I wanna point out a very small thing that is often overlooked about Boromir. A lot of people give him crap in the first movie because of his trying to take the ring from Frodo. But notice here, Frodo still says Boromir is his friend even after that (without knowing that Boromir defended Merry and Pippin as well). Because Frodo, more than anyone, knows that Boromir wasn't himself. He knows what it feels like to be called by the ring, and he does not blame Boromir for his moment of weakness. Frodo still recognized the reality of who Boromir was, a flawed man yes, but a good man full of courage and noble intent. it's easy to overlook. It's just one line. But it speaks volumes of Boromir's character.
Not to say that Boromir was sent by his father to Rivendell with a mission - to find out more about the Ring and to bring it to Minas Tirith if possible.
Woah. I always loved Boromir and never gave him crap for his behavior. But I never realized Frodo actually thought of what the Ring did to him and genuinely felt for him. I love that.
@@ironmaiden93ofangmarWhen Aragorn found Frodo, Frodo ran from him. He felt Aragorn was just as much susceptible to the Ring as Boromir. Frodo didn’t blame Boromir. He said “it has taken Boromir”. The books really emphasize Boromir’s nobility. The movie, to create some internal tension and conflict, really amped up the Ring’s effect on Boromir from the moment he sees it. But we know of Boromir’s goodness from his relationship with Merry and Pippen, how he held Frodo back from going to Gandalf on the crumbling bridge (they were still being shot at by goblins, remember), his concern for all the Hobbits on the mountain pass, and many more.
So about the languages... Tolkien was a philologist at oxford. He studied the development of languages, and in his spare time created languages... for fun. He wrote the lord of the rings to create a world for the languages he created, and felt they needed a story and world to be finished. Language needs a story to tell, and the story is of the people who speak it.
To expand on this, the world features a lot of languages, a few of Tolkien's design: The people of Rohan speak old English, and the people of Dunland and Breeland speak Celtic. The people in the North speak Old Norse. The Elves speak SIndarin, but there are more elven languages, the Dwarves speak Khuzdul and the Orcs speak black speech.
He said that language has no meaning without the history that gives the language context. He wrote thousands of years of fantasy history to give context to his languages.
@@petegiant That's an interesting idea! Though I might be wrong, the Dunlendings share most with the welsh, their war with the Rohirrim mimmicks the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Great Britain. The Dunlendings originally lived all over Rohan but were pushed out west by the anglo-saxon inspired Rohirrim.
All 3 films were shot in New Zealand together. Amazing, astounding, absolutely beautiful landscapes all throughout. Definitely an amazing place to visit. It took a long time to film these on location, but it was so worth it even though actors etc sacrificed a lot to achieve this as they literally had to live there for more than a year. This trilogy is kinda old in terms of technology, CGI is at a bare minimal here when it comes to this kind of films, most stuff is done via practical effects, and it was done so right, that the final result is far better than majority of CGI films out there even by today's standards. This has aged so well. A true achievement.
Steven Colbert is a huge Tolkien fan, did a week of small segments on one of his trips to New Zealand. Even got the Prime Minister to pick him up at the airport.
Peter Jackson's Hobbit films were also filmed in New Zealand (except for scenes with Christopher Lee who was not strong enough by the 2010s to travel that much).
@@VentureHolly New Zealand is still a billion years old. Filming in Europe would have been entirely impractical and so expensive it never would have been made. The only reason why these movies got made in the first place is because the director made them in his home country, where all the necessary terrain varieties can be found in a much smaller space. Filming in Europe would require a wide range of countries to be involved in the production. Filming in NZ avoided these issues and reduced the budget to a manageable level.
I don't know what caused you to think Aragorn's destiny is to find and help Frodo. He specifically let Frodo go because Aragorn knew he couldn't promise that he wouldn't fall to the Ring's temptation. Aragorn realised that destroying the Ring was explicitly NOT his destiny; it was Frodo's. Aragorn's destiny is to try and reclaim the throne of Gondor. I mean, he is literally Isildur's heir. The same goes for your remark about how Faramir's men should "help" Frodo and Sam. No they should not; they would just get tempted by the Ring again (also, they can't really abandon their homeland like that). The fewer people, especially Men, are involved, the better.
About Aragorn's age: Thousands of years ago, Earendil and Elwing, both of whom had mixed elf and human heritage, married and gave birth to twin boys named Elrond and Elros. Because of their mixed heritage, Manwe, lord of the Valar (the gods of Arda) gave them a choice to live as either men or elves. Elrond chose to be an elf and became the powerful lord we have in these movies. His brother Elros chose to live as a mortal man and became king of the island nation of Numenor. Although mortal, he was granted an extraordinary lifespan of over 500 years. All his descendants also had a prolonged lifespan, although it has lessened with the passage of time. Aragorn is a direct descendant of Elros, and thus has inherited that extended lifespan.
All of which, if you do a genealogy chart, makes Aragorn and Arwen first cousins, although many times removed due to the aging/generational differences between elves and humans.
@@BobBlumenfelddon’t think they gave a f anyways back in the day but still interesting point. I was thinking the same thing… so they’re technically related? Yup
@@scotthill1600 There's actually a story like this. In the time of Gondolin (first century). Maeglin, the nephew of King Turgon, fell in love with the king's daughter. They were cousins. Maeglin asked for permission to marry. The king did not agree because they were cousins (one of the reasons).
The tree symbol they wear is the tree of Gondor. Boromir had the handcuffs, and when he died Aragon took them, as a symbol of him starting to embrace his destiny of becoming the king of Gondor.
The tree of Gondor is an important, precious Númenorian symbol. Part of the ancient lore in Tolkien’s world: events in the LOTR take place at the end of the third age and the start of the fourth. Back before the first age the world was flat. It’s design was three continents separated by oceans. An Eastern continent about which we know nothing, a middle continent (middle-Earth) where all the action takes place and the creator’s children were born, and a Western continent where they appointed guardians of the world dwelled known as Valinor, the abode of the Valar. The world was illumined by light from two holy trees-one white, one golden. A rare seed from the white tree was gifted to the Númenorians who were given a special place to dwell-in distant sight of Valinor. The Númenorians were descendants of the human half-elven (Elrond was the elvish side). The First Age began around the time of the creation of the Two Trees and a call from the Valar for the elves of middle-Earth to travel to Valinor to dwell. In the second age the Númenorians rebelled and, wanting immortality launched an invasion upon Valinor. They were destroyed, their islsnd sunk, and the world changed into a globe (circle) so that the way to the West was removed from the circles of the world. A straight road to the uttermost West remained only accessible to immortals (elves). A small group of Númenorians loyal to Valar and took no part in the invasion escaped the destruction and sailed to middle-Earth where they established the kingdoms of Gondor in the South and Arnor in the North. In addition: Morgoth, the great enemy and a rogue Vala, destroyed the Two Trees, stole three holy gems created by a master elf-smith Fëanor that captured the light of the Two Trees and made a fortress in middle-Earth. The end of the third age came about when the Valar deposed and captured Morgoth. A house of man, the Edain, assisted in that war assisted the Valar and were rewarded with long life and elevation to what became known as the Númenorians-and they were given their own special land. Morgoth’s main lieutenant was Sauron. Morgoth created the orcs, balrogs and dragons. Morgoth did the equivalence of Sauron’s investiture of his power, but where Sauron put his into a Ring Morgoth poured his into the land itself. The land where Morgoth made his fortress was destroyed in the battle but the damage extended to all of middle-Earth. The 19 Rings of Power were forged by Celebrimbor, Fëanor’s grandson. The white tree of Gondor was carried by Elendil (Isildur’s father) from the destruction of the island of Númenor. And as you know, Aragorn is Isildur’s heir down many generations. That’s an incomplete, partial summary of the Silmarillion which in turn is an outline of the huge unfinished story Tolkien was writing.
Even though you might have been slightly off, I cannot do anything but admire the effort you put into this taking notes and trying to get into the world of Tolkien, read the books you will love them! thank you for reacting!!!
God I love Theoden. Every scene and line, never fails to bring a tear to my eye. Gollum/Smeagol it's fascinating how they do such a good job making you feel sorry for him, love him, but know that he will betray theme.
@11:08 they didn't run out onto the collapsing bridge to try to save Gandalf because... the bridge was collapsing, orcs where raining arrows down on them, and Gandalf literally told them to run. He let go so that none of them would die in the vain attempt to save him. He knew his battle with the Balrog was only begining.
That and it was almost 100 yards from where they were to where Gandalf was. The actual distance does not come out in the movie. That and Gandalf wanted that Solo the boss XP.
@@samswords9993 He also turned leadership of the Fellowship over to Aragorn. I think he foresaw that he was going to have to fight the balrog and might not be going on with them.
Aragorn isn't trying to find Frodo because he knows Frodo doesn't want to be found - he also places his trust in him and that he will carry out his quest.
Saruman representing Industry is spot on, the author, Tolkien, grew a distaste for industry, automobiles, etc. and had a profound appreciation for trees. He valued the lifestyle of the English countrymen and that is what the hobbits represent, a people who appreciate the simple things in life
@@tilltronje1623 Tolkien hated direct allegory, especially in a political sense, but his writings are definitely still inspired by his preferences and experiences. When he said he didn’t like allegory, or that his writings aren’t allegorical, he spoke of his writings not representing modern geo-political climate. For example Sauron didn’t represent Hitler, just evil as a whole. Or the dead marshes were inspired by dead soldiers floating in trenches when he was in WW1, but the last alliance didn’t represent his army and the forces of Sauron didn’t represent the opposing side. “Representative” isn’t the proper word for it, so my bad on my part. “INSPIRED by” his distaste for industry and profound love for trees.
just a little correction: Tolkien didn't hate industry itself. He hated the focus on industry at all costs (especially at the cost of nature). But he wasn't so stupid as to not recognize the contribution industry had made to the quality of life of every human^^
The Composer, Howard Shore, is an absolute genius! The full score/soundtrack is wonderful to listen to, even by itself. I’ve watched these movies so many times, I can actually recite the script, based on the part of the soundtrack I’m listening to (mostly the Fellowship).
Elves are immortal but can be killed by physical means. Which makes the Mirkwood elves arriving at Helms Deep to fight alongside Rohan, sacrificing their immortal lives even more significant. They could have easily not involved themselves and left Middle-Earth as many of the other elves did. A very touching gesture.
Everything Frodo did, he did to protect Smeagol. He didn't "not do a good job." Smeagol is a creature of treachery and, as such, interpreted Frodo's actions as treachery when in reality, those actions saved Gollum's life.
1:09:45 - "There won't be a Shire Pippen" - This is the moment that it finally sinks in with Pippen just how serious the situation is. He was the last of the Hobbits to truly grasp the gravity of the situation. Up until this point Pippen just wanted to Help his friends on an adventure etc.... But now he's finally realised what is at stake and what he does next is the turning point in the whole Saga IMHO.
While enjoying watching your reaction, I'm also sitting here in New Zealand looking out at a valley with green pasture, and of course sheep, thinking wow we kiwi's do amazing CGI:)
The sad truth about modern society is that even in nations with diverse and astounding natural beauty very few residents live outside metro zones and most of them never go past that. And of the 20% that live in nature the vast majority never travel beyond their home turf. So combine that with current ubiquitous CGI in everything and few under age 40 grasp just how beautiful and majestic our planet's unspoiled lands are
Good catch with the same decoration Faramir wore on his chest as on the wrist guard Aragorn was wearing. If you recall at the end of the first movie, Aragorn took it from Boromir after he died to wear in remembrance of him. He's shown putting it on as he watches Sam and Frodo make their escape into the forest across the river. After all the times I've seen this movie I never caught that detail.
