Helm's Deep: How To Film An Epic Battle
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 03. 2017
- MY BOOK OF ESSAYS IS OUT NOW!
AMAZON: amzn.to/3dk14yu
EVERYWHERE ELSE: bit.ly/3qJEbHT
. Get 10% any purchase here: squarespace.com/nerdwriter
GET A NERDWRITER T-SHIRT HERE: • Arrival: A Response To...
HELP ME MAKE MORE VIDEOS: / nerdwriter - Zábava
"The late great cinematographer Andrew Lesnie had the really difficult task of maintaining the feel of a night battle in the rain while making sure the visuals were intelligible enough to the viewer." - - You paying attention to this HBO??!?
I read this right when it was said in the video 😆
@@dams6829 (X) doubt
It's not HBO's fault. They don't really have creative control over the show. It's D and D's fault.
Steve Schroth and some fans continue to defend the dark atmosphere. Lol this is how you do a night battle while still being visible to the viewer. To hell with the realistic take bullshit, this is fantasy and we are supposed to see what’s happening not to be taught science and what’s realistic in a genre that is all about magic and fantasy.
@@jakequali7608
Exactly. I encountered some FEW GOT fans who are ready to defend their favourite show no matter what by saying that *atleast GOT is more realistic*
Glad to know that the majority of the GOT fans are 100% disappointed in the series's ending.
Great, now I have to spend the next 10 hours re-watching the LotR trilogy.
Get a nice big mug, fill it with a cup of joe and have a huge bag of popcorn on hand and you will be set for your epic adventure.
Nkl I didn't know u loved LOTR :D
Read this comment twice and then I realized it was you. Thank God we still have you uncle dane
i did that a week ago. it was great, it had been a long time since i watched them.
AY!
10% of comments: "This battle was amazing!"
90% of comments: The Battle of Winterfell was so terrible!"
That's because when they just were promoting S8, they said the battle will be bigger and better than Helm's Deep. So yeah, we have every reason to shit on them.
Rewatching this video makes me realise just how disappointing "The battle of Winterfell" really was...
Nico V. Escobar quit crying
What a fucking dissaster this whole season is. Oh and just you wait for the last 2 episodes, JUST YOU WAIT
@@rileyjoh19 we do it because we care
rileyjoh19 s8 is a trainwreck stop fooling yourself
I know... GOT filmmakers screwed the most epic battle of the series. The darkness was amateurish at best.
That hard cut at the end hurt my soul, SHOW ME MORE!
very casey neistat like- i dig it.
Tom Farish IKR! This soundtrack and epicness still brings tears to my soul.. and eyes. I DIDN'T CRY. I swear. I'm a grown man you know....
It hurt! It really did
ikr, I totally feel like I need to watch that whole scene now :P
It burns us
Gandalf showing up to the battle was honestly a top 5 moment of my childhood.
Goal Guys sounds like a sad childhood..
Greg Taggart the big Mac jingle was #4.
Goal Guys that scene gives me goosebumps to this day.
errrr sounds like the best childhood anyone could ever have
best childhood memories
#3 meeting my best friend on the first day of little league.
#2: that time Zack and Mr. belding switched places for one day.
and the number one treasured personal memory of my childhood- seeing ALF's feet.
Can he do a video called The Long Night: How Not to Film an Epic Battle
😂😂😂
Alchemist1330 thank god I didn’t have to witness it
Not 'how not to film,' 'how not to write/plan'
@@thanhvinhnguyen8731 Neither did we, I don't think anyone did..
It's funny that this was suggested to me the day after GoT's The Long Night aired, and one of the first things you talk about is lighting and intelligibility.
Fuck it, now I need to watch 12 hours of movies once again
Guilherme Fonseca you say that like it’s a bad thing
Actually, it's only 9, each is three hours
Zac O. Actually it’s over 11 hours for the extended editions (which people tend to watch) and over 9.5 hours for the normal editions
Don't forget the Appendixes
only 9 hours???? wtf man, u r missing all the fantastic extra szenes?! :O
"Intelligibility is important for a giant setpiece like this." *Hardcut to the Pitch Black GoT S8 E3 Battle of Winterfell*
😂
Some people are saying its just that most people have uncalibrated TVs. True or not?
@@punchforpound2808 GOT writers were basically the ones saying that, trying to blame all of our TV's and devices instead of the Awful lighting of the show. Helms deep is battle I can watch on any that and device and see it clearly, even at night. Winterfell I couldn't see no matter how I configured my devices lighting
If only hbo watched this before filming battle of winterfell
exactly, this handled the "hopeless battle against all odds"
Amen!
LOL, exactly my thoughts. Was talking about this with my gf, now CZcams recommended me this vid (once again).
Sad thing is that they apparently did base the battle of Winterfell off of Helms Deep, but somehow managed to get _nothing_ about it right. The level of incompetence in that for a professional work is stunning.
