The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

[raj101]

theres been a odd trend these days towards knocking the Middle Earth books, which amazes me. The books are works or art, you can tell within one paragraph that it was written by a language professor. This guy studied for years and fleshed out his world for months on end before committing pen to paper in perfect strokes.

I know they are long, but the vivid imagery, poetry, realistic stories and characters portrayals make it more than worth the effort.

The films arent perfect and I can understand people having a go at them for various reasons, but the source material is fantastic. Possibly its just not the right format for the shorter attention spans of today's generations.

[canadian_turtle]

Are you referring to anything I said? Because what I meant to say was that I actually prefer the longer, more complicated works over The Hobbit. I read the Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion first and expected something likewise from the Hobbit, but obviously it wasn't as it's more of a children's book.

I also think that many that don't like it simply don't affiliate with the world it's set in and/or aren't interested in fantasy/epic stories in general. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how well it's written but more with personal preference.

[raj101]

Are you referring to anything I said? .

no no, i would have quoted you if i did Turtlez.

But your post did remind me of something very different that someone said to me once. I cant believe he was knocking a labour of love literature like LOTR. He was expressing a dislike for how the book goes on and on. Well thats the beauty of the book, if they want to go read a 200 page dungeons and dragons novella then please do, but he could at least acknowledge the difference between what is bad writing thats marketed for the teenage fantasy boom and what is scholarly/timeless. Thats what I felt like saying to him!

[Beate]

Everyone ought to read the Hobbit. It's not just children's literature, it's classic literature, and it's so well-written.

[raj101]

I first reasd it when I was ten, and read it 3 or 4 times since. its is very well written, and I read bits of it now and again, though i wouldnt go through the whole thing again now, since reading the lord of the rings changed my view of tolkien's world too much to go back to hobbitsize again. I cant imagine Shelob the spider singing!

[canadian_turtle]

raj101 I do agree with your reason to vent then :)

I first reasd it when I was ten, and read it 3 or 4 times since. its is very well written, and I read bits of it now and again, though i wouldnt go through the whole thing again now, since reading the lord of the rings changed my view of tolkien's world too much to go back to hobbitsize again. I cant imagine Shelob the spider singing!

I feel likewise when it comes to the Hobbit, which is probably why I enjoyed it less than the other Tolkien works I've read. Don't get me wrong I still understand it's a great novel but I was in my Twenties when I read it and too emerged into the more complicated world as set in the other works I mentioned. The Hobbit's aim at children and with that the different writing style made it less interesting to me.

[raj101]

raj101 I do agree with your reason to vent then :)

I first reasd it when I was ten, and read it 3 or 4 times since. its is very well written, and I read bits of it now and again, though i wouldnt go through the whole thing again now, since reading the lord of the rings changed my view of tolkien's world too much to go back to hobbitsize again. I cant imagine Shelob the spider singing!

I feel likewise when it comes to the Hobbit, which is probably why I enjoyed it less than the other Tolkien works I've read. Don't get me wrong I still understand it's a great novel but I was in my Twenties when I read it and too emerged into the more complicated world as set in the other works I mentioned. The Hobbit's aim at children and with that the different writing style made it less interesting to me.

quite. when i read bits of The Hobbit today now, I tend to interpret it in a MontyPythonsque silly way, which I am sure wasnt tolkiens intention lol. This satire is probably due to me reading 'Bored of the Rings', the tolkien lampoon novel, way too early.

Reading the Hobbit also evokes my some early childhood memories and my points of view from that time. v odd..

[canadian_turtle]

Exclusive: Here's a first look at Bofur, Bombur and Bifur.

IGN is excited to bring you the first look at the dwarves Bofur, Bombur and Bifur in The Hobbit, director Peter Jackson's long-awaited two-part prequel to Lord of the Rings. Click on the exclusive photo below for a hi-res version:

--> Click here <--

L-r) Stephen Hunter as Bombur, James Nesbitt as Bofur and William Kircher as Bifur in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

While most of the Company of Thorin Oakensheild is related to the royal and noble line of Durin, Bofur, his brother Bombur and their cousin Bifur most definitely are … not. Born and bred in the West, descendants of coal miners and iron workers, they have joined the Quest for the Lonely Mountain partly to seek their fortune and partly because they were told the beer was free.

[canadian_turtle]

And more dwarves....


TIME Exclusive: First Look at Balin and Dwalin from 'The Hobbit' Movie

An Exclusive Look at 'The Hobbit' Dwarves

Peter Jackson's upcoming film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has been hotly anticipated by everyone from Tolkien obsessives to film buffs. The crew behind the movie, including Jackson himself, has kept fans salivating by documenting the movie's production through blog posts and videos. But TIME is the first to bring you this image of two characters from the film, dwarves named Balin and Dwalin. Below, find Warner Bros.' description of the two, and then click on for more images of The Hobbit's beloved dwarves.

"Dwarf Lords in their own right, Balin and Dwalin are close relatives of Thorin. Beyond this, these brothers are two of his most loyal and trusted friends. An old warrior, Balin has lived through hard times and fought many battles, yet he harbors doubts about the wisdom of the Quest to retake the Lonely Mountain. Dwalin has no such forebodings – his belief in Thorin’s leadership is unshakeable. A powerful and bruising fighter, with a natural tendency to distrust anyone who is not a Dwarf, particularly anyone who might be an Elf, Dwalin is not someone to cross lightly."

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/07/15/tim ... bit-movie/

[funthing29]

New pic of Thorin and a group shot of all the dwarves

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/07 ... d-orcrist/