Hey Folks, Currently, you will experience a sync issue if you watch this in Google Chrome. Safari, Phones, Ipad, Apple TV will play it normal. Here we go folks, the epic battle! What were some of your favorite moments? Did it meet your expectations? Full Reaction on Patreon: www.patreon.com/baddmedicine
Peter Jackson did a huge disservice to Denethor by not showing a quick 5 minute scene of Denethor wrestling with Sauron through the seeing stone and driving him mad with despair. Movie Denethor just seems like a dick with no redeeming qualities but he was a noble man in the book.
@@cpmf2112 I mean, it kinda make it more interesting tho no? Like that way, every bad guy is influenced by Sauron or the One Ring, only Saruman joined willingly but he was still influenced by the sheer power of Sauron. This way in the movie we have a guy who's just a dick for the sake of it. It just feels like if we had him be influenced by Sauron too, it would have just felt like when Sauron is gone, everything is ok and every man and woman is noble and good and they were only bad and did bad things because of Sauron.
Guys. I was 17. My older brother was home for Christmas.. he bought me the first 2 movies on dvd. I fired them up one morning. We watched both in 1 shot. At the end of the second he looked over at me and said “ok let’s go see the 3rd”. We went right out to the theater to watch it. That’s a day I’ll never forget.
Small fun fact. Peter Jackson really wanted Saruman to fall on that wheel spike because he low-key wanted to be the last director to impale Christopher Lee ( a man who was famous for playing Dracula, 9 times ) and he really didn't want to tip Lee off so he made sure when setting him up for the closer shots they didn't use words like "impale, spike, stake, ect" and they thought they had him but on one take Christopher looks up at Jackson and goes "you know Peter, there's something oddly familiar about this" and gave him a "I know what you did" look
Lee also casually explained what it actually sounds like when someone is stabbed like that, and everyone was reminded that he was a spy for the British government during the Cold War.
I don't quite understand why people tend to give those who reject someone they don't love a hard time. You're not obliged to return another person's feelings. You're not obliged to be in a relationship with them. Éowyn's attraction to Aragorn was entirely one-sided, he's still in love with Arwen. He doesn't have to return her feelings.
Exactly, and I say that as someone who has been the rejected one. Also Aragorn let her down very gently, that's how you do it in my opinion. He's such a kind man.
When Return of the King first came out in theaters, they put together a special "Full Trilogy" showing in select theaters around the country. It was a full-day lineup with the extended edition of Fellowship starting in the afternoon, followed by the extended edition of Two Towers in the late evening, followed by the premier of (theatrical cut) Return of the King at midnight. They only sold 1/2 the seats in the theaters to allow people to spread out and get comfortable, and served pizza and hot dogs between films (this was before most theaters sold anything more than popcorn or nachos). About half the people came dressed as hobbits or elves or wizards (again, before cosplay was a big thing) and it was a real festival atmosphere. The closest theater to me where I was able to get a ticket was about 60 miles away, but I bought one anyway (my wife declined to attend) and took two vacation days to enjoy it, one day for the event and one to sleep in (I didn't get home until nearly 6am). Of course I went to a matinee the next day to see it again....
Similarly, in Australia the films were released late on 26 December (Boxing Day), which is a national holiday. For the release of the Two Towers in 2002, they showed the first two films, finishing at dawn on Friday the 27th. I was working that day so was very tired by the end! 2003 they showed all three as David experienced, but started somewhat earlier, finishing late in the evening.
Wizard is the term which causes a bit of confusion in LotR. These are not old men who learn spells and collect mistletoe. They are angelic spirits who took a frail, unthreatening human form to go to Middle Earth and look for Sauron. Tolkien used wizard in it's original meaning. Wise- ard. One who is wise and learned. The Elves call them the Istari. Wise Ones. I hope this is useful.
This also relates back to the Two Towers scene where Gandalf says “I am Saruman… or rather Saruman as he should have been.” Gandalf was sent back as the new White Wizard because Saruman had fallen from grace into evil.
@@BaddMedicine Also, remember the Balrog, the big flaming guy Galdulf fought, also an angel. He just came to Middlearth thousands of years earlier to serve Sauron's old master and became a being of shadow and flame. There used to be a lot of them.
@@BaddMedicine Furthermore, they were forbidden by the Valar (gods) from "dominating the peoples of Middle Earth" (they were not to become kings or rulers of any kind) and they were also forbidden from "matching Sauron power for power". If they broke either of those rules their powers would begin to fade, as would their memory of Valinor (heaven).
@@BaddMedicine Oh & I should say, this confusion (like so many other things) can mainly be blamed on JK Rowling. See her Wizards aren't actually Wizards, they're Sorcerers. Traditionally a Wizard gains magical ability through knowledge & learning, while a Sorcerer is born with magical ability. Granted, Rowling's Wizards do have to study in order to gain more abilities but the power is in them from birth.
Fun fact: Andy Serkis had trouble finding a voice for Gollum different from his voice for Smeagol. Then his pet cat walked into the room and coughed up a hairball and he realized that was the sound he wanted. So Gollum's voice is based on the sound of a cat throwing up.
There's a famous story you can find about how Peter Jackson the director tried to direct Christopher Lee, who plays Sauruman, what sort of noises to make when he gets stabbed in the back. Lee told Jackson that he would not make those noises because he knows what sorts of sounds a man stabbed in the back makes, and those aren't it. Lee was a spy during WWII BTW. And he was a huge Tolien fan who reread the trilogy every year since it's publication.
@@BaddMedicine yeaa!! He said “Have you ever heard the sound a man makes when he’s stabbed in the back ?? Because I have…your lungs deflate! So rather than some horrid scream, it’s more like a gust of breath leaving the body”
It's important to note that Smeagol began his possession of the ring with murder. From that moment, it had him and would never have let go. Whereas when Bilbo got it, the first thing he did was show mercy and not kill Gollum, who was blocking his escape from Goblintown. Thus, it was able to affect Bilbo much less. Frodo started carrying it in fear and doubt, and so it wedged its way into his mind withg that. And you could see in his hesitation to give the ring back to Frodo, that even though Sam only had it for a couple of hours, it was already affecting him in a big way. The book is more explicit about that, and Sam makes a conscious choice to reject the power and respect the ring offers him.
yes - and it's cool to think about older generations finding different ways to communicate across broad stretches of territory - pre-telegram, newspaper and covered wagon mail delivery.
I have never seen someone with so much exposure to lord of the rings memes watch the films for the first time. Let me tell you it is a treat. I was cracking up with you every time a meme moment came up.
Sam’s biggest mistake was in calling Gollum the villain. He was right that Gollum was plotting to murder them, but Frodo always sympathized with what the ring did to him. By Sam calling Gollum evil, Frodo probably felt that Sam was calling what he was becoming evil too.
That's the thing about being a relentless optimist. He sees the good and the bad, not the gray. Frodo is still good, but Smeagol has done things he can't undo, and Sam can just feel it. But he does pity him at the right moment. Right outside Mt. Doom. Could of killed him before going in, but he didn't!
Frodo has to believe that Gollum can come back from this, otherwise, there's no hope for him, either. Sam just sees Frodo as "good" and Gollum as "bad", no matter what.
@@jacobwalker5128 Pacing mostly. The books are split with one group's POV after the other, but in the movie they have to jump back and forth. They have to get the emotional beats to match up to some extent.
The light coming from Gandalfs staff to scare the Nazghul away when Faramir and his men were fleeing from Osgiliath wasnt just any light, but the light of the Valar (and indirectly the Light of Eru Iluvatar, the sole real God in Tolkiens Universe, Himself) the angelic, immensely powerful divine spirits who have been granted the guardianship and rulership of Arda. Gandalf is also a divine, angel-like spirit himself, who serves the Valar. Being creatures of darkness, the Nazgul naturally fled that Light.
The ring gave Sméagol extended life as well. That was a quick look at Sméagol having the ring for a few hundred years. We can assume the same would’ve happened to Bilbo if he’d kept the ring, as shown by his lunging for the ring when he saw it around Frodo’s neck.
It's part of the general power of the Rings, the extension of mortal's life is stretched; almost indefinitely " “A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness.” It's an effect of the feature the Rings were meant to serve originally: "The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. 'change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance - this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor - thus approaching 'magic', a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron ('the Necromancer': so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of The Hobbit): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible." ... "Now these were the Three that had last been made, and they possessed the greatest powers. Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, they were named, the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire; and of all the Elven-rings Sauron most desired to possess them, for those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world."
14:21 I've just realised something: The Stewards of Gondor would always say that they rule "until the return of the king", since the last king of Gondor (who was an idiot) went off to fight the Witch King of Angmar and died without leaving an heir, he wasn't even married. They just assumed, after a while, that the king would never return, and it became an empty phrase. Gandalf just threw all of this into Denethor's face.
At age 16, I paid my own money to see this movie in the theater THREE times…after my parents had already paid for the whole family to see it. Absolutely. Epic.
OK, Mr. Answer, you are correct at 20:42 when you suggested that perhaps Denethor was under some kind of spell. They never go into it in the movies but in the books, Denethor has a Palantir also, (The seeing stone that Saruman had and Pippen looked into.) Sauron has been twisting Denethor's mind for a long time, leading him to believe there is no hope at all. This is the reason Denethor is half crazy and also why he wants the ring. I wish they mentioned this in the movie. It would make things make more sense.
Denethor wasn't nearly as crazy or hateful in the book, either. He was quite capable in defending the city; he gladly lit the beacons to call for aid from Rohan, he evacuated all the women and children to safer parts of Gondor, he gathered all the soldiers from surrounding fiefdoms into Minas Tirith, and he even wore a full mail suit at all times to be prepared for combat if it came to that. He also wasn't nearly as terrible to Faramir; yes, he favored Boromir but didn't actively hate Faramir. Jackson did the entire House of Ecthelion a disservice; Denethor, Boromir, and Faramir are all portrayed as being much weaker characters in the movies than they are in the books. Denethor as above. Faramir *never* considered taking the Ring, and immediately aided Frodo and Sam with fresh supplies and equipment. And Boromir never questioned Aragorn's place as the proper King of Gondor from the moment he met him (Gandalf did suspect that he may have become adversarial if and when Aragorn got to Minas Tirith and staked his claim as King, since Boromir was to become the Steward after Denethor, but that never came to pass).
@@georgechapman9688 OP said that it was Denethor's *mind* that was twisted by Sauron, not the facts. The past two years have definitely proven that selectively revealing only certain truths to people will twist their minds into knots; I'm sure a demon like Sauron knew this and used the same technique to his advantage.
I believe he also said that it was quite appropriate, as in both cases, he was killed by a "Peter". In Dracula, it was by Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, while here, it was Peter Jackson.
@@winedarkemperor it's actually well know that Lee hated the fact his death was cut from the theatrical release and boycotted the screening he didn't go to the RoTK
@@Crazy-pl1lo yeah, I would rather they kept that in and had cut something else like the stupid attempt to make the witch king look more powerful than Gandalf
The fact Peter Cushing being on par with Sir Christopher Lee in terms of being a badass is nothing to scoff at. Think about it. Grand Moff Tarkin was one of the few to basically order Darth Vader around.
Everyone has their preferences, but to me this is easily one of the greatest movies of all time. Jackson truly outdid himself. The behind the scenes stuff is legendary too.
