This is one of the best lord of the rings reactions on RUclips Extended editions Keeps the best scenes in and reactions Picks up on additional and subtle details Recognizes musical cues and their thematic relevance Pays attention Long video lengths Not overbearing or exaggerated, just relaxed, interested, and invested Bravo
Agreed on all of the above. One thing she also does that's awesome, she doesn't just repeat the thing she sees on the movie. So many just say what they see, like, we know we see it too. She analyzes the movie and discusses it with the viewer.
Kia Ora from Aotearoa New Zealand! I’m a crew member from the original Trilogy, I love to watch people react to the films , makes me super proud to witness the fandom in individuals!!! Much love , thanks for your content ❤
@@Wraithguard92 for the sake of anonymity I’d rather not be specific- but also any half decent sleuth will find me in the credits lol Suffice it to say I worked predominantly in 3 different units (Main,1b and 2a) and I didn’t do any scenics or miniatures. My job was cast/tech related , and I was there for the entirety of principle photography and all of the pickups 👍
Frodo never fully healed from his wounds, which means he could never stay happy in Middle-Earth. He, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the rest are going to the undying lands (Elf heaven essentially), where mortal beings usually aren't allowed. An exception is made for Frodo and Bilbo because they were ring bearers. In the appendices we learn that Sam becomes mayor of the Shire and lives a long and happy life. After his wife dies, he also sails west to the undying lands because he was briefly a ring bearer. So Frodo and Sam do meet again. Merry and Pippin spend their days with Aragorn in Gondor, and when they die they are buried next to Aragorn's grave. Legolas and Gimli remain friends, and their friendship heals the rift between Dwarf and Elf. When they reach their end, they also sail to the undying lands together. It's a massive honor for Gimli, being a dwarf, and never a ring bearer. Once they leave, the fellowship is gone from Middle Earth forever.
Well it is very unlikely Sam saw Frodo in Valinor again. Frodo most likely died already, being older then Sam already and living in the Undying Lands makes mortals actual die earlier. But they will meet again in whatever fate awaits mortal men in the afterlive.
Oh, and the Undying Lands was only the first stop for the Ringbearers. Elves and the Valar and Maiar had to stay in the Undying Lands, and would live forever -- but Men could "truly die" and went into the presence of Illuvatar, the creator of Middle Earth. Hobbits are a variety of Men, so they got that privilege as well. Sam and Frodo were at least reunited then.
@@nancyhayes9958 I like to think the entire fellowship was reunited in Valinor one last time. Even Aragorn and Boromir before they passed on to what I assume is the Timeless Halls of Illuvatar. I realize there is nothing saying this in the book but I just like to think of it this way.
A couple of factoids to throw at you: - The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol **Editor's Note: several people have corrected me. ONE child is Sean Ashton's, the other belongs to the actress playing Rosie.** In the books... - The reason both Bilbo and Frodo were invited to go with the Elves is because they were both "ring-bearers." - After Rosie passed and his children grown, Sam was invited to leave Middle-Earth as well, because he too was considered a ring-bearer (even though he only possessed it a short time). - When Legolas' time came to leave with the Elves, he was allowed to invite his best friend, Gimli. He was the only Dwarf to go into the Grey Havens. - Merry and Pippin left the Shire as they grew older. After visiting Rohan, they went back to Gondor, where they lived out their days. In fact, they were both buried along side Aragorn in the House of Kings after his passing, Great reactions!
"The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol" Correct. This is a factoid. The elder child is Ali Astin, Sean's daughter. The baby is Maisie McLeod-Riera, Sarah McLeod's (Rosie Cotton) daughter.
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor. Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received. And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor. Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received. And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
The thing that got me into this whole world was a wonderful Primary School teacher, here in the UK that read us a bit of the Hobbit, every day at the end of school. She did all the voices and made Middle Earth come alive. That was back in the 80s, so I had to wait a while until the films came out, but when they did (both trilogies), I loved them.
My 6th grade teacher read the Hobbit to us a chapter at a time on Friday afternoons in the early 70s. I nagged mom into buying me the Hobbit, and she also bought me LOTR at the same time. I had a few false starts until I got to Bree; then I finished the entire trilogy, including appendices, in less than a week. I spent 30 years waiting for a decent adaptation. Jackson and his people gave us a magnificent one.
@susanlab572 It was Edgemont Elementary in 1971. Great teachers think alike. Our company is having a book drive for kids, so I got a copy of the Hobbit to put in the bin. With any luck, it will spark someone else's interest in Middle-earth.
[1:21:58] This scene captures so well a feeling common to so many veterans. You leave home to do your duty, but life at home simply goes on without you, as it must. Once the veteran returns home, it's never the same place it was when he or she left. There's a sense of loss to the veteran, and this intangible, durable, almost permanent obstruction to ever feeling truly connected with those to whom you've come back as you had been connected to them before leaving. Other veterans know this feeling as well and can relate, but anyone who remained at home would never know the veteran next to them will always struggle with this sense of otherness and disconnection. In that sense, it's much like Frodo's wound from Weathertop: it's never truly heals.
@economath8164 the author JRR Tolkien served in the British army in WW1 and returned home having been wounded. So he very well knew what he was writing about. When Eomer talks to Eowyn about the horrors of battle, Tolkien was writing from personal experience...
it must be a similar but much more extreme version of going away to college only to come back and be condescended to by anti-intellectualist far-right family members.
Yes. When I got back to the world, I felt the same way, and that scene with the Hobbits in the pub effects me more strongly than any scene in the movies. I actually felt them and their emotions.
Yes, that is such sincerity and warmth and love in his voice at that line. Another line that gets me is Aragorn and the final remnants of his army outside the black gate and Sauron tries (and fails) one last time to persuade/control Aragorn to darkness and it looks like there is a brief temptation/struggle from Aragorn. They he snaps out of it and simply says "For Frodo." ♥
Just reading this post, you quoting the line, brought a tear to my eye. Such powerful scenes in this series. "Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?" That soliloquy ALWAYS gives me goose bumps.
