The Fellowship of the Ring

With the The Fellowship of the Ring book fresh in my mind, I re-watched the extended edition of the movie to compare the two.  I wasn't disappointed.

The plot is the same as the book, so google that if you want it (or read my post on the book for a quick synopsis).  Here, I'd like to focus on how the movie compares to the book in a qualitative sense (a nitpicky scene-by-scene difference analysis is here).  But first, a quick digression.

A book vs. a movie
I used to think a movie would measure up to the book only if it mirrored that book as closely as possible.  I no longer think that way, for a few reasons:
1) It's unrealistic to translate any book, scene-by-scene, into a movie of reasonable length.  Movies are, by necessity, abridgements.  
2) Books and movies are inherently different, and so each must play to its strengths.  Movies, being visual, can convey in an instant what books take pages to describe; similarly, books can get inside the head of characters in a way movies never could.  Thus, a good book made word-for-word into a movie wouldn't be a good film; a good movie doesn't translate into a good book without some modification.
3) If a movie mirrored a book exactly, there would be no pleasure in viewing the movie.  You'd know exactly what was coming, exactly what would be said, etc., at any given time. 

If a movie should differ from a book on which it is based, what elements are essential to make any sort of attempt worthwhile?  There's really only one requirement: the movie must be true in spirit to the book.  In spirit, mind you.  If the book conveys a message, the movie must convey that same message.  If the book has a basic plot, the movie should be true to the basic plot.  If we read a book on the strength of its characters, the movie's strength should, likewise, be in those characters.  So, it's with that in mind that I go . . .
Back to The Fellowship
I loved the book The Fellowship of the Ring, and I loved the movie, too.  Not because it was a verbatim reproduction of the book, but because it remained true to the spirit of the book.  The basic plot is the same; the basic messages were the same.  In fact, the movie took many memorable quotes right out of the book (though they may have changed which character uttered it, or when).  Some characters (like Arwen) were "played up" on screen, and others diminished.  Some (like the hobbits Merry and Pippin) were given a goofy quality that the book never conveyed.  The imagery was fantastic; the music superb.  A few story tweaks bothered me a tad, but just a tad- they were mostly understandable, or at least forgivable.  The bottom line: both the novel and the movie are fantastic.  If you loved the book, you'll probably love this, too.

Rating: A+