[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by the phantom

You do realize I was never trying to say that the movie would've been more popular?

Of course I do. I think we can both agree that, as they stand, the films achieved mass broad appeal. We cannot know whether the films would have been as successful or more successful without the changes that were made with the intention of making them more accessible, but my feeling is that, your experience notwithstanding, they would not have been.

Originally Posted by phantom

My whole point was that had they been faithful to the book it would've done next to nothing to popularity. It would've done next to nothing to awards and critics.

I disagree but, as I said, we can only speculate.

I think that my "individual experience" does matter.

Of course it matters. I am not saying that it is not relevant to the discussion. I am simply saying that, on an evidential basis, it doesn't convince me that these films would have been as successful had they remained more faithful to, or retained more of the language of, the book. But, when I look at the critical and box-office success of the films and I consider that Jackson and co were clearly intending to make the films more relevant and successful, I tend to think that they succeeded in doing so.