Notice how Gandalf brought 3 eagles to the summit of Mount Doom. He fully intended on saving Sméagol too if he has alive. Just a nice little touch to show Gandalf’s pity and compassion to the end.
but you know, third eagle was this one with Gandalf on back. Also looking at how eagles take Frodo and Sam, we can easily assume two more people/hobbits/something could be taken too. Or even 4 if we count Gandalf's eagle, but I don't know if this eagle could take more weight. People just like to see things where in reality is nothing.
@@ericstoverink6579 okay, but then 2 more people could sit on eagle as Gandalf and 4 more people could be carried as Frodo and Sam were, bcs every eagle has 2 legs with claws. So still much more than was needed, even if they take Gollum. Maybe eagle who carried Sam will also take Gollum, so there will be one free eagle too.
I love that moment so much. But also I partly love it because of the reaction of the crowd - Aragorn bows and suddenly the whole crowd is like "oh shit, the king's bowing to them - quick, get down, get down!"
One of my favorite scenes for, reasons that often goes unnoticed, is Rohan seeing the beacon lights. During the seige of Rohan Theodan tells his neice that it was Aragon who saved the Rohan, not himself. Later he learned Aragon's truth- that he is the heir to Isildur and the throne of Gondor. When Theodon first sees the beacon lights lit he has no desire to answer, but when Aragon himself pleads, "Gondor calls for aid!"- in this moment Theodan sees not some Ranger of the North, but the true heir of Gondor. He had already risked his life to save Rohan, and Theodan stares Aragon in the eyes and, King to King, replies, "And Rohan will answer." He wasn't responding to Denethor's beacon lights. He was responding personally to Aragon, the King of Gondor.
You can see Aragorn taking control with Theoden in a later conversation, where he tells him that they must take the riders they have and head to Gondor. Theoden just nods in agreement. At that moment you can see the King of Gondor taking charge.
Remember, when Frodo wakes up and sees Gandalf, it's the first time he saw him since he fell with the Balrog. Also, in the book, Shadowfax is with them when the board the last ship. RIP Blanco -aka- The lord of all horses!
Others will probably mention it, but Denethor was misrepresented the most in the movie as compared to the books. In the books, he was not like that for very long, and was actually a great leader and steward of Gondor. He was also not nearly as cruel to Faramir in the books. He never wished Faramir had died instead, only that he had sent Faramir to Rivendell instead. (in his mind Boromir would have then met Frodo later as opposed to Faramir, and brought the ring to Gondor.) There was also some unresolved trauma, as Faramir's birth directly resulted in his mother's death. Considering Sauron knows how to break you, it's quite likely he was reminded of that at every opportunity when using the Palantir. He used the Palantir to spy on Sauron and track their troop movement, and was a big reason why Gondor lasted as long as they did. You are seeing Denethor for the first time near the end of his character arc. He resisted Sauron's influence for 35 YEARS before it finally broke him. He is still deeply flawed (his jealousy of Aragorn is very real, but understandable); there is a lot more duality to him that was left out.
This is right. The writers of the movies had to make some tough choices about what to leave in and cut out but I think they really did a bad job with Denethor. They made him out to be some kind of loony which he wasn't. I guess they figured putting another palantir into the movie would just confuse people without a long tedious explanation. In the book his end was even more creepy. He doesn't jump of the parapet like in the move but burns alive on the pyre while holding the palantir. After that anyone looking into that palantir only saw two hands withering in flames. Creepy.
Denethor lasted a hell of a lot longer against Sauron than Saruman did. He wasn’t a likable character in the book, but until he went mad, he was an honorable, competent ruler.
Yeah, the fault of Book Denethor is that he despairs because he's putting all his faith in the armies of Men rather than in Eru and thus he thinks that Sauron can't be beaten, but he certainly doesn't stop doing his duty as lord of Gondor (and thus the guy in charge of the defenses) to the best of his ability until he loses it at the very end. Jackson did him dirty
@@hrotha I think they also wanted a contest to Theoden, but they could have done that without cutting his character. I always found it sad that he played favorites with his son's after having it happen to him with Thorongil/Aragorn being the favorite.
At 19:50 you ask, "If they destroy the Ring, will the Nazgul just be gone?" In the book, Gandalf says, "If [the Ring] is destroyed, then he will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again...all that was made or begun with that power will crumble, and he will be maimed for ever, becoming a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, but cannot again grow or take shape." That would include the Nazgul.
The end of the remaining eight Nazgûl as they rushed to Mount Doom is one of the most dramatic passages in the story: “And into the heart of the storm, with a cry that pierced all other sounds, tearing the clouds asunder, the Nazgûl came, shooting like flaming bolts, as caught in the fiery ruin of hill and sky they crackled, withered, and went out.”
@@Mephistolomaniac Aragorn released them after they fulfilled their ancient oath to defend Minas Tirith when called upon. This was shown at the end of the Battle of Pelennor Fields earlier in the film.
The true genius of this trilogy (of course the writing) are the values portrayed. Faith, Hope, Family, Courage, Compassion, Sacrifice, Empathy, etc. Thank you for the time and effort you put into these reactions, Jen. Much appreciated. 😊
Frodo said the bravest thing Sam ever did was ask Rosie to marry him. Although we all know that Rosie adored Sam he still worried he wasn't worthy of her which, of course, is silly.
For some reason, the movies fail to mention the fact that Denethor has a palantír of his own. That's how he knew about nearly everything that was going on. In fact, he is so strong a Man that he actually resisted the power and corruption of Sauron better than Saruman, a freaking Maia, did. Sauron could not fully corrupt him, but he twisted what Denethor saw to drive him to utter despair and madness. That's why he's so crazy, or at least that's one reason.
