By WALNICE NOGUEIRA GALVÃO*
Considerations about the book and the film
1.
the course of The Lord of the Rings shows at least two release phases: a first in books and a second in films.
Comparing both, we can see how the cultural industry expanded and sophisticated its instruments in the space of two decades. The first wave, that of books in England in the 1950s, created its followers and made it a phenomenon cult. But it did not go beyond the limits of its readership. Here in Brazil, this happened due to the terrible translation made in the early 1970s.
But it was a success: it spread, people bought it, lent it to each other, but in a way it was always for insiders. Many kept the editions, others threw them away or sold them to used bookstores, where they can be found.
The creation of biographies of JRR Tolkien also began there, of which the first is the most authoritative, because it was made during the writer's lifetime and practically under his eyes. Fans read it eagerly, appreciating what it revealed about his working methods, his clashes with the university that he neglected in exchange for time to write, his invention of alphabets and neologistic languages, such as Elvish or elven language, and so on. forward.
No less appreciated were his eccentricities, which made him the stereotype of donation from Oxford, a distracted intellectual studying arcane things like dead languages, which didn't even have the luster of Latin and Greek. In his case, he was a specialist in Anglo-Saxon, which Jorge Luis Borges was also dedicated to. Also highlighting the friendship with CS Lewis and his social group, the inklings, already the subject of exhibitions in Oxford. There is also a fiction film, Land of shadows, centered on CS Lewis, who talks about the group and its lifestyle: almost all bachelors, tweed, pipes, beers in the pub on a fixed day.
The second wave, that of cinema, brings other characteristics. Although before there was only one cartoon, this is led by highly produced films, lots of money, a lot of marketing fanfare, advertisements on billboards and magazines, trailers in cinemas, interviews with actors and directors constantly broadcast on television, and more the merchandising that results from such campaigns – mugs, t-shirts, dolls, internet clubs, masks, clothes, etc.etc.etc. It is to this audiovisual wave that the reissues of books are linked, caused by the release of films, both in the original and in the same poor translation.
Between one wave and another, biographies multiplied and, rummaging through his father's trunk of manuscripts, drawing on the wealth of copyright, the son began to publish many unfinished or inferior things, which his father himself, jealous of quality, had preferred to keep. under ellipsis.
JRR Tolkien's merits are many. His first book, Or hobbit, written in 1937, is a gem. The title role goes to this being created by the author, an engaging creature that lives in holes in the ground, is short but cannot be confused with a dwarf, is peaceful and even cowardly, is afraid of venturing out of its hole, All he thinks about is eating and he has hairy feet. Drawn, unwillingly, to search for a treasure stolen and guarded by a dragon, he ends up reluctantly leading the expedition and becoming a hero. But all the time his only desire is to go home and have a good breakfast.
Characters such as dwarves, elves, orcs, dragons, trolls populate the book – which, as a main feature, is also full of a sense of humor. There is a narrator who, although adhering to the protagonist Bilbo's point of view, caustically comments on his actions and perversions, but also on those of the other characters.
The narrative benefits from the contrast between Bilbo's two attitudes: on the one hand the poltroon with an aversion to everything that is not domesticity, and on the other hand the pleasure of adventure and the unknown, in which his leadership and bravery are recognized. In addition to his constant hunger, incompatible with heroism. All of this makes the book, along with the protagonist, a target of affection. In cinema, this single book would yield three films, fraying and diluting the fabric of the narrative.
2.
At the movies, The Lord of the Rings makes use of the paths harry potter, which would yield eight films. This is a phenomenon entirely created by clever marketing, appealing to a very unprotected sector, namely children. But the books are reasonably good, God be praised, getting worse as they multiply, and so are the films. On top of that, the circus was set up.
The marketing feat elevated JK Rowling to the position of the richest woman in England, displacing Queen Elizabeth herself, who moved into second place. The queen was left with the consolation of personally being the owner of all the swans in the country – one of the most beautiful titles in the world. We are left thinking, with infinite pity, about the writer's husband, who abandoned her with a newborn baby.
In the Edinburgh winter, she was forced to write in bars, as she could not afford heating – a version later refuted by herself. The ex-husband must do penance, regretting having treated so badly what would become a golden goose (pardon the sexist simile...).
Yes, The Lord of the Rings it is a less happy accomplishment. Poor JRR Tolkien struggled with it for 17 years and still couldn't finish it to his satisfaction. The mess proliferated everywhere, and things began to multiply like rabbits. One book became three. The ring became nine rings, the magic sword became three swords, the evil Sauron became nine Black Knights, and so on.
To the point that JRR Tolkien completely lost control of that world and died without finding a satisfactory closure. But, worst of all, the (British?) sense of humor that governed the conception of Or hobbit disappeared, and we look for it in vain in the pages of the trilogy.
Everything rests on the unoriginal utopia of a pre-urban universe, located in a remote past, prior to all technology, but in compensation prior to the disenchantment of the world.
the first movie of The Lord of the Rings nor did he manage to make the leap that the books themselves fell short of. It is visually sumptuous and offers a succession of stunning special effects. However, it gives the impression of going on too long and of having no plot, but just a series of battles with multitudes of horrendous entities, from horror and science fiction films.
The lightness and grace found in Or hobbit, as well as in the Harry Potter books and films, at least in the first ones, go far. In any case, the box office success leaves nothing to be desired, the orchestration is planetary and guaranteed the success of the sequence in two other films.
Do not forget that, in the meantime, there was the cinematographic phenomenon that was Star Wars, with all its numerous continuations: either nine or eleven, depending on the source. Together, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter e Star Wars gave a powerful push towards the infantilization of cinema, with the good help of Spielberg Shark, ET the extraterrestrial e Jurassic Park .
Not to mention Indiana Jones, resurrection of the series once aimed at kids on Saturday matinees, which did the favor of reactivating all the racist and colonialist prejudice in cinema of the past. They are aesthetically related and cinema only recently showed signs of reacting against the push, making more complex films. But the trend survives – just see the success of Game of Thrones, which also gives birth to puppies. The remarkable participation of England is still curious, as it excels in two sectors of literature, in which it is unbeatable: children's literature and detective literature.
A few years ago, Star Wars received a remastering of the films and a festive re-release. Alec Guinness, the beloved Obi-wan Kenobi in the series, denied his participation. He recognized that the series had helped him economically, as he received a percentage and not a salary, and it was the first time in his life that he had made money. A seasoned Shakespearean actor, he said he had never recited such indigent lines. And he refused to attend the relaunch party. As he says in his memoirs, he begged George Lucas, as he could no longer bear the sequels, to kill the character, which he did.
*Walnice Nogueira Galvão Professor Emeritus at FFLCH at USP. She is the author, among other books, of reading and rereading (Sesc\Ouro over Blue). [amzn.to/3ZboOZj]
Reference
JRR Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings. Translation: Ronald Kyrmse. Rio de Janeiro, HarperCollins. 2019, 1568 pages. [https://amzn.to/3MgeBou]
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