"The Frodo Franchise" by Kristin Thompson
I finally started reading this (after shirebound's entry about it, i jumped right on it having just finished rereading FotR ;) and it's interesting so far...
I'm struck on this tidbit by the author's initial reaction to FotR when it first came out and when she first watched it...
"When I walked into a theater to see Fellowship for the first time, I went dreading that it would be a drastic departure from the novel and/or turn out to be the very sort of middlebrow film that i dislike. To my relief, it was neither. Despite inevitable reservations about some of the changes made in the adaptation, I enjoyed the film. ...
At first I wondered why i enjoyed watching Fellowship even though it was the sort of thing I did not care for: Oscar bait with a literary pedigree. Was it simply because I was a Tolkien fan and, like so many, wanted it to be good? It took me a few more viewings and a bit of pondering on this paradox to realize that Jackson's Rings is a popular genre film. Or rather, it mixes conventions of several popular genres into its overarching fantasy structure: martial arts action, horror, swashbucklers, war and even hints of Westerns. True, it moves into the elegant, respectful mode at times, primarily in the scenes dealing largely with ELves. Overall, however, it conveys the sense of excitement that the filmmakers felt in making it, the love of the material that Tolkien fans share."
~The Frodo Franchise pg. 57
Now, since i'm not one of those fans who has read LotR since childhood and read the books before the movies, (:blush:) i want to ask those of you who have read the books FIRST before the movies (those who have grown up with the books), what was YOUR first impression on the Fellowship hitting the theaters? Did you not want your books to be touched and changed for the big screen? Were you scared that it would be too altered for your liking? OR were you just plain psyched to see your beloved story finally adapted again into something promising? (Unlike Rankin and Bass & Rakshi's versions?)
To what extent did you kind of dread that Tolkien's classic was made into a "popular film" for the masses? Is it a good thing to be "pop culturing" Tolkien?
...
::goes back to reading book:: =) (and if there are more mentions of LotR websites and authors...i will mention... ;) (i know they mention TORN here a lot....)
I'm struck on this tidbit by the author's initial reaction to FotR when it first came out and when she first watched it...
"When I walked into a theater to see Fellowship for the first time, I went dreading that it would be a drastic departure from the novel and/or turn out to be the very sort of middlebrow film that i dislike. To my relief, it was neither. Despite inevitable reservations about some of the changes made in the adaptation, I enjoyed the film. ...
At first I wondered why i enjoyed watching Fellowship even though it was the sort of thing I did not care for: Oscar bait with a literary pedigree. Was it simply because I was a Tolkien fan and, like so many, wanted it to be good? It took me a few more viewings and a bit of pondering on this paradox to realize that Jackson's Rings is a popular genre film. Or rather, it mixes conventions of several popular genres into its overarching fantasy structure: martial arts action, horror, swashbucklers, war and even hints of Westerns. True, it moves into the elegant, respectful mode at times, primarily in the scenes dealing largely with ELves. Overall, however, it conveys the sense of excitement that the filmmakers felt in making it, the love of the material that Tolkien fans share."
~The Frodo Franchise pg. 57
Now, since i'm not one of those fans who has read LotR since childhood and read the books before the movies, (:blush:) i want to ask those of you who have read the books FIRST before the movies (those who have grown up with the books), what was YOUR first impression on the Fellowship hitting the theaters? Did you not want your books to be touched and changed for the big screen? Were you scared that it would be too altered for your liking? OR were you just plain psyched to see your beloved story finally adapted again into something promising? (Unlike Rankin and Bass & Rakshi's versions?)
To what extent did you kind of dread that Tolkien's classic was made into a "popular film" for the masses? Is it a good thing to be "pop culturing" Tolkien?
...
::goes back to reading book:: =) (and if there are more mentions of LotR websites and authors...i will mention... ;) (i know they mention TORN here a lot....)