[The Saucepan Man]

After those Wargs in TTT, I was concerned about the representation of Shelob in this film. I was particularly worried that she would be unrealistic and/or unrepresentative of what she was supposed to be. Happily, she was spot on for me.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Going for a more realistic spider look was, I think, a good idea. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Too right, Diamond. I realise that she was slightly different than Tolkien's desription, but she is essentially, in the book, a giant spider. So, for me, that is always what she had to be in this film. And that it what Jackson and WETA gave us. I thought that she worked perfectly, particularly her totally accurate (and utterly unnerving) spider-like movements. Had they tried to remain wholly true to Tolkien's description (by adding on horns etc) I feel that some of the realism would have been lost, and she would not (for me, as a self-confessed arachnophobe) have been nearly as terrifying. And they gave her the unspider-like stinger, which was true to Tolkein's description (and provoked an audible "Eeeuugh" in the cinema where I was when first seen).<P>Personally, I thought that she was quite large enough, thank you. She was about the size that I imagined her in the books. Any larger, and it would have been impractical having her move so quickly through those passages, let alone crawling nightmarishly in and out of crevices. Also, it would have been difficult to get a proper view of her, even in the long shots.<P>I take your point about her intelligence being insufficiently depicted, Mr Platypus. Perhaps it would have worked to have a kind of intelligent glimmer in her eyes, although this could have made her look ridiculous if not done absolutely correctly. Certainly, the strategies that she employed, particularly in retreating and then crawling out to ambush Frodo, displayed cunning if not intelligence. I felt that she was portrayed with sufficient intelligence, but maybe I am influenced by having read the book. I wonder how non-book readers saw her in this regard.<P>I have to say that it didn't occur to me while watching the film that her lair was not as dark as it is in the book. It was certainly dark enough for me, and I think that we have to allow a little "artistic licence" here, to enable us to see what is going on (and also to see the gruesome fixtures and fittings of her lair, which I thought were great).<P>I approve of the device to separate Frodo and Sam for the journey through the lair (although I would have preferred it if Sam had not actually set off for home). I thought that it worked well having Frodo encounter her alone, with Sam then turning up in the nick of time. The scene where Shelob crawls out of a fissure and lurks momentarily above Frodo, while he looks one way and then the other without seeing her, was inspired - the stuff of nightmares.<P>As for Frodo's encounter with Gollum just prior to this, I think that this probably could have been left out. Although I think that it was good that Frodo has the opportunity to show him pity once again, harking back to Gandalf's words about pity staying Bilbo's hand. I was certainly relieved to see that Frodo did not push Gollum over the precipe (which, at one point, I thought might happen) since that would have destroyed the whole point of Frodo's pity leading to Gollum's presence, and the rather important role he plays, at Sammath Naur.<P>All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire Shelob sequence (in a seat-fidgeting, neck-hairs-standing up kind of way).