The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the one series where you could put any movie at number 1 and it could be fully justified with someone who puts it in last.
True, I often find myself changing my favourites but the one I like the most (most often) is the Fellowship, there is something about starting out in that journey that just makes me feel safe and comfortable, ready for the adventure ahead. Its also because its probably the one I watched most owing to being a kid when it came out.
@@sergiomoreno6861I finished watching the trilogy for the first time ever today. And that line and scene made me tear up dude. That whole last like 20 minutes of the film had me crying. Amazing experience cant wait to revisit them one day
I always liked the idea that Saruman sits around screaming at orcs that walk on his grass so they put up the stupid fence post things to try and keep the orcs from trampling the grass.
I never get how nobody notices that isengard is only that way when gandalf shows up, as soon as saruman starts making his army the orcs cut down all the trees to make way
@@johan9922 I think plenty of people notice it, but it is ultimately inconsequential and is more so one of those neat things that happens during stories. Just a fun little thing to notice but since it doesn't really impact much of anything, at least from the perspective of the movies, it just slips by with all the other cool little things to notice during the films. Edit: Realized I never actually made my point. My point was that while I think people notice it, people either forget about it or don't talk about it because of it's ultimate insignificance to the overall story.
The Aruman thing is actually because the studio thought Saruman and Sauron sounded too similar so they changed the name... but then changed their mind half way through production and changed it back
Well NGL their names were kinda confusing for me, when I was a child. When I saw Fellowship first time I were shore that they are the same characters and Wizzard is main antagonist of the franchise (tbf it was on TV and I miss some of the scene, due to changing chanel on commercial)
Reminds me of Hitler, whose well know right hand man and leader of the SS is the confusingly named Himmler. So you’re teaching kids about WW2 and they gotta remember that the two bad guys are named Hitler and Himmler. Same energy as Saruman and Sauron.
Surprised you didn’t mention how Sauron worked as a villain. Bro barely had any screen time but his presence is CONSTANT throughout the entire trilogy.
I agree but think it would have been better if he had some form of physical form. (Idk how to implement that tho without adding a bunch of "why didn't he just attack Frodo personally????" Plot holes).
@user-we6yx2zk4i yeah but it would be cool, make Sauron feel like a larger threat and shut up a bunch of people complaining about it not being accurate to the books. It doesn't really matter either way though I guess.
@@ImOnioned If I recall correctly, Sauron is unable to have a physical form other than The Eye due to previous deaths in the timeline, first in Numenor, when Eru decided to punch Numenor into oblivion, where he lost his fair form, and second in the battle between Gil-Galad and Elendil vs Sauron, where he lost his physical body.
I love that Gandalf fights. Like with a sword. He's not like some frail nerd who hides behind the warriors and throws fireballs at the enemy. Nope, he's right in front, swingin' Foe-Hammer and tanking the fire demon. I get why dnd made wizards physically wimpy, there has to be balance, but this version is just cooler.
Random aside, there's one shot from the extended edition where Gandalf hits one of the orcs with his sword, and it does NOTHING. Looks more like he's hitting it with a metal pole, lol. Fuck up by the choreographer.
@@jout738 Sure, but my point here is most powerful in which way. The classic d&d wizard may also be the most powerful in the sense that their spells can do the most damage and do other amazing things, but that doesn't mean they're handy with a sword in a cavalry charge.
@@camipco Do you really think any of the other members from fellowship of the ring could take down Balrog in 1v1. Only Gandalf can do that, because his most powerful from fellowship of the ring and so Gandalf indeed can fight in the front, when fought against Balrog very close to it with his own sword.
I will say, the one story thread that I think the extended editions definitely benefit from the most is Boromir. Learning more about Boromir's past and motivations helps round out the character much more, even retroactively in the 2nd and 3rd movies. It helps you understand WHY he's so easily seduced by the Ring, and shows how he was truly a good person who wanted to do the right thing to protect his people, and why his death was so crushing of a loss for Denethor and Faramir both.
One of my biggest issues with Fellowship in general is how Boromir was just kind of left out of the movie. He's shorted even in the extended cut imo. He also just acts like an asshole for no reason, which I get is them showing the Ring corrupting him, but like, you have to make him likeable first. Book Boromir is significantly better and he's the one member of the Fellowship that I feel got kind of shorted by the challenges of adapting Tolkien's writing. Tolkien just does so much exposition dumping and that really isn't an adaptation-friendly trait
@@organa1626I don't think that's entirely true,I mean the movie clearly shows him being friends with merri and Pippin and hes also sortve what I consider to be the voice of reason for the group before he got corrupted
Benedict Cumberbatch doing the worm in a ping pong ball suit and screeching "I AM FIRE!!!" is one of the most cursed yet hilarious things I will ever see
I like his portrayal honestly. It's really challenging to do mocap when you don't know what the final product will look like but he really brought life to it
One thing I noticed about the extended edition movies is that they gave Gimli much more of a character, in the theatrical fellowship of the ring he has like 5 lines
@@stephengrigg5988 "There is one dwarf yet, in Moria, that still draws breath!!" Also in both versions. And also a pretty amazing line. At least I thought so. But yeah. In the theatrical version, Gimli was just... an extra, really...
Gandalfs fight in the beginning of TTT is hands down the sickest shit I’ve ever seen. Imagine you’re falling likely to your death and instead of whining about it, you start beating the dude’s ass mid-fall. Also epic shot of them falling into the lake.
If you are gonna die, might as well go out with your sword at some demon's throat. Thats why we love that moment, cause that is how we would want to go out as well
God, probably my favorite scene in the whole series is when Sam and Frodo are at the base of Mt. Doom, and Sam says "I may not be able to carry it for you, but I can carry you!" It's the greatest emotional moment I've seen since The Shawshank Redemption. Sean Astin didn't have much to do in the previous films, but in Return of the King, he really proved himself to be the best of the entire cast at delivering emotion.
I've always loved the subtle "I lost it' Frodo says when Bilbo asks to see the ring again, it makes it very clear that Fodo in some way still covets it despite knowing it's been destroyed shoeing just how strong its corruption is when it takes hold
@@umairashraf5167 That's what I took from it to, he lies to Bilbo to protect him from the reality of it. Although I'm a bit surprised Bilbo doesn't know about it already. Like he lived in Rivendell and no one thought to fill him in 🤣 unless he's just too old and senile to remember that information and the power of the ring still has a hold on him so he remembers that.
@@smon4164 I took it as Bilbo definitely becoming extremely senile from old age. Last time we saw him in Fellowship, he was literally in tears crying to Frodo about how it was all his fault that Frodo must now carry such a terrible burden, meaning that he knows full well that the ring is evil incarnate. Then in Return of the King, he's all "do you by any chance know where my old ring went? I'd love it hold it again. :P"
@@windowsVD yeah true, it does seem that was the intention to portray he has gone senile with old age. It's a beautiful thing actually, thinking his final journey will be with the elves and he will be at peace.
I don't think that Aragorn was actually part of a love triangle. He was never torn between Arwen and Eowyn. He loved Arwen, simple as that. He happened to be also loved by Eowyn but he never considered her as a mate. My favourite movie is the second one because I love the entire Rohan plotline so much. All in all, for me LotR always feels like home.
I think that's the best descriptor for these movies. They really do feel like home, like something I can always return to and know about, but still be absolutely gripped and fall in love with all over again.
You know The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the strongest trilogy in cinema when you can call any 1 of the 3 movies your favourite and people would simply understand
The scene where the Hobbits return to the Shire at the end of Return of the King hits really hard because I think it parallels the experience a lot of war veterans feel when they come home and have to reacclimate to living their lives again. I've heard it said that the equivalent scene/chapters in the book (while different from how it happens in the movie because of the Battle of Bywater subplot) was also partly inspired by Tolkien's own experience returning home after WW1 ended.
I was 13 when the movies came out. I loved them but never really watched them again until 3 years ago when I came back from being in Iraq for 8 years. I saw a lot of shit. When I watched those movies with my girlfriend, I cried at part. I had been home for 2 months and I was having a hard time realizing that I wasn't going back. My adventures were over. I was alive, I survived When others didn't. It really hit me harder than it should have. Just wanted to add my 2 cents, thank you for listening.
That was the part that upset me the most since they deviated from the books. I hate to be that guy but the Hobbits return to find the Shire, you know, fine. The point of them coming back to a Shire taken over by bad guys is to show how, even without a massive army behind them, they’ve learned courage. They’ve learned that you have to fight for the things that are important.
One of the best things about LotR is that it has a large cast, but gives every character something to do and a unique personality You can see the improvement from the hobbit that had "bilbo, gandalf, thorin, fat dwarf and the rest"
Somehow the short made-for-children book version of The Hobbit still managed to characterize the dwarves better than a whole trilogy of big budget hollywood films did.
I’m so glad he’s finally reviewing these movies. I love the “why it sucks” or “worst super hero movie ever made” videos but it’s always nice seeing Markie passionate about something he loves. Also I cannot believe the X-men reviews were a year ago already… and the Harry Potter vids 2 years ago!? Time is flying by…
17:00 Tolkien didn't name them and was just as confused by that name. He wrote 'The Lord of the Rings' and it was the publishers who decided to split it into three novels and chose their names (Tolkien would have preferred them be divided by the six 'books' he split the story into in the text) He also objected to the spoiler title "The Return of the King".
It's honestly miraculous how these movies got the right director, the right actors, the right music composer, the right EVERYTHING. A movie of this caliber for a beloved fantasy series should not have happened or have been this good simply because of everything that could have gone wrong, but it did happen and it was that good. I watch these movies every year around Christmas and will continue to cherish them for as long as I remain alive.
Sadly it showed just how hard it was to pull off a trilogy like this when the Hobbit became such a mess to produce, even though Jackson had proven himself with LOTR they didn't give him the same amount of time and freedom.
2 things: I think there still is tension by showing Aragorn and his ghost army. It's just switched from being "Where is he?" To "Will he arrive on time?" Plus, you get that great scene that shows Aragorn losing hope for a brief moment. Secondly, I can't believe you did this great review and didn't mention one of the single best shots in the triology. That cavalry charge in ROTK. Every time I see that scene, from the speech onwards, it gives me goosebumps.
I was looking for this comment, I was waiting for his take for the battle of Pelenor fields and I was pretty surprised it wasn't even mentioned as this is arguably one of the best scenes of all time.
Another scene that's important to me from the extended edition. Is the scene with Boromier, Faramir and their dad. That really helped me have a better understanding of 1. All of their relationship. But also feeling empathy for them (the sons) and their choices through the series. I had a lot more feeling for Boromier, before his demise. And understanding for Faramir's crazy loyalty to his crazy father.
@@LordMangudai i remember walking out of the cinema after the second movie really perplexed. I told my friends i could see maybe half an hour or maybe 1 hour tops for the third one. The hobbit movies are so fuckings stretched out.
Bilbo's quote perfectly fits the Hobbit movies I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread. Like that could easily be said about those movies just change I feel to it feels.
overall the theatrical cuts are better imo but some scenes like concerning hobbits, Saruman's death, and the mouth of Sauron are just so god damn good that they just need to be included in rewatches
I don't know, it sounds like when Dune fans try to say the new movie "didn't explain" this thing or this thing, but as someone who never read the book I completely understood all of it because the movie showed it to you. You don't need "concerning hobbits" because the movie showed you the hobbits smoking pipes and living their lives, you immediately understand what their species is like. I know this because I saw the theatrical first as a kid and understood what a hobbit was because they showed me. Y'know, like a movie would.
