Peter Jackson has remained as true to the books as he could
) And I understand that Denethor will be completely robbed of any nobility in RotK, too.
I was willing to overlook the more minor details that were changed for cinematic reasons, like Arwen replacing Glorfindel. (Her grandma took down Sauron's BOSS with one hand tied behind her back. She should be able to handle some wraiths.
) I was awed by how gorgeous New Zealand apparently is, and how much so much of it looked just as I'd always pictured M-e. The music, especially in FotR, was absolutely phenomenal. But characterization is soooo off it makes me cringe. It was so much worse in
Two Towers that I dread to think what RotK is going to be like.
I will be fair, though;
some characterization was dead-on. Aragorn as Strider, Sam, Gandalf (except for the fatherly hugs), Eowyn, Grima Wormtongue, Boromir, the background hobbits, and Eowyn, who was so good she deserves to be mentioned twice, too.
Regarding crushes on Aragorn vs Faramir, Pam: Hey, Faramir belongs to Eowyn. (I wonder if that will even get into the movie... sigh.) And I always rooted for the Lady of the Shield-Arm. Arwen was always remote enough that my crush on Aragorn didn't get in her way.
I will add, for the non-fantasy lovers, that I don't read LotR for the fantasy aspect, but for the wonderful characters you get to know, the grand themes (maturity through both joy and sorrow, the inevitability of things changing and leaving, the power of hope, and a few other religious aspects I'll keep to myself
), and the fascination with how neatly and beautifully Tolkien created an entire world. Like Annie with the Superman aspect of LnC, the magical bits are merely window dressing for me.
Ooh, this is getting my all nostalgic. Maybe I'll pull out my ISIS CDs and listen to one of my favorite chapters when I go to sleep tonight...
Hazel, who saw the EE of FotR in the summer and thinks the actor who played a very good Celeborn should sue for having his entire part cut out of the cinematic version
EDIT: Roger went in and posted his own megillah while I was composing this one! So I'll just add this: no, RotK doesn't have a wholly happy ending, but it does have a
realistic happy ending, which is one reason I like it so much. Eowyn and Faramir, and Aragorn and Arwen, find happiness (A&A get 120 years of married bliss); Frodo finds release and solace when Arwen gifts him with her ticket, so to speak, to Valinor. Sam, Pippin, and Merry lead long and happy lives, and Legolas and Gimli remain close friends till the end (or possibly even afterwards, according to the appendix). As for the elves leaving: well, that's interwoven throughout the entire book. The Third Age ends, a new age begins. It's not as if they're dying; they're simply going somewhere else, where they'll have to spend a lot of time composing songs to alleviate the boredom of immortality.
And Roger, Sam *isn't* alone when he rides back; Gandalf made sure Merry and Pippin would be there for him, and he *is* returning to his wife and daughter. Personally, I think Sam's final line in the book is one of the best endings to a novel I've ever read.
"Well, I'm back."