Westernesse Omelet Sunday, December 07, 2003

The unthinkable occurs.

On another blog, I read a friend's posting about one of his favorite moments in "Return of the King"--the book--and it occurred to me I didn't remember the scene at all. Nor much of anything from the book, except for the last couple of chapters. (My favorite has always been "Fellowship"--creepy and tense and mysterious--I like well-done first acts.) So I started skimming the book, just to have a sense of what's coming in the movie.

And it didn't seem like Lord of the Rings anymore. The characters didn't talk "right," the action wasn't unfolding with the same rhythms. The goddamn movies had become more real than the stories themselves. Tricksy! False!

Meanwhile, a reviewer who wasn't thrilled with the movies made an interesting point about the novels: By introducing the hobbits, Tolkien was creating a bridge to the modern world. In other words, all the other characters in the story are ancient mythic heroes; and then thrown into their midst are these little troublemakers and greengrocers, who are straight out of 1940s Britain. Interesting stuff.

I need to re-read the books when I get the chance. I love them deliriously. They're not sci-fi, but they're what sci-fi should be: A world in miniature, as finely detailed as a medieval devotional ornament; but fun, dammit, fun above all else, and the fun is earned with blood and tears.

Must dash. The days are going down in the west...

@ 8:57:00 PM,

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