Ok so, in the books the gap between Bilbo giving up the ring & Frodo leaving the Shire is quite a bit longer than in the films. Don't quote me on this but I think it's about 11-12 years. So in the books, Gandalf spent that entire period trying to track down Golum, Aragorn & the other Rangers aided him in this. They found Golum & the Rangers put a tail on him while Gandalf went off to try & learn more about this creature Golum who had somehow possessed the ring for 500 years without turning it over to Sauron. So Gandalf did some digging, came up with the name of Smeagol, tracked down Smeagol's family history & learned that even before he murdered Deagol & took the ring, Smeagol was a covetous little thief. The ring smelled that on him immediately & caused him to murder Deagol but the will to do it was always in him from the start. This is pretty important, it allows Gandalf to judge the effects of the ring on people & come to the conclusion that it could be left in the care of someone like Frodo or Bilbo for much longer than it could be left in the care of anyone else.
@@giannag4581 indeed but I was already in danger of writing a small essay & the point I wanted to get to was Smeagol's history :D The extra clarity is much appreciated though.
The gap was 17 years. Frodo just turned 33 when Gandalf visited him and Bilbo. When the wizard returns to The Shire after finding out Bilbo's ring was indeed Sauron's ring, Frodo turned 50 years old. If I remember correctly book knowledge, 33 is the age someone becomes an adult in hobbit lands.
Cool fact: the line, “I give Hope to men, and keep none for myself…” was Aragorn’s mothers last words before she past away. And if I’m not mistaken the Elvish word for ‘hope’ was another name of Aragorn’s given to him by his mother, which is why the ‘h’ is capitalized in the book. I can’t remember the word however…🤷♂️
How can you not love the meme bro, just hearing him laugh makes me happy! Love your reaction and I'm looking forward to the second part! Lots of love from Europe!
30:38 THAT look on Aragorn's face mortified me when I first watched this film! I could feel his hopelessness through the screen & then BAM, an alliance with the undead! The whole movie is one big emotional rollercoaster 😂🍿🎬
One of the leading theories about why Hobbits (except for Sméagol) are so resistant to the ring’s influence… is that the ring preys on your ambitions. Hobbits of the shire are not very ambitious. They don’t desire power over others. Or greatness, or glory. So the ring has less to work with.
5:05 There is good reason, why Treebeard sees Gandalf as "Young Master" here. While Gandalf is older than Treebeard as Olórin(his Maia name), only very few(Elrond, Galadriel and Cirdan) knew that Istari were actually Maiar. So from Treebeard's perspective, Istari(who arrived on Middle-Earth during the Third Age) were much younger than Treebeard, who was born in Middle-Earth during its very beginning and is basically one of the oldest beings in Middle-Earth... ...Along with Tom Bombadil, of course.
Fun fact: Andy Serkis actually looks exactly like Gollum and when you see him as Sméagol in the flashback it’s all CGI. They didn’t want people to know so they have done it in all his subsequent movies too.
Oh, now it begins;) I don’t think it’s fair to say Sméagol was always bad. He wasn’t. Deagol, whom he killed for the ring, was his cousin and one of his dearest friends. I’d say Sméagol had a very susceptible personality though to the lure of the ring. I think people don’t give Pippin enough credit for not telling Sauron anything. That struggle we see with him writhing under the Palantir, that was will. The lighting of the beacons is one of my favorite pieces of this movie. The music, the shots…just brilliant. Love me Eowyn. Her Uncle says to stay behind to rule Edoras if he and her brother fall. Her brother says war is the dominion of men. She says, screw it, I’m going to fight for those I love anyway.
The scene of the beacon and the witch king coming out of Minas Morgul in the theaters was spectacular. It was so loud and ear-piercing, it definitely inspired the fear it was supposed to. And that's the thing about the Ringwraiths, those shrieking cries caused any who heard it to be consumed by the worst fear of their lives. So that scene in the theater was absolutely incredible. I'd also like to say that, in the books and the lore, there's a lot more to the stories of these "bad men" like Denethor, where like, they became what they were out of despair and grief and desperation, but initially for a long time were generally good rulers.
The movie isn't actually four and a half hours because the credits are almost 30 minutes long You really should watch them! The song Into the West got a well deserved Oscar and the artwork is essentially a gift to the audience and cast.
I agree, and it still bothers me that a silly forgettable song from Monsters Inc, was awarded an Oscar because the composer was old and was owed a statuette. The academy decided to wait until the last LOTR film to give any oscars to this masterpiece for the same reason. @@JohnnyZenith
When Saruman gets stabbed in the back, Peter Jackson (Director) instructs Christopher Lee ( the actor who played Saruman) that he should explode out his breath as the "knife" goes in. Christopher Lee says "Peter my dear boy, when a person is stabbed in the back they suck in their breath; they do not blow it out. Christopher Lee during WWII was attached to a few different secret services (SAS amongst them). Peter Jackson didn't argue the fact.
About Arwen's dying - as half-elves got their right to chose in which race they want to live, to chose between mortals and elves (elrond choses elves but his twin brother elros choses mortals and was first king of Numenor - and the ancestor of Isildur and Aragorn) both half-elves and full elves got "advanced" control over their bodies (thats why elven archers and warriors are unstopable but they can be killed, and Legolas is walking on deep snow with light shoes) even to the point of chosing to die of grief. When their life gets too tragic and complicated the elves can die of grief and their body obliges their wish. Thats why Arwen can die as elf.
LotR has what is called a soft magic system. The rules are not clearly defined, and this keeps the reader from being bogged down with the logic of how or why magic works. It just does. It also has the added quality of keeping the magic mysterious and unpredictable.
I think there is also a level of the power of Gandalf & other wizards and Elves being otherworldly & holy, so they are not necessarily meant to go full power or influence the realms of men - they have to be the ones to truly win the battle & figure things out for themselves while Gandalf for instance just helps them get there.
The opening sequence was originally placed in the middle movie, The Two Towers, right after Frodo calls Gollum by his real name, Smeagol. There's even a vestige of the placing there where Gollum responds, "Smeagol. Yes, that was my name" matched by the last line of the intro scene, "You even forgot your name."
Unless you are a true Tolkien fan and have read all his published works, you truly cannot begin to imagine the scope of Peter Jackson's brilliance! I have read and re-read Tolkien's works from the Silmarillion, the Hobbit, the Rings trilogy, The Unfinished Tales of Middle Earth and his Poems and Songs of Middle Earth, many many times over. I found it amazing that anyone could bring these tales together and put them into an actual film format as this, in my mind would have been impossible.
The thing with letting some orcs in is that you effectively separate that force from the rest of them. Then you can use your local numerical advantage to quickly kill them off, even though perhaps you have a less numerical force in total. If you wish to inflict maximal casualties it's a good strategy, if you just want to hold as long as possible it's arguably bad. Of course, the defenders have no idea how large the assaulting force is, they might be going for a quick kill off.
It's important to note that the wizards, esp Gandalf, do not really use their full potentional in the battles because they are forbidden by the higher gods. They can only guide them against Evil.
I’ve heard about this. It’s why Gandalf was only able to really use supernatural power in combat against higher beings of evil such as the Nazgul, whom they were sent to explicitly oppose, or on fellow wizards who are their equal. But even as angelic spirits they otherwise have free will so the choice to fight on either side of the battle is on them, but against less powerful and not inherently evil beings like humans, Gandalf and Saruman fight like any other man without the aid of their powers.
While nice to know, the clear reason is he is in love work someone else so it doesn't matter what age they used on screen in order to make the character more believable and further the story.
I saw every single one of these films in the theater opening night. It was amazing and worth waiting in lines. I still watch these movies every year, they are that great.
I saw them all at the cinema at the time too and remember being in such anticipation after the year long wait between them!! So great to watch on the big screen too, stunning scenery and those battle scenes were epic
"Northern Courage" was the phrase Tolkien used to describe the virtues of the heroic figures in the Anglo-Saxon and Norse poems and sagas he read and studied. It is, put simply, "unflinching courage, steadfast resolve and sheer determination of will despite whatever odds." And in the Christian perspective, which Tolkien very much was, "northern courage" was also doing what is right, even if you die doing it, because what is right must be done. That's the difference between Faramir leaving to retake Osgiliath (a scene that never fails to make me cry) and Theoden's charge at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. When Faramir is going to retake Osgiliath on a mission given by his father for no reason, EVERYONE knows the men sent out there will die. Probably, most definitely, for nothing. But duty is duty. Faramir gives the mission more of a purpose than it had. ("This is the city of the Men of Númenor. I will gladly give my life to defend her beauty, her memory, her wisdom.") His men accept the flowers and looks of the mournful crowd. But none of them think of turning back, or refusing. In that scene the honor, beauty, and dangers of "northern courage" are on full display. To Tolkien and most Christians, pagan societies had virtues to be recognized, and flaws to those virtues. With Theoden however, things are different. His moment showed the exemplary (and Christian) framing of "northern courage" and that it is glorious even in death. As a Christian, there is nothing better than giving your life for what is right. SOLDIER: "What’s happening, where is he going? I don’t understand. Lord Aragorn! Why does he leave on the eve of battle?" GAMLING: "He leaves because there is no hope." THEODEN: "He leaves because he must." GAMLING: "Too few have come. *We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor."* **Theoden shakes his head.** THEODEN: *"No, we cannot. But we will meet them in battle nonetheless..."*
Most people believe that Aragorn friendzoned Eowyn, since his true love is Arwen. I personally believe the real reason is Aragorn knew Eowyn is a terrible cook, when she nearly gave him food poisoning with that stew.
@@scalefree not exactly - his last words to her - about loving only a shadow - were stright from the book. And Eowyn in the book falls in love with him but he does not fall with her.
Do not besmirch Baeowyn's soup, you know how hard it is to find a proper meal on the road? And she never had a real chef mentor, she spent all of her time looking after her uncle who's 60 going on 6000, her closest relative is her brother who eats meat off of his knife. That soup was a fuckin Gordon Ramsey compared to what most people in her situation could do.
I saw this film twice the day it came out in the theatre. So damn good but Fellowship will always be my favorite part of both the movies and the books.
I got to see all three for their mid-night premiers. The third (ROTK) premiered in my home theater along with a reshowing of Fellowship and Two Towers consecutively. I'm lucky to have been there to be a part of it all. Glad you guys are loving these movies as much as the millions of us who saw it 20+ years ago.
That walk through the ghost cave and everything that happens directly afterward are ten times creepier and weirder in the books. It's great. They didn't ride to Gondor with Aragorn, though. Their objective was to scare away the naval forces that were going to back up Sauron's army in Gondor, which would have easily led to the armies of Gondor and Rohan getting their asses handed to them.
A cool little detail is that the reason for the skull avalanche in the City of the Dead is that in old legends, the dead may not leave their graves unless the grave is disturbed. Now that all those graves are broken, they are free to march on the orcs.
I think it's 11 years soon since I became a LOTR-head. I was a kid, and around christmas time the trilogy is still on TV in my country to this day. I happened to see the 3rd movie first which made it hard to follow what was happening, but I remember seeing Sam and Frodo in the ashes and being so moved by the score and the acting I was instantly hooked despite the confusion 😄
25:31 As Arwen got weaker the light from the pendant faded.... She was the 'evening star of her people', like the vial that was given to Frodo the light of the star was captured in the pendant.
