[WIR] The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

[Parmandur]

I recently relistened to Robert Ingliss’s unabridged audio book of LotR. I cannot recommend it enough. It is really unabridged (he even reads the appendices).

The Serkis audio books are quite good, too, Tolkien's prose and poetry really lends itself to being performed.

 

[el-remmen]

Maybe I’ll try them someday. I just can’t imagine anything better than the Ingliss version. When you hear him doing his Pippin voice in an imitation of the Gandalf voice in the two towers, while the former is telling the story of the Ents attacking Isengard, you really understand the level of mastery involved.

 

[Parmandur]

Maybe I’ll try them someday. I just can’t imagine anything better than the Ingliss version. When you hear him doing his Pippin voice in an imitation of the Gandalf voice in the two towers, while the former is telling the story of the Ents attacking Isengard, you really understand the level of mastery involved.

Wouldn't say it is "better," both performances are their own distinct pieces of art. But Serkis does really deliver each character with a distinct performance. His Bombadil is disconcerting and amazing.

 

[Hriston]

[*]I don't know if I lost it in the mixture of elf names and world-building, but I'm unsure as to whether or not Frodo shouting "O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!" as he attacked the Ring-Wraiths was some supernatural insight brought on by the Ring or him calling upon elven legends he's heard to remain resolute against certain death.

I think he was remembering the song Gildor's company had been singing when he met them, which had driven away the Black Riders.

Eta: Reading the passage again, particularly "he heard himself crying aloud", it seems like an instance of divine providence working through him, as if the words have been put in his mouth to protect him. Thus Aragorn's statement when talking about the Witch King: 'More deadly to him was the name of Elbereth.'

 

[Hriston]

To add to what I posted above, there's Sam's description of the event:

He heard Frodo's voice, but it seemed to come from a great distance, or from under the earth, crying out strange words.​

This can be read as a description of Frodo's voice coming across from the wraith-world, but it also raises the question of where the words are coming from and underscores the Ring's involvement. I'm left with the impression that Frodo, in claiming the Ring's power, was in some way activated by the Ring as its new master and involuntarily did the most powerful and heroic thing he could do, which was to speak those words in Elvish. Although he is bolstered by the Ring's power, his action itself is good because he is good, and yet it's part of a battle with the dark powers for control of the Ring, which is a contest he cannot win and which plays into the hands of the Nazgûl.

 

[Libertad]

Many Meetings

1. Having Gandalf explain that the Ring-Wraiths would have turned Frodo into a wraith to be enslaved and tormented shows that there are greater stakes than just death, as well as how Mordor's forces aren't just your typical violent conquerors. His explanation on how all sorts of beings have been brought under Sauron's sway elucidates on this quite well, when Frodo asks why the Ring-Wraith horses don't fear their riders like other animals.
2. I found it rather funny in a charming way, in how Gandalf explains that he added some "artistic flourish" by adding the shapes of riders in the floodwaters summoned by Elrond.
3. I like the natural form of worldbuilding that the book engages in when Frodo meets Glóin at Elrond's dinner. By asking him about recent happenings and what brought him so far from home, Tolkien is able to illuminate what other significant people and places are in the area without it feeling misplaced or awkward. I also like how when Glóin talks about the innovations the dwarves made, he speaks much more proudly on their architecture and roads while speaking briefly of them being less proficient in weapon and armorsmithing than prior eras. This is a subtle means of showing how the societies of Dale and surrounding environments are transitioning to a more peaceful status quo.
4. I can see how Peter Jackson took a more literal approach to Bilbo appearing monstrous when denied the opportunity to handle the One Ring. The original novel makes it more symbolic, that the Bilbo he knew and grew up with was (for a time) not there anymore, but something more akin to what Gollum became. In fact, Bilbo referred to the Ring as his "precious" during a conversation with Gandalf much earlier in the book.

The Council of Elrond

1. Between losing Moria and the Lonely Mountain, dwarves seem to have quite the history of being driven from their homes by monstrous forces. Additionally, Sauron's messenger giving the dwarves a bargain where they have their Rings of Power returned and "Moria shall be yours forever" carries the implicit threat that Sauron would take it from them if they don't cooperate.
2. The tale-telling of Isildur claiming Sauron's ring as "weregild" for his slain family members is a nice calling upon the old English/Germanic elements that Tolkien studied.
3. Bilbo saying that Frodo told a good story and that "there are whole chapters of stuff before you ever got here" in regards to the latter's retelling of travel from the Shire to Rivendell feels quite meta.
4. I like how the various cultural representatives relate their own tales of Isildur, and related tales, to paint a clearer picture of what came of Sauron and the One Ring. It shows how a lot of actual history gets embellished by folk-lore and interpretation, while showing how differing perspectives can create very different tales altogether.
5. Gandalf mentioning seeing Saruman wearing a ring on his finger could be a subtle way of showing that he is in league with Sauron, given that the dwarven representatives told of Sauron's messenger offering to return them the dwarven rings. But I don't know if it was meant to be just a ring in the text, or indeed one of the Rings of Power Celebrimbor forged. Also, Gandalf saying that he "liked white better" at Saruman showing off his amazing technicolor dreamcoat is rather funny.
6. I like how potential plot holes regarding ways of keeping the One Ring out of Sauron's reach are addressed. Tom Bombadil is an unreliable steward and his power only affects a relatively small area; they can't throw the Ring into the sea because there are entities within the sea that can be corrupted and Sauron has the capability to change and "torture the land;" they cannot send it across the sea to foreign lands, for such lands will not accept the Ring within their boundaries; and as for using the eagles to fly to Mordor, the eagle who rescued Gandalf said that he can only bear someone for so long and for so far.

