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'Еј да свако ко сматра да филм не поштује књигу прочитајте какве су све идеје падале на памет за режирање и продукцију :

Evo naprimer od Bormana :
Missing characters of note:

Bombadil & Goldberry; Butterbur; Bill the pony; Glorfindel; Haldir; Celeborn; Théodred (Éomer & Éowyn are Théoden’s children.) Treebeard (no Ents at all) Hama; Ghân-buri-Ghân and Faramir.

Missing locations and events:

The Barrow-downs; Bree; the Watcher in the Water; Lórien (Galadriel and her people are relegated to a tent by a lake) the Argonath; the Falls of Rauros (relegated to rapids) Helm’s Deep; Isengard/Orthanc (no Rohan location at all, save Edoras) the Corsairs; the Houses of the Healing (Merry & Éowyn are healed at the Gate as the battle rages) Minas Morgul; Cirith Ungol (Shelob and the events at Cirith Ungol are relegated to Barad-dûr) the Eagles and the Scouring.

Some notable changes over the book:

Hobbits live in cottages.

The four hobbits leave the Shire within hours, perhaps minutes of Bilbo’s departure: Gandalf suggests the hobbits “take a holiday” to Rivendell upon learning that Sam, Merry & Pippin have seen a Black Rider. (Note: The script never offers an explanation for where Gandalf spends the time between the hobbits’ departure for and arrival at Rivendell. Nothing is said as to why he would send the hobbits out alone when he knew that at least one Wraith was - at that moment - practically on their doorstep. The fact that Aragorn somehow has pre-knowledge of the hobbits and their purpose is the only hint of Gandalf‘s possible off-screen deeds.)

The Black Riders have “blind skull-like” faces.

At one point on the road to Rivendell, the hobbits find and eat…mushrooms. The language here is somewhat ambiguous, so you be the judge of what exactly is happening:

“A path leads them out of the swirling petals into a field covered with mushrooms. The HOBBITS are delighted. They set to, picking and eating them as fast as they can. They begin to laugh and giggle, becoming rather unsteady on their feet. They lurch on their way with contented smiles on their faces. The world looks a little misty, different.

Suddenly they are in a field of buttercups. Naked children run and play among the golden flowers. The HOBBITS blink and grin and MERRY belches.

They run over a hill and into a flock of sheep, which opens up to let them through and closes behind them again.

Now they are in a vast ploughed field. And there are perhaps fifty scarecrows, very nasty faces and scraggy arms fluttering in the wind. They hurry on, somewhat sobered.”

Frodo first uses the Ring when the hobbits encounter a group of men working in a field. The men have been told that a reward is being offered for capturing a Halfling, and Frodo teases them, saying, “Oh, I’m a Hobbit of the Shire. Am I the Halfling you desire?“ Then he somersaults through the air, putting on the Ring as he does so. Afterwards, Frodo excuses himself to Sam: “It just got itself to slip itself on.”

Aragorn makes his first appearance when the wraiths attack. He fights them with both halves of Narsil: the hilt-less half has a makeshift handle of leather. The wraiths fight with lances and scimitars.

All four of the hobbits ride with Aragorn on his horse to the Ford.

Actual Elves appear from behind the wall of water unleashed on the wraiths.

The “Palace of Rivendell” is made of crystal.

In the great hall, Frodo, unconscious, is lain naked and covered with leaves on a large, round crystal table. Arwen is assigned the task of removing the fragment of the wraith’s lance from Frodo’s shoulder, and she does so with a knife. Arwen is “about thirteen years of age.” The surgery is delicate in that it is, as Gandalf says, “a struggle, a test of strength, between the power of Sauron and the power of the Elves.” During this scene, Gimli - at Elrond’s behest - stands poised, ready to chop off Frodo’s fading arm should Arwen fail.

Elrond is bearded.

Sauron, Elendil, Gil-galad, Saruman, Gandalf, Déagol, Gollum and Bilbo are all portrayed in the kabuki-like play (The actor who plays Sauron is described as “a combination of Mick Jagger and Punch.”) Additionally, the play features one representative juggler for each of the three races of Middle-earth. Each performer handles a number of juggling rings equal to the number of Rings of Power that was entrusted to the race he represents. Throughout the play, a dog, which symbolizes fate, plays with a ball that is decorated by an encircling gold ring. The ball symbolizes the Ring itself.