@@Tribrachidiumheraldicum I’ve watched a lot of Fellowship reaction videos & a surprising number of reactors who watch the theatrical version seem confused as to what the hobbits are & I find myself wishing they’d watched the extended version. It’s not like it’s an onerous scene to watch. It’s got some fun humor & only lasts a couple minutes.
As a kid i was obsessed with the Oscars even though I wasn’t old enough to watch or appreciate any of the nominated films. I just loved the awards and the speeches or something. I was 10 when return of the king won all those awards, I hadn’t seen the movies to date, didn’t have any opinions but once they won everything I was like “I have to see these movies” it was a formative moment for me lol
I honestly like that that the Shire hasn't changed at all and they don't appreciate what the 4 Hobbits did, compared to the Scouring in the books. It gives a sense that they truly can't go home again.
I completely agree! The scouring of the shire is really important sure, but in the movies the characters change and their home doesn't, while in the book they come back to a changed home.
I'm still amazed at how they didn't need a single line of dialogue to pull off complex character work like that and have everyone in the audience completely understand it.
@@user-rb1qe8fi2k don´t agree. He used it to show what the hobbit main characters had learned, and that we all must stand up to the forces of darkness at some point and fight, without the help from Wizards, kings and eagles. This is the real test of the hobbits, surviving as a unified people. But that just me. I know there are two camps considering the ending.
The Two Towers is my favorite personally. One scene that you didn't talk about but elevates it for me is the March of the Ents on Isengard, which just fills you with such a sense of power.
Yeah, Two Towers is my favorite as well. I think it encapsulates everything the trilogy does best in a tighter pace, while having amazing scenes like the Battle of Helm's Deep and the March of the Ents. I personally feel that Fellowship is a little too slow burn initially and Return of the King gets a bit exhausting out of sheer length, while Two Towers is perfectly paced imo. The Ents fucking up Isengard is so awesome and its good comeuppance for Saruman's hubris.
@@Di7manya Absolutely. I mean obviously to each their own and he probably experienced LOTR differently than me, and I'm totally with him on the theatrical release point, but to me Two Towers is just such an epic movie? Like everything I'd want out of a LOTR movie. I will say that he's also entirely right on the love triangle thing, but Return of the King is a bit more straightforward to me whereas the Battle of Helm's Deep is just so amazing. And for me the very moment that makes the movie is right BEFORE the destruction of Isengard, right when Treebeard sees the destruction and roars, and then the ents emerge and you're like "Oh fuck"
@@Di7manya return of the king is a fkn drag. But that’s only because if you watch them all back to back then it is quite exhausting. The two towers will always be my favorite
This trilogy is the one in a century event where the planets align to create something excellent from both a technical and emotional point of view. It is not a 1 to 1 adaptation of the books, but it is a perfect adaptation of a book made into a movie. 20 years later I still feel every emotion and I am still impressed at how timeless this is. I wish I was never shown this to watch it again for the first time.
I don’t even know how I would rank these movies individually. The whole story is so cohesive that it feels like one big movie to me. It’s just a 10/10 trilogy.
"You can do that. No one is stopping you from being that." That's the part I loved. You want to be a Hobbit so badly? You can literally live like a Hobbit if you so please. You can't be a chronic smoking, wisdom spouting, magic wielding, warrior badass like Gandalf.
Cool detail about Gandalf fighting the balrog. His sword, Glamdring (Foe Hammer), was the sword of Turgon, the king of Gondolin in the first age. This sword was made specifically for fighting balrogs or at least was made with balrogs in mind. I think it's neat that after thousands of years of being lost, the sword winds up in the hands of someone that goes toe to toe with a balrog and kicks its ass. Truly a legendary sword.
True, but since its Gandalf we're talking about, i doubt it was a coincidence. He knew what was in the depths of Moria. Could be that he sought the sword for the chance he could encounter a balrog.
@@46raulfull funny enough in the book it's Gandalf who suggests going through the mines with Gimli supporting him and it's Aragon who's weary of traversing through the mines because he's traveled those lands more recently than Gandalf and knew there was some type of evil that dwelt in the mountain and they didn't know exactly what it was until they encountered it at the span and it was Legolas who first realized what it was and felt total despair upon seeing it. Gandalf actually had a "oh yeah, that makes sense" reaction when Legolas calls it a balrog. That being said I prefer how in the movie it's the learned wizard that fears going through moria because he's aware of what dwells there and it builds this hype for the encounter. The mines of moria section is my favorite part in both the films and books. Pinnacle fantasy
"you wanna be a dirty-footed cracker with an eating disorder" top ten lines of all time so funny thank you mr cosmonaut variety hour you have done it again
I agree with you in that I HATE that Saruman was cut from the theatrical release of Return of the King. In the book's he actually comes back in the ending and has taken over the Shire (something I'm personally in a way glad they cut from the movie because I like the idea of the Shire staying "pure" in a world of chaos), but apparently Christopher Lee and Peter Jackson got into a dissagrement over that because Lee wanted his last big Saruman moment. And I can understand him being angry when he wanted that and then Saruman didn't even get a proper ending like ... at all.
To play Devil's advocate a bit, the fact that it was at the start of the extended edition made it feel like unnecessary backtracking because at that point, stopping Sauron was the bigger priority, not Saruman. I get why it was cut, but I am glad it exists at all.
I have never even acknoledged that the non extended versions exist, ever since the extended cuts came out and I proceeded to marathon them several times a year for a decade. They're the definitive experience.
That’s one of my biggest problems with the books, it felt like Tolkien really didn’t want the series to end and so it dragged on with the Saruman/Shire plot. Glad it didn’t make it into any version of the movies
@@weswhitelock9691 it’s not that he didn’t want it to end, he was making a statement about even though “the war ends” the battle against evil persists. Tolkien was making an allusion to his own experience and the experience of his comrades returning home from the war. The last scene in the movie in the tavern is about veterans and how out of place they felt after taking place in the great struggle against Sauron. Saruman represents the powerful interests who controlled the home country when Tolkien and his friends returned from the trenches of World War I. The England they knew and loved had been corrupted by a military industrial complex and the traumas of a devastating, generation killing war. In Tolkien’s version the humble English eventually banish those powerful forces of corruption to save “Happy old England” (the Shire) in our world, they did not.
I saw another video where it explained that Jackson had so much he needed to cut, and it felt weird putting the Saruman scene at the end of the film, so he wanted to save it for the RotK opener. However, the Smeagol & Dreagol scene eventually became the opener and Saruman's end had to be cut once again. Can't remember exactly, but I'm sure studio meddling came into it somehow.
Why do we all think of Golem as a creature without clothes? Because clothes represent society, civiliity, and individuality. The ring stripped him of all that. We subconsciously associate clothes with identity and culture, so our minds strip that away from Golem as well
Okay but the 1978 LOTR is genuinely kinda fascinating to watch. More so from a history perspective as it was one of the first movie to use rotoscope technology (also combining it with cel animation) and seeing how Peter Jackson drew so much inspiration from the film is pretty cool.
I definitely agree that Fellowship is the best one. Literally my comfort movie. I can just throw it on whenever no matter how I’m feeling and just have a good time with it. It’s great. I have never seen a first movie that just sucks you into its world and mythos so effectively right from the word “go”.
I think Marcus was in to something when he mentioned the last scenes made the characters feel different when they came home. Tolkien was a WWI vet, and I feel like the film makers captured the essence of returning home, as heroes and triumphant, but then nothing ever feels the same. They saw things, experienced the worst of humanity and nature had to offer, and even though the succeeded, it was just never the same anymore. I think that’s the message there, and Marcus pointing it out reminded me what a wonderful writer Tolkien was.
In the books Saruman industrializes and wreaks havoc on the Shire and the hobbits as vengeance. Even when they return home Frodo has to defeat Saruman and free even the Shire. Tolkien, as others have stated, was a war veteran himself and it seems wanted to imprint very hard at the end of the books that even winning comes at a heavy cost, for everyone.
One thing about the book ending is, you gotta remember that WWI was from a time before video cameras. People back home knew there was a war going on, but they weren't really aware of what it was like. They had no idea of the horrors of trench warfare, they didn't know about mustard gas or the non-stop artillery fire. Upon returning home a lot of WWI soldiers actually weren't treated as heroes at all, they were treated with a kind of ambivalence because the broad population just had no way of knowing what those poor young men went through. Another one of Peter Jackson's projects, the WWI documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old", goes into this a bit. The Hobbits upon returning to The Shire are treated somewhat the same way, even after liberating The Shire from Saruman. They're "odd", they've "changed" etc, while The Shire has stayed mostly the same. There was no mustard gas in England, there was no Balrog in The Shire. People just didn't know what the people that left to go to war went through, and this was reflected in the book.
I love the extended editions as I find them more immersive BUT I always tell first timers to watch the theatrical editions first and if they like them then check the longer ones.
I've literally only seen the extended edition and can't imagine them any other way, I'd actually be scared to watch the regular version cause I'd miss too much lol
Tolkien stating that WW1 didn't have any effect on the story is insane when you see how broken Frodo ends up. Sam holds it together all while Frodo ends as a hollow shell unable to cope with "normal" life
Tolkien didn't say that WWI had no effect on the story, he said the story wasn't an allegory (for example, orcs are not meant to directly represent German soldiers). Tolkien even acknowledged that the Dead Marshes were inspired by WWI trenches after a rainfall. Tolkien had inspirations and experiences he was drawing from, but he didn't want to shove a certain interpretation down the audience's throat. From the foreword to LotR: >But I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. >I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. >I think that many confuse ‘applicability’ with ‘allegory’; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author. What Tolkien was more strongly against were comparisons to WWII, because the story was taking shape before WWII began and he wasn't seeing the allies of WWII simply as "good guys" like the mainstream narrative of his time did (even though he hated the Nazis). LotR has strong themes, many resemblances to history and a lot to say about morality, but it is its own story that you can find meaning in for yourself - you can still "get it" without knowing anything about the World Wars. On the other hand, reading Narnia without knowing about Jesus will leave you confused about the allegorical Jesus of the story, the lion Aslan.
Tolkien literally never said that. He said that LotR was *specifically* not an allegory for WW2. It's also not an allegory for WWI, but that doesn't mean Tolkien's own experiences didn't influence his themes and writing. Allegory means a 1:1 substitution ("the lion = Jesus" like in Narnia), and Rings has nothing that simplistic going on.
“My only real issue with this movies is that I can’t erase them from my brain and watch them all over again for the first time” Man that hit like a truck. That’s one of the main reasons I love showing them to people who have never watched them before. I’ll never forget watching my friends gasp, cheer and even cry their souls out while watching them for the first time. I wish I was them for a bit.
This is why I haven’t watched any of them since around the time they came out. Maybe when they first came out on dvd but that was still in that general 4-5 year time frame. I’m over 30 now and I know I fully enjoyed them as a kid. But I actually remember soooo little about them that in another 4 years or so.. I’ll be as close to brand new as I can get lol
One Extended Edition addition I absolutely love that rarely gets mentioned is Gandalf facing the Witch King. It's not a necessary story beat, the battle is bleak enough as it is at that moment, and it certainly isn't as important as Saruman's end. But just this short momemt when you realize that this is an enemy even Gandalf has to fear, that's a huge gut punch. The Witch King is soooo imposing in that scene. And it elevates Eowyn's victory even higher. Also, it explains why Gandalf has no staff afterwards. Alltough, to be fair, I never realized the staff just vanishes in the theatrical cut.
