Gondor Calls For Aid

[Olorgando]

I'm relatively new to the community, is there any reason for contempt towards the movies?

Contempt is too harsh a term, annoyance with parts probably comes closer.
And then, this site was launched before even the first film premiered. If you look back into old threads started at the time the films came out, you will find discussions between the film (only?) fans and the "bookies".
@Maeglin was in the thick of some of those ancient discussions, and @Squint-eyed Southerner has been digging them out like Dwarves going after mithril. That the current tendency may be more critical of the films probably has to do with the film-only crowd moving on when there weren't any more Middle-earth moving pictures forthcoming. So perhaps some time after the extended edition DVD of "Return of the King" came out in 2004, or the EE of "Battle of Five Armies" in 2015.
It's not the impossibility of translating some parts of the book to the screen, when the producers rightly assumed that a substantial part of the audience would not have read it up to that time - some decided to read it after seeing the films. It has to do with Peter Jackson turning some parts of the book on their head. Like the Ents in the film deciding against an attack on Isengard after the Entmoot, while in the book they decided for the attack.
I've posted this before. My wife and I went to the cinema to watch "Fellowship" in early January 2002. We went to see it again maximum three days later, as I had spent the entire 2¾ hours - plus an intermission - the first time screaming in my head (and occasionally grumbling audibly) "wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG!!!" When we went the second time, I told myself "forget that it's supposed to be based on JRRT's book". Very difficult.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

the film (only?) fans

Known here as FADs -- "Film Adaptation Defenders"

"bookies".

NPWs: "Nit-Picking Weenies"

Just to keep our nomenclature clear. 😁

 

[Olorgando]

Known here as FADs -- "Film Adaptation Defenders"
NPWs: "Nit-Picking Weenies"
Just to keep our nomenclature clear. 😁

For some obscure, inscrutable reason only NPW surfaced from memory ... 🤭

 

[Ent]

contempt towards the movies?

I don't have any contempt for the movies myself, just so you know.
I actually rather enjoy them in many respects. Great scenery, sweeping settings, some very good acting, terrific costuming.
Dialogue fitting for the most part, though at times uneven.

And, at my age, I've learned we take things for what they are in themselves, not for what we wish they might be.

On the other hand, I do prefer the books, and when the books are clear, I'm sometimes a bit sorry they aren't followed.

For example, a sword broken in two rather than multiple shards.

Gandalf on the bridge in Moria saying "you SHALL not pass" in PJ's work, rather than "you cannot pass" as in the text. (There's a massive world of difference here, and Tolkien was very intentional about his choice of words because of what he was trying to convey.)

And I must confess, sledding down steps on a shield, skiing off an oliphaunt's trunk, and a sled driven by big bunnies aren't on my list of 'fond scenes.'
Legolas isn't a superhero, and there's no reason to turn Tolkien's work into a slapstick comedy.
Tolkien drew his battle scenes, for example, to be very 'realistic' fantasy, and carry the drama, dread, calamity and loss of war. He was well aware of these things from personal experience.

That said, no movie ever done has matched the book it's extracted from.
The purpose of the movie and the book are, for the most part, entirely different...thus how they're handled is also entirely different.

So... we take the good and the great from each, and come to terms with what we each as separate individuals consider not quite so good.

Here at TTF we leave room for all to voice their opinions. What we don't allow is the Religion of Opinion to set in, so people start bashing one another, demeaning one another's opinions, and insisting their view is the only right one and everyone else must agree, etc.

Hopefully this all makes sense.

 

[Ent]

Contempt is too harsh a term, annoyance with parts probably comes closer.

AHA. Thou hast nailed it with thine head, Sir Olorgando. (A borrowing from Paul Harvey, radio broadcaster deceased 2009, for anyone familiar with him and his work - slightly altered and cast in old-to-middle-Engilsh.)

 

[Ent]

Also, I solved the pitch puzzle! The Horn of Gondor, as played in the movie, sounds at a pitch of G3.

Can you share your methodology for concluding G3 good sir?

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

I don't have any contempt for the movies myself, just so you know.
I actually rather enjoy them in many respects. Great scenery, sweeping settings, some very good acting, terrific costuming.
Dialogue fitting for the most part, though at times uneven.

And, at my age, I've learned we take things for what they are in themselves, not for what we wish they might be.

On the other hand, I do prefer the books, and when the books are clear, I'm sometimes a bit sorry they aren't followed.

For example, a sword broken in two rather than multiple shards.

Gandalf on the bridge in Moria saying "you SHALL not pass" in PJ's work, rather than "you cannot pass" as in the text. (There's a massive world of difference here, and Tolkien was very intentional about his choice of words because of what he was trying to convey.)

And I must confess, sledding down steps on a shield, skiing off an oliphaunt's trunk, and a sled driven by big bunnies aren't on my list of 'fond scenes.'
Legolas isn't a superhero, and there's no reason to turn Tolkien's work into a slapstick comedy.
Tolkien drew his battle scenes, for example, to be very 'realistic' fantasy, and carry the drama, dread, calamity and loss of war. He was well aware of these things from personal experience.

That said, no movie ever done has matched the book it's extracted from.
The purpose of the movie and the book are, for the most part, entirely different...thus how they're handled is also entirely different.

So... we take the good and the great from each, and come to terms with what we each as separate individuals consider not quite so good.

Here at TTF we leave room for all to voice their opinions. What we don't allow is the Religion of Opinion to set in, so people start bashing one another, demeaning one another's opinions, and insisting their view is the only right one and everyone else must agree, etc.

Hopefully this all makes sense.

Yes, thanks for clarifying.

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

Can you share your methodology for concluding G3 good sir?

Yes, I ran all scenes where it sounds through my pitch finder app, then followed up with my choir director (whose powers indicate him to at least be a Maiar), who has more than just perfect pitch. Think of perfect pitch being Gandalf the Grey, his power is more of a Gandalf the White.
This pitch is still not conclusive, but experimentation has led to my belief that this was the answer I sought in my quest.

 

[Ent]

This pitch is still not conclusive,

No, but it's based on sound research.

Pitch G3 - sounding at 195.998 Hz - hearable here:
It does indeed sound very close to what my ear-memory remembers.

It does indeed sound very close to what my ear-memory remembers.

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

No, but it's based on sound research.

Pitch G3 - sounding at 195.998 Hz - hearable here:
It does indeed sound very close to what my ear-memory remembers.

It does indeed sound very close to what my ear-memory remembers.

My Maiar friend will be checking again on a fresh ear in a small amount of time, I will return to this thread with concrete information.

 

[Ent]

My Maiar friend will be checking again on a fresh ear in a small amount of time

An advantage of being a Maia I guess. I can't change my ears and get a fresh one. Stuck with the set I have. 😞

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

An advantage of being a Maia I guess. I can't change my ears and get a fresh one. Stuck with the set I have. 😞

My distinguished sir, you are hilarious 🤣

 

[Ent]

My distinguished sir, you are hilarious 🤣

Yeah, it's about the only thing I provide here any more... some infrequent comic relief.
(Unless a subject comes up exciting my interest for a quick study. Earlier I had many questions, did much study, and had (way too many) things to say. Now, I'm busy writing, pondering, and developing, so I don't add much else.)

Yes, thanks for clarifying.

Happy to. If you're ever interested in the very few things I'm really disappointed with, feel free to ask. Always happy to share what they are, and why. (And if you look at my prior posts, I'm sure you'll see most of them posted here anyway already... there aren't a lot, and I didn't note them as 'pet peeves' - but I'm sure the reader could sense my dissatisfaction with PJ's choices.)