P.903/93 fDallonn 42 August 2004 The Journal of the Tolkien Society Mallorn XLII About the Tolkien Society 2 Editorial 3 Reasons for not liking Tolkien 5 Caroline Galwey Treebeard’s roots in medieval European tradition 11 Edward Pettit Fiction Seeing things 19 Lynn Forest-Hill ‘And one White Tree’: the cosmological cross and the arbor vitae in The Lord o f the Rings and The Silmarillion 23 Christopher T Vaccaro Review Massed reviews of The Film 29 Reviews of Peter Jackson’s ‘The Return of the King’ and the Trilogy. Charles Noad, John Ellison, Susanne Stopfel, Kensington Prallop Warm beds are good: sex and libido in Tolkien’s writing 35 Ty Rosenthal The chronology of Middle-earth 43 Tony Steele The morality of military leadership in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord o f the Rings 47 Janet Brennan Croft Perspectives on reality in Lord o f the Rings 51 Gerardo Barajos Garrido About the authors 60 Artists Pauline Baynes Front cover Kay Woollard 1,2 Lorenzo Daniele 9, 25 J e f Murray 15, 39, 53, 55 Lynn Forest-Hill 19 Octo Kwan 29 John Ellison Back cover Mallorn XLII August 2004 1 The Tolkien Society ounded in London in 1969 the Notes for Contributors Tolkien Society is an Prose items (including fiction) may be sent as a manuscript or international organization on disk/by email in any standard format; if in hard copy form F they should be typed double-spaced, with margins, and on registered in the UK as a charity (No. 273809) dedicated to one side of the paper only, with the title and the author’s name at the top of the first sheet and the page number clear­ furthering interest in the life and ly marked on every sheet. 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Editorial e have lived with this thing, this monster of a film The interference with Faramir's character has been much project, this almost-friend, for several years now. remarked on. Certainly his voice coach was lax on a couple of WWe have tutted at the cast proposals, then swooned occasions, making his man, whose natural accent is a pleasant at their reality. Well, some of us have swooned. I'm naming no Anzac, sound like a home counties debutante from Mrs names, pointing at no particular gender, but if there was a Trimble's Elocution School for Nice Gels. But what can you feminine form of the pronoun 'we' I would use it. We have fol­ say against a man whose role has been so thoroughly emas­ lowed the years of hyper-megahype (sorry, did I say hype? Of culated, despite his having once been voted the sexiest man in course I meant preparation) with scorn, envy, trepidation and Australia? anticipation. We have pumped reams of advice into the ether, One illuminating point is an explanation in the director's to no discernible effect. The films were released and we commentary that they decided to change Faramir's role devoured them. They weren't Tolkien, we said, but they were because they felt the Ring would be fatally diminished in damn good fun. Now they have won quadzillions of Oscars, apparent power if Faramir resisted it, as in the book. But this so now we know that officially they were astonishing cine­ is flawed reasoning. Faramir resists it for the same reason that matic achievements too. Well, all right, eleven oscars, but that Gandalf and Aragorn do - because of his lineage, his posses­ equalled the record. And everyone in Hollywood duly queued sion of Numenorean qualities. Jackson missed this point, at up to kiss PJ's feet. any rate he left it out, so naturally his audience would miss it. Of course, this is not the end. There is a long road ahead yet The team admit though that diminishing Faramir's character and the future promises many delights. The theatre version of was perhaps not a wise decision, although it makes his later ROK was promised for May, and duly arrived, and we can redemption possible. And it leads to another problem. If assume an extended version some months later, with an Faramir is so keen on the Ring, why does he not Just take it? extended DVD option. We can also assume that there will be Why does he leave Frodo in possession of it and cart him a combined DVD, of an unknowable length, at some unknow­ around the countryside? In the book, of course, Faramir is full able distance into the future. After that, still more bites at the of uncertainty; and keeping Frodo in custody has the useful cherry; rumours abound of a 'director's cut' of Fellowship of function of getting him away from the danger zone and a lit­ five hours, which suggests fifteen hours for the whole saga. tle further on his road. Not so in the film. And at that length, Saga would be an appropriate sales medi­ But in what is undoubtedly a stupendous cinematic um, I think. achievement, this is Just one of many errors, one or two of Now that we have all three films, I might as well say right them gross errors. Having Frodo believe Gollum’s lies and up front that, like most of the reviewers, 1 enjoyed the films dismiss Sam on the way to Cirith Ungol is merely ridiculous. enormously, without ever feeling that I was compromised by It is entirely unnecessary from a plot point of view, and adds their indubitable failure to be an interpretation of the epic sat­ very little dramatically. Frodo would have to be a complete isfactory to the cognoscenti. And I might as well add that fool to believe that the only reason Gollum might steal lem- there's no question in my mind that picking the films to bas is to eat it; and an even bigger one to trust Gollum above pieces, and (quite gently) mocking the efforts of their makers, Sam. And his awareness that his craving for the ring and his is part of the fun. So let the fun begin ... perceived right to it is corrupting him into believing that any Interfering with a closely-knit complex story has its own attempt on it is immoral and unlawful, present in the book, is traps.