@@dynamicworlds1 Exactly, they should have had the battle go well at first
"And, of course, there are shots like this."
*chills*
I would have liked to see more elaboration on each of the 24 beats
I agree, but I would also like a more specific definition of what constitutes a cinematic beat.
I think he means like a distinct change in tone/emotional evocation/critical event right?
Jake Shoham yea. Interesting concept but definitely one of his weaker videos.
I feel like that would've been impossible for one of three reasons:
A. He didn't have time. Remember, one video per week is difficult considering their constant quality.
B. The video would end up being too long and clash with the average lengths of his other videos.
C. He'd end up using too much copyrighted movie material and get his video taken down because of CZcams's bullshit fair use laws.
yeah it felt like it was gonna be expanded on, like the base for the whole video.
i love how you take something i already know and make me look at it again with this new perspective. it was the same with your Harry Potter video. Love it!
haltewunsch exactly how I feel
You should watch Movies With Mikey! He does a similar thing, but exclusively with films. He does a good mix of obscure films and films almost everyone has seen, there is at least one video that would appeal to your for sure!
thanks for the tip! i'll check it out :)
haltewunsch
rhigr
Tahmina Mina sorry what does that stand for. I cant figure it out lol
Helm's Deep is one of many reasons why The Two Towers is my FAVORITE!! (But let's face it, the entire trilogy is a masterpiece) 😍
agreed, best trilogy ever and the background score is soooo awesome
My god. "Masterpiece"? ... how many trilogies have you seen? Against what are you measuring this tripe?
+Dan Helman It's probably the best trilogy where all the films are good. e.g Temple of doom, Godfather 3, matrix revolutions and Star wars episode VI to name a few.
Sorry man, LoTR doesn't even rate. You need to check out Von Trier's Depression trilogy, Kieślowski's Three Colours trilogy, Leone's Dollars trilogy, Ingmar Bergman's trilogy, , Pagnol's Marseille trilogy, Linklater's Before trilogy, and the Evil Dead trilogy. Nolan's Batman trilogy is just ok (barely ok), and it is still _miles_ beyond Jackson's tedious series. I mean, come on: it really does seem like millennials (of which I'm not claiming you're one) have an irrationally high regard for Jackson's movies. I can only presume this is a combination of them having been raised on it (so nostalgia, which I get), and never having seen a film released before 1995 / having only ever seen big-budget American box-office smash hits. I'd love to be proven wrong...
Dan Helman oh you're one of those people
Game of Thrones - The Battle of Winterfell , should‘ve cut themselves a slice off this masterful filmmaking .
they did, all hope was lost then Arya came in like a wreaking ball and destroyed the evil.
Anyone who says The battle of Winterfell is better than Helm's Deep must have - infinity IQ.
bukovinian the darkness ws aight but then all of the main characters in the army outside the gates survived a tidal wave of zombies
@@MultiAlpha001 Even fcking Sam
@@bukovinian No, they clearly did not get even a crumb of this masterpiece. It was an incoherent mess.
The battle took 6 months to film and all the actors involved have testified it was the worst time of their lives. 6 months filming at night, in the rain and cold; it's hard to get a sense on what that really means but it's a depressing thought in the modern world though. I'm happy it came out so well though and their efforts were worth it.
Well, they got a ton of money for cosplaying so yeah it is a depressing thought.
Peter Jackson said that Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) enjoyed filming this fight sequence tremendously, but apparently he was the only one.
I'd go through 6 years of that kind of torture for the salaries they make.
Even those that were playing the Uruks? Don't think they were making big money
@@patricklloyd1797 yeah true… only the big name actors
It's also a well known fact that The whole Helms Deep sequence has so much phoney sound in it. From the Orcs marching slamming their spears on the ground (recorded at stadiums around New Zealand) to the arrow puncture sounds. The whole sequence has SO many outside sounds edited in, yet they all sound so real. LOTR is probably one of the best film trilogies to come out in this century so far and has yet to be beat!
Defective Turret - You've pretty much described all Foley work, though.
Dark Knight
Oh, come on! The Dark Knight is my favorite film ever, but it was filled with flaws! Yet it was the best of the trilogy, if you add the Rises and Batman Begins, you get a good trilogy, but the LOTR is on a whole other level from a technical standpoint! The Dark Knight was good because it had The Joker in it. Just look at how batman fights air in the third movie, you can't say it is the best trilogy.
onyx fire, why don't you take your own advice :)
oh and, bugger off
Are you 12? These films are paltry. Moral and intellectual gibberish. They're a pander to the basest and most inane delusions of D&D/fantasy addicts. They inculcate dangerously simplistic views of our political and moral landscapes, and they shamelessly perpetuate (when they might have corrected) Tolkien's racism and Catholic bigotry. This is your vote for best trilogy of the 21C?
