How many of you read Lord of the rings after seeing the film?

[Attalus]

Excellent, well-thought out post, Tancred. I love both the book and the movie, and I think your point about Boromir was especially well-taken. I think that Tolkein didn't flesh Boromir out enough, probably because the whole Council of Elrond Chapter was probably very hard to write. Think about it, or better, re-read it, and marvel at the number of styles of speech that were used, as well as how many new characters had to be introduced, major and minor, and admire how distinct each of them are. The characters attitude to Boromir was a puzzle to me (Pippin admiring his "lordly yet kindly manner", Aragorn's kissing him on the brow, the songs that they sang of him) so I now feel that the parts of him that we saw were the Ring's effects on him. If he had been a villain, Faramir could never have said, "Alas for my brother, whom I, too, loved." The movie got it right.

[Nachtrafe]

Originally posted by Sir Goulum: The books are better than the movie because not all the scenes were in the movie. For example, the Wood Elves weren't included in the movie.

Well, that's kind of a simplistic view of the film. I mean...if they had included ALL of the scenes from the first book then FoTR would have been 5 or 6 hours instead of just 3. Now, dont get me wrong...I, and many other die hard fans, would happily have sat through a 6 hour film, but, for the average person, especially one who has never read the book, the movie was a FANTASTIC re-creation. It does a phenomenal job of telling the story, keeps the plot exciting and fresh, and doesn't get bogged down with too many story elements(which, IMO the book did).

One of the things that the movie did exceptionally well, again IMO, was pace the story properly. Dont get me wrong, I LOVED the books, BUT, if the director had put in EVERY SINGLE STORY ELEMENT, it would have sucked. Tom Bombadil was a WONDERFUL character, but he did NOT belong in the movie. He's in the book strictly to lighten up a thoroughly dark, spooky, and slightly depressing section, and, since the director seemed to be trying for a Dark, Spooky and Slightly Depressing theme with FoTR, adding Tom capering around on the Barrow Downs would have TOTALLY ruined that theme. Same thing goes for the hobbits and Strider slogging through the woods for a couple of WEEKS on the way to Rivendell. I think that the story moved along just fine without that. And, if you look really carefully, the director DID include one of the cooler elements from that (IMO)boring section of the book. The Trolls. When the Sam and Strider go looking for King's Foil and Aeowyn surprises Strider you can see the stone trolls in the background. I didn't notice it until the second or third time I saw the movie, but when I did, I burst out laughing. People in the theatre were giving me funny looks since that scene was hardly funny, but, to me, it was hilarious. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Anyhew...just my [img]graemlins/2cents.gif[/img]

EDIT: Hmmmm....*MENTAL NOTE*: Read the entire thread before posting. [img]smile.gif[/img] I guess I should have done so, since most of my post was identical to about half a dozen other posts. *SIGH* Oh well. [img]smile.gif[/img]

OT: I read the books for the first time when I was a pre-teen, but the Trilogy was kind of lost on me. Went right over my head. I read them again in high school and LOVED them. Since then, I've read the trilogy at least half a dozen times and have literally worn out several copies of the Hobbit. [img]smile.gif[/img] I'm looking forward to reading the Trilogy again soon, just before Two Towers comes out, so it'll all be fresh in my mind. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 08-22-2002, 10:07 AM: Message edited by: Nachtrafe ]

[Cerek the Barbaric]

OK, it's been a loooong time since I read the books, but the depiction of Boromir was EXACTLY the way I remembered it. He was a bit headstrong at the Council and impatient to get started. He angered Aragorn by BLASTING his war horn when they finally started out, but the rest of the time he was mostly a secondary character....until the group reached the riverbank. The scene between Frodo and Boromir was almost verbatim from what I remembered of the book.

Maybe it was just me...but I NEVER thought of Boromir as a villain until his confrontation with Frodo, and that was obviously the Ring affecting him. As soon as the Uruk-hai attacked, Boromir "snapped" back to his senses and fought off the Ring's influence....and died saving Frodo, just like in the movie.

Either way, it doesn't really matter....I just remember it differently.

