Re-reading the Lord of the Rings, Chapter 17
The Bridge of Khazad-dûm is the first chapter that has the questionable honour to have been more extensively treated in the film than in the book.
The chief thing to observe in this regard is that Tolkien never went full retard, but carefully orchestrated the battles in such a way that the lossless victories of the Company appear plausible, not least because of the Moria Orcs' reluctance to get in harm's way, once their leaders have fallen.
There's also no Escher-like stair-running going on.
And even the Balrog isn't quite that big, a fair guess would be about 10 feet tall and it doesn't have physical wings, but emits a shadow that is shaped like two wings. The smoke that it leaves behind kindles, fire on the edges of a shadow, Tolkien's concept of it is certainly cool and the Balrog in the film is certainly one of the best realisations of any of Tolkien's concepts, but it is a little too big, physical and beast-like.
So, whereas the overall feel in the film is one of numbness, the book portrays the Company's escape as a combination of skill, virtue and luck, and you never lose interest in the details of its doings, becaus those details remain meaningful, and the same goes for your fear.
As a matter of fact, after Jackson's cave-troll there's no sense of danger left in the film. From then on you know that you'll have to sit through bombastic and meaningless battle sequences for many hours to come. And really, what was he thinking? If a cave-troll would have wielded that spear, it could have been as blunt as a hammer and would have still maimed Frodo. Perhaps, if they had built a life-size modell, that would have stopped Jackson's silliness in its tracks, but computer graphics have no weight.
But this is all Jackson's doing, Tolkien plans skirmishes and esacpe routes. And in the end, if you pay attention, you notice much of the symmetry between Gandalf and the Balrog. It's being introduced by their first battle at the door leading out of Balin's chamber and then, when you read the Balrog's description, you cannot but notice that it behaves much in the same way, seeming to grow bigger, threatening to utter words of Command, in which Gandalf does.
This is in so far kind of funny, as the Balrog is, as opposed to Sauron, say, pretty much unchanged, behaving like he did in the days of old - and so is Gandalf.
Actually, the scene reminded me of one in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (beard and everything). In both cases the topic is
In Gandalf's case it's his appeal to patriarchical authority, which, in substance, is not that different from the Balrog's, but then again, without the comparison to The Lost World, it is hardly a laughing matter, but simply the acknowledgement that some playing-fields never change.
The chief thing to observe in this regard is that Tolkien never went full retard, but carefully orchestrated the battles in such a way that the lossless victories of the Company appear plausible, not least because of the Moria Orcs' reluctance to get in harm's way, once their leaders have fallen.
There's also no Escher-like stair-running going on.
And even the Balrog isn't quite that big, a fair guess would be about 10 feet tall and it doesn't have physical wings, but emits a shadow that is shaped like two wings. The smoke that it leaves behind kindles, fire on the edges of a shadow, Tolkien's concept of it is certainly cool and the Balrog in the film is certainly one of the best realisations of any of Tolkien's concepts, but it is a little too big, physical and beast-like.
So, whereas the overall feel in the film is one of numbness, the book portrays the Company's escape as a combination of skill, virtue and luck, and you never lose interest in the details of its doings, becaus those details remain meaningful, and the same goes for your fear.
As a matter of fact, after Jackson's cave-troll there's no sense of danger left in the film. From then on you know that you'll have to sit through bombastic and meaningless battle sequences for many hours to come. And really, what was he thinking? If a cave-troll would have wielded that spear, it could have been as blunt as a hammer and would have still maimed Frodo. Perhaps, if they had built a life-size modell, that would have stopped Jackson's silliness in its tracks, but computer graphics have no weight.
But this is all Jackson's doing, Tolkien plans skirmishes and esacpe routes. And in the end, if you pay attention, you notice much of the symmetry between Gandalf and the Balrog. It's being introduced by their first battle at the door leading out of Balin's chamber and then, when you read the Balrog's description, you cannot but notice that it behaves much in the same way, seeming to grow bigger, threatening to utter words of Command, in which Gandalf does.
This is in so far kind of funny, as the Balrog is, as opposed to Sauron, say, pretty much unchanged, behaving like he did in the days of old - and so is Gandalf.
Actually, the scene reminded me of one in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (beard and everything). In both cases the topic is
forces of nature and their inclusion in societyand the lesson
Though these two are indeed quite similar in substance, the one is useful and the other is not.- a thought that recurs in less funny form throughout Sherlock Holmes as well. I guess the funniness hinges upon the difference between the established and the natural perception and that again hinges upon the perplexing double-edgedness of some instincts.
In Gandalf's case it's his appeal to patriarchical authority, which, in substance, is not that different from the Balrog's, but then again, without the comparison to The Lost World, it is hardly a laughing matter, but simply the acknowledgement that some playing-fields never change.
Eingetragen Am/um
11:13