At 17:42, Oak asked about letting so many Orcs run past before turning into fight. The reason is that some of the troops are behind the pillars closest to the water, while some are hiding behind buildings on the other side of the road. They basically funneled some of the Orcs towards the troops across the road and then attempted to pin the remaining ones between the troops closest to the boats/water. In this way the small numbers closest don't become overwhelmed by numbers charging at them. Allowing them to run through to waiting troops they are theoretically not opening themselves up to fighting in both directions. I know film wise they wanted to focus on Faramir and the other guy that had some lines and a death scene. However, I think they could have stacked the numbers around Faramir a bit, to make it more believable. Two or three holding back that many at each arch/door way isn't going to hold them back long enough for the first group to be dispatched by the others. Entering the arch/door way does not make sense. It would not be much of a funnel, but now the good guys have pinned themselves for no reason. They were not going to fight a battle on both sides if the other group did their part, so the arch/door way behind them becomes a trap instead of a buffer. While the strategy makes sense, the execution was odd, especially when fighting with bow/arrow and sword. It takes a second or two and a healthily stocked quiver to 'reload' your bow as well as space to manuever. Unless you can do what Legolas did on a few occasions and just jam the arrow through the opponent with your hand. It takes room to maneuver a sword. It takes room to swing it or run it through the opponent and speed/room to prevent it from gettting pinned down by a crush of opponents. In another time going in with guns blazing their numbers and set-up may have actually worked.
Man am I so glad that you guys did the extended versions of these movies. There was an event at my theater several years ago that was a day long marathon of all extended versions of LotR on the screen, it was like 12 hours and it was a once in a life time thing. Would recommend at least once.
Other Notes you be interested in learning here part 2 In addition that line that Legolas says to about War marching on Gimili's people is in reference to the attack on the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor and the people of Dale, their allies. As Sauron sends an army made of Easterling men and Orcs to attack the Kingdoms of Dale and of the lonely mountain Erebor and after three days of fierce fighting the Dwarves and their human allies the people of Dale are driven into lonely mountain and besiege, they also lose both their kings the Dwarf King Dain Ironfoot (whom we see in the final hobbit movie) and the King of Dale King Brand (Grandson of King Bard the Bowman who we see in the final to Hobbit movies). Though they they eventually break the siege after word of Sauron's defeat is learned by the evil armies where their moral falls, and the sons of the two fallen Kings, (King Bard the Second of Dale and King Thorin III Stonehelm of Erebor), led a counterattack and breakout against the evil army and drive them out. Also Sauron sends two separate armies to attack the Elves, one attacks the Elves of Mirkwood (Legolas's people) leading to the battle under the tree, which the Elves win and another army is sent to attack the Elves of Lothlórien but are beaten back five times despite being outnumbered thanks largely to Galadriel who's magic ring and her own personal magical abilities are so great that it is stated that Sauron himself would have to appear for Lothlórien to be taken. A third army is also sent to attack eastern Rohan from the North, which is being defended by the Ents, while most of Rohan's fighting strength is fighting at Minas's Tirith. Sauron sends these multiple different armies to these realms to prevent the free people of middle-earth from uniting against him and helping Gondor when he attack Minas'Tirith. And it works for the most part and as the Dwarves and Elves are all too busy fighting to defend their own Kingdoms to help Gondor. But thanks to the Ents defending Northern Rohan, Theoden was able to send gather his forces and ride to Gondor, though is unable to gather his full strength since he had only three days to gather men before having to ride to Gondor Another Key note of interest is that unlike in the movie, in the book Narsil had already been forged into Anduril and given to Aragon before the fellowship left Rivendell. Peter Jackson, however decided it would be better if they left it to the last movie and have Elrond come to Aragon and delivering the sword to him, showing Aragon finally accepting his destiny to become King and make it more epic, (which I think was a good idea). Also in the books, Denethor did call for aid from Rohan and ordered the Beacons to be lit, however in the book the Beacons were not used to call for military aid from Rohan, they were used to call for military aid from the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor. While a messenger carrying a red arrow was sent to Rohan when calling for military aid, which was an ancient symbol for calling for help between Gondor and the Eotheod (The ancestor's of the people of Rohan). However again Peter Jackson decided to use the Beacon for calling the Rohirrim, believing it would be better than the red arrow and leave out the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor entirely, which I think was a pity since it left out a very interesting Gondorian character named Prince Imrahil who a powerful Gondorian lord and a Dunedain like Aragon and had some Elvish lineage as well, he was also Denethor's brother-in-law and Faramir's Uncle and played a key role in the defence of Minas Tirtith and came to Minas Tirith aid when the Beacon's were lit and led an elite group of 700 Knights called the Swan Knights and was in charge of the defence of Minas Tirith in the books after Denethor lost his mind, instead of Gandalf who took charge in the movie. However he was left out since they couldn't fit him in sadly, just like Elrond twin sons, who were also left out of the movie series. It should be of note that Faramir's suicide attack was strictly movie, as it didn't happen in the book and Faramir was wounded when the Gondorian soldiers were retreating for Osgiliath. Also another interesting note on that scene is that nobody knew how good William Boyd (Pippin actor) was at singing, on a whim Peter Jackson had William sing the song at the set to hear how it sounded as they considered having the song in that scene and was going to have someone else sing it, but when they heard William sing, everyone on the set was stunned into silence and they decided to keep that scene with William singing it. On a final note, it should be mentioned is that Aragon Gimili and Legolas did not go to the Dunharrow path (Path of teh Dead) alone, they were actually accompanied the Grey Company. This was a group made up of 31 Dunedain Rangers (Aragon's people) and the twin sons of Elrond. Aragon, Theoden and the others had met the Grey Company after the battle of Helms Deep and on their way to Isengard to face Saruman. They had been sent Lady Galadriel, who had sense Aragon desire for having his fellow Dunedain's help in their mission to defeat Sauron and the one ring and had Elrond summon them and set them to Rohan. They were called the Grey Company due to the Grey cloaks they wore and they were the ones who gave Aragon Elrond's message/advice on taking the Dunharrow road. But again due to limit time restraints of the movie they had to leave all of them out. However this company and event did inspire the scene where Lady Galadrield speaks to Elrond and then send Haldir and his company of Elves to help in the defence of Helms Deep.
I know im late but i hope yall still see this, So the reason Faramir and his men let the orcs run past him was because how they were waiting in ambush behind the pillars there were more pillars with more men hiding behind them its just not shown well in the movies. So when he jumps out to surprise attack them the rest of his men would of jumped out to do the same to all the orcs who'd already run past effectively surprise attacking many more of the orcs rather than just the first couple.
I don't know if Mason ends up explaining this after part 2, but something that still boggles my mind is this - Saruman's death scene is ONLY in the extended version. In the theatrical it gets mentioned that Saruman has to stay in his tower under the supervision of Treebeerd and that his power has faded... They cut it for "pacing" and it took a while for Christopher Lee to forgive PJ for the indiscretion. He does die in the book in a similar fashion but in a section that wasn't included in the movies - the "bad" part of the vision in the Shire that Frodo has in the reflection that galadriel shows him in Fellowship... So cutting his death just doesn't really have an upside in my opinion. That's the main reason that I prefer the extended version of this movie in particular
I really do love watching people first reactions of these films I can’t wait for you to watch the second half. I get that the movies don’t show everything that’s in the books but I think Peter Jackson and co did an amazing job telling a story. I don’t think i could pick a favourite movie or scene. Although the ENDINGS are pretty epic 😉
The first one I saw in theaters. I was 9 and my brother spent the whole ride there scaring me by talking about Shelob and how she was gonna try and eat Frodo and Sam. I had only read The Hobbit back then and my brother had read the other books. But boy, what an experience it still was! Still remember the chills I got even as a child, it was magical
So the bit about Saruman dying early in this movie. In the books he actually lives and escapes the tower of Orthanc and ends up going to the Shire where he rules for a brief time as a tyrant until Frodo, Sam, Mary, and Pippin show up and raise a militia to chase him out (and then Grima kills him). It's a cool part of the book, which has a lot of significance in that it shows the shire folk who have always been passive standing up for themselves. But it would have been just too much to have in the movie and would have made the pacing really weird.
people already complain about "too many endings" which is nonsense; the text is the text & should be conserved. Scouring of the Shire is one of my favorite chapters in the trilogy.
I know I'm late on dropping a comment but I wanted to add a cool little tidbit about Christopher Lee (Saruman). Peter Jackson was talking to him about his upcoming death by Grima and how he was going to be stabbed in the back. Peter Jackson told Christopher Lee that he needed to scream in pain as a result. Mr Lee said no, that based on his experience in the British military in WW2, men don't scream when stabbed there. That's why Saruman only gasped, as if the air from his lungs were taken from him 😳
The opening scene with Sméagol is more important than people think. Sméagol and Deagol are extremely similar to Merri and Pippin. They are cousin/best friends, come from affluent families in leadership in their communities. They are well off, a little spoiled, mischievous and puller of pranks on others. The Ring was in the Anduin for 2500 years, so it was very potent and played on that spoiled, mischievous side of Sméagol, coupled with his desire for a birthday present. The Ring turned him quickly, but the bigger question to ask is what would have happened if the Ring had come to Merri or Pippin rather than Frodo. Another great reaction. ❤🇨🇦👍🏼
Christopher Lee lived such an incredible life, including being in the military & basically a super spy. When they filmed the scene where his character was stabbed in the back, Peter Jackson was directing how he wanted it to look and sound.... but Lee had to tell Peter his idea of a stabbing is NOT what it's sounds like because Lee KNEW what someone being stabbed like really sounded like.
When Saruman was stabbed in the back Peter Jackson gave Christopher Lee explicit instructions how to act. Christopher Lee took him aside and explained how a man really dies when his lungs are punctured, as an ex SAS man he had seen and done it , Peter Jackson allowed him to play it in his own way and so it was frighteningly realistic.
I saw this movie twice on opening day (this is where I also sheepishly admit I saw Fellowship in the theater... 17 times. Yes, 17). It was my senior year of college, and my brother was in law school at the same college I went to, and we had tickets to go see it after he finished up his finals (it was the day before we were going to be driving home for Christmas break). I got so impatient and was so hyped that I said screw it, and went and saw it first thing in the morning, the first showing of the day, and then went again that afternoon with my brother. No regrets, absolutely worth giving this movie 6+ hours of my life on opening day.
2:10 - I watched this in the theatre on Valentine's day in 2004. None of my friends wanted to join me and the theatre was empty but they luckily projected the movie even though it was only me. It was awesome. I decided to wait for the third to come out and watch only that in the theatre so that I didn't have to wait in between movies.
Just so you know guys, sometimes theaters will have special screenings of these movies, usually in a row, it's amazing experience seeing those on a big screen. With writers strike still going strong, I would expect the possibility of those screenings to increase, you just have to keep an eye out for them. I would add Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other series that are big in pop culture to usually have those about once a year or two.
If I remember correctly the Wizards are lesser angels given human form and sent from the undying lands across the sea. Each of the five wizards were only allowed a small measure of their power while on Middle Earth. The highest tier angels, The Valar, ordered the five wizards to guide and give council but not to win wars with their powers.
Fun fact: Smeagol used to be what is known as a Stoor Hobbit. There were different variations within the race. I guess a real-world comparison would be like comparing English people from London to English people from Yorkshire.
