Back in the summer I was at a yard sale, and the lady was selling a thick volume of all three LOTR books for a dollar. I got it and didn't start reading it til late October and I just finished Return of the King this morning.
I really enjoyed it and I feel that even though the movie took some things out (like the battle for the Shire) they did a good job following the spirit of the story. It also reminded me the importance of a story being timeless vs being topical with a lot of messages specific to the time we are living in now.
I remember reading where Peter Jackson said that his goal was to present Tolkien's vision and not his own. I really wish the moronic showrunner for Wheel of Time had the same philosophy but he seems obsessed with lgbt representation amongst other things. I have reached a point now where whenever I hear that a new show is adapting a book series, I just buy the books. As a life long comic book reader, I am more than happy to stick with the comic books from decades past. I plan on buying the Witcher series sometime next year as well.
Absolutely! I do wonder why Tom Bombadil wasn’t in the movies. Did Peter Jackson ever explain that? I’m currently reading a Star Wars Legends book called Kenobi and then I’ll read the Simarillion
I believe it was because there wasn't enough time, he did little to advance the story and because having a character that the ring could not corrupt undercuts just how dangerous the ring was.
Yep. It's the same reason why they changed Faramir's character. In the book he was uninterested in the ring because he was one of very few pure people that couldn't be corrupted, the idea that if there were truly evil people in the world, then there must also be truly good people. However, it was understood that they couldn't show this in the movie because it would undercut how dangerous the ring was, which is also why they didnt show Tom Bombadil.
I’d say the only being the ring can’t corrupt being basically a god like entity would do nothing to negate its threat.
The Simarillion is where Tolkein's Christian theology really shines through, but at the same time you won't notice it if you're not already familiar with some of the more esoteric understandings of scripture.
Cool! I look forward to it.
Just be aware that The Silmarillion reads like a creation myth, Bible, and heavily laden history book all in one. It can be pretty dry, but if you're interested in the lore and world Tolkien created you'll enjoy it. It gives amazing context to lots of things in Lord of the Rings, which is fun to reread after The Silmarillion.
He didn't have the time to do Bombadill, so he just showed it as if they had encountered old Tom, merry Tom, and then went back to their duties.
Honestly, it was a time thing.
The movies were already pushing past the boundaries on length (for the normies).
I think Jackson did a pretty damn good job overall though.
I think it was because the movie was too long. But my memory is hazy on that.