Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy

[myrddin173]

Some of you may know how obsessed I am with the Lord of the Rings. I know that for many of the fans of the books the movies were horrible. I however disagree, I think that the changes that were made were necessary in adapting them to film. What are your thoughts on the subject? Are you a fan of the movies or not?

Also I am incredibly excited to share that this june in America the movies will be returning to the big screen with several additional hours of footage and introductions by Peter Jackson about the upcoming Hobbit movies.

Lord of the Rings films return to the big screen with almost three extra hours of footage | Herald Sun

[Black Dragon]

I adore the film adaptations. I don't see them as replacing or even competing with the books. They are their own artistic interpretation of Tolkien's world. And for what they are, they are marvelous.

[Neunzehn]

It isn't whether the movie can match the book, but how closely they do. In this the LOTR movies were actually much closer than most adaptations.

[Kate]

Yep, I agree with all of the above.

I love the books. I love the films. The films are not the books and never pretended to be anything but interpretations. Even if someone has issues with how they've adapted the source material, I think anyone would have a hard time arguing they aren't remarkable pieces of cinema

[Chris Conley]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy tops my list of favorite movies.
I'm not nearly as big a fan of the novels. It's not that I didn't enjoy them, but I've read a lot of books I enjoyed more.

[Digital_Fey]

As far as I'm concerned - and I realize I'm in the minority here - the best thing to come out of the movie trilogy was The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook spin-off by Alan Lee. Seriously, I tried to watch FotR, and I tried to like it, but I couldn't. The scenery was spectacular, the costumes and actors were (mostly) excellent, but it lacked all of the subtlety and old-world charm of the books, which was what made me a fan of LOTR in the first place. I know the movies were aimed at a wider, more modern audience and I think they succeeded in grabbing the attention of a lot of people who wouldn't have been interested in the books otherwise, but for me they fell flat.

[Behelit]

I heard the initial blu ray release of the trilogy was not well received due to the lack of bonus material and extended footage.

That's why they're rereleasing it. If anyone is looking to scoop up a copy and DEFINITELY wants to pay for that extended material, be sure to double check the edition. (Its not released as of yet, but will be June 28th!)

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended

I loved the trilogy. All of them. Even FotR. I very much look forward to The Hobbit as well.

[AvengerofOsiris]

I think a couple of things were "off" about the movies.

1) No Tom Bombadil. He was the one real BIG mystery of the novels.

2) The Council of Elrond should have been longer and they should have discussed more things.

3) Legolas surfing on a shield down a staircase.

4) A Nazgul breaking Gandalf's staff.

5) Legolas killing the Oliphant.

6) Aragon killing the Mouth of Sauron. That scene just bothered me.

7) They misrepresented how many orcs were at the Battle of Morannon. This may seem a rather minor point, but in the books it really showed how hopeless their cause was if Frodo did not succeed.

Now, those are pretty small criticisms compared to what they really could have done to mess up the films. And I'll also say, these are my 3 favorite films of all time (now the Star Wars has been ruined for me for all time), but they are about 1/10th as good as the books.

The only thing I liked better about the movies was that the scourging of the shire wasn't in them. I never really cared for that in the books.

[Digital_Fey]

I probably would've forgiven the movies everything if they included number 3, Osiris

[Elder the Dwarf]

This thread is ancient, and sorry to bring it up again but I absolutely love the movies, so... deal with it . To Osiris: yeah, but how awesome were those Legolas scenes? They are the main reason he is my favorite character. To be fair and honest, I saw the movies first (sorry I was born like 40 years after the books were published) but they served to introduce me and many others to the books. I do like the books better, but those movies are among my favorite of all time. They probably do battle scenes better than any fantasy movie, the acting is great, and the scenery is absolutely gorgeous.

And to those above who didn't like the Fellowship... what the hell? The battle at Amon Hen might be my favorite fight scene in the movies. It's definitely Aragorn's best moment, and he had a few really great ones. And I honestly don't know how Boromir could have been better casted or acted.

The only real problem I have with the movies (or at least the biggest) is that they made me hate Frodo with a passion. He's such a tool in the later ones!