Some notes here that you be interested in learning here First off a lot of what happened to Saruman's here is what happened in the book, he tried to get Gandalf and Theoden to come to his side but failed and Gandalf broke his staff, causing Saurman to lose most of his magic, and played no further part in the war of the ring after that as he stayed in Isengard unwilling to repenting for his deeds, It unknown exactly why whether he had hope he could escape, whether he was too proud to surrender to Gandalf, whether he thought the Valar (Good Gods of Middle-earth) would pardon him, Saruman refused to leave the confines of his fortress. However in the book Grima angrily throws the Palantir at Gandalf in a vain attempt to hit the wizard, much to Saruman's anger, as Grima was unaware of the Palantir's value, until it was too late, which is how Gandalf got the Palantir in the book. This is where the film and books differ further, and probably why the film killed Saruman here and so early in the movie, since Saruman plays no further role in the war of the ring. However his death here in the movie is based on his death in the books. While the Hobbits were away, Saruman hired a large group of local thuggish men to take over the Shire and start plundering the resources and enslaving the Hobbits, which is later called the Scouring of the Shire. This was Tolkien way of showing how even peaceful far of places like the Shire were not safe from the influence and horror's of Sauron and his allies during the war of the ring, Although this didn't happen in the movie, since is remained safe in the movie, we do see a glimpse of the Scouring of the Shire and what could happen should Frodo fail in his mission when Frodo looks into The Mirror of Galadriel in the first movie. Upon the end of the war of the ring Frodo and friends return to Shire to see it in a horrid state, they soon they raise a rebellion, where the Hobbits of the Shire later ambush the Tugs killing almost half of them and capturing a few others before chasing off the rest. Afterwards the Hobbits go to confront the leader of the Thugs called Sharkey who is living the Bag end House, where Saruman reveals himself to the Hobbits as the leader of the Thugs and mocks the Hobbits as he has taken his revenge on Frodo and his friends by destroying their once beautiful home. He even threatens the Hobbits when many move to kills him, stating that any who kill him will be cursed to die shortly after. Frodo however doesn't believe him stating that he lost all his powers and only has the power of his magic voice to scare people. He then orders Saurman banished from the Shire never to return and even offers Grima a place to stay and food, since he had done no crime to Frodo or the Hobbits. This is where Saruman's movie death is based on, as after this show of kindness Saruman again insults and abuses Grima revealing his crimes to the Hobbits, this pushes Grima too far, where he attacks Saruman, though instead of stabbing him in the back like in the movie Grima slits Saruman's throat from behind with a knife, after this he tries to run away, But he is then shot by several arrows by the Hobbit bowmen fulfilling the curse the Saruman claimed would happen to the person that killed him. Afterwards, Saruman's body turns into a ruin husk, being a Maia (Tolkien's version of angel), he could not truly die. His spirit however was separated from his body much like his master Sauron's after the Downfall of Númenor, however his spirits is stripped of all it's power and is left as no more that a black wisp of smoke. When his spirit tries to return to the west to realm of the Valar (Good Gods of Middle-earth), a strong wind from the west (probably sent by the Valar) blows him to the east and he is now barred from ever returning to the realms of the Valar due to his betrayal. With his spirit now left naked, powerless, and wandering in Middle-earth, not unlike Sauron after the One Ring was destroyed. For a image of this, another good example of this and what he would look like would be how Voldermort looked or was left when he tried to kill baby Harry or after Harry defeated him in the first book/movie. In regards to Gandalf having powers to see far off, he doesn't exactly have that power, however he does have the power to see glimpses into possible future events, though it is limited and what he see is not for certain, it only a possibility. This power is hinted when he says the famous line " A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to" in the first movie/book. We see this power in the 2nd movie when he tells Aragon in The Two Towers "He (Theoden) will need you before the end and says.......Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east" it is also again shown when Aragon offers to go to Minas Tirith but Gandalf says no and whisper's "You must come to Minas Tirith by another road. Follow the river, look to the black ships" and of course what he said to Faramir "Your father loves your Faramir....He will remember it before the end" Another Key note of interest is that unlike in the movie, in the book Narsil had already been forged into Anduril and given to Aragon before the fellowship left Rivendell. Peter Jackson, however decided it would be better if they left it to the last movie and have Elrond come to Aragon and delivering the sword to him, showing Aragon finally accepting his destiny to become King and make it more epic, (which I think was a good idea). Also in the books, Denethor did call for aid from Rohan and ordered the Beacons to be lit, however in the book the Bbeacons were not used to call for military aid from Rohan, they were used to call for military aid from the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor. While a messenger carrying a red arrow was sent to Rohan when calling for military aid, which was ancient symbol for calling for help between Gondor and the Eotheod (The ancestor's of the people of Rohan). However again Peter Jackson decided to use the Beacon for calling the Rohirrim, believing it would be better than the red arrow and leave out the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor entirely, which I think was a pity since it left out a very interesting Gondorian character named Prince Imrahil who a powerful Gondorian lord and a Dunedain like Aragon and had some Elvish lineage as well, he was also Denethor's brother-in-law and Faramir's Uncle and played a key role in the defence of Minas Tirtith and came to Minas Tirith aid when the Beacon's were lit and led an elite group of Knights called the Swan Knights and was in charge of the defence of Minas Tirith in the books after Denethor lost his mind instead of Gandalf who took charge in the movie. However he was left out since the couldn't fit him in sadly, just like Elrond twin sons, who were also left out of the movie series. It should be note that Faramir's suicide attack was strictly movie, as it didn't happen in the book and Faramir was wounded when the Gondorian soldiers were retreating for Osgiliath. Also another interesting note on that scene is that nobody knew how good William Boyd (Pippin actor) was at singing, on a whim Peter Jackson had William sing the song at the set to hear how it sounded as they considered having the song in that scene and was going to have someone else sing it, but when they heard William sing, everyone on the set was stun into silence and they decided to keep that scene with William singing it. On a final note, it should be mentioned is that Aragon Gimili and Legolas did not go to the Dunharrow path (Path of teh Dead) alone, they were actually accompanied the Grey Company. This was a group made up of 31 Dunedain Rangers (Aragon's people) and the twin sons of Elrond. Whom Aragon, Theoden and the others had met after the battle of Helms Deep and on their way to Isengard to face Saruman. They had been sent Lady Galadriel, who had sense Aragon desire for having his fellow Dunedain's help in their mission to defeat Sauron and the one ring and had Elrond summon them and set them to Rohan. They were called the Grey Company due to the Grey cloaks they wore and they were the ones who gave Aragon Elrond's message/advice on taking the Dunharrow road. But again due to limit time restraints of teh movie they had to leave all of them out.
I know youll never see this but the movies don't describe the character of Denethor much love as much as the books do he had been commanding armies and leading the defense of Gondor for over 50 years and then discovers the ring, Boromir's death and the loss of Osgilith all while hes constantly being shown the massive might of Mordor and eventually just breaks under the pressure
in reference to the sensing and feeling of the other rings : actually; gandalf , galadria and lord elrond also have rings of power too(gandalf has the ring of hope and good will) . they can sense each other . some ! when lady galadria is talking to elrond , that is the same thing with more potent power from the users ! the ring is so close to mordor it shades that sense from gandalf . another set in on the wraiths , which is why frodo can't put it on .
When they were about to enter the mountain and Gimli got scared but Legolas and Aragorn enter. Gimli:This is something unheard of an elf will go underground but a dwarf will dare not! I'll never hear the end of it! I adore such scenes with them.
In the theatrical version, Aragon summons the ghosts to fulfill their oaths, then escapes the skull-valanche and despairs a bit when he sees the boats. We don't see him or the ghosts answer until they jump off the boats at the last battle! We don't even know if they could even make it there before it's over because they're 3 days ride away and their horses got spooked off before the caves!
Hey Folks, Currently, you will experience a sync issue if you watch this in Google Chrome. Safari, Phones, Ipad, Apple TV will play it normal.
Here we go folks, the epic battle! What were some of your favorite moments? Did it meet your expectations?
Full Reaction on Patreon: www.patreon.com/baddmedicine
It did;
Favorite scenes are Shelob, Ride of the Rohirrim, and the first scene with Deagol and Smeagol...
Peter Jackson did a huge disservice to Denethor by not showing a quick 5 minute scene of Denethor wrestling with Sauron through the seeing stone and driving him mad with despair. Movie Denethor just seems like a dick with no redeeming qualities but he was a noble man in the book.
@@cpmf2112 true. So very true...
Yes, it met my expectations even with some notable changes from the book. And the extended version trumps the theatrical version a ton.
@@cpmf2112 I mean, it kinda make it more interesting tho no? Like that way, every bad guy is influenced by Sauron or the One Ring, only Saruman joined willingly but he was still influenced by the sheer power of Sauron. This way in the movie we have a guy who's just a dick for the sake of it. It just feels like if we had him be influenced by Sauron too, it would have just felt like when Sauron is gone, everything is ok and every man and woman is noble and good and they were only bad and did bad things because of Sauron.
Guys. I was 17. My older brother was home for Christmas.. he bought me the first 2 movies on dvd. I fired them up one morning. We watched both in 1 shot. At the end of the second he looked over at me and said “ok let’s go see the 3rd”. We went right out to the theater to watch it. That’s a day I’ll never forget.
What morning? Be specific mate.
That is a fine day.
Sounds incredible.
wow.. nice
That's a good brother
Small fun fact. Peter Jackson really wanted Saruman to fall on that wheel spike because he low-key wanted to be the last director to impale Christopher Lee ( a man who was famous for playing Dracula, 9 times ) and he really didn't want to tip Lee off so he made sure when setting him up for the closer shots they didn't use words like "impale, spike, stake, ect" and they thought they had him but on one take Christopher looks up at Jackson and goes "you know Peter, there's something oddly familiar about this" and gave him a "I know what you did" look
That's awsome 😂
Lee also casually explained what it actually sounds like when someone is stabbed like that, and everyone was reminded that he was a spy for the British government during the Cold War.
and the inspiration for 007
I don't quite understand why people tend to give those who reject someone they don't love a hard time. You're not obliged to return another person's feelings. You're not obliged to be in a relationship with them. Éowyn's attraction to Aragorn was entirely one-sided, he's still in love with Arwen. He doesn't have to return her feelings.
Exactly, and I say that as someone who has been the rejected one. Also Aragorn let her down very gently, that's how you do it in my opinion. He's such a kind man.
At the end, she found true love with Faramir
he'll always be a rebound @@Eowynd
When Return of the King first came out in theaters, they put together a special "Full Trilogy" showing in select theaters around the country. It was a full-day lineup with the extended edition of Fellowship starting in the afternoon, followed by the extended edition of Two Towers in the late evening, followed by the premier of (theatrical cut) Return of the King at midnight. They only sold 1/2 the seats in the theaters to allow people to spread out and get comfortable, and served pizza and hot dogs between films (this was before most theaters sold anything more than popcorn or nachos). About half the people came dressed as hobbits or elves or wizards (again, before cosplay was a big thing) and it was a real festival atmosphere. The closest theater to me where I was able to get a ticket was about 60 miles away, but I bought one anyway (my wife declined to attend) and took two vacation days to enjoy it, one day for the event and one to sleep in (I didn't get home until nearly 6am). Of course I went to a matinee the next day to see it again....
Pretty cool to hear about this back in the day.
That's so awesome! Wish I could have experienced that.
Similarly, in Australia the films were released late on 26 December (Boxing Day), which is a national holiday. For the release of the Two Towers in 2002, they showed the first two films, finishing at dawn on Friday the 27th. I was working that day so was very tired by the end! 2003 they showed all three as David experienced, but started somewhat earlier, finishing late in the evening.
I wish I had a time machine and do that. I was only 10 at the time and wasn't allowed to watch them lol.
