THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) MOVIE REACTION PART 2 - FIRST TIME WATCHING
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- Опубликовано: 2 мар 2024
- Welcome to my first-time watching as we react to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). This was my (Ari) first time watching and boy! This trilogy has been such an amazing experience. This will be part 2 of the culmination of our journey watching these incredible film.
Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and directed by Peter Jackson, "The Return of the King" is the final chapter in the legendary trilogy. This film was able to deliver masterful storytelling as it explores the emotional depth of its characters. I was immediately captivated by the bonds of friendship, the sacrifices made, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. And this is a story that will stay with me forever.
We hope that you enjoy our reactions, commentary and discussions as we delve into why this movie made such an impact on cinematic history. It has everything you wish for as an ending to an already truly epic story! The groundbreaking visual effects are breathtaking! But it's the themes and these characters that have made this such an unforgettable journey. "The Return of the King" exceeded all of my expectations and I mean absolutely shattered every concept I thought I had of what this would be like. From the climactic Battle of the Pelennor Fields (which was absolutely mindblowing!) to the emotional farewell at the Grey Havens, there is so much to love and so much to talk about with you guys.
The Great River by Howard Shore, t.lickd.co/mQyVdRdgbOR License ID: exO5oDDPd6A
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If you enjoyed this reaction leave a like and subscribe! It helps us out a ton! I truly thank all of you for being such an amazing audience. You guys have been nothing but the best. Enjoying each step of the way alongside you amazing people has been one of the highlights of having this platform. You guys have a heart of gold and we are truly grateful and lucky to have you all here.
This incredible story, the comments that gave us some deeper insights into this fantastic lore and all of your excitement to watch this alongside us will forever stay with us. Thank you for being a part of this, our brave and loyal knights.
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grond is the hammer of darkness owned by sauron's master, the original and more powerful dark lord morgoth.
If I could like you a thousand times I would have done it، you're worth it.
The pirate that Legolas hit with an arrow was Peter Jackson the director
The length of the experience makes it seem almost like you're watching/participating in real time.
When Orlando Blume (Legolas) watched himself in cinema that climbs up that mammoth , He passed out.this is a fact
I love that line. "I go now, to my fathers, in whose mighty company I shall not feel ashamed."
He says 'I shall NOW not feel ashamed', which is even more complex as it suggests that prior to the battle that he felt unworthy of being compared to his forefathers, possibly as guilt response to how he was bewitched and weakened by Saruman. This is his redemption arc, even if others may not feel he needed one, but he does.
I love Theoden’s arc, particularly in the movies. He goes from being Saruman’s unwilling pawn, to a man shaken by that, to the warrior king who shouts “Death” as he leads the charge to rescue Minas Tirith.
@@marifaceawl7192yes m8... underrated 😊
@@marifaceawl7192 correct. His actions over the past 3 days of answers Gondor's call displayed the courage and integrity that was there but not yet surfaced.
“Reform the line! Reform the line! Sound the charge! Take them head on!” A true warrior spirit.
"My friends...you bow to no one."
Makes me cry every time.
My favorite part of this movie.
Yes, even if I watched it just yesterday
😭😭😭😭RIGHT??
STOP MAKING ME CRO PLS STOOOOP :(
I love how the expression on each hobbits face is different there too. Merry & Pippin looks proud, Sam humble and Frodo almost ashamed. All of them with different reactions to all of Middle Earth bowing to them knowing their part of the journey.
No matter how many times I've seen this, "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!" just tears my heart every time.
Oh, absolutely.
Yup. me too. That and "you bow to no one" both slay me.
It is such a powerful message about supporting your friends, even when you can't take the burden from them. You can carry them through their pain
The One Ring: Wait, that's against the rules!
Thank you two. This was one of the best reactions I’ve seen. You were both so deeply engrossed in the story, and so affected by it. It was a real pleasure to watch.
Thank you! That means the world to us ❤️
Amen!!
The hobbits trilogy pls@@OfficialMediaKnights
INDEED. the best ive ever seen
I genuinely don't know which line makes me more emotional: "You bow to no one" or "I can't carry the ring for you, Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!" 😢
Both lines hit so deep!
And good for us all that Sam never skipped leg day!
for me its "Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it....."
and: "dont you let go!"
For Frodo ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I love Denise's expressions when she is trying not to spoil.
Ahah it's absolutely been a challenge not to spoil anything but we did it!!
She has perfected the “knowing look”. She even has the little mischievous smile to go along with it.
@@williambryan3346Ye, it's one of the best things of this reaction 'series' :)
@@OfficialMediaKnights I've become fast fans of both y'all. One of the few reactor groups that seems to actually care about the art of making movies.
The side eye then knowing look at the camera to us the audience whenever an iconic or twist-y part was about to happen was great 😂
One very subtle thing that I love about this trilogy, is that in the first movie we see Boromir training Merry and Pippin in swordfighting, and now we see them using those skills they learned to defend Boromir's beloved city. We know that Hobbits aren't looked upon as useful in the battlefield in the world of ME, but Boromir held no such misgivings. Even though we don't see much about him beyond the first film, I think it's little things like this that give us a sense of what type of Captain he was, and why he is held in such high regard by those who knew him.
The only thing I wish these movies showed more of is Denethor's backstory. He's a great tragic hero character, but we don't ever get the sense of that in this. Gondor has been fighting and holding off Morder's evil for years, living under the shadow of the eye, and if they portrayed that a little better, it would strengthen Denethor, Boromir, and Faramir's characters even more.
They did Denethor dirty in the movies - one of the only things that Jackson got wrong. Especially, Gandalf never would have laid a finger on him, and those guards standing by would have given their lives to defend Denethor from Gandalf if he tried.
@@LadyIarConnacht Yea for sure, some of the book readers complain a lot about the adaptation, but my only major one is Denethor. There are a couple of lines of dialogue from Boromir and Faramir about how their father used to be, and we get a sense that Gondor has been enduring this evil by themselves for a long time from Boromir's lines in the first movie. But since that's in the beginning of the trilogy and at the time the audience is still unsure of Boromir's intentions, it's easy to forget about them, especially on first watch.
Overall though I can't complain, I think the LOTR Extended Edition trilogy is the best adaptation of the books that we'll ever get. Perfect casting, perfect direction, perfect score. The technological advances they made while filming these movies are incredible, and outside of the first film (some of the CGI looks a little dated now), I find they still hold up incredibly well.
I totally understand why PJ omitted/simplified some plotlines to fit the story into three very long movies, as it's a monumental task. Some of the things they added (such as Boromir's final speech) even managed to elevate the source material IMO. (PJ's mentioned some scenes we've never seen that are stored away somewhere, and I hope one day we'll be able to get our hands on them!)
These are my favourite movies of all time, and I'm always glad when newcomers fall in love with this universe and these characters like I did.
Denetbor in the movie was portrayed as 95% evil. The book made Denethor seem more pitiful than evil. Denethor, according to Tolkien, was one of the people who owned a Palantir (crystal ball device). Both Saruman and Denethor according to the book were heroes of ME until they started playing with the Palantirs. In Sarumans case, he originally used his Palantir to spy on Sauron and better understand his motivations and ambitions in order to beat him. He wasnt really an ally of Sauron but also never saw his fellow wizards as equals. He was originally trying to defeat Sauron, but his superiority complex of personality warped him into feeling he could ally with Sauron then betray him after defeating men and become the leader of ME himself using the ring for good. But Sauron knew of Sarumans treachery and turned his mind to evil. And of course we as viewers have the luxury of knowing even good characters will all be turned to the evil of Sauron the more contact they have with the ring. Galadriel and Gandalf and Elrond (holders of the 3 elven rings) all refused the one ring as they knew that they would eventually end up using it to perform immense good and thus becoming also corrupted by its ability to turn all acts of good to evil. We the viewers know this. Most of powerful men did not. Thats essentially how the 9 men were ensnared to use their rings till they destroyed them. The 7 dwarves who had rings were corrupted by greed to delve ever deeper into the earth to mine metals. Mostly, they were not major players in the movies until the Hobbit movies.
