It’s been branded ‘unfilmable’ — even by the author himself. Indeed, Tolkien described Lord of the Rings as “a book very unsuitable for dramatic or semi-dramatic representation” (Letter #194). Even, his biographer, Humphrey Carpenter felt that, although Tolkien sold the film rights to LoTR, he had no real expectation that it could be successfully filmed.
Yet it exists in film form, filmed to completion. Was JRR Tolkien then, wrong, in his estimation? [More]