Fan Phenomena The Lord of the Rings by Lorna Piatti-Farnell

Author:Lorna Piatti-Farnell [Piatti-Farnell, Lorna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783207312
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Intellect Books Ltd
Published: 2016-04-16T00:00:00+00:00

'FOOL OF A TOOK!' HE GROWLED. 'THIS IS A SERIOUS JOURNEY, NOT A HOBBIT WALKING-PARTY.'

GANDALF GANDALF TO PIPPIN IN J.R.R. TOLKIEN’S THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

Fan Appreciation

Shaun Gunner, President of the Tolkien Society

Interview by Lorna Piatti-Farnell

Lorna Piatti-Farnell (LPF): I suppose we should start with the obvious… as the Chairman of the Tolkien Society, and therefore an expert on the Lord of the Rings books, what was your reaction to the film trilogy?

Shaun Gunner (SG): I first saw the films many years before I became the Chairman of the Society – before, in fact, I was even a member. I was just 13 when The Fellowship of the Ring [2001] was released and I was instantly captivated. I was entranced. I devoured everything about the films. I bought every film tie-in book. I would visit TheOneRing.net three times a day just to find out even the most trivial of film-related gossip. To me, it represented the pinnacle of film production. The very essence of Tolkien had been brought alive.

I take a more pragmatic approach now. I’m more well-read on Tolkien and I feel more attuned to the changes made from the book. Saying that, I still regard The Fellowship of the Ring as an excellent film whilst I very much enjoy The Return of the King [2003]. I always found The Two Towers [2002] a little boring as a rather unexciting ‘filler’ film in the trilogy. In all three films there are some cracking lines from the characters that I so wish had been said by the characters in the book – ‘Stand, Men of the West’ by Aragorn is a case in point.

LPF: In general terms, how do you think the film trilogy was received by the fans of Tolkien’s books? What were the most common points of discussion?

SG: Some groups were very hostile, focusing exclusively on the changes from the book. Others greeted it with unabated enthusiasm, seeing the films as a huge triumph of Tolkien’s imagination. There has always been this tension in the Tolkien community – and it’s never been fully resolved – but I would say that debates are less heated now than they used to be. What is interesting is how the release of the Hobbit films has led to a slight revision of some fans’ views of The Lord of the Rings: many regard the Hobbit films as far worse an adaptation that is too focused on CGI and action scenes to the detriment of Tolkien’s story – this has led to a ‘softening’ of the view on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I think it is fair to say that visually the vast majority of fans would agree that the films look like Middle-earth: no one argues that Bag End, Gandalf, Isengard or the Dead Men of Dunharrow are inauthentic portrayals. Even if someone imagines Rivendell differently pretty much everyone accepts that its portrayal on-screen was legitimate and well-executed. This was probably helped by having the well-known artists John Howe and Alan Lee as concept designers for the films – their works are highly regarded by Tolkien fans.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.