From: (No Email available)

Date: 2003-12-24 09:11:16

Comment:

It is always nigh difficult to please a diverse audience of Tolkien-philes and those who have never read the novel, but in my opinion, PJ has managed to find the middle ground while giving his interpretation of the books. For instance the Two Towers were depicted a Orthanc at Isengard and the Barad-dur in Mordor. The the more commonly accepted view is that of Minas Tirith and Minas Ithil (Morgul).

For those who have read the novels, PJ been deliberate when deciding on depatures from the book - seriously, who would want to watch a two hour scene of the Council of Elrond? I recommend that Tolkien-philes watch the special features in the extended sets, where Fran and Philippa explain the departures.

For those who have not read the book, PJ has simplified theme e.g. not having 20+ characters speaking at the Council of Elrond, making Elrond travel to Rohan with the reforged Sword of Elendil. With this technique, reinforced with the limitation of the film media, audience who have not read the novels can follow the trilogy quite comfortably. If you feel that there are questions which are not answered, fret not, as some of these questions are not answered in the novel. e.g. why did the Elves have to leave middle earth? What is a Balrog of Morgoth (Melkor)? What is the significance of the tree at Midas Tirith? Some of the answers can be found in the Silmarillion.

In short, the interpretation and departures of PJ et al from the books are deliberate and one should not take a simplistic view that departures are per se bad. With that in mind, what you have is a great storyline, coupled with stunning visuals and the best battle scenes ever on film (to be fair the greats historically did not have the array of techniques available to PJ). What's not to like? Easily the best film I have seen this year.