[The Saucepan Man]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> He added it in because he thought it was better from a cinematic standpoint, as indeed much of it was from the perspective of mass audiences. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Well said, Lord of Angmar. I agree entirely.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I totally deny this on most of the new material and many of the omissions. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Well, pandora, you may deny it. But that does not stop it being true. Jackson did not make the changes just to p**s off the Tolkien purists. He made them because he felt that they would make for better films. You (and others) may disagree with the changes that he made and feel that the films are worse off for them. I disagree with some of them too. But that does not get away from the fact that Jackson's reason for making them was because <I>he thought</I> that they worked better cinematically. And he has, in large measure, been vindicated, given the incredible success of these films. Many millions of people, including long-time Tolkien fans like myself, believe them to be great films.<P>And I have been left in no doubt, from interviews that I have read and from the TTT EE documentaries, that he, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens, as well as many (if not most) of the remainder of the production team have great admiration and respect for Tolkien's works. Many of them, Jackson included, have been fans of the books for a long time, just like many of us here. They were not trying to improve on what Tolkien wrote. They were simply trying to render his story in a format suitable for the silver screen.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> The scene at the ford was more exciting when Frodo was alone. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>You cannot look at these scenes in isolation. Jackson and the rest of the script-writing team made a decision to enhance the role of Arwen, so as to bring an additional strong female character into a story rather bereft of such characters. They also chose to play up the romance of Aragorn and Arwen (largely with material based on the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen in the Appendices to the book). Having her ride with Frodo to Rivendell gave them a chance to introduce her as a central character and to increase her involvement in the story. You may disagree with the decision to increase Arwen's role, but there was a cinematic reason for it (and, in my view, it was a good one).<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> The final confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman is tense and exciting and satisfies the wish of the viewer to know how Saruman was deal with. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I agree with you on this one, although I can understand why the scene was not included in RotK, given that Saruman plays no part in the events portrayed in it, and also given the need to bring Sauron to the fore as the major villain. It should have been included at the end of TTT though.<P>And, much as it is one of my favourite chapters from the book, I can wholly understand the decision to omit the Scouring of the Shire. A new sub-plot and second mini-climax would (on screen) totally destroy the major climax of Sauron's defeat. Given the criticism made by some reviewers that RotK takes too long to end, including the Scouring would have been a major mistake.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> The prologue disrupts the flow of the mood of the film <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I am not at all sure how it can disrupt the flow of the film when it is at the beginning. But surely it was absolutely necessary to bring audiences (the majority of whom will not have read the books) up to speed with the basic premise of the film right at the outset.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> The changes to the balrog scene made it too long and drawn out, actually losing tension compared to the book <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I have seen very little criticism of this scene. Personally I thought that it was very well-paced, although I agree that the "Dwarf tossing" jokes are unnecessary and detract from Gimli's character.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Elrond is simply a pain in the bum, as is Arwen. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Elrond's character is admittedly very different. I thought that he worked well in FotR, but tired of his "overbearing and selfish father" act in TTT. But I can see the cinematic benefits of giving the character an "edge" and building up the tension and uncertainty in Arwen's decision. I did, however, think that they went too far in having her set off for the Grey Havens in TTT. Notwithstanding the tension build-up, it should ultimately have become apparent that she would never have made the decision to leave. As for Arwen's enhanced role, I have covered that above.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> These films have been badly directed, end of story. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>If that were the case, then the films would not have been anything like as successful as they have been, and they would certainly not have received such critical acclaim, among both film-critics and Jackson's peers in the film industry. The direction may not have been to your taste, but I can see no grounds whatsoever for claiming that they were badly directed.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Pandora... best post ever. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Hardly. <P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I heartily agree and I've almost had enough of people who endorse the wholesale slaughter of a great book without admitting that yes the movies did have faults. They may be your favourite films, but don't let that block your mind off completely to criticisms. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I happen to think that these are great films. But by no means am I saying that they are flawless (but, then again, neither are the books). There are changes that were made that in the films I find irritating and unnecessary. But that is not because they alter the story told in the book, but because I feel that they do not work in the context of the (somewhat different) story told in the films. <P>So I do not view these films with an entirely uncritical eye. Nevertheless, I can see good reasons, from a cinematographic perspective, for most of the changes that were made. And I see no reason to let the fact that the story told in the films is different from that told in the books to ruin what, for me, are thoroughly enjoyable films.