Books - Lord of the Rings Book Discussion - Page 5

Crossbow · 12-08-2003, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jjt:
One thing I'd forgotten from what I'd read in high school .. and didn't pick up on in the film was the fact that Arwen and her father, Elrond were half elf .. in that they had some human in their ancestory. That's why Arwen had to make the choice. She could chose to live the near immortal life of the elfkind. Or she could chose a mortal life and though long lived in comparison to human be doomed to mortality. That's why her decision was so big.

It's hard to say objectively because I had read the books 3 times before I saw the movie, but I thought teh movie explained about as much as the book did - the part-human thing wasn't ever explained in the actual story, only in the appendices. All we know in the book or in the movie is that Arwen has to chose whether to go with the elves or stay in Middle Earth. I'm not sure either one is clear that this will make her mortal.

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Boy, I bet Elrond's wife is gonna be mad when she finds out he left all three of their kids in Middle Earth.

truth takes time · 12-10-2003, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Soz:
the heart of the story is still there on screen- especially in the extended versions.

I found this as well. I always liked the movies, they are beautifully done, but the extended versions just bring it home.

I started reading the LotR books when I heard about the movies, but I didn't make it all the way through before I saw the first movie. Same thing happened with the second one. Both times I finished reading afterwards, though. And I can tell the same thing will happen with the RotK movie. I so wanted to reread the books again, but they are at home, and I don't have the money to buy a new set. Especially when I'll be home in just a few short days. I'm really looking forward to being able to start; it's a series that just gets better each time

Soz · 12-11-2003, 03:46 PM

I finally finished The Two Towers. I've been so busy with holiday shopping, wrapping, etc. that I didn't have much time to read. I feel like I've accomplished something huge because I have had LOTR since I was 13 and I couldn't finish then. I think because of my experience then, I thought I'd always feel the same way about this story, so the boxed set sat on my shelves for 16 years! But now I've gotten through the book that gave me so much trouble all those years ago. [img]smilies/pinkie.gif[/img]

I started The Return of the King right after finishing TTT and I can't wait to get to the end. I have a week and one day because I want to finish before I go to see the movie (and I can't see it opening night because my SO can't get any time off). I'm most likely going to see the movie next Friday night because we will be too busy over the weekend.

Soz · 12-20-2003, 12:23 AM

I finished ROTK last night and wow! What an amazing story. I would love to say so much about LOTR but I can't find the words. I will say that the end made me cry though, both because of what happened and because I was finished.

jjt · 12-20-2003, 01:48 AM

Exactly Soz .. I was so worried about finishing in time (before the show) that when I finished a month or so too early I was extremely sad to be finished.

PVCscully · 12-20-2003, 01:53 AM

I can't wait to re-read ROTK now I've seen the movie. It really helped to see the characters visualised on screen. I know the order of events wasn't quite faithful to the books, but at least I get an idea of the location/proximity of places like Osgiliath, Minas Tirith, etc.

Crossbow · 12-20-2003, 09:20 AM

I'm seeing the movie this weekend. Thursday morning two different people came by my desk and told me all about it. They raved so much that my boss came over and made them leave. [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

ChristianRulesMe · 12-26-2003, 06:54 PM

I started rereading ROTK again after seeing the movie. It's been way too long since I last read it lol.

Novlótë · 12-30-2003, 11:31 AM

I started reading the books after I saw the first movie.
I love the books so much and I admit that some of it is pretty hard to understand and that there is to many descriptions of everything all the time.(did that make any sense?)
But I love them so much! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

- Sudy - · 01-01-2004, 11:17 PM

When I first saw the movie, I wondered why Tom Bombadil wasn't mentioned. Even though I knew that the movie would be to long if that scene in Tom Bombadil's forest was added, I still would've liked to see him mentioned because I actually liked his character. A little fact that I found out is that in the extended movie version of The Two Towers, Treebeard speaks one of Tom's lines.

I edited this to add that I just realized how my post has nothing to do with the discussion of the books.

[ 01-01-2004: Message edited *Winter* ]

Lovesbitch · 01-02-2004, 02:12 AM

I read the first book. It's really detailed and some parts are kinda dry but I still love it.

Raven

ChristianRulesMe · 01-03-2004, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Winter*:
When I first saw the movie, I wondered why Tom Bombadil wasn't mentioned. Even though I knew that the movie would be to long if that scene in Tom Bombadil's forest was added, I still would've liked to see him mentioned because I actually liked his character. A little fact that I found out is that in the extended movie version of The Two Towers, Treebeard speaks one of Tom's lines.

I totally agree! I was actually looking forward to seeing how they portrayed him in the movie...only to find out he wasn't in it. [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img] I wish they had put him in the extended version of the dvd's.

Soz · 01-04-2004, 03:03 PM

After having some time to formulate my thoughts (and after seeing ROTK again), I have a few things to say about LOTR now. I agree with Novl�t� and Lovesbitch that the books could be very detailed and sometimes they could be dry. It took me a while to get used to it, but once I did, I read about 50 pages per day.

I was really surprised with Eowyn because the other women in the story didn't get a whole lot to do. She's another strong woman character to add to my list of kick-butt science fiction and fantasy role-models. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I can see why LOTR was voted by so many people as the book of the last century. There's something in it for everyone and Tolkien had so many great themes. I was profoundly affected by LOTR and I don't think I can ever finish reading it without tears in my eyes.

ps_dreamer · 01-05-2004, 10:01 AM

Just saw this thread!

Well, I'm reading The Two Towers right now. And I can't put it down! Hoping to start RoTK next week... anyway, I decided to pick up the books before RoTK is in the theatre and it was the right choice because the books helped me understand the movie a lot better. And especially after seeing the first two movies before reading, it really helps with my imagination. I'm sure I won't be able to imagine Smeagol or Nazguls had I read the books first.

Just adding my two cents [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Miss Magic · 01-05-2004, 11:56 AM

I started reading the books after I had seen the first movie. I agree with ps_dreamer that seing the movie sure did help my imagination.
I like the books. They have so much details and so much history in them which I think is so amazing.
Now after seing all movies I'm planning to re-read all books again.