Wizard is the term which causes a bit of confusion in LotR. These are not old men who learn spells and collect mistletoe. They are angelic spirits who took a frail, unthreatening human form to go to Middle Earth and look for Sauron. Tolkien used wizard in it's original meaning. Wise- ard. One who is wise and learned. The Elves call them the Istari. Wise Ones.
I hope this is useful.
We appreciate these kind of drops!
This also relates back to the Two Towers scene where Gandalf says “I am Saruman… or rather Saruman as he should have been.” Gandalf was sent back as the new White Wizard because Saruman had fallen from grace into evil.
@@BaddMedicine Also, remember the Balrog, the big flaming guy Galdulf fought, also an angel. He just came to Middlearth thousands of years earlier to serve Sauron's old master and became a being of shadow and flame. There used to be a lot of them.
@@BaddMedicine Furthermore, they were forbidden by the Valar (gods) from "dominating the peoples of Middle Earth" (they were not to become kings or rulers of any kind) and they were also forbidden from "matching Sauron power for power". If they broke either of those rules their powers would begin to fade, as would their memory of Valinor (heaven).
@@BaddMedicine Oh & I should say, this confusion (like so many other things) can mainly be blamed on JK Rowling. See her Wizards aren't actually Wizards, they're Sorcerers. Traditionally a Wizard gains magical ability through knowledge & learning, while a Sorcerer is born with magical ability. Granted, Rowling's Wizards do have to study in order to gain more abilities but the power is in them from birth.
Fun fact: Andy Serkis had trouble finding a voice for Gollum different from his voice for Smeagol. Then his pet cat walked into the room and coughed up a hairball and he realized that was the sound he wanted. So Gollum's voice is based on the sound of a cat throwing up.
There's a famous story you can find about how Peter Jackson the director tried to direct Christopher Lee, who plays Sauruman, what sort of noises to make when he gets stabbed in the back. Lee told Jackson that he would not make those noises because he knows what sorts of sounds a man stabbed in the back makes, and those aren't it. Lee was a spy during WWII BTW. And he was a huge Tolien fan who reread the trilogy every year since it's publication.
Christopher Lee, thespian, gentleman, and badass mofo.
Oh dang!
Also only member of the cast to meet Tolkien
Yea… old man was a bad ass
@@BaddMedicine yeaa!! He said “Have you ever heard the sound a man makes when he’s stabbed in the back ?? Because I have…your lungs deflate! So rather than some horrid scream, it’s more like a gust of breath leaving the body”
5:53 When Gandalf broke Saurmans staff he basically was delivering Saurman's Pink slip from the Valar for betraying his duty to Middle Earth.
like the way you put it there.... gave him his pink slip lol
It's important to note that Smeagol began his possession of the ring with murder. From that moment, it had him and would never have let go. Whereas when Bilbo got it, the first thing he did was show mercy and not kill Gollum, who was blocking his escape from Goblintown. Thus, it was able to affect Bilbo much less. Frodo started carrying it in fear and doubt, and so it wedged its way into his mind withg that. And you could see in his hesitation to give the ring back to Frodo, that even though Sam only had it for a couple of hours, it was already affecting him in a big way. The book is more explicit about that, and Sam makes a conscious choice to reject the power and respect the ring offers him.
"They're gonna catch him. Gandalf's gonna catch him. WOAH! We were WAY OFF" lmfao best moment
😂😂😂😂
One does not simply wait to click this notification!
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I love this😂
We watch!
Gandalf actually can percieve Frodo from a distance. Its not til Frodo passes into Mordor that Gandalf loses sight of him.
Ahhh ok. Thats makes a difference from a viewing perspective.
To me, the lighting of the beacon chain is one of the most thrilling sequences in the movies.
Love, love, love that scene. Still remember how I felt watching it in the theatre. I was speechless. 😍😍
It's so good. The music. The landscape. THE CHILLS. I get bouncy with excitement every. single. time.
yes - and it's cool to think about older generations finding different ways to communicate across broad stretches of territory - pre-telegram, newspaper and covered wagon mail delivery.
"and we will answer" absolute chills
@@j0hn00 You can just see Theoden coming to the realization that he could not forsake his ancient ally.
I have never seen someone with so much exposure to lord of the rings memes watch the films for the first time. Let me tell you it is a treat. I was cracking up with you every time a meme moment came up.
20 years finally hitting lol
I’ve been laughing so hard every time you start laughing 😂😂😂. I’ve enjoyed watching this so much. Thank you 🫶
Sam’s biggest mistake was in calling Gollum the villain. He was right that Gollum was plotting to murder them, but Frodo always sympathized with what the ring did to him. By Sam calling Gollum evil, Frodo probably felt that Sam was calling what he was becoming evil too.
That's the thing about being a relentless optimist. He sees the good and the bad, not the gray. Frodo is still good, but Smeagol has done things he can't undo, and Sam can just feel it.
But he does pity him at the right moment. Right outside Mt. Doom. Could of killed him before going in, but he didn't!
Frodo has to believe that Gollum can come back from this, otherwise, there's no hope for him, either. Sam just sees Frodo as "good" and Gollum as "bad", no matter what.
frodo telling sam to leave didnt even happen in the books while i dont mind the change i wonder why they did it
@@jacobwalker5128 Pacing mostly. The books are split with one group's POV after the other, but in the movie they have to jump back and forth. They have to get the emotional beats to match up to some extent.
True but Sam wasn't wrong
The light coming from Gandalfs staff to scare the Nazghul away when Faramir and his men were fleeing from Osgiliath wasnt just any light, but the light of the Valar (and indirectly the Light of Eru Iluvatar, the sole real God in Tolkiens Universe, Himself) the angelic, immensely powerful divine spirits who have been granted the guardianship and rulership of Arda. Gandalf is also a divine, angel-like spirit himself, who serves the Valar. Being creatures of darkness, the Nazgul naturally fled that Light.
Great stuff here. Thanks for dropping this here.
@@BaddMedicinealso-Gandalf doesn’t “lose” to the Witch King in the books
The ring gave Sméagol extended life as well. That was a quick look at Sméagol having the ring for a few hundred years. We can assume the same would’ve happened to Bilbo if he’d kept the ring, as shown by his lunging for the ring when he saw it around Frodo’s neck.
yeah he had it for 500 years about lol
@@Crazy-pl1lo When I did my edit, I thought I’d added that he had it for around 500 years, but I must’ve forgotten to include that🤣
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 it's all good 👍😊
It's part of the general power of the Rings, the extension of mortal's life is stretched; almost indefinitely " “A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness.” It's an effect of the feature the Rings were meant to serve originally:
"The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. 'change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance - this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor - thus approaching 'magic', a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination.
And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron ('the Necromancer': so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of The Hobbit): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible."
...
"Now these were the Three that had last been made, and they possessed the greatest powers. Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, they were named, the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire; and of all the Elven-rings Sauron most desired to possess them, for those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world."
@@Crazy-pl1lo I a _cave_ no less!
14:21 I've just realised something: The Stewards of Gondor would always say that they rule "until the return of the king", since the last king of Gondor (who was an idiot) went off to fight the Witch King of Angmar and died without leaving an heir, he wasn't even married. They just assumed, after a while, that the king would never return, and it became an empty phrase. Gandalf just threw all of this into Denethor's face.
At age 16, I paid my own money to see this movie in the theater THREE times…after my parents had already paid for the whole family to see it. Absolutely. Epic.
OK, Mr. Answer, you are correct at 20:42 when you suggested that perhaps Denethor was under some kind of spell. They never go into it in the movies but in the books, Denethor has a Palantir also, (The seeing stone that Saruman had and Pippen looked into.) Sauron has been twisting Denethor's mind for a long time, leading him to believe there is no hope at all. This is the reason Denethor is half crazy and also why he wants the ring. I wish they mentioned this in the movie. It would make things make more sense.
Denethor wasn't nearly as crazy or hateful in the book, either. He was quite capable in defending the city; he gladly lit the beacons to call for aid from Rohan, he evacuated all the women and children to safer parts of Gondor, he gathered all the soldiers from surrounding fiefdoms into Minas Tirith, and he even wore a full mail suit at all times to be prepared for combat if it came to that. He also wasn't nearly as terrible to Faramir; yes, he favored Boromir but didn't actively hate Faramir.
Jackson did the entire House of Ecthelion a disservice; Denethor, Boromir, and Faramir are all portrayed as being much weaker characters in the movies than they are in the books. Denethor as above. Faramir *never* considered taking the Ring, and immediately aided Frodo and Sam with fresh supplies and equipment. And Boromir never questioned Aragorn's place as the proper King of Gondor from the moment he met him (Gandalf did suspect that he may have become adversarial if and when Aragorn got to Minas Tirith and staked his claim as King, since Boromir was to become the Steward after Denethor, but that never came to pass).
@@davidkulmaczewski4911 Thank you for pointing out these excellent points.
Sauron didn't need to twist anything, just show things as they stood. He had enough armies to win the war without the ring.
@@georgechapman9688 OP said that it was Denethor's *mind* that was twisted by Sauron, not the facts. The past two years have definitely proven that selectively revealing only certain truths to people will twist their minds into knots; I'm sure a demon like Sauron knew this and used the same technique to his advantage.
Dr ethos as Tolkien wrote him was a grey character, with a lot more subtlety than in the films.
I always love that Christopher Lee gets a final stake through the heart in memory of his years playing Dracula. 😂
I believe he also said that it was quite appropriate, as in both cases, he was killed by a "Peter". In Dracula, it was by Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, while here, it was Peter Jackson.
It also fulfils the ancient idea that magicians need to be killed three times over. The blade, the spike, the water.
@@winedarkemperor it's actually well know that Lee hated the fact his death was cut from the theatrical release and boycotted the screening he didn't go to the RoTK
@@Crazy-pl1lo yeah, I would rather they kept that in and had cut something else like the stupid attempt to make the witch king look more powerful than Gandalf
The fact Peter Cushing being on par with Sir Christopher Lee in terms of being a badass is nothing to scoff at. Think about it. Grand Moff Tarkin was one of the few to basically order Darth Vader around.
Everyone has their preferences, but to me this is easily one of the greatest movies of all time. Jackson truly outdid himself. The behind the scenes stuff is legendary too.
much much better then current comics age.
Best movies ever made
You're not alone. In my opinion, this trilogy is the best thing to ever come out of film.
LOL the way y'all translated Aragorn's turning down Eowyn into modern terms was hilarious 😆
Ok so, in the books the gap between Bilbo giving up the ring & Frodo leaving the Shire is quite a bit longer than in the films. Don't quote me on this but I think it's about 11-12 years. So in the books, Gandalf spent that entire period trying to track down Golum, Aragorn & the other Rangers aided him in this. They found Golum & the Rangers put a tail on him while Gandalf went off to try & learn more about this creature Golum who had somehow possessed the ring for 500 years without turning it over to Sauron. So Gandalf did some digging, came up with the name of Smeagol, tracked down Smeagol's family history & learned that even before he murdered Deagol & took the ring, Smeagol was a covetous little thief. The ring smelled that on him immediately & caused him to murder Deagol but the will to do it was always in him from the start. This is pretty important, it allows Gandalf to judge the effects of the ring on people & come to the conclusion that it could be left in the care of someone like Frodo or Bilbo for much longer than it could be left in the care of anyone else.
They captured Gollum. He was being held by the elves. The elves felt bad keeping him locked up so they let him out to climb trees and he escaped.