Do yourself a favour and check out von Trier's Depression Trilogy.
Eomer's cry of "To the King!!!" at the end of Helm's Deep, Theoden's "Death!" speech before the charge in ROTK, and Eowyn's defiant line of "I am no man!" against the Witch King are the moments guaranteed to give me goosebumps every time I watch the LOTR movies. And my word, I've watched these movies a lot of times :-)
The "I am not a man" line pisses me off so hard everytime I see it.
Der Spion der mich wiegte Lol why??
he's a "men's rights activist"
Even if that line looks a bit like a trope (often seen in cinema), it is a (somewhat modified but still accurate) line from the book. Eowyn is not in any way a better warrior than Aragorn, Eomer or Imrahil, she's just the vector for a prophecy. A prophecy in fantasy is always fulfilled by a specific character, regardless of it's actual strenghts.
In the song of Beren and Luthien, Huan, the best hunting dog of Orome ("god" of the hunt), died after a prophecy: only the biggest wolf the world had seen would kill him. Thu (aka Sauron) transformed in the biggest one ever seen and yet was defeated. Its was Carcharoth that killed him in the end, the biggest werewolf that ever existed (appart from the brief transformation of Sauron), guardian of the Halls of Melkor/Morgoth
"Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!"
Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."
^book passage for reference :)
I'm here to take some fresh air after watching GoT season8 episode 3. Please don't mind my presence.
They're budget might be tight so they have to make it dark.
I feel you brother.
@@edwinfcapidos Their budget was tight in first couple of seasons, that's why we never get the chance to see Robb Stark's wars. But now pretty much everyone in the world watches this show, so budget is really not a problem. They did better battle scenes, battle of bastards, blackwater to some extent and hardhome. But what they did in s8e3 is outrageous, an insult to all people watching this show. It really breaks my heart.
@@edwinfcapidos THEY HAVE 2 FUCKING YEARS AND 300M OF BUDGET :(
Something you didn't touch on in this video that I really love about The Two Towers are the cutaways to Merry and Pippin and how they're used. As a kid, it was always routine to fast forward through those scenes and get back to Legolas surfing on shields but as I've grown older, I can't think of many scenes in cinema that I enjoy more than Merry's last interaction with the Ents before they go to battle. (But you're part of this world! Aren't you?)
Both as a filmmaker and a human being, I find the scene where Merry begs the Ents to fight back against Isengard to be so deeply moving. On a human level, the themes of industrialisation and being too small to make a difference hit me right where it matters. They're scarily relevant right now. But as a filmmaker, the scene is so brilliantly utalised- specifically in how it influences Helm's Deep. Throughout the battle, we cut away to the forest as part of the vital contrast you discussed that is neccesary to maintain interest. But the forest scenes require contrast too. Those scenes are quiet- while the battle is (obviously) loud. As if they're being drowned out by what's really important. But in the last interaction, when Merry finally tells Pippin and the Ents exactly what is at stake "There won't be a shire, Pippin...", the battle becomes somber, and pensive. The sound effects lose the spotlight to the music from the previous scene, as if to say that Merry's decision has made a difference. It marks the lowest points of both stories. It's such a great use of that 'Meanwhile back at the ranch' concept. I always get sad when people say they don't like the Ent scenes because I think they just get swept under the rug by the battle, Sam's Speech etc. They're really beautiful.
Ah, "Let us go hunt some orc" is another favourite of mine! Honestly the reason I can't decide whether I prefer the ending to Fellowship or RotK. It's just such a fantastic, moving moment, these three "survivors" coming together to go on their own rescue mission.
That being said, I also stand that Pippin is honestly one of the most underappreciated characters in LotR. Though it's not addressed in the movies, in the book he's the only character who's still a KID. He's about 15 (in human years), and he really stands to represent the loss of innocence. That's why he supposedly appears to be a waste of space, because he doesn't quite fit in with the brave, noble faces of the Fellowship. Even his dear cousin Merry, while young, is still an adult and a full eight years older than him, and the scene where he "looks after Merry" is both a touching role reversal and a commentary to how the quest changed him. Or think of Pippin's Song - would the bright, goofy little hobbit who set off fireworks in Fellowship have acted like that? It's a heartbreaking scene on its own, but it's made all the more gutting because it's little PIPPIN, and he's so incredible grave and sombre.