@rbrtck indeed, and I often think a very quick shot of Denethor using the Palantir should have been included and would have explained so much that puzzles viewers about his behaviours...but I'm not complaining!
The one thing I dislike about the movies is the absolute Denethor slander that is created because people don't know the whole story. He is a classic tragedy I think, but the movies only show half the story. Still the greatest trilogy of movies I know though, no argument there.
@@ryanphillips5126 It's not just that we only see half the story; in the book Denethor does not treat Faramir nearly so badly, so there is not nearly as much that needs explaining. Boromir was still his favourite, but he didn't hate Faramir.
1:09:25 the original version of this quote from the novel is probably my favorite passage from any book. “There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.” --The Return of the King
Every veteran who has come home from war, from horrific battles, has sat at that very table in the Green Dragon. He’s looked around at the oblivious peace on every face, and shared that same knowing glance with his brothers in arms.
Tolkien was part of a club of four friends called the “Tea Club and Barrovian Society” which met regularly at Barrow Stores at King Edward’s School in Birmingham. J.R.R. Tolkien lost two of his close friends from the T.C.B.S. during World War I. Robert Quilter Gilson died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, and Geoffrey Bache Smith died later that year from wounds sustained in battle. Out of the four core members of the T.C.B.S., only Tolkien and Christopher Wiseman (who served in the navy) survived the war. Whenever I see the pub scene I imagine it is Tolkien and Wiseman remembering their fallen companions.
i am one of those and funny enough, when people ask me sometimes how comes I don't enjoy a party or an event as much as they do, or why certain things make me, "a strong man", cry uncontrollably ... well, I always tell them "That's what I call the Hobbit effect ... something that you who have never left the Shire will fortunately never understand."
The emotions you feel and somehow share with us enhances the story and make watching with you too special for words. May you understand the blessing you share with us, and it increases your joy and peace, as always thank you Jen.🌹
37:02 Aragorn's nickname as a kid was "Estel", which is Elvish for hope. The line "I give hope to men, I keep none for myself." was the epitaph on Aragorn's mother's gravestone. We actually see it for a split second in Fellowship: its the one he's cleaning moss off of before they leave Rivendell.
It was more than his nickname--it was his undercover name. He was raised in Rivendell by Elrond without being told of his lineage, much like Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter, which is common in this kind of fantasy fiction. Tolkien wasn't the first to use it, but it's a cool trope.
In the first hobbit movie I was hoping to see a young Estel in Rivendell. And at Helm's Deep it would have been great to have an old Rohirrim yell out "Thorongil!" when sighting Aragorn.
@@gmansard641Absolutely. In my head canon, Bilbo is wandering Rivendell and finds one of the libraries. While he’s in there, he meets and befriends a ten year old kid named Estel.
@@gmansard641 Peter Jackson messed with Aragorn's year of birth because of the time compression in the Hobbit film trilogy. Instead of a 10 year-old boy in Rivendell known as Estel, Aragorn is already an adult in his mid-20s known as Strider.
The Hobbit book was written as a story for children so it's more whimsical. The Lord of the Rings was written with Tolkien taking the role of a historian that found the book Bilbo & Frodo wrote and other writings about their time, and translated those works to english so he could chronicle those more than ancient times. Middle Earth is very much supposed to be our Earth, just a time so lost that no one remembers anymore. It's also mentioned in the prologue that Hobbits may exist to this day but they are so good at hiding no one notices them.
The fiddle used in the Rohan theme is the so-called Hardanger fiddle. A Norwegian instrument. The Rohan theme itself is in A dorian (A minor but raised 6th (F > F#). As for how much time passes: It's glossed over a LOT in the movies but the books give more detail. I won't go into detail how the calendar of Middle Earth works so I highly recommend reading the books and the appendices if you are interested in more. Anyway: Bilbo finds the ring in 2941 of the Third Age. On September 22nd in the year 3001, he celebrates his 111th birthday; Frodo turns 33 on the same day. Here the book does a 17 year leap, and in April 3018 Gandalf realises what the ring is and goes to Hobbiton to tell Frodo. However, they don't actually leave until September 3018. They arrived in Rivendell in October and the Council of Elrond takes place in the same month. The Fellowship doesn't leave Rivendell until December however. Gandalf is lost in January 3019. The Battle of Helm's Deep takes place on 3rd of March 3019. The battle of Pelennor Fields (Minas Tirith) then takes place between the 13th and 15th of March. The ring is destroyed on the 25th. The Hobbits return to the Shire in November. Finally, Frodo and Bilbo arrive in the Grey Havens, on September 29nd, 3021. At age 131 years and 7 days, Bilbo is now the oldest Hobbit ever. So: They leave in October 3018 and return in November 3019, a trip of 13 months in total. OK, so that was a really quick and dirty timeline but as I say, I recommend reading the books. It's great! :) 25:30 The Dwarves are busy fighting Sauron's forces in Dale (Dale is seen in The Hobbit movies). EDITED to correct a factual error, the fiddle in the Rohan theme is NOT the Geiranger fiddle (which doesn't exist afaict) but the Hardanger fiddle. I guess I had Geiranger on my mind because of the two Norwegian disaster movies Bølgen (The Wave) and Skjælvet (The Quake), I recommend both of those.
The leader of the orc army, Gothmog, is played by Maori actor Lawrence Makoare. He also played Lurtz, the leader of the Uruk-hai who shoots Boromir with arrows and is killed by Aragorn, and he was the physical character of the Witch-King of Angmar in the 3rd movie, but the voice for the Witch-King was done by the amazing, multi-talented Andy Serkis.
The march when faramir and the riders are going back to osgiliath and denethor is eating is the most haunting scene. Such a gorgeous juxtaposition. The flowers the people were throwing at the horses feet as they were leaving on their doomed ride feels like their preemptive funeral flowers. Because they know they won’t make it. The music in this is the most amazing set of scores and themes of anything i have ever seen.
