Im the opposite. I’ve tried three times to watch the LOTR trilogy but I can’t. I get so frustrated bc they leave out so much. And they mush up the elves. And make up new stuff (what - there wasn’t enough in the books?!) and put it in.
The movies move too quickly and miss the beauty for me.
APR doesn’t bother me either, but I can see why it’s an issue for people who don’t want to plan in advance.
Wait WHAT?!?!? if this is a real thing I will burn my dis merch and change my name to Samwise and never set foot in LBV again.
If there is a ride queue in the mines of moria I will tattoo “let yourself WHOA” on my forehead.
How did I not know this was a rumor?!?!
Have you watched the extended versions?
I was waiting to see if anyone else brought this up. I have strong doubts they will let this happen. I would love it if they did though!
Truth. JKR just… Isn’t a great writer at the sentence level. I’ve been reading the entire series aloud to my DS and we are halfway through book 6. She grows as a writer throughout the series and maybe needed a more granular editor, but it’s just not great. I want a red pen, and badly, when I’m reading. Normally I would feel bad criticizing a writer but the further she leans into her terfdom the less I care.
I think for me i just want the flexibility. Staying at BC, would of been nice to run into France for breakfast before we went to MK.
I can probably stop visiting the forum for today; there will simply be no better post.
LOL.
So - my son - who loves LOTR dearly, first introduced me to the movies WITH the extended versions. I made it through a few hours and was all, “what?” and “huh?” and “nevermind.”
A few years later I listened to the audiobook and it was everything I ever hoped it would be and more. How did I allow fifty years to pass without embracing this?!
Then I was excited to watch the movies. And I was like, “Why are they leaving so much out? Why are they going so fast?”
I have to stick to the books. I bought myself hard copies and I am working on reading them now vs listening to them.
I had to Google this. I don’t think those ads were in my market.
I thought this was a LOTR reference that I was blanking on 
I actually really like the changes made. They left out parts that weren’t necessary, and then the expansion of Arwin by giving her other character parts was really needed. Tolkien’s work was almost entirely nothing but men. It wasn’t so much sexism, but a reflection of his time. But times have changed, so I think the changes were true to the intent of the story, but actually strengthened it for a more modern audience.
The books were just TOO dense for them to put everything in. It is kind of how HP and the Goblet of Fire has so much…while subplots…taken out of the movies. And yet, it manages to work. Same with LOTR. Did we really need Tom Bombadil? No. His character was unnecessary to tell the story, even if he was a beloved character from the books.
We the extended versions, it still ends up with roughly 11 hours.
As far as moving too fast…it is true that the whole story in the books spans like decades. But for the movies, there just was no need to do that. Again, the story is served well.
I love that people love the movies bc it helps to keep LOTR and Hobbit on the radar and keeps it talked about. I don’t rail against the movies whatsoever. I just can’t enjoy them because I love what they left out too much.
I loved Tom. I feel like what he respresented was important to what JRRT was writing. His character traits and the wisdom he imparts on Frodo delight me. I know that was just one example. But for me condensing over and over made it hard for me to enjoy it.
I would never advocate for literary classics to be updated to reflect the times. I don’t want a homogenization of writing to one particular place and time. I don’t want them to rewrite Shakespeare or Dumas or Tolstoy either. I really do like books best.
It took me a second. But then I remembered. She really had a great post there!
I have to say I’ve come to love audiobooks as well. We alternated reading a chapter of HP at night and listening to one in the car on our commute and they are just so well done.
I first read LOTR in high school. I distinctly remember failing several tests because I couldn’t put the books down long enough to a) sleep at night b) pay attention in class. My poor teachers prob didn’t care that I was reading since that meant I wasn’t also engaging in “excessive disruptive talking” (the perpetual stamp on my report card)
This is how I feel about the HP movies, except for the last two.
Yes. I agree. But his character didn’t serve the STORY.
We aren’t updating the literary classic. We are taking the story found in a literary classic and telling it in a way that makes sense for the medium. JRRT had no romance in the books, really, and it was really him telling a war story based on his own experiences. If he had written it today, he would have had differences no doubt. So, the movies reflect that, but without really veering from the full story. Frankly it is amazing how much they stayed true to the books!
(The Hobbit movies, on the other hand…a travesty.)
I do see what you are saying and it’s probably why I have felt let down by most movies. I like the books the way they are and probably to some extend how they looked in my mind as I read them. When some director gives me a truncated or alter version I am left disappointed.
So often they’d be better off naming movies with an: “Inspired by” title.
Here’s an example: (What is this thread about anyway?) 
Treasure Island is one of our family’s favorite books. I can watch Treasure Planet and Muppet’s Treasure Island much more easily than I’d ever be able to watch a modern, live acted retelling. Especially if they started changing the characters or leaving characters out. Yet - if it suddenly drew attention to the classic and made more people want to read it, I’d applaud that. I’m just wouldn’t want to watch it myself.
GREAT example!!!
A decent, modern, true to the book movie version of Treasure Island is so so needed!!!
I would absolutely see it.
The book is phenomenal. I love it so much, yet I have to put up with only crappy old movie versions, or alternative spins like Planet and Muppets - both of which I like, but I would love to see an original version done well.
I hear you. It seems like 90% of movie versions of books just aren’t nearly as good. Every once in a while you find the exception. And sometimes…it isn’t that the movie version is in any way poor…but it is my stubborn side wishing they hadn’t made changes.
What I do find I often need to do is watch a movie incarnation of a book at least TWICE. The first time, it is to be mad at the changes and mourn. Then, after I start to accept it, and realize that they were artistic choices, and I need to take the movie for itself, I can watch it again and find I enjoy it so much more. I watch it without doing the comparison thing the whole time.
And then there are some books that just don’t lend themselves to being made into movies. Ender’s Game is a great example. Everyone watched it to be made into a movie, but even the author of the books couldn’t get a screenplay to work. The trouble is, the book takes place almost entirely in Ender’s mind. It becomes very difficult for anyone to pull that off in a visual format like film. Eventually they tried…but…it just wasn’t even close to as good as the book. (Even Harrison Ford couldn’t save it!) It wasn’t a bad movie…but it just lacked what made the book so beloved.