Denethor also used his Palantir to spy on the progress of Sauron in order to outwit his plans. But Denethor was also being watched by Sauron though as Sauron also had one. Sauron showed Denethor images of how hopless it was to go against Sauron for months before the movies timeframe. Sauron also knew Denethor's vanity and showed him images of the King (Aragorn) coming to take Denethors stewardship away. Several generations of stewards were all but Kings in name. And Denethor feared Aragorns return as he knew that would be the end of the entire line of stewards. By the time we see Denethor in the movie, he's already been mentally defeated via the Palantir and Sauron and more worried about Aragorn becoming king than fighting Sauron off. The books were not so harsh on Denethor, Boromir or Faramir. Denethor and Boromir were treated more as victims sucumbing to the power of Sauron via the palantirs and one ring. Faramir was much more a man of honor in the books than the movie portrayed him.
But movies are seldom exactly like the book stories they often come from. Good movies today require a good deal more of defined good vs evil conflicts and cant really afford the time necessary to fully flesh out both good and evil and especially not the motivation of nuetral characters. If the movies were more exact to the books, we probably would have been bored by the character definitions the books had many pages to explore. It would have taken yet another movie to have to deal with all the books characters properly. For instance Arwen and Eowyn were not so heavily featured in the books. Fantasy books often would leave women out of the main storylines and are only there to prop up the male storylines. Thats why many fantasy stories are the choice of men and often not women. Jackson knew if his movies were to be written as is in the books, he would have few women viewers and a more difficult time getting his movie out in any real amount of time. Therefore some characters were ommitted entirely (like Tom Bombadil) and some were expanded upon (like Arwen) and some demonished to simple good or evil characters (like Denethor). We should rejoice though at the marvelous actors who portrayed all these characters (even the ones we hate) so well.
I agree! It's part of why I think of Boromir as the heroic heart of the films. Without him, the Hobbits would never have learned to defend themselves (plus all the consequences of that), Aragon, who saw himself as more elf than man would never have seen the beauty of men, would never have made his promise to protect mankind and would likely never have taken up the mantle of King.
"Then I shall die as one of them."
@@dggcreations I think it would have been cool if we saw just a second of Denethor's palantir somewhere, even just in the background of a shot.
And with Tom Bombadil, I did want him in the movies when I was younger, but I do feel like he was kind of a self-insert for Tolkien and probably would have introduced a dilemma similar to the Eagles...
Tolkien was very sure of his story and what he wanted to tell. He is 100 steps ahead of each line:
1) Bilbo forgives Gollum.
2) Gandalf says: "The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many"
3) Gollum through the movie is an obstacle and a flexion for Frodo but in the end, when he fails to destroy the ring, it is him who triggers the events that finally destroy the ring.
4) Bilbo's mercy, despite all the corruption and evil and the problems that will be caused by Gollum in the future, has a purpose, comes full circle and reaffirms its meaning.
"Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo?
Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends..."
Same for Aragorn sparing Grima.
Lol, fun fact. He actually wasnt. He was a pantser. He didnt know the story until he wrote it. There is a famous quote where he admitted that he had no idea who the cloaked and hooded man in the corner of the prancing pony was. He didnt know his name was strider until a character said it. And he had no clue strider was heir to throne of gondor.
Sam did leave Middle-Earth, to seek The Grey Havens and leave on one of Cirdan’s ships to sail to Valinor, as was his right as one of the ring-bearers (even if just for a few hours).
Sam left many years after Frodo, and only after the death of his wife, Rose Gamgee. Sam’s 13 children were all adults by this point, and Sam was very, very old.
The ending of the appendices always give me this sad nostalgia feeling just like in the movie...
“1541: In this year, on March 1st came at last the Passing of King Elessar. It is said that the beds of Meriadoc and Peregrin were set beside the bed of the great king. Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduin and so over Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf. And when that ship passed an end was come in Middle-earth of the Fellowship of the Ring.”
I kind of love the fact that Gimli is the only Dwarf to ever go to Valinor. His growth throughout the trilogy, his friendship with a 'pointy ear', and his massive love and respect for Galadriel became so fundamental to his character, and made him 'worthy'.
Such incredible storytelling.
@@arklytte It's also a beautiful testimony to dwarves within the lore of Tolkien's world, as the dwarves were the only race not created by Eru Ilúvatar, but instead by Aulë who did so out of admiration for Eru's work but out of turn. Rather than punish him for the act, though, Eru Ilúvatar praised Aulë for his sincerity and offered Dwarves a place in his world.
One of the reasons for the natural animosity between Elves and Dwarves is precisely because Dwarves are 'outsiders' who were never part of Eru's 'Great Plan'. So Gimli finding his way to Valinor is an affirmation that even though they are not of Eru's making, they are just as capable of being worthy of paradise.
Pardon my ignorance, but is "the Grey" basically 4D? Like, the astral plane
One of the many things I love about Legolas and Gimli’s friendship is how pleased he is with Galadriel’s gift to his friend. Feanor, the creator if the Silmarils, asked Galadriel for a strand of her hair three times and she refused three times because Feanor was an arrogant jerk. Gimli asked for one strand of her hair to treasure as a remembrance of the Elven queen who understood his despair over what happened to his people in Moria, and she gives him three strands.
@@carlalussiniwdym "the grey"? Grey Havens? It is a physical location in middle earth (Lindon) lorded by Cirdan the Shipwright.
It is basically the port of call for those elves who wish to sail west to Valinor, never to return.
The very first time I read J.J.R. Tolkien's Trilogy, was when my father handed me the books. I was 11 years old.
So I sprawled on my bed and began to read, with no expectations or idea of what was to come.
I have no memory of the passage of time for next three days...I don't even remember food or daylight or dark.
All I knew was the Road I was on and the gentleness of the Shire and the horror of the Ringwraiths.
And the ease and peace of Rivendell contrasted with the desperate, hopeless plans they laid there.
The long dark of Moria, and the time spent out of time in Lothlorian...
The deep sonorous voices and the endless depths in the eyes of the Ents.
And the leap of the flames of the watch towers across the mountains. And the charge of the Rohirrim, and the desperation of the last battle in Mordor.
The heartbroken failure and stunning redemption of one small hobbit...
And the lesson that you cannot always go home, and that sometimes you can only save things for others, but not for yourself...
And then the gentle shock of the ending - "Well, I'm back."
And then I sat back down and read it straight through all over again.
And that is Love.
So, decades later, a group of friends and I went to see a random movie, which to this day I have no memory of what it was.
Because as we walked across the foyer, heading for the popcorn concession, I glanced up and saw one of the giant banners that advertises movies yet to come, suspended from the ceiling...and my heart stopped.
It was a single, simple image.
A somber young face under dark curly hair, holding up a gold ring in the palm of his hand.
I was across the floor standing under the banner, and gazing up at it with tears starting in my eyes and my heart pounding.
I knew it was Frodo holding the One Ring before I ever saw the words "The Lord of the Rings" across the bottom.
I swear my heart stopped. I knew instantly from the power of that image, that whoever was the director, the studio, the driving minds behind the production, they were going to get it right.
My friends had to circle back - having acquired my popcorn, bless them - to drag me into the movie we had come to see.
Which I haven't the faintest memory of to this day, because I was actually off in Middle Earth, instead of a darkened theater.
So when day FINALLY came that I was sitting in the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring, and we came to the scene where all Hobbiton opened out before Gandalf's horse and cart, green and golden in the light, with the rolling hills of the Hobbit Holes...
