h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*I* have that edition - *and* I used sticky backed plastic on each volume *at the time I bought them* because I knew they were going to be preciousesesesss ...

... and yes, they are falling apart . I've read them so often that I'm surprised the words on the pages haven't faded.

Currently reading The Complete Guide to Middle Earth by J Tyler (I think ... it's upstairs) - an excellent way of finding out what the Silmarillion was all about, without having to actually read it.

Tourism of that sort always puzzles me a bit. I mean, yes NZ looked fantastic in the films. But if you want to see it, why not just ... watch the films? Why does anybody need to go and breathe the air and churn up the ground as well? Perhaps it's just me.

Mol

<<- an excellent way of finding out what the Silmarillion was all about, without having to actually read it.>>

Yes, that's true... Although I found the Silmarillion worth reading, even if it took months - and it did!

(I still haven't succeeded in reading it again, but.)

Vicky

The spines on mine are broken and falling off and been repaired. The corners are all rounded now too


Mol, another weird thing is that road maps in NZ now include places like Rohan or Rivendell

I think the Silmarillion can be nice to delve into in chunks. Read a favourite chapter rather than the whole thing straight through. There are some really great 'set piece' sort of bits: the fall of Gondolin, Fingolfin's fight with Morgoth, Luthien and Sauron having a sing-off...

I read the original OP's comment and then skipped over to here as the there is only so many hours in a day and to read all the responses would take up way too much time.

I was just wondering if anybody thought along similar lines to me...

Why did Jackson go to so much trouble and expense to "do the Ring properly" and visually he certainly did that and then bastardise the storyline so much?

Why depict Farimir the way he did and Denethor's death, the list goes on and on and it has probably all ready been covered here but I just don't understand the thinking behind it.
Sure it's "only an adaptation" but the level of expense and eye for detail in the sets and costumes and language tutors all points to intimate knowledge of the books and to then go an basically muck it all up (The storyline).
I just don't get it, Denethor standing on his funeral pyre declaiming away would of been great, Tom Bombadill would of been marvellous but I can understand the need to pare the story down for general consumption.

Completely stuffing around the whole story I do not understand and I'm already cringing at the thought of what he will do to the soon to be filmed Hobbit.

<>

What irked me most at the time, was Jackson's claim that *he* had been responsible for Eowen being depicted as a warrior, that in the book, all she did was sit and embroider etc. That's so wide of the mark, and yet NZers everywhere fell over themselves to believe it. No famous New Zealander can ever be questioned!

Some of Jackson's decisions make sense, others really don't.

Agreed.

Apart from the extremely cool flying carrion-eating pterosaur-like creatures on which the Ringwraiths rode, I didn't care much for the movie adaptation.

Most annoying, I felt the music in all three movies was generally insipid, and that of the elves was positively wretched.

The elves singing sounded like a bunch of new-age stoners whacked out on downers. Profoundly underwhelming.

I haven't seen the films but I assume changes to the story are because you can't fit the three books into the time available to the films.

well I loved the films (and still do) partly because I loved Boromir - he was portrayed as a real hero with doubts about his ability to defend Gondor. But then I've always had a soft spot for him. (but I think I've mentioned that before, possibly more than once )

I also loved the look of the films - especially things like Moria and Minas Tirith. What I really loved is that Tom Bombadill didn't turn up. Loved Moria. Adored Aragorn. Hated Faramir (but then I have for years) Grima Wormtongue was fantastically creepy. And the Rohirrim were just spectacular.

Having said that, I don't really connect them with the novel because of that huge thing in The Two Towers. Elves? At Helm's Deep? When so much was left out or changed around, I really grind my teeth at that. (and of course, it's the introduction of skater elf which is plain )

****

wish I'd thought of covering my books at the time I got them - but that was a bit geeky at my boarding school. Back then being was the very purpose of existance (hence reading them by torchlight, under covers - in a dorm with 20 beds it was hard not to be spotted reading such books)

Yeah, the required omissions and most of the changes were acceptable, or at least endurable, as was the often wincingly-bad acting.

The music, however, was unforgivably, unremittingly horrible.

I didn't mind the music too much - but then, since I don't appear to be able to recall anything except the Enya song, I may have just blocked out its awfulness.