@@giannag4581 indeed but I was already in danger of writing a small essay & the point I wanted to get to was Smeagol's history :D The extra clarity is much appreciated though.
@@pieceofgosa 😊
The gap was 17 years. Frodo just turned 33 when Gandalf visited him and Bilbo. When the wizard returns to The Shire after finding out Bilbo's ring was indeed Sauron's ring, Frodo turned 50 years old. If I remember correctly book knowledge, 33 is the age someone becomes an adult in hobbit lands.
Cool fact: the line, “I give Hope to men, and keep none for myself…” was Aragorn’s mothers last words before she past away. And if I’m not mistaken the Elvish word for ‘hope’ was another name of Aragorn’s given to him by his mother, which is why the ‘h’ is capitalized in the book. I can’t remember the word however…🤷♂️
It's Estel, I believe. 🙂
Estel
Estel
Estel
How can you not love the meme bro, just hearing him laugh makes me happy! Love your reaction and I'm looking forward to the second part! Lots of love from Europe!
Hell yeah! I think we are going to try to get that on a shirt 🤣🤘
same he's the highlight for me lol
I’m rewatching the whole series just for that😂❤😂
30:38 THAT look on Aragorn's face mortified me when I first watched this film! I could feel his hopelessness through the screen & then BAM, an alliance with the undead! The whole movie is one big emotional rollercoaster 😂🍿🎬
Yes it is 🤘 totally agree
One of the leading theories about why Hobbits (except for Sméagol) are so resistant to the ring’s influence… is that the ring preys on your ambitions. Hobbits of the shire are not very ambitious. They don’t desire power over others. Or greatness, or glory. So the ring has less to work with.
Now if it was food and drink, they would be screwed. lol
@@BaddMedicine lol😂
@@BaddMedicine don't tell Sauron, please ☝
In the book when Sam holds the ring, it shows his greatest desires. To be the greatest gardener ever. Hobbits are the best.
@@Brian-fv7dv I love that he basically takes the Ring off and says "nah, that's crazy talk" and just carries on saving Frodo.
5:05 There is good reason, why Treebeard sees Gandalf as "Young Master" here.
While Gandalf is older than Treebeard as Olórin(his Maia name), only very few(Elrond, Galadriel and Cirdan) knew that Istari were actually Maiar. So from Treebeard's perspective, Istari(who arrived on Middle-Earth during the Third Age) were much younger than Treebeard, who was born in Middle-Earth during its very beginning and is basically one of the oldest beings in Middle-Earth...
...Along with Tom Bombadil, of course.
Fun fact: Andy Serkis actually looks exactly like Gollum and when you see him as Sméagol in the flashback it’s all CGI. They didn’t want people to know so they have done it in all his subsequent movies too.
He really is that good isn’t he?
Oh, now it begins;)
I don’t think it’s fair to say Sméagol was always bad. He wasn’t. Deagol, whom he killed for the ring, was his cousin and one of his dearest friends. I’d say Sméagol had a very susceptible personality though to the lure of the ring.
I think people don’t give Pippin enough credit for not telling Sauron anything. That struggle we see with him writhing under the Palantir, that was will.
The lighting of the beacons is one of my favorite pieces of this movie. The music, the shots…just brilliant.
Love me Eowyn. Her Uncle says to stay behind to rule Edoras if he and her brother fall. Her brother says war is the dominion of men. She says, screw it, I’m going to fight for those I love anyway.
Good call out on Pippin. He never once did it
The scene of the beacon and the witch king coming out of Minas Morgul in the theaters was spectacular. It was so loud and ear-piercing, it definitely inspired the fear it was supposed to. And that's the thing about the Ringwraiths, those shrieking cries caused any who heard it to be consumed by the worst fear of their lives. So that scene in the theater was absolutely incredible. I'd also like to say that, in the books and the lore, there's a lot more to the stories of these "bad men" like Denethor, where like, they became what they were out of despair and grief and desperation, but initially for a long time were generally good rulers.
The movie isn't actually four and a half hours because the credits are almost 30 minutes long You really should watch them! The song Into the West got a well deserved Oscar and the artwork is essentially a gift to the audience and cast.
All 3 songs are amazing and it angers me that the others are ignored.
I love all the music from the whole trilogy. ❤
I agree, and it still bothers me that a silly forgettable song from Monsters Inc, was awarded an Oscar because the composer was old and was owed a statuette. The academy decided to wait until the last LOTR film to give any oscars to this masterpiece for the same reason. @@JohnnyZenith
When Saruman gets stabbed in the back, Peter Jackson (Director) instructs Christopher Lee ( the actor who played Saruman) that he should explode out his breath as the "knife" goes in. Christopher Lee says "Peter my dear boy, when a person is stabbed in the back they suck in their breath; they do not blow it out.
Christopher Lee during WWII was attached to a few different secret services (SAS amongst them). Peter Jackson didn't argue the fact.
About Arwen's dying - as half-elves got their right to chose in which race they want to live, to chose between mortals and elves (elrond choses elves but his twin brother elros choses mortals and was first king of Numenor - and the ancestor of Isildur and Aragorn) both half-elves and full elves got "advanced" control over their bodies (thats why elven archers and warriors are unstopable but they can be killed, and Legolas is walking on deep snow with light shoes) even to the point of chosing to die of grief. When their life gets too tragic and complicated the elves can die of grief and their body obliges their wish. Thats why Arwen can die as elf.
LotR has what is called a soft magic system. The rules are not clearly defined, and this keeps the reader from being bogged down with the logic of how or why magic works. It just does. It also has the added quality of keeping the magic mysterious and unpredictable.
I think there is also a level of the power of Gandalf & other wizards and Elves being otherworldly & holy, so they are not necessarily meant to go full power or influence the realms of men - they have to be the ones to truly win the battle & figure things out for themselves while Gandalf for instance just helps them get there.
The opening sequence was originally placed in the middle movie, The Two Towers, right after Frodo calls Gollum by his real name, Smeagol. There's even a vestige of the placing there where Gollum responds, "Smeagol. Yes, that was my name" matched by the last line of the intro scene, "You even forgot your name."
So this was supposed to be in Two towers? Right?
@@BaddMedicine Right. The scene was in the Dead Marshes, right before the Nazgul flies overhead.
Unless you are a true Tolkien fan and have read all his published works, you truly cannot begin to imagine the scope of Peter Jackson's brilliance! I have read and re-read Tolkien's works from the Silmarillion, the Hobbit, the Rings trilogy, The Unfinished Tales of Middle Earth and his Poems and Songs of Middle Earth, many many times over. I found it amazing that anyone could bring these tales together and put them into an actual film format as this, in my mind would have been impossible.
Well said! 🤙
The thing with letting some orcs in is that you effectively separate that force from the rest of them. Then you can use your local numerical advantage to quickly kill them off, even though perhaps you have a less numerical force in total.
If you wish to inflict maximal casualties it's a good strategy, if you just want to hold as long as possible it's arguably bad. Of course, the defenders have no idea how large the assaulting force is, they might be going for a quick kill off.
Good perspective here
It's important to note that the wizards, esp Gandalf, do not really use their full potentional in the battles because they are forbidden by the higher gods. They can only guide them against Evil.
I’ve heard about this. It’s why Gandalf was only able to really use supernatural power in combat against higher beings of evil such as the Nazgul, whom they were sent to explicitly oppose, or on fellow wizards who are their equal. But even as angelic spirits they otherwise have free will so the choice to fight on either side of the battle is on them, but against less powerful and not inherently evil beings like humans, Gandalf and Saruman fight like any other man without the aid of their powers.
To clear the lack of affection from Aragorn towards Eowyn: In the book lore Eowyn is 13 years old when they meet.
While nice to know, the clear reason is he is in love work someone else so it doesn't matter what age they used on screen in order to make the character more believable and further the story.
I saw every single one of these films in the theater opening night. It was amazing and worth waiting in lines. I still watch these movies every year, they are that great.
🤘🤘🤘
I saw them all at the cinema at the time too and remember being in such anticipation after the year long wait between them!! So great to watch on the big screen too, stunning scenery and those battle scenes were epic
Dude, the reaction to the meme moments is freaking awesome 😂
"Northern Courage" was the phrase Tolkien used to describe the virtues of the heroic figures in the Anglo-Saxon and Norse poems and sagas he read and studied. It is, put simply, "unflinching courage, steadfast resolve and sheer determination of will despite whatever odds." And in the Christian perspective, which Tolkien very much was, "northern courage" was also doing what is right, even if you die doing it, because what is right must be done. That's the difference between Faramir leaving to retake Osgiliath (a scene that never fails to make me cry) and Theoden's charge at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
When Faramir is going to retake Osgiliath on a mission given by his father for no reason, EVERYONE knows the men sent out there will die. Probably, most definitely, for nothing. But duty is duty. Faramir gives the mission more of a purpose than it had. ("This is the city of the Men of Númenor. I will gladly give my life to defend her beauty, her memory, her wisdom.") His men accept the flowers and looks of the mournful crowd. But none of them think of turning back, or refusing. In that scene the honor, beauty, and dangers of "northern courage" are on full display. To Tolkien and most Christians, pagan societies had virtues to be recognized, and flaws to those virtues.
With Theoden however, things are different. His moment showed the exemplary (and Christian) framing of "northern courage" and that it is glorious even in death. As a Christian, there is nothing better than giving your life for what is right.
SOLDIER: "What’s happening, where is he going? I don’t understand. Lord Aragorn! Why does he leave on the eve of battle?"
GAMLING: "He leaves because there is no hope."
THEODEN: "He leaves because he must."
GAMLING: "Too few have come. *We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor."*
**Theoden shakes his head.**
THEODEN: *"No, we cannot. But we will meet them in battle nonetheless..."*
Also, it's worth noting the irony that Rohan was a "pagan" society, while Gondor was a more "christian" one.
Most people believe that Aragorn friendzoned Eowyn, since his true love is Arwen.
I personally believe the real reason is Aragorn knew Eowyn is a terrible cook, when she nearly gave him food poisoning with that stew.
Why is that so true though- lol!
the Eowyn/Aragorn bit is entirely Jackson meddling with the text. no hint whatsoever in the books.
@@scalefree not exactly - his last words to her - about loving only a shadow - were stright from the book. And Eowyn in the book falls in love with him but he does not fall with her.
Do not besmirch Baeowyn's soup, you know how hard it is to find a proper meal on the road? And she never had a real chef mentor, she spent all of her time looking after her uncle who's 60 going on 6000, her closest relative is her brother who eats meat off of his knife. That soup was a fuckin Gordon Ramsey compared to what most people in her situation could do.
@@emPtysp4ce :D
I saw this film twice the day it came out in the theatre. So damn good but Fellowship will always be my favorite part of both the movies and the books.
Yes, Boromirs father in the books is far less cruel and stupid, he also has a palantir and has been under the influence of Sauron.
I got to see all three for their mid-night premiers. The third (ROTK) premiered in my home theater along with a reshowing of Fellowship and Two Towers consecutively.
I'm lucky to have been there to be a part of it all. Glad you guys are loving these movies as much as the millions of us who saw it 20+ years ago.
That walk through the ghost cave and everything that happens directly afterward are ten times creepier and weirder in the books. It's great. They didn't ride to Gondor with Aragorn, though. Their objective was to scare away the naval forces that were going to back up Sauron's army in Gondor, which would have easily led to the armies of Gondor and Rohan getting their asses handed to them.
