[doug*platypus]

... yeah, the Gollum/Sméagol debate is a masterpiece of filmmaking, all the more remarkable for his being a digital character. That's one of the most memorable scenes in any movie that I've ever seen, and adds a lot to the fairly sketchy description in the book (although to even construct that scene was a work of genius Shakespeare would have either been proud of or stolen for himself!).<P>I agree that using the emotion surrounding Théodred's death was very good for the film, and for the character of Théoden (who I thought in general was adapted unfavourably). The bond of love between Éowyn and Éomer as siblings is shown very well, and so is the strength of their feelings for their foster brother Théodred. But for me it was hard to get over the dismissal of the Battles of the Fords of Isen. Théodred's death was sad, but fairly random, and not direcly ordered by Saruman as it is in Unfinished Tales.<P>I assume we're just talking about improvements to TTT, here (Estelyn, maybe you could clarify?). One of my favourites was the shot of Gollum in the Dead Marshes. Frodo looks up and sees him imaging his precious is in his hand, showing a shocking vision of what Frodo may become. I think that a lot of the improvements come from the fact that it is a visual medium. The many fine illustrations I've seen have made improvements to the books as well - a picture paints a thousand words (although the movies seem to paint much less than a thousand pages).