An excellent adaptation

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2002)

I've read the book(s), and reading some of the other reviews, it seems that is necessary to fully appreciate this movie: what the heck are elves doing there? In the book, all the characters have a long and intricate history, and there are other books Tolkien wrote where he expanded on them.

I really enjoyed the movie: almost everything about it was as I imagined from the book. The special effects were stunning, especially the battle scenes and Isengard. The movie was very true to the book, tho it cut out some of the best lines (my favourites: "But it is not your Shire. Others were here before you and others will be here after you are gone" [Gandalf to Frodo]; {when Frodo complains that Gollum deserves death, Gandalf chides him with these lines} "Many that live deserve death. And many that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?"[Gandalf to Frodo]. Also, the entire Tom Bombadil and the Old Forest section is left out, as is role of Fatty Bolger and the house in Crickhollow.
I noticed a couple of scenes which were almost exactly the same as in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animation: when the first Black Rider nearly finds the hobbits on the road just out from Bag End, he looms over the edge of the road while the hobbits hide in terror in the exposed roots of a tree; while the hobbits are sleeping in the Prancing Pony (but not in the room they were originally assigned), 4 Black Riders appear in the Hobbit Room and stand by each of the beds, then they raise their swords high above their heads, pommel uppermost, blade pointing downwards. Both these scenes are shot from the same viewpoint and almost with the same movements as in the animation. Jackson's tribute, perhaps?
The scene in the snow on the slopes of "cruel Caradhras" is almost exactly like that of a painting I saw in a book of paintings based on scenes from Tolkien.
The women in Tolkien's stories are all rather wooden. I thought the movie did a good job of making Elrond's daughter Arwen less remote and more interesting.