If you remember from the opening of the first movie, Smegaol had the Ring for 500 years - then Bilbo found it, and 60 years later, is when these movies happen. So he's likely well over 600 years old. Also.. you might have caught Gandalf saying he had walked this earth "300 lives of men".. so that should give you a hint how long its been since he and the other Wizards were sent on their mission to Middle-Earth to help/guide the Free Peoples to fight Sauron.
Yes, Gandalf and his fellow Istari (wizards) have walked in Middle-earth for around 2000 years. The Istari, Sauron and even the Balrog are all of the same order of spiritual beings, the Maiar. Maiar are like angels or demigods who serve the Valar (who themselves serve the will of Eru Illuvatar, the Creator of all things).
I don't consider this a spoiler because it's all backstory that isn't fully explained in the movies. The Tree of Gondor represents a species of tree that originated in Valinor, the place the elves are going during the events of the movies. The elves gifted a sapling of this tree to the Men of Numenor, an island nation that fell thousands of years before the beginning of the movies. The Men who founded Gondor were survivors of Numenor, who were able to save a sapling of that tree and bring it to Middle-Earth. It represents both the origin of Gondor as a people of Numenor and that people's historical friendship with the elves. It represents more as well, but that is all talked about in the next movie, so I'll leave that for you to find out when you watch it.
1:19:59 Remember they can’t escort them because it will eventually corrupt minds of men. They start attacking Frodo for the ring. “The ring wants to be found.”
Sam never calls Frodo "Master." It's "Mister Frodo." And that's because Frodo, Merry and Pippin are Shire gentry, while Samwise is of the working class.
@@k3n12ock But Gollum didn't appear in The Fellowship. It's in Two Towers that he starts calling Frodo, "Master," and the intro was recorded before they started watching.
@@matthewklingerman904 I think that's true only when using their name, as you just did. But calling someone just "Master," as Gollum does, implies deference.
39:38 Oh its way more than just the series. Professor Tolkien had been developing languages since he was a child, and he was a philologist by trade (which is the study of the history of languages). He spent his whole life tinkering with his own invented languages and eventually invented a fictional secondary world for them to inhabit. Those writings eventually coalesced into the setting that the published Lord of the Rings would take centre stage in. All of Tolkien's writings are framed with the conceit that he is himself translating the Red Book of Westmarch (written by Bilbo about all these events) into English for us to read. He stated that he wanted to create a unique mythology for England, which he felt it had historically lacked after being invaded by countless outside forces during its classical and medieval periods. All of these stories take place in our world, even if it is an imagined, secondary version of it, similar to the way Arthurian Legend is.
I just noticed your comment from several months back and feel I have to correct you on one thing: Bilbo was not supposed to have written "The Red Book," that was Frodo. Bilbo wrote "There and Back Again" better known as "The Hobbit."
He originally wrote this all as one book but the publishers made him split it into three. (So 3 Movies) The title Two Towers was just some random thing he made up. He wasn't even sure which two towers he was referring to, until he made up his mind later. He decided it was Saruman's tower and the Nazgul Leader's Tower. But the movie implies it's Saruman and Sauron's towers respectively.
Sam does call Frodo "master" sometimes. It's not literally that he's a master, as in a master/slave relationship or similar. It's a title which often used to be used about someone who has a household. Basically it means he's the "master of his house". In Sam's case it also signifies that he's employed by Frodo.
LOTR is obviously written in English, but Tolkien "translated" it from the original languages. The language spoken by the Men of the West is called the Westron, and Tolkien translated this as English. In the book, the Rohirrim speak their own language (their leaders, like Theoden and Eowyn, also know Westron), and Tolkien translated this language as Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. Peter Jackson & Co. have simplified the story in many ways, and they haven't made the distinction between these two languages. The song Eowyn sings at Theodred's funeral is in Anglo-Saxon, as are the words Aragorn speaks to Brego the horse. In Anglo-Saxon, the word for "horse" is "eoh," which is why many names of the Rohirrim start with "Eo-".
Tolkien served in WW1, and that experience undoubtedly colored his tale. For instance, perhaps at some point his squad took a prisoner, and wondered what to do with him, and that inspired the scene where Frodo and Sam capture Gollum. WW1 also made use of horses, and perhaps that inspired the scene where Aragorn decides the ill-tempered Rohan horse in the stable has "seen too much of war," and should be released. No doubt many horses were shocked by the artillery of WW1. And the swamp with the bodies in the water and the flames ... I think I read somewhere that Tolkien actually came across an area like that in the war. So while LotR isn't an allegory of WW1, it still contains a bit of a record of his experiences.
He fought in the Battle of the Somme which was one of the most brutal battles of the Great War. Rotting bodies sunken into the mud would have likely been a common scene.
The screeching of the Nazgul - screaming artillery shells. The air in Mordor "a poisonous fume" - poison gas A great eye, ever watchful - snipers watching no man's land.
@@Makkaru112 I always have to state it's based on life experience but not an allegory because of the nerd rage by people who don't understand what an allegory is.
Sam calls Frodo "Mister Frodo" because he works for him as a gardener. Frodo, as his uncle Bilbo, is rich, where Sam belongs to common people of the working class. Merry and Pippin are also of higher status.
The men you see at the Gates of Mordor, are known as the Easterlings. They were from a kingdom of men in the far East that was slowly infiltrated by Sauron and turned to his will in the past. When Gandalf comes in with Eomer at Helms Deep Eomer had 2000 men.
1:34:07 When you were pondering your notes on "Gollum is scared of death" I had a thought about that; the Ring gave Gollum eternal life, and while he had it, it was all he had. He had nothing else but loneliness, pain, hunger, shame, e.t.c. But the Ring was the only thing that didn't hurt him, not only that - it protected his life forever. Now that he's without it, he has nothing good in his life and has to face mortality for the first time in over 500 years. So it makes sense why he needs the Ring. Whereas Bilbo accepted his death, Gollum does not. Giving up the Ring is synonymous with coming to peace with your own mortality, letting the Ring go is akin to willingly sacrificing your life. You can imagine how hard that would be to resist let alone to voluntarily let go.
The ring does not give anyone eternal life, it just prolongs it because that suits the needs of the ring at the time. The ring hurt Gollum plenty. It corrupted Gollum's mind and the things he did while using the ring lost him his family and all of his friends, everything. The ring was the very source of his pain and loneliness and Gollum was very aware of this. He did not keep the ring because it was good to him, he kept it because it had consumed his mind so completely. Gollum wants the ring back because the ring has such a strong hold over him just like a drug addict would do anything for a fix. It has nothing to do with mortality because Gollum hates himself and his life. Also Bilbo had no idea the ring prolonged his life or that it had any other benefit than the power to make him invisible. Bilbo let the ring go, because him and Gandalf realized there was something sinister and unnatural about the ring and obsessing about the ring was not good for him.
Can't wait for you guys to see the finale. Theoden is an epic king too, you have to take into account that they would have never withstood such an army had they remained where they were. They had to go to Helms Deep, no matter how risky it was. And he led the charge too.
I like the way Caley is so involved with the films and how he appreciates the various elements, like the musical score and the cinematography, that contribute so much to the total effet.
Great reaction guys. 01:13:47 If Frodo seems more fragile and breakable compared to Sam it is because he's the one who is carrying the heavy burden of the ring and is being slowly poisoned by its influence. Sam selflessly helps in any way he can and that is his role But he can't bear the real burden. As Galadriel stated in the last movie: "To bear a ring of power is to be alone" therefore Frodo is alone in that sense.
Sam certainly is selfless, but in the movie he really needs a little emotional intelligence. Frodo is staring at Gollum trying not to burst into tears seeing himself there eventually, saying, "I have to believe it's possible for him to come back," and Sam just goes, "Nah fuck that, I would NEVER be best friends forever with anyone THAT messed up by the Ring."
Fantastic reaction. Your analysis was pretty astute overall. One thing I would point out is, you mentioned that you didn't want to get religious, but LOTR is a specific kind of tale in that regard. Tolkien was a devout Catholic and LOTR is a Christian allegory in many ways. Tolkien hated allegories, so it's not as overt as his good friend C.S Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, but it's there. He even said the tale is a - "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". Tolkien also drew inspiration from Norse and Germanic mythologies and old tales. For example, Tolkien draws a lot from Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen (which in turn draws on Germanic legends and myths). Can't wait for your Return of the King reaction. Love the channel.
Fellowship will always be my favorite. I just love seeing the characters all together, and Boromir's redemption is so heartbreaking and inspiring. And we get to see so much of the beauty of the world they are defending before the ugly onset of war.
I think this is the best reaction channel. The film isn't cut much, the audio is good, the commentary is interesting, you don't seem to take any shortcuts, and unlike some reactors, I'm convinced these are genuine first time watches and not acting.
Great comment! Other channels you kinda doubt it that they are really watching for the first time. Sometimes they dont know how to edit properly for youtube. Other times they are just overeacting to everything, or just talking all the time TBR Schmitt is a cool channel btw. They are very chill
I agree. This quickly became my favorite reaction channel. Both of them are super likable and like you said, they don’t cut out as much of the movie as other channels.
About the part where you said Gollum wanted a roast chicken after spitting out the bread actually connects to the rope if I’m not mistaken. Because Gollum was so corrupted by the ring, things made by the elves have an adverse effect on him. The rope burns his skin and the bread chokes him/tastes badly to him. Also the fact that he’s gone about 500 years without genuine food, not just whatever gross stuff he scavenged/killed, probably didn’t help either
I read that there are 1300 hours hours of film we have not seen! Insane amount of visuals. Who knows what characters and beasts we have never seen. Great reaction / review as always y'all. As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
It's great you're watching the extended version...yes...their are longer versions too... behind the scenes n whatnot.....the personal conversations and speeches are one of the best parts of these movies...🤟
Everytime you see something epic in these movies remember those movies caused the world to use the word "epic" with the signifiance we know today. They served as a point of reference of epicness for all movies since.
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Trilogies were all filmed in New Zealand. 90% of the landscape-wide shots are pure camera shots (the remaining 10% includes “ancient ruins” or mythical animals that might be included in the shot). Each trilogy, while shot 10 years apart, was filmed in one “trip”. They weren’t filmed in accordance with their release dates; the filming of the entire trilogy was done by the end of 2002 (the Return of the King came out Christmas 2003), but the editing didn’t finish until near each release date.
The Frodo failing Smeagol part- it was some forbidden sacred pool that Faramir said incurs death. He had to have them beat him a little if he wasn't going to kill him as a leader or he would be questioned as a leader. As for Frodo he chose the lesser of 2 evils but was pretty powerless either way.
the movie was mostly shot in new zealand. i recently watched the haka dance that the new zealand stuntmen used to say goodbye to viggo mortensen after filming aragorn's last scene. amazing sight! even after all these years we can come across things from the filming of the movie we haven't heard of and stay fascinated.
