The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - In restrospect, are you glad you saw the movies?

mollecon · 09-24-2003, 07:36 PM

Before I saw the movies, I had read LotR some 15 times or so. And as you can imagine, I had formed pretty fixed images in my head as to how persons & places (the latter in particular) was. I had also seen Bakshi's ambitious, but failed attempt at a cartoon version (only including the first half of LotR) in the late 70ties. So it was admittedly with some hesitation I sat down in the cinema seat to watch FotR between Christmass & New Year 2001. But as another poster said, I was captured from the beginning & pretty much sold as I saw Gandalf meeting Frodo, & the ride into the Shire... I ended up watching FotR in the theaters 25+ times (lost count along the way! ). I didn't watch TTT quite as many times, but I guess you have managed to figure out now that I like these movies a lot .<P>Admittedly, it had been quite a while since I read the books last when I watched FotR the first time - that might have worked to my advantage. Still, I can perfectly well seperate the images in my own head, made from the descriptions in the books (yes, I've picked them up again), from the images made by PJ in the movies. Exept, of course, where they are almost the same! Which they are surprisingly often. But there are also a lot of differences of course - I actually find PJ's (& his great co-workers - we should mention them more often, folks!) vision of Moria better than my own. On the other hand, I think Rohan should have been more soft-hilled & greener grassed than PJ shows it in TTT* - but the latter don't destroy my vision of Rohan, & I can perfectly well accept PJ's version.<P>I pity people who cannot manage both book(s) & movie(s). I get to appreciate TWO great works of art, they miss one... <P>*I suspect this is partially for logistic reasons - there probably isn't that sorta landscape in NZ(?).

09-24-2003, 07:36 PM	#23
mollecon Wight Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 188	Before I saw the movies, I had read LotR some 15 times or so. And as you can imagine, I had formed pretty fixed images in my head as to how persons & places (the latter in particular) was. I had also seen Bakshi's ambitious, but failed attempt at a cartoon version (only including the first half of LotR) in the late 70ties. So it was admittedly with some hesitation I sat down in the cinema seat to watch FotR between Christmass & New Year 2001. But as another poster said, I was captured from the beginning & pretty much sold as I saw Gandalf meeting Frodo, & the ride into the Shire... I ended up watching FotR in the theaters 25+ times (lost count along the way! ). I didn't watch TTT quite as many times, but I guess you have managed to figure out now that I like these movies a lot .<P>Admittedly, it had been quite a while since I read the books last when I watched FotR the first time - that might have worked to my advantage. Still, I can perfectly well seperate the images in my own head, made from the descriptions in the books (yes, I've picked them up again), from the images made by PJ in the movies. Exept, of course, where they are almost the same! Which they are surprisingly often. But there are also a lot of differences of course - I actually find PJ's (& his great co-workers - we should mention them more often, folks!) vision of Moria better than my own. On the other hand, I think Rohan should have been more soft-hilled & greener grassed than PJ shows it in TTT* - but the latter don't destroy my vision of Rohan, & I can perfectly well accept PJ's version.<P>I pity people who cannot manage both book(s) & movie(s). I get to appreciate TWO great works of art, they miss one... <P>*I suspect this is partially for logistic reasons - there probably isn't that sorta landscape in NZ(?).