As the Fellowship travels south, a flashback to Rivendell reveals Arwen (yes, Arwen) presenting the hobbits with elven-cloaks and lembas. There are no other gifts given or requested.

Arwen is something of a spiritual guide to the Fellowship -- a sort of guardian angel. She makes two appearances soon after the Fellowship leaves Rivendell. The first is brief: she shows herself to the Company from afar. The second takes place as Aragorn and Boromir come to blows over the fate of Narsil. (Boromir wants to take it to Minas Tirith. Aragorn refuses, and Boromir snatches away one half of the sword.) When their blades meet, Arwen appears, declaring that they shall each bear one half of the sword. They bow, presenting the blades. She kisses the swords, drawing blood. She then kisses each of the men. Both men are moved; and Boromir, weeping, kisses Aragorn, cementing a blood bond.

At one point, the Fellowship is crossing a glacier in the Misty Mountains. While resting around a campfire, Wargs attack them. Wargs are “furry-white mutants of men and animals, ferociously savage.” Gandalf concocts a rather unusual method for escaping the Wargs. First he burns the hobbits’ elven-cloaks to strengthen the fire. (The roaring fire assists in warding off the Wargs.) Next he has his cohorts drink from a flask, the content of which makes them “tipsy and giggly.” Then Gandalf has them lie in the ice water flowing from beneath the fire, and he rubs their eyeballs in a circular motion. Eventually Aragorn (who has kept the Wargs at bay) joins the party. After administering to him, Gandalf drinks from the flask, and then rotates his own peepers. “The companions are caught in helpless and infectious giggles, as they drift into unconsciousness.” Finally the water freezes over them, entombing them in the glacier.

The ensuing scenes describe the glacier breaking up and the Fellowship floating down a stream. At length, they are freed from their Popsicles, and they climb onto the bank -- where Gandalf hangs his cloak up to dry, and Boromir blows water from his horn. (The script uses Legolas’ ‘Nay, time does not tarry…’ discourse to help address the issue of how much time actually has passed. The question, though, is never answered.)

In this script, as in Jackson’s, it is Frodo who solves the ‘friend’ riddle at the Gates of Moria. In Boormans version however they bury Gimli in a hole, throw a cape on him, and beat him up to utter exhaustion to retrieve his unconscious ancestral memory.
The reason Gandalf has to beat the password out of Gimli is that the words on the door are written in the forgotten ancient dwarf-tongue, which Gandalf can read, but no speak.

The bridge of Khazad-dûm is a rope bridge.

The Balrog’s presence “has a paralysing effect” on the Fellowship, causing them to progress in “strange slow movements.” This power wanes, waxes, and wanes again as the Balrog struggles with Gandalf, triggering the rest of the Fellowship to speed up and slow down obligingly as they make to cross the bridge. When Gandalf and the Balrog finally fall, they cut through the bridge, which the Fellowship are still crossing. They do, of course, manage to climb up the vertical remains of the bridge and escape.

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Galadriel is treated as a sort of oracle/sex object. While the Fellowship doesn’t seek her out, she is, apparently, something longed for. (Maybe she has to find you, I don’t know.) Late in the script, Denethor asks Pippin how Boromir fared with Galadriel. (Poor Pip has to say she chose a hobbit instead.) Boromir’s failure isn’t for a lack of trying, though, for within minutes of Galadriel’s unexpected appearance (she emerges from a lake in the midst of the Fellowship as they are bathing) he bares his muscles and makes a pass at her. And that’s the way of it. Where in the book the Fellowship may have been awed by Galadriel, in this script some openly lust for her. After recognizing Galadriel, Legolas - who is “clad in feathers and leaves.” - tries to catch her attention by doing a “bird-like dance.” Gimli ogles her at the lake, and later says “Galadriel! A mighty piece of stone she is, for a Dwarfish tool to carve.” When Galadriel rebuffs Boromir’s advance, Sam says, “She is a pretty flower, but she badly needs watering, she does!”

