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THE ESSENCE OF EVENTS

Peter Jackson's Adaptation of "The Fellowship of the Ring"

And so we approach the end of our paper, and also the final act of the film. All of the types of change we have discussed can be found within this scene, some small and subtle, others quite significant. Indeed, an entire paper could be written to explain the complexity of how this scene is translated from print onto the screen.

The most obvious alteration is changing the point at which Fellowship of the Ring ends and The Two Towers begins. Aragorn’s discovery of Boromir is moved into this instalment, so the uninitiated will not have to wait a year to learn his fate. This is not really re-sequencing, as events occur in the same order, and over the same timescale, from the characters’ point of view. It is only we, the viewers, who see a difference.

Most of us here today first read Tolkien’s masterpiece at a time when all three volumes were available together. We have the opportunity to continue immediately into the Two Towers if we wish; where the break point occurs is not so significant for us. Jackson is very conscious that his audience will have to wait a year for “The Two Towers” to appear on screen. Cinema audiences like films to be self-contained. Sequels are increasingly popular, but each film must be adequately resolved.

Most alterations are to achieve a sense of at least partial resolution for the themes that have been developed so far, while allowing the story to continue evolving. Jackson’s version of Aragorn has questioned his worthiness to fulfil his destiny throughout the film. Tolkien overall shows him as a stronger more focussed figure, but in the final act leaves Aragorn at a low point, almost in despair at his inability to keep the Fellowship safe. Jackson adds two scenes which demonstrate that Aragorn is both worthy and able to lead. Firstly, Aragorn encounters Frodo as he flees Boromir. Tolkien never addresses how Aragorn would fare if tempted by the Ring at such a critical moment. Is Boromir a weak man, or is the Ring too powerful for any to resist? Jackson shows us an Aragorn able to let the Ring go. Not only is he a worthy heir to Isildur, he has greater resolve than his ancestor.

Aragorn is also given opportunity to exact direct vengeance for the slaying of Boromir. In the novel, the nameless killers of Boromir are slaughtered far away on the plains of Rohan. On screen, Lurtz’s life is cut short (literally) after a superb one-on-one combat, giving both Aragorn and the audience a sense of satisfaction. This is in fact the first main villain who dies on screen. The rest will follow.

The scenes in which Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli guess Frodo’s likely course of action are cut, as Frodo has told Aragorn his intentions directly. And Merry and Pippin finally play a useful part. Upon seeing Frodo, they deliberately cause a diversion, saving Frodo from orcs, and dooming themselves. This redeems two characters who have been mostly rendered excess baggage by the film's treatment, and foreshadows the important role they will later play.

In their final scene, events are resequenced so that Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli see Frodo and Sam disappear into the trees on the far shore. They know for certain that, at least so far, the Ringbearer is safe. They can now devote all their attention to Merry and Pippin.

If the final scenes of Aragorn and his companions have been altered to give the film a greater sense of narrative closure, it is the final shots which impart a sense that the quest is far from over, and greater perils lie ahead. Here we find a scene which needs no enhancement from page to screen. The image of Mordor looming in the distance is as striking as any in the film, and the influence of Ted Nasmith’s work on the image is undeniable. It is unsurprising in a film made deliberately Frodo-centric that Frodo gets the last words, words taken almost directly from Tolkien, for here, no alteration is needed.

And so we await the next instalment, and with it there are certain to be further changes. Some may seem surprising, even illogical, and there is bound to be controversy. But we are confident now that we will see the essence, if not all of the events.

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