Love how much you are enjoying this amazing story and world..Sam's speech towards the end is arguably my favorite moment of the entire triology, as well as a brilliant piece of writing.. Makes me tear up every time.. XO
Just want to say, I really love both of yours post-movie analysis. It's very insightful and I can legitimately tell that you're both really engrossed and invested in it just by the fact that you try to find meaning in things that a lot of people would easily just overlook and accept as just a "moment" in the movie.
29:20 there’s a lot of missing context to Gandalf that further explains why Aragorn and Legolas reacted with such reverence to his return. Gandalf isn’t a Wizard. He’s a Maiar, think like an archangel. He serves under the Valar, the Gods in Tolkiens mythology. He, along with six other “Istari” (name of their kind of Maiar), we’re sent to oppose the growing power of Sauron in middle earth. The elves and the Dunedain (the Men that Aragorn is part of) are very devout in the religion of the Valar, so Aragorn and Legolas understand how important Gandalf actually is. So watching him fall in Moria would have been similar to the Biblical Apostles witnessing the crucifixion of Christ. It was impossible. Unbelievable. It shouldn’t have happened. And then now, when they see Gandalf again in his “glorified” form, it would have also been very similar to the resurrected Christ appearing to the Eleven Apostles. It should be a very hallowed and sacred experience.
I'm sure that Tolkien definitely meant the smokables to be tobacco but I also think that Peter Jackson was being tongue in cheek in treating the smoke as possibly being marijuana. There were many times in the movie that it is shown as a possibility of being pot just through the context around it. This is most obvious with the joy Merry and Pippin finding the barrels and they way they were giggling and carrying on as they smoked it. By being coy about it, Jackson could avoid any possible backlash from people thinking he was promoting drugs.
The barrels they found were from the Shire, and when you consider how far they had traveled and what they had been through, their reaction to finding an unexpected piece of home isn't strange. With that being said, I believe there were a few occasions in the books where characters are quite giddy after smoking, and I believe even one where someone asks if it has clouded their judgment. When you consider the habits and demeanor of Hobbits, it would make sense.
@@felix5728with how much ale they drink, why not enjoy a little weed too. Makes perfect sense for the hobbit lifestyle or just being chill af like Gandalf imo
@scotthill1600 Yeah, it fits their lifestyle perfectly. Relax all day, love their smoke sessions, constant munchies, always tend to their "gardens." I always considered the Hobbits to be the stoners, the Dwarves to be the alcoholics, and the Elves to be the goody twoshoes.
It’s “Mister Frodo”, y’all. Sam was technically at the shore, but HE being the height of a toddler he was covered by the water but was able to be reached from the boat.🤦🏽♀️The willingness to drown in his attempt to get to Frodo is still there and still important. The first Dark Lord Melkor took hostage some Elves from Cuiviénen. He tortured them, beat them, and broke their bodies for generations into the first deformed and twisted beings known as Orcs. Sauron then took them and twisted them more crossbreeding them further to make his Uruk-Hai. Just for fun, I wanted to share this info -- Put simply: Gandalf is younger than Galadriel, for he is roughly only two thousand years old (‘only’…) whereas Galadriel is many MANY millennia older than him. If you were to ask which is older: Galadriel or Olorin, well, that would be another matter. Gandalf is the physical incarnated human-like form of an immortal god-like/angelic being of supreme power. Keep in mind that Gandalf is one who was present and party to the creation of Arda (the Earth, our world) called "Olorin". He was tutored under Lorien (a Vala) and Nienna (one of the Aratar: ‘High Ones’), both of whom are essentially gods. Olorin has in fact been incarnated as an elf before he took his human Istari form. So Gandalf (as Gandalf) is a few millennia younger than Galadriel, but his essential substance (his soul or spirit, if you will) is/was existent ‘before’ Time was even a concept. A general list for all major characters during the LotR: Eowyn - 24 Eomer - 28 Pippin - 29 Faramir - 36 Merry - 37 Samwise - 39 Boromir - 41 Frodo - 51 Theoden - 71 Aragorn - 88 Denethor - 89 Bilbo - 129 Gimli - 140 Gollum - aprox. 589 Arwen - 2901 Legolas - 2931* (exact age not known, but Tolkien's son did say, years ago, that Legos has older siblings and he looks the most like his mother and that is why his father is over protective of him for many ages until he has a vision that Legolas will go to Aragon and befriend him; only then does he let him go. He leaves a boat for him that Legolas later takes to the Undying lands and brings elderly Gimli with him after they've travel the world together.) Radagast the Brown (Aiwendil) - Unknown (Like Gandalf he too was a Maia spirit of Yavanna from Valinor and inhabited peacefully in Middle-earth in the year 1000 3A. During his first years in Middle-earth, Radagast would protect the great forests.) Gandalf (Olórin) - 3000* (exact age is not specified, but he is considerably younger than both Galadriel and Elrond. He is not immortal nor a God, but more of an angelic being called a Maia. Gandalf walked in Middle-earth for approximately 2,019 years, un-aging and appearing as a grey bearded human of about 60 years old or so. He was around long before Middle-earth was created and before the Years of the Lamps. He, Saruman and Sauron are approximately the same age - give or take.) Saruman (Curumo) - 3300** (Guestimations in fandom based purely on ability and strengths only experience and age could grant) Sauron 3790** (Guestimations in fandom based purely on ability and strengths only experience and age could grant) Elrond - 6000+ Galadriel - 7000+ Alatar - Unknown (Alatar (Quenya - "After-Comer"), meaning Darkness-slayer, was a Maia and an immortal Istar Wizard. He travelled to Middle-earth in the Second Age with Rómestámo (Pallando), and they became the Ithryn Luin, or "Blue Wizards". -- Pallando - Unknown Balrog Unknown Eru Oldest being in all of creation - Exact Age Unknown
These reactions have been excellent. You two are more thoughtful and genuine than 99% of reactors. I’m really looking forward to Return, and I know you guys will be blown away. You’ve got a new subscriber for sure!
A few places have matte-painted backgrounds or are done with miniatures, but most of it is the real landscapes of New Zealand, where all of it was filmed. Hobbiton was really built and is still there to be visited, although the interiors were studios. There are nine Nazgul/Black Riders, they are the Men who had rings of power (not the Elves or Dwarves). Their real flesh and blood horses were drowned, but they all now ride 'fell beasts' which are not the same as dragons. Oliphaunts are way bigger than elephants or the largest of prehistoric mammoths. They are carrying little forts, bigger than a howdah, on their backs. Helm's Deep is a valley in the Kingdom of Rohan. It has been fortified with a wall and a castle called the Hornburg. It also has large caves for many people to take refuge in. Pipe-weed is tobacco, they do not smoke any other type of plant.
Been waiting so long for this!!! "they didn't even cook him" lmao sorry that was too funny XD Also: the horses didn't appear magically. Rohirrim are horse masters, and all the horses are kept inside the deep within the fortress walls because they are a very valuable resource during war times.
The tree of Gondor is an ancient tree, it was planted there by Isildur and has a deep history. Thousands of years before the events of this movie take place, there was a large island called Numenor and it was inhabited by the greatest race of men.The island itself was founded by Elrond's brother Elros who became the first king of Numenor. From his line came Isildur hundreds of years later, long story short Sauron corrupted Numenor heavily and the island was destroyed and sank into the ocean by Eru Illuvetar (The god of the LOTR universe). Isildur, and his father Elendi whol were amongst those who were not corrupted, and left the island before it was destroyed. Isildur stole a fruit from the white tree of Numenor before he left, and the seeds of that fruit were planted years later when Isildur established Gondor.
Regarding the "old pipes like in the cartoons". It takes practice and skill to smoke a pipe well enough to enjoy it. It's not like a cig where you just breath and you're done. It's an artform.
Sam calls Frodo *Mister* Frodo, because he is kind of a noble family amongst Hobbits and in the idillic society that Tolkien creates, which is very conservative, that is the way a commoner would refer to his young and unmarried Lord. They have an almost family-like relationship and both Bilbo and Frodo act as his protectors besides being his employers. Both Merry and Pippin are also from prominent families (Frodo's mother was a Took like Pippin and Merry's family are the chieftains of Buckland). Slavery does not exist in Hobbit society but there is a clear hierarchy. The orcs that carry Merry and Pippin to Isengard (the little ones) are Orcs of Moria and in the books they want to kill them in revenge for the battle at the mines (when they fight the cave troll), the big ones are Uruk-Hai and they are exclusively loyal to Saruman. That's why they want to fulfill their master's orders and bring them unharmed.
Eowyn didn't leave with her brother Eomer because he was forced to leave immediately. Grima even tells Eowyn that her brother abandoned her. And I'm not sure Eomer would have taken her with him, either.
Maybe this will help- Sam not only could not swim at all, he was weighted down with multi cast iron pans at his waist as well as the huge backpack. Water even a foot or two deeper than him would take him down. So Frodo leaning in and reaching his outstretched hand was viable.
Tolkien was a master of language. The archaic ways of saying things in the movies are because that is how he wrote the books. Different characters speak differently, even within the same language.
@29:58 Fun fact: Yavanna (Goddess of nature, specifically plants) created the Ents in response to the creation of the dwarves. She knew that the dwarves would want to cut her trees down due to their industrious nature, so the Ents were made to protect the deep forests and stop those who would harvest thoughtlessly. That's basically why Gimli is all jumpy at the sounds of creaking trees, he understands on an instincual level that those trees will pack his ass up if he steps out of line.
Hey, i wanted to point something that seems to be confusing yet and it is why they go alone, if you remember what galadriel said the ring would be corrupting one by one everyone in the fellowship putting the mission on risk, that is why they purpously dont go looking for frodo, or they dont get scort or anything, the only reason sam is with frodo is because he literally said i will drown myself if i dont go with u 😅
19:33 everything was shot in New Zealand. They even built the real live Hobbiton, the town on hobbits, that you can visit. They first built it using plastics and that kind of materials, but for The Hobbit trilogy they rebuilt it on the same spot using better materials, like wood and concrete.
Something people forget about Gandalf is that's only the name men gave him. Elves gave him the name Mithrandir which still wasn't his real name. He's ancient as are all wizards because they aren't how most authors portray them. In a sense, wizards are a type of angel, not human, according to Tolkien. They are spirits in human form who were sent to Middle Earth to council the nations. His real name is Olorin before being sent to Middle Earth.
Lol, I laughed when they started their review section with, "we're not gonna talk *that* much guys." 😂 It's always so great to watch new people fall in love with this world.
It’s cool that you picked up on the theme of water and purification. In _The Silmarillion,_ (basically the Old Testament of Middle Earth) it’s explained that water is the closest thing to the primordial material from which _Ëa_ (the physical Universe/Being) was created. As an element, it’s the element most strongly associated with the forces of good and Úlmo, the Vala of Water and Oceans (i.e. a god in the Greek/Norse sense) is the most untrusting of Morgoth, the original Dark Lord, and most vehement in opposing evil, though not the most active.
49:25 while aragorn was thinking about arwen, he doesn't even know that she's still in middle earth. He told her to go and be with her people so he thinks she's already gone to valinor. Which one she goes there she can never return. And he can never go there because humans and dwarves aren't allowed It's just for the elves. So again as far as he knows, she's gone. But at the same time there was never anything in his heart about eowyn. She just falls in love with him.
