ShadowFax..... Grey or White?

[Ainahithiel of Mirkwood]

Does any one else really get ****ed when Shadowfax comes on the screen, and he's PURE WHITE??? It says, right in the books that Shadowfax is SILVER GREY!! does that look silver grey to you??? Why did P.J. do that????

[Ainahithiel of Mirkwood]

I did not mean to put that so called expletive in there. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!

[Nalyia]

I think Mr. Jackson was attempting to bring out a stronger feel for how good the horse was, like gandalf, Lord of the Maras. He might have wanted a connection between the two characters also.<P><BR>you do realize you are not suppose to swear on posts?

[eleanor_niphredil]

Silver grey, white? Is there ant real difference? if we picked apart evrey aspect of life in this way, we would never have time to live. Just enjoy it, the way it is. Shadowfax, in my opinion, lived up to everything he was meant to be. There's no need to get angry.

[Gorwingel]

Shadowfax is beautiful in the film. And additionally the wizard is Gandalf the White! So he should have a horse that is white. Shadowfax is just as I imagined, beautiful, strong, and the color white (I also heard in another thread that silverish grey, is also another way to discribe the color of a white horse).<p>[ 8:13 PM January 01, 2004: Message edited by: Gorwingel ]

[Lalaith]

I don't know. Grey would have been more unusual, less cheesy. Pure white or pure black for that matter, looks a bit too much like an advertisement cliche.<BR>It didn't particularly annoy me or anything, but I think grey would have been better.

I reckon Shadowfax is better as white, I mean he is the lord of all horses and so he must be special, therefore he gets a special colour!

[Pookabunny]

So seriously, do horses come in Silver-grey? Because if not, I seriously wouldn't want them SPRAY PAINING A DARN HORSE! ARG!<P>And if they do come in silver-grey, I'll take one with fries and a coke. I understand they make great glue.

[Duncariel]

Shadowfax is Silver-grey, but he's beautiful in the movie, not cheesy.

[maikafanawen]

I re-read Two Towers the day after I saw the movie and noticed that. It's okay though. Shadowfax was very majestic. Silver-grey would have been nice. And I think it would have been cool if Shadowfax was much bigger. I don't remember anything about his size in the book, but since he is the "Lord of all horses" (Lord of the Maras (sp?)) I think it would have been good to have him be obviously grander than the other horses. Maybe have like silver on his mane and tail, and glowing at all times.

[**sparkle fairy**]

yes but if you are a horse fan like most of my mates you would now that grey is actually white when you are talking about horses. very confusing

[Nurumaiel]

**sparkle fairy** has it. In terms of horses, <B>there is no white</B>. For horses, grey means both white and your normal grey. Therefore, Shadowfax would be correct, unless, when Tolkien wrote 'grey,' he did mean grey as your usual grey. I think there was already a thread on this somewhere....

[Garen LiLorian]

Aye, but, to quote Aragorn (I think);<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>...Pitting <I>silver</I> against black <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Therefor, Shadowfax is silvery-grey. Not white, and not grey in the horse-sense that could mean either grey or white.<P>This really didn't bother me too much while I was watching the movie, but I agree with Lalaith that it would have been less cliché for him not to have been white.

[Ardwenna]

I guess the color of Shadofax never really bugged me. I mean, it was clear that this horse was the "Lord of all the horses" I was almost expecting PJ to put shadowfax in as a black horse.

[eleanor_niphredil]

It always botheredme that the other horses dont react to Shadowfax coming. Youd think that they would make some mark of respect for thier lord.

[HCIsland]

I guess they need better actors. They should fire the lot of those horses. <P>Sorry bud, too Lion King. In my opinion, it would have looked ridiculous.<P>H.C.

[Nurumaiel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Aye, but, to quote Aragorn (I think);<P>...Pitting silver against black<P>Therefor, Shadowfax is silvery-grey. Not white, and not grey in the horse-sense that could mean either grey or white.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Then Shadowfax is silver, so they could have gone and made him be silver. But the problem is, where are they going to find a silver horse (not grey, but silver)? Still, I'm happy Shadowfax was grey (white) because I've always imagined him that way.<P>Let's just be happy he wasn't <I>black</I> (pitting black against black )! That would have been terrible. And happy he wasn't a really dark, dark, <I>dark</I> grey.<P>But I still think he should have been an Arabian, and not an Andalusian. That's how I've always imagined him.

[King_Elessar]

As said (I don't know how to quote things here):<P>In terms of horses, there is no white. For horses, grey means both white and your normal grey. Therefore, Shadowfax would be correct, unless, when Tolkien wrote 'grey,' he did mean grey as your usual grey. (quote)<P>Any ' white ' horse is called grey, but I suppose Lipizzaners could be accepted.<P>Bye, Elessar

[VanimaEdhel]

The thing I got mad about was that they changed horses. One of the grey horses has a pink nose and the other has black skin on his nose. It's really obvious. And the basic facial structure is different in the faces. And there are far different temperments and even different quirks and ways of movement as well.<P>Sorry: I horseback ride a lot, so I notice inconsistencies like that.

