Although not immediately seen as a likely success (Shippey), J.R.R. Tolkein’s original epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings flourished, and has had numerous adaptations for different mediums in the years following its publication. Not surprisingly, each one has had its criticism. In particular, deviations from canon – a term used to mean original story-line and accepted character history supported by the author’s writings – are among the worst “offenses” that can be made when pursuing an adaptation, according to those who refer to themselves as Tolkein “purists.” Such changes, they argue, substantially change the narrative and spirit of the original tale (Ruzin). But in each case, the creators of these adaptations have shouldered the task of recreating and retelling a fantasy epic that is too large to be contained even within itself; Tolkein himself had reams of world-crafting to support the characters and story-line behind his writing. While the novels stand alone on their own strengths, they take on their true grandeur when read the context of their world and its history. Considering this, it is a wonder at all when a film adaptation, a few scant hours of visual storytelling, can reflect even a part of the world that Tolkein created.
Of those that have tried, surely the most convincing has been Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy. There is no question that it had substantial canonical revision, but instead of taking away from the story, it focused and condensed the plot to the point where it can be managed and presented in the film format. Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings made thoughtful and important changes to the narrative which enhanced the story-line for the medium in and audience to which it was told. These ch...
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...avishly recreate each nuance of Tolkein’s work. The movies are not a substitute, and they don’t try to be. Each detail and subtlety still resides on the pages of the original novels, which can be enjoyed at leisure. Jackson’s interpretation, divorced from the unreasonable strictures placed upon it, stands on its own merits as a legitimate endeavor, and is best when viewed as such.
Works Cited
Ruzin, Gabriel. "A Purist's Defense of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Screenplay." Shadowlocked. 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.
Shippey, Tom. "From page to screen: J.R.R. Tolkien and Peters Jackson." World Literature Today 77.2 (2003): 69+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 28 Mar. 2011.
The Lord of the Rings. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood. New Line Cinema, 2001. DVD.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings. 3 vols. New York: Ballantine Books, 1965. Print.
It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
- - - . The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. 68, 643, 659, 979.
Miller, David M. “Narrative Pattern in The Fellowship of the Ring.”A Tolkien Compass. Ed. Jared Lobdell. La Salle Il.:The Open Court Publishing Company, 1975.
Context and Tradition: Published in 1954, The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien is a work of fiction written during the modern literary period. Historically, many things were going on during the time it was published, such as the Korean War, beginning in 1950. Other notable events during this decade include the beginning of the civil rights movement in 1954, when segregation was ruled illegal in the United States, and the beginning of the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik I by the Russians in 1957. An artistic work that The Fellowship of the Ring reminds me of is The Game of Thrones, a high fantasy novel by George R.R. Martin. Both worlds are filled with magical creatures, and concern themselves with an alternate world heavily reliant on magic, as both universes do not have access to the technology available in the real world.
The Hobbit shows J.R.R. Tolkien’s belief in the ancient heroic tales of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian epics. He asserts that a being goes through many adventures with the help of friends who believe that anything can happen. Tolkien reveals how bravery and courage make ordinary individuals succeed at ordinary tasks.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: Part One The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954.
Thompson, Kristin. The Frodo franchise: The Lord of the rings and modern Hollywood. Berkeley: University of California P, 2007.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. New York: Ballantine, 1982. Print
Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954. Print.
In the The Lord of the Rings, by J. Tolken, there are many things that make the story symbolic of a Christian influence. The constant emphasis of good vs. evil brings forth reason to suspect that this novel has a Christian basis. In this paper I will prove and backup my personal opinion through sighting specific examples of the influences from the book.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Dir. Peter Jackson. By Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo Del Toro, and J.R.R Tolkien. Perf. Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, and Richard Armitage. 2012. DVD.
J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is a peerless fantasy of epic proportions. While eschewing allegory in favor of an historical perspective, Tolkien has imprinted the work with many of his own closely held Catholic beliefs. In a lecture concerning Tolkien’s writing given to students at Villanova University, Dr. Tomas W. Smith put it this way
The most famous work in the epic fantasy genre is The Lord of the Rings, written by J. R. R. Tolkien over the course of ten years and published in 1954. Over the last few decades, there has been a lot of controversy over whether or not a story in this genre could be considered a valuable literary work. It was suggested that fantasy was clichéd and too unrealistic to be in touch with the daily life. However, when one reads between the lines, one can find a different interpretation within the same story; an interpretation that might not be as clichéd and farfetched as one might think. While it is often claimed that literary works in the genre fantasy cannot have any literary value, the The Lord of the Rings-trilogy contains the beautiful, the true and the good (Flood) and therefore is original, is historical or ethical relevant and has human truth value, which are necessary qualities for a literary work to be valuable.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. The film is an adaptation of a volume of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien published in 1954. This is the first film of Peter Jackson’s trilogy that adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s entire Lord of the Rings series into screenplay.
Chance, Jane The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power. New York, Twayne. 1992.