Just would like to say that I actually prefer the movies to the books because the books are mostly characters walking and the battles are more observations from the characters than in depth descriptions of the conflicts with more battles being added to the movie than are in the books. That being said one of the scenes they added to the movies that I didn't like was that one because even though it works from a narrative standpoint to show how dire the situation is; the Witch King is not more powerful than Gandalf and wouldn't be able to break his staff. In the books Gandalf the white is the second most powerful being in middle earth besides Sauron himself and holds his ground against the Witch King who leaves to go deal with the rohirrim. The only reason Gandalf doesn't pursue him to the battlefield is because pippin tells him about how Faramir is going to be burned alive by his father and he's torn between the decision to either help Faramir or fight the Witch King. Gandalf the white is more badass in the books
@@jacobtuttle4311 Having Gandalf be too powerful would be fucking boring. Heroes are more interesting when they're not just total badasses that wreck everyone's shit. The ROTK book was also by far the worst of the 3. It devolved from a fun narrative to a smorgasbord of descriptions of shit happening.
@@nahor88 the whole trilogy was a description of shit happening. Do you even remember the first book? He doesn't even beat the Witch King, he just stands his ground and the Witch King leaves to attend to the rohirrim attack. The story itself leaves the potential outcome of a battle between them vague which is what I think is the superior narrative choice in this case. I understand that "the all hope is lost" moment needs to happen in a film I just think a non definitive outcome would be cooler and not make Gandalf seem weaker than when he fought the balrog. Like have the Witch King cast a spell, Gandalf counters it, then he says his line from the book and the Witch King leaves to deal with the rohirrim. They realized the scene itself wasn't necessary which is why they cut it
@@jacobtuttle4311 I don't what series you read, but the first two books were a tight narrative aside from Treebeard's rambling, while the 3rd book was just a shit ton of fighting. It makes for a good movie when you actually get to watch the fighting, and not read long-winded descriptions of chaos. You're entitled to your own opinion, but Gandalf losing to the Witch King just added even more meaning to Eowyn and Merry defeating him. I fucking hate it when heroes are just these untouchable Gods nothing can defeat. It's why I prefer Batman to Superman, and why the comic book writers had to give Superman a weakness so he wasn't so fucking boring.
I read LOTR for the first time in my teens and the end really frustrated me. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I realised that Frodo has PTSD and Tolkien, as a war survivor, was conveying it brilliantly.
The dialogue between frodo and Gandalf in the cave about not being quick to delve out death and judgement is my favorite scene of my favorite movie of all time. Still hits home every time.
@@thatscrazydude848 I know a lot of people say he's a contrarian, but even before how this video ended, that seems...unlikely. I can at most see him thinking the first _Hobbit_ movie is okay, but those other two movies are just so awful outside of like Smaugh and one or two other things that I would be genuinely surprised if he liked either one.
After 17 years, I'm ready to confess that I was one of those people that was 1st exposed to the trilogy via a 12 extended cut marathon precisely because my friends heard I hadn't seen them. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've watched them since.
I know the love triangle in Two Towers is generally looked down upon, but I love it just for the sole fact that it gave us the vision of Arwen's future, which imo is the best scene in the entire trilogy. The amount of emotion put into a 3 minute montage is absolutely astounding and I really think it deserves attention for how good it is
I didn't even notice the love triangle when I watched them as a child, to me they get away with it because they didn't lean so hard into it as a plot device
Definitely agree about the extended vs theatrical cuts. Even Peter Jackson himself said the theatrical version is the intended version for people to watch, he just gave the extended editions for fan service. I love the extended editions but the theatricals were what I watched first and helped me fall in love with the universe, and newcomers should definitely be watching the theatricals first.
The extended edition does the story and characters much better tho. Scenes like Boromir talking with Aragorn and Frodo, the scene between Boromir, Faramir and Denethor, Aragorn mastering the Palantir. They all do much better jobs at characterization.
@@StarRider253 yes and they are proof that it's nigh impossible to adapt some stories sadly. I love the movies but they'll never not feel like they're missing something
This trilogy is so near and dear to mr. my mom worked for air New Zealand which was where they filmed the movies. And she got to meet the whole cast and crew. She met Aragorn, Lurtz, Feirmir, Gimli, And Eirmir. And on top of that, I was born literally the day Return of the king came out, and after I was born, my dad went to the premier while my mom was in the hospital with me LMAO. Everything about these movies are perfect and heavily influenced my creativity and love for story telling. The Two Towers is by far my favorite movie with fleshing out all the characters, the battle scenes, and the overall plot. Its always a tradition of mine to always rewatch these movies on my birthday. Thank you for doing such a perfect video on these movies.
Lord Of The Rings is an interesting trilogy for me. I watched the films when I was like 13 and I thought they were okay but then I remember not being able to keep them out of my mind afterwards. After about a year I rewatched them and realised they were absolutely brilliant and became obsessed with the films and the books.
@@reek4062 thinks what only matters is how truthful an adaptation it is. your problem that you cant see the masterclass in moviemaking because it doesnt have more filler from the books
@@reek4062 any movie that is 100% faithful to the books would be unwatchable garbage. Not that the books are bad, but the translation between mediums will always require changes.
Always makes me happy seeing other people say Fellowship of The Ring is also their favorite, it just feels like such an epic journey with the whole fellowship and how they travel through so many different landscapes as they also encounter so many different monsters. It's easily the one I've re-watched the most!
Frodo is by far the most tragic character inside LoTR, he begins his journey a free, kind, and innocent spirit and by the end of it that is destroyed. Same goes for all the hobit characters but Frodo's goes even beyond that since he can't reintegrate back into his own society and in order to feel a shred of happiness he has to leave his home and those he cares for the most (on the scene before he leaves he is pale as a ghost and only after he gets on the boat does he show some warmth). It pains me to watch the first movie and see how heartfelt and joyful he was knowing what happens, by the time he reaches Mt. Doom it is as he says "there is nothing between me and the darkness". It is as Al Pacino's character in The scent of a woman says "but there is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit.There is no prostetic for that."
Fun fact Tolkien doesn't like the title either and he wasn't sure what towers it even referred too. People assume baradur and orthanc. But it might be dulgaldor or Morgol or some other combo. Cause the movie calls the it union of the two towers and shows baradur and orthanc. But in the books sauraman isn't an aligned with Sauron. He is trying to take power himself.
I'll never forget seeing "The Fellowship..." first time, biggest screen in my city, freshly after second read through of the books. When after few minutes I remembered how breathing works I knew I experienced something magical. I haven't watched these movies for over a decade, I guess it's time for a refresh
i love this because i felt the same way as a kid. i only found out that a lot of people hated the films when i was older, and i was so confused because no matter how different they could be from the books, they were a magnificent viewing experience
I watch them every year. Those movies revolutionized cinema forever and also was a turning point in my life. made me want to become and actress and a filmmaker
I recommend listening to the Spotify channel called, roads go ever on, it's the full audio book to the hobbit and lord of the rings, great voice acting, ambient sounds, smaug, Gandalf, and frodo all sound just as good as the actors in the movies
I was so glad to see someone finally talking about how the *extended* army of the dead subplot actively hurts the experience in RotK. I remember watching the theatrical cut originally and hearing that last "What say you?!" and then it cutting I was like oh man this is how you build suspense. Extended edition is like nah fuck that lmao
Apparently they changed Saruman to Aruman because audiences in test screenings (which consisted uniformly of non book readers) were confused by the names Saruman and Sauron. So they decided to change it to Aruman in post production, but were running out of time and couldn't finish. This is how the naming inconsistency came to be.
I would love to see the "Cosmonaut Cut" of the LOTR trilogy. Picking worthwhile scenes from the extended editions with the intent to enhance the theatrical editions, without going overboard in the ways the extended editions do.
I’m surprised more movies with extended cuts like this, like Star Wars, don’t have customizable editions that let you can pick which scenes from the extended versions to keep and which to omit.
@@tylermacgregor1320 making a customizable experience is asking way too much from companies that are already trying to remove physical media and replace it with streaming
I really wish there was a way on Disney+ or Netflix or something for users to do custom remixes/fanedits. Lots of shows and movies would benefit from allowing that sort of community driven reinterpretation of stuff. Kaleidoscope (which I haven't watched yet) almost seems to be tiptoeing toward that, with the viewing order affecting your perspective of the events and people sharing their randomized/preferred viewing orders.
@@tylermacgregor1320 That'd be pretty difficult to accomplish especially for physical copies of a movie. Either the disk or the machine playing the disk would need software on it that could edit, render, and export the entire film's sequence in real time and basically at the click of a button. And frankly; that's just not how movies work.
i HIGHLY recommend watching Folding Ideas' video on Ralph Bakshi's animated LOTR movie bc it explains A LOT about why it's as bizarre as it is, inclusing the decision to pronounce Saruman as "Aruman" (tl;dr: it was creative differences btwn Bakshi & one of the other project leads). Bakshi is an,,, interesting guy to say the least, & his style of filmmaking in general contributed a lot to the aesthetic & storytelling
I feel like if they stuck to the books a bit closer for the third movie you wouldn’t have an issue with the ghost army being shown agreeing to help, i haven’t read the books much but I heard the ghost army couldn’t actually fight and was used for scare tactics it still would’ve given us that dire feeling because its a 50/50 chance they would’ve driven the orcs away.
Yeah, the ghost army basically scared the crap out of the pirates, which allowed Aragorn to rally the Gondorian troops and lords along the coast and sail up the river to Minas Tirith. The ghosts had already fulfilled their oath and been released from their curse by then, so Aragorn arrived with live, human reinforcements that Sauron had counted on not having to fight since the pirates would have kept them too busy.
The Battle of Pelennor fields missed out so much. Wish we got the Grey Company as well as the ghosts, seeing Aragorn jump off the boat and having his banner unfurl to show the RETURN OF THE KING on the field of battle? Imagine how good it could have looked.
in the books, the rohirrim had just overrun the field but as they were getting overwhelmed by the southrons, everyone on the battlefield and in the city saw the ships coming and started panicking. and then the flag of the king was unfurled on the mast for the first time in hundreds of years and everyone was confused and mystified and hopeful suddenly. after the battle was won the city was chattering excitedly about the rumored return of the king, but then the next morning the flag of the prince of dol amroth was unfurled over the city. it would have been tough to portray in movie form but i loved the way the books captured the mood of minas tirith through confusing and magical times.
The battle is also set up differently. When the Rohirrim show up, we don't know it yet. We just know that everyone hears a horn over the clamour and is really confused what it is. Then it switches back to Merry a few days prior. Then they get to the Pelennor Fields and we now know the horn was the Rohirrim announcing their presence and starting their charge. Then that plays out quite a bit, before we get the perspective of Minas Tirith troops dreading the fact that they see black flags of Haradrim corsairs on the river. Then we skip back to Aragorn and friends doing their thing a few days prior, then they lead the dead to the shores, and we realize the corsairs were commanded by the Aragorn. It's definitely way better set up and paid off both times.
I would like to add Return of the King licenced videogame was also a big factor on my love for these movies. Like don't get me Wrong, i already thought they were awesome but actually PLAYING some of the most iconic moments and Slaying Orcs was so much fun And Minas Tirith level still gives me anxiety
I think Tolkien named the two towers pretty arbitrarily because the publishers made him split the book into three. He apparently changed the towers that he's referring to two or three times retrospectively
I think you pretty much said it. The extended cut was probably more intended for people who have already watched all 3 and wanted to see the backstory and missing details and already know the lore, while the theatrical cut was more intended as a first watch.