But Galadriel chooses Frodo, of course. When he peers into the water-filled basin that she keeps, Frodo sees nothing. Galadriel tells him that he does not yet have the knowledge to see. When Frodo admits that he doesn’t know the questions to ask, Galadriel says, “Your eyes ask questions…already.” As it turns out, the basin isn’t the Mirror at all; it is, instead, Galadriel’s Elven Ring.

While rafting on the Anduin, the Fellowship is fired upon by orcs on the riverbank. Merry, Boromir, Sam, and Gimli are each hit by an arrow, but none of their wounds are life-threatening.

After Boromir dies, he is buried beneath a tree. Gimli places the weapons of Boromir’s victims on the mound of stones marking his grave.

Aragorn & Co. meet the Riders of Rohan at the edge of Fangorn. Legolas and Gimli find the hobbits’ tracks leading into the forest, and they take it as a sign that the hobbits are still alive. As Aragorn and Éomer talk, a Nazgul rides across the plain. Alarmed, Éomer announces that he will go to Théoden and make “one last plea for war;” and he gives Aragorn three horses. Aragorn in turn announces that he, Legolas and Gimli will ride to Minas Tirith. And that’s just what they do -- with no more thought given to Merry or Pippin.

In Fangorn, Merry and Pippin try to kill Gandalf, who they mistakenly believe is Saruman, “the bad wizard.” Gandalf (who isn’t quite himself yet) remains silent, watching as the two hobbits ham their way through a demonstrative retelling of their story. When the hobbits reach the part of the tale where the Riders of Rohan appear, they ask Gandalf for his sword. He remains silent as they take it. Merry then hops on Pippin’s back, and together they charge Gandalf; but the sword is too heavy, and they fall down. Gandalf busts out laughing, becoming his old self again.

That scene is inter-cut with one on the Dead Marshes. As the sleeping hobbits sink unknowingly into the mire, Gollum’s hands fight each other. His right hand wants to pull Frodo to safety, but his left hand wants the Ring. “The two hands clasp and claw each other.” One of his feet kicks him in the stomach. Eventually Gollum becomes “contorted in a paroxysm of conflicting parts,” and he falls into the mire. Frodo and Sam finally waken, but too late to pull Gollum free. (Gollum escapes somehow, though, as he reappears later on Mount Doom.)

In Fangorn Gandalf causes a hawk to circle down and land on his arm. By peering into the hawk’s eyes, Gandalf is able to see what the rest of the Fellowship are up to. He also sees Shadowfax approaching. When the horse arrives, the alarmed hawk flies away.

In Edoras Shadowfax kicks Théoden’s doors open with his hooves, and carries Gandalf into the throne room. Wormtongue is a hunchback. Once Théoden regains himself and assents to aid Gondor, Wormtongue lunges at him with a dagger, but Merry and Pippin knock him over:

“WORMTONGUE lies on his hunchback, trapped like an upturned beetle.”

Merry and Pippin separate soon after leaving Edoras: Pippin rides on with Gandalf to Minas Tirith, and Merry (with Dernhelm) goes with Théoden’s men to gather reinforcements.

Frodo and Sam enter Mordor with the aid of an old oak tree at the base of “the Great Wall of Mordor.” They’ve taken cover beneath the tree’s branches, and have fallen asleep. They awaken to find the tree’s roots breaking up a section of the wall. (Earlier in the script, a tree in the Old Forest assists the hobbits by moving them to the edge of the wood as they sleep.)

Legolas and Gimli are shown recruiting members of their own kind to ride with them to Minas Tirith. Aragorn (who has assembled a group of Rangers off-screen) is seen summoning the Dead from their earthly graves on an ancient battlefield.

In Mordor, Frodo and Sam are espied. To escape, they jump into a canal. The canal carries them to the base of Barad-dûr where it drains into a hole. (The Tower is very close to the Wall and Gate.) To evade being sucked down the whirlpool, Frodo and Sam grab hold of a “thin silvery wire.” The wire then recedes, pulling the hobbits up into the Tower…

Shelob uses her “narrow tongue with a sharp point” to sting Frodo.

