Skip to main content

tolkiens legendarium - What deviations from the book did the movie "The Desolation of Smaug" have?


As far as I can tell that the hobbit movies don't seem to be necessarily true to the book.



For instance I have heard that duel between Sauron and Gandalf didn't happen, and that the dwarves didn't even face the dragon.


Could the deviations be that extreme? and what are they?



Answer



Here are the main deviations of the second movie from the original source material:



  • Tauriel - a female elf was created for the film to act as a love interest and a source of tension

  • Legolas - is not present in the book, but since his father is Thranduil (the elf-king of Mirkwood) it isn't surprising that he would at least appear in the movie. However, the extent to which he follows the dwarves has no reference to the book

  • The barrels - while Bilbo does engineer the dwarves' escape using discard wine barrels, they are sealed in and there is no epic chase by orcs at this point in the book

  • The mountain tombs and the duel with the necromancer - while Gandalf does disappear frequently throughout the book, it is only vaguely hinted at what he is up to

  • In the book, the dwarves are being pursued by goblins from their encounter in the Misty Mountains - not by orcs that have been dispatched by the necromancer.


  • All of the dwarves leave Laketown

  • Bilbo doesn't discover the door, and he is the only one who encounters the dragon - meaning the whole epic chase/fight at the end of the second movie is also a creation of Jackson

  • The introduction of Beorn in the book reflected the introduction of the dwarves at Bag End - and Beorn's shapeshifting form is not as prominent in the story.


Exactly how extreme you feel these deviations are, is entirely up to you. Personally, I don't think anything added to the movie was to the detriment of the original source or Tolkien's vision.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Tolkien trying to say in this letter?

In a draft of a letter, later recorded as #246, Tolkien makes a strange statement. I am interested in the first few sentences of the letter, but I will include the remainder for the sake of context. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond . But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power . But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Was Galadriel's temptation of Boromir instrumental to his fall?

We know Galadriel tempted the members of the Fellowship, did she tempt Boromir with visions of taking the Ring and saving Gondor? In the books, Boromir willingly accepts the judgement of the council that the Ring should be destroyed, but after the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel his personality seems to change. Was the temptation offered by Galadriel in some way responsible for Boromir's fall? Answer It's likely, but not certain I believe it is likely Galadriel tempted him with the ring, and in doing so re-ignited a pre-existing idea to take the ring, but to be clear lets break this down into three parts. Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir after setting off Boromir after being tempted Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir pleas for the ring to go to Minas Tirith, to help Gondor in its defense against Mordor. “ Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more