Galadriel was tempted by the ring, which gave Sauron a chance to corrupt her. She showed what she would become if she accepted the ring from Frodo, and she resisted, refusing the ring. If she had failed, she would have been doomed to remain in Middle Earth, subordinate to Sauron. She passed the test and was allowed to leave Middle Earth with the rest of the Elves.
Aragorn is indeed a Ranger but definitely not the Park Ranger variety. More like an Army Ranger and a phenomenal tracker for that matter, which you pretty much need to be if you're going to be a successful hunter, of animals or humans.
Wow, its been 3 months since you watched part II and you havent seen the greatest movie of all time ( my opinion), who won 11 Oscars. The Return of the King is phenomenal in every way, has unbelievable action and is a rollercoaster of emotions. Take your time, but relaxed, not tired, and watch it. You wont regret it. It is....precioussssss....
Just to explain Elven immortality: it is true that they can only really die by being killed, or by relinquishing their life in a handful of very specific scenarios throughout the entire legendarium. However, Elves' souls are tied to the earth, so their souls stay on earth. Specifically, the souls of dead Elves go to a place known as the Halls of Mandos, where they are judged; if they were good Elves, they will eventually be rehoused into a new body. Otherwise, they stay forever in the Halls. This is different from the fates of mortals, whose spirits simply 'move on' when they die. What that means exactly is a mystery, much like in real life. Presumably, the only way for Elven spirits to 'move on' is for the very earth itself to be destroyed. Well, or if they give up their immortality for love.
Don't worry about your list bro...by the time you get to the end of the movies it'll feel like they lived down the block your whole life....no joke😅🤟💪✊
56:09 copy of my comment from the first movie but it’s also topical here. The movie doesn’t really explain very well what Arwen means when she says she chooses a mortal life. And to understand that we get to jump back a few thousand years in Tolkien’s history. So a long time ago there was this guy, a Man, his name was Beren. And Beren fell in love with an elf maiden named Luthien who was supposed to be the most beautiful elf maiden to ever live. But elves and Men don’t really mix, and at the time most tribes of Men had sided with Morgoth (evil) and not the elves. Except for Beren’s people. Anyway, Luthien’s dad Thingol tasks Beren to retrieve one of the three Silmarils (sacred jewels to the elves) from Morgoth and return it to Thingol in exchange for Luthien’s hand. Long story short, Beren and Luthien succeed in retrieving a Silmaril, but Beren is killed in the end. Luthien is so heartbroken that she wastes away and dies. When her spirit reaches the Halls of the Dead the Vala (god) Mandos asks her why she’s there. She explains that she had loved the Man Beren and couldn’t bear life without him. Mandos is so moved by this he offers Luthien a choice. He will return her to life, or he will return her and Beren to life but they will both be mortal having one mortal life to be together. She chooses the latter and both Luthien and Beren are brought back to life. And this is like the greatest story in elven lore because it is literally love conquering death. So Beren and Luthien have a son named Dior and Dior has a daughter named Elwing. We’ll come back to them. Later, another Man named Tuor is led by the gods to the hidden kingdom of Gondolin. There he falls in love with the elven princess Idril and they marry. They have a son named Earendil. Years later Earendil marries Elwing, bringing these two elven/human bloodlines together. Together they have twin sons, one named Elros and the other Elrond (yes that Elrond). And to them the Valar (gods) offer the “Choice of Luthien.” They can choose to be numbered with mortal Men or to be numbered with immortal elves. Elrond who loves the learning and lore of his mothers people (Elwing being more elven inclined) he chooses to be numbered with the elves. Elros, loving the camaraderie, brotherhood and the passionate lives of Men chooses to be numbered with them. From Elros we get the kingdom and people of Numenor, which Aragorn is descended from. Elrond marries the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn who is named Celebrain. And they have three children, twin sons Elladan and Elrohir, and one daughter Arwen. And they are also offered the “Choice of Luthien.” So when Arwen says “I choose a mortal life,” she is * literally * making that choice. The is forsaking the immortality of the elves and choosing love and mortality.
I've said it before on other reactions, Gollum/Smeagol is a perfect example of the gateway that anger, bitterness & unforgiveness provides into our lives, for the evil one to enter. I always felt so sorry for Smeagol for that reason. He only knew to react with emotion and defensiveness and that was enough to allow the bad influence (which had left him) to return & take over.
Just a side note on the Nazgûl, they are now riding what Tolkien called “fell beasts”. This distinction is important because there were actual Dragons throughout Middle Earth history. All the way back to Morgoth, the first DarkLord. They all have 4 legs and some had wings. Tolkien’s dragons are intelligent, cunning, very greedy and capable of speech. The last the Great Dragons can be seen in The Hobbit trilogy.
For the movie viewers who don´t know the books the fact that Gandalf appears as a wizard is a bit misleading because there are so many assumptions about what a wizard might be. In the Tolkien world Gandalf is one specimen of a very powerful group of beings. That´s why he was a match for the Balrog, though not appearing as powerful.
The tree is referring to the White Tree, symbol of Gondor. The Tree itself is actually exist in Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor. Previously, another tree existed in Minas Ithii (once a Gondorian fortress) before Sauron besieged it and turned it into Minas Morgul (located between Minas Tirith and Mordor). During LOTR it was occupied by the Ringwraiths. Minas means 'tower' in SIndarin (elven-tongue).
1:10:18 Correct. Which is why elves prefer to live away from other races and not get involved in their wars. They technically have much more to lose. This is also why they're so much more disciplined, organized, and better in battle. They have an eternity to train. Though, as I understand it, even when killed they eventually come back to life. But their souls have to wander Valinor, which is far away (and not always accessible from Middle-Earth), for an indeterminate amount of time. In video game terms, they have infinite lives, but there's an annoyingly long respawn timer.
Filmed in New Zealand.....showing respect to frodo calling him Mr Frodo....he's from a well off family......"Glad-ri-el"...powerful elf queen...Gollum found the ring after Isildir cut it from Saron's hand and then later lost it...
Helm's Deep is a castle in the land of Rohan. They prefer open war because they typically fight from horses, but the castle has been used as a last ditch line of defense throughout Rohan's history, namely King Helm Hammerhand lead his people there during the war with the Dunlandings, thus "Helm's Deep"
34:45 the flag ripping off the flagpole and blowing away were actually unscripted. It was just such a windy day that it just happened and Peter Jackson liked how symbolic it seemed and decided to keep it instead of reshooting.
58:39 the White Tree. When Eru Illuvitar (Tolkien’s One God) first created the world it was illuminated by two great Lamps. Morgoth (the devil) destroyed these Lamps and in response Illuvitar created the Two Trees of Valinor, Laurelin and Telporion, which cast light across Arda (the world). Many years later, Morgoth would sneak into Valinor and poison the Two Trees. But not before their Light was preserved in three jewels called Silmarils crafter by Feanor the greatest of Elven smiths. Many hundreds of years later, after the War of Wrath and the remaking of the world at the end of the First Age, the Kingdom of Men on the island of Numenor was gifted a sapling of the White Trees by the elves of Middle Earth. This tree, called Nimloth, was a symbol of the friendship and kinship between the elves and their Numenorean cousins. When Numenor fell into wickedness, Sauron convinced the evil king Ar Pharazon to cut down Nimloth. But learning of this, a young Isildur (the one who cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand) fought his way through the temple on Armenelos (spelling?) and rescued a sapling of the Tree. But Isildur was badly wounded and lay near death for weeks until the sapling took root and the Faithful were sure it would grow. When Numenor was finally destroyed, Isildur’s father Elendil brought the sapling with them as they escaped to Middle Earth. There Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anarion founded the kingdoms of Arnor (northern kingdom ruled by Elendil) and Gondor (southern kingdom ruled by Isildur and Anarion together). And the sapling was planted in the Gondorian Capitol of Minas Ithil. Then Minas Ithil was captured by the Nazgûl during Sauron’s wars against the Men of Gondor and Arnor. And a sapling of that tree was saved and taken to Minas Anor which was later renamed Minas Tirith, which is now the Capitol city of Gondor. You’ll see the remnants of this tree in the third movie.
They couldn't help Gandalf when he fell because he had a 3000 lb. demon attached to the other end of the whip which was him down. If they tried to help him, they would've either got dragged down as well or the ledge would have crumbled away more and they would've fallen as well. That's why Aragorn was holding Frodo back. 😀
In the book it happens much faster. Gandalf doesn't grab the stone and sit there for a bit, before falling. He is being dragged over the edge when he says "Fly you fools!" I agree that the way it is portrayed in the movie Gandalf could have gotten back on the bridge. One little nit pik about the movies vs the books.
I wanna point out a very small thing that is often overlooked about Boromir. A lot of people give him crap in the first movie because of his trying to take the ring from Frodo. But notice here, Frodo still says Boromir is his friend even after that (without knowing that Boromir defended Merry and Pippin as well). Because Frodo, more than anyone, knows that Boromir wasn't himself. He knows what it feels like to be called by the ring, and he does not blame Boromir for his moment of weakness. Frodo still recognized the reality of who Boromir was, a flawed man yes, but a good man full of courage and noble intent. it's easy to overlook. It's just one line. But it speaks volumes of Boromir's character.
Not to say that Boromir was sent by his father to Rivendell with a mission - to find out more about the Ring and to bring it to Minas Tirith if possible.
In fact it's a direct order from his father to bring back the ring. The same pressure was on Faramir. In disobeying that order "his life is forfeit".
Woah. I always loved Boromir and never gave him crap for his behavior. But I never realized Frodo actually thought of what the Ring did to him and genuinely felt for him. I love that.
@@ironmaiden93ofangmarWhen Aragorn found Frodo, Frodo ran from him. He felt Aragorn was just as much susceptible to the Ring as Boromir. Frodo didn’t blame Boromir. He said “it has taken Boromir”.
The books really emphasize Boromir’s nobility. The movie, to create some internal tension and conflict, really amped up the Ring’s effect on Boromir from the moment he sees it.
But we know of Boromir’s goodness from his relationship with Merry and Pippen, how he held Frodo back from going to Gandalf on the crumbling bridge (they were still being shot at by goblins, remember), his concern for all the Hobbits on the mountain pass, and many more.
"You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Don't carry the weight of the dead."
So about the languages... Tolkien was a philologist at oxford. He studied the development of languages, and in his spare time created languages... for fun. He wrote the lord of the rings to create a world for the languages he created, and felt they needed a story and world to be finished. Language needs a story to tell, and the story is of the people who speak it.
Not to forget he pulled from his experience in the trenches of WW1
To expand on this, the world features a lot of languages, a few of Tolkien's design: The people of Rohan speak old English, and the people of Dunland and Breeland speak Celtic. The people in the North speak Old Norse. The Elves speak SIndarin, but there are more elven languages, the Dwarves speak Khuzdul and the Orcs speak black speech.
He said that language has no meaning without the history that gives the language context. He wrote thousands of years of fantasy history to give context to his languages.
@@backisgabbeYT I've always thought of Tolkien's elves as being Welsh.
@@petegiant That's an interesting idea! Though I might be wrong, the Dunlendings share most with the welsh, their war with the Rohirrim mimmicks the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Great Britain. The Dunlendings originally lived all over Rohan but were pushed out west by the anglo-saxon inspired Rohirrim.
All 3 films were shot in New Zealand together. Amazing, astounding, absolutely beautiful landscapes all throughout. Definitely an amazing place to visit.
