Another quibble with PJ movies - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

**The Saucepan Man** · 01-14-2007, 06:40 AM

But it seems to me that the real sense of suspense, for a book reader who has read The Hobbit, comes from the gradual realisation, during a fairly lengthy chapter, of the true nature of the seemingly innocent magic ring that Bilbo discovered on his travels.

A film viewer who has not read The Hobbit does not have the background knowledge to make such gradual realisation effective as a means of suspense. Even had the prologue merely told of Bilbo's discovery of the Ring, rather than revealing the true nature of the Ring, the film viewer would not have had the familiarity with the back story to make the revelation, when it came, particularly striking. Moreover, given the need to move the story on more quickly, the film would not, in any event, have had the book's luxury of being able to dwell on the revelation.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Threaded Mode

01-14-2007, 06:40 AM	#4
The Saucepan Man Corpus Cacophonous Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: A green and pleasant land Posts: 8,390	But it seems to me that the real sense of suspense, for a book reader who has read The Hobbit, comes from the gradual realisation, during a fairly lengthy chapter, of the true nature of the seemingly innocent magic ring that Bilbo discovered on his travels. A film viewer who has not read The Hobbit does not have the background knowledge to make such gradual realisation effective as a means of suspense. Even had the prologue merely told of Bilbo's discovery of the Ring, rather than revealing the true nature of the Ring, the film viewer would not have had the familiarity with the back story to make the revelation, when it came, particularly striking. Moreover, given the need to move the story on more quickly, the film would not, in any event, have had the book's luxury of being able to dwell on the revelation.