My favorite scene in the trilogy has to be when Bilbo gives up the ring. The sheer weight its given symbolically with the acting and score, as well as physically with the simple trick of a magnet under the floor keeping it from bouncing, is pure genius.
In answer to your question about the two towers. Tolkien wrote lotr as one book and said it was best read as one book or two, not a trilogy. Also I’d forgotten D&D said the battle of Winterfell would somehow rival Helm’s Deep, I burst out laughing at that.
The Mouth of Sauron scene is also a super important piece that was cut. In the theatrical cut, there’s still this expectation from the main cast that Frodo is still on his way to Mt. Doom, and they could buy him just enough time. In the Extended Edition, they think Frodo is dead. The Ring is now on his way to Sauron, and the war is over. They’ve lost. Evil has one. But they fight to the end anyway. Aragorn’s, “For Frodo” carries way more weight because he’s dedicated what he thinks is the final charge of Men to his friend, and he’s leading everyone into basically a suicide mission. It’s a really great beat for his character, and it’s another reason the Extended Edition is worth watching. Or maybe people should make their own cut so they can have the perfect movie, idk.
I don't think they necessarily thought he was caught, obviously they would've brought his corpse, not just his mithril shirt. So there was still some room for Hope
@@jarofdirt8359 Pirates of the Caribbean would be prime Cosmonaut content. They are entretaining but they also have so much dumb shit, specially the later entries
The worst part about the theatrical version of return of the king to me is not that they cuy out saruman's death but that they cut out the scene at the black gate where the fellowship think that frodo is dead, it adds SO much weight to aragorn's "for frodo" that when I watched the theatrical version it didn't hit NEARLY as hard for me.
@@samgourhan207 it’s very average. Just ignore anyone who goes on about how terrible it is because “woke” stuff. That doesn’t make any difference. It’s just a very bland average show which does not have many compelling characters. The ending picks up some pace but it’s very underwhelming overall.
Man to be a 90's kid and have those 3 years where you had a LOTR movie every Thanksgiving and a new Harry Potter movie every Xmas... that was peak life for a kid.
Nothing brings pure sadness when ur midway through the “hobbit why it sucks” vid and Marcus takes it down :( I guess I’ll just re watch this one until it re uploads 😮💨
I totally agree with the extended version argument. It's more of what we already love. We don't need all of the extended scenes, but we're happy we got them
I think first time viewers should probably watch the theatrical then viewers if they want to watch it again they should watch the extended. The extended just generally gives characters a lot more scenes and makes them much more fleshed out.
Yeah, people insisting first time viewers watch the extended editions is a pet peeve of mine, along with people recommending their favorite book from an author when someone unfamiliar with that genre or time period asks which of that author's books is the best to read first. Not as bad as insisting someone start the Star Wars series with episode 1, but it's still a terrible idea.
@@reek4062 I mean, if you want to get technical I agree, since as a lover of the books there are too many cuts, changes and distortions of the source material for the movie trilogy to be as amazing as its reputation... but all things considered the movies were waaay better than anything I would have dared hope to see in my lifetime when I first read the books in the mid-90s, let alone something I'd get to see within a decade! Why do you find them to be overrated?
I’m actually someone who got started with the extended editions because my dad is a huge fan of LotR, but because you can’t fit any of the three extended movies on a singular DVD we would watch them in halves when I was really young. I wonder if for some sort of future anniversary celebration they’ll create a Final Cut that adds the key handful of extended scenes (Bilbo’s monologue, Galadriel gifting and explaining the rope to Sam because that’s not in the theatrical cut for some reason, Saruman’s RotK scenes, etc) to the theatrical editions but otherwise sticks to the overall pacing of the original versions
On ski trip with my buddies last year the internet was trash at our Air BNB so we couldn't stream anything to watch, all we had was the DVD player and the only DVDs there were the LOTR extended versions with the multiple disc in and all. We watched the whole extended saga switching the discs it was like time travel.
Or maybe create a menu for the viewer to choose which “extended scenes” they want to include. You know what? Let’s do that for Star Wars as well. Let me see a version of the movies where I choose if Han shoots first or whether Palpatine is an old dude or a monkey-faced monster.
they actually recorded the scenes where gimli takes legolas to the glittering caves of helms deep and legolas takes gimli through the forests of fangorn, i really would love to see this because gimli and legolas' friendship is so beautiful in the books but is mostly reduced to comic relief in the movies. i think that scene may fix some of those issues
yea i’ve only ever watched the extended editions and even tho they were amazing they’re so fucking long😭😭 i don’t think i could watch all the way through again
A cosmonaut is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.
@Don't Read Profile Photo ok
shut up nerd😂
Calling it early. This one's the winner
The movies are overrated
I bet he’s the same in the bedroom
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the one series where you could put any movie at number 1 and it could be fully justified with someone who puts it in last.
@Don't Read Profile Photo ok 👍
Nah if it ain't Fellowship you're wrong (jk please dont hate me)
True, I often find myself changing my favourites but the one I like the most (most often) is the Fellowship, there is something about starting out in that journey that just makes me feel safe and comfortable, ready for the adventure ahead. Its also because its probably the one I watched most owing to being a kid when it came out.
I’m just a hood dude doing food reviews on my CZcams channel
@@click8708 my favorite is two towers but both fellowship and return of the king are awesome!!
"My friends, you bow to no one" is the most beautiful movie scene in cinema history.
Does it still give you goosebumps? Make you smile through your tears? It is so beautiful it hurts.
@@limlaith the more time passes the stronger it hits, it's a beautiful feeling.
@@sergiomoreno6861I finished watching the trilogy for the first time ever today. And that line and scene made me tear up dude. That whole last like 20 minutes of the film had me crying. Amazing experience cant wait to revisit them one day
FUCK YEA IT IS
"I can't carry it for you but I can carry you" gives it a run for its money.
I always liked the idea that Saruman sits around screaming at orcs that walk on his grass so they put up the stupid fence post things to try and keep the orcs from trampling the grass.
I never get how nobody notices that isengard is only that way when gandalf shows up, as soon as saruman starts making his army the orcs cut down all the trees to make way
@@johan9922 I think plenty of people notice it, but it is ultimately inconsequential and is more so one of those neat things that happens during stories. Just a fun little thing to notice but since it doesn't really impact much of anything, at least from the perspective of the movies, it just slips by with all the other cool little things to notice during the films.
Edit: Realized I never actually made my point. My point was that while I think people notice it, people either forget about it or don't talk about it because of it's ultimate insignificance to the overall story.
The Aruman thing is actually because the studio thought Saruman and Sauron sounded too similar so they changed the name... but then changed their mind half way through production and changed it back
You mean...Sauronman...is working with Sauron???? I am SHOCKED
Well NGL their names were kinda confusing for me, when I was a child. When I saw Fellowship first time I were shore that they are the same characters and Wizzard is main antagonist of the franchise (tbf it was on TV and I miss some of the scene, due to changing chanel on commercial)
NGL when i was a kid I thought the same thing.
@@TenaciousP45 oh so did I haha!
Reminds me of Hitler, whose well know right hand man and leader of the SS is the confusingly named Himmler. So you’re teaching kids about WW2 and they gotta remember that the two bad guys are named Hitler and Himmler. Same energy as Saruman and Sauron.
Surprised you didn’t mention how Sauron worked as a villain. Bro barely had any screen time but his presence is CONSTANT throughout the entire trilogy.
I agree but think it would have been better if he had some form of physical form. (Idk how to implement that tho without adding a bunch of "why didn't he just attack Frodo personally????" Plot holes).
@@ImOnioned Doesn't that kinda mean that it's better that he didn't have a physical form then?
So like Senator Armstrong?
@user-we6yx2zk4i yeah but it would be cool, make Sauron feel like a larger threat and shut up a bunch of people complaining about it not being accurate to the books. It doesn't really matter either way though I guess.
@@ImOnioned If I recall correctly, Sauron is unable to have a physical form other than The Eye due to previous deaths in the timeline, first in Numenor, when Eru decided to punch Numenor into oblivion, where he lost his fair form, and second in the battle between Gil-Galad and Elendil vs Sauron, where he lost his physical body.
I love that Gandalf fights. Like with a sword. He's not like some frail nerd who hides behind the warriors and throws fireballs at the enemy. Nope, he's right in front, swingin' Foe-Hammer and tanking the fire demon. I get why dnd made wizards physically wimpy, there has to be balance, but this version is just cooler.
Random aside, there's one shot from the extended edition where Gandalf hits one of the orcs with his sword, and it does NOTHING. Looks more like he's hitting it with a metal pole, lol. Fuck up by the choreographer.
Gandalf is the best wizard
His the most powerful from the fellowship of the ring, so it makes sence why he fights in the front.
@@jout738 Sure, but my point here is most powerful in which way. The classic d&d wizard may also be the most powerful in the sense that their spells can do the most damage and do other amazing things, but that doesn't mean they're handy with a sword in a cavalry charge.
@@camipco
Do you really think any of the other members from fellowship of the ring could take down Balrog in 1v1. Only Gandalf can do that, because his most powerful from fellowship of the ring and so Gandalf indeed can fight in the front, when fought against Balrog very close to it with his own sword.
I will say, the one story thread that I think the extended editions definitely benefit from the most is Boromir. Learning more about Boromir's past and motivations helps round out the character much more, even retroactively in the 2nd and 3rd movies. It helps you understand WHY he's so easily seduced by the Ring, and shows how he was truly a good person who wanted to do the right thing to protect his people, and why his death was so crushing of a loss for Denethor and Faramir both.
One of my biggest issues with Fellowship in general is how Boromir was just kind of left out of the movie. He's shorted even in the extended cut imo. He also just acts like an asshole for no reason, which I get is them showing the Ring corrupting him, but like, you have to make him likeable first. Book Boromir is significantly better and he's the one member of the Fellowship that I feel got kind of shorted by the challenges of adapting Tolkien's writing. Tolkien just does so much exposition dumping and that really isn't an adaptation-friendly trait
i love faramir
@@organa1626I don't think that's entirely true,I mean the movie clearly shows him being friends with merri and Pippin and hes also sortve what I consider to be the voice of reason for the group before he got corrupted
Benedict Cumberbatch doing the worm in a ping pong ball suit and screeching "I AM FIRE!!!" is one of the most cursed yet hilarious things I will ever see
Credit to him, he was willing to go full stupid for the sake of performance.
I like his portrayal honestly. It's really challenging to do mocap when you don't know what the final product will look like but he really brought life to it
Yo… De Strange showed his whole ass for that roll! Respect
It's especially funny because his performance is one of the few things I really, really enjoyed from the Hobbit trilogy
@@MichaelMedici61W2"I AM SORCERER SUPREME!" *drags body around with his arms*
One thing I noticed about the extended edition movies is that they gave Gimli much more of a character, in the theatrical fellowship of the ring he has like 5 lines
"Not the beard"
"Nobody tosses a dwarf"
He had some iconic ones at least
@@stephengrigg5988 "There is one dwarf yet, in Moria, that still draws breath!!" Also in both versions. And also a pretty amazing line. At least I thought so. But yeah. In the theatrical version, Gimli was just... an extra, really...
Watch the theatrical editions again and count the lines, you wouldnt believe how off you are!
i don't think any of his lines really give much deeper meaning. he's extremely shallow character in the films.