I started crying right then and there.
I was home. And my heart knew it.
That is my home.
It always will be.
And somehow killing wormtounge was my favorite part 😂😂😂
Beautifully said❤️. My heart felt the same.
Always
You express so beautifully how I feel about Middle Earth. I was 21 when I first read the books. I immediately fell in love with the shire, and I was terrified of the ring wraiths. I also started over as soon as I finished. I have read the books at least 20 times (I've lost count) and I still discover something new each time I read them. I call them my 'comfort books' because they take me to a place I love so much, and always will. I'm pleased that I have passed a love for Middle Earth to both of my kids, as well.
@kuivienen1 I read them at least once a year! There's nothing like them! It means so much to know others whose lives have been changed by The Lord of the Rings!
That line "Smeagol lied" hits hard. It wasn't Gollum trying to steal the ring back. Smeagol was never truly free of it.
The chant of "Death" by Rohan had so much meaning behind it. It was a reflection to Illuvatar's (Supreme God) gift (Death) to mankind, so that they can experience what it means to truly live - to have free will and be liberated from the physical world which the elves and Valar would eventually come to envy. But Morgoth and Sauron twisted mankind into believing that "Death" was a curse and corrupted them to turn away from the Gods and seek for immortality, proving that Men are the weakest race and thus the easiest to corrupt for their personal use.
The acceptance of "Death" during Rohan's charge was a direct act of defiance against Morgoth and Sauron, showing them that men are not as weak as they thought, and that they will learn to fear the true strength of men when they have finally accepted the gift of "Death". Which is why you can see the fear reflected on the Orcs' faces as the Riders inch closer and closer, because they now realise that men were no where near as weak as they thought they were.
Beautiful & deep. very few know the absolute beauty in what Tolkien created related to 'death' being a 'gift'
It is also paying homage to the very people the Rohirrim were inspired by, the Anglo-Saxons and their old religion valuing glorious death in battle and to earn your right to be among your ancestors afterwards. The love of battle and valor in the face of inevitable death.
“..and they sang as they slew”
Probably the most chilling line and scene in the whole trilogy for me .
When he gets tempted by the ring, Sam quite literally sees himself as a hero who will turn everything to fields of flowers, but then he realizes that he is only a hobbit and he is content with his own little garden. So he gives the ring back to Frodo :))
I was looking for this reply. Ya the only way the Ring could tempt Sam was giving him a vision of creating a green Mordor but he realized that was silly, it broke the Ring's spell and he handed it back to Frodo. Sam is just so pure, even with temptation.
This, and the the rewrite of Faramir’s character, are among the few liberties taken for sake of the screen over the original story that is truly saddening. Sam’s only reluctance in the original was the burden on his master.
Yes! The ring basically tries to tempt Sam with the idea of being the world's most powerful gardener and he just says "meh, I'm good".
@@feosu interestingly, Sean Astin played the moment as his concern for Frodo. Fran Walsh and Jackson pushed him for a temptation reaction so they could have it on tape and Sean says he just kept playing it as if he were concerned for Frodo. But the way the scene is edited and the music suggests temptation. So there you go!
For purposes of these movies, I actually liked that it was shown that no one is immune to the Ring's temptation, regardless of their virtue or strength of will. In the novels you have the time and space to illustrate those subtle differences, but in the film I believe it would just dilute the audience's sense of what a temptation the Ring is.
When Sam had the ring, the only thing it could tempt him with was giving him the power to make all of middle-earth into a beautiful garden.
That was a hilarious part in the books. Then he shrugs it off n goes nah, don't need that. Probably cause he's already the best gardener in middle earth
And then Sam rejects that too, cuz there's no way he could care for a garden that big
Let's just have a minute of silence to honor the most amazing endurance of Lord Steward Denethor who literally runs the entire length of the city just to jump off the most protruding place possible. My man ran from the crypts, out the throne room, past the dead kings tree, through the huge open space and eventually off the cliff WHILE ON FIRE ALL THE TIME! 💪💪💪
He got there quickly though; he ran with blazing speed.
@@Frostrazor I see what you did there 😂😂😂
If only more of our modern day politicians would follow his example.
@@dougearnest7590 - Yes.
In the books, Sam later joins Frodo in the undying lands. When Aragorn dies he’s buried in the halls of his forefathers and merry and pippin are buried next to him. Legolas also builds his own ship to sail to the undying lands and invites gimli to come with him. The first and only dwarf to go there. It’s all such a beautiful story.
Hi guys. I just want to take a moment and say thank you. I found this channel last yr in a dark time in my life. They bring me comfort and joy and I appreciate your insights you two do while watching these films. The LOTR trilogy is my favorite of all time and I’m happy to be apart of the journey.
Aw man! Thank you for sharing, this made our day. We're so grateful we get to entertain you guys ❤️
I’m right there with you! I found this channel in the very same way and I’m so thankful. On nights when I can’t sleep and my head is spinning, watching movies with Ari and Denise has kept been so comforting. Somehow I don’t feel alone, I’m watching movies with good friends.
Also, the lovely group of people that they’ve gathered on their channel is amazing. Sharing movie trivia and learning from such a supportive bunch of people is so great.
My most favourite thing to watch during this whole saga was Denise’s face. Whenever something big was about to happen she kept quiet. She looked at Ari but kept looking forward so that he could have a general reaction, and then she could react. It was awesome. Thanks you guys this was a great ride. Much love. ❤️
I like her quietly mouthing some of the most famous lines.
i couldn't agree more, so true! great ride, thanks ♥
yess i love that she didn’t give it away but she was subtle in letting the audience know that she knew shit was going on 😂❤
"I'm gonna miss them, man." And that right there is the spark that makes my wife and I do our long weekend Trilogy rewatch at least once a year. Because the films and these characters still have that emotional resonance every time you watch it. So its so fulfilling to revisit it. I am beyond stoked that you loved it so much. Welcome to The Fellowship. As far as that scene when they return to the Shire and sit in the pub...... Tolkien served during trench warfare in WWI. If anything, you can see that idea of the emotional change someone goes through when they go off to war (or destroy a ring) and then 'return' to their life. But in a way, they can't truly return - because of how different they are when they come back. And you really get that feeling, so well conveyed by our favorite hobbits.
And of course: "You bow to no one." breaks me every single time
😢
Definitely gonna be watching these again! These characters stay with you and I absolutely loved the journey. The ending was perfect and the way they depict the consequences was phenomenal. The “You bow to no one.” Really hits when you put into context just everything they’ve all sacrificed in order to keep Middle earth safe.
Thank you for watching this with us❤️
right on - me too! It was a tradition for me and my dad we would watch it every year at Thanksgiving. He's joined his forefathers 10 years ago - but I still keep the tradition alive in honor of him.
@@Frostrazor End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it.
Pippin : What? Gandalf?... See what?
Gandalf : White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Pippin : [smiling] Well, that isn't so bad.
Gandalf : [softly] No... No it isn't.
Amen!!!
Since I see in the comments you are going to watch them again. Here's something interesting to look out for... when Gollum/Smeagal is in his Gollum personna his pupils are pinpricks. When he's Smeagal, his pupils are large. I must have been on my 8th watch before I saw that. Humans react more favorably to dilated pupils. It's pretty clever.
Merry's "I knew you'd find me" is often overlooked as an emotional line but I love it, far from home, through war and violence, he still knew his friend would come for him.
Elijah Wood is brilliant in this part. Perfection. They couldn’t have cast that part any better.
At the end, when Frodo and Gollum go over the cliff, they wanted it to be obvious that Frodo wasn’t sure he wanted to come back. The expressions on his face are so subtle and beautiful. He’s free of the ring but he’s still somehow enthralled by it. It’s a very powerful scene.
