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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 16, 2012 - 10:13pm PT
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My son and i went to the movie tonight. It was more annoying than entertaining. I don't think I will waste my time with P. 2 when it comes out.Apparently Peter Jackson doesn't think JRR Tolkien was a good enough story teller. So he re-wrote most of the story to make more Hollywood than Middle Earth.
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Dec 16, 2012 - 10:44pm PT
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Are you a good study of the novel? Or did you want a big-bang Hobbit-all-in-one type movie with no depth?
Because side-tracks with Radagast, the Necromancer, and the like will appeal to die-hard fans for sure, but will probably confuse the once-through reader.
The back-stories of middle earth in the Simirillion and in the other various notes by Tolkien are interwoven throughout and a real director and story-teller would want to bring those in and develop them, even if they're only slightly mentioned in the novel.
What was your specific gripe?
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Plaidman
Trad climber
South Slope of Mt. Tabor, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Dec 16, 2012 - 10:50pm PT
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Slater so what you're saying is there are more details. I tried to read the Simirillion. Though read. Cool that someone could dig out some material to flesh out the story. Haven't seen the movie yet. Maybe I'll read the book again before I go. No Simirillion though. I don't want to hurt my head.
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Dec 16, 2012 - 11:05pm PT
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Every director is going to take some creative license, otherwise you're just taking a book and putting it into action, Books and movies are two very different mediums. They don't always translate perfectly.
Plus, if you were a creative director, would you want to have your hands tied and just redo the book and put it into frames per second? Where is the creativity in that? You gotta give them some room.
Good lord, can you imagine if the L Of R movies had all that hiking and nature narrative, or if Jackson was faithful to the Hobbit to a fault, how slow it would go through some parts with all the walking and camping and walking and raining and...
I think going into it, if you know it isn't going to be exactly the same as the book, you may just enjoy it a little more.
Here is a good educated reveiw...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/12/14/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-review-the-best-middle-earth-movie-since-fellowship-of-the-ring/
For what it is worth.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Dec 16, 2012 - 11:06pm PT
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Most of the reviews I've read/heard have not been especially impressed.
Bummer, 'cause I really love this series.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 16, 2012 - 11:07pm PT
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I didn't get through the Silmarilian either. Maybe it's time to give another go.
I'm anxious to see Radagast the Brown! Tolkien mentioned 5(?) Wizards in Middle E. We see a lot of Gandalf and Saruman, Radagast is mentioned briefly and nothing is said of the others in LOTR, that I ever saw in Many readings. Maybe having hobbit movies that draw on the various other sources will give me the moxie for the Silmarilian reading.
I'll have middle school students tomorrow who will have seen this. I look forward to their take on this.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Dec 16, 2012 - 11:17pm PT
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Haven't seen the new movie yet but just saw the extended versions of all three LOTR movies back to back in 12 hours in a theater.
An amazing epic work of art that is. Can't imagine anyone remotely doing that any better
Peace
Karl
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 17, 2012 - 12:53am PT
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What did you expect? You aren't going to get much by milking a hobbit.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Dec 17, 2012 - 01:33am PT
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According to early reviews, the highly anticipated new film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which opens in theaters Friday, features an extended 53-minute-long scene in which the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, decides on what to pack for his trip to defeat the evil dragon Smaug.
The film, one of three upcoming Lord Of The Rings prequels based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, reportedly suspends its main narrative action for almost a third of its screen time while the main character rummages through his house trying to figure out what clothing and personal possessions he will need for his journey.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-hobbit-to-feature-53minutelong-scene-of-bilbo,30727/?ref=auto
(From my other post, from opening night.)
The Hobbit was quite good. Excellent trolls of course, they're so often misrepresented in popular culture. Bilbo Baggins is well portrayed, as is Gandalf. The dwarves are each given some character, which works well. They take a lot of backstory from Tolkien's other writings, to flesh out the film, which mostly works OK. They also take considerable liberties, e.g. in how the Elves, Orcs and Wargs are portrayed, and moving people, events and things around. There's also far too much in the way of action/battle scenes - they're quite overdone.
The best part was Bilbo and Gollum doing their riddle game, and of course Gollum always steals the show. (He's even better than the trolls!) The film ended with the company being rescued by the great eagles.
It's quite well done, and worth seeing, but I think they could have made it in two films, and jettisoned a lot of the special effects and battle scenes.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Dec 17, 2012 - 01:53am PT
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So maybe this is an appropriate thread to pose a Tolkien question...
I read The Lord of the Rings way back when. And while I thought it was okay as a teenage male adventure fantasy, it never struck me as anything more than that. It seemed to describe a universe in which women didn't really exist.
Which is okay for an eccentric British academic, but as a billion-selling Great-Work-Of-Literature?
Was the movie version any different? I mean other than big-screen FX?
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Dec 17, 2012 - 02:02am PT
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Nope. They have apparently invented a female elf character, to be added somewhere in The Hobbit. Tolkien's fantasy world doesn't bear too close an examination, however entertaining it can sometimes be.
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labrat
Trad climber
Nevada City, CA
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Dec 17, 2012 - 02:14am PT
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Thoroughly enjoyed it!
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ryankelly
Trad climber
el portal
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Dec 17, 2012 - 02:22am PT
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Just got back from Merced and seeing this movie in 3D!
Saweet!
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Dec 17, 2012 - 02:24am PT
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I read The Lord of the Rings way back when. And while I thought it was okay as a teenage male adventure fantasy, it never struck me as anything more than that. It seemed to describe a universe in which women didn't really exist.
Haven't read the books but will say that Liv Tyler is an all time hot movie elf. mmm
Peace
Karl
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Dec 17, 2012 - 07:22am PT
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It doesn't surprise me. If you've read the books, the Hobbit was like Tom Sawyer while the Lord of the Rings was Huckleberry Finn. The first a children's book, the second, a work of literature.
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cowpoke
climber
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Dec 17, 2012 - 07:38am PT
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Great point, Ghost.
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Srbphoto
climber
Kennewick wa
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Dec 17, 2012 - 09:22am PT
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Was the movie version any different? I mean other than big-screen FX?
The 1st movie added a lot more emphasis on Arwen. Jackson made up a lot of her role in the movie. In the book she is the driving force behind Aragon's role to return as King of Gondor but is rarely seen.
Actually, women play vital roles in the book. There just are not a lot of them.
The movie certainly didn't follow the inner details of the book that closely. There was a lot of stuff like someone would say a quote from the book in the 3rd movie but in the book it was a different person who said it in the 1st book, made up story lines, more emphasis on characters etc. But I think Jackson stayed true to the feeling of the books.
If you want to know more about the wizards, there is a chapter in Unfinished Tales about them. Tolkien didn't write a lot about their orgins but everything is in there.
The Silmarillion is a tough read. Especially the first couple of chapters. If you have trouble getting going, start a couple of chapters in and go back and read the beginning.
I generally do not like fantasy/science fiction (actually most fiction) but the whole LOTR saga has kept me captivated since high school. I read it at least once a year. I'll just pick up one of the books and I'm hooked again.
I guess it is the one place I can let my inner geek out :)
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