Many years later, after becoming mayor, Sam joined Frodo in the Undying Lands as he was allowed due to him being a ring bearer even though it was only for a short while.
@@elzar760 He did it totally on spec too because he wanted the see the Lady of Light one last time. He wasn't invited but Galadriel herself intervened on Gimii's behalf and he was allowed to stay.
So many great performances here, but I really want to point out how damn good Elijah Wood is as Frodo. In each film, he gets progressively less dialogue, but his ability to convey emotions and thoughts on his extremely expressive face is remarkable. The fact that he filmed most of the trilogy when he was only 19 is astounding to me. He was an experienced child actor (Roger Ebert called him the best actor of his generation when he was just 13), but this role elevated him into grown-up status. I loved reading the stories of the films’ casting. EW took the initiative and filmed his own audition tape in a wooded location in costume, Viggo was called in at the last minute, Dom Monaghan had auditioned for Frodo and was reconsidered for Merry when they couldn’t find a Merry in their first pass and revisited the audition tapes for Frodo, and Sean Astin had been hoping to be in a Peter Jackson film ever since his father John Astin came back from filming The Frighteners and told Sean it was the best time he’d ever had on a set.
The lighting of the beacons is probably the part of the trilogy i look forward to the most , along with the music its truly epic and beautifully shot , i love it 🔥🔥🔥
My to 3 moments in the Return of the King: 1: "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you, c'mon!" 2: The arrival of the Rohiram and King Theoden's speech and charge. 3: The opening with Smeagel's backstory and transformation. Runner up: The scene where Denethor sees a vision of Boromir behind Faramir, the actor who played Denethor doesn't get enough credit.
@@DerekMoore82”I would have followed you. My brother. My Captain. My king.” and “I can’t carry it for you, butI can carry you” are the two scenes that get me misty every single time. The two scenes that make me want to grab a sword and kill bad guys are the lighting of the beacons and 5he Ride of the Rohirrim.
"We shall have peace... when you answer for the burning of the Westfold! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows! Then we shall have peace." Theoden is the best trash talker in Middle Earth. As for the dwarves, it's not mentioned in the movie, but there are battles against Sauron's forces taking place elsewhere besides Minas Tirith. The dwarves of the Iron Hills, Gimli's kin, are busy fighting their own war.
Fun facts and personal feelings: You were wise to watch the extended editions(lol, just a fun fact). Isengard: In the original scene, Saruman was going to scream when he was stabbed. However, Christopher Lee asked Peter Jackson if he knew how a person sounded when they were stabbed in the back, "Because I do." This is because Lee was a soldier in WW2 in espionage and he gave the real noise a person made when stabbed(more like their breath being pushed out of them). In the original material, Saruman is defeated near the end of the "Two Towers"and escapes, though he returns in "Return of the King", the Shire gets scoured and destroyed as he(now without his staff)and Grima take it over with a vagabond army, getting killed near the end of the story. The Elven smiths who reforge Anduril are played by two of the actual weaponsmiths who made the swords and such for the movies. It's a little sadder in the books(though Sam isn't sent away)before they go into the Lair, as Smeagol is ready to repent his actions rather than lead Frodo into Shelobs Lair, as he truly does love him and care for him. However, Sam wakes up and coldly accuses him of sneaking, which drives Smeagol to betray them out of sheer anger. Tolkien did say that had Sam been kinder, Smeagol would never have betrayed them. Arya dying as a result of Sauron's power was tacked on to give some stakes(book version of Aragorn is fully on board with being the king of Gondor and has Anduril reforged before they leave Rivendell, to my recollection). Grond(the giant ram/Wolfs Head)is named after the war mace of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth(Sauron was the second Dark Lord). The corsair that Legolas accidentally shoots is played by Peter Jackson. Shelob is a creature known as a Maiar spirit. There are a few of them that, when choosing a form, become something monstrous or strange). The Balrog is one as well. But as to Shelob, she's the child of the first spider, whose name was Ungoliant. Ungoliant was absolutely massive compared to Shelob, poisoned and drank the light from the Two Trees(magical trees from Valinor, where the elves came from)and tried to steal a set of magical gems from Morgoth before she was driven away by six Balrogs. She eventually ate herself to death. 52:11 , chills every time as Sam shows up and faces down the abomination spider. Any wounds made by the Nazgul can cause the sort of horrible injuries, and even wounding one can do awful injury to the attacker too. The Morgul Blade was a little different, but I think what affected Eowyn is called the Black Breath. RIP Bernard Hill(Theodan) Goddamn, the whole finale is just strike after strike. Aragorn's speech, Sam carrying Frodo, Aragorn seeming to be about to despair, only to quietly whisper "For Frodo..."and charge, with the rest of the army running forward as the Fellowship theme blares in choir, Smeagol's return, the eagles coming to the rescue...just tearing up watching your reactions! Frodo:"You swore! You swore on the precious! Smeagol promised!" Smeagol:"....Smeagol LIED." Friggin' savage line. Smeagol stands upright for the first time when he regains the Ring. Gandalf brought three eagles to Mount Doom, as he fully expected that Gollum could be redeemed and was going to save him as well. "My friends...you bow to no one..." Goddamn, tearing up. The moment that makes me bawl every time I watch the movie is when Bilbo and Gandalf leave. Keep in mine that I read the first book, the Hobbit, when I was eight years old and the pair were the staple characters, so seeing them leave to go to Valinor was like a goodbye.
This really is the greatest epic in the history of cinema. There is nothing that matches the spectacle, the scope, the grandeur, the emotions, etc. An absolute masterpiece of film.
So glad that Peter Jackson made it - it's so obvious that he loves the source material and he took great care to make the best trilogy he could. And he succeeded. A true masterpiece.
@@OldRod99 It's a shame he didn't want to do the Hobbit in as big of a scale but it would have been so much harder with everyone watching like they were after LotR was such a success. It never could've been the same.
