The Jackson films spurred me to tremendous Tolkien-based creativity, partly as a result of some of the terrific visuals in the first film, but very little of wot I wrote ended up 'inspired' by his films.
But any reading I do of The Lord of the Rings is almost entirely filtered through the BBC radio adaptation, which I heard on broadcast, at around the same time as reading the book for the first time. The two are very closely linked in my imagination.
I rewatched films, relistened to radio version, and reread the book recently - and it's the radio actors who speak the lines for me (with the possible exception of Ian McKellen). The images are a pleasing combination of Alan Lee, Victor Ambrus, and several other artists working both before and after the films (and not necessarily in their 'shadow', even in portraits of characters).
I personally don't see Jackson's films as 'taint' - I think there's a great deal to be liked and admired, particularly in the first one - but his version has had surprisingly little effect on my experience of the book, other than sparking a tremendously rich and productive re-encounter with Tolkien (and an extraordinary fandom experience).
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But any reading I do of The Lord of the Rings is almost entirely filtered through the BBC radio adaptation, which I heard on broadcast, at around the same time as reading the book for the first time. The two are very closely linked in my imagination.
I rewatched films, relistened to radio version, and reread the book recently - and it's the radio actors who speak the lines for me (with the possible exception of Ian McKellen). The images are a pleasing combination of Alan Lee, Victor Ambrus, and several other artists working both before and after the films (and not necessarily in their 'shadow', even in portraits of characters).
I personally don't see Jackson's films as 'taint' - I think there's a great deal to be liked and admired, particularly in the first one - but his version has had surprisingly little effect on my experience of the book, other than sparking a tremendously rich and productive re-encounter with Tolkien (and an extraordinary fandom experience).