Tim Burton should’ve directed LOTR
September 24, 2005
I was just watching “Sleepy Hollow” again on TV. This is a movie by Tim Burton (”Edward Scissorhands”) starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricchi. This is a really stylish and scary horror-movie about the village Sleepy Hollow and the headless horseman.
While watching this movie, it dawned on me that “The Lord Of The Rings” should have been directed by Tim Burton. Why?
Well, TLOR trilogy was really good. Really good. However, as far as I’m concerned, it lacked something. It lacked, well, a magical atmosphere. LOTR felt like, well, a historically accurate re-enactment– the fantasy equivalent of “Saving Private Ryan”. And this kinda bothered me. LOTR is *not* a historical novell. It’s a fantasy novell.
And that’s where Tim Burton would’ve fit in much better. Tim Burton is the master of creating a magical atmosphere, of taking the absurd– and make it enjoyable. Take Edward Scissorhands for example. This is a completely absurd story about a boy with sciccors as hands– but while watching the movie, you *completely* forget how absurd that actually is! And still, the movie feels so magical, so absurd, so surreal– I love it.
And a master of surrealism, absurdity and magic is what LOTR really needed. Tim Burton’s hypothetical version might not have appealed to the masses as much as Peter Jackson’s version did, but it would have been a movie that would’ve far better fit the fantasy, fairytale world.
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Look at this way: In the Tokien mythology, Middle-earth was in the past of our world, not a sperate universe and he felt LoTR was indeed was ‘ a historical novel’ rather than a fantasy so if you look at that way, the movies were right on.
And Middle-earth was never a place of airy wonder, that’s more Narnia. I don’t think Tim Burton would have done a better job, probably worse (look at James and the Giant Peach). It would have been bad.
Comment by Chris — September 25, 2005 @ 12:34 am
Well, looking at past productions, Tim Burton’s list is much more impressive than Peter Jackson’s [pre LOTR]. So saying that because Burton made bad movies too, he would’ve sucked at doing LOTR, isn’t really a powerful argument.
And as for the perception of LOTR– well, I do see it as a fantasy novell, and I’m sure many would agree with me. Then again, I did say that Tim Burton’s hypothetical version probably wouldn’t have appealed to the masses as much as Jackson’s version has done.
The good thig about Jackson’s LOTR lay in that he used *real* places, locations that you can still visit today; rarely, if ever, spruced up using computer techniques. This adds to the historically accurate feel that the movie has.
And there we are back at my only problem with the movies: Jackson tried to make something unreal, look real. And he did that amazingly well, and each Oscar he won was justified. Don’t get me wrong, I like LOTR, I enjoyed it a lot; I just think that Tim Burton’s gift of playing with the absurd and surreal would’ve fit the story better.
Comment by Administrator — September 25, 2005 @ 11:49 am
How a Tim Burton remake of the Wizard of Oz? How many purists would scream? I think it would be much more interesting and it’s right up his Weird Alley.
Comment by Chris — September 25, 2005 @ 4:21 pm
Hey Thom!
Ik ben het (uiteraard) weer eens niet met je eens :)
Ik vind het meeste werk van Tim Burton prachtig (je vergat Charlie and the chocolate factory en het toppertje big fish te noemen) Hij weet als geen ander een sprookjesachtige sfeer neer te zetten, en helemaal in combinatie met Johnny Depp is hij als geen ander… Maar ik denk dat hij ongeschikt is om zo’n mega productie als LOTR te maken.
Ik vind dat Peter Jackson geweldig de karakters van de wezens en de sfeer heeft neergezet. Ik heb dan ook zeker niet het gevoel dat er iets mist! Het is misschien niet zo vaag en dromerig als wat Tim Burton waarschijnlijk zou hebben gedaan, maar ik denk dat dat ook niet goed was geweest. want laten we eerlijk zijn: LOTR gaat niet alleen om de sfeer, maar ook om het verhaal. en dat heeft Peter Jackson geweldig gedaan… Behalve het eind dan, dat was een beetje *gaaaaaap* te lang en overbodig.. Maar al met al ben ik blij dat Jackson het heeft gedaan. want bovendien heb liever Orlando Bloom als Legolas dan Johnny Depp ;)
Comment by Renate — September 25, 2005 @ 7:23 pm
Tsjah Renaatje, zoals altijd: we agree to disagree :).
Comment by Administrator — September 26, 2005 @ 2:39 pm