The fight at the end really illustrates how he couldn't let go of the Ring. In the books you can go into Frodo's mind and see the struggle but movies are a visual medium so it really shows that like an addict that is separated from their supply but not recovered he remains always longing for it and is but one of the reasons he left with the elves to receive healing so he could live out the rest of his days in peace.
True. I feel like Elijah's performance wasn't appreciated enough when the movies first came out, because I remember people nagging about his accent etc. but things like that are minor details compared to how well he portrays the character of Frodo and everything he has to endure. It's a performance that has really stood the test of time and I appreciate it even more now, 20 years later.
@@akaha001 it's just book elitists that were mad that characters weren't 1 to 1 carbon copies of the books.
Now, all these years later and especially in a time where Hollywood loses strength, I really recognize and appreciate HOW GOOD these subtle expressions of all the actors are. In so many moments you don't need any talk, because their faces tell you everything you need to know.
"Show, don't tell" in it's perfection. These movies are a miracle.
@@mikeity2009 I have friends that are like that. One in particular has tortured me with the differences between the books and the movies. I totally understand that because I’m that way about some things. For example, James Cameron’s “Titanic” just offends me on so many levels. I know it’s an unpopular opinion because everyone that I know loves it. But I just can’t stand it. It’s “The Poseidon Adventure” meets “Peyton Place”. Off topic I know but just to show that I understand how it feels. I’ve been reading about and studying Titanic since I was a very little kid and I nitpicked the entire movie for “correct detail”…Drove everyone crazy with it. lol! For some reason, with LOTR’s I’m able to love both equally.
Oh man. For me there simply isn't a better fantasy film trilogy in existence. The mastery over cinematic storytelling in these three films is something absolutely insane. The way all the storylines come together in this third part is beautiful, captivating, absolutely monumental. 10 out of 10.
you could leave out the word Fantasy and still be correct. 🙂
If you haven't already read the books, I would recommend you give them a try. Tolkien started writing this epic story during the early years of WWII.
@@steveneltringham1478 , yep, I've read Tolkien's LoTR and Hobbit. For my taste Lord of the Rings is a bit too dense and detail-dwelling as a reading experience, whereas The Hobbit is much more streamlined and inviting read. I'm generally more inclined towards audiovisual media than books anyway.
My favorite thing is that Tolkien's wife's grave stone was engraved "Luthien" and Tokien's with "Beren" when he followed. It's referred to in fellowship,. "The elf maiden who gave her love to Beren, a mortal....she died."
Beren and Luthien is such an incredible story. One of my favorite from The Silmarilian..
I’d love to see Beren and Luthien as a movie, but only if someone took the same care as Jackson and everyone involved took with LOTR.
@@nancyhayes9958indeed. Key point.
@@nancyhayes9958 Definitely. I kinda would also love to see Children of Hûrin as a film as well.
@@Dumbodwarf Let’s throw in the Fall of Gondolin, and we have our next trilogy.
Tolkien and Jackson's depiction of PTSD after live changing events in this movie is the best i have ever seen and is always my favorite part.
I served two tours in Iraq and the feeling of finally coming back home to that beer with your friends you held on to and dreamed for. And when it happens it's surreal. Everyone smiles with hollow smiles knowing what we left back. And it's always there in our minds like a dull constant pain.
It was captured so, so well at the end. And the whole time you're enjoying this beer while people around you whose lives didn't change is something that's hard to explain. And you drink and think how you probably don't deserve any of this. But you move on amd enjoy life anyway because that was the whole point of coming back home intact
Great post. I'm Australian, but thank you for your service, anyway. For what it's worth, many in the West who never served are not oblivious to the horrors of war, even if we've never experienced them first-hand. For myself, it's not a matter of ignoring soldiers who've fought, I just wouldn't know what to say that wouldn't sound horribly awkward. "Thank you for your service" is the only reasonable thing for me to say, but even that sounds horribly hypocritical coming from someone who has never served, from a person who really has no idea what it must have been like.
It's why Frodo's face changes so immensely the moment he steps onto the boat too. In a sense, the journey to Valinor is a journey to the afterlife, to 'Elf Paradise', in essence. The very moment that Frodo already is moving towards that place of absolute peace, he is released from all the trauma and all the suffering. His face fills with colour and he can once again smile from the heart. The journey to Valinor is his reward - absolute peace of mind, heart and soul. Something I can only imagine so many servicemen long for.
I dont trust anyone who watches those movies and does not shed a single tear! - freakin Masterpiece!
When Eomer finds Eowyn on the battlefield lifeless, that scream...you felt the horror... The moment that hit me the most was Liv Tyler's singing over Howard Shore's beautiful Score as Aargorn tends to Eowyn in the Healing House and brings brings her back to life...it was just so angelic...not sure about you guys, but it gave me chills. Another amazing reaction vid.
Ahh that moment broke us, his screams of terror and anguish were so palpable. There are so many incredible moments in this, it's impossible to choose which hits the hardest! Thank you so much for your kindness and support, we truly appreciate it!
that scene made no sense
@@jadenepia5960the scene makes perfect sense. Eowyn is supposed to be safe at Edoras, hundreds of miles from danger. To stumble across her in the middle of the battlefield, injured, unconscious, and possibly dead is something that hasn't even entered Eomer's darkest nightmares, let alone finding her next to the body of their uncle and king
@@jadenepia5960 A guy finds his SISTER'S lifeless body and screams makes no sense?
@@jadenepia5960Eowyn suffered a thing called black breath, because she faced off vs the witch king in the face basically it made her go unconcious or in some sort of coma
Man, Eomer's scream just hits. Imagine riding to battle to possibly your death but thinking your sister is at least safe back home and then seeing her there.
I love that when Aragorn kills that ugly Orc, it wasn't even a big fight. He just killed him like he was just another pawn on the field. Never even game him a thought.
Denethor went mad because he also had a Palantir, which allowed Sauron to poison his mind. When he says “against the power that has risen in the East, there can be no victory”, that’s almost exactly what Saruman tells Gandalf in the first movie. I wish this was made more clear in the movie.
Nope. Denethor was never ever a loser against Sauron. Here’s why.
• Denethor (& Faramir) was done dirty: Denethor was way more noble & mighty in the books. Not to mention he contended wills with Sauron for decades nonstop & ontop of that even now he was never broken nor could Sauron alter what Denethor would see in the palantir even then he couldn’t control what Denethor had control of which was how he CHOSE to INTERPRET the visions given to him. Using it all to Gondor’s advantage! ❤ he also lit the beacons and got the women & children far away from the city longer ahead of time. So the movie butchered him as well as faramir but they didn’t butcher faramir as badly thankfully.
He could have been shown to give Pippen his newest order to light the beacons so then it wouldn’t change the scene much at all as presented! The story here is Faramir’s birth ended up killing his mother Finduilas(named after an elvish princess from the era of Children Of Hùrin was set in);she was a Numenorean woman of the Faithful which her ancestors survived the Cataclysm of Númenor by the way! He was hurt deeply by her death and ontop of that Faramir had the likeness both in temperament as well as his appearance/bearing so he ways reminded of his wife over and over again by Faramir who was just like her, and all it took was a simple look or what-have-you to drive the knife in deeper into his heart about his wife.
But also Aragorn when he went by the name gifted to him as Thorongil Denethor’s father basically overshadowing him from his own father so he is as psychology goes: treated Boromir the same way his father treated Aragorn/Thorongil. Note that Boromir and Faramir are half Númenorean which is a big thing as far as the legendarium goes! And it’s something to note that he treated Boromir like his father treated the clandestine Aragorn as Thorongil.
Denethor actually did many things the movie shows him not doing or neglecting. He was VERY competent and mighty in many craft and (even a lore-master to a degree). He had quite alot of mental and “magical” might which is why he could contend with Sauron too without being harmed in there process in any way!
