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Man-of-the-Wold · 12-26-2002, 02:02 PM

Well, as I've discussed elsewhere the dramatic tension thing is of course true, as are other fixations of these film-makers -- be they appropriate or obsessive -- of (i) high character contrast and (ii) the power-hungry wrap on Men.The point about sustaining the premise of the Ring's great power is a misleading defence. Frodo comes in contact with all sorts of people, from Gandalf on down (with Aragorn being the only Man) who are willing to let the Ring go. Boromir could have been NO different in Book or on Film, except that he was near the Ring for so long and was so dispairing of saving Gondor.Indeed, Faramir is arguably not tempted by the Ring directly on Film. Upon finding out about something that he didn't know, but needed to investigate, he merely confronts Frodo rhetorically in the movie. Otherwise, the scenes merely show Faramir as being in great haste, obviously not having the chance to weigh matters as in the Book, and still being bound by fairly straightforward laws for obvious security reasons. This is after all a battleground, albeit one more hectic than in the Book.So, Mr. Jackson is blowing smoke with that answer about the whole ring, what was really driving it is the filmmakers': 1. Obsession with Dramatic Tension 2. Fixation on 180-degree character development 3. Theme of Men as corruptible power mongers 4. Need to do some more scary stuff with Nazguls in Osigiliath.All this is not to say that they weren't still good film-making decisions which work, despite some departures from the Book in terms of what really amount to little more than lost dialogue and juxtapositions of time and place.But he should defend these decisions on the basis of his true inclinations, not on some misleading point about the Ring's evil. He could have done things in any variety of different ways, and still not have used Faramir's comment about finding it on the road, which even in the Book can come off sounding naive, notwithstanding Book-Faramir's manifest nobility.[ December 26, 2002: Message edited by: Man-of-the-Wold ]

12-26-2002, 02:02 PM	#9
Man-of-the-Wold Wight Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: With Tux, dread poodle of Pinnath Galin Posts: 239	Well, as I've discussed elsewhere the dramatic tension thing is of course true, as are other fixations of these film-makers -- be they appropriate or obsessive -- of (i) high character contrast and (ii) the power-hungry wrap on Men.<P>The point about sustaining the premise of the Ring's great power is a misleading defence. Frodo comes in contact with all sorts of people, from Gandalf on down (with Aragorn being the only Man) who are willing to let the Ring go. Boromir could have been NO different in Book or on Film, except that he was near the Ring for so long and was so dispairing of saving Gondor.<P>Indeed, Faramir is arguably not tempted by the Ring directly on Film. Upon finding out about something that he didn't know, but needed to investigate, he merely confronts Frodo rhetorically in the movie. Otherwise, the scenes merely show Faramir as being in great haste, obviously not having the chance to weigh matters as in the Book, and still being bound by fairly straightforward laws for obvious security reasons. This is after all a battleground, albeit one more hectic than in the Book.<P>So, Mr. Jackson is blowing smoke with that answer about the whole ring, what was really driving it is the filmmakers':<BR>1. Obsession with Dramatic Tension<BR>2. Fixation on 180-degree character development<BR>3. Theme of Men as corruptible power mongers<BR>4. Need to do some more scary stuff with Nazguls in Osigiliath.<P>All this is not to say that they weren't still good film-making decisions which work, despite some departures from the Book in terms of what really amount to little more than lost dialogue and juxtapositions of time and place.<P>But he should defend these decisions on the basis of his true inclinations, not on some misleading point about the Ring's evil. He could have done things in any variety of different ways, and still not have used Faramir's comment about finding it on the road, which even in the Book can come off sounding naive, notwithstanding Book-Faramir's manifest nobility.<p>[ December 26, 2002: Message edited by: Man-of-the-Wold ] __________________ The hoes unrecked in the fields were flung, __ and fallen ladders in the long grass lay __ of the lush orchards; every tree there turned __ its tangled head and eyed them secretly, __ and the ears listened of the nodding grasses; __ though noontide glowed on land and leaf, __ their limbs were chilled.