The last chapter of the trilogy of “The Hobbit” is released. The huffingtonpost.com site has identified the 7 most obvious differences between JRR Tolkien’s novel and the films directed by Peter Jackson
MILAN – More than 70 years after the publication of ‘ The Hobbit ‘, Bilbo Baggins has just returned to the cinema with the third and final chapter of the saga inspired by the book, The battle of the five armies. The most avid fans of the novel will already know every detail of the epic adventures that are about to follow in this latest episode … or not
Doubt is legitimate: in fact, although the two previous chapters have received excellent critical and public success, not all “Tolkienans” have appreciated the creative freedoms brought by director Peter Jackson in his adaptations. The main core of the events remains the same, yet the differences are multiple and quite relevant. The huffingtonpost.com site has identified the 7 most obvious. Here they are:
1. THE NON -EXISTING BAD – If book fans don’t seem to remember the fearsome ogre Azog, and because in Tolkien’s chronology he died at least 150 years before the novel began. One of the most formidable villains in the trilogy, he is cited in the book – and quite briefly – for killing Thorin Oakenshield’s grandfather.
2.TAURIEL CHI – The character of Tauriel was created specifically for the cinematographic transposition, to endow the narrated events with an important female component. Similarly, the presence in the film of Galadriel (not received in the book) represents a step forward for the pink shares of Middle-earth, in Tolkien’s rather secondary vision.
3. BILBO DOES NOT SAVE Dwarves– The sequence in which Bilbo rescues the dwarves who have fallen prey to the trolls, by delaying until dawn for the sunlight to turn them to stone, presents a major difference from the original tale. Trolls are the first test that Bilbo is subjected to in the novel. The hobbit, while showing a fair amount of courage, fails in the enterprise, and it will be Gandalf the gray to resolve the situation, imitating the voice of the trolls to induce them to quarrel until morning.
4. BARRELS– As in Tolkien’s book, the dwarves flee from the Wood Elves by means of some barrels, inside which they reach Pontelagolungo. In the film, the escape sequence is much more elaborate: with the barrels blocked, the dwarf Kili heroically finds a way to raise the shutter, but is wounded by a poisoned arrow shot by an ogre. This event will later lead the company of dwarves to split: some will follow Thorin to the Lonely Mountain, others will stop to assist the wounded dwarf, making a major change to the original text.
5. BARD THE BOAT… RCIERE– The barrel scene continues to emphasize the differences between film and book: once in Pontelagolungo, the dwarves are helped by a man, the boatman Bard. In reality the latter is an archer, as well as captain of the city guard, and on good terms with the Governor of Pontelagolungo. A rather striking contrast with the rebellious boatman represented in ‘The Desolation of Smaug’.
6. Dwarves DO NOT FIGHT WITH SMAUG– In Tolkien’s version, Bilbo enters the Lonely Mountain to sneak into Smaug’s lair twice. The first time he steals a golden cup, while the second time he spots a weak point in the armor that protects the fearsome dragon’s chest. A thrush overhears Bilbo to report Smaug’s vulnerability to the dwarves and communicates it to the archer Bard just before the dragon leaves the mountain to unleash its fury on Pontelagolungo and its inhabitants. In the film, things don’t go quite like this: in the mountain Bilbo talks to Smaug and identifies the arkengemma. When the dragon decides to kill him, the dwarves intervene, unleashing a spectacular battle scene at the end of which Smaug is imprisoned in a casting of gold. When he finally frees himself and leaves the mountain, Smaug heads towards Pontelagolungo,
7. THE NEGROMANT – Remember the scene involving Radagast and the Necromancer.
You haven’t read
it. Of course, it’s not in the book. Gandalf in fact went to Dol Guldur and discovered that the Necromancer was none other than Sauron, but this happened many years before the events narrated in the book. 22 December 2014
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