Last month, I finished re-reading The Lord of the Rings. This post reflects on the book vs. the films. I've done this before; this post will complement my original.
The Differences
1) So many things are condensed (or omitted) in the films. In my original post, I mentioned a few, but there are others. What I noted this time around:
- Frodo and Sam (and others, as they join) take much longer to get to Rivendell. Many days and adventures, including an encounter with elves (led by Gildor), a supper with Farmer Maggot, a stay in Frodo's new house (he sold Bag End), a journey in the Old Forest (with Old Man Willow, Tom Bombadil, and Goldberry), the Barrow Wights, the long walk from Bree to Rivendell (with Glorfindel's aid towards the end).
- The Council of Elrond (and the fellowship's overall stay there) is much longer.
- Their time in the Mines of Moria is longer, and events rearranged [but largely retained] between book and film.
- Their time in the Forests of Lothlorien is much longer, and we get to see the Elvish city Caras Galadhon [which we see in passing in the extended edition of the film].
- Merry and Pippin's time with the Ents is drawn out over days, and includes a stay in Treebeard's house.
- Frodo and Sam's time in Emyn Muil navigating the rocks.
- Gamling's role in Rohan. (He is in the films, but Eomer takes the dominant role)
- Theoden/Rohan's journey to Isengard after the Battle of Helm's Deep.
- Aragorn's journey to summon the Army of the Dead (and their subsequent actions before, but not during, the Battle of Pelennor Fields).
- Theoden's/Rohan's journey to Pelennor Fields and his encounters with (and assistance from) the wild men of the mountains.
- Prince Imrahil and his army's role at Pelennor Fields.
- The Healing House in Minas Tirith and people therein (Ioreth and others).
- The entire story after the destruction of the One Ring. This includes Aragorn's assumption as king and his activities there, the Scouring of the Shire (and Battle of Bywater), and other elements.
2) A few things were extended in the films compared to the books. Off the top of my head:
- The humor of Merry and Pippin. They provided very occasional and mild comedy in the books (about the same as Frodo and Sam); that was drawn out heavily in the films as they were made the comic relief.
- The Righting of Theoden's mind.
- Aragorn's interactions with Arwen and Eowyn. Those relationships were the romantic interests in the films and played up to maximum effect.
- Aragorn and claiming (or fearing) his kingship.
- The Battles of Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields. Pinnacles of the second two films were raced through in the books.
3) Characters that got more (or less) screen time than page time.
- Who got more screen time: Arwen, Eowyn, Theoden, Legolas, and Aragorn stood out to me
- Who got less: Radagast, Glorfindel, Tom Bombadil/Goldberry, Gamling stood out
- The below graphic is helpful and has more comparisons. (copied from Facebook)
The Similarities (in Spirit)
I'll keep this short, but what I mention below is huge.
1) The overall story.
2) The main characters.
3) The iconic quotes. Though who said them and when may differ, I was impressed with just how much dialogue from the books made it into the movies.
4) The 'tone' of the world. You know you're in an ancient story with much impression of depth.
Overall
I think they did an amazing job capturing the spirit of the books in the films. Yes, many things had to be condensed. (I found this mildly ironic, as people complain the films are so long.) As always, the books pack in so much more. But what works on the page doesn't always work on the screen—the medium is the message, as Neil Postman would say. And the changes they made for a visual representation in large part made sense to me.
Many people have a favorite book that was ruined by a movie adaptation. I'm thrilled that LOTR managed to be a hit in both worlds. These artifacts should be (and probably are) used in a storytelling class, looking at the art of conveying the same story in different media.
No comments:
Post a Comment