Tolkien's Middle Earth exists.
It has existed in my imagination for the past couple of decades after reading the books, it now exists on the screen as imaged by Peter Jackson. I bought the LotR:FotR DVD last nite and briefly watched portions. I was once again blown away by the vision that Jackson brought to the first of The Trilogy.
I sense that this is going to be one of those movies that grows even more intriguing over time. Tolkien created a very rich and detailed world. The movies I have found most interesting, the ones that have grown with me over repeated viewings are those that have a broad tapestry of source material from which they draw. Two examples that spring to mind are Cameron's "Terminator" and Spielberg's "Indiana Jones". Although the viewer may not be aware of all the fine details they are observing, and the history that is not displayed on the screen. These things certainly create a depth to the story and the characters. Great stories are not vacuous things that stand on their own, there must be a history, a reason for their existence.
Jackson's rendering of Tolkien's world is near perfect for two reasons. Firstly, Jackson himself understood the realm of Middle Earth as penned by Tolkien. He loves the story, the history, the characters as much as we imagined we do. Secondly, the technology to render the detail we all viewed in our imagination, the detail created by Tolkien's words, became available to a filmmaker that cared as deeply as we did.
The images of the Shire and Bag-End. The sound and look of the Wraiths. The beauty of Rivendell, and the Council of Elrond. All of these things were as if Jackson had reached right into my mind and plucked the internal mental imagery for use on the big screen. Amazing.
Yes. Middle Earth exists. And not in just my imagination any longer, but on the screen as well.
