Lord of the Rings vs Harry Potter

[Scott]

I don't want to say it but I think HARRY POTTER  edges out LORD OF THE RINGS overall as a movie. In many ways they are a similiar type movies. Niether will hit my top ten list, but I liked them both.

[Drezzy]

IDEA!!
Let's take all of the Harry Potter freaks, all of the Lord Of The Rings freaks, and all of the Star Wars freaks, and have them all fight! It'd be pure entertainment! The Harry Potter freaks would go first, obviously, because the majority of them are teenage girls and kindergarteners. Hmm...Stars Wars freaks vs. LOTR freaks...

[Andrew]

I think the LOTR freaks would win, a number of them tend to be SCA types.  Knowing how to swing a lightsaber is great, but actually fighting with broadswords...

Andrew

[AndyC]

I would have said that LOTR was the better of the two movies. However, the comparison itself is interesting. Seeing the Harry Potter movie was my first exposure to Rowling's work, and until then, I had no idea what all the fuss was about. Seeing the movie, I understood that it was the same qualities that made Tolkien's trilogy such a phenomenon.

Harry potter's story wasn't bad - simple, with a couple of good twists - but the plot wasn't the main thing. It was the rich, vivid fantasy world in which the events unfolded that caught my attention. It had people, places, history and rules, worked into the story in detail. In that respect, it has a similar appeal to literary works like LOTR and Dune, although it is not in the same league.

The only thing I didn't like about Harry Potter was that a lot of the ideas are borrowed, and not too subtly, from virtually everywhere. Harry, himself, has so much in common with Luke Skywalker, it's funny. Actually, I can also see a lot of LOTR in the Star Wars movies.

[Jay O'Connor]

Seeing the movie, I understood that it was the same qualities that made Tolkien's trilogy such a phenomenon.

I haven't read the Hary Potter books, just a few paragraph excerpts.   I can't  say anything to the plot or storyline as I didn't read enough.  

However, the writing/narrative  style was...juvenile at best.  It very much seemed like a kids book; maybe early teens.  It just seemed flat.

Then I picked up Fellowship Of The Ring to re-read after a few years.  Ahh....Tolkein's succulent prime steak to Rawling's cheesburger

[David]

Haven't seen LOTR yet, but I thought Harry Potter was pretty good for what it was: a kid's sci-fi. One thing I'm appreciating about new flicks like these two is that they recall the glory days of kids sci-fi from the 80's: fantasy movies with a darker edge to them. Of course, they aren't as good (probably just the old man in me talking).

I haven't read either the trilogy or the HP books. The closest I've come is The Hobbit (my precioussss...).

[AndyC]

The more significant quote:
"In that respect, it has a similar appeal to literary works     like LOTR and Dune, although it is not in the same league."

Just in case you didn't read that far into my post, the comparison was not a qualitative one. From what I know of Harry Potter, similar principles seem to contribute to the popularity of both that series, which has yet to prove that it's not just a passing fad, and LOTR, which has proven itself to be a very important work of fantasy literature. That is one small similarity. The biggest difference, which I briefly touched on, was that Rowling borrows from many other works, while many other writers have borrowed from Tolkien's work.

[Jay O'Connor]

I understood your point but I used your line as an excuse to bring up the qualitative difference between LOTR and HP :)

[AndyC]

Good, I was worried that someone might think I was suggesting Potter could stand alongside the likes of LOTR, Dune or any of the other sci-fi/fantasy classics. I can't speak too much to the quality of Rowling's writing, as I've barely glanced at the Potter books. I'm going on the assumption that the movie is a reasonably faithful adaptation. Even if Rowling's writing were as good, Tolkien would win out on the sheer scope of the stories. Tolkien's fantasy world is far more vast and complex.

[Frannie]

I have never read LOTR so I might be speaking out of my butt here.  How much did Tolkein borrow from Wagner's ring trilogy?  Seems like he at least took the basic idea of a ring that makes its wearer into some all powerful being.