April 14, 2003

The Extended Edition and Alternate Farmair
Everett

As someone who only owns the extended edition DVD, I have to question whether or not it's worth it to own the original as well. The extended edition has everything the original has plus more scenes and more documentaries. What am I missing by not owning the regular DVD?

There have been various explanations offered justifying the akterations made to Faramir's character, ranging from Peter Jackson milking the character, to brining Gondor into the story, to making Faramir more "human," to Faramir wanting to please his father. These are all plausible explanations, but they seem to miss a central point. Peter Jackson wanted to be as faithful to the story as possible. For this reason, he was very cautious about making changes to the story and would not make a major change unless he had a compelling reason for it, which the above, at least to my mind don't seem to be. Instead, I think the reasons for changing Faramir's character follow from statements made in FOTR.

The first line is from the prologue, when Galadriel says "Nine rings were given to the race of men, who, above all, desire power." This is also repeated in TTT and seems to be something that Peter Jackson has made into a major theme in the movie, and having a Faramir that says "Iwould not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo." does not fit in with this theme.

The other line was also uttered by Galadriel, this time in Lorien, when she says "To be a ringbearer is to be alone." It is reinforced when she says that the ring will claim the members of the company one by one. These lines stress the idea that Frodo is on his own and that no one can help him and everyone will betray him eventually (see Frodo asking Aragorn if he can protect him from himslef). This is further supported by Gandalf's assertion in the extended edition, just before Moria, that Frodo can only trust himself. Having Faramir realize Frodo has the One Ring and not only letting him continue his quest, but giving Frodo and Sam food and staves does not do much to support this idea that Frodo can only trust himself.

But nor should it. One of the major themes running through LotR is "Aid often comes at unexpected times and in unexpected ways." This is seen troughout the book, from Gildor and his company of Elves; to Bombadil; to Aragorn showing up at the Prancing Pony; to Gandalf countering Sauron's influence on Amon Hen when Frodo is wearing the Ring; to the Ents; to Gandalf showing up in Fangorn; to Gandalf and the Huorns showing up with Erkenbrand and his men at Helm's Deep; to Faramir; etc, etc.* This is why the changes made to Faramir's character are both understandable and bad. It is also why the changes made to the role of the Ents are should not have been made.


*I know, I know. The Elves showing up at Helm's Deep is an example of aid unlooked for, but it is one added, compared to several others being taken out or changed (Gildor, Bombadil, the Ents, Faramir).