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Naut, you will have to get 3 discs! And perhaps a box of tissues...
posted by
Ciel
on August 31, 2008 at 8:30 AM
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Ciel
As you and Talion rightly observe, movies never do justice to their source - nor is that ever possible, in my view. And if that is so, I think one needs to see them as creations in their own right! We need to discard the search for verisimilitude between book and movie, and simply judge the latter on its own merits...
Having said that, I have never seen the trilogy on the screen. I was too busy and didn't get around to it when it was in the theaters. I read the books in one sitting, or more accurately, in one 'lying in' some years ago when I was bed-ridden with the flu, and it was the only time in my life that having to stay in bed was not just bearable, but highly enjoyable...
And I shall certainly get that disc...
posted by
Nautikos
on August 31, 2008 at 6:00 AM
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Talion,
Now you have enjoyed the films, I heartily recommend to you the books!
I can see Jackson's point in changing some elements for the sake of presenting the whole story in a different medium. But when he altered the character concepts, he weakened the fabric of Tolkien's whole tapestry. It was not just different, it messed with the actual spirit of the source material. Whereas Shore's music echoes the spirit of it.
I haven't yet seen The Dark Knight, but probably will. My son recommends it highly. I really enjoyed Iron Man--but I was never a fan of the comics, so, as with your experience of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I had no expectations or images of my own.
posted by
Ciel
on August 30, 2008 at 10:19 PM
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Ciel
I loved the trilogy and for once was glad I was unfamiliar with the source material. Movies seldom, if ever, do justice to the novels they're based on. I think that's because when reading, we create our own vision of the characters and the world they live in, whether it's a mythical realm of the distant past or a gritty, contempory urban street. When watching a movie, the director's vision is forced upon us. Even if absolutely jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring, someone else's vision never quite lives up to our own.
I share you purist's zeal when it comes to the recent slate of comic book movies. I realize the inherent difficulties of tranlating from print to silver screen, but no matter how good the movie is, including this summer's Iron Man and The Dark Knight, I always find something that irks me. Not because this irksome something doesn't capture the spirit of the source material, not because it doesn't work, but simply because it's different. In my mind, "different" becomes "wrong."
posted by
Talion_
on August 30, 2008 at 10:01 PM
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