You raise some extremely interesting points and your paper is very well written. Remember that your paper is to some extent a comment on Shippey’s article and that you need to address the points he raises.
How about Tolkien’s world view? That’s why I gave you his essay on fairy tales to read!
Read the general comments on the rough drafts that I posted yesterday on the “(Almost) Daily Bulletin from the Professor” page. Lydia Fish September 23, 2008, at 02:04 PM
You got a good about of information backed up by what Jackson said during the film. Not many others have talked about the paantirs and the army of the dead, which were tough aspects for Jackson to include in the film. I would look for more examples though to bulk up the body of your essay. Brian Nacov September 18, 2008, at 05:09 PM
It seems to be well organized and thoughtout. I think you are just leaving out the mention of the shippey article but otherwise very well done. Donald Turner September 18, 2008, at 04:32 PM
Great ideas. It sounds like this will turn out to be an interesting paper. Sarah Chudyk?
WOW!! Interesting topics! Leave it to you to come up with something unusual. I think what you have so far, once developed will make for a really interesting paper! Brittany Thrun ? September 17, 2008, at 11:56 PM
I like your very informative discussion about the palantirs. You have some very good ideas and you structured your paper very well. Steven Wilser? September 17, 2008, at 11:04 PM
Once again just detail and develop. Jenelle Jones
You have a solid method of stating scenes or characters and then stating the problems they presented in the film. Jackson certainly would have had his hands full had decided to take them on. Concerning the Army of the Dead, it was fantastic to bring in Tolkien’s beliefs and a brief history to defend his own beliefs on the matter. Devon Cozad? September 17, 2008, at 12:39 PM
From the start I can appreciate that, rather than using your personal opinion, you use the fact that it was nominated for Oscars to suggest that Jackson was successful in the conversion of the book to films. Straight forward outline with interesting topics. Good luck with your final. Sarah McNutt? September 17, 2008, at 1:11 PM
I never considered what effects removing the rangers would have. This is a great idea, and you are the only person who has written about it. You could include in your discussion of the Army of the Dead why Jackson could not use a flashback to describe the Corsairs of Umbar. Shippey discussed a similar problem with the Ent’s destruction of Isengard. Great job! Annika Laughlin? September 16, 2008, at 10:08 PM
The ideas you have so far leave a good amount of space for you to elaborate! You chose good specific topics to talk about! I agree with Lauren on the army of the dead. You do have a thorough understanding of it already, but you could definitely organize it into a few paragraphs so the readers don’t get lost in a sea of words! That way, we will understand your main ideas better! Good job so far! Keilah Bradley September 16, 2008, at 06:09 PM]]
I like the fact that you brought up the idea that if Jackson were to put certain things in the movie it would take a long time for these things to play out. A lot of the things that are in the books have the history told for them and if Jackson wanted to use it in the book he would have to explain the whole history. Great job so far. Just expand on these ideas. Elizabeth Delano? September 16, 2008, at 07:33 PM
The three ideas that you have so far can have alot of potential. Your discussion of the army of the dead etc…has alot of information in it. I think you have enough information on that topic already, but make sure that you can divide that into a couple organized paragraphs. One very long one won’t flow very well. I also think that your topic on Scouring of the Shire could be expanded. What particular difficulties did Jackson experience as he tried to incorporate those crucial parts of that scene into small parts of the film? Lauren Brych? September 16, 2008, at 01:07 PM
I thought it was interesting how you included the exclusion of the Rangers. I haven’t read about this exclusion in anyone’s paper thus far. I think a difficulty that you could mention would be the number of characters in the final book. The deletion of the Rangers would be one of Jackson’s solutions. I think you should also mention Shippey too. Carly Lopez?
Great job. You have clearly iisted each point and giving information on them and then explaining why they posed a problem Jackson. You then went on explian how Jackson either resolved or fail to resolved the problem. You are a great start. Just keep it up. Remember to talk about the ending of the movie and Shippey’s predictions.Trudy Antwi September 16, 2008, at 11:41 PM
From Page to Screen
There are several important challenges the screenwriters faced when converting the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King from book to film. Director Peter Jackson had to propel the story while developing characters and create a film in due time. These restrictions create a movie slightly different from the original novel, while also creating a film worthy of 11 Oscar wins.
Several subplots had to be ignored, changed or merely inferred so that the storyline of the film could move forward without too many distractions.
