Return of the King

The extended edition of Return of the King is released in a few days. Aside from being an Academy Award winning blockbuster, it strikes me how much the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy has become something of a bridge builder between Christians of various backgrounds. Tolkien's Catholicism, though never overtly expressed, seems to brood beneath the surface. Yet evangelicals, Catholics, agnostics, mystics and atheists seem drawn to this epic.

Tolkien, as I understand it, did not care for allegory, so direct parallels between particular LOTR characters and Biblical persons should not be looked for, yet themes of loyalty, faithfulness, honor are deeply and richly portrayed. It is hard to find more vivid examples of biblical imagery, such as the goodness portrayed as light and evil as darkness, the marvelous linkage of truth and beauty. Who could not want to live in Rivendell among the immortal elves and their artistry, craftsmanship and wisdom? I dare say even morally cautious evangelicals find themselves secretly longing to spend a week among the hobbits enjoying simple living, ordinary labor and a good pint of ale at the end of the day. The goodness of creation alongside the weakness is vivid and appealing.



Tolkien also portrays, not a world that corresponds directly to a biblical one, but a world where there are forces and personalities above and beyond the natural world, and where evil is not seen as equal to good, but a corruption and deprivation of good. These are themes which resonate with believers of all stripes. His more catholic emphasis on "grace" being almost a substance that is mediated through the tears of an elven maiden or the touch of a skilled healer like Aragorn probably stir Christians across denominational lines as well to recall that truth and grace do not need to be and should not be seen as something divorced from the physical world, that truth and beauty and creation are all part of God's design and all intricately related.

I personally can't wait to purchase my Extended Edition copy and see what other of Tolkien's ideas manage to inhabit the additional footage. Peter Jackson and his cast and crew may or may not agree with or believe all that Tolkien did and could not have been perfectly faithful to the books even if they tried, but something deep and true still lives in these films.

Update: Watched the Extended version over two nights. As with the first two installments, the added footage mainly fills in blanks in the character development and story background. Most of these added items are satisfying. You get a better sense of the reason for Denethor's madness and for Aragorn's drive. Good to see a bit more of Faramir and his connection with Eowen. The House of Healing is there but too short. All in all, it is worth owning the extended versions over the theatrical ones.

But the background feature on Tolkien is very interesting and is not at all shy about how his Christian beliefs shaped middle earth. Very interesting is the way the Aragorn/Arwen relationship was intended to symbolize redemption.