[Olorin_TLA]

At last, someone else noticed! *Party!* <P>The Easterlings in the films look nothign like the ones in the Book. I was curious about this, so I listened to the Artists' Commentaries on the Two Towers DVD about Haradrim and Easterlings. Turns out PJ gave the description of the Haradrim to the artists...for the Haradrim AND the Easterlings. One of the artists even mentions how they tried to make the Haradrim look different from the Easterlings, cosndiering they were told they both used red and scarlet (a Haradric trait). In fact, the Easterlings at the Black Gate even carry a Haradric BANNER!!! (Black serpent on red).<P>I don't see how nobody noticed when making the films. <P>By the way, Lord of Angmar's statement is a little wrong. The Eastelrings weren't just one group of men (neither were the Haradrim (Southrons) ) ; it was just a term used to describe men from countires to the East of where "the 'good' guys" were. So in the First Age the Easterlings there may well have come from what later became Arnor and Gondor (but obviously, not the same people there later!) or further east.<P>The ones in the Third Age again are just people from further East, whom Sauron has usually influence over since they had nowhere and noone to run to from him.<BR>Some races which he incited to attack Gondor and the Wainriders and the Balcoth. The ones in the War of the Ring "a new type of Men whom we have seen before" as a Gondorian soldier says when they first appear during the attacks on Osgiliath and Minas Tirith, are another race of men. Like all races, they probably fought each other someitmes too in the East.<P>They weren't mercenaries either: Sauron stirred up their old hate of Gondor, which he hgave to them since he pretended he was a God and so they feared him, to make them attack Gondor. (For that matter, the Corsairs of Umbar weren't mercenaries either, despite what the film says.)<p>[ 10:39 AM January 03, 2004: Message edited by: Olorin_TLA ]