It took a long time to film these on location, but it was so worth it even though actors etc sacrificed a lot to achieve this as they literally had to live there for more than a year.
This trilogy is kinda old in terms of technology, CGI is at a bare minimal here when it comes to this kind of films, most stuff is done via practical effects, and it was done so right, that the final result is far better than majority of CGI films out there even by today's standards. This has aged so well. A true achievement.
You can even visit Hobbiton as in the movie set and village as created for the movies.
Steven Colbert is a huge Tolkien fan, did a week of small segments on one of his trips to New Zealand. Even got the Prime Minister to pick him up at the airport.
Peter Jackson's Hobbit films were also filmed in New Zealand (except for scenes with Christopher Lee who was not strong enough by the 2010s to travel that much).
It would have been better filmed in Europe imo. New Zealand is a young country and Middle Earth is supposed to be ancient.
@@VentureHolly New Zealand is still a billion years old. Filming in Europe would have been entirely impractical and so expensive it never would have been made. The only reason why these movies got made in the first place is because the director made them in his home country, where all the necessary terrain varieties can be found in a much smaller space. Filming in Europe would require a wide range of countries to be involved in the production. Filming in NZ avoided these issues and reduced the budget to a manageable level.
I don't know what caused you to think Aragorn's destiny is to find and help Frodo. He specifically let Frodo go because Aragorn knew he couldn't promise that he wouldn't fall to the Ring's temptation. Aragorn realised that destroying the Ring was explicitly NOT his destiny; it was Frodo's. Aragorn's destiny is to try and reclaim the throne of Gondor. I mean, he is literally Isildur's heir.
The same goes for your remark about how Faramir's men should "help" Frodo and Sam. No they should not; they would just get tempted by the Ring again (also, they can't really abandon their homeland like that). The fewer people, especially Men, are involved, the better.
About Aragorn's age: Thousands of years ago, Earendil and Elwing, both of whom had mixed elf and human heritage, married and gave birth to twin boys named Elrond and Elros. Because of their mixed heritage, Manwe, lord of the Valar (the gods of Arda) gave them a choice to live as either men or elves. Elrond chose to be an elf and became the powerful lord we have in these movies. His brother Elros chose to live as a mortal man and became king of the island nation of Numenor. Although mortal, he was granted an extraordinary lifespan of over 500 years. All his descendants also had a prolonged lifespan, although it has lessened with the passage of time. Aragorn is a direct descendant of Elros, and thus has inherited that extended lifespan.
All of which, if you do a genealogy chart, makes Aragorn and Arwen first cousins, although many times removed due to the aging/generational differences between elves and humans.
@@BobBlumenfelddon’t think they gave a f anyways back in the day but still interesting point. I was thinking the same thing… so they’re technically related? Yup
Elrond, an elf lord. Elros, a human king. So King Aragorn and elf lady Arwen is just standard royal incest
The dunedain were given long life as a reward for fighting morgoth with the elf's by the valar.
@@scotthill1600 There's actually a story like this. In the time of Gondolin (first century). Maeglin, the nephew of King Turgon, fell in love with the king's daughter. They were cousins. Maeglin asked for permission to marry. The king did not agree because they were cousins (one of the reasons).
The tree symbol they wear is the tree of Gondor. Boromir had the handcuffs, and when he died Aragon took them, as a symbol of him starting to embrace his destiny of becoming the king of Gondor.
I think they're called "Bracers" definitely not handcuffs bro but good catch for sure most folks miss it.
*nemesis Yes in the theater I had to ask: "What did he just put on?" But someone in my group knew it.
They were Boromir's gauntlets.
@@nemesis4852 In the extended version Boromir and Aragorn talk about some BDSM stuff. Those Handcuffs are for Arwen! 🤣
The tree of Gondor is an important, precious Númenorian symbol. Part of the ancient lore in Tolkien’s world: events in the LOTR take place at the end of the third age and the start of the fourth. Back before the first age the world was flat. It’s design was three continents separated by oceans. An Eastern continent about which we know nothing, a middle continent (middle-Earth) where all the action takes place and the creator’s children were born, and a Western continent where they appointed guardians of the world dwelled known as Valinor, the abode of the Valar. The world was illumined by light from two holy trees-one white, one golden.
A rare seed from the white tree was gifted to the Númenorians who were given a special place to dwell-in distant sight of Valinor. The Númenorians were descendants of the human half-elven (Elrond was the elvish side). The First Age began around the time of the creation of the Two Trees and a call from the Valar for the elves of middle-Earth to travel to Valinor to dwell.
In the second age the Númenorians rebelled and, wanting immortality launched an invasion upon Valinor. They were destroyed, their islsnd sunk, and the world changed into a globe (circle) so that the way to the West was removed from the circles of the world. A straight road to the uttermost West remained only accessible to immortals (elves). A small group of Númenorians loyal to Valar and took no part in the invasion escaped the destruction and sailed to middle-Earth where they established the kingdoms of Gondor in the South and Arnor in the North.
In addition: Morgoth, the great enemy and a rogue Vala, destroyed the Two Trees, stole three holy gems created by a master elf-smith Fëanor that captured the light of the Two Trees and made a fortress in middle-Earth. The end of the third age came about when the Valar deposed and captured Morgoth. A house of man, the Edain, assisted in that war assisted the Valar and were rewarded with long life and elevation to what became known as the Númenorians-and they were given their own special land. Morgoth’s main lieutenant was Sauron. Morgoth created the orcs, balrogs and dragons. Morgoth did the equivalence of Sauron’s investiture of his power, but where Sauron put his into a Ring Morgoth poured his into the land itself. The land where Morgoth made his fortress was destroyed in the battle but the damage extended to all of middle-Earth.
The 19 Rings of Power were forged by Celebrimbor, Fëanor’s grandson. The white tree of Gondor was carried by Elendil (Isildur’s father) from the destruction of the island of Númenor. And as you know, Aragorn is Isildur’s heir down many generations.
That’s an incomplete, partial summary of the Silmarillion which in turn is an outline of the huge unfinished story Tolkien was writing.
Glad you guys enjoyed that. Don't take too long to see the return of the king. one of the best films ever made.
THE BEST!!!!!!!
We NEED the Return of the King reaction ASAP!
Definitely the best trilogy ever made :)
They taking forever bro
@@michaelcook6483 Yep They are 🤷
Even though you might have been slightly off, I cannot do anything but admire the effort you put into this taking notes and trying to get into the world of Tolkien, read the books you will love them! thank you for reacting!!!
God I love Theoden. Every scene and line, never fails to bring a tear to my eye.
Gollum/Smeagol it's fascinating how they do such a good job making you feel sorry for him, love him, but know that he will betray theme.
I also love Theoden.
Bernard Hill did a fantastic job.
Such a great actor and character.
@11:08 they didn't run out onto the collapsing bridge to try to save Gandalf because... the bridge was collapsing, orcs where raining arrows down on them, and Gandalf literally told them to run. He let go so that none of them would die in the vain attempt to save him. He knew his battle with the Balrog was only begining.
Gandalf said previously, "this enemy is beyond any of you."
That and it was almost 100 yards from where they were to where Gandalf was. The actual distance does not come out in the movie. That and Gandalf wanted that Solo the boss XP.
Translation: "Oops, dropped my sword. I'm going to go down there and get it back real quick. Go on ahead without me."
@@samswords9993 He also turned leadership of the Fellowship over to Aragorn. I think he foresaw that he was going to have to fight the balrog and might not be going on with them.
true!
@@BobBlumenfeld
Aragorn isn't trying to find Frodo because he knows Frodo doesn't want to be found - he also places his trust in him and that he will carry out his quest.
Saruman representing Industry is spot on, the author, Tolkien, grew a distaste for industry, automobiles, etc. and had a profound appreciation for trees. He valued the lifestyle of the English countrymen and that is what the hobbits represent, a people who appreciate the simple things in life
How do you still believe this lie?
Tolkien is famous for hating allegories
@@tilltronje1623 Tolkien hated direct allegory, especially in a political sense, but his writings are definitely still inspired by his preferences and experiences. When he said he didn’t like allegory, or that his writings aren’t allegorical, he spoke of his writings not representing modern geo-political climate. For example Sauron didn’t represent Hitler, just evil as a whole. Or the dead marshes were inspired by dead soldiers floating in trenches when he was in WW1, but the last alliance didn’t represent his army and the forces of Sauron didn’t represent the opposing side.
“Representative” isn’t the proper word for it, so my bad on my part. “INSPIRED by” his distaste for industry and profound love for trees.
@@ChristopherLongbeard that's better
just a little correction: Tolkien didn't hate industry itself. He hated the focus on industry at all costs (especially at the cost of nature). But he wasn't so stupid as to not recognize the contribution industry had made to the quality of life of every human^^
The Composer, Howard Shore, is an absolute genius!
The full score/soundtrack is wonderful to listen to, even by itself.
I’ve watched these movies so many times, I can actually recite the script, based on the part of the soundtrack I’m listening to (mostly the Fellowship).
Music of Middle-Earth is an awesome podcast which goes into the different musical themes in the movies. Highly recommend!
Correction: "They" did not come up with the language of Rohan. Tolkien himself did, as he did for the Dwarfs, and several for the Elves.
Another correction. Tolkien didn't come up with the language of Rohan as it's actually Old English...
Elves are immortal but can be killed by physical means.
Which makes the Mirkwood elves arriving at Helms Deep to fight alongside Rohan, sacrificing their immortal lives even more significant. They could have easily not involved themselves and left Middle-Earth as many of the other elves did. A very touching gesture.
True, even though it didn't happen in the books. It's basically a quick reference to the war in the north.
But they are still bound to Arda. They get into halls of Mandos, but they do not have the gift of real death like humans do.
Everything Frodo did, he did to protect Smeagol. He didn't "not do a good job." Smeagol is a creature of treachery and, as such, interpreted Frodo's actions as treachery when in reality, those actions saved Gollum's life.
This!
1:09:45 - "There won't be a Shire Pippen" - This is the moment that it finally sinks in with Pippen just how serious the situation is.
He was the last of the Hobbits to truly grasp the gravity of the situation. Up until this point Pippen just wanted to Help his friends on an adventure etc.... But now he's finally realised what is at stake and what he does next is the turning point in the whole Saga IMHO.
The bracers that Aragorn is wearing was boromirs. If you watch Aragorn after boromirs death you can see him wear it
While enjoying watching your reaction, I'm also sitting here in New Zealand looking out at a valley with green pasture, and of course sheep, thinking wow we kiwi's do amazing CGI:)
It just seems to beautiful to be real!
The sad truth about modern society is that even in nations with diverse and astounding natural beauty very few residents live outside metro zones and most of them never go past that. And of the 20% that live in nature the vast majority never travel beyond their home turf.
So combine that with current ubiquitous CGI in everything and few under age 40 grasp just how beautiful and majestic our planet's unspoiled lands are
Good catch with the same decoration Faramir wore on his chest as on the wrist guard Aragorn was wearing. If you recall at the end of the first movie, Aragorn took it from Boromir after he died to wear in remembrance of him. He's shown putting it on as he watches Sam and Frodo make their escape into the forest across the river. After all the times I've seen this movie I never caught that detail.
