Tolkien would NOT approve... as if we care.
But the mane reason (oops, Freudian slip)... I mean the main reason for posting was that after the movie was over, my daughter heard some kid up front commenting aloud. He was apparently unaware that there are more movies to follow and was unimpressed with the ending.
"I am NOT buying the book!" he stated emphatically.
.
So I guess hair spilling out in some places is okay...
ReplyDeleteIt's all in the telling.
ReplyDelete(Harlequin version)
"His luxurious chestnut mane caressed his careworn brow and cascaded carelessly past his chiseled features to his battled-hardened shoulders."
or
(self-published version)
"His long brown hair, Dwarfishly fashionable and reeking pungently of masculinity, plummeted down in warrior-like torrents and came to rest on his brawny masculine shoulders, which were also reeking of masculinity."
I know I'm an anomaly in the Catholic world & bring shame upon our family for this, but The Hobbit almost put me off reading entirely. Even RA & a free movie pass couldn't swing me.
ReplyDeleteI must say (you speak of bringing shame...) that I read The Hobbit soooo long ago, I can't hardly remember anything about it. Except that there were these dwarves, and a dragon, and a riddle game betwixt Gollum and Bilbo. (In fact, I think it may have been when I read it to Mr. Blurn and Benwhat when they were wee lads.) I went to see The Hobbit this time round because:
ReplyDelete1) It was a date. Alone. With my husband.
2) Richard Armitage with a beard.
I feel compelled to add, after some recent email correspondence, that I did NOT dislike either the book or the movie. Sorry if I gave that impression. I just don't remember the book, having not read it since I was a teenager. I am a fan of Tolkien; I enjoyed the "Lord of the Rings" (books and films), but I'm not a super geek by any means. I therefore went willingly to see "The Hobbit". RA in a beard was just a bonus.
DeleteIt saddened me to see how much Jackson had to cow-tow to MGM in the making of this film--there were far, far too many action sequences. But such compromise was duly worth the scene of "Bilbo's Pity" which could not have, in this humble Tolkien-ite's opinion, been conceived or shown in a better way.
ReplyDeleteI'm relieved in a way to hear that the ninja-dwarves were not ALL Jackson's fault. Curse you, Hollywood! I've read that Christopher Tolkien does not much care for Jackson's treatment of J.R.R.T's work; how much more contempt would he (Christopher) now have for MGM...
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I agree, Bilbo's Pity was very well done.