[RosieCotton]

I could live with his changes - Elrond, I mean. Though he wasn't NEARLY that grumpy and cynical in the books...

Some of the other elves didn't fare so well, though. Haldir - ugh! I know he's just a minor character, but that bothered me just the same.

And, as Mamzelle said, Aragorn's being so unsure of himself and kinda hiding from his duties irked me, though I've kind of gotten used to it. It bothered me most when I first saw FOTR.

[HairOfTheDog]

What was wrong with Haldir?

[Tax-chick]

It seemed to me that he just made up a character and gave it the name "Haldir," in order to fit into scenes that were also made up. Bad taste, imo.

And Aragorn was considerably weaker than the character in the book ... modern, conflicted, and all that.

[Mamzelle]

How I long for a new movie installment...and I can't admit now how many times I've watched the extended versions. Now that I've practically memorized it, I've decided that Theoden and Gandalf were the best realized characters from the book. I loved how Arwen turned into Luthien/Celebrian/Glorfindel and wore the coolest gown and spoke the most elvish. I honestly think that if Tolkien saw the PJ Arwen treatment, he'd have wished he'd written her that way.

I still remember that first opening sequence of FOTR, though, and the delight and the astonishment..."Galadriel's talking...! There's the Shire! There's Gandalf in the Cart! He's singing the Road song!" And the warm spot PJ will have in my heart for my favorite Christmas presents for three years running.

The funniest thing about my first viewing of FOTR is that I absolutely did not hear the soundtrack, so blown away was I about everything else.

The artwork of LOTR, though, far surpasses everything else. I loved the sets the very best...and I recommend all those coffee table books with their beautiful pictures.