If you remember from the opening of the first movie, Smegaol had the Ring for 500 years - then Bilbo found it, and 60 years later, is when these movies happen. So he's likely well over 600 years old.
Also.. you might have caught Gandalf saying he had walked this earth "300 lives of men".. so that should give you a hint how long its been since he and the other Wizards were sent on their mission to Middle-Earth to help/guide the Free Peoples to fight Sauron.
Yes, Gandalf and his fellow Istari (wizards) have walked in Middle-earth for around 2000 years. The Istari, Sauron and even the Balrog are all of the same order of spiritual beings, the Maiar. Maiar are like angels or demigods who serve the Valar (who themselves serve the will of Eru Illuvatar, the Creator of all things).
I don't consider this a spoiler because it's all backstory that isn't fully explained in the movies. The Tree of Gondor represents a species of tree that originated in Valinor, the place the elves are going during the events of the movies. The elves gifted a sapling of this tree to the Men of Numenor, an island nation that fell thousands of years before the beginning of the movies. The Men who founded Gondor were survivors of Numenor, who were able to save a sapling of that tree and bring it to Middle-Earth. It represents both the origin of Gondor as a people of Numenor and that people's historical friendship with the elves. It represents more as well, but that is all talked about in the next movie, so I'll leave that for you to find out when you watch it.
Indeed, and the one who saved the tree was none other than Isildur himself.
1:19:59 Remember they can’t escort them because it will eventually corrupt minds of men. They start attacking Frodo for the ring. “The ring wants to be found.”
29:22
Gandalf is basically an Angel, so just like he said, he was sent back until his task was done.
Sam never calls Frodo "Master." It's "Mister Frodo." And that's because Frodo, Merry and Pippin are Shire gentry, while Samwise is of the working class.
@@k3n12ock But Gollum didn't appear in The Fellowship. It's in Two Towers that he starts calling Frodo, "Master," and the intro was recorded before they started watching.
He does in the books. Not sure in the movies
@@matthewklingerman904 I think that's true only when using their name, as you just did. But calling someone just "Master," as Gollum does, implies deference.
@@joaofarias6473 If you're referring to Gollum, he still doesn't appear with Frodo in the first book . And again, the reactors didn't read the book.
@@BobBlumenfeld It depends. Over time, Master evolved into Mister. It could be showing deference, or just politeness.
39:38 Oh its way more than just the series. Professor Tolkien had been developing languages since he was a child, and he was a philologist by trade (which is the study of the history of languages). He spent his whole life tinkering with his own invented languages and eventually invented a fictional secondary world for them to inhabit. Those writings eventually coalesced into the setting that the published Lord of the Rings would take centre stage in.
All of Tolkien's writings are framed with the conceit that he is himself translating the Red Book of Westmarch (written by Bilbo about all these events) into English for us to read. He stated that he wanted to create a unique mythology for England, which he felt it had historically lacked after being invaded by countless outside forces during its classical and medieval periods. All of these stories take place in our world, even if it is an imagined, secondary version of it, similar to the way Arthurian Legend is.
I just noticed your comment from several months back and feel I have to correct you on one thing: Bilbo was not supposed to have written "The Red Book," that was Frodo. Bilbo wrote "There and Back Again" better known as "The Hobbit."
He originally wrote this all as one book but the publishers made him split it into three. (So 3 Movies) The title Two Towers was just some random thing he made up.
He wasn't even sure which two towers he was referring to, until he made up his mind later. He decided it was Saruman's tower and the Nazgul Leader's Tower.
But the movie implies it's Saruman and Sauron's towers respectively.
Sam does call Frodo "master" sometimes. It's not literally that he's a master, as in a master/slave relationship or similar. It's a title which often used to be used about someone who has a household. Basically it means he's the "master of his house". In Sam's case it also signifies that he's employed by Frodo.
To add to your list of who is who, they don't say it in the films, but Galadriel is Elrond's Mother in law and Arwen's grandmother
LOTR is obviously written in English, but Tolkien "translated" it from the original languages. The language spoken by the Men of the West is called the Westron, and Tolkien translated this as English. In the book, the Rohirrim speak their own language (their leaders, like Theoden and Eowyn, also know Westron), and Tolkien translated this language as Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. Peter Jackson & Co. have simplified the story in many ways, and they haven't made the distinction between these two languages. The song Eowyn sings at Theodred's funeral is in Anglo-Saxon, as are the words Aragorn speaks to Brego the horse. In Anglo-Saxon, the word for "horse" is "eoh," which is why many names of the Rohirrim start with "Eo-".
Eothain.. Horse-Thane
Eowyn wasn't the woman singing at Theodred's funeral...
Tolkien served in WW1, and that experience undoubtedly colored his tale. For instance, perhaps at some point his squad took a prisoner, and wondered what to do with him, and that inspired the scene where Frodo and Sam capture Gollum. WW1 also made use of horses, and perhaps that inspired the scene where Aragorn decides the ill-tempered Rohan horse in the stable has "seen too much of war," and should be released. No doubt many horses were shocked by the artillery of WW1. And the swamp with the bodies in the water and the flames ... I think I read somewhere that Tolkien actually came across an area like that in the war. So while LotR isn't an allegory of WW1, it still contains a bit of a record of his experiences.
He fought in the Battle of the Somme which was one of the most brutal battles of the Great War. Rotting bodies sunken into the mud would have likely been a common scene.
The screeching of the Nazgul - screaming artillery shells.
The air in Mordor "a poisonous fume" - poison gas
A great eye, ever watchful - snipers watching no man's land.
@@Makkaru112 I always have to state it's based on life experience but not an allegory because of the nerd rage by people who don't understand what an allegory is.
Sam calls Frodo "Mister Frodo" because he works for him as a gardener. Frodo, as his uncle Bilbo, is rich, where Sam belongs to common people of the working class. Merry and Pippin are also of higher status.
The men you see at the Gates of Mordor, are known as the Easterlings. They were from a kingdom of men in the far East that was slowly infiltrated by Sauron and turned to his will in the past. When Gandalf comes in with Eomer at Helms Deep Eomer had 2000 men.
1:34:07 When you were pondering your notes on "Gollum is scared of death" I had a thought about that; the Ring gave Gollum eternal life, and while he had it, it was all he had. He had nothing else but loneliness, pain, hunger, shame, e.t.c. But the Ring was the only thing that didn't hurt him, not only that - it protected his life forever. Now that he's without it, he has nothing good in his life and has to face mortality for the first time in over 500 years. So it makes sense why he needs the Ring. Whereas Bilbo accepted his death, Gollum does not. Giving up the Ring is synonymous with coming to peace with your own mortality, letting the Ring go is akin to willingly sacrificing your life. You can imagine how hard that would be to resist let alone to voluntarily let go.
The ring does not give anyone eternal life, it just prolongs it because that suits the needs of the ring at the time.
The ring hurt Gollum plenty. It corrupted Gollum's mind and the things he did while using the ring lost him his family and all of his friends, everything. The ring was the very source of his pain and loneliness and Gollum was very aware of this. He did not keep the ring because it was good to him, he kept it because it had consumed his mind so completely. Gollum wants the ring back because the ring has such a strong hold over him just like a drug addict would do anything for a fix. It has nothing to do with mortality because Gollum hates himself and his life. Also Bilbo had no idea the ring prolonged his life or that it had any other benefit than the power to make him invisible. Bilbo let the ring go, because him and Gandalf realized there was something sinister and unnatural about the ring and obsessing about the ring was not good for him.
@@Mattseak I had the wrong interpretation then. Thank you for the clarification.
Can't wait for you guys to see the finale. Theoden is an epic king too, you have to take into account that they would have never withstood such an army had they remained where they were. They had to go to Helms Deep, no matter how risky it was. And he led the charge too.
I like the way Caley is so involved with the films and how he appreciates the various elements, like the musical score and the cinematography, that contribute so much to the total effet.
47:01 Great catch! BUT… remember that Aragorn took that brace from Boromir, after he died.
Galadriel = Arwen's grandma
Great reaction guys.
01:13:47 If Frodo seems more fragile and breakable compared to Sam it is because he's the one who is carrying the heavy burden of the ring and is being slowly poisoned by its influence. Sam selflessly helps in any way he can and that is his role But he can't bear the real burden. As Galadriel stated in the last movie: "To bear a ring of power is to be alone" therefore Frodo is alone in that sense.
Sam certainly is selfless, but in the movie he really needs a little emotional intelligence. Frodo is staring at Gollum trying not to burst into tears seeing himself there eventually, saying, "I have to believe it's possible for him to come back," and Sam just goes, "Nah fuck that, I would NEVER be best friends forever with anyone THAT messed up by the Ring."
Fantastic reaction. Your analysis was pretty astute overall. One thing I would point out is, you mentioned that you didn't want to get religious, but LOTR is a specific kind of tale in that regard. Tolkien was a devout Catholic and LOTR is a Christian allegory in many ways. Tolkien hated allegories, so it's not as overt as his good friend C.S Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, but it's there. He even said the tale is a - "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". Tolkien also drew inspiration from Norse and Germanic mythologies and old tales. For example, Tolkien draws a lot from Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen (which in turn draws on Germanic legends and myths). Can't wait for your Return of the King reaction. Love the channel.
Fellowship will always be my favorite. I just love seeing the characters all together, and Boromir's redemption is so heartbreaking and inspiring. And we get to see so much of the beauty of the world they are defending before the ugly onset of war.
"That's the most epic scene I've ever seen!“ wait for the 3rd...
I am deeply impressed how seroius you take the story. With the recap in the beginning and all. Your effort is much appreaciated!
We need the return of the king reaction !!!
I think this is the best reaction channel. The film isn't cut much, the audio is good, the commentary is interesting, you don't seem to take any shortcuts, and unlike some reactors, I'm convinced these are genuine first time watches and not acting.
Great comment!
Other channels you kinda doubt it that they are really watching for the first time. Sometimes they dont know how to edit properly for youtube. Other times they are just overeacting to everything, or just talking all the time
TBR Schmitt is a cool channel btw. They are very chill
I agree. This quickly became my favorite reaction channel. Both of them are super likable and like you said, they don’t cut out as much of the movie as other channels.
Idk about that their last reaction wasn’t that good 🤧
About the part where you said Gollum wanted a roast chicken after spitting out the bread actually connects to the rope if I’m not mistaken. Because Gollum was so corrupted by the ring, things made by the elves have an adverse effect on him. The rope burns his skin and the bread chokes him/tastes badly to him. Also the fact that he’s gone about 500 years without genuine food, not just whatever gross stuff he scavenged/killed, probably didn’t help either
And he'd rather have the chicken raw anyway!
@@porflepopnecker4376give it to us RAW & writhing!
I read that there are 1300 hours hours of film we have not seen! Insane amount of visuals. Who knows what characters and beasts we have never seen.
Great reaction / review as always y'all.
As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
It's great you're watching the extended version...yes...their are longer versions too... behind the scenes n whatnot.....the personal conversations and speeches are one of the best parts of these movies...🤟
Everytime you see something epic in these movies remember those movies caused the world to use the word "epic" with the signifiance we know today. They served as a point of reference of epicness for all movies since.
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Trilogies were all filmed in New Zealand. 90% of the landscape-wide shots are pure camera shots (the remaining 10% includes “ancient ruins” or mythical animals that might be included in the shot).