The "there won't be a Shire, Pippin" scene just stands to strengthen that even more -- remember that Merry instantly wanted to fight in the battle of the Pelennor Fields, whereas Pippin was afraid to fight for Gondor but did it for his cousins and friends, and out of a heavy-hearted sense of duty. He was reluctant about it. He's in a sort of daze when he's called out to fight, but he does it anyway. It stands in perfect juxtaposition to the scene in Two Towers.
you made great points
though i don't quite understand the "They're scarily relevant right now." part, please explain what you meant
I think Peter Jackson also did it to avoid 'Battle Fatigue' as he knew that cut away from the sequence to give the audience a chance to catch their breath; whilst also creating cinematic tension by taking the audience to the unknown by not knowing what is happening to the main characters (Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli) who are in peril. PJ mentions this in the behind the scenes films.
oh my god, I can't believe people actually skip those scenes... they're some of my favourite! the only scenes I did sometimes skip was the depressing ass scenes with golem (I know they're important, but still)
Nerd Here they're relevant because we are destroying nature with our civilizations
Theoden says "forth Eorlingas" and I come buckets every time. EVERY TIME.
huh?
Is that the reaction you should have to an order to go to war (even if in Old English)?
if it's a desperate battle for survival and you are under extreme stress and emotional turmoil.. then that is exactly the time for it
Ummm, exactly the time for cumming?
oh.. I thought it was a metaphor for tears or something.. pretend I ignored this comment then
Lord of the Rings is the Master of all fantasy films. None can reach it's splendour
It's I think the best film adaptation though
@@lilunsteady8298 no that's not true. It was the best source material
@@sfreakc still better than el hobbito
@@mrhalfwit972 To be fair, Peter Jackson pushed for LoTR from the very beginning, writing the script and selling it to big studios, so it was truly a fruit of his love and passion for the story. The Hobbit, on the other hand, was created out of the greed of the studio. Guillermo Del Torro was supposed to helm it, but abandoned it midway. Peter Jackson only went it when the production was already ongoing. He didn't have the same time as he did on LoTR
@@irEyERWO ah yes a man of culture I see?
but yeah you're correct he just hoped on at the final film to just finish the dam thing and so everybody mostly blames him because his name's on it
If only the Game of Thrones writers and producers watched this and then the Battle of Winterfell wouldn’t have sucked
They did ..they said they even studied this battle to prep for The Battle of Winterfell,they sure lied 😒
Supposedly they did. And took inspiration from this sequence. You can truly feel the desperation, anxiety and the fear during the episode. But there are so many empty spots that don’t mix well, so many characters almost dying for a whole hour, the screaming at the dragon, the Arya moment was really cool but it was meaningless. The whole sequence is not worthy of the whole series. It was a mere excuse of a subplot to weakens Daenerys’s army to make it more fair in the final battle.
I agree. They did the Dothraki dirty on that one.
GOT producers tried at their best* (*still shitty as hell) to plagiarize Helm's Deep battle (Pippin's song, women and children hidden in cave, etc...) but they failed miserably
@@dps812 late reply but it's funny how you say it was just an excuse to weaken Daenerys' army because that didn't even end up mattering at Kings Landing lol
the cgi from lotr holds up so much better than that in the hobbit movies
because they used less cgi and that is something you can tell.
it's a shame what they did in the hobbit trilogy.
i remember fighting for peter jackson to direct it (back when guillermo del toro was the option).
and for what? for shit. i really don't understand why they did it so stupid compared with the work the same team made with lord of the rings... but i've got an idea of who's to blame: the fucking studio, warner bros. probably speeding up the process and trying to make less effort by using less technology and time.
such a shame. they don't care about culture, they care only about the profit.
Majority of the issues were pretty obvious from the vlogs PJ was making while filming hobbit, the main one being simply time. They had i think 7 years or so (maybe less in terms of activity, but still in terms of years) to prepare pretty much anything, while they had only months for the hobbit. It had hardly anything to do with the director. Either way at least the hobbit trilogy serves as a good popcorn flic, sort of relaxed way of getting into the LotR part of the story. I will have much more chances "indoctrinating" my nephews into Middle-Earth world starting with Hobbit, rather then LotR movies that they'll sleep through.
Which is ridiculous when you consider there's 15 years between them! The difference is that many of those orcs, and elves were REAL stunt people, fully kitted out in makeup and and costume. Lazy full cgi armies in the hobbit sucked.
I watched LOTR as a 6-8 year old girl and loved them, don't bother with the hobbit show your nephews the real deal! ha.
No, Lautaro Maiarú, it was all Peter Jackson's fault. He didn't care anymore.
And NOBODY cares about culture.
I got chills at 5:15 of this video. I think that says it all.
fucking same, man! and yelling with the riders and raising an imaginary sword above my head! XD
Pierce BrosMAN It's not Nerdwriters doing but Howard Shore's score.
Both Nerdwriters wording, timing, and Howard Shore's score.
Do you know what the name of that song is?
Pierce BrosMAN holy shit same !!==
i am watching this after watching the battle of winterfell
in the end lord of the rings still on top.
Same
Its funny how some of em bragged at how the battle would be bigger than Helms Deep.
@@nikiferrari7893
Dude, nothing will top LOTR, it is just a perfect fantasy tale.
