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Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's the Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
This group of new critical essays offers multidisciplinary analysis of director Peter Jackson's spectacularly successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). Part One of the collection, "Techniques of Structure and Story," compares and contrasts the organizational principles of the books and films. Part Two, "Techniques of Character and Culture," focuses on the methods used to transform the characters and settings of Tolkien's narrative into the personalities and places visualized on screen. Each of the sixteen essays includes extensive notes and a separate bibliography. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may .
302 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 13, 2024
This excellent collection of essays focuses on the translation of Tolkien’s work to Jackson’s films, but the content of many of the essays will be useful even to people primarily interested in the books, not the films. By looking at aspects of the films’ storytelling, the authors enhanced my understanding of the books in helpful ways. I look forward to bringing some of these insights to my teaching. Here are brief comments on the chapters that I found most intriguing:
Kristin Thompson, “Gollum Talks to Himself”: I love Thompson’s reading of Gandalf blowing the smoke ship through the ring. The film imagery communicates so much—references to the swan boat of Lothlorien and the Grey Havens; the need to pass through the adventure of the Ring before boarding the ship; the magical nature of Gandalf, whimsical and joyful rather than dominating; and Bilbo’s “This will be a night to remember” as an invitation to the moviegoer as much as an observation to Gandalf.
Verlyn Flieger, “Sometimes One Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures”: Good description of the importance of Tom Bombadil. He is the spirit of the countryside. His blue eye peering through the Ring makes him the opponent of Sauron, whose red eye always looks through the Ring. Tom’s existence shows the limits of Sauron’s power—he will never truly own or dominate the entire world, because resistance is possible and real.
E. L. Risden, “Tolkien’s Resistance to Linearity”: Intriguing ideas about fractal storytelling—the stories continue expanding and becoming more detailed and complicated (like Bag End). I also like the idea of LOTR being like a Gothic cathedral. Frodo and Sam take the straightest aisle they can to the altar; other companions meet the groundskeeper and descend to the crypt, etc.
Dmitra Fimi, “Filming Folklore”: The movies made use of a Romanticized idea of “Celtic” that Tolkien himself mocked. What the movies present as “Celtic” has little to do with the actual history and culture. It’s a generalized “yearning for a lost past” that Westerners think of as Celtic. Fimi’s chapter provides a good introduction to the complexities of engaging with folklore in any artistic medium.
Yvette Kisor, “Making the Connection on Page and Screen in Tolkien’s and Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings”: By changing the intercutting in the films, Jackson sometimes portrayed the correct “dynamic equivalent” point of a scene from the book, but in a different way. “Equivalence in the meaning of the forms” (111).
Sharin Schroeder, “‘It’s Alive’”: Brilliant connections between Frankenstein and Tolkien’s/Jackson’s creation of monsters. What is our responsibility to the characters we create in stories? Tolkien himself struggled with this as he wondered if he’d created Orcs as a race with no possibility of redemption.
Judy Ann Ford & Robin Anne Reid, “Into the West”: A look at the differences in the film’s presentation of the hope beyond Middle-earth. What do characters know about Valinor? Is the Grey Havens scene changed to be more sentimental and hopeful, where the book lets it be more ambiguous?
Brian D. Walter, “The Grey Pilgrim”: Interesting discussion of how Gandalf is altered in the movies. He becomes less the obvious leader, wiser than everyone around him, so room is made for Aragorn to take charge. Changes to Gandalf’s leadership in the films often occur so that others in the Fellowship can take the lead.
Jane Brennan Croft, “Jackson’s Aragorn and the American Superhero Monomyth”: Really good chapter about how the films convert Tolkien’s original story into a more typical American monomyth, rendering Aragorn as the long outsider, misunderstood and working more impulsively than through careful discussion. In the book, Aragorn is strengthened by his relationship with Arwen and the hope that provides, but in the films, Aragorn (like a true American hero) must renounce love in order to follow his own path. Arwen would be a distraction, not a support, so he tries to convince her to leave.
Michael D. C. Drout, “The Rohirrim, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Problem of Appendix F”: Good points about how Tolkien seemed uncertain or contradictory about whether Rohan had a direct connection to Anglo-Saxon culture. This connection seems to have changed and grown through the writing and revising process. I also like Drout’s point about the ways we connect literature or film to other artworks and experiences of life. For me, this connects to what David Taylor writes about the arts opening some doors and closing others (in Glimpses of the New Creation).
Kristin Thompson, “Gollum Talks to Himself”: I love Thompson’s reading of Gandalf blowing the smoke ship through the ring. The film imagery communicates so much—references to the swan boat of Lothlorien and the Grey Havens; the need to pass through the adventure of the Ring before boarding the ship; the magical nature of Gandalf, whimsical and joyful rather than dominating; and Bilbo’s “This will be a night to remember” as an invitation to the moviegoer as much as an observation to Gandalf.
Verlyn Flieger, “Sometimes One Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures”: Good description of the importance of Tom Bombadil. He is the spirit of the countryside. His blue eye peering through the Ring makes him the opponent of Sauron, whose red eye always looks through the Ring. Tom’s existence shows the limits of Sauron’s power—he will never truly own or dominate the entire world, because resistance is possible and real.