Each trilogy, while shot 10 years apart, was filmed in one “trip”. They weren’t filmed in accordance with their release dates; the filming of the entire trilogy was done by the end of 2002 (the Return of the King came out Christmas 2003), but the editing didn’t finish until near each release date.
The Frodo failing Smeagol part- it was some forbidden sacred pool that Faramir said incurs death. He had to have them beat him a little if he wasn't going to kill him as a leader or he would be questioned as a leader. As for Frodo he chose the lesser of 2 evils but was pretty powerless either way.
Cant wait for ur reaction to Return of the King, Love ur reactions!! Keep it up!
the movie was mostly shot in new zealand. i recently watched the haka dance that the new zealand stuntmen used to say goodbye to viggo mortensen after filming aragorn's last scene. amazing sight! even after all these years we can come across things from the filming of the movie we haven't heard of and stay fascinated.
Love how much you are enjoying this amazing story and world..Sam's speech towards the end is arguably my favorite moment of the entire triology, as well as a brilliant piece of writing.. Makes me tear up every time.. XO
Saruman's tower is named 'Orthanc' the area around it is named 'Isengard' after the River Isen that flows through it.
Its kinda insane that you notice Faramir's bracer is the same as Aragorn's. You missed the part where Aragorn took it from Boromir tho.
Just want to say, I really love both of yours post-movie analysis. It's very insightful and I can legitimately tell that you're both really engrossed and invested in it just by the fact that you try to find meaning in things that a lot of people would easily just overlook and accept as just a "moment" in the movie.
29:20 there’s a lot of missing context to Gandalf that further explains why Aragorn and Legolas reacted with such reverence to his return.
Gandalf isn’t a Wizard. He’s a Maiar, think like an archangel. He serves under the Valar, the Gods in Tolkiens mythology. He, along with six other “Istari” (name of their kind of Maiar), we’re sent to oppose the growing power of Sauron in middle earth.
The elves and the Dunedain (the Men that Aragorn is part of) are very devout in the religion of the Valar, so Aragorn and Legolas understand how important Gandalf actually is. So watching him fall in Moria would have been similar to the Biblical Apostles witnessing the crucifixion of Christ. It was impossible. Unbelievable. It shouldn’t have happened.
And then now, when they see Gandalf again in his “glorified” form, it would have also been very similar to the resurrected Christ appearing to the Eleven Apostles. It should be a very hallowed and sacred experience.
I'm sure that Tolkien definitely meant the smokables to be tobacco but I also think that Peter Jackson was being tongue in cheek in treating the smoke as possibly being marijuana. There were many times in the movie that it is shown as a possibility of being pot just through the context around it. This is most obvious with the joy Merry and Pippin finding the barrels and they way they were giggling and carrying on as they smoked it.
By being coy about it, Jackson could avoid any possible backlash from people thinking he was promoting drugs.
I like to think the tobacco is something a bit more magical than plain old marijuana.
sure, that definitely is a possibility..😀@@porflepopnecker4376
The barrels they found were from the Shire, and when you consider how far they had traveled and what they had been through, their reaction to finding an unexpected piece of home isn't strange.
With that being said, I believe there were a few occasions in the books where characters are quite giddy after smoking, and I believe even one where someone asks if it has clouded their judgment. When you consider the habits and demeanor of Hobbits, it would make sense.
@@felix5728with how much ale they drink, why not enjoy a little weed too. Makes perfect sense for the hobbit lifestyle or just being chill af like Gandalf imo
@scotthill1600 Yeah, it fits their lifestyle perfectly. Relax all day, love their smoke sessions, constant munchies, always tend to their "gardens." I always considered the Hobbits to be the stoners, the Dwarves to be the alcoholics, and the Elves to be the goody twoshoes.
It’s “Mister Frodo”, y’all.
Sam was technically at the shore, but HE being the height of a toddler he was covered by the water but was able to be reached from the boat.🤦🏽♀️The willingness to drown in his attempt to get to Frodo is still there and still important.
The first Dark Lord Melkor took hostage some Elves from Cuiviénen. He tortured them, beat them, and broke their bodies for generations into the first deformed and twisted beings known as Orcs. Sauron then took them and twisted them more crossbreeding them further to make his Uruk-Hai.
Just for fun, I wanted to share this info --
Put simply: Gandalf is younger than Galadriel, for he is roughly only two thousand years old (‘only’…) whereas Galadriel is many MANY millennia older than him.
If you were to ask which is older: Galadriel or Olorin, well, that would be another matter. Gandalf is the physical incarnated human-like form of an immortal god-like/angelic being of supreme power. Keep in mind that Gandalf is one who was present and party to the creation of Arda (the Earth, our world) called "Olorin". He was tutored under Lorien (a Vala) and Nienna (one of the Aratar: ‘High Ones’), both of whom are essentially gods.
Olorin has in fact been incarnated as an elf before he took his human Istari form.
So Gandalf (as Gandalf) is a few millennia younger than Galadriel, but his essential substance (his soul or spirit, if you will) is/was existent ‘before’ Time was even a concept.
A general list for all major characters during the LotR:
Eowyn - 24
Eomer - 28
Pippin - 29
Faramir - 36
Merry - 37
Samwise - 39
Boromir - 41
Frodo - 51
Theoden - 71
Aragorn - 88
Denethor - 89
Bilbo - 129
Gimli - 140
Gollum - aprox. 589
Arwen - 2901
Legolas - 2931* (exact age not known, but Tolkien's son did say, years ago, that Legos has older siblings and he looks the most like his mother and that is why his father is over protective of him for many ages until he has a vision that Legolas will go to Aragon and befriend him; only then does he let him go. He leaves a boat for him that Legolas later takes to the Undying lands and brings elderly Gimli with him after they've travel the world together.)
Radagast the Brown (Aiwendil) - Unknown (Like Gandalf he too was a Maia spirit of Yavanna from Valinor and inhabited peacefully in Middle-earth in the year 1000 3A. During his first years in Middle-earth, Radagast would protect the great forests.)
Gandalf (Olórin) - 3000* (exact age is not specified, but he is considerably younger than both Galadriel and Elrond. He is not immortal nor a God, but more of an angelic being called a Maia. Gandalf walked in Middle-earth for approximately 2,019 years, un-aging and appearing as a grey bearded human of about 60 years old or so. He was around long before Middle-earth was created and before the Years of the Lamps. He, Saruman and Sauron are approximately the same age - give or take.)
Saruman (Curumo) - 3300** (Guestimations in fandom based purely on ability and strengths only experience and age could grant)
Sauron 3790** (Guestimations in fandom based purely on ability and strengths only experience and age could grant)
Elrond - 6000+
Galadriel - 7000+
Alatar - Unknown (Alatar (Quenya - "After-Comer"), meaning Darkness-slayer, was a Maia and an immortal Istar Wizard. He travelled to Middle-earth in the Second Age with Rómestámo (Pallando), and they became the Ithryn Luin, or "Blue Wizards".
-- Pallando - Unknown
Balrog Unknown
Eru Oldest being in all of creation - Exact Age Unknown
These reactions have been excellent. You two are more thoughtful and genuine than 99% of reactors. I’m really looking forward to Return, and I know you guys will be blown away. You’ve got a new subscriber for sure!
A few places have matte-painted backgrounds or are done with miniatures, but most of it is the real landscapes of New Zealand, where all of it was filmed. Hobbiton was really built and is still there to be visited, although the interiors were studios.
There are nine Nazgul/Black Riders, they are the Men who had rings of power (not the Elves or Dwarves). Their real flesh and blood horses were drowned, but they all now ride 'fell beasts' which are not the same as dragons.
Oliphaunts are way bigger than elephants or the largest of prehistoric mammoths. They are carrying little forts, bigger than a howdah, on their backs.
Helm's Deep is a valley in the Kingdom of Rohan. It has been fortified with a wall and a castle called the Hornburg. It also has large caves for many people to take refuge in.
Pipe-weed is tobacco, they do not smoke any other type of plant.
Been waiting so long for this!!!
"they didn't even cook him" lmao sorry that was too funny XD
Also: the horses didn't appear magically. Rohirrim are horse masters, and all the horses are kept inside the deep within the fortress walls because they are a very valuable resource during war times.
The tree of Gondor is an ancient tree, it was planted there by Isildur and has a deep history.
Thousands of years before the events of this movie take place, there was a large island called Numenor and it was inhabited by the greatest race of men.The island itself was founded by Elrond's brother Elros who became the first king of Numenor. From his line came Isildur hundreds of years later, long story short Sauron corrupted Numenor heavily and the island was destroyed and sank into the ocean by Eru Illuvetar (The god of the LOTR universe). Isildur, and his father Elendi whol were amongst those who were not corrupted, and left the island before it was destroyed. Isildur stole a fruit from the white tree of Numenor before he left, and the seeds of that fruit were planted years later when Isildur established Gondor.
Regarding the "old pipes like in the cartoons". It takes practice and skill to smoke a pipe well enough to enjoy it. It's not like a cig where you just breath and you're done. It's an artform.
And the type of pipe you thought of is a meerschaum pipe. 😊
Sam calls Frodo *Mister* Frodo, because he is kind of a noble family amongst Hobbits and in the idillic society that Tolkien creates, which is very conservative, that is the way a commoner would refer to his young and unmarried Lord. They have an almost family-like relationship and both Bilbo and Frodo act as his protectors besides being his employers. Both Merry and Pippin are also from prominent families (Frodo's mother was a Took like Pippin and Merry's family are the chieftains of Buckland). Slavery does not exist in Hobbit society but there is a clear hierarchy.
The orcs that carry Merry and Pippin to Isengard (the little ones) are Orcs of Moria and in the books they want to kill them in revenge for the battle at the mines (when they fight the cave troll), the big ones are Uruk-Hai and they are exclusively loyal to Saruman. That's why they want to fulfill their master's orders and bring them unharmed.
@@Makkaru112 Stop it, you'll make me blush 😳☺
Eowyn didn't leave with her brother Eomer because he was forced to leave immediately. Grima even tells Eowyn that her brother abandoned her. And I'm not sure Eomer would have taken her with him, either.
lol... you guys did great with the first movie... so confused for the start of part two 😆👍 but a very nice one again🙏
Maybe this will help- Sam not only could not swim at all, he was weighted down with multi cast iron pans at his waist as well as the huge backpack.
Water even a foot or two deeper than him would take him down.
So Frodo leaning in and reaching his outstretched hand was viable.
Yes. Most hobbits couldn't swim. The Brandybucks are exceptions (Frodo's mother was a Brandybuck).
Tolkien was a master of language. The archaic ways of saying things in the movies are because that is how he wrote the books. Different characters speak differently, even within the same language.
@29:58 Fun fact: Yavanna (Goddess of nature, specifically plants) created the Ents in response to the creation of the dwarves. She knew that the dwarves would want to cut her trees down due to their industrious nature, so the Ents were made to protect the deep forests and stop those who would harvest thoughtlessly. That's basically why Gimli is all jumpy at the sounds of creaking trees, he understands on an instincual level that those trees will pack his ass up if he steps out of line.
