Galadriel. The whole Lothlorien part is too short and doesn't include the complete farewell scene with the beautiful compliment exchange between Gimli and Galadriel and his request for a wire of her hair to carry with him. >

I also think that the members of the Fellowship should be better introduced. The fact that Boromir is the son of the Regent of Gondor is quickly mentioned, as well as Gimli's roots, linked to Bilbo's adventures. The (bad) relations between dwarfs and elves are explored in the Elrond Council only.


****** SPOILER ********




The end of the first movie includes the beginning of the second book, and I thought it was a nice solution to end the movie.





******** END OF SPOILER *********

I don't want to say more because you must go and see it by yourselves.

Final rating: ****** (of 5 - yes, you read it right )

Best regards from Brazil

Marcio Campos
www.modelismo-ww1.cjb.net

[Lufbery]

Marcio,

Thanks for the wonderful review.

For those that are interested, here's another:
http://salon.com/ent/movies/review/2001/12...ings/index.html

-Drew