Emperor Morphetine
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Lord Of The RingsI've finally finished the LOTR trilogy after what seems like an age! But its a great story, one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. I'd also read The Hobbit ( the prequel) so it was nice to be able to see how Middle Earth had changed in the intervening narrative years. I'll admit I saw the films before reading the source material but now wish I'd done it the other way around, there are some fantastic story arcs that didn't make it into Peter Jackson's thinking.
Of course its a classic good vs evil narrative, but its told so well even if Tolkien does ramble on at times which is a bit hit and miss. The change in all the characters is brilliantly mapped out throughout the series as the quest to destroy the One Ring gathers pace while Sauron does everything in his power to get it back and bring darkness to all.
The only difficuly I had was with the various languages of the many different species, it got quite confusing after a while! But its certainly worth reading, I'd recommend it to fantasy lovers and those who've seen the films, you'll really get something out of it.
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Catnapper
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Congrats on reading them all Morphy  ...I'm only part way through The Hobbit!
How do you think the films compared to the books?
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Lucifer_666
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Okay you are already much more patient and commited than me..as I got sick of reading them and stopped reading it... .I feel bad now  
Good question babe about the film and book comparison particularly as Morphy has seen the films first 
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Emperor Morphetine
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Well, in answer to the question I think the films did a good job of adapting the books, particularly as so much material had to be cut out because of time/budget constraints. The characters all in hindsight seem faithful as to how they were in the books, and the battle scenes are fantastic. However I do think they could have put maybe a little bit more of Tom Bombadil in the films, he'd be a good supporting character, although I guess on the face of it he's a more human equivalent of Treebeard.
I'd have liked to see them delve into Middle Earth's history a bit more, perhaps show how Saruman fell from the head of the Wizards Counsel into the hands of Sauron as his lieutenant in Mordor. But other than that I'd say Peter Jackson did well and the casting was good- I liked Elijah Wood as Frodo, Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Christopher Lee as Saruman in particular. Can't wait for The Hobbit movie....
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Lucifer_666
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Yep looking forward to the Hobbit myself..should be good...
Did you find it easier to read the books Morphy after seeing the films? Was it easier to picture the characters or did you see them completely different to the film ones....what I mean is when you read about Frodo where you thinking Elijah Wood?
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Emperor Morphetine
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Yeah, actually I was. I think the fact I'd seen the films beforehand meant that I couldn't really imagine anyone else in the roles. If I had read the books first I might well have been able to see others though.
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Lucifer_666
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I always find that amazing...and as you say if you read them first you may have had completely different images of the characters altogether...I'll always remember reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory years after seeing the Willy Wonka classic and you just couldn't see the characters the same because the story was so different
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Emperor Morphetine
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That's the risk studios and directors run with adaptations, they're usually either brilliant or rubbish. I guess it depends on how much needs to be cut or whether changes are actually needed at all.
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Lucifer_666
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True..... true
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Emperor Morphetine
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I'd be interested to know whether the Extended Edition DVDs of the films do actually feature previously cut footage and whether it changes people's opinion as to how faithful the films are to the original source material.
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JohnG
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I read the Hobbit and was so thrilled with it that I went straight onto the Lord of the Rings, but only got halfway through the Two Towers before putting it down and have yet to pick it up and finish it. It's not because I wasn't enjoying it, I just think I should have read something else in between cos I was all Tolkien-ed out.
I can't, therefore, totally compare the films to the book, although I do agree with the Emperor that Tom Bombadil would have been a fantastic addition.
Did anyone else think that the ending of the Return of the King film went on a little bit too long? It seemed to have at least three endings... or is it just me 
I can't wait for The Hobbit films as they are being helmed by one of my favourite directors: Guilermo del Toro. He has an amazingly unique imagination, especially when it comes to the look of certain characters, I mean just look at Hellboy or the characters in Pan's Labyrinth 
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Emperor Morphetine
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I'll admit I enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth, and it gives me great hope for The Hobbit, the man's talented and obviously has a knack for fantasy.
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