Re-reading The Lord Of The Rings

[elen_nare]

After re-watching all three movies in three days (the first two on vhs - it made me feel old :P) I felt like re-reading the books. The picture is the cover of my copy - beautiful illustrated hardback. It's a lovely edition, but I have to admit it's a bit awkward for actually reading, since it weighs a ton! (Not quite as bad as my all-in-one Chronicles of Narnia hardback, though...That one is like an encyclopaedia tome).

So far, I've read the foreword, prologue (interesting couple of spoilers there about characters surviving, even though it was written by Tolkien - still not half as bad as others I've read, where they told you the whole story!), and the first three chapters. I'm enjoying it a lot, too.

After the cut, thoughts on the books, films, and differences between them - SPOILERS for both.


The first thing I noticed when I started reading is that I read Gandalf's lines in my head with Ian McKellen's voice. Bilbo, Sam and Pippin also had their actor's voices - Frodo not quite so much at first, oddly enough.

The party doesn't actually have Pippin and Merry stealing fireworks, but that was a really fun scene in the film, so I didn't mind ;)

I hadn't noticed before that Peter Jackson had moved part of Gandalf and Frodo's book conversation in Bag End to Moria in the film (the whole "I wish the Ring had never come to me" bit). I suppose it does make sense, though, to break the exposition up a bit, and the film scene works well.

Something that surprised me was finding the song Pippin sings to Denethor in the film so early in the book, in the third chapter! It's actually part of a walking song... I couldn't read the rest of it in the film's tune, though, it just didn't work - I felt it should be something jauntier. However, I couldn't read that verse in anything but the film's tune! So it just sounded like two different songs in my head.

I've left Sam, Pippin and Frodo asleep after meeting Gildor and his elves - wish they could have been in the films as more than a (extended edition) cameo, Gildor's a great character. Time to rejoin them, I think :)

I'm really enjoying it... I like the films, but the books have all those little details that couldn't be in the films (unless you made each one about nine hours long :P), and Tolkien's writing... I just love them.

Comments

[elen_nare]

That makes sense... I did listen to a couple while riding my exercise bicycle, but then I stopped using it because it was hurting my knees, which was kind of counter-productive to the whole "strengthen knees" idea.

I've read a bit more, they've met Strider now. I like Frodo's accidental use of the ring more in the book - Pippin didn't actually tell anyone who he was, and it's at least partly his own fault for trying to emulate the 'cow that jumped over the moon' :P. And Gandalf's letter was fun.

On the other hand, I think the broken sword (Narsil?) actually made more sense in the film... since it's broken, there's not much point in Aragorn carrying it around, and as an heirloom, it would really be safer in Rivendell, right?

[liebedance.livejournal.com]

I like Merry and Pippin in the books better in general, most of the time, because they aren't just there for comic relief. Though, I do like their comic relief in the films... so I'm conflicted. But, yeah, I like the way that the ring use is in the book.

In the films, the sword is reforged and brought to Aragorn by Elrond as a symbol of "choose the right path, save Middle Earth" (ignoring the part about Arwen's fate being tied to ME), and I thought that was pretty cool. And the broken sword is just left in Rivendell, right? And Aragorn has some other sword with him before then? But then, in the books, I forget how it works, other than that the sword is reforged before they all leave Rivendell... I think?

[elen_nare]

Yes, Merry and Pippin are funny in the books too at times, but that's not all they are. But then again, if you took out their comic relief parts in the films, they would be pretty dark, so... it's complicated :)

In the books the sword was reforged before they left Rivendell. The symbolism was pretty good in the films, true... but I'd have had Elladan and Elrohir take it, because I find it so strange that Elrond would leave Rivendell without his elven-ring's protection right then!

[liebedance.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think to work as a film they needed the comic relief. And they did a decent job at making them the 3D characters that they are in the books. But, Pippin is my absolute favourite, so...

And, I agree. Elladan and Elrohir would've made more sense... except for that they aren't really known characters, so from a cinematic viewpoint it'd be confusing... but I agree!

[elen_nare]

Yes, they didn't make them completely comic relief, they did a fair job with the more serious parts of their character arcs, too. Pippin is awesome :)

Well, they could have had them in the first movie, in the council or something, so that people would know who they were... I suppose Elrond is still a better known character, but it might have worked.

[Exhausted and getting up early tomorrow, so I'll have to call it a night, I'm afraid :/ we'll have to talk LOTR some other time! :)]