Many people by now have heard of Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit. If you haven’t, here’s the rundown.
First published in 1937, the Hobbit has become a world-renowned children’s book, translated into 125 translations (plus 25 revised translations) in 69 languages.
The Lord of the Rings followed suit, with the series’ first book published in 1954, and the rest coming out shortly after (in terms of publishing, 15 months for three books is quite a short period of time).
Set in Middle Earth and following the story of memorable characters such as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, the Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings series is an amazing series.
And what happens with amazing series? They get made into movies.
The Lord of the Rings movies came out in 2001, 2002, and 2003, with the three Hobbit movies following in 2012, 2013, and 2014. They are some of my favourite movies of all time. I normally say ‘the books are better’ when it comes to a book vs movie comparison, but today I’m going to give a very honest comparison of the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies vs the books.
Let’s start with the Book Pros.
Book pros:
- More detail
J. R. R. Tolkien loves to describe things in vivid detail, so you get an amazing mental picture of what everything looks like. From characters to landscapes and landmarks, it’s not only reading, it becomes a visual experience.
- No deleted scenes
Everything that J. R. R. Tolkien wanted there to be in that book is there… or almost everything, editors tend to cut things that are unnecessary, but the fact that there is more to read means that the adventures don’t seem rushed, and you can truly follow along with the characters.
- More relaxing
It’s true that reading causes us to feel a lot of emotion such as excitement or sadness over a death or another such event, but reading overall is calmer than watching a movie because there is auditory input (hearing the music and the dialogue and other sounds), visual input (watching the characters on-screen) and it can get overwhelming at times. Reading allows you to slow down and take your time, and process what you need to before continuing
- Appendices
The Lord of the Rings books specifically have appendices at the end of the Return of the King (Book 3) that highlight family trees and other parts of history from Middle Earth that have been referenced in the story itself. It also has a timeline of events so you can see realistically the time everything took (spoiler alert: the events of the Lord of the Rings take about 20 years to complete) and there is also a bit of an epilogue in that timeline so you see what happens to the characters after the story ends.
I do want to say, though, that I don’t know if every edition has these, I just know mine do!
- Maps
The beginning of the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings books have maps in the beginning so you can see what the world layout looks like, and it is so aesthetically pleasing… movies don’t give you that! You can see the mountains and the labelled cities, and so so much more.
Now the movie pros!
- Visuals
The visuals in the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings movies are stunning, there is no doubt about it. The films were shot in New Zealand, and the mountains, cliffs, fields, are simply incredible. The cast do an amazing job portraying their characters, and the costumes are truly reminiscent of the world the story is in. There’s even a Hobbiton set tour that you can go on in New Zealand, and it’s actually the same set that was in the movie.
- Music
The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks, in my opinion. It adds a level of either mystery, or homey-ness, or darkness depending on what scene you’re watching. The score is composed by Howard Shore, and contains such incredible, iconic songs such as Concerning Hobbits and The Nazgul.
The music really helps you feel like you’re in Middle Earth alongside these characters, no matter where you are in the story.
- Pronunciation Guide?
If you’re reading, you only know how to pronounce things in your head. Have you ever had the experience of only pronouncing something in your head, and then you say it out loud and it sounds weird? Well, movies can take some of that embarrassment away. There are many elvish or dwarven names that can be harder to read, so watching the movie can take away the sting of mis-pronunciation.
- Faster
It’s easier and faster to watch a movie in a couple hours than it is to spend what could be weeks reading a long book. So if you’re someone who’s attention span isn’t that great, or are a slow reader, then you can experience the story without having this long ordeal trying to read the books.
So, here is my brutally honest opinion and comparison of the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings movies and the books. What do you think?
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Life is a story. How will you write yours?
Until next time,
Catherine Khaperska
Catherine Khaperska 