# I've never read LOTR. Will I like the movie(s)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059 "2009-05-02T03:16:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/161 "2009-05-07T05:15:03Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Mithril is spelled _mithril_ in (TSR’s D&D-based) Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance novels, for the record. How old are the books you’re referring to? I own very few TSR/WotC novels, but, at least in 3rd Edition Forgotten Realms rulebooks, it’s “mithral” (“Magic of Faerun”, p. 180). I don’t have my earlier-edition D&D rulebooks in front of me, but I suspect that the spelling was changed from “mithril” to “mithral” more recently than the “hobbit/halfling” change, which happened at some point before the 1st Edition AD&D books began coming out in the late '70s. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/162 "2009-05-07T05:25:12Z")
Heh. By the way, speaking of NewsRadio, the following quote(s) suddenly leapt to mind: > [@NewsRadio episode "Coda"](#): > > Jimmy: Beam me up, slappy. > Dave: That’s “Scotty.” > Jimmy: Geek test. > Dave (wearily): Busted. > > Beth: This is like that “Star Trek” episode with the parallel universe where everything’s the same except everybody’s on heroin. > Dave: There was no such episode. > Jimmy: Geek test two! (everyone laughs at Dave) I have _no_ idea why that just popped into my head while reading our discussion… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/163 "2009-05-07T13:41:28Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > …The vorpal sword has been a fixture in D&D since the earliest editions; it has the special property (inspired by the poem, obviously) of being able to decapitate one’s opponent. Yet more proof that Wiki has an article for just about every damn thing ever: [Jabberwocky - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpal). See the “In popular culture” section. I suspect Carroll would be gobsmacked that a throwaway coinage of his would have taken root like this. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/164 "2009-05-07T14:33:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > How old are the books you’re referring to? R.A. Salvatore’s entire _ouvre_ (ie., 1988 - now) and the Weis/Hickman Dragonlance books, which cover roughly the same period, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/165 "2009-05-07T15:00:22Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > if the dwarf corpses were less dessicated I would totally go see a band called Dessicated Dwarf Corpse. Especially if they were Swedish. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/166 "2009-05-07T16:06:12Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Apparently the “Mithril coat” is not -actually- Mithril, but some sort of Mithril alloy Could be. I always read it to mean the method of processing/treating the metal. Much like cast, wrought and pig iron have different properties. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/167 "2009-05-07T16:14:54Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Could be. I always read it to mean the method of processing/treating the metal. Much like cast, wrought and pig iron have different properties. Could be. That hadn’t really occured to me. Either way, there’s clearly some Special Dwarven Process involved here. (Otherwise, if the stuff were so nigh invulnerable, you’d never get it out of the ground. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/168 "2009-05-07T17:06:06Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Otherwise, if the stuff were so nigh invulnerable, you’d never get it out of the ground. Well, if it came in crystals or nuggets, you could pry it out. But veins, you’d be pretty well SOL. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/169 "2009-05-07T17:12:41Z")
Or it could be like bauxite where the extraction is easy but it is incredibly tough to get at the aluminum. In fact Mithril sounds very similar to aluminum except for the exceptional strength bit. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/170 "2009-05-07T18:04:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Or it could be like bauxite where the extraction is easy but it is incredibly tough to get at the aluminum. Except that bauxite or other aluminum ores are found all over the place, not just in one particular mountain range. My guess has always been that Moria is unique in having veins of _elemental_ aluminum somehow, and that the Dwarves would piss themselves if they realized just how common it really was, with the right processes. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/171 "2009-05-07T18:54:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Except that bauxite or other aluminum ores are found all over the place, not just in one particular mountain range. I nominate this for understatement of the month 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/172 "2009-05-07T19:16:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Except that bauxite or other aluminum ores are found all over the place, not just in one particular mountain range. My guess has always been that Moria is unique in having veins of _elemental_ aluminum somehow, and that the Dwarves would piss themselves if they realized just how common it really was, with the right processes. Elemental Mithril was also found in Numenor, and must have been available in the Undying Lands too, since Earendil’s ship was clad in it before being set in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/173 "2009-05-07T22:42:01Z")
OK, “unique in Middle-Earth”. But I’m not sure one should apply the same laws of geology to Numenor or the Undying Lands in the first place. Oh, note also that mithril is explicitly one of the materials used by the Elves in the production of gems, and many gems are some variant of aluminum oxide. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/174 "2009-05-08T04:04:08Z")
Leave it to Dopers to go off on a tangent discussing imaginary metallurgy. :rolleyes:😉 ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/175 "2009-05-08T15:26:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, “unique in Middle-Earth”. But I’m not sure one should apply the same laws of geology to Numenor or the Undying Lands in the first place. > > Oh, note also that mithril is explicitly one of the materials used by the Elves in the production of gems, and many gems are some variant of aluminum oxide. So how would you craft a Noldorian lantern? It has to be blue, give off a reasonable amount of light and be a gem. Now you can get UV/Blue LEDs using AlGaN and then house it in colourless beryl, but what would you use as a powersource? ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/176 "2009-05-08T15:31:56Z")
Oh, you guys. I would worry you would scare off Choie, but no need if Choie can follow D&D rulebooks. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/177 "2009-05-08T16:11:15Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > R.A. Salvatore’s entire _ouvre_ (ie., 1988 - now) and the Weis/Hickman Dragonlance books, which cover roughly the same period, I think. In a quick perusal of my old 1E and 2E D&D rulebooks, I wasn’t able to find any references to “mithril” or “mithral”, but I may not have been looking in the right places. However, in all the 3E rulebooks (2000 and later), it’s consistently spelled “mithral”. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/178 "2009-05-08T18:07:26Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Oh, you guys. I would worry you would scare off Choie, but no need if Choie can follow D&D rulebooks. This conversation is a dot to me, it’s so far above my head. 🙂 I plan on seeing the second film early next week, so I’ma gonna keep this thread on reserve. Gonna Netflix it this time rather than relying on my pal to prevent me from seeing the extended version. Aside: Just noticed that RoTK is available on Netflix Watch Instantly – but it’s the extended version. Argh. I wonder at how they decide / allow which films to show. Why RoTK rather than either of the two earlier films? Why the extended over the theatrical release? Curious. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/179 "2009-05-08T18:23:48Z")
Keep us updated Choie! My vote goes to theatrical version for first viewings. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059/180 "2009-05-08T19:14:17Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Keep us updated Choie! My vote goes to theatrical version for first viewings. Seconded. If you absolutely love it, or want to later dive further into Middle-earth, then check out the director’s cuts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-read-lotr-will-i-like-the-movie-s/495059.md?page=10)