J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, had some great things to say about the spiritual ideas behind his novel. Peter Jackson, the director of the film series, and his writers -- Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh -- also have some interesting things to say. The following is a review of a few topics comparing their comments with Tolkien's. The filmmakers' comments are taken from interviews in Los Angeles in December, 2003.
Fran Walsh on Death: "It's a curious thing we've been going through this year. We lost a young and dear friend, a young boy, to cancer, and watching him face his mortality, at seventeen, and watching him come to terms with the knowledge of his impending death, and how he and his family dealt with that. We were part of that as we finished this film, and I felt very strongly that, in the film, death -- when Frodo crosses over -- that it's not a negative thing. And I felt that for Cameron, too. Because he was so ravaged and ill, that it, you know, it freed him. And it released him. And I feel that in the film, too. I feel that something lifts from Frodo, when he turns and looks back at the hobbits. And I really liked that the film shows it in that way. Because often it's such a thing of fear, and dread, you know - that in films it's portrayed in that way, and yet there is another way to view it. And we saw it play out, you know, in our own lives with Cameron. And to see it in the film, too, I really liked that about the movie."
Tolkien on Death: "There is a place called 'heaven' where the good here unfinished is completed..." (Letters, no. 45, to son Michael, 1941)
Peter Jackson on Human Frailty: "Men are going to inherit this world... [Tolkien] knew that Aragorn inheriting the world and mankind taking over was only going to lead to World War One eventually, because he imagined this book as happening six thousand years ago. He certainly wasn't writing with a degree of triumph that mankind is now in charge. He felt that we are flawed and that we don't deserve to be in charge of the world."
Tolkien on Human Frailty: "To ourselves we must present the absolute ideal without compromise, for we do not know our own limits of natural strength (+grace), and if we do not aim at the highest we shall certainly fall short of the utmost that we could achieve... We are finite creatures with absolute limitations upon the powers of our soul-body structure in either action or endurance. Moral failure can only be asserted, I think, when a man's effort or endurance falls short of his limits..." (Letters, no. 246, to Eileen Elgar, 1963)
Philippa Boyens on Faith: "Faith requires us to believe in a higher power. Gandalf very early on in the book says 'The Ring came to Bilbo and in that moment something else was at work.' Not the design of its maker, this evil power, but some other power was at work. So it's whether you believe in that or not, whether you choose to believe in that or not. Actually that was the combination. Frodo dragged himself to that point, and failed. And another power intervened. And he ultimately surrenders to that power at the end of this movie, which is one of the most beautiful moments in this movie. when Frodo turns and he smiles. That is his redemption."
Tolkien on Faith: "Eru... appears... to demand two things from His Children... belief in Him, and proceeding from that, hope or trust in Him..." (Morgoth's Ring, p. 338) "The chief purpose of life, for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all the means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks..." (Letters, no. 310, to Camilla Unwin, 1969)
The Bible on Death: "For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (I Corinthians 15:16-19, NIV)
The Bible on Human Frailty: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:13-15, NIV)
The Bible on Faith: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:4-9, NIV)
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