Denethor meets Gandalf and Pippin at Minas Tirith’s gate. He doesn’t immediately let them in, despite there being a Nazgul approaching from over the plain. Only after being promised the details of Boromir’s death does Denethor let them into the city. When the dust kicked up by the Nazgul’s horse clears, Mordor’s invading army is revealed.

Pippin is shown later “dressed as a court jester, with cap and bells:”

“The clothes do not fit too well, and are blood-stained and full of arrow-holes, suggesting the fate of his predecessor.”

Some of the orcs on the Pelennor Fields ride horses. There are also some who spit fire in the manner that flame-eaters do. Still others, with “bat-like wings,” are catapulted over Minas Tirith’s walls. On the other hand, the Gondorian soldiers are joined by some of Minas Tirith’s populace:

“Among these are the BEE CULTIVATORS, dressed entirely in leather, with wicker masks, and bees swarming around their gloved hands; BLACKSMITHS with leather aprons and long-handled hammers; FARMERS with an array of pitchforks and spikes; WOMEN, some pregnant, some nursing, clad in armour improvised from kitchen ware.”

Using his lance, the Nazgul jousts Théoden off of his horse and onto his feet. Théoden spins himself around, using the lance impaling him to trip the Nazgul’s horse. Éowyn doesn’t reveal herself to the Nazgul; her sex isn’t discovered until Merry removes her helmet. After the Nazgul dies, his horse carries his helmet back to Mordor.

Denethor keeps his crown tethered to his belt and lets it drag on the ground. With Gandalf, Pippin and others looking on, Denethor lies down next to Théoden - who is still alive - “and grotesquely goes through the motions of dying although he has suffered no wound.” When Éomer arrives on the scene, Denethor is “writhing on the ground ranting crazily.”

After Théoden crowns Éomer and dies, a giant snake - “perhaps a hundred yards long” - slithers onto the battlefield. Éomer charges the snake, but before reaching it, the banner of Elendil suddenly breaks through the snake’s head. Then the rest of the snake breaks apart, revealing its components to be Aragorn’s collective army of Rangers, Elves, Dwarves, and the Dead -- their shields having been painted to resemble the patterns of a snake.

After being stung, Frodo is taken by orcs to a torture chamber, where Saruman becomes his jailor. When the invisible Sam arrives, he sees an orc putting the Nazgul’s helmet on Frodo’s head. The helmet has clamps that hold Frodo’s eyes open.

In a Shakespearian-like scene, Aragorn inadvertently kills Denethor. He tells the Steward that Boromir is his blood-brother, and moves to embrace him. But before Aragorn tightens the embrace, Denethor holds a dagger to his own heart. Without a word Aragorn turns to the unconscious Éowyn…

Aragorn lies on top of Éowyn, placing his hands on hers.

“After a moment, she moans, and her body writhes, trapped under ARAGORN’s great weight. When he feels her stir, he rises, lifting her with him, enfolding her in his arms, pressing her mouth and body to his.

While this is happening Gandalf is performing a nifty tie-dye trick with a banner of Elendil. He folds the flag just so, and dips it into Denethor’s blood. When Éowyn comes to, Gandalf unfurls the banner to reveal “a beautiful mandala in blood, radiating from the centre of the white tree.” Then he holds it over Aragorn and Éowyn, and proclaims “The hands of the healer are the hands of the King! The King has returned to Gondor!” A group of onlookers chant “Aragorn King! Éowyn Queen!” From their stuck position in the ground, the two halves of Narsil begin glowing, and Aragorn lifts them up and then joins them together.

Saruman is the Mouth of Sauron. Wormtongue accompanies him to meet the Captains. He carries with him an effigy of Frodo dressed in Frodo’s clothing. A cobra coils itself around Saruman’s staff. At one point, the cobra strikes Saruman, but the bite causes the snake itself to die. This prompts Gandalf to initiate a wordplay contest between he and Saruman --

GANDALF: Saruman, I am the snake about to strike!
SARUMAN: I am the staff that crushes the snake!
GANDALF: I am the fire that burns the staff to ashes!
SARUMAN: I am the cloudburst that quenches the fire!
GANDALF: I am the well that traps the waters!

To aid their escape from Barad-dûr, Frodo and Sam exchange the Ring no less than four times. From a distance, some of the orcs chase Frodo and Sam up Mount Doom. (Barad-dûr is right at the foot of the mountain.)