E. L. Risden, “Tolkien’s Resistance to Linearity”: Intriguing ideas about fractal storytelling—the stories continue expanding and becoming more detailed and complicated (like Bag End). I also like the idea of LOTR being like a Gothic cathedral. Frodo and Sam take the straightest aisle they can to the altar; other companions meet the groundskeeper and descend to the crypt, etc.
Dmitra Fimi, “Filming Folklore”: The movies made use of a Romanticized idea of “Celtic” that Tolkien himself mocked. What the movies present as “Celtic” has little to do with the actual history and culture. It’s a generalized “yearning for a lost past” that Westerners think of as Celtic. Fimi’s chapter provides a good introduction to the complexities of engaging with folklore in any artistic medium.
Yvette Kisor, “Making the Connection on Page and Screen in Tolkien’s and Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings”: By changing the intercutting in the films, Jackson sometimes portrayed the correct “dynamic equivalent” point of a scene from the book, but in a different way. “Equivalence in the meaning of the forms” (111).
Sharin Schroeder, “‘It’s Alive’”: Brilliant connections between Frankenstein and Tolkien’s/Jackson’s creation of monsters. What is our responsibility to the characters we create in stories? Tolkien himself struggled with this as he wondered if he’d created Orcs as a race with no possibility of redemption.
Judy Ann Ford & Robin Anne Reid, “Into the West”: A look at the differences in the film’s presentation of the hope beyond Middle-earth. What do characters know about Valinor? Is the Grey Havens scene changed to be more sentimental and hopeful, where the book lets it be more ambiguous?
Brian D. Walter, “The Grey Pilgrim”: Interesting discussion of how Gandalf is altered in the movies. He becomes less the obvious leader, wiser than everyone around him, so room is made for Aragorn to take charge. Changes to Gandalf’s leadership in the films often occur so that others in the Fellowship can take the lead.
Jane Brennan Croft, “Jackson’s Aragorn and the American Superhero Monomyth”: Really good chapter about how the films convert Tolkien’s original story into a more typical American monomyth, rendering Aragorn as the long outsider, misunderstood and working more impulsively than through careful discussion. In the book, Aragorn is strengthened by his relationship with Arwen and the hope that provides, but in the films, Aragorn (like a true American hero) must renounce love in order to follow his own path. Arwen would be a distraction, not a support, so he tries to convince her to leave.
Michael D. C. Drout, “The Rohirrim, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Problem of Appendix F”: Good points about how Tolkien seemed uncertain or contradictory about whether Rohan had a direct connection to Anglo-Saxon culture. This connection seems to have changed and grown through the writing and revising process. I also like Drout’s point about the ways we connect literature or film to other artworks and experiences of life. For me, this connects to what David Taylor writes about the arts opening some doors and closing others (in Glimpses of the New Creation).
November 17, 2023
[Read 17/11/23] Mostly very good! As with any discourse on the topic there are parts I agree with and parts I vehemently disagree with. Some essays made me look more kindly on facets I have a tendency to turn my nose up at while others made me lean towards being critical of things I previously turned a blind eye to. Nature of the beast, I suppose.
I particularly enjoyed “Into the West: Far Green Country or Shadow on the Waters” by Judy Ann Ford and Robin Anne Reid. One of the main points of contention I have with Jackson’s LotR is the tonal discrepancy between those movies and the original novel. Ford and Reid managed to articulate this beautifully, drawing in large part from the portrayal of the Grey Havens scene. Whenever I reread LotR, I am always struck by the deep grief at the core of the novel, and whenever I rewatch (less commonly!) the movies how that doesn’t translate. Indeed, it’s fair to say they are downright optimistic. I strongly recommend this particular essay.
As always, Verlyn Flieger’s work is also a highlight.
3.5/5
I particularly enjoyed “Into the West: Far Green Country or Shadow on the Waters” by Judy Ann Ford and Robin Anne Reid. One of the main points of contention I have with Jackson’s LotR is the tonal discrepancy between those movies and the original novel. Ford and Reid managed to articulate this beautifully, drawing in large part from the portrayal of the Grey Havens scene. Whenever I reread LotR, I am always struck by the deep grief at the core of the novel, and whenever I rewatch (less commonly!) the movies how that doesn’t translate. Indeed, it’s fair to say they are downright optimistic. I strongly recommend this particular essay.
As always, Verlyn Flieger’s work is also a highlight.
3.5/5
June 17, 2020
Perhaps uneven in its contents, but very enjoyable and frequently enlightening! McFarland Press often operates in that space between scholarship and fandom, so the essays are all accessible and some fairly hilarious with their snide commentary on the films. I especially recommend it for the usual Tolkien scholars - Flieger and Rateliff, Fimi and Drout. But A special shoutout for my favourite essays: Walter’s on Gandalf and Croft’s on Aragorn both place their respective subjects under an unfaltering lens and discuss how Jackson’s interpretation diminishes Tolkien’s vision - though both allow for this diminishing to have a purpose. And I especially enjoyed Ricke & Barnett’s piece in Lothlorien, which was a perfect blend of snarky side eyes on Galadriel’s film depiction and enlightening insights on the numinous and sublime ... and how impossible it can be for a filmmaker to achieve such an effect.