Faramir and Eowyn love story, it´s quite deeper and incredibly romantic in the book. Here we only see a few nice moments.
Faramir also wrote Of Aragorn And Arwen book. There is a lovely audiobook of it in an almost Phil Dragash style too
Fun fact. Sir Ian McKellen patterned his speaking cadence and rhythm for Gandalf after JRR Tolkien' s way of speaking.
After the events of the film, Legolas and Gimli travel around together, brothers till the end. When Legolas relocated to Ithilien, Gimli moved next door, doing for the dwarves what Legolas did for the elves. Gimli led a company of dwarves to the Glittering Caves near Helm's Deep, where they established a new settlement, taking on the vast amount of rebuilding jobs that had suddenly become available. Gimli became the Lord of the Glittering Caves, and strong ties were developed with the nearby people of Rohan and thr elves of Ithilien. Dwarves also resumed mining operations in the now Balrog-free Moria. In the past there had always been tension between Dwarves and Elves. That's why Legolas and Gimli's friendship was so fucking special. Once Gimli's work was done, Legolas invited Gimli to west to thr Undying Lands with him. Normally since they are not the chosen of Illuvatar, dwarves are prohibited from entering the Undying Lands, and Gimli was never a Ring-bearer, therefore normally not be accepted into the Valar's home. But as one who received blessings of Legolas, Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel, a special exception was made just for him. Legolas and Gimli hopped on The Last Boat and set off to the Undying Lands together. Gimli would get his wish to see his Lady Galadriel again.
One of my favorite details is that you can hear Sauron whispering to his mouth what to tell the fellowship at the Black Gate.
I also love how Merry and Pippin are the first ones to follow Aragorn in his last charge.
I have watched probably 80% of the reactions on RUclips for this trilogy and no exaggeration you guys would be on the Mount Rushmore. I stumbled upon your channel from the Godzilla video and you decided to also do my favorite movies of all time at the same time. From top to bottom just amazing. No over the top reacting and missing scenes and moments. Genuine convo on the subject. Picking up on information given to you. Just an A+ my friends.
WOW, this is such a huge compliment, you don't even know!! Thank you so much, this honestly made our day!
Amen, absolutely. Made even more so by the fact that one of them had already seen these films in theaters, but never seemed like it the entire time they watched together
Great videos & channel overall
Easily the greatest movie trilogy ever made and probably ever will be made.
I love those last words from King Theoden - "I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company I shall not now feel ashamed". Such a great redemption arc for that character. He felt ashamed at first because fear stopped him from properly leading his men at Helm's Deep when Aragorn had to take over for a bit, and now he got a chance to set things right.
A couple of "fun" facts.
Gladriel was Elrond's MIL and Arwen's grandmother.
The little kids at the end were Sam's RL daughter and Rosie RL son.
Of the 9 members of the Fellowship, 8 of them all got matching tattoos of the word NINE in Elvish somewhere on their bodies.
The only member not to get one was John Rhys Davies, Gimli, BUT his scale double did get one with the others instead.
John Rhys Davies, aka Gimli, in case you didn't recognise him, has starred in many TV series and movies, including playing Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies.
When the script called for Wormtongue to stab Saurman in the back, Christopher Lee pointed out to Peter Jackson that when you stab someone in the back, they don't gasp with an intake of air, they exhale.
Peter Jackson goes on to say that because during WWII CL was working for the forerunner of the British Secret Service. He said that he didn't want to know, just how CL actually "knew" that!
(Probably why CL's step-cousin, Ian Flemming, used him as inspiration for his character, James Bond!)
An Oliphant, isn't just a name in LOTR verse. Oliphant, is also eliphant in Dutch. (As is Vader for father, but that another franchise! )
The Charge of the Rohirim actually used over 200 real horses (as well as cgi). The crew that were there said the ground shook like an earthquake when all those horses and their riders were galloping down the slope.
Éowyn’s full dialogue with the WitchKing was monumental in the books and was from Glorfindel; the elvish prince’s prophesy/Curse/Oath upon the WitchKing one of the time he and one of the Numenorean kings(Eärnur or Arvedui) was chasing away said WitchKing back towards Angmar(Yes. He was afraid of Glorfindel Of The Golden Flower very much. Same with Galadriel too I might add. He wouldn’t even approach lothlorien. He & his armies would always avoid her lands to the point of risking taking longer roads around her lands) Éowyn: “Be gone, foul Dwimmerlaik, Lord of carrion. Leave the dead in peace!”
Lord of the Nazgûl: “Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey or he will slay thee in turn!”
Éowyn: “Do what you will. I will hinder it, if I may!”
Lord of the Nazgûl: “Hinder me? Thou fool. Dost thou not know the prophecy? ‘No living man may hinder me.’ “
Éowyn: “But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn am I. You stand between me and my Lord and kin. Be gone for living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him!”
Being severely injured by The Black Breath(plague type poison had taken over Eowyn & her Hobbit friend, Éowyn was immediately healed by Aragorn, who saved her just in time before she certainly would have died of her wounds. She remained behind to heal, while also meeting and falling in love with Faramir. At Éowyn's behest, Merry was made a knight by her brother, the newly-named king of Rohan. After the War of the Ring, Éowyn married Faramir just outside of Ithilien and became its lady while Faramir became its king. Together, they had one child together named Elboron and a grandson named Barahir.
And the dramatic silence from the WitchKing is palpable in the books.
I also love that part of the healing of Eowyn was that Aragorn had her brother call her, the familial bond and love between them helped her come back from the brink. They don’t have much time to convey the brother-sister bond in the movie but they still do a good job with the little moments, and of course Eomer’s devastated scream when he finds his sister seemingly dead on the battlefield. Excellent acting on that scene!
@@abbiejo6822 I swear I replied to this. Did RUclips delete it?
My favorite part of the prophecy is it is broken in every possible way:
Merry is a Hobbit and thus not a "Man" as in the race of Men.
Merry's weapon is a blade take from the Barrow-Downs and is the weapon of a dead man enchanted specificly to kill the Witch-King, thus bypassing the "Living" requirement.
Finally Éowyn is a woman and therefore not a "man" as in the gender.
Each potential key word of the prophecy is subverted.
The funniest part is it's all a fun little jab at the play Macbeth which was a play Tolkien really liked. "No man of woman born shall harm Macbeth" which make Macbeth think he is unkillable until the reveal that MacDuff is basically just a C section baby, and thus not "born" I guess? By the wording of said prophecy any woman could kill Macbeth.
@@drizzmatec MacBeth also directly resulted in the creation of the Ents as Tolkien was mad that the woods didnt actually come to life
Sam wasn't hesitating because he didn't trust Frodo, the Ring was already taking hold of him.
Sam gets a ton of praise, deservedly so, but it's easy to overlook what Frodo was going through. Every single step the ring weighed heavier physically and mentally.
I know they made a compromise with the Academy Awards (no actor nominations for pretty much nominations in every other category), but man did Sean Astin ever deserve a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in this.
I don't even understand that! It has always driven me nuts that none of the actors got Oscars!
Ian McKellen was nominated in 2002 - but sadly didn't get it.
Nobody remembers any winner of that year besides the LOTR awards😂
The climactic scene where Frodo fails to destroy the ring really comes back to fellowship of the ring when they were traveling through the mines and Gandalf said that he felt in his heart that gollum will have his part to play, for better or worse. It ended up being true. Bilbo’s mercy is how Gollum was able to be around when fate needed him.
Villainous as he was, Frodo and Sam wouldn’t have made it to Mordor without Gollum as a guide. Frodo witnessing the internal battle between Gollum/Sméagol is what made Frodo push harder because he saw what he could become if he failed his mission. Gollum’s desire for the ring is what finally sent the ring into the fire of Mount Doom by fighting with Frodo over it when he initially failed to destroy it. He DID have his role to play and he’s always been one of the most fascinating characters I’ve ever seen.