@@TheHighSorcerer The source material for the Hobbit doesn't have the scale of LOTR and there aren't many writers that could match Tolkien that's why so much of the Hobbit trilogy seems forced, they had to add so much non-source material to make it a trilogy. I mean they're good movies and worth a watch but they're not epic masterpieces like LOTR.
I loved your reaction to this and the trilogy as a whole, Jen. Things for you to know, Jen; the reason why Frodo had to leave was that he was slowly dying of the injuries he received as The Ring Bearer so, to prolong his life he had to leave to live with The Elves and The Wizards. The places and people in The Lord of The Rings are based off of the U.K. as a whole 'The Shire' is the West Country, Somerset, Dorset, etc, 'The Hobbits' are the people in those areas hence their accent; 'The Elves' are the Welsh; 'The Dwarves' are the Scottish; 'The Wizards', Gandalf (The Grey/White), Saruman (The White), Radagast (The Brown) not seen in the LOTR films, Alatar (One of The Blue Wizards) and Pallando (another Blue Wizard) not seen in the LOTR films, these Wizards are taken from The Druids. I hope that this helps you, Jen?
Okay, so about the Dwarves. They were fighting their own battle against Sauron's forces. Easterlings had put the City of Dale and The Lonely Mountain under siege. The Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlorien were also under siege. (In the books, there were no Elves at Helm's Deep, except of course for Legolas. Also, Eomer wasn't bannishd, so he was there. It was Erkenbrand and his men whom Gandalf brought.)
At 9:25, Eowyn's "great wave" was the wave that engulfed the island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age. In the book, this dream was dreamed by Faramir later in the story. Tolkien himself often dreamed this dream when he was growing up.
Yay Jenowyn. You should definitely read the books. There is so much more, (which I won't spoil), though it's understandable that a lot got left out. I'm not sure they could have covered the whole book if they had 20 hours. But there will be 2 characters that you didn't meet in the movies that you will love in the book. As far another movie like these, therr isn't one. This is the very pinnacle of film history. Nothing since has even came close. You bow to no one gets me every time. Not surprised it got you too. It's a truly magical moment. I'm pretty sure the other replies have covered your questions as much as they can. Reading the book will answer them more thoroughly. And I do recommend the appendices of the extended edition DVDs. They are the best making of collection for any movie. As I said after your Two Towers reaction, this deserved every Oscar that it won. Thanks for a wonderful reaction Jen. On a very different track, I will recommend Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. You like movies about con artists, and in my book, it's second only to The Sting for movies about cons. You won't regret it. Plus, it hasn't been done ad nauseam by the other reaction channels.
Something often overlooked is the fact that Smeagol murdered his cousin Deagol over the Ring just after seeing it for the first time, even though the Ring was still in its dormant state. Bilbo, meanwhile, picked it up and deliberately spared Smeagol despite having the opportunity to kill him and then proceeded to carry the Ring around for sixty years with minimal corruption before the Ring awoke. In short, Smeagol was already a bad egg before the Ring found him. (This is actually made a bit more clear in the book with Gandalf's narration of Gollum's backstory.) That said, he is still pitiable, and his story is tragic.
To that point, Bilbo's compassion (and later Frodo's) was all a part of the "plan" Smeagol needed to be a live so that his greed could destroy the ring, in the end no one could ever WILLINGLY destroy the ring. Even Frodo was going to refuse. That's one of the great things about Tolkien. All of the things are interconnected in multiple ways. Was is a part of Eru's ultimate plan to have the ring be found by a family with 2 unusually compassionate people in it? There's no real answer here as far as I know, but there's room for almost infinite speculation in any direction. It's one of the things I really dislike about the movies, they make it seem as though the entire undertaking was a series of decisions made by mortals (and sometimes gandalf). In the books a large part of the story is "coincidence" of some form.
@@dinkywinky2860 🏆 🍺🍺 "Even the very wisest can still not see all ends. I feel that Gollum has a further part to play in this.. for the good or the bad." (paraphrasing Gandalf)
hobbits also have a natural resistance to the ring, and corruption in general. That only reason Sam was hesitant to hand the ring back to Frodo in the Goblin Tower in Mordor was because he loves Frodo and knew what it was doing to him. He didn't want it for himself.
The way the colour immediately comes back to Frodo's face the minute he steps on the boat kills me every time. Thank you for sharing your journey with us! I've loved seeing it through your eyes
I fell in love with Tolkien's works when I first read them over 50 years ago. I have reread them countless times since and cannot recommend them highly enough, especially to someone who enjoys a well-written tale. These movies, I feel, are a gift to Tolkien lovers the world over, and a passkey to those who will want for more, read the books, and come to join the throng. watching you and other reactors see these for the first time allows me to enjoy them anew through fresh eyes.
At 18:48 you ask, "Is that Gondor in the distance, between Mordor and this city?" The geography of MIddle-earth can be confusing, especially the first time around. Pippin and Gandalf are looking eastward from the walls of MInas Tirith, the chief city of the kingdom of Gondor. They are looking toward the great river Anduin and Osgiliath, the former capital of Gondor, now ruined and partially held by the Enemy. The realm of Gondor is basically everything south of Rohan and west of the Anduin, although in former times the kingdom was much larger.
It goes into more detail in the book, but for that brief moment before handing the ring back to Frodo, Sam was tempted to keep it. As we saw, Frodo succumbed to the ring in the end, as did Gollum and Boromir. Gandalf, Galadriel, and Aragorn refused to even touch it because they knew they wouldn’t be able to resist it, and Bilbo had to be pushed by Gandalf to give it up. That makes Sam the only character who actually held the ring (if only briefly) and gave it up willingly, and out of all of them, he probably gets the best ending.
