[The Saucepan Man]

Well, as some here will know, I have always been an avid supporter of Jackson and his LotR films. In recent times, I have rather given up on arguing the toss over the finer points as I have heard it all before and said it all before. But I remain steadfast in my conviction that these three films (or, perhaps more accurately, single film in three instalments) were extraordinary film events, groundbreaking in so many respects and as revolutionary for the fantasy film genre as Star Wars was for the sci-fi film genre.

Before going on, a little background for those who do not know my stance on these films or the books. I am a long standing Tolkien fan. I first read The Hobbit aged 9 some 30 years ago and LotR followed shortly thereafter. LotR has always been the foremost among my favourite books and I am currently reading it to my children, having recently got through TH with them.

So I am no film fan boy and nor do I lack an appreciation of Tolkien's literary achievements. As such, I am under no illusions that Jackson's films depict (in may cases) quite different characters and events to those portrayed by Tolkien on the page. That, to me, does not matter. The point for me is whether I enjoy them as films.

Much as I appreciate Sauron the White's argumentation and admire his pluck in sticking up for Jackson as his films, it really doesn't matter to me how popular a film is, how many awards it has won or what the critics have said about it (they might affect whether I bother investing time in watching a film, but marginally so). And I am long past the point of caring about the "Tolkien purists" gripes, major or minor. The question asked how I feel about the films now, after all this time, and that is the question that I shall answer.

I am not one to watch a film over and over again. However good it is, I get bored of watching the same thing repeatedly. I own all three films (special edition) on DVD but have watched them (until recently) about once each since getting them. I think that I saw each film twice in the cinema. So I have probably seen these films a lot less than many here.

Recently, Mrs S and I sat down to watch FotR (we have TTT planned for this weekend), and I was glad to find that my appreciation for the film had not diminished one jot. Indeed, if anything, it had increased. I am not usually an overly emotional person, but I found tears welling in my eyes so many times. They might not (completely) be Tolkien's characters but, darn it, I still care about them. It might not (completely) be Tolkien's story but, darn it, I cared what happened. On so many levels (visually, emotionally, technically, suspensefully) the films utterly blow me away each time that I watch them.

I compare that to my recent experience of watching Eragon, a very poor film in my opinion (I have not read the book), and there is just no comparison. Similarly, though less so, with the Narnia and Harry Potter films (again, I have not read the books). Admittedly, through my book fandom, I have more emotional investment in the LotR films (and I was blown away to see the world that inspired such enchantment in me as a child brought to life), but that cannot be the complete answer as the changes from book to film just don't bother me. As examples of their genre, these are, to my mind, outstanding films. Yes, they are big on action and somewhat unsubtle, but so are so many other films churned out by Hollywood which make little or no impact on me. These films impact me massively every time that I watch them. And, yes, there are internal inconsistencies, but these are present in almost every other film of similar genre, and they pale into insignifigance, in my view, in comparison with the overall magnificence of the films. Perhaps other directors could have made better adaptations, although they would still have been adaptations and liable to arouse similar ire from the purists, but we are in any event here entering the realms of hypothetica. If they exist, those directors did not (and probably had no inclination to) film LotR. One thing for sure, a good many directors (and writers, producers SFX teams, actors etc) would have made a much worse job of the project.

I happen to agree with Sauron the White that, on any analysis, these films were massively successful as films and I consider that they stand head and shoulders above others in the same and similar genres. I believe that they will stand the test of time. But I make no objective claims. This has been a purely subjective view.

Tolkien once suggested that his book was unfilmable. He was probably right. No one, in my view, could have brought the book to life as he wrote them. Any film would have necessarily been an adaptation. Does it follow that the films should not have been made? My life would have been the worse for it, and my wife would never have discovered the book. So, again from a purely subjective standpoint, my answer is a resounding no.

One final point. I could understand the controversy from Tolkien fans over the changes when the films first came out. But why do people still get so hot under the collar about them? These are the films that we have. I happen to think that they are rather good. If you agree, why not just enjoy them for what they are and stop putting up obstacles to your experience? If not, then what does it matter? You don't need to watch them. The book is still there, and it remains unchanged.