[The Iguana]

I thought the "liberties" in FOTR were acceptable. Well, "tolerable." I am a purist nonetheless.

But I long ago accepted that the formula for making a great movie does not match that of a book. Changes, compromises, compressions must be made.

Beefing up Arwen's role was necessary to make for compelling cinema. Moviegoers don't have 1200 pages and an entire appendix to marinate in for acquiring a sense of Arwen's importance and their relationship together. If they continue to lift from the Appendix I can hardly cavil much at it; it's at least something Tolkien wrote, and thought enough of to include in some form for official (and not just posthumous) publication.

In actual fact Arwen and Aragorn plighted their troth some years previously at Cerin Ammroth, and not just before the Council of Elrond - as we all know. I don't mind moving it up in time, to so speak, to the present day. Nor did I much mind (to my surprise) substituting Arwen for a throwaway character, Glorfindel.

If Arwen ends up hacking orcs and traveling with the Felllowship in TT then I'll have a problem with that. That's not part of who she is. That's what Eowyn's for, so to speak.

Gollum is of course a tragic character, not wholly evil. The song does an interesting job of capturing some of that sense. Once you get past the Bjork-like timber of her voice.

If I had any disappointmentt a cut/alteration, it was the short shrift given to the whole Numenorean backstory. I understand why it was cut but I think Jackson underrates its importance to the story and to Aragorn's character. I can only hope some of it gets filled in the next two movies.

[Argh]

I agree with most of what you say, and took such trouble to put so well, by the way. I guess I didn't make it clear I was mostly joking. I hope they don't make that song part of the movie, but IF they do: please, Gollum's song?? His tragedy was too deep for words, particularly the insipid ones sung here (I agree with you about the voice), the orchestral music was fine for what they're trying to achieve without the puerile singing! (You may want to see my response to Miss Rika above).

I too am a fussy purist, but I understand the constraints since they were making 3 movies and trying to make money, not trying to make a lengthy accurate version of Tolkien's opus. I realize the Arwen enhancement was to sell tickets, but I also thought it was conveniently kowtowing to the PC crowd. Some of the plain dialogue they wrote could have been replaced with Tolkien's words without buggering the movie-length considerations, but I'm quibbling here.

But my one serious complaint (not that you care, nor should you) was that, despite the obviously great effort (and Bravo! New Zealand, by the way!), they took the best pure story I ever read and made it mostly tedious. And people who take that as a personal insult (as is the wont around here with remarks not directed insultingly at anyone at Free Republic) need their heads examined.

Thank you for your time and consideration.