Winner of 11 Oscars including Best Picture, making it the first fantasy movie to win in all categories. When Steven Spielberg presented the Best Picture winner, he said, "It's a clean sweep! LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING!" It's also the third and final film to win 11 Oscars, alongside BEN HUR and TITANIC. Two more fantasy films would win multiple Oscars: The Shape Of Water (4) Everything Everywhere All At Once (7)
And the now late Bernard Hill starred in two of those 11 Oscar winning movies. Probably the only actor who will ever achieve that (though I will never say never).
At 16:30 you asked, "How did Denethor know about Aragorn?". The long movie cannot cover all the subplots of the books. Denethor also had a Palantir crystal ball through which Sauron showed him Aragorn to stoke Denethor's jealousy and sow chaos amongst the forces of Good. Sauron also showed Denethor a possible future of the destruction of Minas Tirith similar to Frodo being shown the destruction of the Shire in Galadriel's Mirror. He was depressed and thought this was his fate, along with his mind being purposely corrupted by Sauron to weaken the forces of Good. Frodo overcame his vision, Denethor did not.
Agreed with your comment right until the end. Frodo in fact did not overcome his visions. He didn't even destroy the ring, he in fact took it for himself!
That is kind of an oversimplification though. Denethor is probably the character who was done dirty more than any other. Denethor used the Palantir to track the movement of Sauron's forces, and was one of the primary reasons they lasted that long. Denethor was not just shown a handful of visions, he resisted Sauron's influence for 35 YEARS before it broke him.
@@NHNuisance Agreed, hence that nuanced, silent, 'knowing look' Director Jackson instructed Frodo and Sam give one another when they are reunited at the bedside gathering/celebration of the Fellowship at the end; only those two really knew that a fortunate eucatastrophe involving Gollum destroyed the Ring.
Part of the reason this series is so cohesive is Jackson apparently pulled a fast one with the studios: Economizing shots at the same locale between movies. And cast who didn't know about the source material were confused but rolled with it since everyone loved the project. So the money ran out quickly and the studio had nothing except bits of each movie, when Jackson asked for more cash. The studio was beyond infuriated that they were essentially being extorted. But it was magic in a bottle. A time between practical effects and cgi. So in a way it echoed a time of our world never to be seen again.
The BTS on the extended version DVDs are something else. Seeing how much work and love and care that went into these movies is almost beyond comprehension. Whenever I’m feeling down about life I can put those on and some of my faith in humanity is restored.
Jen, this movie put you on an emotional roller coaster, but you held steady. The music is what helped the movie pierce your heart; I noticed this especially with the Shire theme. Your empathy with all of the main characters was deep and it was easy to see how you were caught up in it. I now go back to my holiday, but my sincere thanks for your impeccable timing with this post. 😀
Sailing into the West (the sunset) is a metaphor for death. The time of elves and magic is over, Bilbo is very old, and the tip of the Witch King’s blade is still in Frodo, slowly killing him.
The Academy Award-winning song, "Into the West," is lyrically about peacefully dying after a long journey (life). Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics gave that tune heart and it's music win was very well-deserved.
Every single time I watch the end of "The Princess Bride" and Peter Falk narrates about that kiss blowing all the greatest kisses out of the water, I immediately think of how much greater this kiss was. And is actually the best kiss in cinema I've seen in my lifetime.
Merry actually had the Black Breath, too, although Aragorn wasn't shown healing him. In the books, one could get that affliction just from proximity to a Nazgûl or by getting hit by an arrow from them, so there were a lot of victims of this fatal condition. Aragorn had to work tirelessly for days to bring them all back, and that was part of what made him a legend, and convinced the people of Gondor that their king had returned.
“When the black breath blows and death’s shadow grows and all lights pass, come athelas! come athelas! Life to the dying In the king’s hand lying!” (ROTK, Houses of Healing) I always loved that one of the signs of the king was that he was a healer. It’s a beautiful scene in the book.
@@nancyhayes9958 That's right, it's part of a prophecy that said the people of Gondor would know their king because he was a great healer. As rich and dense as these movies are, there is just so much more in the books--too much, even, for the narrative, hence there are appendices.
@@rbrtck I’m so glad Tolkien included the appendices. One thing, among many, that I like about Jackson’s movies is he used the appendices as well as the main story. The vision Elrond shows to Arwen in Two Towers is straight from Aragorn and Arwen’s tale. I cannot remember the source, but someone said that Arwen was a late edition to LOTR and that’s why she has so little action in the main story.
57:32 King Theoden became one of my favorite characters over the years of watching this trilogy. I love every scene he is in. Even against overwhelming odds, and Giant War Elephants, he doesn't even hesitate to reform the line and charge...RIP Bernard Hill, a truly legendary, and memorable performance. His battle Speech, and The Ride of the Rohirrim gets me all emotional every, single, time.
That speech was basically, "If we're gonna die here, we'll do it in the greatest blaze of glory Middle-earth has ever seen! And we're gonna drag as much of them with us as we can!"
Not shown in the movie, but in the books, Denethor also had one of the palantir, the seeing stones - and through that, he saw what Sauron wished him to see.
It's a shame they did not show a quick scene of him using the Palantir, it would have explained allot, Denethor was not a bad man, he was corrupted and with grief because of the loss of his oldest son and was certain Gondor was lost.
Gondor is the name of the entire region (or kingdom, back when there was still a king). In its hayday, it was comprised of Minas Anor (later renamed Minas Tirith), Minas Ithil (until it was captured by Sauron's forces and became the fortress of the Witch King and was renamed Minas Morgul), and Osgiliath the central city, which was originally the capital of Gondor. By the time Gandalf and Pippin arrive, only Minas Tirith remains fully under Gondorian control, and is the new capital.
Brilliant reactions and reviews as always, Jen. Indeed, many people, myself included, watch the trilogy annually, especially over Christmas. Christopher Lee, who played Saruman, said that he always read the trilogy annually. I now have the urge to revisit the books for the first time in about twenty years (although i also read them in the late Seventies around the time of the animated movie). We are Your Fellowship, Jen, and We bow to You 😊
The running joke about Legolas in the films was that he seemingly never ran out of arrows, even though in the books, there were occasions when he did run out.
