Lord of the Rings : Book Ending or Movie Ending

[Liquid Plejades]

Ive seen this discussion pop up in a few LotR threads whether it's about the movies, book, Amazon show and so on. Read a few comments here and was googling it and people seem really divided.

On one hand, there seems to be folk who say the movie did it better as it showed how much the journey had changed them when they are back at the shire and you can feel their discomfort and trauma, and even though their surrounding is the old shire they loved, they aren't sure whether they can go back to normal life.

Then you have people say the book does is better as the scouring of the shire is more realistic and shows that the world has changed and it will never be the same again. I've even seen some comments from this side say that the movie ending would have only worked better if for example Sam didn't get married, and instead lived life dealing with the trauma of the trip and losing Frodo. But I dunno if this criticism even makes sense, like; doesn't he still get married in the books even after that extra trauma of the shire being wrecked? Someone can correct me on this.

Anyway, those are just some general comments I've seen around the web about this topic.Wanted to seewhat y'all think on the matter, as I love learning about LotR and reading other perspectives.

 

[Nigel Tufnel]

I don't think that the movie ending and book ending are thematically all that different. I prefer the book because the scouring shows the hobbits as newly capable. It also makes clear what each of the hobbits gets up to in their post War of the Ring life, and pretty clearly makes the connection between taking the ship away from middle earth and having connection to the rings of power and the failed 3rd age.


Also, IIRC, Sam at like 150 and after having an assload of florally named children with Rosie and being mayor for about one hundred years takes a ship to reunite with Frodo- the last of the ring bearers. Stud.

 

[subpar spatula]

Movie. I don't think you need a lot of the fluff of the books.

 

[NekoFever]

As much as I dislike what they did to Saruman in the ROTK movie, the Scouring of the Shire would never have worked on film. Think about all those jokes about how the film never ended, and now imagine adding another act where they wage a guerrilla war against a villain who was defeated in the last movie, after such a magnificent natural climax.

I get the argument that it completes the arc of the hobbits and was an allegory for post-war Britain, etc, but I simply don't care for it.

 

[4CornersTHSA]

I prefer the book ending, but there's no way the Scouring would work on film. The main climax has been resolved; the Ring and Sauron are gone, and Aragorn has been crowned king of Gondor and Arnor. People already feel ROTK has too many endings as is.

I do love that the book really drives home that this isn't just most of the Ringbearers leaving, it's the end of the Third Age.

 

[Mukrab]

Well im sorry but im gonna slightly ruin the poll, although i suspect many will do the same and ruin it a lot. Just voting randomly because im interested in the result

 

[Dozer]

I prefer the movie except for

1) They never explain that Gandalf and Galadriel/Elrond (I forget which one is actually in the movie, its been a while) have the other 2 elven rings, so they are all leaving on that ship
2) The part about a boat waiting for Sam when he is ready

Scouring would have never worked on film.

 

[Chirotera]

I love the scouring but yeah, I'm going to echo others in that it just doesn't work for a movie. Same thing with Tom Bombadil, who is a fun literal diversion that would kill the pacing of a movie. For the most part Jackson et all did as faithful of an adaptation as could be hoped for.

 

[samwyse]

The Shire being immune to war is weak, but you'd need a full epilogue movie to depict it so it was cut.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

Book.

 

[Camwi]

I far prefer the book ending, but I think it would've been a little too dark for the movie audience after watching the three movies throughout the years.

 

[The Unsent]

No preference, book ending sounds like it would have worked better for a TV adaptation.

 

[Osahi]

Movie ending. The plot is over when the ring is destroyed and in the movies it already feels like the ending is stretched out because the story only ends with Frodo deciding to leave. Preferably you want plot and story end as close to each other as possible.

The scouring always felt tacked on for me.

 

[Herne]

The Scouring of the Shire is too great to miss.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

The Scouring of the Shire is too great to miss.

Click to shrink...

Worth it just for Lobelia Sackville-Baggins' redemption arc.

 

[Keywork]

I don't think the Scouring would have had worked because the majority of the audience didn't have that knowledge of why he wrote it in the first place. They would not have understood why it was such an important part of the books to not only Tolkien, but to the audience both at the time it was published and future generations who knew Tolkien's own history of seeing war and industrial expansion pervert and irrevocably even the most quiet and bucolic regions of the English countryside. Sure the audience might have said "That's so sad what happened to the Shire and the Hobbits." For Tolkien I always felt like it was the most personal part of the story he wrote. I do like the little flash of it we got and I think that spoke enough to it in the film.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

It should be noted that there was an addtional 'epilogue' written for The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien contemplated using but decided not to because of feedback he received.

Here's the epilogue in full:

http://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/tolkien/online_reader/TolkienEpilogue.pdf

 

[BrokenMill]

Book ending. The scouring really shows how much the Fellowship Hobbits have grown and gives them a nice badass moment, while also showing that nothing is safe from war and corruption. And it ties in with Sam's vision at Galadriel's Mirror.
Saruman's death, with his spirit turning towards Valinor, but being blown away by a western wind is also lovely.

 

[Glasgow Mega-Snake]

The Scouring of the Shire could actually be an interesting standalone movie.

(Well, with some creative liberty. Turn it into a Hobbit Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven!)

but yeah, now way it could have fit into the RotK film

 

[CloudWolf]

The Scouring of the Shire is great. However, it wouldn't have worked in the movies.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

The Scouring of the Shire could actually be an interesting standalone movie.