@@jacob4920 during the battle with the orcs in Moria inside Balin's grave room I thought Gimli was by far the most dangerous warrior inside the room.
Gandalfs fight in the beginning of TTT is hands down the sickest shit I’ve ever seen. Imagine you’re falling likely to your death and instead of whining about it, you start beating the dude’s ass mid-fall. Also epic shot of them falling into the lake.
Cool sword called foehammer, ✔️. Talk shit to your opponent ✔️. finish it off with a 10 day battle Royale ✔️
If you are gonna die, might as well go out with your sword at some demon's throat. Thats why we love that moment, cause that is how we would want to go out as well
8:56 I love how boromir ruffles his hair like hes a kid here but canonically frodo is a full 10 years older than him
That fucking ending killed me
The Appendices are a goldmine for content and context, then every once in a while you get stuff like that that just brings out all the chuckles 😆
God, probably my favorite scene in the whole series is when Sam and Frodo are at the base of Mt. Doom, and Sam says "I may not be able to carry it for you, but I can carry you!" It's the greatest emotional moment I've seen since The Shawshank Redemption. Sean Astin didn't have much to do in the previous films, but in Return of the King, he really proved himself to be the best of the entire cast at delivering emotion.
Btw, add Saruman and the Mouth of Sauron to the theatrical cut, and you get a movie that deserves 11 Academy Awards (like Fellowship did)
Preach
And the fact that he fucking struggles to carry him the entire way up, falling, and just AHH- he was such a badass!
A p-p-p-p-p-promise!
It's one of the best scenes in all of cinema.
I've always loved the subtle "I lost it' Frodo says when Bilbo asks to see the ring again, it makes it very clear that Fodo in some way still covets it despite knowing it's been destroyed shoeing just how strong its corruption is when it takes hold
I always thought it meant that he didn't want to tell Bilbo the truth so he doesn't become angry
@@umairashraf5167 That's what I took from it to, he lies to Bilbo to protect him from the reality of it. Although I'm a bit surprised Bilbo doesn't know about it already. Like he lived in Rivendell and no one thought to fill him in 🤣 unless he's just too old and senile to remember that information and the power of the ring still has a hold on him so he remembers that.
@@smon4164 I took it as Bilbo definitely becoming extremely senile from old age. Last time we saw him in Fellowship, he was literally in tears crying to Frodo about how it was all his fault that Frodo must now carry such a terrible burden, meaning that he knows full well that the ring is evil incarnate. Then in Return of the King, he's all "do you by any chance know where my old ring went? I'd love it hold it again. :P"
@@windowsVD yeah true, it does seem that was the intention to portray he has gone senile with old age. It's a beautiful thing actually, thinking his final journey will be with the elves and he will be at peace.
I don't think that Aragorn was actually part of a love triangle. He was never torn between Arwen and Eowyn. He loved Arwen, simple as that. He happened to be also loved by Eowyn but he never considered her as a mate.
My favourite movie is the second one because I love the entire Rohan plotline so much. All in all, for me LotR always feels like home.
Idk A-dog was giving some mixed signals ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@renaissancefemme Example?
I think that's the best descriptor for these movies. They really do feel like home, like something I can always return to and know about, but still be absolutely gripped and fall in love with all over again.
Now this is quite the Christmas present
Literally what I was thinking when this popped up in my notification.
@@mjparker4394 same lmao
A surprise to be sure but a welcome one
Stole my comment! 😊
Chanukah for me but yes!
You know The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the strongest trilogy in cinema when you can call any 1 of the 3 movies your favourite and people would simply understand
They all work together as a singular movie but separate at the same time. There really is nothing quite like it.
No, the Star Wars OT and the Indiana Jones trilogy are both much better than the ''LotR'' movies.
@@reek4062nah
@@reek4062 Stupid opinion on the verge of being objectively wrong.
@@reek4062 The Indiana Jones trilogy isn't even a real trilogy.
The scene where the Hobbits return to the Shire at the end of Return of the King hits really hard because I think it parallels the experience a lot of war veterans feel when they come home and have to reacclimate to living their lives again. I've heard it said that the equivalent scene/chapters in the book (while different from how it happens in the movie because of the Battle of Bywater subplot) was also partly inspired by Tolkien's own experience returning home after WW1 ended.
I was 13 when the movies came out. I loved them but never really watched them again until 3 years ago when I came back from being in Iraq for 8 years. I saw a lot of shit. When I watched those movies with my girlfriend, I cried at part. I had been home for 2 months and I was having a hard time realizing that I wasn't going back. My adventures were over. I was alive, I survived When others didn't. It really hit me harder than it should have. Just wanted to add my 2 cents, thank you for listening.
Fight to save something and succeed, except you haven't saved it for yourself.
Definitely
@@HansDesterthank you for your time serving, that is a long time in Iraq. Hope you and your loved ones are happy and healthy
That was the part that upset me the most since they deviated from the books. I hate to be that guy but the Hobbits return to find the Shire, you know, fine. The point of them coming back to a Shire taken over by bad guys is to show how, even without a massive army behind them, they’ve learned courage. They’ve learned that you have to fight for the things that are important.
20:13 "you wanna be a dirty footed cracker with a eating disorder?"
caught me off guard, lmao
Facts, I laughed aloud
One of the best things about LotR is that it has a large cast, but gives every character something to do and a unique personality
You can see the improvement from the hobbit that had "bilbo, gandalf, thorin, fat dwarf and the rest"
Don’t forget my man Dwalin
@ don't forget big white orc that thorin fights
Somehow the short made-for-children book version of The Hobbit still managed to characterize the dwarves better than a whole trilogy of big budget hollywood films did.
Why you dissing my man Balin like that
@@kdusel1991 He wasn't in the books actually. Azog was something they made for film.
I’m so glad he’s finally reviewing these movies. I love the “why it sucks” or “worst super hero movie ever made” videos but it’s always nice seeing Markie passionate about something he loves. Also I cannot believe the X-men reviews were a year ago already… and the Harry Potter vids 2 years ago!? Time is flying by…
I couldn't agree more. It's nice to have a positive video every once in a while. 🙂
17:00 Tolkien didn't name them and was just as confused by that name. He wrote 'The Lord of the Rings' and it was the publishers who decided to split it into three novels and chose their names (Tolkien would have preferred them be divided by the six 'books' he split the story into in the text) He also objected to the spoiler title "The Return of the King".
This trilogy is easily one of the top things I wish I could experience for the first time again.
I cant wait for the technology to forget things I want like to wipe my mind of certain books movies to experience first time.
Same
@@TolandruthYou won’t be alive for it lol
It's honestly miraculous how these movies got the right director, the right actors, the right music composer, the right EVERYTHING. A movie of this caliber for a beloved fantasy series should not have happened or have been this good simply because of everything that could have gone wrong, but it did happen and it was that good. I watch these movies every year around Christmas and will continue to cherish them for as long as I remain alive.
The movies got the wrong screenwriters tho
Also it came at the right moment in the right Time... If they were Made a little after, we would got... Well, The Hobbit movies
@@reek4062 no, they Didnt
Sadly it showed just how hard it was to pull off a trilogy like this when the Hobbit became such a mess to produce, even though Jackson had proven himself with LOTR they didn't give him the same amount of time and freedom.
By rights it shouldn’t even be here, but it is here…
"Smokin' that za-za, hanging out with the King of Horses"
Yeah, he's still got it.
2 things:
I think there still is tension by showing Aragorn and his ghost army. It's just switched from being "Where is he?" To "Will he arrive on time?"
Plus, you get that great scene that shows Aragorn losing hope for a brief moment.
Secondly, I can't believe you did this great review and didn't mention one of the single best shots in the triology. That cavalry charge in ROTK. Every time I see that scene, from the speech onwards, it gives me goosebumps.
Don’t forget that it cuts out the Peter Jackson cameo!
I was looking for this comment, I was waiting for his take for the battle of Pelenor fields and I was pretty surprised it wasn't even mentioned as this is arguably one of the best scenes of all time.
@@DarelictMcFizz-a-tronwhich one lol. There's several
@@pharaohbubbles1547 the one that’s cut out?
He clearly has a favorite which is fellowship so obviously he isn't going to acknowledge or make sense of the important parts of ROTK
Another scene that's important to me from the extended edition. Is the scene with Boromier, Faramir and their dad.
That really helped me have a better understanding of 1. All of their relationship. But also feeling empathy for them (the sons) and their choices through the series.
I had a lot more feeling for Boromier, before his demise. And understanding for Faramir's crazy loyalty to his crazy father.
Surely by now there's a fan-edit of both theatrical and extended versions with the best of both edited down into the perfect trilogy.
Someone did it for the hobbit
@@HyperionFTW how much was left by the end of it? 4 hours?
@@mcstotti8691 literally yes, check out the Maple Films edit
@@LordMangudai i remember walking out of the cinema after the second movie really perplexed. I told my friends i could see maybe half an hour or maybe 1 hour tops for the third one. The hobbit movies are so fuckings stretched out.
Bilbo's quote perfectly fits the Hobbit movies I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread. Like that could easily be said about those movies just change I feel to it feels.
Completely agree that the ‘Concerning Hobbits’ scene should’ve been in the theatrical version.
Just like the full Saruman death scene.
overall the theatrical cuts are better imo but some scenes like concerning hobbits, Saruman's death, and the mouth of Sauron are just so god damn good that they just need to be included in rewatches
Eh, you don't *really* need it. And having 2 different narrated prologues at the start of a movie is just weird.
I don't know, it sounds like when Dune fans try to say the new movie "didn't explain" this thing or this thing, but as someone who never read the book I completely understood all of it because the movie showed it to you. You don't need "concerning hobbits" because the movie showed you the hobbits smoking pipes and living their lives, you immediately understand what their species is like. I know this because I saw the theatrical first as a kid and understood what a hobbit was because they showed me. Y'know, like a movie would.
@@Tribrachidiumheraldicum I’ve watched a lot of Fellowship reaction videos & a surprising number of reactors who watch the theatrical version seem confused as to what the hobbits are & I find myself wishing they’d watched the extended version. It’s not like it’s an onerous scene to watch. It’s got some fun humor & only lasts a couple minutes.
Your description of why Gandalf is the best wizard in fiction is absolutely gold.
As a kid i was obsessed with the Oscars even though I wasn’t old enough to watch or appreciate any of the nominated films. I just loved the awards and the speeches or something. I was 10 when return of the king won all those awards, I hadn’t seen the movies to date, didn’t have any opinions but once they won everything I was like “I have to see these movies” it was a formative moment for me lol
I honestly like that that the Shire hasn't changed at all and they don't appreciate what the 4 Hobbits did, compared to the Scouring in the books. It gives a sense that they truly can't go home again.
I completely agree! The scouring of the shire is really important sure, but in the movies the characters change and their home doesn't, while in the book they come back to a changed home.
Its similar to soldiers coming home from war. Everything is tainted from all the horror they witnessed that it can never be the same.
I'm still amazed at how they didn't need a single line of dialogue to pull off complex character work like that and have everyone in the audience completely understand it.
@@EldritchAugur Frodo does kind of spell it out in his closing monologue doesn't he?
@@user-rb1qe8fi2k don´t agree. He used it to show what the hobbit main characters had learned, and that we all must stand up to the forces of darkness at some point and fight, without the help from Wizards, kings and eagles. This is the real test of the hobbits, surviving as a unified people.
But that just me. I know there are two camps considering the ending.
