[RosieCotton]

But to pick up about Denethor, I think they did him a disservice in the movies, though the extended edition may fix some things. In the book, he was the wreck of a great man, worn down by his failure against Sauron and his corruption through the Palantir. In the movie...he was just a thoroughly unpleasant fella, without any really obvious reasons why.

[Fedora]

> But to pick up about Denethor, I think they did him a disservice in the movies, though the extended edition may fix some things. In the book, he was the wreck of a great man, worn down by his failure against Sauron and his corruption through the Palantir. In the movie...he was just a thoroughly unpleasant fella, without any really obvious reasons why.

Agree. Here's how Tolkien introduces Denethorn:

"Then the old man looked up. Pippin saw his carven face with its proud bones and skin like ivory, and the long curved nose between the dark deep eyes; and he was reminded not so much of Boromir as of Aragorn."

Also, in the book Denethor pretty much goes toe-to-toe with Gandalf in verbal comebacks, and he's able to coax information out of Pippin despite Gandalf's attempts to stop him. One passage says:

"Denethor looked indeed much more like a great wizard than Gandalf did, more kingly, beautiful, and powerful, and older."

But then it adds:

"Yet by a sense other than sight Pippin perceived that Gandalf had greater power. . ."