"We made a promise to ourselves at the beginning of the process that we weren't going to put any of our own politics, our own messages or our own themes into these movies. ... In a way, we were trying to make these films for him (J.R.R. Tolkien), not for ourselves." - Peter Jackson
If only more directors would take this approach when using someone else's work.
Japan thankfully still respects creators and authors in this regard. It's considered a grave misdeed to misrepresent or misuse another creator's work, or to exploit it for personal benefit -- especially so if the creator has passed on and couldn't even give permission to have their work used. The West, sadly, is now run by narcissists in so many creative fields.
Compare that to the attitude of the makers of Rings of Power. This is why Peter Jackson’s films are timeless.
It's a great sentiment, but I feel it's a bit far fetched when you think about some of the unnecessary changes they made to Tolkien's work. 🤷♂
@@daz_n Some of those changes made sense from a cinematic perspective. I respect Chris Tolkien's objections to the changes made, but I do think the overall message in Tolkien's work still made it across and that Tolkien himself would probably have been a little more lenient on it than Chris was.
Again, I absolutely respect Chris' objections though. Especially since as we can see now Christopher Tolkien was the only member of the Professor's family who gave a crap about respecting the man's legacy and ideals. The rest of the Tolkien Estate are a bunch of money-grubbing vultures looking to jump on a bandwagon for political reasons.
@@Terralventhe I have no problem with the changes they made for cinematic reasons, but some of the changes they made just disrespected the original work in my opinion.
Funfact: The charge of the Rohirrim was inspired by a special type of medieval cavalry, the so-called German armoured heavy shock cavalry ("Deutsche Panzerreiterei"), from the early times of Germany in the 10th century. This cavalry was unique; the first German king, Henry of Saxony (Heinrich I. von Sachsen), who became king in the year 919, formed it based on previously known Frankish cavalry formation but improved upon it.
Henry managed to beat the Vikings in the North and the Magyars (Hungarians) in the East of Germany. However, not decisively. He was able to buy time. During a long time of truce from Magyar raids into the realm, Henry built up the cavalry even more, and he also built a considerable amount of fortresses and castles. That is the reason why Germany is so full of 1000 year old castles. Most of them are from inception era of Germany 919-1077.
Henry's son, Otto I. "The Great" ("Otto der Große") used the Armoured Heavy Calvary to decisively beat the Hungarians. It was a brutal, merciless victory. The Hungarians were totally crushed. The battle "On the fields near Lech in 955" ("Schlacht auf dem Lechfeld 955") is very famous and specifically mentioned in German schools as it molded and solidified Germany as a strong European country, as a powerful medieval realm and as "The Empire" because Otto managed to elevate himself to Emperor (Kaiser) and Germany from Kingdom to Empire (Kaiserreich), claiming direct succession to the Roman Empire which did end in 478 and triggered "The Dark Ages".
Otto did this by using his reputation as German king, his status as briliant warrior and military leader and his achievements over the Hungarians to establish a permanent connection with the pope. He forceed the pope's hand...who was the only one able to create a legitemate title as succession to Karl the Great/Charlesmagne (Karl der Große) and the original Roman emperors.
In 962, Otto was crowned the first "Holy Roman-German Emperor" ("Römisch-deutscher Kaiser") and in the realm the so-called "Church of the Realm system" ("Reichskirchensystem") appeared.
Otto was a master of the Armoured Heavy Cavalry. This formation remained unbeaten on any battlefield until the 5th of April 1242, when a formation of armoured heavy cavalry knights lost a battle...which turned out to be a pivotal battle in European history: The battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus (Schlacht auf dem Eise des Peipus-Sees). It marked the end of Germany's expansion and ambition eastwards.
The reason the charge of the Rohirrim was depicted by Tolkien like that was the fact that, historically, an armoured heavy cavalry wedge (Panzerreiterkeil) was practically unbeatable. Henry's and Otto's improvement over older cavalry was that the Germans used very unconventional horses which typically are not considered to be fit for combat. The Germans used handpicked cold bloods / workhorses (Kaltblüter, Arbeitspferde). Those horses are supertall, superheavy and not agile like lighter horses. Henry and Otto did not need a lot of agility; they needed kinetic energy, ergo speed and mass (big heavily armoured horses and armoured knights on top!) for a maximum impact force.
The horses would be set in motion slowly and then accelerate, and accelerate, and accelerate and, accelerate, and smash any enemy center line or flank upon shock impact. The German armoured heavy cavalry was the strongest shock cavalry (Stoßkavalerie) in history.
Tolkien's analysis was the following: He said England had a rich culture before the invasion of the Normans, and this culture was destroyed and displaced by French influences, Romanic latinised language etc. For Tolkien the Battle of Hastings 1066 and the defeat of England was the pivotal moment.
The charge of the Rohirrim was Tolkien answering the What-if question "What if the English had possessed a German Armoured Heavy Cavalry during the Battle if Hastings?". Tolkien's answer can be read in the book and can be seen on screen by Peter Jackson: As per Tolkien, the English would have been able to smash into the enemy's flank with force and therefore achieve victory over the Normans. Consequentially, the original cultural state of England would have survived, without being diminished by the Normans.
The Rohirrim are a depiction of the superior medieval warfare in Germany from the 10th to the 13th century.
Btw. I am pretty sure someone in the comments will mention the Battle of Vienna in 1683. That is not a correct reference. The arrival of the Winged Husars has nothing to do with Tolkien or his very medieval world. Tolkien was a Medievalist. He did not care much for later periods. A connection with the Battle of Vienna is a false urban legend.
You laid this out so beautifully! Thank you!
The other "Fun fact" is how much Beowulf got into this! I took one look at the hall of Meduseld, and about yelled, omg, Hereot Hall from Beowulf much?!?
That is some very interesting history, thanks for sharing!
Can't un see pippins face in the 'you bow to no one' scene, the rest of them are awed or amazed, he's like 'yes, I deserve this'
A friend of mine was a stunt coordinator on the LOTR movies, he told me that during the Minis Tirith fight scenes,bthey would direct Sir Ian McKellen how to twirl and strike during that big scene against the orcs on the wall, he'd get all furious about not being a stunt man, he's an actor! Then once he's fired up they'd roll and he'd ace the shot, and storm off like a boss. Kirk was the first soldier to die in the first attack on the smaller city.
In the age of men, it took Aragorn 87 years to come to terms with his responsibility. That speaks volumes of how much life experience you might need to have in order to take up the title of King of Gondor.
the actor who played king theoden passed away yesterday
R.I.P king 'go now,to your fathers,in whose mighty company you shall not feel ashamed
One of my favorite little details is that Gandalf brought three eagles when he saved Frodo and Sam. He planned to save Smeagol as well.
Fantastic series of videos! I'm glad Denise got to live out ALL of our fantasies of showing a loved one these movies and having them really get it .
Indeed. But without the ring in existence he would probably die very quickly since he is many hundreds of years above his natural lifespan
I was looking for the "The three eagles ... its for gollum" comment lol It's in every reaction video lol xD Please stop it haha
@@Alejojojo6 never!
It’s clear you’ve never read the books because if you did, you’d never say this foolish “theory” like it’s canon.
@@evelynrosewindsorThat is correct. The third eagle is carrying Gandalf.
The little girl in the very last scene was that actor's real life daughter.
In our real history, the Romans faced elephants in battle when they fought Hannibal. They defeated them by greasing up pigs, setting them on fire, and sending them running at the elephants. The bigger animals panicked, effectively neutralizing them.
the baby boy is the son of the actress for Rosie Cotton.