@@Razgriz_01 it was a bigger battle. It just wasn't a better one, though that's not to say there wasn't potential.
I'm not embarrassed to say I literally got goose bumps at 4:01 "Darkness contrasts with light. Beauty with vileness. Wreck-less hate with moral conviction." watching that footage with that commentary. Truly epic. Well done sir.
I got goosebumps even during this video.
Truly the best trilogy of movies by a mile.
Amazing, I just watched The Two Towers out of the blue last night and now I get this?! Fuck Yeah
Well time to to watch it again !
I did too! Twas fate
Same!!! wtf! :D
There is also a cinefix video about this. They study it more from a cinematographic point of view.
I wish I was there when LOTR came out in theatres.
A night battle where you can see what's happening? Wow this is impressive.
Seriously! There's so many day battles that that are so much harder to make out than this night battle.
Who else is here after the battle of Winterfell to remind themselves of what a good battle actually is?
As a kid I would rewatch the battle of Helms Deep over and over again. Now that I'm an adult I actually enjoy The Fellowship of the Ring more than the other two films. Still the best movie trilogy ever I'd say.
Edit: The comparison to a Sergio Leone film boosts your credibility greatly Nerdwriter1. Legendary director.
it's all one movie to me.
omg I have a similar experience with batman series. Initially I felt TDK was the best, then I felt TDKR was even better but now my fav is Batman Begins.
Same goes with Bourne Trilogy too. Bourne Identity is my fav
Bryan Colley That I agree with. The only time I watch the entire series is when I'm able to watch all three in one go... having the extended editions make that harder to pull off though.
Exactly the same here
I still lean towards TDK, but Batman Begins is a very close second. The action was pretty mediocre in Batman Begins, and that's what holds me back from loving it more.
After you want this, you realize that the people behind GoT S08E03 literally did everything wrong.
Great video as always, Evan!
Never expected to see you here Wisecrack but it's a welcome one
Can you do a new one on Epic battles and how Game of Thrones's Season 8 Battle of Winterfell was such a letdown?
Yes please!
Who else felt this battle lasted like for an hour when they watched as kids in the cinema for the first time?
Who else feels old when they read this?
Well, it was like 40 minutes...
Thought the whole movie was 5 hours when i first watched this because of helms deep.
I wish i watched lotr in cinema, i was born 2001
That was probably because of the cutaways to Merry and Pippin and the ents.
Cmon man, let me study....
Mr. Elixir But you are studying.
studying how to film an epic battle scene XD
Max Earth he probably refers to school studying if that is a thing
TheMr Manav Yeah, mate, I understood that.
gowri kolal yup
Make sure it's the extended version you're gonna watch gowri kolal
This video gave me chills. The LOTR movies are truly masterpieces and were a huge part of my childhood growing up. thank you for the feelings of nostalgia! Welp, time to go rewatch the whole trilogy see ya!
the best line in lordof the rings "he's twiching because he's got my axe imbeded in his NERVOUS SYSTEM"
The only bad thing about the Helms Deep Battle for me is it's so good, it makes the last battle in return of the king not have much impact because it's not as epic.
Am I the only person who thought the battle of the Pelennor Fields was cooler?
You may be the only person, yes lol.
damn. really? I thought the battle of the Pelennor Fields is equally amazing if not more. Theoden's speech and the Rohirrim's ride crying Death and War? Eowyn killing the Lord of The Nazgul? Aragorn becomeing the heir of Isildur? I still get goosebumps and cry like a little baby anytime I watch that scene, anytime.
I love all that too but the ghosts just going through and destroying the army like it's nothing just ruins the epicness for me. It's like this huge build up and then it's so easy. So many video games do the same thing, hard game and then the end boss is pissweak haha.
Goon Squad Is it that different from Gandalf and Eomer's arrival completely routing and destroying the Uruk-Hai?
How can 621 people dislike this? Your assessment of this epic battle scene is spot on! Oh, my!!! I am/was a high school Drama teacher. I would have used this video in class if it had been on CZcams before I retired. You perfectly explained how to film an epic battle scene! My students would have loved this. Thank you for an assessment that is not only well thought out, but easily understood. Since I just now watched the video, I'm not sure if you mentioned the music. Howard Shores music is the icing on the cake here, so to speak. It helped to make that scene, plus the entire trilogy, (including The Hobbit trilogy), absolute perfection! Thank you so much! Your hard work is truly appreciated!