1:00:55 It's actually because Merry stabs the Witch King that Eowin is able to kill him. He breaks the WK's connection to Sauron for a second by wounding him. (Elf knife). That is why he becomes vulnerable to her attack.
52:30 Yes, spiders have those. They are called chelicerae. Or to be more precise: spiders. mites, scorpions, sea spiders and horseshoe crabs have them. Hence they are all grouped together as Chelicerata.
the thing about the extended editions is that Peter Jackson had won the oscar for this movie. then went back to New Zealand and shot two more scenes to finish up the extended editions.
around 53:00, Shelob (the Spider), is a She. Thats why Gollom said, she will take care of them (or something along those lines). Shelobs, Mother was something really, really scary.
25:24 it's never mentioned in the movies explicitly outside this scene, but dwarves of Erebor and Iron Hills were tied up in their own fight against Sauron's forces, just like Mirkwood (Legolas' kin) and Lothlorien elves with Dol Guldur.
At 26:52 you note, "Pippin rode out with him." This seems strange, and in the book Pippin watches Gandalf from the walls of the City. The screen writers' first idea was to have this fight occur as Gandalf and Pippin first approached Minas Tirith. But the time line of the story would be all wrong, and so they moved the action to its proper place, dragging Pippin along with it. It does allow Gandalf and Pippin to meet Faramir at the same time and learn of his meeting with Frodo and Sam.
Great reactions, glad you loved em, even happier you've decided to read the books. They're an awesome, epic journey and you will find tons of new and different things there, enough to keep you wondering what's going to happen next, even having watched the films. Jackson and co had to change a lot of stuff for the films, not everyone likes the changes, but imho even with the changes it is the best adaptation and trilogy ever made in film history and almost impossible to top. If anything ever tops this, we're going to have another masterpiece in our hands, cause that's what this was. Happy reading!
Thank you for reacting to the journey that has been a part of my life since I was a child. I loved going through it with you once again. The movies were wonderful, I think of them as Peter Jacksons interpretation of the Lord of the Rings. I still love the books the most, but Jackson and crew did a wonderful job.
Your reaction was very sweet! Frodo leaves with the elves at the end because he has simply given everything he had to give to the ring quest. He just has nothing left; there’s no healing for him. They’re going to the immortal lands; but Tolkien tells us that the mortals will live their lifespan there, in great peace; and then they will pass; actually faster than they would’ve in Middle Earth, Tolkien tells us. By all means, you should read the books. There are things you just can’t get from only the films, great as they are. And I do agree with you-this is easily the greatest film series ever. I’ll mention just one thing that’s missed for sure by most everyone who hasn’t read the books (they are too many to cover them all here): Back in Fellowship, near the beginning, when Bilbo gives up the One Ring when he goes off to Rivendell to live with the elves, it’s truly an EXTRAORDINARY-even unique-moment. Bilbo bore the Ring for 60 years; and no one else, in the entire history of the ring, who held it for such a significant time EVER willingly gave it up. Bilbo is the only one to achieve that. Not even Frodo could. That’s why Peter Jackson had that dramatic music for that scene, and it’s why, when Bilbo finally let the ring slip from his hand, Jackson went to such great lengths to convey the ring’s WEIGHT to us-he has it fall with a *THUD*, and not bounce at all.
I like how Aragorn is unaffected by Saruman's cutting words. The others seem hurt, while he just rolls his eyes (figuratively if not literally) at Saruman's babbling. 😄
The opening scene with Saruman combines two scenes that were cut from the theatrical release: Saruman's "trial", as it were, and the ending of the Scouring of the Shire chapter. Sir Christopher Lee, the actor who plays Saruman (and Count Dooku and a ton of other villains), is a _huge_ Tolkien fan, and he was _not_ happy that his final scene was cut from the theatrical release, especially after he went through the trouble of using his experience as a war veteran and commando to make the death real. So Jackson made sure to bring it back and add a fitting end since he had no plans to put the Scouring chapter into film. Film score is what saved classical music, and Howard Shore's score in the 3rd film, let alone the trilogy, is Oscar-worthy, especially since there are several scenes where there is no dialogue, just a bunch of wide panning shots and the booming score setting the tone. The Minas Tirith reveal is one, the lighting of the Beacons is another. In the original books there was another _palantir_ or seeing stone, and it was in Denethor's possession. There are hints in the film to this ("Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind!?"), but unfortunately that's all we get in the films. Denethor's death in the books is possibly too gruesome to portray on screen, as he revealed the _palantir_ as he lit the fire and when Faramir was freed, he lay down clutching the seeing stone, and everyone was banned from setting foot in the tomb ever again.
Aragorn uses Denathor's Stone to send a message to Sauron "Behold the Sword of Elendil!!" , he picks it up off the Steward's Seat in the Throne room of Minas Tirith
I really enjoyed the full watch-along on Patreon, but I just wanted to comment to say one thing about the youtube cut... This is a magnificent edit. Kudos to the editor.
This is what I've always believed why Frodo chose to go to the Grey Havens: 1) The physical scarring he endured from the stab wound as well as from having to carry the Ring for so long. 2) The mental trauma he suffered from what the Ring put him through. If Gollum was the picture of addiction, then Frodo is the picture of PTSD. 3) Despite knowing what the Ring would do to him, from seeing what it did to Smeagol/Gollum and to Bilbo, and that all of his friends and all of Middle-Earth were counting on him to destroy it, he still tried to take the Ring for himself and he could never truly forgive himself for that moment of weakness. I truly believe that the only reason Frodo didn't let go and fall into the lava (either as penance or some other reason) was because deep down he knew Sam would have jumped in after him without hesitating and he couldn't do that to Sam.