The line in the book when Sam begins to carry Frodo up the mountain is “Sam’s will was set, and only death could break it.”
I’ve always loved that line.
Wow, but I love that scene where the hobbits are back at the Green Dragon after 13 months away. Frodo sits down and gives out the beers, then the four hobbits look at each other and it hits them: going to the pub after work will never be the same again. They’ve changed too much.
I'm from New Zealand and my parents took my brother and I to see these when they were originally released I havnt seen them in such a long time and watching you guys react to them has reignited my love and appreciation of these films. I now cant wait to show these to my kids when they are old enough. Sam's moment "I can't carry it for you....but I can carry you" will forever make me cry. Best moment of all the films for me. Thank you so much for your reactions ❤️
One other thing to note is that Frodo had to go in order for Sam to live a full, whole life. As long as Frodo was around Sam would always be worrying about him and maybe giving a little less to his family and other endeavors.
People have no clue how big this series was entering the 2000s it was everywhere like literally all locations outside your house and the forums dominated the internet.
Went to the midnight showing in Savannah Georgia. “ you bow to no one.” Left the audience in a gasp that I have not heard again since.
I have to say, that "You bow to no one" line from Aragorn always gets me, despite having watched that movie more times than I can count. It's an amazing recognition of how much the Hobbits had to go through. They could have just ditched and gone back to the Shire whenever, but they did not. They continued to fight and help out the whole of Middle Earth.
The fact Aragorn uses Boromirs bracers till the end is also hearthwelming (sorry for poor english) :)
Frodo saved Sam from drowning in the river during the Fellowship of the Ring. Sam saved Frodo from falling into the magma in the Return of the King. What Galadriel said about hope is not being lost when friendship remains true really rings the bell here. Brilliant writing! Gotta love it
That scene of eomer riding into battle screaming gives me chills every damn time
So very fun "After" facts, you always commented on the Gimli Legolas friendship. Later in life, Gimli and Legolas showed each other many of their favorite places, the caves, forests, etc. And eventually, Gimli was allowed to leave on the boats to Valinor, the undying lands, with Legolas due to their bond. He was the only dwarf to pass into Valinor.
"This fellow ain't dead." (From an orc talking about Frodo.)
*You, cutting to Faramir on his pyre.*
Chef's kiss!
Seeing Denathor (steward of Gondor) actor for the first time in an interview after like 5 re-watches of this trilogy was so eye opening. He is such a sweet and nice looking guy, so charismatic! Complete opposite of the charachter. Puts actors' talent and skill into such an amazing perspective!
Fun fact. The ring is what gave sam the crazy strength to save frodo by himself. In the book it is said the ring made sam seem ten feet tall to the orcs.
As a general rule, if something doesn't make sense in the movie, that's where Peter Jackson deviated from the books.
So one example is how easily Sauron is killed in the intro. He's set up as this super powered badass, but all you have to do is cut off his finger? That's not how it went down in the book, where the greatest Númenorean Man King [Elendil] the (greatest elf king [Gil-Galad] to still be around who
Culturally still has “right” to hold such a title which after his death it didn’t make much sense to even hold the title anymore ontop of the fact their population was decimated over many thousands of years so it held no purpose to have a high king anymore) They had to double-team Sauron to strike down & slew the Maia’s body physical form, but were killed in the effort (Isildur then cuts the ring from the corpse).
Another one that bugs some people while in the Council of Elrond, Boromir reacts to Aragorn by talking as if some "Aragorn" was known to be the Lost King of Gondor.
But in the book, neither Boromir nor any of his people would know any heir of Isildur exists 3,000 years later, and the name Aragorn would mean nothing to him. These were well-guarded secrets, and took some explaining in the council.
(In the full lore, Aragorn, who's older than he looks, had decades before gone to Gondor and proven himself a hero. But did so under an alias, and then disappeared like some mysterious cowboy saving the town and riding off into the sunset. Boromir would've been a kid or not even born yet.)
When Aragorn was living with the Elves, they names him Estel, which literally means "hope" in the Sindarin language. The theme of hope surrounds him all through the story and watching it again, you start to notice how many times it is mentioned.
Sam was tempted by the ring you can see it in his eyes every time he sees it, but its his courage and loyalty which prevails, when he does have difficulty giving it back to Frodo, Frodo says "It will destroy you Sam" because as brave and as Loyal as Sam is, Frodo knows it will eventually overcome him, just as Gandalf Aragorn and Galadriel knew they would succumb to temptation. Frodo is about the only one who when they first saw the ring wasn't wowed by it, thats how Gandalf knew he must carry the ring, but as we see even he succumbs to its powers when push comes to shove and he must destroy it, he cant bring himself to.
My absolute favourite quote from this particular movie is Gandalf’s speech about death. I can quote it word for word because not only is it hopeful and real but it’s also meant to be comforting to Pippin and us as the audience.
“Death is just another journey, one that we all must take.” It just brings such peace and calm to my soul, because it talks about something beyond our existence without mentioning a deity or a particular belief system. It gives hope to all and it’s just such a well written, well acted and also well done with the sound design, how the battle going on is almost a non existent thought in the background to Gandalf and Pippin’s conversation. The sounds of metal on metal kind of fades out as Gandalf continues his dialogue…it’s just so beautiful.
I think a lot of people miss the fact that it’s actually the whole theme to the entire trilogy that beyond war and death is something beautiful which is friendship, love, honour, family and peace. The death monologue to me really sums up what LOTR is all about.
The greatest trilogy of all time for me. The line "I can't carry it for you, but i can carry you" of Sam always hits in my feelings 😢. Love you guys reaction ❤
It's always a joy to see someone fall in love with this beautiful story for the first time. Peter Jackson's LOTR isn't just a film franchise. It's a magnificent work of art on par with the Mona Lisa or Beethoven's 5th Symphony. I've loved this story since I first read the book in 1980, but I never truly felt its full emotional impact until seeing it portrayed so beautifully on screen. At my first viewing of ROTK, I sobbed continuously from the moment Sam carried Frodo to the final note of "Into the West," and was still choked up as I left the theater. No other work of art, in any medium, has ever moved me so deeply.
Bilbo's act of kindness in sparing Gollum's life was what saved Middle Earth. This mirrors Galadriel's speech about even the smallest figure being able to change the fate of the world. Great reaction. I know the books say Sam was tempted with power by the ring, but I also like to think he wanted to carry the burden so Frodo didn't have to, but he knew he wasn't strong enough, which in itself is a remarkable feat of strength on his behalf. I mean, on the very doorstep of Mount Doom he resisted its pull, whereas Frodo carried the ring for nigh on a year to get to that point, building a resistance the closer they got to Mordor.
While not 100% true to the books, PJ's adaptation stayed probably as true as it could get to the source while needing to give optimal theatrical impact. It is definitely the benchmark in not only LOTR adaptations, but film-making in general IMO. All the cast did such an amazing job. If only PJ had been given Rings of Power *sigh*......
The song Aragorn was singing here was the first song his ancestor sang when he arrived on Middle Earth. The song he sang in the Fellowship is called the Lay of Leithien and was about his ancestors, Luthien Tinuviel (the only elf Sauron was ever scared of) and Beren (a mortal) which is such an underwhelming sum up of that whole epic of a story. Arwen is also descended from Luthien (I think Aragorn and Arwen are something like 67th cousins or something with her being Elrond's daughter and Aragorn being Elrond's twin brother's many times great-grandson) and is said to be her spitting image so Arwen psychically poking Sauron and Aragorn showing off his shiny new/old sword and ancient family ring (which originally belonged to Galadriel's oldest brother) was probably like all of his nightmares come to life. If you look at the whole timeline of MIddle-Earth from the First Age to the end of the Third Age is reads kinda like a looney tunes cartoon with Wile E. Coyote as Sauron with mad schemes to take over the world and Aragorn and Arwen's combined family trees being the Road Runner/Bugs Bunny and just either messing up his plans or straight up refusing to die out...