[Shy Hobbit]

Being a fellow horse person, I never knew that grey was the same thing as white. But I had always pictured Shadowfax as a white horse anyways If Tolkien had actually meant for him to be 'silver', as in the precious metal, horses like that are very rare. There is only one breed that has a metallic sheen to their coat, they're called. Trekheners I think. But they are built quite thin and lanky, not at all majestic like you'd imagine a white wizard riding. I haven't seen TTT yet, so I can't judge poor Shadow lol. But if I had had the choice of casting him, I probably would have picked a Lippizan. They were used for war and can jump straight into the air while kicking out. Talk about knocking some orc teeth loose...

[eleanor_niphredil]

Funny, I always pictured him as black.<P>And whats wrong with the Lion King? LOTR meets Lion King. That is a movie I DEFINATLY have to see!

[Ebony]

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but Tolkien <I>never</I> refers to Shadowfax as silver-grey. The quote from the book is:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>By day his coat glistens like silver; and by night it is like a shade, and he passes unseen.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Really he is not telling you what colour Shadowfax is at all - only that his coat glistens <I>like</I> silver, and is at night <I>like</I> a shade. He could be a shiny black horse for all we know.

[Nalyia]

THe only thing that bugs me about Gandalf having a white horse is that if you're just looking at the horse, You can get him confused with Arod and all those other white horses they throw in there

[Trippo The Hippo]

I think the color of the horse was fine. Whether or not grey means white or if they really changed the horses color I really dont think is the issue. If you want something to complain about this really is such a minor change compared to other ones. (Though after watching the EE extras I feel PJ justified alot of his changes.) Instead of dwelling on every change he made lets look at the amazing way he catptured the essence of the story the friendship, loyality, bravery, love and so much more.

[Legolas]

I was kind of hoping Saruman would have a horse too, like the one in the Wizard of Oz that changes colour, as he became the Many Coloured.

Does the horse color really matter? LOL

[Finwe]

Yes, Legolas, Shadowfax and the Technicolor Dream Coat! <P><BR>I would have liked to see more of a greyish sheen on Shadowfax, but I'm really happy with the pure white color of the horse that they chose. Light grey isn't nearly as dramatic as white. I don't think a horse of any other color, riding over that hill, could have pulled off that dramatic moment. Well, maybe if the horse was black, it would have been equally dramatic, but that is out of the question. White is simply much more dramatic than grey. Besides, Gandalf and his horse match. Even Wizards accessorize properly!

[Elentári_O_Most_Mighty_1]

I didn't have a problem with the colour of the horse. My brother horse-rides, so I knew about the grey and white thing...but if you were really desperate for a silver horse, perhaps they could have borrowed a not-fully-grown unicorn from Harry Potter?! (I think they go from gold to silver to white). They could edit out the horn or something...well, I mean, they did borrow those ghosts from POTC...(nah, just kidding).

[Gil-Galad]

Shadowfax is white becasue he is suppsoe ot be a descendent of Orome's horse, Nahar(i think) and it says in the Silmarillion that Orome's horse is white, and shadowfax was lord of the Mearas, which also is said that is the type of horse Orome broguth too ME

[aleesa]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>The thing I got mad about was that they changed horses. One of the grey horses has a pink nose and the other has black skin on his nose. It's really obvious. And the basic facial structure is different in the faces. And there are far different temperments and even different quirks and ways of movement as well.<BR>Sorry: I horseback ride a lot, so I notice inconsistencies like that. <P> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR>wow, you actually noticed that?? I'm impressed.<P>Anyway, I love white horses (and black ones too) so i don't actually mind the actual colour of Shadowfax. Perhaps Shadowfax could have been a little bit bigger than the other horses since he was the Lord of the Mearas. But then, it's not easy to find the perfect horse that could fit the description of Shadowfax in the book perfectly. <P>p/s: Happy new year everbody!

[Theron Bugtussle]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR><B>Ebony:</B> Really he is not telling you what colour Shadowfax is at all - only that his coat glistens like silver, and is at night like a shade.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That was a nice quote you looked up. I never realized that Tolkien was not coloring the horse directly.<P>I was "offended" when I saw the movie Shadowfax portrayed as white, when I had "silver-grey" in mind. And definitely, how would a white horse pass as a "shade" at night? (Hello! hope there is no moon!)<P>However, as you describe it, it could have been a very shiny black. That is interesting. <P>It reminds me of a conundrum I experienced related to the computer-animated television program called <I>ReBoot</I>. One of the lead characters, Bob the Guardian, has a shiny, black mop of hair that reflects silver at some angles. Because his hair is disheveled, it always seems two-colored. When I got the Bob the Guardian action figure (a collectible), his hair was reduced to a silver gray--<I>with no black at all</I>.