Do you think Tolkien would be insulted by the LOTR movies?

[haltred]

IF Tolkien were still with us . He would be pleased that as good a job as PJ has done happened. Some directors would have made a total mess of adapting the texts . Jackson has modified it for 1 basic reason , if he'd done a literal 1 to 1 interpretation of the text the movies would have been even longer than they are. And I hope that people who see the movie then read the book. must admit that prior to the movies I had not looked at them. But the movies give a taste of what the texts tell us. And the languages used in the movies a sound for the poetry of the books

[Lobelia]

I think if Tolkien was still alive, PJ would have flown out to England, discussed his ideas with him, showed him the Alan lee and John Howe designs and invtied him to be involved. He might, perhaps, have explained why some things had to be changed. Probably he would have been upset about the removal of the Scouring of the Shire, but given how much else was true to the spirit of the book, and how passionate about the novel everyone was, he might have been gracious about it. Given that he had sold the rights, he would probably have heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the finished product. I read the Letters and from what I recall, he was actually quite excited about the initial concept, till he saw what the American studio was going to do with it. And I don't blame him! It was horrific.

Given that they did leave out the Scouring, BTW, I found the ending they did have, with that scene in the pub, rather touching - here are the four who have saved the world and no one at home knows or cares - in the spirit of the hobbits realising just how much the Rangers had done for them without ever letting them know. And the last scene was out of the novel, wasn't it? "Well, I'm home."

[Kitanna]

I honestly think Tolkien would have been impressed with how Peter Jackson put Middle Earth onto the big screen. I'm sure there are parts or little details he would have been less pleased with, but on a whole I do believe he would have liked it. And I totally agree with Lobelia that PJ would have discussed everything with Tolkien before making the LOTR films.

If Tolkien were to dislike anything related to his books it would be some of the fanfictions out there. Not to knock anyone who writes them, but there a lot of slash fanfics out there and it's just sick.

But all that's off topic to restate myself: Tolkien would most likely like the movies except for a thing here or there.

[Caunwaithon]

I don't think Mr. Tolkien would be angry, per se. The man is very mellow, and level-headed.

He might be...perturbed.

Personallly, That is just how I envisioned it. The orcs, the trolls, Oliphants.

But if Mr.Tolkien would have been alive, he would have had a huge say in the movie anyway. So we would have probably had a MUCH different film.

[Salacia Deloresista]

I don't think Tolkein would be angry with the movies. Much of his studies were mythologies, stories that by nature change with the re-telling. Peter Jackson was re-telling a legend when he made the Lord of the Rings movies, and I think that Tolkien, with all his knowledge about how the stories develop over time, would have expected many changes. I think he would have been disapointed about the missing characters, just as any parent would when one of his children was left out, but insulted at the re-telling of The Lord of the Rings, which he himself considered to be a recording of pre-existing myths? I think not.

One of the greatest apeals of The Lord of the Rings is not that it has an extremely exciting plot, but that when you read the books, you feel like you can actually travel to Middle Earth. The fact that the movies carry over that sense of realism in my humble opinion makes up for any shortcomings in plot. The focus of the books wasn't plot, in any case. It was Middle Earth itself, the land, the history, the culture of the people living there. The creators of the movies took that aspect of the books to heart, and every detail of set, costume and even in most cases the behavior of the actors brings to life the wealth of characterization that Tolkien wrote, not just for the main characters, but for the land itself, and the history leading up to the climax of the War of the Ring. I prefer to think of the movies as one big fan-art project, not dissimilar to a John Howe painting. The analogy makes sense in my head; whether it makes sense to anyone else, I can't say. What I mean is simply that we shouldn't be so quick to condemn the movies for failures in the plot line, and forget that they were made with the best intentions at heart, and made in a way that was meant to pay tribute to Tolkien, not rip off his work. Just look at the differences in interpretations between The Lord of the Rings movies and the Harry Potter movies, and you'll see what I mean.

Sorry for the digression.

~Sally

[Legolas in spandex]

If I were Tolkien, personally, I would be rather proud. If he could see them, he should be flattered by the fact that someone wanted to show the world what their idea of LotR appears as and what it means to them. Yes, it does, in the end, affect the way new readers percieve the books and this new perception may be different than if there were no movies at all, but the movies still do not take away the reader's ability to use their imagination. The movies never could decently do absoloutely everything in the books, and they still leave room for the imagination. Plus, the New Line Cinema movies aren't the only LotR movies out there. I'm very glad for the movies. They have actually let some people know the books are out there. They're the reason I've begun to read the books, and I love the books very much.

[Glaurung]

I myself guess that Tolkien wouldn't be very satisfied to the movies. Of course they bring more readers to his books. But still, sometimes when watching the movies I wonder if Tolkien would have liked them after all. At times, I felt that PJ has made LotR just an action spectacle, which I think Tolkien wouldn't have been very pleased with.

[Ellewen]

Personally I don't think he'd be insulted, but rather displeased with the final cut... I mean they cut out the Barrow Downs scene, and Tom Bombadil! (and Fatty Lumpkin!) Among other things (too numerous to name)... Although according to one of my relatives/relations, those scenes weren't exactly "needed" I dissagree however...

[Boromir88]

Ellewen, surprisingly enough, I don't think Tolkien would be too upset over the cutting of scenes. As Tolkien states that he understands time constraints and things have to be contracted if you are making a movie from a book:

Contraction of this kind is not the same thing as the necessary reduction or selection of the scenes and events that are to be visually represented.

So, it's not the cutting of scenes that upsets him the most, it's the altering and changing around his ideas (which Jackson did a lot of). Tolkien would rather prefer the Ents being cut out of the movies, than have them being changed from the books:

If both the Ents and the Hornburg cannot be treated at sufficient length to make sense, then one should go.

[ArathorofBarahir]

I don't think he would have been insulted, however, I think disappointed would be a better to describe the way he would have felt. Middle Earth was his creation, so I think he would be a little disappointed that he didn't live long enough to be able to oversee the making of these movies. However, I think Peter Jackson did a good job and stayed as faithful as he could, but there was no way you could take the Lord of the Rings the book and film it and be one hundred percent faithful, it would have been impossible.

Insulted no Tolkein Appreiciates creativity and what Peter Jackson and Weta Digital did was definetly creative.

[Groin Redbeard]

Peter Jackson did an amazing job with the creation of the movies. He made it interesting, by adding his own point of view, but still held to the story line of the books.