At 22:10 you ask, "What were they called? Oliphaunt, I think." That was what the Hobbits called them in their fireside riddles: "Grey as a mouse / Big as a house..." Their proper name is Mumak (Pl. Mumakil). The film makers didn't distinguish between the singular and plural and called the individual beasts "Mumakil." The dead Mumak they built for the closeups was one of the largest creation of Weta Workshop.
Sam is so beautifully written both here and in the novels and Jackson and Astin did the absolute epitome of work in bringing him to life. The ideal of friendship and loyalty. This was such a wonderful reaction to the whole series and I'm glad to have been able to see your journey.
I always thought that Frodo held out so long because he was so gentle & good. He kept it out for so long, I feel like he got to the ledge & just felt relieved & that let him let his guard down & the ring jumped full force at him to try and survive
"Grond, Grond, Grond, Grond!" End of disc one.
Aw, so much nostalgia. (This is where you have to switch discs on the DVD of the extended edition. We used to do marathons on New Years Eve watching all three extended editions. We would take short breaks in between each disc.)
I might be wrong about this moment, but I always interpreted the twinge of temptation Sam feels in the scene where he hands over the ring is fueled by his worry for Frodo. I feel like the ring was amplifying his worries, which was why Frodo's pleading sounded the way it did in Sam's head. So even in that moment, his main desire isn't for power or the "precious" but to ensure Frodo is safe.
I am sure I have already said this, but I LOVE how moved Denise still is by these movies, and by how much Ari got into them. It's a beautiful story, and a wonderful journey to go on with you two. Thank you!
Sam had many children and when his time came, the Balar invited him to the undying lands because in a way he was also a ring bearer. Aragorn did at the age of 210 years, after 122 years as king. Merry and Pippin died in Gondor 58 years before Aragorn and they both were buried beside Aragorn. Arwen died heartbroken shortly after Aragorn. Gimli and Legolas: Gimli becomes Lord of Glittering Caves. Lives with Legolas in Faramir's land. They bring their folks to help Gondor to rebuild. After the death of Aragorn, they sail West. Galadriel convinces the gods to let Gimli into the Blessed Realm making Gimli the only Dwarf in the undying lands.
One of the reasons this film looks so good is that they used allot of practical effects and amazing, detailed props. They didn't rely overly on CGI because it was a fairly new technology.
Frodo sparing gollum is part of the reason he was able to get the ring to mount doom. Frodo’s strength is his purity.
Sam's character and devotion are based in large part on Tolkien's own experiences in WWI, especially of batmen. These were the ordinary, usually working class, soliders assigned to be the de facto servant of the officers, most of whom could not make their own tea or iron their own shirt. These batmen took care of their superiors' every need, and there are several accounts of them making solo forays into no man's land to rescue their officer or even just retrieve his body when it was obvious he was beyond saving.
Doesn't matter how many times I watch this, the bit where Aragorn say "My friends, you bow to no one"has me blubbering everytime😢😢😢
21:18 I love how they made Gandalf look like he hasn’t slept in days due to constant battling.
Even 20 years later, this trilogy is still a cinematic masterpiece. Glad you reacted to it!!
Ive probably seen these movies over a hundred times each over the years, and of all the great lines and moments that are tear jerkers: "My friends, you bow to no one" is the one that has, every single time without fail, gotten me to cry.
-- The blade that Bilbo gave to Frodo was actually called "sting" rather than Stinger. It was made by the men in the West, who crossed the sea to reach 'Middle Earth' so long ago. They were blessed with long lives as Eowyn said, and they were the finest craftsmen in the race of men. The Rangers were actually descendants of the Men of the West, who scouted the lands in the north mostly, and kept the Shire safe from orcs and so forth.
-- Aragorn was the leader of the group of, I think a couple of hundred, Rangers who were skilled fighters from all the dangerous creatures they hunted, including orcs, and highly skilled trackers. Over generations their long lives gradually became shorter, but at 87 he was certainly one of the best swordsmen and trackers anywhere. He was Gandalf's long time friend. Gandalf knew all about the Rangers. Just in case no one else mentions it :)
-- I keep reading notes that Sam's little girl he carries at the end of the film is his actual daughter.
Sam later becomes the mayor 5 consecutive times and travels to Valinor to be the bearer of the ring. Merry and Pippin are buried next to the great ones in Gondor. And after the death of Aragon Legolas takes Valinor to Ghimli to see Galadriel again, being the last trip in history to the lands of the Valar.
We shouldn't blame Frodo too much for not throwing the ring into the fire. The only person in Middle-earth who gave up the ring of his own will is Bilbo Baggins..
…Sam? Granted he certainly did not have it as long 😅
True, but yeah sam couldn't have taken the ring to mount doom even from being so close it was taking him faster than it did Frodo. @@banf7425
One thing ill mention is that Aragorn knew that Frodo wasnt dead. If he was then the Enemy would have the ring and The Mouth of Sauron wouldn't have been offering terms for them to leave. It would have just been Sauron remade demanding them kneel. As far as the enemy knew, frodo was just a spy sent into their lands. So the Mouth of Sauron actually overplayed his hand, assuming the hobbits besides Aragorn or Aragorn himself bore the ring.
And the ring not sinking i always felt was because Frodo was still desired it. When he chose Sam its own power failed and thus finally unmade. I always imagine Indiana Jones and his dad on the crevice looking at the Holy Grail in The Last Crusade. And Mordor was created by Saurons will. So with his power broken all his works were devoured by the earth.
It’s actually impossible for anyone, even Sam, to throw the ring in willingly. Its power in that place is absolute. The true genius of that moment, is that it’s actually the very greed and corruption of the ring that led to its own destruction, as two of its thralls fought over it. The lesson here is not just that good is greater than evil, but that evil is ultimately self destructive.
Thoroughly enjoyed witnessing Ari's first journey through the trilogy with Denise as the guide. Ari was always engaged and interested and caught pretty much everything as it happened, and I think Denise's enthusiasm definitely added to the enjoyment! Thank you for taking us along for the ride!
At 31:28 you say, "I'm shipping that." As usual, the book works a little differently. Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry end up in the Houses of Healing, where Aragorn heals them, using athelas or kingsfoil as he did for Frodo on Amon Sul. "The hands of the King are the hands of a healer, and so the rightful King could ever be known." There follows a pretty story of the growing love of Faramir and Eowyn, helped along a bit by Merry. These scenes of the Houses of Healing are only in the Extended version of the movie.
Last winter my friends and I gathered at a buddies place that has a theater room and we watched all of the extended versions back to back. We started at 7am with the animated Hobbit movie and in between movies had themed meals. Even had a stew. But it was delicious and with deer meat. It was an entire day of awesomeness!
I love how Merry and Pippin charge next immediately after Aragorn; it stands as a testament to their loyalty, love and faith for their dear friend.
One important detail in the book left out of the movie about Denathor, is that he has a palantir too. Sauron used it against him, showing him a possible future where Sauron wins the war and the world was wasted. Denathor believed that outcome couldn’t be changed.This drove Denathor mad, that’s why he acts like he does. He also wants to spare Faramir that future.
I love… L-O-V-E capitalized, bold, centered, and underlined a thousand times… *LOVE* that the ring sits on the goddamn lava instead of sinking in immediately
Even when it’s already falling and its destruction is ensured the ring still somehow manages to claw its way to the top of the lava flow to try to save itself, even for a moment.
Still trying to get a hold on Frodo! Such a great touch.
Gollum casually subverting people's expectations of his rhyming schemes.
I love how Gollum was protecting the ring till the last moment. Even when he was in lava, he was trying to hold the ring up out of it.