Why I hate the LOTR movies - (like you care?)

When I was a kid I lived in a small village in Scotland. Our house was on the outskirts of town and at the end of my street opened out into fields of wheat. At the very edge of the field, was a huge old dead tree - more of a stump really.The tree had been cut off about 6 feet up for some reason, so it had some spread and a few low branches intact. The Stump was our hangout, and was, depending on the day, the bridge of the enterprise, Tarzans house, a castle, the tardis - or if the girls got there first a whole other set of locations I was never interested in!

Some days I would sit in there and read. It was sitting in the stump, age twelve, that I found out about Gandalf the White. His reappearance stunned me to my core. I read and re-read the same passage over and over again 'till I could be sure it was true and then closed the book and went for a walk in the wheat. I am not ashamed to admit that once I was out in the corn well away from the possible eyes of my friends I wept with relief and joy at his return.

A few years ago I was at the cinema, Spider-man I think, and next to me was a group of teenage girls. LOTR Fans one and all - when the preview for The Two Towers hit the screen they fell silent in awe. I had to admit it looked good, the entire cast about as good as one could ever hope for, and there - Ian Mckellen raging for a moment as Gandalf the white: Inspired. And from next to me came a massive gasp of amazement and one of the girls all but yelled - "GANDALF! Gandalf is alive!"

Peter Jackson has done a fine job and I can give thanks that it was him that brought this to the screen. It may not even seem important, just as the scouring and Faramir do not - but I for one am glad that I grew up when LOTR was a personal unfolding adventure rather than a shared cultural experience. The flavour of the moment.

Was anyone surprised to see Gandalf reappear? The films are great movies, but they are just movies & cheat you of the genuine experience & are also thus a terrible tragedy - I hate them with a passion.

Did you read the books? I don't get what you're on about.. Gandalf did return in TTT 😑
I admit, PJ did make some changes-- leaving out Saruman in RotK, the Scouring, etc.. But as Kes said, movies based on books are based on the characters of the story, and don't entirely have to follow the storyline of the books; movies themselves can never live up to the books.. but PJ directed the movies wonderfully; I read the books before seeing the movies, and I loved the movies almost as much as the books themselves.
Is it just because of a few adjustments you hate the LotR movies "with a passion"?

Originally posted by ~*~Tassie~*~
Did you read the books? I don't get what you're on about.. Gandalf did return in TTT :

Cripes: Yes I know.. I found that out while reading the book - not while watching the previews for the movie. How did you find out?

I read the book.
Why does that make you hate the movies?

You don't see anything inherently tragic about people knowing gandalf doesnt die and will be back in the next movie before they have even seen it? That's just the main reason.

Yes, but there is that possibility with any movie..don't you see ?

You mentioned seeing Spider Man...but you don't make a comment on it being nothing like the Comics ( and maybe this isn't the place for that ).

There have been numerous threads on this Forum about how the movies are dislike the books, how they wrongfully protrayed a character, and the plot....but look at it from a standpoint of a young viewer. A small child watching this film is introduced to the world of Tolkien....he is delighted to see Hobbits and Rangers, Nazgul and Orcs...he is swept up in an adventure beyond his wildest dreams....

He has not read the books ( or even if he has he can accept the differences between the written word and the story on screen ).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I thank you for sharing yours. 😄

So the movies have lost their drama, and element of surprise because you've already read the books and know what's coming? Is that it?

Why does that make you hate them with a passion??

Edit.. as A.D. said, everyone's entitled to their own opinion..

I actually preferthe movies

brb

So you hate the movies because its a shared cultual experience? or because some people found out that Gandalf was alive thru the movies, and not the books?

I understand perfectly your enthusiasm when reading the books, I myself read them, and was equaly fasinated by the characters jouneys...When I found out Gandalf was alive, I felt like Aragorn; legolas and gimli...Not knowing who exactly he was, while seeing him at a distance...wondering if he was saruman or not...because How could it be gandalf, we saw him die....well he came back, and to me his coming back was so comforting, and I was so happy that he came back. In the movie, when I saw it layed out on screen...It was still very much a similar experience....not the same but similar...so your saying the books are beter than the movies? ok I agree, but I don't hate the movies just because of that....I love them and cherish them..had it not been for the movies, i never would have read the books and had the experience of a lifetime, not to mention countless other ways it has changed, and molded my life.
Tolkien was brilian, and his works inspire me so much, When I'm reading his books Its almost like I escape from this horible world, at least for a time, and am somwhere else, where there still is trouble and pain, and suffering, but you still feel like your a part of the world, and that middle earth is your home too.
anyway...I love both the movies and the books...but I treat them as seperates...they are diferent....but I love them both, and always will...because of the enourmous passion I have for middle earth, and the respect and appreciation of Peter Jackson's efforts, and for the feelings I get every time I see the movies.

just curious...where in scotland...?

Mr. S_b is here 😂

Originally posted by Flying High
just curious...where in scotland...?

West Lothian.

Originally posted by Smodden
So you hate the movies because its a shared cultual experience? or because some people found out that Gandalf was alive thru the movies, and not the books?

How many people these days have read Gone with the Wind, or Jaws ? Once a movie attains classic status very few people read the book before they see the film. What the films have done is doomed generations to come from having the privilege of experiencing the books for themselves. Even those who read them after wards wont get the same experience.

I think it's unbearably sad - but yanno i'm of a type and generation that thinks books are better than TV, so what do i know.

kk...i stay in Fife....

OH GOD WEST LOTHIAN.....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! lol

Originally posted by Mr Zero
How many people these days have read Gone with the Wind, or Jaws ? Once a movie attains classic status very few people read the book before they see the film. What the films have done is doomed generations to come from having the privilege of experiencing the books for themselves. Even those who read them after wards wont get the same experience.

I think it's unbearably sad - but yanno i'm of a type and generation that thinks books are better than TV, so what do i know.

Hey..I happen to agree that books are better than movies...for the most part. I read Absolute Power...a great murder mystery...and then when I realized that there was a movie about this book, I had to watch it. It was the worst 2 hours spent...the movie didn't follow along with the book, and in some cases...things were totally different.

Though on the flip side...after reading The Hunt for Red October..I found the movie much more easy to follow and a better story.

So it can go either way...it all depends on how you look at it.

LOTR Trilogy doesn't follow word for word with the book, but standing along, is a very good story.

Originally posted by Flying High
kk...i stay in Fife....

Originally posted by A.D. Skinner
LOTR Trilogy doesn't follow word for word with the book, but standing along, is a very good story.

I agree that it can go either way, but my point is that any good book is ruined by a successful movie adaptation as it means people no longer go to the book without knowing the story in advance, and in the case of something like LOTR thats a tragedy.

Originally posted by A.D. Skinner
Yes, but there is that possibility with any movie..don't you see ?

You mentioned seeing Spider Man...but you don't make a comment on it being nothing like the Comics ( and maybe this isn't the place for that ).

Thats a very valid point, because Iv'e been arguing with one of the Spider-man movie haters here in this very forum. See i loved the Spidey Movies and approve of all the changes they made, but nobody is going to see the films and learn something that will spoil their enjoyment of the comic if they go on to read it.

Yes kids will be introduced to Tolkien via the movies - and some may go on to read, but thats my point - "go on to read" - scant few people will read the books first.

I'm just glad my introduction was via the hobbit when I was seven years old, not via the "magic" of DVD.