Palantirs:
Palantirs have a complex history of their own, and often cause the users to misunderstand their sightings The Palantirs lead Saruman to misjudge the rise of power of Mordor, of Sauron to mistake the true location of the Ring, and Denethor to become filled with despair at the encroaching army of Mordor.
Problem:
Jackson would have to spend a large amount of time in each of the three movies describing the history of the Palantirs and continually discuss how they are deceitful rather than inferring their misuse of power. It would also lead Peter Jackson to include Denethor as an owner of a Palantir, which would add more layers to an already complex storyline. Denethor madness is plausible considering his grief over the death and apparent death of his two sons, however when a Palantir and his ability to read minds adds to the plot of a film, Denethor suddenly becomes a much more complex character that needs far more screen time than the film can allow.
Army of Dead:
The Army from the Mountains, long dead add a spectral and indefinable presence to the cast of characters and armies, however Peter Jackson’s use of the army simplifies the storyline with both success and failure. Aragorn and his company of fellow Dünedain Rangers as well as Gimli and Legolas muster the army of Oathbreakers. Finally, the Army of the Dead is released from duty after Aragorn takes the Corsairs of Umbar at the port city of Pelargir in Lebennin. The company of Rangers and Gondorians from the Southern kingdoms sails on to meet the armies of Mordor at Pelennor fields.
Problem:
The movie cuts out all mentions of other Rangers and reinforcements from the southern kingdoms of Gondor, leaving only Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the Army of Dead. This simplifies the character list while continuing the momentum of the film. The Rangers would have caused Peter Jackson to suddenly introduce several dozen characters that are potentially as complex as our Ranger hero Aragorn. More names would need to be learned and histories revealed as the audience was previously unaware of the other Rangers and their affiliation with Gondor and Aragorn. Throughout the three films, the audience is aware that Rangers do exist, but to what extent is left undisclosed, causing a major problem if they were to be introduced in the last installment of The Lord of the Rings. A similar fate befell the army of fellow Gondorians. Previously, Gondor seemed composed of the cities of Osgiliath and Minas Tirith, with little to no mention of their southern kingdoms. With the other territories of Gondor come princes and generals who were before unknown. Peter Jackson cut out the southern lands as it would lead the film on another tangent in effort to describe the southern kingdoms allegiance, political system, histories and military power. To introduce the fellow Gondorians on the field of battle would make a triumphant scene as reinforcements of countrymen came to Minas Tirith’s aid however, their introduction would create many unanswered questions for Jackson to address. Simply, Jackson cut out their involvement, and substituted the Army of the Dead, whose history is already known with the army from the southern kingdoms of Gondor. This correction however, created a plot “cop out”. If the Army of Dead was so clearly invincible, then why did so many have to die in the defense of Minas Tirith? Aragorn seems to be a poor leader as his unstoppable force destroys the armies of Mordor much too late. The battle to save Minis Tirith was built up for so long with many images of heroism and courage and Jackson simply undercut the momentum with a quick end. Tolkien was interested in country pride, as he seemed dissatisfied with the French influence after the battle of Hastings in 1066. Tolkien wanted to create his own myths and legends based upon English lore pre-1066. It is clear that nationalism played a part in his own life as well as his Lord of the Rings trilogy, as the Riders of Rohan were mustered to aid Gondor and as the southern kingdoms came to the White City’s aid. This sense of patriotism was undermined when Jackson cut out reinforcements of Gondor’s countrymen.
Scouring of the Shire:
Sam, Frodo, Pippin and Merry return to the Shire at long last to find the town overrun by men. Saruman, under the name Sharkey has a host of men at his disposable and runs the shire as a police state. The four hobbits, with help of their countrymen rise up against Saruman’s tyranny and overthrow the men and Saruman’s servant Grima Wormtongue murders him.
Problem:
This scene was cut on account of it being anti-climactic in the final film. After several scenes which could portray possible endings, including the Crowning ceremony of Aragorn and the last moments for the hobbits atop Mount Doom, and two large battles, a third battle seems nearly impossible. The Battle of Bywater would take time and create scenes that are useless in propelling the story of Frodo and the Ring. While Sharkey and his men portray that no land is invulnerable to evil, and that evil can always exist, it does not aid in showing how evil the Ring itself is. As the fourth hour of the film passed, Jackson could in no way create another subplot that doesn’t aid his central theme. The Shire needed to offer a home for the hobbits so that the movie could end with Sam returning safely to his home and saying, “Well, I’m back.”