This battle is truly a masterpiece. Some of the things not mentioned in this video I really appreciate is the use of the women/children of Rohan to give an emotional weight to the battle. Those quick cut away reaction shots are relatable to the audience, the fear of hearing 10,000 uruk-hai roaring and beating their armor before the battle starts, the explosion of the wall, the terror in realizing the defenders got pushed back to the final door. This battle isn't just tons of extras and CGI men fighting over some castle. There's always that emotional connection that the men of Rohan are fighting for the very survival of their people, because if they lose, not just the fighting men will be killed, even the defenseless women/children will be slaughtered as well. I also love the charge down the hill, how the uruks all form up and form the spearwall, you think for a second the riders will all be skewered and the charge will fail, it's one last obstacle / moment of tension to get through before the release, as Gandalf's light blinds them and their spears go up. I don't think any movie battle will top Helms Deep.
It isn't Gandalf's light, is literally the sun rising over the mountains. But yeah :D
@@kenobi6257 you do know gandalf is an angel of the sun right?
@@kenobi6257 I always took it as Gandalf's light since when he does his battle cry the light becomes so intense they can't see. Also in return of the king he uses light from his staff to drive away the Nazgul. The sun has already risen, we see it rise through the window in the final keep, Gimli references it. But that's just my interpretation :D
Anyone else rewatching this after the disappointment that was Game of Thrones S8E3 (the Battle for Winterfell)?
Sarang Bhagwat i can actually see things happening in helms deep, amazing
Quit crying
rileyjoh19 I genuinely find it hysterical when “fans” who’ve never read a page from the books go out of their way to shitpost
you got me
After watching episode 3 of season 8 of GoT, I came back to this video and nearly wept because of how clear Helm's Deep battle was visually.
"helm's deep is the reason why epic battles exist" great, now i'm emotionally compromised and i have to go back to watch the entire triology now
Helm's deep brings tears to my eyes EVERY SINGLE TIME.
What's Elm's deep?
@@evannesbitt7852 oh God... This whole video is about Helm's Deep battle. It's a fortress the Rohirrim turn to in times of need.
@@ricardomonteiro2523 then say that next time 😂😂
The thing that i regret was not watching it on big screen, I was too young when it was released.
Anazel Gamilla me too 😭
Guess who's gonna watch the move again now. that's right. Me.
Yaay!
I think it's a curse really, I spent the money to buy the 11 hour extended edition and now I have the urge to go watch it the moment anyone mentions it.
Can I join?
me tooooooooooooooo
Mortified Potato one thing led to an other watched the trilogy again. no ragrets.
It’s hard for me to watch Battle Scenes now cause I always end up comparing it to Helms Deep
Helms Deep is one of, if not THE best battle scenes in cinematic history. It was compelling and pleasing to watch, and left viewers with a wide arrangement of motions.
Personally, the only battle scenes that I can even compare to Helms Deep are the rest of the battles in LotR, the battles in Narnia, and the battles that took place in Kingdom of Heaven.
@@howardbaxter2514 Kingdom of Heaven, really?
I love the battles of LotR and Narnia, so maybe I should check it out
Didn't expect the mention of Andrew Lesnie to make me emotional. He really was a brilliant cinematographer, and a kind man.
You're here after seeing Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3 aren't you? What a tedious episode eh?
Tedious really is the right word.
Ugh! I can't see what's happening! C'mon why didn't Jon Snow and the night king have a fight?! There's no way he could have survived that! Oh my God that character is about to die. Oh never mind they just cut to another scene and in the next scene the character is fine.
The shield surfing scene was the most epic thing I ever seen when I was younger 😂✊🏿
Lamest scene ever. Not in the book.
For me, Legolas taking down the elephant beats it, but the shield surfing is my second favorite
And now we can do it in Zelda :D
Get out.
I didn't like it.
It's such a serious scene, and he decides to lighten it up with surfboarding?
Perhaps it's just me, but I feel like that was one of the lazier decisions.
"So it begins." -King Theoden
My two all-time favorite movie battle scenes are the Battle of Hoth (Empire Strikes Back) and the Battle of Helm's Deep/Hornburg (Two Towers). Simply stunning. Thanks for analyzing this, Nerdwriter!
I love how you incorporate visuals, graphs, and colors into almost every single video in a way that's easy to understand. You have a superb grasp of how to display information categorically as it relates to your point or a movie narrative. Keep it up dude.
A large scale night battle where you can atcually SEE what's happening?
Damn, I miss these.
Shadow of War gameplay first and a nerdwriter video on Helms deep? wtf is it christmas already?
This is why Nerdwriter is my fav channel here. What a great analysis.
"Intelligibility is important for a giant setpiece like this" @ GAME OF THRONES
Brilliant critique. This may be my favorite of yours so far. The way you pulled the rug out right there at the end..... chills man.
GoT S8E3 should have taken notes.
Sad thing is, they did explicitly base it off of the Battle of Helms Deep, but still produced that expensive mess.
Game of Thrones "Long Night" episode has left me disappointed and underwhelmed.
So, I had to come back to this to see the makings of a proper battle.
The music when gandalf rides down the hill touches my soul. Amazing video
Every time you do a video like this I end up marathoning whatever it is your subject is. Time to buckle in for the extended editions! Thank you so much for your videos, they're always a delight.
