Off-genre adaptations

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Pervinca Took

No adaptation can live up to the original in terms of detail. But I think a decent adaptation can live up to it in spirit and essence.

The films didn't, but they didn't even try.

The BBC radio version and the stage musical, however, were far better adaptations, and did the books every bit of justice allowed by their respective art forms.

I've always thought that FotR-M came pretty close to capturing the spirit of Middle-earth. The Shire feels idyllic, the Elves feel otherworldly, Moria evokes decaying grandeur... If you think about the usual complaints about the various films, FotR mostly gets issues with minor characters (Bombadil, Glorfindel), while TTT has possessed Theoden and corrupt Faramir, and RotK has evil Denethor and 'Sam gives up and goes home'. There's a very clear distinction in my mind between FotR and the other five.

I freely admit it did some of the characters a disservice (Frodo in particular has most of his agency taken away in favour of tripping over), but I still hold that it evoked the magic and grandeur of Middle-earth.

Which is sort of the point of this thread. Middle-earth is a beautiful and fascinating world; I feel that there's room for a lot of different genres there to explore it and bring out different aspects of what makes it so incredible.

hS