Much has been said of reasons the film is as it is. Films probably shouldn't try to be books and vice versa. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a good film made from a good book but the focus of each is different. The trilogy is a wonderful creation which I have read at least a dozen times (and I ALWAYS read the Hobbit first) I can't say that the books are better than the film. I have always preferred the "pictures in my mind" to those presented to me on the screen, with some notable exceptions. LOTR is one of those exceptions (another one is The Saragossa Manuscript, another The Wizard of Oz) I truly enjoy the LOTR as a read (when I have the time) and I truly enjoy LOTR as a film (when I don't). We were supposed to see TTT today but my friend came down with a raging case of flu so we will wait 'til after Christmas. I missed Tom Bombadil and while Merry and Pippin seem like total asses in the film I DO recall that I felt the same way about them in the book. I am looking forward to the great and seemingly hopeless battle for Helm's Deep. Already, even though I haven't see TTT, I wish The Return of the King were out too.

CB

PS I had sent my two boxed copies (Houghton-Mifflin's attractively presented set) to my daughters about three years ago. I thought I would replace them and stopped at Border Books to pick them up. YIKES!!! the two together cost over $100!!! I'm sure I didn't pay anywhere NEAR that when I bought them originally. $75 for the Lord of the Rings boxed set and $35 for the boxed Hobbit! Greed!!!!