The Silmarillion

[Lamp]

This is my favourite Tolkien story by far. Lots of my friends couldn't get their heads around it or just didn't like the way it was written.

Its much more massively epic than anything that occurs in the Hobbit or the LOTR, and its sweeping portrayal of Good v Evil (Valar v Morgoth) is awesome.

I would love Peter Jackson to cover that in a film, but I feel it woul flop and it would only appeal to the die-hard JRR Tolkien fans. But then again I could be wrong, and maybe millions of people who have seen the films, read the books perhaps for the first time, are giving the Silmarillion another go, or perhaps reading it for the first time.

What do you lot think ? Would it make a good film ? Would it be successful ? Did you enjoy the book ?

 

[Amanita]

I loved it, although I definately didn't find it an easy read.
imo, there's too much epicness and too little real detail to turn it into a film successfully, I mean some of the stuff in the LoTR trilogy didn't translate amazingly well to film.

And some stuff is too good to be put through the hollywood grinder

 

[Basic_X]

only been able to read small parts of the book, but from what i read it would (if done right) make a good movie, but the % of a flop movie is bigger then the chance of a sucess movie

 

[Thorwyn]

What do you lot think ? Would it make a good film ? Would it be successful ? Did you enjoy the book ?

I enjoyed it a lot, just like anything else by Tolkien.
But no, it wouldn´t make a good film for the simple reason that there are FAR too many persons to introduce and keep track of. And you need to at least transfer a little bit of background from each person to the viewer.
I remember when I read it the first time - I was around 16 - I had to write down the names to keep track of everyone.

 

[Thorondorito]

The Silmarillion it's just awesome. It's the book that gives sense to any aspect into Tolkien's world. Reading it you can fully understand things that happened in the hobbit or in the lord of the rings for example.


BTW Re-reading it for the 4th time

 

[Thorondorito]

I enjoyed it a lot, just like anything else by Tolkien.
But no, it wouldn´t make a good film for the simple reason that there are FAR too many persons to introduce and keep track of. And you need to at least transfer a little bit of background from each person to the viewer.
I remember when I read it the first time - I was around 16 - I had to write down the names to keep track of everyone.

Actually i think it can be possible. Just dont make a film. Make a saga.

The Silmarillion I - Ainulindale & Valaquenta
The Silmarillion II - Some chapters (for example the battle of the valars vs Morgoth at the begining)
And so on...

Yes, im dreaming awake again

 

[Svartmetall]

There's many, many things in 'The Silmarillion' that would look awesome on film...but as a whole, the book is pretty much un-film-able. You'd either have to try and squeeze everything into about 3 1/2 hours, in which case you'd still have to cut so much stuff out that it would kill the epic nature of it all by missing the detail of each sub-plot (See Turin! See an impressive CG dragon! OK, they're both dead. Next!)...or you'd have to make three four-hour epics, which don't have the one coherent plot like LOTR itself does to keep non-fanatics' attention.

But damn, some of the stuff in that book would be incredible on film if done to the level of quality that Jackson achieved in LOTR. The Battle of Unnumbered Tears...the assault of the Valar on Angband...Morgoth and Ungoliant destroying the Great Trees...the Fall of Numenor...the Pits of Utumno...Beren and Luthien infiltrating Angband and taking a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown...the Thousand Caves of Menegroth...the list goes on and on. 'The Silmarillion' is pretty much biblical in scale, and most of what happens in it informs what happens during LOTR itself.

God, imagine the first unleashing of the Fire-Drakes on-screen...

 

[Lamp]

For anyone who's looking to read it, I recommend this version of the text:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silmarillio...03660/ref=sr_11_1/026-5080145-5023619?ie=UTF8

The illustrations are amazing !

 

[fettoken]

Its not a good book if you want a good intriguing story. But its a good book if you want to look up things that happened long before "Lord of the Rings" etc. Its like a big historical book. Most people find it uninteresting after a while as it doesn´t seem to focus on something specific. Its like compressing 3 - 4 different "Lotr" size stories into one book.

 

[Svartmetall]

Actually, I've long been a fan of The Tolkien Bestiary - it's a great reference book for Silmarillion/Hobbit/LOTR, and if you want to talk illustrations, this has plenty of great art, including stuff by the fantastic Ian Miller.

 

[Lamp]

There are two types of Tolkien readers. Those who relished every page of "The Council of Elrond" and those who couldn't wait to move onto "The Ring Goes South".

For anyone in the 2nd camp, the Silmarillion is not for you.

The Silmarillion cannot be compared to LOTR. The latter is a single quest. The former covers an enormous gulf of time, from the creation of the world, then 24000 years later when the First Age starts, and take you 16,000 years to the time of the Rings in the Third Age.

 

[Lamp]

The COmplete Guide to Middle Earth by Robert Foster is brilliant.

 

[fettoken]

Imo. Make a huge series of movies about it

 

[old.Tohtori]

Tolkien works are a bit over-rated though.

Seriouly, it's not that it's bad, but it's hardly like the old dude farted gold nuggets either.

 

[Svartmetall]

Tolkien works are a bit over-rated though.

Seriouly, it's not that it's bad, but it's hardly like the old dude farted gold nuggets either.

I always thought Tolkien was a bit like George Lucas.
Great, epic vision.
Really not too good at dialogue.

 

[Gahn]

It's kinda the Theogony of LOTR, ofc ain't easy to read

 

[old.Tohtori]

I always thought Tolkien was a bit like George Lucas.
Great, epic vision.
Really not too good at dialogue.

Kinda hit the nail on the head.

Sure, magagigantic stuff all over...yet it's basicly the same as a 5 year old kid wrote in his basement hideout.

That's what those guys are, kids