Hey, i wanted to point something that seems to be confusing yet and it is why they go alone, if you remember what galadriel said the ring would be corrupting one by one everyone in the fellowship putting the mission on risk, that is why they purpously dont go looking for frodo, or they dont get scort or anything, the only reason sam is with frodo is because he literally said i will drown myself if i dont go with u 😅
Great reaction, such an amazing movie! Can't wait for the 3rd one, it will be crazy. 👌😊
Was left out of the film, but in the books, the ring projects an image into Sam's mind of being the greatest gardener in the whole world
Believe that is in the third movie...
Sauron promised to show him how to chemically make nitrogen for fertiliser 😂
19:33 everything was shot in New Zealand. They even built the real live Hobbiton, the town on hobbits, that you can visit. They first built it using plastics and that kind of materials, but for The Hobbit trilogy they rebuilt it on the same spot using better materials, like wood and concrete.
Something people forget about Gandalf is that's only the name men gave him. Elves gave him the name Mithrandir which still wasn't his real name. He's ancient as are all wizards because they aren't how most authors portray them. In a sense, wizards are a type of angel, not human, according to Tolkien. They are spirits in human form who were sent to Middle Earth to council the nations. His real name is Olorin before being sent to Middle Earth.
Dude 2 and a half hours of a reaction to one the most brilliant fan favorite trilogy deserves a thumbs up Namarie Mellon,( farewell friend).
Lol, I laughed when they started their review section with, "we're not gonna talk *that* much guys." 😂 It's always so great to watch new people fall in love with this world.
It’s cool that you picked up on the theme of water and purification. In _The Silmarillion,_ (basically the Old Testament of Middle Earth) it’s explained that water is the closest thing to the primordial material from which _Ëa_ (the physical Universe/Being) was created. As an element, it’s the element most strongly associated with the forces of good and Úlmo, the Vala of Water and Oceans (i.e. a god in the Greek/Norse sense) is the most untrusting of Morgoth, the original Dark Lord, and most vehement in opposing evil, though not the most active.
49:25 while aragorn was thinking about arwen, he doesn't even know that she's still in middle earth. He told her to go and be with her people so he thinks she's already gone to valinor. Which one she goes there she can never return. And he can never go there because humans and dwarves aren't allowed It's just for the elves. So again as far as he knows, she's gone. But at the same time there was never anything in his heart about eowyn. She just falls in love with him.
Galadriel was tempted by the ring, which gave Sauron a chance to corrupt her. She showed what she would become if she accepted the ring from Frodo, and she resisted, refusing the ring. If she had failed, she would have been doomed to remain in Middle Earth, subordinate to Sauron. She passed the test and was allowed to leave Middle Earth with the rest of the Elves.
Return of the King have probably the most epic/goosebumps scene ever. Can't wait to see your reaction on that one 😛
Aragorn is indeed a Ranger but definitely not the Park Ranger variety. More like an Army Ranger and a phenomenal tracker for that matter, which you pretty much need to be if you're going to be a successful hunter, of animals or humans.
It will never cease to amaze me how some reactors just can't understand the "why?" evil people do evil things lol
Wow, its been 3 months since you watched part II and you havent seen the greatest movie of all time ( my opinion), who won 11 Oscars. The Return of the King is phenomenal in every way, has unbelievable action and is a rollercoaster of emotions. Take your time, but relaxed, not tired, and watch it. You wont regret it. It is....precioussssss....
Wow. Just in the prologue you guys paid attention with names! Lurtz I mean wow.
Just to explain Elven immortality: it is true that they can only really die by being killed, or by relinquishing their life in a handful of very specific scenarios throughout the entire legendarium. However, Elves' souls are tied to the earth, so their souls stay on earth. Specifically, the souls of dead Elves go to a place known as the Halls of Mandos, where they are judged; if they were good Elves, they will eventually be rehoused into a new body. Otherwise, they stay forever in the Halls. This is different from the fates of mortals, whose spirits simply 'move on' when they die. What that means exactly is a mystery, much like in real life. Presumably, the only way for Elven spirits to 'move on' is for the very earth itself to be destroyed. Well, or if they give up their immortality for love.
Don't worry about your list bro...by the time you get to the end of the movies it'll feel like they lived down the block your whole life....no joke😅🤟💪✊
56:09 copy of my comment from the first movie but it’s also topical here.
The movie doesn’t really explain very well what Arwen means when she says she chooses a mortal life. And to understand that we get to jump back a few thousand years in Tolkien’s history. So a long time ago there was this guy, a Man, his name was Beren. And Beren fell in love with an elf maiden named Luthien who was supposed to be the most beautiful elf maiden to ever live. But elves and Men don’t really mix, and at the time most tribes of Men had sided with Morgoth (evil) and not the elves. Except for Beren’s people. Anyway, Luthien’s dad Thingol tasks Beren to retrieve one of the three Silmarils (sacred jewels to the elves) from Morgoth and return it to Thingol in exchange for Luthien’s hand.
Long story short, Beren and Luthien succeed in retrieving a Silmaril, but Beren is killed in the end. Luthien is so heartbroken that she wastes away and dies. When her spirit reaches the Halls of the Dead the Vala (god) Mandos asks her why she’s there. She explains that she had loved the Man Beren and couldn’t bear life without him. Mandos is so moved by this he offers Luthien a choice. He will return her to life, or he will return her and Beren to life but they will both be mortal having one mortal life to be together. She chooses the latter and both Luthien and Beren are brought back to life.
And this is like the greatest story in elven lore because it is literally love conquering death.
So Beren and Luthien have a son named Dior and Dior has a daughter named Elwing. We’ll come back to them.
Later, another Man named Tuor is led by the gods to the hidden kingdom of Gondolin. There he falls in love with the elven princess Idril and they marry. They have a son named Earendil.
Years later Earendil marries Elwing, bringing these two elven/human bloodlines together. Together they have twin sons, one named Elros and the other Elrond (yes that Elrond). And to them the Valar (gods) offer the “Choice of Luthien.” They can choose to be numbered with mortal Men or to be numbered with immortal elves.
Elrond who loves the learning and lore of his mothers people (Elwing being more elven inclined) he chooses to be numbered with the elves. Elros, loving the camaraderie, brotherhood and the passionate lives of Men chooses to be numbered with them. From Elros we get the kingdom and people of Numenor, which Aragorn is descended from.
Elrond marries the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn who is named Celebrain. And they have three children, twin sons Elladan and Elrohir, and one daughter Arwen. And they are also offered the “Choice of Luthien.”
So when Arwen says “I choose a mortal life,” she is * literally * making that choice. The is forsaking the immortality of the elves and choosing love and mortality.
I've said it before on other reactions, Gollum/Smeagol is a perfect example of the gateway that anger, bitterness & unforgiveness provides into our lives, for the evil one to enter. I always felt so sorry for Smeagol for that reason. He only knew to react with emotion and defensiveness and that was enough to allow the bad influence (which had left him) to return & take over.
58:59 Denethor was also under the influence of Sauron because of the Palantir, though not as directly as Grima was; an astute observation.
Just a side note on the Nazgûl, they are now riding what Tolkien called “fell beasts”. This distinction is important because there were actual Dragons throughout Middle Earth history. All the way back to Morgoth, the first DarkLord. They all have 4 legs and some had wings. Tolkien’s dragons are intelligent, cunning, very greedy and capable of speech. The last the Great Dragons can be seen in The Hobbit trilogy.
Yes, and in the books the description seems a lot like pteradactyls.
For the movie viewers who don´t know the books the fact that Gandalf appears as a wizard is a bit misleading because there are so many assumptions about what a wizard might be. In the Tolkien world Gandalf is one specimen of a very powerful group of beings. That´s why he was a match for the Balrog, though not appearing as powerful.
The tree is referring to the White Tree, symbol of Gondor. The Tree itself is actually exist in Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor. Previously, another tree existed in Minas Ithii (once a Gondorian fortress) before Sauron besieged it and turned it into Minas Morgul (located between Minas Tirith and Mordor). During LOTR it was occupied by the Ringwraiths. Minas means 'tower' in SIndarin (elven-tongue).
1:10:18 Correct. Which is why elves prefer to live away from other races and not get involved in their wars. They technically have much more to lose. This is also why they're so much more disciplined, organized, and better in battle. They have an eternity to train. Though, as I understand it, even when killed they eventually come back to life. But their souls have to wander Valinor, which is far away (and not always accessible from Middle-Earth), for an indeterminate amount of time.
In video game terms, they have infinite lives, but there's an annoyingly long respawn timer.
“…if he had pants on, maybe I’d let him touch my ring”
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Filmed in New Zealand.....showing respect to frodo calling him Mr Frodo....he's from a well off family......"Glad-ri-el"...powerful elf queen...Gollum found the ring after Isildir cut it from Saron's hand and then later lost it...
Helm's Deep is a castle in the land of Rohan. They prefer open war because they typically fight from horses, but the castle has been used as a last ditch line of defense throughout Rohan's history, namely King Helm Hammerhand lead his people there during the war with the Dunlandings, thus "Helm's Deep"
34:45 the flag ripping off the flagpole and blowing away were actually unscripted. It was just such a windy day that it just happened and Peter Jackson liked how symbolic it seemed and decided to keep it instead of reshooting.
58:39 the White Tree.
When Eru Illuvitar (Tolkien’s One God) first created the world it was illuminated by two great Lamps. Morgoth (the devil) destroyed these Lamps and in response Illuvitar created the Two Trees of Valinor, Laurelin and Telporion, which cast light across Arda (the world).
Many years later, Morgoth would sneak into Valinor and poison the Two Trees. But not before their Light was preserved in three jewels called Silmarils crafter by Feanor the greatest of Elven smiths.
Many hundreds of years later, after the War of Wrath and the remaking of the world at the end of the First Age, the Kingdom of Men on the island of Numenor was gifted a sapling of the White Trees by the elves of Middle Earth. This tree, called Nimloth, was a symbol of the friendship and kinship between the elves and their Numenorean cousins.
When Numenor fell into wickedness, Sauron convinced the evil king Ar Pharazon to cut down Nimloth. But learning of this, a young Isildur (the one who cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand) fought his way through the temple on Armenelos (spelling?) and rescued a sapling of the Tree. But Isildur was badly wounded and lay near death for weeks until the sapling took root and the Faithful were sure it would grow.
When Numenor was finally destroyed, Isildur’s father Elendil brought the sapling with them as they escaped to Middle Earth. There Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anarion founded the kingdoms of Arnor (northern kingdom ruled by Elendil) and Gondor (southern kingdom ruled by Isildur and Anarion together). And the sapling was planted in the Gondorian Capitol of Minas Ithil.
Then Minas Ithil was captured by the Nazgûl during Sauron’s wars against the Men of Gondor and Arnor. And a sapling of that tree was saved and taken to Minas Anor which was later renamed Minas Tirith, which is now the Capitol city of Gondor. You’ll see the remnants of this tree in the third movie.
They couldn't help Gandalf when he fell because he had a 3000 lb. demon attached to the other end of the whip which was him down. If they tried to help him, they would've either got dragged down as well or the ledge would have crumbled away more and they would've fallen as well. That's why Aragorn was holding Frodo back. 😀
Also the goblin or orc archers had caught up on the other side of the bridge and started shooting at them.
In the book it happens much faster. Gandalf doesn't grab the stone and sit there for a bit, before falling. He is being dragged over the edge when he says "Fly you fools!" I agree that the way it is portrayed in the movie Gandalf could have gotten back on the bridge. One little nit pik about the movies vs the books.