'My dear Frodo, hobbits really are amazing creatures.
You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in the months, and
yet after a hundred years,
they can still surprise you.' - J.R.R,
Tolkien's three part fantasy from Middle Earth was first published in the 50s.
While he initially intended it as just a sequel to 'The Hobbit',
'The Lord of the Rings' has become so wildly popular,
it was voted Britain's favorite book ever back in 2003.
- And there have been multiple adaptations in the half century since
it's first publication.
Several radio dramatizations, an animated feature film, and of course the one we're
talking about here, Peter Jackson's award winning epics from the early opts.
- Great, so let's just deal with all three of them at the same time.
Ha.
- Just ha man.
- Fine, we'll just start with The Fellowship of the Ring.
So, without further ado, and
no restraint on spoilers, it's time to ask, what's the difference?
(Music)
- To start with, let's clarify what version of the film we're talking about.
Since it is likely the most viewed version, we're talking about the original
theatrical cup of the 'The Fellowship of the Ring'.
Any other differences in the 30 extra minutes of the extended edition,
you can tell us about in the comment section.
- It's also important to remember that we're just dealing with 'The Fellowship of
the Ring' here, not the entire trilogy.
So, if we leave something out that becomes meaningful in the second or
third book, we'll get to it in our second or third episode.
- So, with that little disclaimer, let's get started.
- 'The Fellowship of the Ring' starts off with an extensive prologue
detailing the long history of the hobbits as a people.
Tolkien describes things like the geography of the Shire and
surrounding areas, the importance of pipe weed, and
a few thoughts on the hobbits skill as record keepers.
This part of 'The Fellowship of the Ring', reads largely as a historical text.
Shedding light on the origin of the hobbits before they head out on
their adventure.
- The film similarly begins with an extensive prologue.
It's prologue however, focuses on the forging of the great rings.
This story is ultimately told by 'Gandalf' in the second chapter of the book.
But the fact that the movie opens on the history of the one ring is telling.
Right away, the film focuses on the danger and
the evil lurking within 'Sauron's' ring,
as opposed to an anthropological study of the people at the center of the story.
- From there the book moves straight into the long awaited party,
'Bilbo's' 111th birthday celebration.
'Gandalf' arrives with some rad fireworks and much is made with 'Bilbo' and
'Frodo's' meddling relatives, the 'Sackville- Bagginses'.
At the party, 'Bilbo' makes a scene by bidding farewell to his
kin before slipping on the ring and disappearing completely.
- The movies version of these events play out basically the same.
After the party, however,
we come to one of the main differences between book and movie.
'Gandalf' begins to suspect the ring immediately, telling 'Frodo'
to keep it secret, keep it safe, before taking off to go do some research.
He then returns in basically the amount of time it takes to ride from Hobbiton to
Minas Tirith and back to discover that, yep, this ring is real bad news.
- 'One ring to bring them all into the darkness spite'.
- In the book, though, after the party, 'Gandalf' is gone for three years.
Then a few years go by where he visits the Shire frequently.
Then he's gone for nine more years before finally coming back to give 'Frodo'
the full story of the ring.
- In the movie, a stricken and concerned 'Gandalf' sends 'Frodo' and
'Sam' out of the Shire literally at dawn the next morning or at the very least,
were meant to read it that way, based on how the movie is edited.
- Book 'Frodo' takes a much more measured approach to leaving the Shire.
'Gandalf' hangs out for a few weeks,
before they even talk about how to best leave.
Then, 'Frodo' sells his home at Bag End to the 'Sackville-Bagginses',
buys another place in another town, and moves all of his stuff there,
so as not to arouse suspicion.
Big picture here is, 'Frodo' is 33 at 'Bilbo's' birthday party, and
he leaves the Shire with the ring when he's 50.
That means 17 full years go by before any action is taken to destroy the ring.
- The movie follows 'Frodo' and 'Sam's' departure with a quick montage of them
walking across the countryside, with shots beginning at dawn, progressing through
the day, and wrapping up towards dusk, implying just one more day has passed.
And it's played as though it's within the next day that they run into 'Merry' and
'Pippin'.
They evade the 'Black Riders' making it to Brie and
the Prancing Pony later that night.
Whether or not there are more nights on the road hidden by the cuts between
the scenes is completely irrelevant.
The pace of these edits makes us think that it's happening very quickly.
- Once they leave the shire in the book, the hobbits do run into 'Merry' and
'Pippin' and must evade the 'Black Riders', but
they also spend a night at old Maggot's farm drinking beer and having a nice meal.
Then they stop at Brandy Hall for
a handful of nights with comfortable baths and full bellies.
And singing like so much singing.
Then they spend three whole chapters in the company of 'Tom Bombadil',
a seemingly ancient protector of the forest who saves their lives a few
different times in fairly rapid succession.
- 'Why don't you stay with me little guys?' (Laugh)
- You would expect a book as
densely-authored as Tolkien's classic to have cuts for
time, even when the film is as thoroughly adapted as Peter Jackson's.
But these cuts aren't strictly edits to the narrative.
These cuts instead seem to shift the focus of the narrative from the journey
being long and
arduous in the book to the immediate danger posed by the ring in the movie.
Even cutting 'Tom Bombadil', which is on its surface,
an entirely narrative edit, serves this function.
It's not leaving the safety of the shire that imperils our heroes, it's the ring
and the urgency with which it must be moved to Rivendell that drives the action.
- But once the book and movie arrive at the Prancing Pony,
we begin to see some more significant character differences.
'Aragorn' or 'Strider' as he's first known to 'Frodo',
plays a bit more outgoing in the book.
He has a handful of sarcastic bordering on dickish comeback for
the hobbits when they first meet.
He's also carrying the shattered 'Narsil',
the sword used to cut the one ring from 'Sauron's' hand way back in the day.
He even seems downright antsy to see the sword reforged.
- In the movie, though, the shards of 'Narsil' reside in Rivendell, and
movie 'Aragorn' is more than a little reluctant to take up the mantle that
goes with his lineage.
While book 'Aragorn' does question his own ability to lead the hobbits safely on
their quest, there is little trace of self doubt in movie 'Aragorn's' actions.
At least where the route for Middle Earth is concerned.
His place in the Kingdom of Men is another matter entirely.
- After teaming with 'Strider',
the hobbits evade the 'Black Riders' in Bree once again.
They take their time heading back into the wild, and
when they do, it's in full view of half the town.
The movie uses a wide shot of Bree in the pre-dawn hours
with the hobbits hustling up a hilltop to imply a sneaky and immediate exit.
- And again, when 'Frodo' is stabbed on the Weathertop,
he's not immediately incapacitated like he is in the movie.
Instead, 'Aragorn' and the hobbits travel with the still functioning 'Frodo' for
nine days.
Then an elf named 'Glorfindel' finds them and guides them through the wild towards
Rivendell for two more days before the ring wraiths catch back up to them.
- In the movie 'Frodo' gets stabbed at night,
'Aragorn' chases the ring wraiths off at night, tends to 'Frodo' at night
before being joined by 'Arwen', 'Aragorn's' lady elf sweetheart.
Who immediately takes off with Frodo' en route to Rivendell that same night.
If I seem like I'm over stressing the time of day in which these events
are portrayed, it's because I am.
The language of cinema dictates more often than not,
that all these events are taking place in the same night.
When we rejoin 'Arwen', she's sprinting across a field at dawn,
implying only a few more hours had passed since she began her flight.
- 'If you want him, come and claim him'!
- Ultimately, 'Arwen' makes it to the river with 'Frodo' into her peoples lands
before summoning a flood to wash away the Ringwraiths.
But in the book, it's 'Glorfindel' who sends his horse, baring 'Frodo',
in his sprints towards the river.
And when the still conscious 'Frodo' reaches the other side,
the flood springs up seemingly out of nowhere.
And it's not until later we discover that 'Elron' of Rivendell has summoned it.
- So, while also mixing in some modernized gender politics,
the movie sees 'Frodo' get stabbed, followed by a literal sprint to save him.
In the book he's got a shard of the 'Ringwraiths' blade' stuck in his shoulder
for 17 days.
The movie, again, consistently opts to make the threats more present, and
the danger more immediate.
Now, the movie version, being a fantasy adventure epic,
does add a handful of scenes to make it more thrillingly cinematic.
For example, 'Gandalf' and 'Saruman's radwizard,
fisticuffs' don't appear in the book.
After 'Frodo' wakes up in Rivendell, book 'Gandalf' describes how he was detained on
the roof of 'Saruman's' tower, but not much else.
Nor do we see any of the preparations 'Saruman' is making for war.
- In fact, from this point on,
the book and movie line up pretty well, with a few minor changes here and there.
The 'Council of Elron' decides on the Fellowship.
- In the movie, they all volunteer, but in the book 'Elron' appoints
each member including those rascally hobbits, 'Merry' and 'Pippin'.
- 'You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring'.
- 'Great'. - 'Where do we go?'
- Before the fellowship ever sets out
'Narsil' is reforged by the Elves of Rivendell and
'Aragorn' renames it 'Andúril', the Flame of the West.
In the movies, 'Narsil' isn't reformed until much later, but like we said,
we're just covering 'The Fellowship of the Ring' in this episode.
Either way, once they set off from Rivendell, 'Gandalf' outlines a route
that lasts 40 days, in a rare reference to a lengthy passage of time in the movie.
But even then they run into birds that are spies 'Saruman',
which quickly causes them to change their plans and attempt to cross Caradhras.
So, there's still a sense that they've only been travelling for
a few days before they are turned back by snow and falling rocks.
- In the movie, the snow is caused by 'Saruman' as opposed to just
the naturally inclement weather on the mountain.
This is another addition that places 'Saruman's' villainy more front and
center in the movie than it is in the book.
- After failing to cross the mountain,
they made for the Mines of Moria, a trip on screen that takes no time at all.
The journey from the top of Caradhras to the entrance of Moria in the book
is much more eventful.
The fellowship is attacked by wargs and
'Gandalf' even uses some pretty boss sounding magical fire to fight them off.
(Music)
The decision to cut a nighttime ambush around a campfire may have been difficult,
but even a cinematic fight scene involving pretty boss sounding magical fire would
have slowed the pace of the movie.
- Either way in both book and movie,
they're forced forward into the mine by a gnarly squid kraken looking thing.
'Gandalf' says it's a four day trip through Moria and that may or
may not have been the case.
Events depicted in the Dark of Moria where you can't tell day from night seems to
have taken two or three full days in both the book and movie.
- So, the trip through Moria culminating with the new iconic you shall not pass
scene on the bridge of Khazad-dum are basically the same.
And so, is the now 'Gandalf'-less fellowship's trip through afterward.
'Lady Galadriel' lets the fellowship rest in Lothlorien shares a terrifying vision
in her mirror with 'Frodo' and then turns down his offer to give her the ring in a,
well, not terribly subtle way.
- 'All shall love me and the sky'.
- Then after leaving Lothlorien and
the Elves behind on the river, the book 'Fellowship's Journey' takes a few days.
Even having to fend off a pack of Orcs and
a 'Nazgul' flying on his huge dragon thing before finally reaching the waterfall.
- The movie sees the Fellowship go ashore for
the first time at the edge of the falls, after an uneventful, but scenic float.
It's not until after 'Frodo's' confrontation with 'Boromir'
which in both book and movie proves that 'Boromir' has lost the rings influence and
'Frodo' decides to set out on his own that they are beset by
Orcs that ultimately kill 'Boromir' and
make of with 'Merry' and 'Pippin,' - The book wraps up with 'Frodo' putting
on her ring, disappearing completely, and
sneaking off into a boat to continue his journey alone.
Unlike the movie where he has a soul searching conversation with 'Aragorn',
none in the party know that 'Frodo' is taking off.
'Sam' figures that 'Frodo' would be heading to the boats then almost drawn
trying to join him, just as he does in the movie.
As in the final pages of 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' 'Boromir' is alive and
'Merry' and 'Pippin' have not been kidnapped.
- So, does that happen at the beginning of 'The Two Towers'?
- I mean, probably to be honest, I'm reading these for
the first time as we're doing these episodes, so hang on, lemme skip ahead.
(Sound) Yeah, totally.
Like two pages in.
- Okay, okay.
So, the end of 'The Fellowship' movie borrows from the first two
pages of the 'Two Towers' book.
But again,
the big difference with 'The Fellowship of the Ring' versions is the pace.
The book covers almost 20 years,
while the movie seems to take place over the course of a couple of weeks.
Whether it's literally supposed to be less than a months worth of journeying or
not, the effect is felt.
The danger posed by the ring in the film is nipping at the fellowship's
heels from the opening prologue to the parting of the ways.
- Okay, so while you were talking just now, I read a little further ahead.
And dude, check this out.
- Nope, nope, nope, nope.
First two pages is all 'The Two Towers' they're getting.
- Aw, man.
- Make sure to subscribe to Cinefix, so you don't miss the rest of 'The
Two Towers' installment of our journey through Middle Earth,
right here on 'What's the Difference?' - 'Nobody tosses a dwarf'.
'Ahh!' (Sound) 'Not the beard!'