Anti-LotR

[WizarDru]

I really disagree with Jackson's choice in making Arwen the one who confronted the Black Riders at the Ford of Bruinen, rather than Frodo. This was a great place to give Frodo something to do, to show his strength, to let him, and us, finally see what he was truly up against, since, especially in the film, he had been pretty nondescript - and Jackson gives the scene to a supproting character.

Oh, c'mon, fess up: we all know you're a Glorfindel fanboy.


Watching the extended version last night, many things came through differently. The pacing is definitely slower, for one thing. The scene of Elrond and Aragorn at his mother's grave were interesting, to be sure. I was amazed how many things from the book actually were filmed, in truth, like Aragorn singing the song of the Lady of Luthien, for example. Of course, with the new length, I'll FINISH watching it tonight.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Singing, who really wants the singing?

I smell something foul about this thread.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Sure, I'm a fan of Glorfindel, but I understand why he was replaced with Arwen, from a filmmaking standpoint. Still, even if he had been in the film, I would have objected to him being the one to confront the Nazgul at the Ford of Bruinen, for the same reasons I give above.

 

[WizarDru]

Sure, I'm a fan of Glorfindel, but I understand why he was replaced with Arwen, from a filmmaking standpoint. Still, even if he had been in the film, I would have objected to him being the one to confront the Nazgul at the Ford of Bruinen, for the same reasons I give above.

I see your point. Personally, I liked that Arwen was given something important to do early on, especially since that's really the only thing she gets to do for quite a while, if at all. We'll be given lots and lots of chances to see Frodo fight the good fight, but not so much for Arwen. The extended version also gives all the hobbits more to do, so Frodo is more of a character by that point, which may have contributed to the choice.

I'm a little confused by your statement about Elrond's brother. I guess I really need to read the Silmarillion soon, so I can understand the history. The arrival of men upon middle-earth sounds like it was more complicated than I thought.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

The pacing is, indeed, one of those things I disliked. Not that it was too long - it was paced too quickly in many places.

I didn't like that Saruman was actually a servant of Sauron in the film. I guess it makes some sense from a screenwriting standpoint, though it doesn't always work, for me.

You need to see the extended version, Colonel. I had the same feeling about the pacing - it was one of my few complaints. The Extended version adds so many little things back in that flesh the characters out just a bit more and the "rushed" feeling is gone.

As for Saruman serving Sauron, in the book he was always playing both sides, and I think that's still the case, although it is not as clearly stated. Remember in the movie, when Saruman asks who the Uruk-hai serve, he says "Saruman" not "Sauron."

 

[ColonelHardisson]

In the book, he never felt he was serving Sauron at all. He was working on his own, more or less (at least he thought so), but had been corrupted by Sauron. In the movie, it was baldly stated he was working for Sauron, and seemed well aware of it himself.

 

[Lizard]

-No Tom Bombadil.
-Took too long to get the action. Who cares about the fairy stuff.

Does anyone see a contradiction here?

 

[Crothian]

Does anyone see a contradiction here?

Maybe he meant it has the wrong type of fairy stuff?

 

[KnowTheToe]

In the book, he never felt he was serving Sauron at all. He was working on his own, more or less (at least he thought so), but had been corrupted by Sauron. In the movie, it was baldly stated he was working for Sauron, and seemed well aware of it himself.

Yes, it was stated he was working for Sauron, but remember that this is just the first installment and there is not enough time to flesh everything out. I think they will clearly identify his selfish motivations. It was clear that he wanted the ring from the hobbits and he never said anything about handing it over to Sauron.

 

[Storm Raven]

I'm a little confused by your statement about Elrond's brother. I guess I really need to read the Silmarillion soon, so I can understand the history. The arrival of men upon middle-earth sounds like it was more complicated than I thought.

Elrond and Elros were half-elves, the result of a union between an elf and a human, and as such, given the choice between being elves and living forever as immortals, and being men and dying to pass on to whatever Eru (i.e. God) had planned for them in the afterlife.

Elrond chose to be an elf. Elros chose to be a man and became the first King of Numenore. Elendil, Isildur and Aragorn were all descended form Elros.

As an aside, note that by the time of LotR, Elrond is at least 4,500 years old, so all of this happened a long time ago.