[Nachtrafe]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: OK, it's been a loooong time since I read the books, but the depiction of Boromir was EXACTLY the way I remembered it. He was a bit headstrong at the Council and impatient to get started. He angered Aragorn by BLASTING his war horn when they finally started out, but the rest of the time he was mostly a secondary character....until the group reached the riverbank. The scene between Frodo and Boromir was almost verbatim from what I remembered of the book. Maybe it was just me...but I NEVER thought of Boromir as a villain until his confrontation with Frodo, and that was obviously the Ring affecting him. As soon as the Uruk-hai attacked, Boromir "snapped" back to his senses and fought off the Ring's influence....and died saving Frodo, just like in the movie. Either way, it doesn't really matter....I just remember it differently.

Agreed 110% Cerek. I thought Boromir was AWESOME! I'm looking forward to Two Towers and seeing if they got Faramir just as spot on. [img]smile.gif[/img] Well, that, and seeing the 'Body Count' "discussion" between Legolas and Gimli. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Tancred]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: Maybe it was just me...but I NEVER thought of Boromir as a villain until his confrontation with Frodo, and that was obviously the Ring affecting him. As soon as the Uruk-hai attacked, Boromir "snapped" back to his senses and fought off the Ring's influence....and died saving Frodo, just like in the movie. Either way, it doesn't really matter....I just remember it differently.

Well... I never said 'villain'... I just said 'complete berk'. Boromir has this habit of boasting about the strength of Men, and Men of Gondor in particular, and seems to be shown up a lot; he argues with Aragorn on many occasions; he even almost bursts out laughing at Bilbo at the Council. Boromir in the book never seemed quite right in the mould of hero; he comes across as bombastic and a little swaggering.

Having Boromir talk about his father's failing rule and his love of Gondor allows us to understand why he tries to take the Ring; his 'Men will flock to my banner' speech to Frodo upon Amon Hen in the book makes him sound like a gloryhungry warmonger. Having him form something of a warrior's bond with Merry and Pippin in the film does go a long way to explaining the hobbit pair's loyalty to him - and I think makes Pippin's choice to enlist in the army of Gondor seem quit poetic.

[Attalus]

I agree that the movie's take on Boromir is more like I think of him now, but when I read it first as a teenager, I didn't like him a bit. Now, I feel that Tolkein was modeling him on the boastful warriors of the Northern epics that he loved. There was a pair, I think it was in the Elder Edda, (open to correction on this) that turn to each other, just before a battle, and say, "Now is when we justify our boasts in the mead hall." The contrast is supposed to be with the quiet, powerful Aragorn, and, later, with his sensitive brother, both more like the men when the Dunedain were young, not to speak of the glory of Numenor. Like Nachtrafe, I can't wait for The Two Towers, my favorite of all. I wanna see the Riders, Eowyn and Eomer, and Gondor.

[WillowIX]

Reading the books after seing the movie? Sacrilage!! I´ve tried to read it to my daughter but no such luck!!! [img]graemlins/idontwanna.gif[/img]

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

I coulda sworn the book said SIX arrows in Boromir; NOT THREE. Ill have to look that bit up... and loth-loriethn? I wanted to see the elves put the cloaks on the company; its in MOST of the previews!

[Lady Blue03]

I believe CD dear, that those scenes in Lothlorien are in the Extended version, which i dun think is out yet. When i was watching the special features on the dvd, they showed the part where Gimli was telling Galadriel that the only thing he desired was to look upon her once more before he left, or soemthing along those lines. I remember thinking, "Ooook...that part wasnt in the movie..."

I think maybe they didn't have it because it may not have been a vital part of the book(though it really was) and didn't want to make the movie any longer *shrug*

[Night Stalker]

I am reading TLoR for the second time since seeing the movie. I can't recall the number of times I've actually read it. It was refreshing to re-read little tid bits that I had forgotten about - like the Dragon fireworks, the passage of Amon ??? on the Anduin. I have heard alot of purists complain about this or that about the movie (Arwen/Glorfindel, Bombadil, ect.) but like others have mentioned the movie was a great adaptation unlike certain animations or rotoscoped abortions. I feel they truely captured magic and wonder of Middle Earth. I would truely love a full length version and would sit through all 8-9 hrs! But the first time in the theatre, the litre of Sprite hit me at Mirrormere. The final 45 min I kept saying "OK they met the pretty elf lady .... let's go END! ..... Yes it is stunning river .... END! .... Boromir you tragic hero ... JUST DIE! I GOTTA GOOO!" hehehehehee