Among the forces of Mordor fighting at the Gate are “Giant-men,” which are ridden by whip-bearing orcs. They are little match for Gandalf:

“Stabs of lightning fly off his oscillating staff. At his mysterious behest, some of the GIANT-MEN turn their clubs against their ORC masters.”

At the Gate, Éowyn and Aragorn are seen fighting side by side.

When Frodo claims the Ring, an earthquake develops, and all of Mordor’s hosts (including those at the Gate) race towards Mt. Doom’s summit. Some of the good guys chase after them.

After Barad-dûr tumbles, there is this:

“On both sides, weapons are thrown down; all thought of war is gone, all heart for fighting, lost.

The ORCS, rather like snakes, shed their scaled skins of armour, revealing themselves to have disgusting white slug-like skin, but rather human. The RISEN DEAD stretch with relief in the sun and fade from sight.”

When Aragorn goes to meet Frodo, the crowd calls out, “Hail Aragorn, King of Men and Orcs Repented!” At one point during the ensuing celebration, the effigy of Frodo is passed through the crowd, which tears it into bits for souvenirs, and chants, “Frodo lives! Frodo lives!”

Pippin (the court jester) and Merry (“acting as page-in-waiting to Éowyn”) both stay behind in Minas Tirith when the rest of the Fellowship leave.

As Gandalf & Co. cross the Pelennor Fields, they see Shadowfax pulling a plow. This demonstrates the renewal of things.

Soon after, they see men and orcs gathered around someone:

“He is squatting on the ground playing the sleight-of-hand game of the cups and the pea. He has three helmets instead of cups and he uses a marble -- or is it an eyeball? The man glances up with an apologetic smile. It is SARUMAN. GANDALF shakes his head, despairing of SARUMAN.”

They pass by Boromir’s grave, over which the tree is blossoming. Legolas and Gimli silently pay their respects.

Sam and Frodo part ways as they approach the Shire:

“From below a crowd of HOBBITS with banners of welcome comes up to meet him. SAM’s buxom GIRLFRIEND runs ahead and embraces him.”

As Gandalf, Frodo, Legolas, and Gimli approach the Grey Havens, Arwen beckons them from the sand dunes. As the westward boat fades, Legolas and Gimli decide to stay where they are:

“GIMLI: Let us stay here. ‘Tis neither cave nor forest …

LEGOLAS nods contented agreement.

LEGOLAS: It is not quite leaving, nor is it yet remaining, for a beach is between, like the twilight.”

The script ends with Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, Galadriel, Arwen, and Elrond leaving Middle-earth on a sailing ship. A rainbow arcs over the vessel. Legolas, who is watching from shore with Gimli, says, "Look! Only seven colors. Indeed, the world is failing."

"The chore that was given to us by United Artists was one movie and, at the time, they produced long movies with an intermission. The script is 176 pages with an intermission on page 81, after the fellowship goes down the rapids, and you have a sense that they have now reached a great landscape as the river widens." The musical theme for "The Road Goes Ever On" accompanies this closing scene.

The script's first half, then, would have depicted most of The Fellowship Of The Ring. Following the intermission, "we accelerated as we continued the story, and dropped things out. We were propelled by what we liked, and invented as we went along."

The screenplay takes liberties with the book, which would have upset Tolkien purists. Perhaps the most provocative change occurs in Lothlorien where, before gazing into Galadriel's mirror, Frodo must become intimate with her (this does not cause friction with husband Celeborn because he is not featured.)

The adaption is also highly creative and inventive (ideas which Pallenberg still hopes to use in some other epic project). The history of Middle-earth is told in an interesting way, although the writer would do it differently today. "I devised kind of a Kabuki play in which the story of Sauron and the creation of the rings was explained to a gathering in Rivendell. Reading the script 'A play has begun. The stage is the table (a huge round table). The acting is stylized, emphatic. As in Kabuki Theater, the costumes are flamboyant, and symbolize beings and entities of Middle-earth.' In other words, with this device, we tried to simplify the backstory. But I think if I were to revisit the scene now, I would think of a faster way of doing it."