The Two Towers is my favorite personally. One scene that you didn't talk about but elevates it for me is the March of the Ents on Isengard, which just fills you with such a sense of power.
I haven’t gotten to that point in the video yet but how could he forget the ents?!?!?!
Yeah, Two Towers is my favorite as well. I think it encapsulates everything the trilogy does best in a tighter pace, while having amazing scenes like the Battle of Helm's Deep and the March of the Ents. I personally feel that Fellowship is a little too slow burn initially and Return of the King gets a bit exhausting out of sheer length, while Two Towers is perfectly paced imo.
The Ents fucking up Isengard is so awesome and its good comeuppance for Saruman's hubris.
@@Di7manya Absolutely. I mean obviously to each their own and he probably experienced LOTR differently than me, and I'm totally with him on the theatrical release point, but to me Two Towers is just such an epic movie? Like everything I'd want out of a LOTR movie. I will say that he's also entirely right on the love triangle thing, but Return of the King is a bit more straightforward to me whereas the Battle of Helm's Deep is just so amazing.
And for me the very moment that makes the movie is right BEFORE the destruction of Isengard, right when Treebeard sees the destruction and roars, and then the ents emerge and you're like "Oh fuck"
They taking the hobbits to Isengard
@@Di7manya return of the king is a fkn drag. But that’s only because if you watch them all back to back then it is quite exhausting. The two towers will always be my favorite
This trilogy is the one in a century event where the planets align to create something excellent from both a technical and emotional point of view. It is not a 1 to 1 adaptation of the books, but it is a perfect adaptation of a book made into a movie. 20 years later I still feel every emotion and I am still impressed at how timeless this is. I wish I was never shown this to watch it again for the first time.
The movies are very poor adaptations
@@reek4062how so? It's not a word by word adaptation of the book, but it adapted what worked for a movie greatly.
I don’t even know how I would rank these movies individually. The whole story is so cohesive that it feels like one big movie to me. It’s just a 10/10 trilogy.
"you wanna be a dirty footed cracker with an eating disorder, cool, all right, that's good for you."
The funniest thing I've ever heard in my life.
"You can do that. No one is stopping you from being that." That's the part I loved. You want to be a Hobbit so badly? You can literally live like a Hobbit if you so please. You can't be a chronic smoking, wisdom spouting, magic wielding, warrior badass like Gandalf.
Laughed out loud at that
imagine if he said a slur about any other race, and how people would receive that
@@mello1001 imagine the world was made of pudding
@@emilionavarrete5169 so ridiculous how some slurs are okay and others aren’t
It’s always a great Christmas when Marcus the Grey uploads a long review
I think you mean Marcus the White lol
He’s black though
@@christiangomez320 Marcus the Black then?
@@kdusel1991 There's a wizard called Radagast the Brown.
@@FelisImpurrator I know. He was in the terrible hobbit trilogy. I really don't like him.
I love the comparisons between frodo in the first and last movies. It really shows just how much everything weighed on him
Marcus isn't wrong about Gandalf, he's honestly the best part in all of the movies. He'll always be my definitive choice for badass wizards
The Gandalf the fool part actually ended me
Cool detail about Gandalf fighting the balrog. His sword, Glamdring (Foe Hammer), was the sword of Turgon, the king of Gondolin in the first age. This sword was made specifically for fighting balrogs or at least was made with balrogs in mind. I think it's neat that after thousands of years of being lost, the sword winds up in the hands of someone that goes toe to toe with a balrog and kicks its ass. Truly a legendary sword.
True, but since its Gandalf we're talking about, i doubt it was a coincidence. He knew what was in the depths of Moria. Could be that he sought the sword for the chance he could encounter a balrog.
@@46raulfull he found the sword by accident 60 years prior.
@@demi5536 okay then nevermind xd
@@46raulfull Leave it to the lore buffs to iron out the details for us. We mere casuals just see cool shit and were sold 😂
@@46raulfull funny enough in the book it's Gandalf who suggests going through the mines with Gimli supporting him and it's Aragon who's weary of traversing through the mines because he's traveled those lands more recently than Gandalf and knew there was some type of evil that dwelt in the mountain and they didn't know exactly what it was until they encountered it at the span and it was Legolas who first realized what it was and felt total despair upon seeing it. Gandalf actually had a "oh yeah, that makes sense" reaction when Legolas calls it a balrog. That being said I prefer how in the movie it's the learned wizard that fears going through moria because he's aware of what dwells there and it builds this hype for the encounter. The mines of moria section is my favorite part in both the films and books. Pinnacle fantasy
"you wanna be a dirty-footed cracker with an eating disorder" top ten lines of all time so funny thank you mr cosmonaut variety hour you have done it again
"Im really not into the Aragorn love tringle" neither is Aragorn to be fair
I agree with you in that I HATE that Saruman was cut from the theatrical release of Return of the King. In the book's he actually comes back in the ending and has taken over the Shire (something I'm personally in a way glad they cut from the movie because I like the idea of the Shire staying "pure" in a world of chaos), but apparently Christopher Lee and Peter Jackson got into a dissagrement over that because Lee wanted his last big Saruman moment. And I can understand him being angry when he wanted that and then Saruman didn't even get a proper ending like ... at all.
To play Devil's advocate a bit, the fact that it was at the start of the extended edition made it feel like unnecessary backtracking because at that point, stopping Sauron was the bigger priority, not Saruman.
I get why it was cut, but I am glad it exists at all.
I have never even acknoledged that the non extended versions exist, ever since the extended cuts came out and I proceeded to marathon them several times a year for a decade. They're the definitive experience.
That’s one of my biggest problems with the books, it felt like Tolkien really didn’t want the series to end and so it dragged on with the Saruman/Shire plot. Glad it didn’t make it into any version of the movies
@@weswhitelock9691 it’s not that he didn’t want it to end, he was making a statement about even though “the war ends” the battle against evil persists. Tolkien was making an allusion to his own experience and the experience of his comrades returning home from the war. The last scene in the movie in the tavern is about veterans and how out of place they felt after taking place in the great struggle against Sauron. Saruman represents the powerful interests who controlled the home country when Tolkien and his friends returned from the trenches of World War I. The England they knew and loved had been corrupted by a military industrial complex and the traumas of a devastating, generation killing war. In Tolkien’s version the humble English eventually banish those powerful forces of corruption to save “Happy old England” (the Shire) in our world, they did not.
I saw another video where it explained that Jackson had so much he needed to cut, and it felt weird putting the Saruman scene at the end of the film, so he wanted to save it for the RotK opener. However, the Smeagol & Dreagol scene eventually became the opener and Saruman's end had to be cut once again. Can't remember exactly, but I'm sure studio meddling came into it somehow.
Why do we all think of Golem as a creature without clothes? Because clothes represent society, civiliity, and individuality. The ring stripped him of all that. We subconsciously associate clothes with identity and culture, so our minds strip that away from Golem as well
I think that is exactly it!
Except for the loincloth, cuz the ring is a prude
Golem
In literal terms, Gollum's so old that whatever clothes he originally had probably rotted off, and he couldn't get new ones.
He could steal clothes from the orcs/goblins he ate
Okay but the 1978 LOTR is genuinely kinda fascinating to watch. More so from a history perspective as it was one of the first movie to use rotoscope technology (also combining it with cel animation) and seeing how Peter Jackson drew so much inspiration from the film is pretty cool.
I definitely agree that Fellowship is the best one. Literally my comfort movie. I can just throw it on whenever no matter how I’m feeling and just have a good time with it. It’s great. I have never seen a first movie that just sucks you into its world and mythos so effectively right from the word “go”.
I think Marcus was in to something when he mentioned the last scenes made the characters feel different when they came home.
Tolkien was a WWI vet, and I feel like the film makers captured the essence of returning home, as heroes and triumphant, but then nothing ever feels the same. They saw things, experienced the worst of humanity and nature had to offer, and even though the succeeded, it was just never the same anymore.
I think that’s the message there, and Marcus pointing it out reminded me what a wonderful writer Tolkien was.
Yes, that was one of the themes of the story.
In fact Frodo's pain and trauma was so great that he basically "committed suicide" and left middle earth.
Not unlike a lot of real life veterans.
In the books Saruman industrializes and wreaks havoc on the Shire and the hobbits as vengeance. Even when they return home Frodo has to defeat Saruman and free even the Shire. Tolkien, as others have stated, was a war veteran himself and it seems wanted to imprint very hard at the end of the books that even winning comes at a heavy cost, for everyone.
One thing about the book ending is, you gotta remember that WWI was from a time before video cameras. People back home knew there was a war going on, but they weren't really aware of what it was like. They had no idea of the horrors of trench warfare, they didn't know about mustard gas or the non-stop artillery fire. Upon returning home a lot of WWI soldiers actually weren't treated as heroes at all, they were treated with a kind of ambivalence because the broad population just had no way of knowing what those poor young men went through. Another one of Peter Jackson's projects, the WWI documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old", goes into this a bit. The Hobbits upon returning to The Shire are treated somewhat the same way, even after liberating The Shire from Saruman. They're "odd", they've "changed" etc, while The Shire has stayed mostly the same. There was no mustard gas in England, there was no Balrog in The Shire. People just didn't know what the people that left to go to war went through, and this was reflected in the book.
I love the extended editions as I find them more immersive BUT I always tell first timers to watch the theatrical editions first and if they like them then check the longer ones.
Exactly what I do
Good advice, i like the theatrical more. And the books are my go to fantasy re-read every year, marvelous.
I've literally only seen the extended edition and can't imagine them any other way, I'd actually be scared to watch the regular version cause I'd miss too much lol
This is the way
first timers should wait for a lazy day in bed or some flu like symptoms or a rainy day.
Tolkien stating that WW1 didn't have any effect on the story is insane when you see how broken Frodo ends up. Sam holds it together all while Frodo ends as a hollow shell unable to cope with "normal" life
Him stating that is pure denial. He wrote the hobbit during the war lol.
No source
We are still using PTSD in stories; it actually had a huge renaissance lately. Although it has become much easier to get over it, for some reason.
Tolkien didn't say that WWI had no effect on the story, he said the story wasn't an allegory (for example, orcs are not meant to directly represent German soldiers). Tolkien even acknowledged that the Dead Marshes were inspired by WWI trenches after a rainfall. Tolkien had inspirations and experiences he was drawing from, but he didn't want to shove a certain interpretation down the audience's throat. From the foreword to LotR:
>But I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and
always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to
detect its presence.
>I much prefer history, true or feigned,
with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of
readers.
>I think that many confuse ‘applicability’ with ‘allegory’; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and
the other in the purposed domination of the author.
What Tolkien was more strongly against were comparisons to WWII, because the story was taking shape before WWII began and he wasn't seeing the allies of WWII simply as "good guys" like the mainstream narrative of his time did (even though he hated the Nazis). LotR has strong themes, many resemblances to history and a lot to say about morality, but it is its own story that you can find meaning in for yourself - you can still "get it" without knowing anything about the World Wars. On the other hand, reading Narnia without knowing about Jesus will leave you confused about the allegorical Jesus of the story, the lion Aslan.
Tolkien literally never said that. He said that LotR was *specifically* not an allegory for WW2. It's also not an allegory for WWI, but that doesn't mean Tolkien's own experiences didn't influence his themes and writing. Allegory means a 1:1 substitution ("the lion = Jesus" like in Narnia), and Rings has nothing that simplistic going on.
