15 October 2014

My favorite movie poster for the 3rd installment of The Hobbit and a few thoughts

A series of movie posters has been released in recent days for the upcoming release of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies on December 17, 2014. My favorite of the posters so far is this one featuring Galadriel and Gandalf:


Exactly why the Lady of Lothlorien has come to the Misty Mountain I do not know (she does not in the book), nor do I know how grievous are Gandalf's wounds in Jacksons' film. Of the wounds of Gandalf, Tolkien says:
It was not long before Bilbo was set down before a tent in Dale; and there stood Gandalf, with his arm in a sling. Even the wizard had not escaped without a wound; and there were few unharmed in the host.
It will be interesting, to say the least, to see what "adaptations" Jackson and company have devised for this third installment. I am still somewhat cautiously hopeful (is that language guarded enough?) that after the great disappointment that was The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (which I still have not purchased, nor intend to) some corrections to the story will be made.

I still think the second "the" is quite unnecessary, which would be why Tolkien himself did not employ it.  He describes the beginning of the battle with these words:
So began a battle that none had expected; and it was called the Battle of Five Armies, and it was very terrible. Upon one side were the Goblins and the Wild Wolves, and upon the other were Elves and Men and Dwarves.
Still, if anyone can film a battle involving five armies, it is Jackson, and maybe only Jackson.

4 comments:

  1. I suspect that shot will turn out to come from Dol Guldur, when the White Council expels the Necromancer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's very possible; I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

      Delete
  2. I have been upset over the "artistic license" Jackson has taken with hobbit.
    About the only thing I was upset about lotr trilogy was the absence of tom bombadil and the perceived degradation and distrust in Sam and Frodos relationship. I didn't pick that up in the book at all.

    But the hobbit- so very many Hollywood hands on it now. The female elf- Evangeline lily? Why?
    And why is Orlando bloom here? Legolas isn't involved.

    I think it's a cheap attempt to draw in the female demographic by including a romantic love element as well as the attractive male actor from Lotr.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The inclusion of Legolas doesn't bother too much, because, as a prince of Mirkwood, it is at least conceivable that he would have been somewhat involved.

      Jackson and company created Tauriel because there is are no female characters in The Hobbit (aside from a mention of Belladonna). Curiously, though, none of my female friends ever noticed this when reading the book (nor did I).

      Delete