The Ring Goes South

1. I laughed at Gandalf's head popping in through the window to put down Pippin, after Pippin's claim that "there must be someone with intelligence in the party" as to why he should accompany Sam and Frodo.
2. I like how Elrond organized for various scouts to survey the land before Frodo's journey began. This is quite the subversion from the typical "heroic journey" in a lot of literature and RPGs, where the protagonists are the vanguard going out first and the quest-giver just sits back waiting for results to come to them.
3. I find it interesting that of the mithril mail that Bilbo gives Frodo, the former refers to it as "dwarf-mail" rather than calling it mithril. I don't know if the actual material is mentioned later in the novel or not. It does make me wonder if any metalsmiths of the day criticized Tolkien about the practicality of wearing it beneath one's clothes like underwear. "Wouldn't Frodo chafe painfully?"
4. Sam's anxiety upon forgetting to pack rope for the journey is something all too familiar to my dungeon-delving self.
5. Aragorn's mention of how eerily silent the wildlife is at night before a swarm of crows departs as if fleeing from something, combined with the mountain Caradhras spoken of as having malign intentions, calls to mind the earlier mention during the Council of how Sauron has ways to torture the land. While Gimli and Aragorn mention that Caradhas is unaffiliated with Sauron, the chapter continues the themes of how even the creatures of the wilderness and the land itself can be motivated towards foul purpose.
6. Also, the book does subtly hint that Gandalf's magic has limits, or at least consequences, when he uses fire to light the logs to keep them warm in the winter storm. The wizard mentions that this action is like a bright shining beacon saying "Gandalf is here" to anyone who knows what to look for, but there was no other option besides freeze to death.

 

[Libertad]

A Journey in the Dark

1. We see the first significant bit of Boromir’s stubbornness to come when he says that he will not go to the Mines of Moria unless everyone else in the Company votes against him. Indirectly he’s elevating his own voice and vote over that of the others with such a proclamation, and only relents when the howls of wolves convince him otherwise.
2. The difficult decision to leave behind Bill the pony was quite touching. I take it they had no draft horse in the films on account that too much of the audience would side with Sam, who wanted to keep him.
3. Having a full-page illustration of the door to Moria was pretty neat. I don’t know if it’s in other versions, but it really stood out given that this is an otherwise pictureless book.
4. The portrayal of Moria’s ruins as a fathomless space where regular people once lived helps build up the sense of impending dread. While there is no mob of orcs to ambush the Company by the well like in the movies, Gandalf’s anger at Pippin for making unnecessary noise, combined with Frodo’s homesickness and Gimli’s sorrow at seeing the grave of Balin, showcases that the atmosphere is wearing away at their spirits.

The Bridge of Khazad-dûm

1. I tend to not have much to say when it comes to fight scenes, but one thing I noticed is that during the retreat from the orcs, Gandalf was visibly fatigued. The text demonstrating that he was struggling, along with saying that he met his match, does a lot to put him on the level of the rest of the Company. A lot of media portrayals of Gandalf display him as being more powerful than the others, and can definitely see where the "Gandalf is a 5th-level Magic-User" essay came from.
2. I presume that it was the cave troll, but the mention of a great toeless foot sticking through the just-broken barricaded door may demonstrate a bit more than I expected in regards to orc/troll anatomy. Why wouldn't they have toes? Or maybe this particular orc/troll had lost them from prior injuries, who knows?
3. I find it interesting how in the book, the otherwise fatal spear-blow to Frodo came from an orc leader and not a cave troll like in the Peter Jackson film, and when the others comment upon his luck/endurance Frodo doesn't reveal or bring up the mithril armor yet. I remember it becoming immediately apparent in the movie, so I'm curious why that was changed from the book. Perhaps to cut down on/speed up content?

Lothlórien

1. It is nice to see that the revelation of Frodo's hidden mithril armor is met with joy and relief, rather than disapproval for him keeping the rest of the Company in the dark about it.
2. Noting that the elven language had some differences than its speakers in the west is a brief but good means of showing that the non-human races aren't necessarily monocultures. Same with Haldir later saying that he is aware of havens of High Elves in the northwest, but knows almost nothing else about them. In fact, he was curious to hear about them from Merry given that the Shire is closer to their lands. It's a very common fantasy trope in worlds where such people are all part of the same kingdom, speak the same language, and so on. I recall how Dragonlance was considered ground-breaking in the 1980s for making said races having different kingdoms and cultures among themselves who don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. In an odd way, Tolkien was already ahead of a lot of the fantasy that came after him.
3. The return of the Ring-Wraith was unexpected. Tolkien didn't have to say who or what it was in the initial description, as its strange sniffing is by now well-known in the reader's mind.
4. Aragorn's offer to have everyone in the Company blindfolded was a nice means of diffusing a tense situation and singling out of Gimli. I did notice that Haldir the elf's language was a bit contradictory, which likely contributed to Gimli's anger: the speaking of not allowing "strangers to spy out the secrets of the Naith" but letting the non-dwarves be able to see was a clear provocation. Aragorn made the law apply equally and thus still be within its rules.

 

[billd91]

The text demonstrating that he was struggling, along with saying that he met his match, does a lot to put him on the level of the rest of the Company.

At this point, he's already contended with the balrog - he just doesn't yet know what it is. It wasn't orcs or trolls that burst through the spell he was using to secure the door while his companions fled. That's why he's so tired. He's not really on the same level as the rest of the company - he's fought something of very great power.

The return of the Ring-Wraith was unexpected. Tolkien didn't have to say who or what it was in the initial description, as its strange sniffing is by now well-known in the reader's mind.

That wasn't a ringwraith - that was Gollum. That's why the elves were so confused about what it was. They'd have recognized the extreme menace of a ringwraith.