16:14 omg why did Elijah Wood laugh like that!? I was laughing for 10 minutes after that😂😂🤣🤣
“My only real issue with this movies is that I can’t erase them from my brain and watch them all over again for the first time”
Man that hit like a truck. That’s one of the main reasons I love showing them to people who have never watched them before. I’ll never forget watching my friends gasp, cheer and even cry their souls out while watching them for the first time. I wish I was them for a bit.
This is why I haven’t watched any of them since around the time they came out. Maybe when they first came out on dvd but that was still in that general 4-5 year time frame. I’m over 30 now and I know I fully enjoyed them as a kid. But I actually remember soooo little about them that in another 4 years or so.. I’ll be as close to brand new as I can get lol
One Extended Edition addition I absolutely love that rarely gets mentioned is Gandalf facing the Witch King. It's not a necessary story beat, the battle is bleak enough as it is at that moment, and it certainly isn't as important as Saruman's end. But just this short momemt when you realize that this is an enemy even Gandalf has to fear, that's a huge gut punch. The Witch King is soooo imposing in that scene. And it elevates Eowyn's victory even higher.
Also, it explains why Gandalf has no staff afterwards. Alltough, to be fair, I never realized the staff just vanishes in the theatrical cut.
Just would like to say that I actually prefer the movies to the books because the books are mostly characters walking and the battles are more observations from the characters than in depth descriptions of the conflicts with more battles being added to the movie than are in the books. That being said one of the scenes they added to the movies that I didn't like was that one because even though it works from a narrative standpoint to show how dire the situation is; the Witch King is not more powerful than Gandalf and wouldn't be able to break his staff. In the books Gandalf the white is the second most powerful being in middle earth besides Sauron himself and holds his ground against the Witch King who leaves to go deal with the rohirrim. The only reason Gandalf doesn't pursue him to the battlefield is because pippin tells him about how Faramir is going to be burned alive by his father and he's torn between the decision to either help Faramir or fight the Witch King. Gandalf the white is more badass in the books
@@jacobtuttle4311 Having Gandalf be too powerful would be fucking boring. Heroes are more interesting when they're not just total badasses that wreck everyone's shit.
The ROTK book was also by far the worst of the 3. It devolved from a fun narrative to a smorgasbord of descriptions of shit happening.
@@nahor88 the whole trilogy was a description of shit happening. Do you even remember the first book? He doesn't even beat the Witch King, he just stands his ground and the Witch King leaves to attend to the rohirrim attack. The story itself leaves the potential outcome of a battle between them vague which is what I think is the superior narrative choice in this case. I understand that "the all hope is lost" moment needs to happen in a film I just think a non definitive outcome would be cooler and not make Gandalf seem weaker than when he fought the balrog. Like have the Witch King cast a spell, Gandalf counters it, then he says his line from the book and the Witch King leaves to deal with the rohirrim. They realized the scene itself wasn't necessary which is why they cut it
@@jacobtuttle4311 I don't what series you read, but the first two books were a tight narrative aside from Treebeard's rambling, while the 3rd book was just a shit ton of fighting. It makes for a good movie when you actually get to watch the fighting, and not read long-winded descriptions of chaos.
You're entitled to your own opinion, but Gandalf losing to the Witch King just added even more meaning to Eowyn and Merry defeating him. I fucking hate it when heroes are just these untouchable Gods nothing can defeat. It's why I prefer Batman to Superman, and why the comic book writers had to give Superman a weakness so he wasn't so fucking boring.
@@jacobtuttle4311 In reality Gandalf is way way more powerful than the Witch King, lmoast on par with Sauron.
I read LOTR for the first time in my teens and the end really frustrated me. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I realised that Frodo has PTSD and Tolkien, as a war survivor, was conveying it brilliantly.
This is a small detail that I always loved - anyone else like the metallic whine Glamdring makes as Gandalf grabs it and pursues the Balrog? So cool.
The dialogue between frodo and Gandalf in the cave about not being quick to delve out death and judgement is my favorite scene of my favorite movie of all time. Still hits home every time.
Also the "so do all who live to see such times" line. If i remember correctly they're both from the books.
@@46raulfull yea I'm talking about that whole scene. Just perfection
Boys, we in for a ride when he reviews The Hobbit trilogy
I hope he watched the M2 edit, thats a legitimately great film when you cut all the filler out like he did.
@@languidlandscapelad2239 even if he had he'd obviously talk about the originals first since most people have seen those and it's official
@@languidlandscapelad2239 It's the M4 Hobbit edit.
wouldn't be surprised if he likes the hobbit films
@@thatscrazydude848 I know a lot of people say he's a contrarian, but even before how this video ended, that seems...unlikely. I can at most see him thinking the first _Hobbit_ movie is okay, but those other two movies are just so awful outside of like Smaugh and one or two other things that I would be genuinely surprised if he liked either one.
Your commentary on gandalf and wizards is the best thing i heard. Talks shit to ancient demons and fights them for 10 days
After 17 years, I'm ready to confess that I was one of those people that was 1st exposed to the trilogy via a 12 extended cut marathon precisely because my friends heard I hadn't seen them. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've watched them since.
I know the love triangle in Two Towers is generally looked down upon, but I love it just for the sole fact that it gave us the vision of Arwen's future, which imo is the best scene in the entire trilogy. The amount of emotion put into a 3 minute montage is absolutely astounding and I really think it deserves attention for how good it is
I didn't even notice the love triangle when I watched them as a child, to me they get away with it because they didn't lean so hard into it as a plot device
Definitely agree about the extended vs theatrical cuts. Even Peter Jackson himself said the theatrical version is the intended version for people to watch, he just gave the extended editions for fan service. I love the extended editions but the theatricals were what I watched first and helped me fall in love with the universe, and newcomers should definitely be watching the theatricals first.
The extended edition does the story and characters much better tho. Scenes like Boromir talking with Aragorn and Frodo, the scene between Boromir, Faramir and Denethor, Aragorn mastering the Palantir. They all do much better jobs at characterization.
@@t.i.5528 Yeah but newcomers need to watch the theatricals first, they just have way better pacing.
@@StarRider253 yes and they are proof that it's nigh impossible to adapt some stories sadly. I love the movies but they'll never not feel like they're missing something
@@StarRider253simple solution is watching in segments tbh. The blu ray extended releases come in 2 discs per movie
I feel like you don't really get the depth of boromirs character in the theatricals which definetly hurts them
That McDonald's Sprite joke was so funny I had to rewind after because I laughed too hard to pay attention.
Did your hobbit video get striked? I was watching it earlier and now it's gone. Is it Gandalf gone or like Boromir gone gone?
This trilogy is so near and dear to mr. my mom worked for air New Zealand which was where they filmed the movies. And she got to meet the whole cast and crew. She met Aragorn, Lurtz, Feirmir, Gimli, And Eirmir. And on top of that, I was born literally the day Return of the king came out, and after I was born, my dad went to the premier while my mom was in the hospital with me LMAO. Everything about these movies are perfect and heavily influenced my creativity and love for story telling. The Two Towers is by far my favorite movie with fleshing out all the characters, the battle scenes, and the overall plot. Its always a tradition of mine to always rewatch these movies on my birthday. Thank you for doing such a perfect video on these movies.
Who the fuck is Mr. My mom
@@Icemanz666 It was a type, my bad😂. Mr is supposed to be me
Damn you got a near Christmas birthday. Feel very sorry for you
;(
@@TheseUseless really isn’t all that bad😂, I love it actually
@@enzosanchez9086 she met Feirmir AND Eirmir? holy shit
Lord Of The Rings is an interesting trilogy for me. I watched the films when I was like 13 and I thought they were okay but then I remember not being able to keep them out of my mind afterwards. After about a year I rewatched them and realised they were absolutely brilliant and became obsessed with the films and the books.
The movies are overrated. They are not faithful to the books
Omg Same!
@@reek4062 thinks what only matters is how truthful an adaptation it is. your problem that you cant see the masterclass in moviemaking because it doesnt have more filler from the books
@@reek4062 any movie that is 100% faithful to the books would be unwatchable garbage. Not that the books are bad, but the translation between mediums will always require changes.
maybe I’ll enjoy these movies one day. but for now, they are boring as fuck and make me feel nothing.
The description of Bakshi's version of Sam absolutely destroyed me. Too good.
Always makes me happy seeing other people say Fellowship of The Ring is also their favorite, it just feels like such an epic journey with the whole fellowship and how they travel through so many different landscapes as they also encounter so many different monsters. It's easily the one I've re-watched the most!
Cosmonaut always delivers the best Christmas gifts
The LotR movies are deeply overrated.
@@reek4062 that’s great
@@reek4062 ok
"Oh, THOSE MOVIES! Yeah, those're pretty good."
Hahahaha! You made my Christmas eve. Excellent work. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
🎄🌟👍🏼👍🏼
Frodo is by far the most tragic character inside LoTR, he begins his journey a free, kind, and innocent spirit and by the end of it that is destroyed. Same goes for all the hobit characters but Frodo's goes even beyond that since he can't reintegrate back into his own society and in order to feel a shred of happiness he has to leave his home and those he cares for the most (on the scene before he leaves he is pale as a ghost and only after he gets on the boat does he show some warmth). It pains me to watch the first movie and see how heartfelt and joyful he was knowing what happens, by the time he reaches Mt. Doom it is as he says "there is nothing between me and the darkness". It is as Al Pacino's character in The scent of a woman says "but there is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit.There is no prostetic for that."
Dang I was halfway through the Hobbit video when it got taken down
Fun fact Tolkien doesn't like the title either and he wasn't sure what towers it even referred too. People assume baradur and orthanc. But it might be dulgaldor or Morgol or some other combo. Cause the movie calls the it union of the two towers and shows baradur and orthanc. But in the books sauraman isn't an aligned with Sauron. He is trying to take power himself.
Yeah, as with many things, Tolkien changed his mind several times about which towers it refers to.
My headcanon is that it refers to the two wizards and their inevitable battle
I'll never forget seeing "The Fellowship..." first time, biggest screen in my city, freshly after second read through of the books. When after few minutes I remembered how breathing works I knew I experienced something magical. I haven't watched these movies for over a decade, I guess it's time for a refresh
A decade??? Bro I have watched them every year since I saw them first when I was 6 how could you stay away from them
i love this because i felt the same way as a kid. i only found out that a lot of people hated the films when i was older, and i was so confused because no matter how different they could be from the books, they were a magnificent viewing experience
I watch them every year. Those movies revolutionized cinema forever and also was a turning point in my life. made me want to become and actress and a filmmaker
I recommend listening to the Spotify channel called, roads go ever on, it's the full audio book to the hobbit and lord of the rings, great voice acting, ambient sounds, smaug, Gandalf, and frodo all sound just as good as the actors in the movies
I saw you posted the hobbit review then it was gone! So I just re-watched this and cried in sadness.
I was so glad to see someone finally talking about how the *extended* army of the dead subplot actively hurts the experience in RotK. I remember watching the theatrical cut originally and hearing that last "What say you?!" and then it cutting I was like oh man this is how you build suspense. Extended edition is like nah fuck that lmao
Apparently they changed Saruman to Aruman because audiences in test screenings (which consisted uniformly of non book readers) were confused by the names Saruman and Sauron. So they decided to change it to Aruman in post production, but were running out of time and couldn't finish. This is how the naming inconsistency came to be.
No Gandalf just forgot his meds
I would love to see the "Cosmonaut Cut" of the LOTR trilogy. Picking worthwhile scenes from the extended editions with the intent to enhance the theatrical editions, without going overboard in the ways the extended editions do.