New material for the dwarf Gimli came from Pallenberg's fondness for the character. "I remember liking him a lot. I knew quite a bit about Wagner's operas and the German literature. I was sympathetic to him, and I tried to work him in wherever I could. I believe it was I who came up with idea where they bury Gimli in a hole, throw a cape on him, and beat him up to utter exhaustion to retrieve his unconscious ancestral memory." This ancient knowlege allows Gimli to know the word for entering Moria, and to find insights about the ancient dwarf kingdom.

Pallenberg contributed another original idea to the Moria sequence. "I had a rather fanciful idea involving these orcs that are slumbering or in some kind of narcotic state. The fellowship runs over them, and the footsteps start up their hearts. John liked that a lot."

He mentioned another change. "There's a duel between the magicians, Gandalf and Saruman. I was inspired by an African idea of how magicians duel with words, which I had read about. It was a way of one entrapping the other as a duel of words rather than special effects flashes, shaking staffs, and all that. I tried to keep away from that a lot, and Boorman did too. Reads from script:
GANDALF: Saruman, I am the snake about to strike!
SARUMAN: I am the staff that crushes the snake!
GANDALF: I am the fire that burns the staff to ashes!
SARUMAN: I am the cloudburst that quenches the fire!
GANDALF: I am the well that traps the waters!

"John Boorman and I didn't give too much importance to the Christian component of Tolkien's work. It came across as a tad heavy-handed at times. It is a story of redemption, and that seemed to be enough."

{jumping ahead to elswhere in Plesset's article}
Pallenberg continued, "Because it had to be one movie, and we couldn't waste time with too many complicated effects, I was an advocate of eliminating all flying creatures. I thought it would make it too rich, and it would depart too much from the ordinary. John Boorman agreed on that. At Minas Tirith, instead of a flying steed, the Nazgul Chief rides a horse that 'seems to have no skin. Its live, raw, bleeding flesh is exposed.' I still have this feeling that the dazzle can take away from the fundamental drama. We always tried to do things on the cheap, simply. When you saw a castle in the distance, it could have been made out of anything, even gleaming, high-voltage transmission towers. You saw those in the distance between the trees and then, suddenly, you were inside it. John Boorman is tremendously clever at that."

{jumping further ahead to the article's concluding paragraph}
The script ends with Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, Galadriel, Arwen, and Elrond leaving Middle-earth on a sailing ship. A rainbow arcs over the vessel. Legolas, who is watching from shore with Gimli, says, "Look! Only seven colors. Indeed, the world is failing." "I think that's the ideology of the picture," said Pallenberg. "That is from me, not Tolkien. From a physics standpoint, it's incorrect to say that there could be more than seven colors, but what it's saying is, 'we live in a diminished world.'"

In spite of his grave doubts about the suitability of The Lord of the Rings for the movies, Tolkien sold the film and merchandise rights to United Artists in 1969 for just over £104,000 (Harlow and Dobson 16). In 1970, the studio asked John Boorman, later known as the director of Excalibur and The Emerald Forest, to make The Lord of the Rings. With his collaborator Rospo Pallenberg, he condensed the work into a single two and a half hour script which he felt was “fresh and cinematic, yet carried the spirit of Tolkien” (Boorman 20). Boorman says he received a letter from Tolkien during the writing process, asking how he planned to make the film, and wrote back reassuring him that he planned a live action version. However, by the time Boorman had finished the script, the executive who had asked him to take on the project was gone, and the new management was unfamiliar with the book. Boorman said, “They were baffled by a script that, for most of them, was their first contact with Middle Earth sic,” and rejected it (Boorman 21). He tried taking the script to other studios, including Disney, but with no luck. Boorman eventually used some of the special-effects techniques and locations developed for The Lord of the Rings in other films, most notably Excalibur in 1981.

But there is another side to the story. Ralph Bakshi, in a recent interview, talks about taking on the project several years later, and clearly exaggerates a bit for effect:

And here comes the horror story, right? … Boorman handed in this 700-page script … The studio executives said ‘He’s changed a lot of the characters, and he’s added characters. He’s got some sneakers he’s merchandising in the middle. … We don’t understand a word Boorman wrote. We never read the books.’ (Robinson 4)

It was only 176 pages, and there weren’t any sneakers, but it wouldn’t have helped to have read the books, because Boorman took off in his own direction quite early in his treatment.

