Since I am an infrequent poster in Movies these days, I should make my position clear. <P>I agree, Sauce, that the movies have been made with an extraordinary amount of love and craftsmanship, and I am willing to forgive an awful lot of simplification in the adaptations. And indeed, in spite of any problems I have with the films, I'd rather have them than not, and would rather watch them over many other modern films, if only to steep in the Middle-earth atmosphere for awhile. I'm <I>still</I> pleasantly astounded at how, for instance, they went out and built Edoras on top of that rock in the middle of nowhere. Only a scrappy bunch of Kiwi filmmakers who suddenly had big Hollywood money to play with would go out and do that -- and I love 'em for it. <P>That doesn't keep me from regretting what might have been or disliking choices that I think were particularly bad. The ones that bother me the most are not the mere tweaking of plot events. They're the ones that subvert or gut powerful emotional and thematic aspects of the book. Especially when the choice was obviously made for the sake of a cheap and transitory bit of on-screen conflict. <P>But hey, it's easy to armchair quarterback. And I have to add that I think the Extended FotR a far superior film to its theatrical counterpart, and so am patiently awaiting the Extended TTT to see if it improves my opinion as well. <P><I>"This post... it's getting heavy."</I><P><I>*Underhill's eyes flutter and roll back in his head...*</I>
|