He definitely did give up defense when he saw the Black Ships of the Corsairs in the palantir, causing him to assume that all hope was lostand that Sauron had captured the ring. I'll look up the passage:

I find that significantly less than actively trying to send the troops home as he did in the movie. I think I understand why they made the change (although this is a rare case where they made a character less conflicted rather than more), but I think it's a significant shift from the book.

And again, the lack of the palantir as an explanation makes him even more simplistically crazy/villainous.

Also, the change to his demise made the character less than he was in the book.

I still think the pride and despair were shown as significant flaws that lessened the respect owed him.

I think that the words said over Boromir's death, as compared to that of his father's, show exactly what JRRT thought of the two men's final actions. Boromir gets a beautiful, elegaic send-off because of his redemptive actions by trying to save Merry and Pippin. Denethor gets a rather dismissive farewell line from Gandalf.

I do like some of the fanfic I've read recently that speculate that Pippin had lingering issues from Denethor's final days and minutes (hobbit angst fic--my favorite!), but Tolkien never really goes into that possibility, unfortunately.

I like how they describe Denethor's palantir after his death, as only showing two hands slowly clenching in fire, unless the person doing the viewing had a strong enough will to bring the palantir to heel.

Also, the change to his demise made the character less than he was in the book

Yes, this. Denethor is just about the only instance in the movies where a major character suffered as a result of the adaptation. Almost everyone else got more interesting and complicated, not less.

I felt sorry for John Noble, because the book-Denethor was an interesting guy, if tragic. Movie-Denethor, NSM.

I felt sorry for John Noble, because the book-Denethor was an interesting guy, if tragic. Movie-Denethor, NSM.

Doubly so because I thought Noble was very good in the role they gave him, and I think he would have been fine if it had been as written.

Making him lose it bascially just over his sons diminishes his character, whereas in the book, because of the palantir and Sauron, he thinks all hope is lost period - his sons are the final straw, not the whole enchilada (to mix metaphors).

Did we know that Karl Urban is going to be in the new Bourne movie?

Kathy Astrom posted this link over on WX:

Dom gets a pilot!

And it's a JJ Abrams and it's got Ian Somerhalder so lots of the pretty, no?

Yay! Go Dom with the career having.

Okay, Billy needs work now.