|
Dennis, I also find it interesting that the movies haven't affected your enjoyment of LOTR. I agree that they got the images right in the sense that they were faithful to the novels and based on some of the best Tolkien inspired artwork. My mind's eye view of the imagery of Middle Earth had been so magical though - I don't even know how to describe it. I suppose it would be something like a heaven/nirvana/paradise visualization but for me it goes beyond just visual. Tolkien somehow allows me to experience a sense of the perfection and beauty of ME that I've never experienced in another fantasy novel. I think it has something to do with his linguistic expertise, his command of myth, etc., etc. I don't think that any (live action?) movie could really capture that - and I wouldn't want it to be able to do so because by definition a visual image is a distillation of someone else's vision that was inspired by Tolkien's words. I think this is one of the reasons that people thought that this book couldn't be filmed. For me, the movies were so visually memorable that my mind's eye seems to default to those images now rather than painting the glorious, multi-dimensional renderings that it used to. Of course, I haven't tried to read LOTR in about 5 years, so maybe it's time to see if the effects have worn off (and I MUST be sure not to get these movies on Bluray I guess...).
Bill
|