A cool little detail is that the reason for the skull avalanche in the City of the Dead is that in old legends, the dead may not leave their graves unless the grave is disturbed. Now that all those graves are broken, they are free to march on the orcs.
That fist pump by oak 26:22 was perfect hahahah
Gandalf after Pippin grabs the orb: "Bad news, Sauron knows everything that Pippin knows. Good news, Pippin doesn't know shit"
I think it's 11 years soon since I became a LOTR-head. I was a kid, and around christmas time the trilogy is still on TV in my country to this day. I happened to see the 3rd movie first which made it hard to follow what was happening, but I remember seeing Sam and Frodo in the ashes and being so moved by the score and the acting I was instantly hooked despite the confusion 😄
25:31 As Arwen got weaker the light from the pendant faded.... She was the 'evening star of her people', like the vial that was given to Frodo the light of the star was captured in the pendant.
While not covered in this movie , the steward has a seeing stone and it is driving him mad....
Aragon's rejection was the most classy "it's not you it's me"
At 17:42, Oak asked about letting so many Orcs run past before turning into fight.
The reason is that some of the troops are behind the pillars closest to the water, while some are hiding behind buildings on the other side of the road. They basically funneled some of the Orcs towards the troops across the road and then attempted to pin the remaining ones between the troops closest to the boats/water.
In this way the small numbers closest don't become overwhelmed by numbers charging at them. Allowing them to run through to waiting troops they are theoretically not opening themselves up to fighting in both directions.
I know film wise they wanted to focus on Faramir and the other guy that had some lines and a death scene. However, I think they could have stacked the numbers around Faramir a bit, to make it more believable. Two or three holding back that many at each arch/door way isn't going to hold them back long enough for the first group to be dispatched by the others. Entering the arch/door way does not make sense. It would not be much of a funnel, but now the good guys have pinned themselves for no reason. They were not going to fight a battle on both sides if the other group did their part, so the arch/door way behind them becomes a trap instead of a buffer.
While the strategy makes sense, the execution was odd, especially when fighting with bow/arrow and sword. It takes a second or two and a healthily stocked quiver to 'reload' your bow as well as space to manuever. Unless you can do what Legolas did on a few occasions and just jam the arrow through the opponent with your hand. It takes room to maneuver a sword. It takes room to swing it or run it through the opponent and speed/room to prevent it from gettting pinned down by a crush of opponents.
In another time going in with guns blazing their numbers and set-up may have actually worked.
The lighting of the signal fires is truly epic film making...
I saw Return of the King in theaters, and it was epic! The wait for these movies was so hard as a kid!
Man am I so glad that you guys did the extended versions of these movies. There was an event at my theater several years ago that was a day long marathon of all extended versions of LotR on the screen, it was like 12 hours and it was a once in a life time thing.
Would recommend at least once.
Other Notes you be interested in learning here part 2
In addition that line that Legolas says to about War marching on Gimili's people is in reference to the attack on the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor and the people of Dale, their allies. As Sauron sends an army made of Easterling men and Orcs to attack the Kingdoms of Dale and of the lonely mountain Erebor and after three days of fierce fighting the Dwarves and their human allies the people of Dale are driven into lonely mountain and besiege, they also lose both their kings the Dwarf King Dain Ironfoot (whom we see in the final hobbit movie) and the King of Dale King Brand (Grandson of King Bard the Bowman who we see in the final to Hobbit movies). Though they they eventually break the siege after word of Sauron's defeat is learned by the evil armies where their moral falls, and the sons of the two fallen Kings, (King Bard the Second of Dale and King Thorin III Stonehelm of Erebor), led a counterattack and breakout against the evil army and drive them out.
Also Sauron sends two separate armies to attack the Elves, one attacks the Elves of Mirkwood (Legolas's people) leading to the battle under the tree, which the Elves win and another army is sent to attack the Elves of Lothlórien but are beaten back five times despite being outnumbered thanks largely to Galadriel who's magic ring and her own personal magical abilities are so great that it is stated that Sauron himself would have to appear for Lothlórien to be taken. A third army is also sent to attack eastern Rohan from the North, which is being defended by the Ents, while most of Rohan's fighting strength is fighting at Minas's Tirith.
Sauron sends these multiple different armies to these realms to prevent the free people of middle-earth from uniting against him and helping Gondor when he attack Minas'Tirith. And it works for the most part and as the Dwarves and Elves are all too busy fighting to defend their own Kingdoms to help Gondor. But thanks to the Ents defending Northern Rohan, Theoden was able to send gather his forces and ride to Gondor, though is unable to gather his full strength since he had only three days to gather men before having to ride to Gondor
Another Key note of interest is that unlike in the movie, in the book Narsil had already been forged into Anduril and given to Aragon before the fellowship left Rivendell. Peter Jackson, however decided it would be better if they left it to the last movie and have Elrond come to Aragon and delivering the sword to him, showing Aragon finally accepting his destiny to become King and make it more epic, (which I think was a good idea).
Also in the books, Denethor did call for aid from Rohan and ordered the Beacons to be lit, however in the book the Beacons were not used to call for military aid from Rohan, they were used to call for military aid from the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor. While a messenger carrying a red arrow was sent to Rohan when calling for military aid, which was an ancient symbol for calling for help between Gondor and the Eotheod (The ancestor's of the people of Rohan). However again Peter Jackson decided to use the Beacon for calling the Rohirrim, believing it would be better than the red arrow and leave out the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor entirely, which I think was a pity since it left out a very interesting Gondorian character named Prince Imrahil who a powerful Gondorian lord and a Dunedain like Aragon and had some Elvish lineage as well, he was also Denethor's brother-in-law and Faramir's Uncle and played a key role in the defence of Minas Tirtith and came to Minas Tirith aid when the Beacon's were lit and led an elite group of 700 Knights called the Swan Knights and was in charge of the defence of Minas Tirith in the books after Denethor lost his mind, instead of Gandalf who took charge in the movie. However he was left out since they couldn't fit him in sadly, just like Elrond twin sons, who were also left out of the movie series.
It should be of note that Faramir's suicide attack was strictly movie, as it didn't happen in the book and Faramir was wounded when the Gondorian soldiers were retreating for Osgiliath. Also another interesting note on that scene is that nobody knew how good William Boyd (Pippin actor) was at singing, on a whim Peter Jackson had William sing the song at the set to hear how it sounded as they considered having the song in that scene and was going to have someone else sing it, but when they heard William sing, everyone on the set was stunned into silence and they decided to keep that scene with William singing it.
On a final note, it should be mentioned is that Aragon Gimili and Legolas did not go to the Dunharrow path (Path of teh Dead) alone, they were actually accompanied the Grey Company. This was a group made up of 31 Dunedain Rangers (Aragon's people) and the twin sons of Elrond. Aragon, Theoden and the others had met the Grey Company after the battle of Helms Deep and on their way to Isengard to face Saruman. They had been sent Lady Galadriel, who had sense Aragon desire for having his fellow Dunedain's help in their mission to defeat Sauron and the one ring and had Elrond summon them and set them to Rohan. They were called the Grey Company due to the Grey cloaks they wore and they were the ones who gave Aragon Elrond's message/advice on taking the Dunharrow road. But again due to limit time restraints of the movie they had to leave all of them out. However this company and event did inspire the scene where Lady Galadrield speaks to Elrond and then send Haldir and his company of Elves to help in the defence of Helms Deep.
I know im late but i hope yall still see this, So the reason Faramir and his men let the orcs run past him was because how they were waiting in ambush behind the pillars there were more pillars with more men hiding behind them its just not shown well in the movies. So when he jumps out to surprise attack them the rest of his men would of jumped out to do the same to all the orcs who'd already run past effectively surprise attacking many more of the orcs rather than just the first couple.
Love the channel guys!! Happy to see more joining the community and seeing how incredible these movies are! Enjoy the finale!
Thank you Brooks! We appreciate the support. And the LOTRs community has been absolutely fantastic!
I don't know if Mason ends up explaining this after part 2, but something that still boggles my mind is this - Saruman's death scene is ONLY in the extended version. In the theatrical it gets mentioned that Saruman has to stay in his tower under the supervision of Treebeerd and that his power has faded... They cut it for "pacing" and it took a while for Christopher Lee to forgive PJ for the indiscretion. He does die in the book in a similar fashion but in a section that wasn't included in the movies - the "bad" part of the vision in the Shire that Frodo has in the reflection that galadriel shows him in Fellowship... So cutting his death just doesn't really have an upside in my opinion. That's the main reason that I prefer the extended version of this movie in particular
I think the theatrical version of all three do have better pacing, but it's cool to see the death scene and other moments in the extended versions.
I really do love watching people first reactions of these films I can’t wait for you to watch the second half. I get that the movies don’t show everything that’s in the books but I think Peter Jackson and co did an amazing job telling a story. I don’t think i could pick a favourite movie or scene. Although the ENDINGS are pretty epic 😉
LMFAO Oaks laugh is contagious.🤣🤣🤣
Nothing greater than seeing a guy built like a brick shithouse absolutely losing it every time a meme comes up.
I didn't even watch it and I know I am going to enjoy this so much! Looking forward to part 2!!!
Hell yeah🍻🍻
The first one I saw in theaters. I was 9 and my brother spent the whole ride there scaring me by talking about Shelob and how she was gonna try and eat Frodo and Sam. I had only read The Hobbit back then and my brother had read the other books. But boy, what an experience it still was! Still remember the chills I got even as a child, it was magical
So the bit about Saruman dying early in this movie. In the books he actually lives and escapes the tower of Orthanc and ends up going to the Shire where he rules for a brief time as a tyrant until Frodo, Sam, Mary, and Pippin show up and raise a militia to chase him out (and then Grima kills him). It's a cool part of the book, which has a lot of significance in that it shows the shire folk who have always been passive standing up for themselves. But it would have been just too much to have in the movie and would have made the pacing really weird.
people already complain about "too many endings" which is nonsense; the text is the text & should be conserved. Scouring of the Shire is one of my favorite chapters in the trilogy.
"Young Master Gandalf."......Implying that Treebeard is more than 3000 years old. I am somehow both surprised and unsurprised by this.
Damn been waiting for this shit. Seeing 3 grown men fall in love with the best epic adventure ever put on Big screen is awesome
Hell yeah🍻🤘
Faramir was said to resemble his mother, who died. That's what causes his father's hate.
Reminding him of what's lost.
I’ve been looking forward to this!
Let's goooooo
My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count
@@gabrielbuenafe6591 Good, twice the movie… Double the endings.
@@cgrimes34 i sense great references in these replies. You have quotes. You have humor. But you do not use them.
I know I'm late on dropping a comment but I wanted to add a cool little tidbit about Christopher Lee (Saruman). Peter Jackson was talking to him about his upcoming death by Grima and how he was going to be stabbed in the back. Peter Jackson told Christopher Lee that he needed to scream in pain as a result. Mr Lee said no, that based on his experience in the British military in WW2, men don't scream when stabbed there. That's why Saruman only gasped, as if the air from his lungs were taken from him 😳
The opening scene with Sméagol is more important than people think. Sméagol and Deagol are extremely similar to Merri and Pippin. They are cousin/best friends, come from affluent families in leadership in their communities. They are well off, a little spoiled, mischievous and puller of pranks on others. The Ring was in the Anduin for 2500 years, so it was very potent and played on that spoiled, mischievous side of Sméagol, coupled with his desire for a birthday present. The Ring turned him quickly, but the bigger question to ask is what would have happened if the Ring had come to Merri or Pippin rather than Frodo. Another great reaction. ❤🇨🇦👍🏼
Christopher Lee lived such an incredible life, including being in the military & basically a super spy. When they filmed the scene where his character was stabbed in the back, Peter Jackson was directing how he wanted it to look and sound.... but Lee had to tell Peter his idea of a stabbing is NOT what it's sounds like because Lee KNEW what someone being stabbed like really sounded like.