That last rider on the bridge has always bothered me to no end, swinging his sword at... air :P (see 3:12)
No worries, he's just getting in last minute practice, gotta make sure you know how to cleave an orc's head off the right way (I know I'm a year late, I'm sorry D: ).
omg loll! Never noticed that
Holy shit!!! I never noticed that!!!
Always noticed that as a kid.
Great I will never un-see this
This became so much more epic by using the LotR soundtrack as well
Fabulous! I love your video essays; we need more of this kind of work in the world. I very much enjoyed your analysis of the use of contrasts in the sequence. Thanks for keeping this up!
I love the cut to silence at the most epic crescendo of the battle, always gets a giggle from me.
I want the nerdwriter to go helms deep inside me hahahaha....
why am I like this
My guess is that you are insecure and the only way to make a distance when in intimacy (the nerdwriter's voice and his way of speaking is the same used in some forms of therapy, so its very intimate) is to make a joke. That way the tension goes away and you crawl back inside with nobody "following" you.
The best way to check if I'm right is to ask yourself "what is it inside me that I want noone to see?". If there is something big enough to protect at all costs, then that's it.
Easily my favorite part of the trilogy was the Rohirrim riding down the steep mountain, followed by the Ents destroying Isengard.
gmmg from a tactical standpoint that was a really dumb move, but it still looked fucking awesome
How so? I mean yes, in the sense that the hill is too steep for a cavalry to realistically charge down, but ignoring that, I don't see what's so bad tactically about leading a surprise cavalry charge with high ground, using the cover of night to sneak up on the army and the light of dawn to blind them and weaken their defenses coming down.
DysnomiaFilms you never charge down from a high point to attack a low point
No? Why not?
DysnomiaFilms your abandoning the high ground and charging down a steep rocky hill from horse back, the chances of tripping and falling over are very high, and if that did happen the the entire army would collapse on itself and roll down the hill. Those who where still alive would be killed by the orcs
Yes preach on brother, helms deep always took me for a ride, now when I feel the need to explain to people how much I love that battle I can give more detailed info, and get to advertise your channel which I take every opportunity to do so. Thanks for being awesome
This video came out on my birthday and these films are still so great, 15 years later. Thank you for another great one Nerdwriter!
I almost feel like I wanted more out of this video as LOTR is my favourite trilogy and I admire your informed and insightful views. Felt like a continuation of your criticism of Desolation of Smaug where you closed with the scene at Theodred's funeral.
Thank you for this video, lots of great points, some I didn't think of before (like the lighting mirroring light/dark theme). I remember being so amazed the first time I've seen that shield surfing. (little did we know of the stone-hopping stuff future would bring).
Proud to support your work on Patreon.
i saw this, in theatres, w a couple friends on mushrooms. it so intense. i thought the theatre was an extension of helms deep and i was actually in the battle. the shadowy figures of my fellow movie-goers were registering as orcs and we were sitting in the back row too, so we were too scared to walk past everyone and leave. i lost it when Gandalf rode over the hill, actual tears, it was such an immersive and intense experience. needless to say, that was the last time i did mushrooms. #highschool
Awesome lol
I must have watched this vídeo 14 times and showed it to almost a hundred friends. It's worth every cent I spent helping the Nerdwriter on patreon. Awosome Job!
How does this guy constantly take something I think I have a good understanding/appreciation of/for, break it down well beyond any measure I would have, and make it seem so much more intricate, comprehensible, and beautiful than I had previously perceived?? In a state of awe over here; great video and great channel. Seriously.
With this, you've earned a Patreon supporter.
For all the hype of the Battle of Winterfell being as good or better than Helm's Deep, and as much as I enjoyed it very much, Helm's Deep still holds the torch for being the best nighttime cinematic epic battle. Just the lighting itself, man.
It's not even close
Can you do an analysis on Mars Bars?
Snickers is better. It has nuts.
for those in the know - Topic - it has a hazelnut in every bite (a bit like squirrel shit).....
my favourite sequence probably of all time. I LOVE this battle. Thanks for doing a write up on it
Man, what a movie. It's been long since last time I watched it and this short video gave me the same feeling when watching it!
Cool explanation and now I can even enjoy more the battle!
I dropped everything to watch this video omggg
I dropped what I was doing harder than a drone dropping a bomb on a kid in syria
4 months of filming a battle is a battle. Great respect to Andrew Lesnie.
You are not only one of my favorite CZcamsrs but one of my favorite essayist. Thank you!
Really shows how magnificent of an experience the entire trilogy is, when all it took for me to start tearing up was some faint background music and a couple of scenes. Truly an all-time favorite.
