[Overtaxed]

Good Morning! One thing that PJ got "righter" than Tolkien (IMHO)is when Arwen took Frodo to Rivendell. It would have made more sense for Glorfindel and Frodo to ride like the wind than to go at walking speed.

[cantbebought]

I think we need to give Glorfindel a break. It took me a couple of readings to realize the distances involved. Six days on foot from Bree(Sept30) to Weathertop(Oct 6), and then 14 more days in the wild to the Ford of Bruinen(Oct20). Glorfindel leaves Rivendale(Oct 9), chases the BRs from the bridge (Oct 11), Frodo & the gang are then free to cross on the 13th and he finds them on the 18th, still 2 days of hard effort on the road to the Ford.

Maybe a horse expert can correct me, but I remember reading somewere that infantry units could march farther in a day the calvery could ride without killing thier horeses. The speed advantage of the horse is for short sprints. Keeping them together is probably the best bet. Remember Strider (with his broken sword) & the Hobbits chase off the 5 BRs on Weathertop. They would have run the risk of meeting the Nazgul alone with a winded horse. Besides the rest of them wouldn't have been able to scare the black horses into the river if they were left to far behind.

Since the movie left alot of that out the 'chase scene' to the ford worked much better.

[Sam Cree]

I do think that there are scenes in the movie that have more impact than those in the book. Of course, part of the reaason the movie does have such impact, and is so moving, is that (most of us have cherished LOTR for many years and) Jackson did such a beautiful job of bringing it to life.

I think on the whole I am OK with the changes that Jackson made, though I didn't think Arwen's increased role was necessary, I didn't mind it either. In fact, her scenes with Frodo were very good.

Jackson's (and Alan Lee's) version of Rivendell, however, was not exactly the way I've always imagined it. I didn't picture it to be such an "outdoor garden" sort of place. Somehow I imagined a large house with cozy fires and hearths and stuff. I didn't picture it to be in such a narrow chasm either. Not that I didn't like it, just that it was different than my own vision.

The falling leaves in the Rivendell scenes were a thoughtful touch. I know, in the story, the season was fall, but the falling leaves also very eloquently and poignantly foreshadow the end of the elves time in Middle Earth.