The White Council

Re: Beef with the Movies...

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: : I'm disappointed with some of Jackson's decisions from a : : purist's perspective, but these movies are not going to : : topple THE LORD OF THE RINGS from its highly coveted position : : as the best modern fantasy novel written to date. Nor are : : they going to wipe away all the literature and Web sites : : which have appeared through the years to celebrate the : : original story. People won't be able to forget or overlook : : the original so easily.

: This is the point I was trying to get accross (Thanx : Michael:^)). : The true Tolkien fans will always be there no matter what and : all the hype associated with the movies will dissipate after a : while along with all the "wannabe-fans" who will inevitabely : jump on the band-wagon.

I'm not sure what you mean by "true Tolkien fans". I think you're saying that a true Tolkien fan won't be deterred by what he or she doesn't like, and won't be deterred from liking the movies just because they aren't want he or she is expecting. Certainly I hope you don't mean that only purists are true Tolkien fans. I think many ardent fans have radically different visions of Middle-earth. They are all "true" fans because they love the stories, not because they happen to agree with disagree with certain points of view.

: I do see Jeuda's point, though. A really bad movie will mock : LotR and give people the wrong perception of an exquiaite book. : : That is why I will restate the point of my previous PoSt: : "If the movie is good enough to ensure that non-Tolkien fans : will get a kick out it AND THEN go and read LotR, then Peter : Jackson will have done a good job!"

I think Peter Jackson would have to go stark raving mad and take a lot of people with him in order to make a really bad movie. He's going to make a really unfaithful adaptation of the book, but that was ALWAYS clear. He didn't try to hide the fact he would change or shorten the story.

But I agree with you. If these movies induce people to read the original book, then I think he will have done a great service to Tolkien's memory, no matter how unfaithful the movies may be. And I think he will indeed so move his audience.