Latest episode of Game of Thrones proves that contemporary filmmaking taken hostage by studios has become mediocre. While storytelling was paramount for a classic like the LotR trilogy; today hack writers and producers push fan-service at the expense of story. Simplistic episodes, reboots and prequels simply become dog food for nobodies in bars who want gratification opposed to challenging narrative. No child or young adult watching Helm's Deep could ever forget those harrowing 40 minutes, their joy at the elves arriving, their Byronic bittersweet pride at the last sounding of the horn... Today, sadly, its not about the feeling that the narrative provides but rather its all about the spectacle. The shills, the paid off reviewers and bandwagoning popular culture hipsters who provide the foundation for mediocrity. Last Jedi murdered the Star Wars saga, while GoT episode 3 showed that you dont even need good cinematography anymore, the steamrolling consumerist hype will carry a franchise to its eventual end. Its not about storytelling or technique anymore, its about consuming the spectacle for its own sake. What a decadent dark age for filmmaking.
Well spoken, you just said it all. I started watching GoT from really the start because it was medieval and had "boromir"-Ned Stark, before it was even a known show. It had a good story, tragic and unpredictable sometimes. After the hype and all this Tv show and netflix hipsters started watching it, all went downhill even more when the directors are writing the story...
normies ruin the things we love.
While Helm's Deep was a fantastic epic battle, I'd honestly say that it was still outdone by the battle of Minas Tirith/Pelenor Fields, that battle was just more epic in proportion with all the crazy stuff happening like with the catapults, nazguls + witch king, and the giant elephants just to name a few things.
Brilliant... Not only the sequence of the battle, but your analysis of it. Great job!
I was so excited to see this thumbnail pop up in my subscriptions. As person in academics and a person who LOVES the LOTR films this video was so well done! Beautifully done analysis of the battle.
Next do...
Ball's Deep - How to film an epic porno.
hahaha you made my day!!! XD
TITANSPIRIT i second this
Von Trier's Antichrist opening sequence!!
That climax tho
Bahahaha - good call
Man I love your videos, makes me want to watch The Two Towers right now, this battle in particular had a lot of impact on me as a kid just like the entire trilogy, I do prefer the Battle for Minas Tirith though as my favourite epic battle of the trilogy.
That was super awesome! I particularly liked the linking of the written trilogy structure, the movie trilogy structure and the Helm's Deep mini-film structure into one coherent narrative that explains all three.
I remember watching Lord of the Rings for the first time with my family in theaters when I was 12. It was really cool and I always loved fantasy, but then seeing that shot of them walking on the mountains with that epic orchestra music playing really opened up my world. It made me feel like there was something much greater that I could be a part of than the tediousness of school and trying to fit in with kids who didn't know left from right themselves. I really wanted Frodo to destroy that ring so he could get back to the Shire. Although it represents the innocent, simple life we all used to know, for me personally it also reflected my homesickness for my first home that looked so much like the Shire. Everyone feels a sense of nostalgia for the place. I also loved the characters of Aragorn and Gandalf and the less noble, Boromir. Even if they weren't realistic, they were something to live up to. All the characters possessed noble qualities we wished we had, and that is so important for a kid to see. Lotr was written with kids in mind, and it touches all our hearts' desire to return to innocence. The contrast between light and dark, unlike a lot of movies, is very important in this world where right and wrong are more and more confused, especially to an impressionable mind.
A climactic triumph just at the moment that all hope is lost: Tolkien called this "eucatastrophe," meaning a catastrophe ("a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunate one") which is good (the prefix "eu-")
:)
what about their tax policies?
marginal
out of all the lotr battles this is my favorite. From the 1st scene where the elves arrive to the last scene when Gandalf comes with the sun . it always gave me hope and strength , your explanation made me realize why. thank you :)
this is SO well made. thank you for putting into words my feelings of this epic battle sequence.
This battle was originally called 'Balls Deep'. True story.
Confirmed.
I read the books years before the movie came out, and Helm's Deep was also the best battle of the trilogy. The movies were very good, definitely satisfied me, and I thought most of the changes to the story and characters were good ideas for a screen adaptation. I also loved how in the film the orcs were not bumbling Stormtrooper types, but a force to be reckoned with, actual trained soldiers that would scare the hell out of you facing them on a battlefield.
Well, the Morgul orcs kinda were like that (Form ranks, maggots, form ranks), Uruk-hai were really badass though.
Ongebreidelde Degeneratie I always though about what would happen if Sauron had an army of Uruk Hai instead of Morgal Orcs.
@@Dustyholes he had both! YAY! wait thats not... oh fuck
This is honestly the sequence I always look forward to the most when I do a LoTR marathon. The fact that it was so incredibly painstaking to film, as well, just made me appreciate it even more.
Your videos about Lord of the Rings are some of my favourites. Whenever I watch The Two Towers, that final charge led by Gandalf and the building-up of that score still gives me goosebumps.