(Well, with some creative liberty. Turn it into a Hobbit Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven!)

but yeah, now way it could have fit into the RotK film

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Considering Amazon have reportedly scooped up the rights to the Lord of the Rings book, I can see them doing a set of mini-series, something akin to a 'Chronicles of Middle-earth' featuring stories not dealt with in the film trilogy. The Scouring of the Shire could be one of those.

 

[Jarmel]

The Scouring is too much.

 

[Sulik2]

The scouring was completely pointless and added nothing to the story but prolonging it. Tolkien was a good ideas man but the LOTR aren't well written from a plot standpoint. Peter Jackson much improved the books.

 

[Peru]

The scouring is the worst part of the book. A total slog and and over-stating an already familiar point.

 

[The Masked Mufti]

Sam got done dirty by the movies ending. A snippet about him being allowed to go to the Undying Lands as the last ring bearer would have given the next scene (him returning home to his family) so much more depth.

 

[TheWildCard]

The movie made the right call in removing the scouring, but thematically they end at the same place. The book is more powerful but the movie did well considering it couldn't foreshadow as much.

Although it should have done without the last 30 seconds of same returning to his family, should have ended with the emotional high of the Gray Havens.

 

[Liquid Plejades]

It should be noted that there was an addtional 'epilogue' written for The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien contemplated using but decided not to because of feedback he received.

Here's the epilogue in full:

http://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/tolkien/online_reader/TolkienEpilogue.pdf

Click to shrink...

thanks for this, had no idea. Will read it tonight

 

[WestEgg]

I like how the Scouring showed how much the Hobbits have grown from the adventure, especially Merry and Pippin, but I also recognize a lot of people would have soured on another complication extending the movie.

 

[Grym]

Most definitely the book

 

[Captain_Vyse]

The scouring of the shire would never work in a movie format. I think it works for the book, but it never would have worked in the movie.

 

[John Caboose]

I prefer book-ending, but they made the right creative choice for the movies.

 

[Kain]

I sure liked the Scouring but the movie didn't need even more scenes. Both are great in their respectives mediums.

 

[Kill3r7]

Book ending is superior but I enjoy the movie ending as well.

 

[Lunar Wolf]

Movie. I don't think you need a lot of the fluff of the books.

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The scouring was completely pointless and added nothing to the story but prolonging it. Tolkien was a good ideas man but the LOTR aren't well written from a plot standpoint. Peter Jackson much improved the books.

Click to shrink...

I'd argue that the Scouring of the Shire is the main point and the true climax of the story.

 

[nekkid]

By the time we got to the Scouring of the Shire I was just ready for it to be done tbh. It seemed like a weird anticlimax - a minor threat that needs dispatching after all the massive battles.

And I like the symmetry, where it starts with the telling of fantastic tales in this quiet and idyllic place, and ends with these 4 friends quietly knowing those tales are real.

 

[Quinton]

They're equal in my mind. Both work well for their medium.

 

[Darkmaigle]

I would have loved to see the scouring

but I think each fits their respective mediums perfectly fine

 

[MikeProtagonist]

It should be noted that there was an addtional 'epilogue' written for The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien contemplated using but decided not to because of feedback he received.

Here's the epilogue in full:

http://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/tolkien/online_reader/TolkienEpilogue.pdf

Click to shrink...

That was sweet. I saw that in my head as played by Sean Astin. But good thing Tolkien ultimately removed it, having a literal FAQ at the end of the book is just ridiculous.

 

[Dr. Mario]

I prefer the simpler story of the movie. The Shire didn't need a denouement because they weren't really in most of the story. It felt like a tacked on other story. Of course I get the analogy now, but still, from a storytelling perspective, I think the denouement works better for Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

That was sweet. I saw that in my head as played by Sean Astin. But good thing Tolkien ultimately removed it, having a literal FAQ at the end of the book is just ridiculous.

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Yeah, sometimes Tolkien needed outside opinion to rectify issues with his work. This is one of those cases where those in his social circle made a postive difference to his Legendarium.

 

[HaL64]

It should be noted that there was an addtional 'epilogue' written for The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien contemplated using but decided not to because of feedback he received.

Here's the epilogue in full:

http://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/tolkien/online_reader/TolkienEpilogue.pdf

Click to shrink...

I had completely forgotten about this. Thanks.

 

[thefro]

The Scouring wouldn't work as part of the third movie, but it's a fantastic chapter in the book.

 

[Biske]

Book ending. The movie is already bloated and "but wait there's more" endings. So may as well have gone for it and gave hobbits their due

 

[Altazor]

It should be noted that there was an addtional 'epilogue' written for The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien contemplated using but decided not to because of feedback he received.

Here's the epilogue in full:basic

http://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/tolkien/online_reader/TolkienEpilogue.pdf

Click to shrink...

never knew about this! Thanks for sharing :)

Thankfully he removed it from the book. It would've felt tacked on, and the final words (as they are, not as they would've been) are perfect. And basically most of the info there we got from the Appendices, that are clearly 'separate' from the narrative itself, so I think we ended up winning in the end.

 

[Rodney McKay]

The Scouring feels like a DLC epilogue, haha. Like where you already finished the main story and your characters are over-leveled and it's some final little challenge.

The hobbits already all proved their strength and showed how much they changed over the books by the time the ring is destroyed, so The Scouring just felt a bit much after everything. Not saying I don't like it, but I think the overall flow and pacing is better without it (similar to the whole Tom Bombadil section).