[kcar]

In the story Denthor was reputed to be wise, and did assemble all the wisdom of the ages in his library / archives, which Gandalf often consulted. But the movie couldn't bring all subtle character nuances out - in the end it just portrayed him the way he essentially was, a coward who would have sacrificed his surviving son, and who believed victory was impossible and that all greatness was pastward. Bad steward. Very French.

I was less disappointed by the failure to draw out his character than to the total omission of Tom Bombadil and his good lady, Goldberry. They could've made a 4-hour movie of the escape from the Shire to Bree.

[Chi-townChief]

It's funny, the different things we all focus on - I'm not so much bothered by the omission of Tom Bombadil or Saruman's anti-climactic return as "Sharkey" as I am by the smaller changes such as the crossing of the Ford of Brunien, changes in Eowyn's, Faramir's, and Denethor's characters, the de-emphasis of the palantirs, Frodo's truncated claim of the Ring at Sammath Naur, etc.