The Lord of the Rings Book and Film Comparison

The famous story The Lord of the Rings and its film adaptation under the same name, make peoples interest in questions: which is better a book or a movie and are they the same. So, Let us consider what similarities and differences between epic high-fantasy novels written by J. R. R. Tolkien and a high fantasy adventure film series directed by Peter Jackson. The book and the movie differ in terms of the plot development, a description of the characters and presentation of some characters relationship, attention to the battles.

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The order of the events in the book and in the film isnt completely similarly. Some elements of the plot are changed, some are added. For instance, the creators of the movie have changed the beginning of the story. The movie begins with a prologue made in the form of a story narrated by Galadriel, while the book begins with a poem about the origin of The One Ring. However, in the films prologue, the story about The One Ring is presented in full, when in the book, this story is telling during the narration. In addition, in a movie Frodo appears at the beginning, sitting under the tree and reading a book, then he saw Gandalf driving a wagon of fireworks for his friends party. Frodo accompanies Gandalf to Bilbo's house. But, these scenes werent presented in a book; the novel begins with the description of Bilbo's preparations for his birthday party. Gandalf drives the wagon alone, and Frodo appears after the party. Another difference between the film and the book, that the film-makers change the scene in front of the Gates of Moria. In a film the events move faster than in a book. In the film adaptation, Gandalf almost at once finds the way how to open the Gates of Moria, but in a book he spent a lot of time to find the key to this puzzle.

On the other hand, we can observe, that some elements of the plot were cut down. A striking example of this fact is the figure of Tom Bombadil. The creators remove Tom Bombadil and Goldberry from the film adaptation of the novel as well as the events in which this character takes part.

One cannot deny that the characters in a book and in a film are portrayed differently. For example, the figure of Legolas is wholly updated in a film adaptation. In a novel Legolas is described as a mythological creature, as an elf made according to the traditions of the British mythology. But in a film, Legolas is portrayed according to modern fantasy traditions. In a film, Legolas is more mature; there he is described as a young intelligent man, and as a bright representative of his race: beautiful, wise, cold and majestic but kind and friendly; when in a book he is also intelligent, but young and enthusiastic without usual (for modern audience) elfish majesty and beauty. The second example is the figure of Aragorn. In a book, he is described as a dangerous wanderer; a clever and courageous man, a good, wise and kind king, while in a film, Aragorn is portrayed as a mysterious wanderer and also a wise and talented commander. In a film adaptation, Aragorn is lively. The creators have shown his emotional experience. One similarity in the description of the characters is the portraying of Elrond Half-Elven. The figure of the Lord of Rivendell is the same in a film adaptation in a book and.

Spiking about the relationships between the characters, we must return to the Aragorn. In a film, his relationship with Arwen Undomiel presented more complex. In a book, there is a brief explanation of their relations, while the film creators show their romance and their feelings to each other in some scenes. In addition, the opposite situation is with the representation of the relationship between Eowyn and Faramir. In a movie, a script writer gives brief information about their romance and marriage.

Another difference between a novel and a film adaptation is in a fact, that the creators of the film pay more attention to the battles than J. R. R. Tolkien does. In a movie, the battles represented more complex and bright to attract the audience. The film-makers even added a battle to their adaptation, which in a book is represented through the characters speech. That is a fight between Gandalf and Saruman, as a result of which Gandalf was captured. In a book, there is only information that Gandalf was imprisoned by Saruman.

To draw the conclusion, one can say that, the film-makers created the movie choosing the brightest elements of the story and developing the most interesting and important elements of the plot. In spite of the fact, that some elements of the plot were cut, the plot development wasnt completely changed without an unimportant part of the narration. So, its up to everybody to decide which is better a book or a movie.