Endurable? Perhaps, the omissions? Fine.
But the complete arse-about story line as we neared the end was just silly and not even necessary.
Why would Denether's death be any different if the story was followed or for Farimir to have his persona from the book or Éowyn to be as she was depicted in the book?
None of this would of added any length or cost to the movie and would perhaps have stopped the onset of cringing and thoughts like.."No he's not going to have them do/say this is he, surely not?...yep

<>

A couple of years back, a friend sent me a CD of music inspired by LotR, by a Scandiwegian guy (sorry, I can't remember his name!) It was utterly *awesome*!

(I'll give the guy's name as soon as I can, but the CD is at home and I am not. It might be Bjorn, cliche though that is...)

It would be difficult for any music inspired by LotR to be worse than that scored for the movies themselves

Hopefully it isn't Bjorn. Again.

I really liked the films. And *particularly* the music. Generally only watch the extended editions but I don't think PJ did anything unforgiveable to the story (apart from completely editing out the scouring of the Shire, but I can understand why he did that).

*Normally* I hate film and TV adaptations (my husband has commented that really I just want to go to the cinema and watch pages being turned on the big screen) because the story - and, critically, the characters - are changed unnecessarily. But, despite having read it hundreds of times, I didn't feel that way about LOTR.

Perhaps the trick is to do what we do, ie not take it remotely seriously. Hobbiton is Teletubbyland ... Lothlorian is actually a Duran Duran convention ... lots of cheering and "one-nil!" during Helm's Deep ... *lots* of taking the p during the entire "Do you remember the taste of strawberries and cream, Mr Frodo?" speech (and Sam's other one, at the end of TTT) ... my favourite bit in the films, which is the beacon sequence, is (I've just discovered) entirely "wrong", because there weren't that many beacons. But I have lots of favourite moments.

The films also showed me things which are in the books which I'd never picked up on, eg the orcs firing the heads into Minas Tirith. As well as just showing me Middle Earth, which was fantastic.

I *really* don't understand the point of visiting "Rohan" when the Golden Hall isn't in it. Ooh - lots of grass - how exciting

Oh, and it's always Robbie Williams riding the Oliphaunt when we watch it

Mol

>>
Perhaps the trick is to do what we do, ie not take it remotely seriously. Hobbiton is Teletubbyland ... Lothlorian is actually a Duran Duran convention ... lots of cheering and "one-nil!" during Helm's Deep ... *lots* of taking the p during the entire "Do you remember the taste of strawberries and cream, Mr Frodo?" speech (and Sam's other one, at the end of TTT) ...
<<

Did I just hear Tolkien spinning in his grave?

actually, Mol, it's things like the heads going into Minas Tirith that make the films really worth watching for me.

I love them, but I really take them as just some bloke having skipped through it, making his idea of the story. And to be honest the only things that _REALLY_ bug me are all that guff with Arwen (I was really really looking forward to seeing Glorfindel revealed in all his elf-lord glory) and the unnecessary 15 hour long scene at Helm's Deep.

I loved the Helm's Deep scenes, however, with the Orcs doing their "haka" etc - but even so.

Oh and definitely not enough Saruman.

I think he should have made 6 films...

>>A couple of years back, a friend sent me a CD of music inspired by LotR, by a Scandiwegian guy (sorry, I can't remember his name!) It was utterly *awesome*!<<

If it's the one I've been listening to since the early 1970s, the name you're looking for is Bo Hansson. Close your eyes, listen to the music, and it takes you there. Fabulous.

There's also The Tolkien Ensemble's "At Dawn in Rivendell" if you want to listen to Tolkien's verse put to music. Also excellent.

I liked the music from the films too. Didn't notice it was rotten. I particularly liked the Carmina Burana-style piece when our heroes are fleeing the balrog in Moria.

There were a few things I found slightly objectionable in the film - the things that seemed to change meaning: 1) the pumping up and sending off of Arwen , 2) Faramir kidnapping Frodo and Sam and 3) the removal of the Scouring of the Shire.

Other than those things, all the other changes are understandable and forgivable because film makers have to make such changes to reduce stories to a reasonable length and to enhance the dramatic impact. We can't know what Tolkien himself would have thought of it, but I would guess he'd be happy with most of it. You only have to read some of the other Middle Earth related books (Silmarillion, Lost Tales etc) to see that he was always changing and developing the stories. If you regard it as legend and mythology (our missing legend and mythology) - that's what happens. Stories change over time with the constant retelling.