Re:LotR: Return of the King – Cult or Corny?
I’ve just started reading the book for the first time in about 15 years, and I forgot how good a read it is, it’s worth noting that Tolkien acknowledged faults and loopholes in the book, some down to his original version and some down to revisions done by other’s.
For the best part LOTR films have been heavily revised, Jackson has taken a lot of the best text and shortened it, i.e the part where Gandalf talks of Bilbo staying his hand and taking pity on Gollum/Smeagol is actually talked of in Bag End and not the mines of Moria, as well as a few other lines. The films also miss out on the fact that Gandalf leaves Frodo for 17 years before his return, although he pops back to the shire once in a while to chack on Frodo, at that time Frodo is the same age as Bilbo when he first found the ring.
Jackson has quite cleverly picked out a story that is the basic story of LOTR and re-imagined it, and in my opinion is as good as the book.
A lot of gripes such as Frodo and Sam being so close to lava are unavoidable as they are a major part of the story, it’s worthwhile remembering that Hobbits are unlike men, they are very resilient, this is why you see them with bare feet, if you or I travelled such a long distance over mountains and other hazards, our feet would require amputation!!
I don’t think many appreciate just how big a book LOTR is, if you stuck to the original story faithfully, the running time would perhaps be four times longer for each film, I think Jackson has compacted the story extremely well, and even though your ass goes completely numb for the last hour, it would’ve been a catastrophe to cut it short.
I would loved to have seen Saruman’s last desperate act at the end of the film, in it he and Wormatongue enslave the Shire, the hobbits return and overthrow Saruman and then Wormatongue murders Saruman, if I remember rightly, but as there is such a long dialogue after the ring is thrown into the Cracks of Doom, it would’ve meant the film would’ve probably gone on for another hour.