[DefQon]

The Silmarillion is far too esoteric, spiritual, literary and cerebral to be turned into a TV series.

LOTR lost a tremendous amount of it's spiritual depth in it's translation to film.

While no film adaptation will ever be the same off a book. I think PJ did a fantastic job portraying such a complex book series into a film, which won many awards, praise and, high ratings and profit. You cannot ever compare its movie directly to the book, just will not happen.

Didn't they make GOT into a tv series? I don't see why it can't be done with the Silmarilon which the first half is like a history lesson of Middle Earth and its surrounding worlds.

 

[Radio_head]

Game of Thrones is to The Silmarillion as Scott Joplin is to Chopin.
 
However, if it started with say the departure of Feanor and the Noldor from the West and thus skipped over some of the subject matter that is easiest to mar, a committed HBO program would be enjoyable through to Earendil as one series (no point in showing the war with Melkor as the budget wouldn't do it justice), then Numenor starting on the eve of its downfall as a second series, culminating in the first defeat of Sauron.
 
I still think they would butcher it... the Silmarillion has very little dialogue, to really connect with characters there would be a lot of things that would be up to writers, and I don't trust them.  There is also really one story line happening at a time in the Silmarillion, which does not lend itself well to people's ADD and need for switching between a thousand different story lines like Game of Thrones, The Wire, or even how Jackson developed Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, possibly partially to stem boredom.

 

[Akabeth]

I'm surprised there are people here willing to discuss the Silmarillion. 

 
I think whoever attempts it in the future will have to pick and choose out of the short stories (which do NOT focus on deities) to make any sort of impact on the general audience. The creation aspects are at the deep end even for fantasy readers. For example, I shudder thinking of putting an actor's face on someone like Tulkas.
 
Quote:

 
I still think they would butcher it... the Silmarillion has very little dialogue, to really connect with characters there would be a lot of things that would be up to writers, and I don't trust them. 

 
True and when dialogues take place it's done using formal English, reflecting the serious nature of these stories. Apparently going the Tolkien route* is still seen as a big [financial] risk even after all these years. 'Tis a sad situation...
 
Still, there are definitely characters and sights I'd love to see with proper treatment. For me these notables are Fëanor, Two Trees of Valinor, Húrin and Ar-Pharazôn. In fact, considering his rebellious stunt and everything else that transpired, the last character might prove to be a solid entry point for the public into the Silmarillion as a whole.
 
*In recent context, I'd describe Fellowship of The Ring to closest resemble Tolkien out of the five P.J. films (which worked out well). I happened to see an active poll done here sharing my opinion (>84% of 23559 votes; http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Polls) and don't tell me they haven't got enough filler content (e.g. Sons of Elrond who weren't feature at LoTR). Films gone out of alignment right now.

 

[Dzjudz]

Why does this thread title have a larger font than other threads when watching the forum on mobile? Sorry to hijack.

Esit: never mind, it's because it's spread over three lines.

 

[proton007]

Why does this thread title have a larger font than other threads when watching the forum on mobile? Sorry to hijack.

Esit: never mind, it's because it's spread over three lines.

 
I thought it was some Elvish magic.

 

[jakol]

Well  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) was better then the first one. I really liked it. I am not a fan of movies related to lord of rings...

 

[Phait]

I haven't checked out the extended version of an unexpected journey, can anyone say how much it adds to the film?

 

[Audio-Omega]

  But what I really want to know is who is that cute Elf maiden playing the harp at Rivendell in The Hobbit?

 
There is more of her in the extended version.  And hopefully the extended version of The Desolation of Smaug will have more of Tauriel.  

 

 

[Chris J]

There is more of her in the extended version.  And hopefully the extended version of The Desolation of Smaug will have more of Tauriel.    

Yes, there certainly is.
And you can never get too much of Tauriel!

 

[Audio-Omega]

Is the extended version on one dvd or two ?

 

[BobG55]

 
 
 
 

​

Separated at birth.

 

[Eternal Phoenix]

Hmm, with all this talk of the movies, I find myself agreeing with the majority of points here.

Apart from the fact that I find almost everything I see far far too short...
(I mean if you're going to have an extended Hobbit / LOTR marathon, it better exceed the projected 20ish hour mark 

 a full 24 would be a decent sitting)
 
 
I would care to venture into the more mainstream topics of this site and discuss: the music..

IMO, Howard Shore's scores are pretty damn amazing and were part of what lead me to this website...
 
The extended editions of the LOTR scores are worth listening to straight through. Though I do compare it on some levels to the entire Ring cycle as they tend to absorb your time.. (10 hours of music and 14-16 respectively..)
 

Anyone got any particular favourites or recommendations of music from the entire Hobbit and LOTR?

My personal one is 'The Lighting of the Beacons' - 1st Disc The Complete Recordings - RotK

 

[Audio-Omega]

I thought The Hobbit was going to end similarly to The Lord of The Rings.  

 

[wink]

The Martian Chronicles

 

[Chris J]

The Martian Chronicles

Whaaaat?