To put it bluntly, Boorman’s script has only the vaguest connection to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Considering Tolkien’s appalled reaction to the much lesser liberties taken by Zimmerman, it is unlikely he would have appreciated Boorman’s script at all. Characters, events, locations, themes, all are changed freely with no regard for the author’s original intent. Situations are sexualized or plumbed for psychological kinks that simply do not exist in the book. (Tolkien would not have approved of Frodo’s seduction by Galadriel, for example, and Aragon’s battlefield healing of Éowyn is so blatantly sexual it’s not surprising Boorman marries them immediately.) Ideas that later worked brilliantly in Excalibur, Boorman’s retelling of the King Arthur legend, are here as out of place as a dwarf in Lothlórien.

Boorman was simply too full of his own creative spark to limit himself to what was in Tolkien’s book. For example, consider this strange sequence of events. After the destruction of the Ringwraiths at the Fords of Bruinen, Frodo is carried into the sparkling palace of Rivendell, where in a vast amphitheatre full of chanting elves he is laid naked on a crystal table and covered with green leaves. A thirteen-year-old Arwen surgically removes the Morgul-blade fragment from his shoulder with a red-hot knife under the threatening axe of Gimli, while Gandalf dares Boromir to try to take the Ring (Boorman and Pallenberg 28-32).

Sound familiar? How about this sequence outside the Gates of Moria? Gandalf leads Gimli through a primitive rebirthing ritual, making him dig a hole and crawl into it, covering him with a cloak and violently beating and verbally abusing him, until he springs forth with recovered memories of his forgotten ancestral language and speaks the Dwarvish words needed to open the doors (Boorman and Pallenberg 59-60).

To give Boorman his due, parts of the script have a compelling brilliance, though they are still unlike anything Tolkien wrote. The sober exposition of the Council of Elrond is recast as a fantastic medieval masque representing the history of the Rings. This highly stylized sequence combines elements of Kabuki theater, rock opera, and circus performance, and could almost be imagined as a later retelling of the legend by a tribe of decadent Dark Elves. It is strangely effective, and gets the necessary back-story across, but it is definitely not a straightforward adaptation of Tolkien’s work.

And that is where the key problem lies. At this point Tolkien was still alive, and as he insists in his introduction to the first authorized American paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings, a certain courtesy (at least) is due to living authors (Hammond 105). This is what he says in response to the changes in the Zimmerman script:

…I am not Rider Haggard. I am not comparing myself with that master of Romance, except in this: I am not dead, yet. When the film of K.S. Mines was made it had already passed, one might say, into the public property of the imagination. The Lord of the Rings … is still the vivid concern of a living person, and is nobody’s toy to play with. (Tolkien, Letter to Ackerman and Others, Draft)

Boorman’s abundant creativity, inspired by Tolkien’s work, needed another outlet than the straitjacket of adapting a living author’s writings. Eventually he found it in Excalibur, returning to the Merlin-centered project he had been working on before he was offered The Lord of the Rings (Boorman 20). Boorman’s imaginative remaking of the story of King Arthur worked because the Matter of Britain is undeniably part of the “public property of the imagination.” He could get away with combining the characters of Morgause, Nimue, and Morgan le Fay, for example, because other artists had taken similar liberties over the centuries. Some might consider Tolkien’s stories “public property of the imagination” now, close to fifty years after their initial publication, but at that time they were relatively fresh from his pen, and he could legitimately claim they were his alone to play with....

Here’s how each script handles Bilbo handing the Ring over to Gandalf after the party. The Bakshi film follows the book fairly closely, with Bilbo sealing the Ring in an envelope, and Gandalf catching the envelope as he drops it. Boorman, as expected, does his own thing and has Bilbo drop it in Gandalf’s hat....

Boorman followed his own vision: he strengthened and sexualized Galadriel’s role, turned Éowyn into Aragorn’s warrior-queen, and made Arwen an ethereal teenager.

2010-05-15 22:30:08 +0000

Господар Прстенова

Господар Прстенова

Poslednje aktivne javne teme