February 11, 2018
I use Goodreads to track books I honestly expect to read some day, so I try to keep my "to read" list under 100 books. Every now and then I look at the oldest books added to the list and weed some out based on closer review. And every now and then I read the oldest book.
Picturing Tolkien had been on my list since January 2014. I'm glad I finally read it. As with most compilations, there were essays I found fascinating and really enjoyed and essays I found dry and a bit dull. Some were too scholarly for my tastes and some too religious. I'm a huge fan of the books and the movies, and overall the writings in this book were quite thought-provoking.
Reading the whole book really made me want to (1) read the books again soon and (2) watch the extended versions of the movies again soon.
Picturing Tolkien had been on my list since January 2014. I'm glad I finally read it. As with most compilations, there were essays I found fascinating and really enjoyed and essays I found dry and a bit dull. Some were too scholarly for my tastes and some too religious. I'm a huge fan of the books and the movies, and overall the writings in this book were quite thought-provoking.
Reading the whole book really made me want to (1) read the books again soon and (2) watch the extended versions of the movies again soon.
September 15, 2021
Thought Provoking would be an understatement
Ironically for a teacher, I always thought academic literary critiques were hot air. Not after encountering this book wherein my mind was exponentially expanded to encompass a deeper understanding of the most personally influential book of my lifetime, The Lord of the Rings. Brilliant.
Ironically for a teacher, I always thought academic literary critiques were hot air. Not after encountering this book wherein my mind was exponentially expanded to encompass a deeper understanding of the most personally influential book of my lifetime, The Lord of the Rings. Brilliant.
December 22, 2013
Picturing Tolkien is a collection of essays by Tolkien scholars on the Peter Jackson films. These essays cover a wide range of subjects, from an exploration of Lothlórien and its numinous nature, Aragorn's journey as the hero in an American superhero monomyth, just how Anglo-Saxon are the Rohirrim and many, many more.
On the whole, I found the essays easy to get into, the subject matter fascinating and at times echoing my own criticisms of the films, other times illuminating just what I had felt was missing. There were two essays, however, that seemed too airy-fairy or just really over-the-top. I felt as though I gained valuable insight not only into the films but also into Tolkien's work and if I quoted all the paragraphs I highlighted, we would be here all day.
Picturing Tolkien is not for anyone that fervently believes that the movies are perfect, flawless creations that only improve on the books (or make right the things Tolkien did Wrong). However, for anyone who wants to engage more critically with the Lord of the Rings films, Picturing Tolkien could be a great place to begin.
On the whole, I found the essays easy to get into, the subject matter fascinating and at times echoing my own criticisms of the films, other times illuminating just what I had felt was missing. There were two essays, however, that seemed too airy-fairy or just really over-the-top. I felt as though I gained valuable insight not only into the films but also into Tolkien's work and if I quoted all the paragraphs I highlighted, we would be here all day.
Picturing Tolkien is not for anyone that fervently believes that the movies are perfect, flawless creations that only improve on the books (or make right the things Tolkien did Wrong). However, for anyone who wants to engage more critically with the Lord of the Rings films, Picturing Tolkien could be a great place to begin.
February 24, 2013
Picturing Tolkien is a collection of essays from various authors on Peter Jackson's film versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Written by authors in many fields, the essays present a wide range of viewpoints from many different angles, from the challenges of filming Tolkien's non-linear narrative, the treatment of the character of Gandalf, Gollum as ultimate redeemer, the weaponry of Middle Earth, the changes made in Aragorn's character (and his relationship with Arwen) to better fit the American "hero monomyth," to Jackson's use of horses and his portrayal of Lothlorien. Some of the entries I found most interesting were "Gollum Talks to Himself," "Filming Folklore," "The Grey Pilgrim,""Neither the Shadow Nor the Twilight," and "The Rohirrim, the Anglo Saxons and the Problem of Appendix F."
May 1, 2016
I enjoyed reading this book. It is a very nice contribution, from start to finish, to the conversation that is Tolkien scholarship. The essays provide an informative and balanced exploration of the similarities and differences between the print and movie versions of The Lord of the Rings. The authors' comments about the movies are mostly positive, though there are some criticisms.
Each essay presents different ideas and information about an aspect of The Lord of the Rings as presented in the books and films. The various authors' range of specialties pretty much guarantee the reader to discover new facts or ideas about the internationally beloved story.
I consider this to be a top-shelf production that I would enthusiastically recommend to both academic and general readers.
Each essay presents different ideas and information about an aspect of The Lord of the Rings as presented in the books and films. The various authors' range of specialties pretty much guarantee the reader to discover new facts or ideas about the internationally beloved story.
I consider this to be a top-shelf production that I would enthusiastically recommend to both academic and general readers.
October 20, 2011
A must read for lovers of the works of Tolkien and the films of Peter Jackson. From Fimi, Flieger to Croft and Drout these are some of the best articles on Tolkien.I have ever read. Highly recommend and thanks to this book I am a fan of Fingwit now!!!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews