The Lord of the Rings

 

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Between December, 2001, and December, 2003, New Line released Peter Jackson’s screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy.  The Extended Edition DVD for the last film was released in December, 2004.  These films may be cinematic masterpieces and bold Hollywood endeavors (compared to most garbage movies pumped out these days), but how do they hold up as adaptations of Tolkien’s work?  The links below provide a scene-by-scene breakdown of the differences between the film adaptations and the books.   Read and decide for yourself.

 

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers (the Extended Edition DVD, with recommended “fan edit”)

The Return of the King (the Extended Edition DVD)

 

Middle Earth History - As a public service for people who see The Lord of the Rings movies but don’t know the background history, here is a useful summary of the Three Ages of Middle Earth.