LOTR Books or LOTR Movies

Steamboat Spidey

Steamboat Spidey

Active Member
Hey! I am new to the whole "Lord of the Rings" genre and I am very interested to go and see The Hobbit. The thing is, I don't want to walk into the theater and not know what is happening during the whole thing. So should I catch up on the movies and then see The Hobbit, or should i read up on the books, and then watch the movies? Which one will I get more out of? Usually, it ends up being the book and movie option, but i wasn't entirely sure.

Thanks!

- Steamboat Spidey
 
I usually prefer reading the book before watching the movie. I then get my own images and the story feels more like "my own" and I can compaire it to the movie. After watching the movies my own images usually gets replaced by the movie versions. This happened with my LOTR experience anyway.
 
Well, Most likely by the time you finish reading the books, the Hobbit should be just coming out..................






........on Blu-ray :lol
 
I say both.

Though I hadn't read anything of Tolkien's, merely had a passing time with them when I was little, when I saw FotR in 2001. It propelled me to go buy the books. I ended up with most of Tolkien's work on my shelves, and I collect different copies of LotR from every year they were printed.

The Hobbit is a very quick read. LotR will take you a while longer, obviously. And the Silmarillion longer than that. But, for me, it was worth it.

If you love the films, I guarantee you'll want to learn more about Middle Earth and it's inhabitants!
 
I say watch the movie, then read the books.

In my experience, movies are ALWAYS less enjoyable when I'm sitting there thinking "Wait, but that happened totally differently in the book! They're missing like 2/3 of this character's development!!" By contrast, when I just watch the film and then go back, I can enjoy the book (even if it's different) because it's usually a lot more fleshed out.
 
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At this point my entry is fairly academical, but I find that I enjoy a movie that is made from a book more if I see the film before I read the book. This way I go in with no expectations. No predisposition for the portrayals of characters or inclusions/excision of scenes. Basically, I won't notice (hopefully) what got cut or changed.

Then, afterward, I can go read the book and given the limitations of the film format, I more than likely have a great deal more material to look forward to.
 
Solo4114 said:
I say watch the movie, then read the books.

In my experience, movies are ALWAYS less enjoyable when I'm sitting there thinking "Wait, but that happened totally differently in the book! They're missing like 2/3 of this character's development!!" By contrast, when I just watch the film and then go back, I can enjoy the book (even if it's different) because it's usually a lot more fleshed out.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. If you can avoid the book until after the movie I find it generally better as 99% of the time, the movie does not live up to your expectations. Unfortunately for me I read all the Tolkein stuff when I was younger and then reread Lord of the Rings right before the movies came out. being so fresh off the books, I had to get over what I thought they should have left in, or why did they change that part, or why those cast that person etc... Years later I forget a lot of the book details and now find the movies more enjoyable.
 
Shendorion said:
Yeah, some old guy tried to adapt them into a mythology for modern Britain or something. It's all messed up, though - people do a lot of sitting around and eating and stuff, and Dumbledore isn't human or some crap.
Click to expand...

Dumbledore was the head Ent, right?



Seriously though - if you read the book first, the film you watch afterward generally doesn't live up to said book. If you watch the film first, it seems to invariably affect how you read the book, and unfortunately influences the landscape of your imagination while doing so.
 
Last edited:
Warpaint said:
Dumbledore was the head Ent, right?



Seriously though - if you read the book first, the film you watch afterward generally doesn't live up to said book. If you watch the film first, it seems to invariably affect how you read the book, and unfortunately influences the landscape of your imagination while doing so.
Click to expand...


Right. So the solution is don't watch or read ANYTHING. Ever.


WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS POST?! WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU?!!!
 
Of course sometimes the books and movies are so far different from each other its a shock when you see/read the other

biggest example Starship Troopers and The Shining
 
The novel of Waterworld is way better than the movie. I honestly never finished the book or movies of LOTR as I couldn't get into it at all which is odd as I usually like fantasy stuff.
 
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