Any Tolkien fan on the internet will be familiar with the name of Martin Morales whose encyclopaedic knowledge and incisive commentaries are legendary. Until recently, Martin has been a staunch supporter of Peter Jackson's movies but a radical departure from the text has left him reeling. Unable to contain himself any longer, he has sent me a heartfelt message to share with the fans.
MARTIN MORALES SPEAKS!
In his recent news conference, Peter Jackson was quoted as saying that he was moving closer to the book. However I have recently seen this picture of Merry Brandybuck as envisaged by Jackson and I cannot believe it.
Tolkien clearly intended for the pipes of Middle-Earth to be wooden, not clay. Clay pipes were introduced in Elizabethan England, the earlier Stone-aged civilisations in the New World all used wooden pipes for smoking tobacco. Tolkien wrote repeatedly that the book is set before modern historical times - i.e. before the clay pipe was invented - which clearly means that Hobbit pipes must have been wooden.
Most Tolkien scholars realise this - look at the lyrics from a popular song;
In the middle of the Earth,
In the land of The Shire,
Lived a brave little Hobbit,
Whom we all admire.
With his long WOODEN PIPE,
And his fluffy woolly toes,
He lives in a Hobbit hole and everybody knows him,
Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins,
Only three feet tall.
Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins,
The bravest little Hobbit of them all.
How Peter Jackson can claim to be moving closer to the books when he sees fit to include trash like this is beyond me. I have fought tooth and nail against the idiots who saw fit to disagree with me that the movie was going to be 100% faithful to the books. However, I am just about ready to denounce these movies as heretical and a complete travesty of the first water.
In an email I sent last year, I specifically mentioned a list of things to Peter Jackson that he must get right to make the movies faithful to the book. Here is an extract...
345) Do not use light and dark as metaphors for good and evil
346) Hobbits must smoke wooden pipes
347) Horns on Boromir's helmet not to exceed 6 inches in length
Yet that monumental idiot, Peter Jackson, in his arrogance, has seen fit to completely ignore MY advice and put to screen one of the most halfwitted interpretations of Tolkien's works so far seen. The whole fabric of Middle-Earth is destroyed by this act of callous ignorance.
What this evil tripe has to do with Tolkien is anyone's guess.
I have endured criticism, impersonation and have been pilloried for my support for Peter Jackon's movies and how does he repay me? He stabs me in the back!
I hate to say it but Raoul Bukshi's animation was far superior in every way to this movie which is a desecration of everything that Tolkien held dear.
The bottom line is - if it hasn't got my name on it, ignore it because it ain't Tolkien.
I, Martin Morales, have spoken!