I can think of 1 scene from the first film, 1 scene from the second, and 4 scenes from the third that should be added to the films
I’m surprised more movies with extended cuts like this, like Star Wars, don’t have customizable editions that let you can pick which scenes from the extended versions to keep and which to omit.
@@tylermacgregor1320 making a customizable experience is asking way too much from companies that are already trying to remove physical media and replace it with streaming
I really wish there was a way on Disney+ or Netflix or something for users to do custom remixes/fanedits. Lots of shows and movies would benefit from allowing that sort of community driven reinterpretation of stuff. Kaleidoscope (which I haven't watched yet) almost seems to be tiptoeing toward that, with the viewing order affecting your perspective of the events and people sharing their randomized/preferred viewing orders.
@@tylermacgregor1320 That'd be pretty difficult to accomplish especially for physical copies of a movie. Either the disk or the machine playing the disk would need software on it that could edit, render, and export the entire film's sequence in real time and basically at the click of a button. And frankly; that's just not how movies work.
i HIGHLY recommend watching Folding Ideas' video on Ralph Bakshi's animated LOTR movie bc it explains A LOT about why it's as bizarre as it is, inclusing the decision to pronounce Saruman as "Aruman" (tl;dr: it was creative differences btwn Bakshi & one of the other project leads). Bakshi is an,,, interesting guy to say the least, & his style of filmmaking in general contributed a lot to the aesthetic & storytelling
I still remember watching Two Towers in cinema as a teen, and the Balrog scene one of the best opening movie scenes I've ever watched! 😍
I feel like if they stuck to the books a bit closer for the third movie you wouldn’t have an issue with the ghost army being shown agreeing to help, i haven’t read the books much but I heard the ghost army couldn’t actually fight and was used for scare tactics it still would’ve given us that dire feeling because its a 50/50 chance they would’ve driven the orcs away.
Yeah, the ghost army basically scared the crap out of the pirates, which allowed Aragorn to rally the Gondorian troops and lords along the coast and sail up the river to Minas Tirith. The ghosts had already fulfilled their oath and been released from their curse by then, so Aragorn arrived with live, human reinforcements that Sauron had counted on not having to fight since the pirates would have kept them too busy.
The Battle of Pelennor fields missed out so much.
Wish we got the Grey Company as well as the ghosts, seeing Aragorn jump off the boat and having his banner unfurl to show the RETURN OF THE KING on the field of battle? Imagine how good it could have looked.
in the books, the rohirrim had just overrun the field but as they were getting overwhelmed by the southrons, everyone on the battlefield and in the city saw the ships coming and started panicking. and then the flag of the king was unfurled on the mast for the first time in hundreds of years and everyone was confused and mystified and hopeful suddenly. after the battle was won the city was chattering excitedly about the rumored return of the king, but then the next morning the flag of the prince of dol amroth was unfurled over the city. it would have been tough to portray in movie form but i loved the way the books captured the mood of minas tirith through confusing and magical times.
The battle is also set up differently. When the Rohirrim show up, we don't know it yet. We just know that everyone hears a horn over the clamour and is really confused what it is. Then it switches back to Merry a few days prior. Then they get to the Pelennor Fields and we now know the horn was the Rohirrim announcing their presence and starting their charge. Then that plays out quite a bit, before we get the perspective of Minas Tirith troops dreading the fact that they see black flags of Haradrim corsairs on the river. Then we skip back to Aragorn and friends doing their thing a few days prior, then they lead the dead to the shores, and we realize the corsairs were commanded by the Aragorn. It's definitely way better set up and paid off both times.
@@Jorfik I got so many chills constantly when reading about the battle. So many good moments.
I would like to add Return of the King licenced videogame was also a big factor on my love for these movies. Like don't get me Wrong, i already thought they were awesome but actually PLAYING some of the most iconic moments and Slaying Orcs was so much fun
And Minas Tirith level still gives me anxiety
that game is a fever dream. Like sometimes I think I was imagining it
@@funnynameforme4091 loool i totally get you. Great game
*Minas Tirirth PTSD hits*
when you have to get all the war ladders down wih a kick and be everywhere at once **PTSDDDD*
That game is one of the best of its generation. It’s the first game I played as a child.
I think Tolkien named the two towers pretty arbitrarily because the publishers made him split the book into three. He apparently changed the towers that he's referring to two or three times retrospectively
I thought it always referred to the union between the tower of isengard and the tower of barad-dur because Saruman joined forces with Sauron
@@jacobtuttle4311 Saruman even spelled it out in the movie
I think you pretty much said it. The extended cut was probably more intended for people who have already watched all 3 and wanted to see the backstory and missing details and already know the lore, while the theatrical cut was more intended as a first watch.
35:11 I knew Tolkien was heavily inspired by his time in WW1 but this aspect of the conclusion still hits the hardest for me knowing his background
Well aparrently what i read from the comics here it wasn't like that in the original books.
My favorite scene in the trilogy has to be when Bilbo gives up the ring. The sheer weight its given symbolically with the acting and score, as well as physically with the simple trick of a magnet under the floor keeping it from bouncing, is pure genius.
I did not know that Orlando broke his ribs AND still filmed the movie. What a lad
In answer to your question about the two towers. Tolkien wrote lotr as one book and said it was best read as one book or two, not a trilogy.
Also I’d forgotten D&D said the battle of Winterfell would somehow rival Helm’s Deep, I burst out laughing at that.
The Mouth of Sauron scene is also a super important piece that was cut. In the theatrical cut, there’s still this expectation from the main cast that Frodo is still on his way to Mt. Doom, and they could buy him just enough time. In the Extended Edition, they think Frodo is dead. The Ring is now on his way to Sauron, and the war is over. They’ve lost. Evil has one. But they fight to the end anyway. Aragorn’s, “For Frodo” carries way more weight because he’s dedicated what he thinks is the final charge of Men to his friend, and he’s leading everyone into basically a suicide mission. It’s a really great beat for his character, and it’s another reason the Extended Edition is worth watching. Or maybe people should make their own cut so they can have the perfect movie, idk.
I don't think they necessarily thought he was caught, obviously they would've brought his corpse, not just his mithril shirt. So there was still some room for Hope
He literally says “I don’t believe it” they put their hope on Frodo and believe he’s still there
I love that scene and wish it stayed in the TC. I bet it was cut purely for time reasons.
Thats not true bro.
Nice interpretation but in both films Aragorn says "for Frodo" and attacks. Nothing indicates they believe that Frodo is captured.
@@barkley8285 I was gonna say this. This comment is a nothing burger.
I would love to see your reviews about Planet of the Apes trilogy, it's my second favourite trilogy just beind LOTR
do u think maybe it has smth to do with Andy Serkis
What do you think about the Toy Story trilogy? We do not speak about that “4th” movie.
I'd like to see him do Pirates of the Caribbean. He gonna dog on 4 and 5 if he does
@@jarofdirt8359 Pirates of the Caribbean would be prime Cosmonaut content. They are entretaining but they also have so much dumb shit, specially the later entries
@@Neat0_o the 4th was great in my opinion. it was more of a Woody solo movie than maybe i would've liked, but still great.
The worst part about the theatrical version of return of the king to me is not that they cuy out saruman's death but that they cut out the scene at the black gate where the fellowship think that frodo is dead, it adds SO much weight to aragorn's "for frodo" that when I watched the theatrical version it didn't hit NEARLY as hard for me.
Treebeard wondering what merry and pipin are doing when they're smoking their pipeweed is my favourite extended edition scene 😆
I suppose I can thank Rings of Power for one thing, I've started to read the books again for the first time since I was a kid.
RINGS OF POWER BAD
@ToxicTurquoise454 But why? Everyone makes it sound bad but I am still curious
@@samgourhan207 its just bad dude, ignore the whole "woke" thing and it's still really boring, full of plot holes and a bunch of ruined characters.
@crushedcan5378 I did hear someone say that the writing was bad. My siblings seem to like it though
@@samgourhan207 it’s very average. Just ignore anyone who goes on about how terrible it is because “woke” stuff. That doesn’t make any difference. It’s just a very bland average show which does not have many compelling characters. The ending picks up some pace but it’s very underwhelming overall.
I watch these movies 3 times a year since they first came out. Always make sure we watch it at Xmas time with the family but feels so right.
You gotta pump those numbers up, those are rookie numbers in this racket. :-p
Man to be a 90's kid and have those 3 years where you had a LOTR movie every Thanksgiving and a new Harry Potter movie every Xmas... that was peak life for a kid.
Yes.
Nothing brings pure sadness when ur midway through the “hobbit why it sucks” vid and Marcus takes it down :( I guess I’ll just re watch this one until it re uploads 😮💨
I totally agree with the extended version argument. It's more of what we already love. We don't need all of the extended scenes, but we're happy we got them
I think first time viewers should probably watch the theatrical then viewers if they want to watch it again they should watch the extended. The extended just generally gives characters a lot more scenes and makes them much more fleshed out.
Honestly I agree. I think that's a good compromise.
they're both overrated
Yeah, people insisting first time viewers watch the extended editions is a pet peeve of mine, along with people recommending their favorite book from an author when someone unfamiliar with that genre or time period asks which of that author's books is the best to read first. Not as bad as insisting someone start the Star Wars series with episode 1, but it's still a terrible idea.
@@reek4062 I mean, if you want to get technical I agree, since as a lover of the books there are too many cuts, changes and distortions of the source material for the movie trilogy to be as amazing as its reputation... but all things considered the movies were waaay better than anything I would have dared hope to see in my lifetime when I first read the books in the mid-90s, let alone something I'd get to see within a decade!
Why do you find them to be overrated?
cool bro, I also just watched the same video where cosmo said the exact same thing too
I’m actually someone who got started with the extended editions because my dad is a huge fan of LotR, but because you can’t fit any of the three extended movies on a singular DVD we would watch them in halves when I was really young.
I wonder if for some sort of future anniversary celebration they’ll create a Final Cut that adds the key handful of extended scenes (Bilbo’s monologue, Galadriel gifting and explaining the rope to Sam because that’s not in the theatrical cut for some reason, Saruman’s RotK scenes, etc) to the theatrical editions but otherwise sticks to the overall pacing of the original versions
On ski trip with my buddies last year the internet was trash at our Air BNB so we couldn't stream anything to watch, all we had was the DVD player and the only DVDs there were the LOTR extended versions with the multiple disc in and all. We watched the whole extended saga switching the discs it was like time travel.
Or maybe create a menu for the viewer to choose which “extended scenes” they want to include.
You know what? Let’s do that for Star Wars as well. Let me see a version of the movies where I choose if Han shoots first or whether Palpatine is an old dude or a monkey-faced monster.
I was the exact same way for the exact same reason. My dad made us watch the individuals halves on the DVDs.
they actually recorded the scenes where gimli takes legolas to the glittering caves of helms deep and legolas takes gimli through the forests of fangorn, i really would love to see this because gimli and legolas' friendship is so beautiful in the books but is mostly reduced to comic relief in the movies. i think that scene may fix some of those issues
yea i’ve only ever watched the extended editions and even tho they were amazing they’re so fucking long😭😭 i don’t think i could watch all the way through again
BRO I SWEAR TO GOD I see a new Cosmonaut vid, I'm like "ay neat", I go grab some food, I come back, IT'S DOWN are you kidding me man cmon
You knew a significant enough chunk of people would hear the first few lines and leave with a dislike but you included them anyway. I respect that