When Saruman was stabbed in the back Peter Jackson gave Christopher Lee explicit instructions how to act. Christopher Lee took him aside and explained how a man really dies when his lungs are punctured, as an ex SAS man he had seen and done it , Peter Jackson allowed him to play it in his own way and so it was frighteningly realistic.
I saw this movie twice on opening day (this is where I also sheepishly admit I saw Fellowship in the theater... 17 times. Yes, 17). It was my senior year of college, and my brother was in law school at the same college I went to, and we had tickets to go see it after he finished up his finals (it was the day before we were going to be driving home for Christmas break). I got so impatient and was so hyped that I said screw it, and went and saw it first thing in the morning, the first showing of the day, and then went again that afternoon with my brother. No regrets, absolutely worth giving this movie 6+ hours of my life on opening day.
The Ring gave Gollum extended life too - what they showed happened over many years. He's hundreds of years old by the time of the story.
That part from the second book were it describes gollum as a tired hobbit carried beyond his time is so sad.
Meme reference dude always makes me laugh. Love these films, watch them every year. They're perfection to me. Been loving your reactions to them.
"things are now in motion that cannot be undone"
me waiting for somebody to notice the meme: 👀👀
Oak did. We showed 5 memes on that 🤣
2:10 - I watched this in the theatre on Valentine's day in 2004. None of my friends wanted to join me and the theatre was empty but they luckily projected the movie even though it was only me. It was awesome. I decided to wait for the third to come out and watch only that in the theatre so that I didn't have to wait in between movies.
fun fact i was 10 when this came out, saw it and the others in theaters..
held my bladder for 4 hours, through the entire thing.
Here we go!! The great journey is nearing its end. Really enjoyed all of your reactions, guys.
Just so you know guys, sometimes theaters will have special screenings of these movies, usually in a row, it's amazing experience seeing those on a big screen. With writers strike still going strong, I would expect the possibility of those screenings to increase, you just have to keep an eye out for them. I would add Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other series that are big in pop culture to usually have those about once a year or two.
If I remember correctly the Wizards are lesser angels given human form and sent from the undying lands across the sea. Each of the five wizards were only allowed a small measure of their power while on Middle Earth. The highest tier angels, The Valar, ordered the five wizards to guide and give council but not to win wars with their powers.
Fun fact: Smeagol used to be what is known as a Stoor Hobbit. There were different variations within the race. I guess a real-world comparison would be like comparing English people from London to English people from Yorkshire.
I just love how the profile of The Oak's shoulders and arms make a near perfect circle over the desk every time. Great job, guys!
🤣🤣🤣🍻🍻🍻 thank you and thanks for watching 🤙
I know I'm late to the party, but the absolute joy that comes over The Oak whenever he recognizes a meme from the movie is too damn funny.
I was 12 when the Fellowship released. I watched all 3 movies, in theatres, every year with my family those years.
Some notes here that you be interested in learning here
First off a lot of what happened to Saruman's here is what happened in the book, he tried to get Gandalf and Theoden to come to his side but failed and Gandalf broke his staff, causing Saurman to lose most of his magic, and played no further part in the war of the ring after that as he stayed in Isengard unwilling to repenting for his deeds, It unknown exactly why whether he had hope he could escape, whether he was too proud to surrender to Gandalf, whether he thought the Valar (Good Gods of Middle-earth) would pardon him, Saruman refused to leave the confines of his fortress. However in the book Grima angrily throws the Palantir at Gandalf in a vain attempt to hit the wizard, much to Saruman's anger, as Grima was unaware of the Palantir's value, until it was too late, which is how Gandalf got the Palantir in the book.
This is where the film and books differ further, and probably why the film killed Saruman here and so early in the movie, since Saruman plays no further role in the war of the ring. However his death here in the movie is based on his death in the books. While the Hobbits were away, Saruman hired a large group of local thuggish men to take over the Shire and start plundering the resources and enslaving the Hobbits, which is later called the Scouring of the Shire. This was Tolkien way of showing how even peaceful far of places like the Shire were not safe from the influence and horror's of Sauron and his allies during the war of the ring, Although this didn't happen in the movie, since is remained safe in the movie, we do see a glimpse of the Scouring of the Shire and what could happen should Frodo fail in his mission when Frodo looks into The Mirror of Galadriel in the first movie.
Upon the end of the war of the ring Frodo and friends return to Shire to see it in a horrid state, they soon they raise a rebellion, where the Hobbits of the Shire later ambush the Tugs killing almost half of them and capturing a few others before chasing off the rest. Afterwards the Hobbits go to confront the leader of the Thugs called Sharkey who is living the Bag end House, where Saruman reveals himself to the Hobbits as the leader of the Thugs and mocks the Hobbits as he has taken his revenge on Frodo and his friends by destroying their once beautiful home. He even threatens the Hobbits when many move to kills him, stating that any who kill him will be cursed to die shortly after. Frodo however doesn't believe him stating that he lost all his powers and only has the power of his magic voice to scare people. He then orders Saurman banished from the Shire never to return and even offers Grima a place to stay and food, since he had done no crime to Frodo or the Hobbits. This is where Saruman's movie death is based on, as after this show of kindness Saruman again insults and abuses Grima revealing his crimes to the Hobbits, this pushes Grima too far, where he attacks Saruman, though instead of stabbing him in the back like in the movie Grima slits Saruman's throat from behind with a knife, after this he tries to run away, But he is then shot by several arrows by the Hobbit bowmen fulfilling the curse the Saruman claimed would happen to the person that killed him.
Afterwards, Saruman's body turns into a ruin husk, being a Maia (Tolkien's version of angel), he could not truly die. His spirit however was separated from his body much like his master Sauron's after the Downfall of Númenor, however his spirits is stripped of all it's power and is left as no more that a black wisp of smoke. When his spirit tries to return to the west to realm of the Valar (Good Gods of Middle-earth), a strong wind from the west (probably sent by the Valar) blows him to the east and he is now barred from ever returning to the realms of the Valar due to his betrayal. With his spirit now left naked, powerless, and wandering in Middle-earth, not unlike Sauron after the One Ring was destroyed. For a image of this, another good example of this and what he would look like would be how Voldermort looked or was left when he tried to kill baby Harry or after Harry defeated him in the first book/movie.
In regards to Gandalf having powers to see far off, he doesn't exactly have that power, however he does have the power to see glimpses into possible future events, though it is limited and what he see is not for certain, it only a possibility. This power is hinted when he says the famous line " A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to" in the first movie/book. We see this power in the 2nd movie when he tells Aragon in The Two Towers "He (Theoden) will need you before the end and says.......Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east" it is also again shown when Aragon offers to go to Minas Tirith but Gandalf says no and whisper's "You must come to Minas Tirith by another road. Follow the river, look to the black ships" and of course what he said to Faramir "Your father loves your Faramir....He will remember it before the end"
Another Key note of interest is that unlike in the movie, in the book Narsil had already been forged into Anduril and given to Aragon before the fellowship left Rivendell. Peter Jackson, however decided it would be better if they left it to the last movie and have Elrond come to Aragon and delivering the sword to him, showing Aragon finally accepting his destiny to become King and make it more epic, (which I think was a good idea).
Also in the books, Denethor did call for aid from Rohan and ordered the Beacons to be lit, however in the book the Bbeacons were not used to call for military aid from Rohan, they were used to call for military aid from the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor. While a messenger carrying a red arrow was sent to Rohan when calling for military aid, which was ancient symbol for calling for help between Gondor and the Eotheod (The ancestor's of the people of Rohan). However again Peter Jackson decided to use the Beacon for calling the Rohirrim, believing it would be better than the red arrow and leave out the other fiefdom/realms of Gondor entirely, which I think was a pity since it left out a very interesting Gondorian character named Prince Imrahil who a powerful Gondorian lord and a Dunedain like Aragon and had some Elvish lineage as well, he was also Denethor's brother-in-law and Faramir's Uncle and played a key role in the defence of Minas Tirtith and came to Minas Tirith aid when the Beacon's were lit and led an elite group of Knights called the Swan Knights and was in charge of the defence of Minas Tirith in the books after Denethor lost his mind instead of Gandalf who took charge in the movie. However he was left out since the couldn't fit him in sadly, just like Elrond twin sons, who were also left out of the movie series.
It should be note that Faramir's suicide attack was strictly movie, as it didn't happen in the book and Faramir was wounded when the Gondorian soldiers were retreating for Osgiliath. Also another interesting note on that scene is that nobody knew how good William Boyd (Pippin actor) was at singing, on a whim Peter Jackson had William sing the song at the set to hear how it sounded as they considered having the song in that scene and was going to have someone else sing it, but when they heard William sing, everyone on the set was stun into silence and they decided to keep that scene with William singing it.
On a final note, it should be mentioned is that Aragon Gimili and Legolas did not go to the Dunharrow path (Path of teh Dead) alone, they were actually accompanied the Grey Company. This was a group made up of 31 Dunedain Rangers (Aragon's people) and the twin sons of Elrond. Whom Aragon, Theoden and the others had met after the battle of Helms Deep and on their way to Isengard to face Saruman. They had been sent Lady Galadriel, who had sense Aragon desire for having his fellow Dunedain's help in their mission to defeat Sauron and the one ring and had Elrond summon them and set them to Rohan. They were called the Grey Company due to the Grey cloaks they wore and they were the ones who gave Aragon Elrond's message/advice on taking the Dunharrow road. But again due to limit time restraints of teh movie they had to leave all of them out.
I know youll never see this but the movies don't describe the character of Denethor much love as much as the books do he had been commanding armies and leading the defense of Gondor for over 50 years and then discovers the ring, Boromir's death and the loss of Osgilith all while hes constantly being shown the massive might of Mordor and eventually just breaks under the pressure
I love the guy who just loves memes 😂
The way Oak comes alive when a meme appears is pure gold
in reference to the sensing and feeling of the other rings :
actually; gandalf , galadria and lord elrond also have rings of power too(gandalf has the ring of hope and good will) . they can sense each other . some !
when lady galadria is talking to elrond , that is the same thing with more potent power from the users !
the ring is so close to mordor it shades that sense from gandalf .
another set in on the wraiths , which is why frodo can't put it on .
I went to see Return in the theaters over 20 times. Me and my mom went to the theaters and watched the extended editions back to back least 5 times.
When they were about to enter the mountain and Gimli got scared but Legolas and Aragorn enter.
Gimli:This is something unheard of an elf will go underground but a dwarf will dare not! I'll never hear the end of it!
I adore such scenes with them.
Gimli was great there
He should be glad there at least wasn’t a balrog in that mountain, or if there was, it remained buried deep and unawakened.
In the theatrical version, Aragon summons the ghosts to fulfill their oaths, then escapes the skull-valanche and despairs a bit when he sees the boats. We don't see him or the ghosts answer until they jump off the boats at the last battle!
We don't even know if they could even make it there before it's over because they're 3 days ride away and their horses got spooked off before the caves!
12:17 LMAO at Diamond Dave - He's right! 😂😂😂