Are we nearing a point where the LOTR "universe" gets over-exposed and over-saturated? Big Tolkien fan but I didn't even bother seeing the recent Peter Jackson Hobbit trilogy. Will probably check out the upcoming Amazon series but the source material - the books - are always so much better.
Having said the above - I would be curious what a Pixar adaptation of LOTR would look like. Especially if it could be a series that didn't need to be cut for time.
On the Hobbit 'trilogy': It's very much worth your time to look up one of the many fan-edited versions that re-cut that monstrosity into the single film it should have been. I think there are 1 or 2 versions shorter than the one I ended up watching, but with all the BS cut out, the version I saw was a pretty decent film. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim - currently re-reading LOTR and amazed how how much better it is vs the movies and how much the movies changed the story.
ReplyDeleteIf I come across one of the fan-edited versions I'll probably watch. Although chances are I'll probably just re-read The Hobbit instead.
The following observations were penned immediately after viewing the assorted Hobbit movies.
ReplyDeleteFrom 29 Jan. 2013.
Finally saw the movie version of The Hobbit. I've been waiting for this since 1966. I'd have waited a few more decades for a proper version. Since when does one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century need 4 "screenplay" writers? One of whom was Peter Jackson. Listen Pete, just 'cause you can DO all of those special effects doesn't mean you SHOULD. Particularly if you muck about with the plot line doing so. And there are enough characters in the book to drive the plot without resurrecting a Goblin dead for 142 years. You had more than enough screen time to put all that Professor Tolkien wrote into action. And taking a single mention of Radagast and turning him into a burned out '60s stoner is demeaning to both Radagast and Tolkien.
I hope there will be a boxed CD set of "The Hobbit, The Director's Apology" a few years hence wherein Jackson leaves out the work of "screenwriters" and leaves only the Tolkien.
22 Aug. 2015
HBO ran all three Hobbit movies this weekend. My Smarter Half and I had seen the first in a theater. That was such a Charlie Foxtrot I swore Peter *spit* Jackson would never again get a penny of my money. S.H. recorded The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies and we watched them over the course of the last 2 days.
My opinion remains unchanged: Professor Tolkien's work needed no changing, editing, or "updating." Straying from the novel was unconscionable. While the parallel adventure of Gandalf, well documented in other Tolkien writings, added depth this too was poorly treated.
Peter Jackson's ego shared "writing" credit with 3 other miscreants. The guilty parties are: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Guillermo del Toro (trans: writer of bull).
The scenes and plot lines offered up by these EXPLETIVE DELETED do nothing to progress the story, distract from the narrative, and actively strayed from the mythos of Middle Earth so firmly established by both J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien.
Yes, the films are colorful, exciting, masterfully executed, and technically brilliant. Yes, the actors are flawlessly cast and, in almost all cases, bring the characters to life. Unfortunately too many characters are given short shrift by Jackson and his conspirators to roles better suited for X-Men (or Gilbert and Sullivan) than the epic tales of Tolkien.
Dear Mr. Jackson, accept your awards from your industry. Receive your honors from The Queen with grace. Cash your checks from Air New Zealand. But never, EVER touch another novel again.
I will now go watch Master and Commander and reflect on a time you had respect for a writer's creation.