Why I will pay to see the film of my grandfather's magnum opus again
Simon Tolkien was one of the first people in Britain to see The Fellowship of the Ring when he attended last week's world premiere in London. Here he tells why he will be using his own money to go and see it again:
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Your support makes all the difference."The film is clearly in the hands of someone who's a serious Tolkien fan, as so many things are well done. I thought the Shire was an extraordinary achievement – it's depicted as this green, fertile, safe place – and Bilbo's house is just like my grandfather's original illustration. The hobbits themselves are great, too: Elijah Wood as Frodo has this wonderful otherworldly look on his face.
"My favourite scene in the film is when the hobbits are picking mushrooms and the camera pans up and you see a Black Rider on a horse. The riders look magnificent, there's a real sense of menace.
"They have changed some things in the book, but I think that's a good thing. There is a brief romance between Arwen and Aragorn, but that's fine. If anything, they should have cut more out. There's far too much in The Fellowship of the Ring to fit into a film, and there are times when the accelerator seems to be down a bit fast.
"Overall, I think the film is marvellous, but I was disappointed with the depiction of the dark lord, Sauron, who looked more like a red slit than an eye, and Christopher Lee as Saruman, the corrupted wizard, who just seemed to wave a stick around that threw Gandalf against the wall.
"The major difference between me and my father is that he believes The Lord of the Rings is unsuited to being made into a film, but I think it's highly filmable. It's got an extremely strong story and well-developed characters.
"I don't see the film as a threat to the book, but as something extra. As a result of this film, because it's good, more people will want to read the books."
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