It wasn’t Frodo’s fault that he couldn’t destroy the ring: no one could. But that wouldn’t stop Frodo from blaming himself, particularly when a wound was hurting or he woke up in the middle of the night from another sheet-ripper where his failure doomed the world.
At 7:05 you ask, "Can Elves get drunk?" Evidently, not on ale. However, in the earlier book The Hobbit, Bilbo gets his Dwarf companions out of an Elvish jail by getting the jailers drunk on wine.
Indeed a film about friendship - such an iconic epic franchise (while I have admittedly not read the books I feel these are very very close to what they are at their core so I'm good w/that). Great reactions as usual Jen - I knew you'd love them.
I greatly appreciate that you commented so much about the score of this masterpiece. While there is so much to praise in these movies, Howard Shore's work is absolutely amazing.
59:02 Gandalf’s speech here is very poetic. Men (Hobbits included) are the only Race said to have an After Life. Gandalf is a Maiar, an Angel, so him describing the After Life to Pippin brings Hope as most Men fear Death.
Every time I watch the charge of the Rohirrim I get chills. And I've watched the extended edition at least 20 times. Great reaction Jen...as always. These movies really were the last great Epics made in our modern time. Yes!!! You should totally read the books. Winter is such a great season for reading books, and you do live in Canada. 😅
Hey Jen, great series, thank you. Since you're a music nerd (at least you appear to be) and into the soundtrack of the movies, you might want to check out "The Breaking of the Fellowship" which includes the song "In Dreams" with lovely boy soprano.
A quick and dirty explanation of where they are sailing (and I do invite further commentary and correction): Valinor is the home of the Valar, once a great island to the west of Middle-earth (Middle-earth being the central continent on the planet Arda). The planet was originally a flat-earth-style disk, but in response to the evil introduced by Morgoth, it was changed to a sphere, but with Valinor staying in its same line as when it was an island on a disk, coming ‘unstuck’ as it were, and no longer on the same plane of existence. Now, it is only reachable by ship, and by special permission and powers, to insulate it from that evil. It is, as some have said, ‘Elf Heaven’, being that place where the Eldar go to be with the Valar, after the lingering evil from Morgoth in Middle-earth had polluted it, slowly making it too toxic for the Eldar to remain there. So yes, a very big deal for non-Elves to be invited.
Thoeden has one of the best character arcs. When he is crying over his son’s grave in the second movie, we don’t even know anything about him or his son and it makes me sob hysterically. He was a fantastic actor.
Thanks so much for uploading this today! My Thanksgiving tradition after hanging out with family and eating is watching movies. So this is perfect lol. Hope youre having a great day!!!
I have just watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy and I must say your reaction/ review is nothing short of superb. Seriously, your empathy for the characters, your comments on the musical score and descriptive comments on the dettings from the Shire to Mordor were excellent. I remember seeing these movies years ago but your review of them , your attention to detail and the characters enabled me to see this trilogy in an entire new light. Thank you very much for sharing these movies with us, Jen-- you just accomplished a magical feat.❤️⭐⭐💯
You could check out Jen's Patreon for a month. It's only around $12. There are over 500 full length reactions there and a bunch of tv series. (Chernobyl) ♥ You might never leave though. I signed up to the monthly tier for access to full length films / tv series ($12 tier) for about 3 months. Then upgraded to Producer tier and paid the whole year up in advance. My old bank manager said was it a wise idea? My new bank manager knows better. 👍
I've been hoping you'd react to these. These are my favorite movies of all time, and I'm happy to see that you enjoyed them as well. Your reactions are always good, and I'm glad you posted these.
Greatest trilogy of all time. Thank you Jen for watching this, it’s been a very rough couple of weeks but I’m glad that I have you and your reactions to help me get through anything 💙🔥
Please subscribe if you like watching movies with me!
LOTR Playlist ruclips.net/p/PLQHhQlj8i5dqBER4gcQDE1W-hrBEEw3ZD
Now you have to watch the prank interview on Elijah Woods by Dom... "When will you wear wigs?"
You are by far and away the most charming lass on RUclips. Very bonnie as well. 😊
There's only one return, and it ain't of the King it's of the Jedi.
Jen, this is your hint to watch the Clerks movies.
Smeagle was never a good guy. Instant murder to soin just to be the ring
You should read the books many different outcomes in the books. Completely different then the movies
This is one of the best lord of the rings reactions on RUclips
Extended editions
Keeps the best scenes in and reactions
Picks up on additional and subtle details
Recognizes musical cues and their thematic relevance
Pays attention
Long video lengths
Not overbearing or exaggerated, just relaxed, interested, and invested
Bravo
Agreed on all of the above. One thing she also does that's awesome, she doesn't just repeat the thing she sees on the movie. So many just say what they see, like, we know we see it too. She analyzes the movie and discusses it with the viewer.
Agreed. I've seen quite a few reactions. I can only hope this feeds an appetite to eventually tackle the book/s!!
Reel rejects started on LOTR and those girls do not pay attention at all.
Agreed for 1 and 2 but return of the king is the worst of the 3 and the extended edition is worse than the theatrical.
THIS..!
Kia Ora from Aotearoa New Zealand!
I’m a crew member from the original Trilogy, I love to watch people react to the films , makes me super proud to witness the fandom in individuals!!!
Much love , thanks for your content ❤
Thank you for your work! :D
What did you work on as part of the crew?
@@Wraithguard92 for the sake of anonymity I’d rather not be specific- but also any half decent sleuth will find me in the credits lol
Suffice it to say I worked predominantly in 3 different units (Main,1b and 2a) and I didn’t do any scenics or miniatures.
My job was cast/tech related , and I was there for the entirety of principle photography and all of the pickups 👍
Thank you for your service!
Frodo never fully healed from his wounds, which means he could never stay happy in Middle-Earth. He, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the rest are going to the undying lands (Elf heaven essentially), where mortal beings usually aren't allowed. An exception is made for Frodo and Bilbo because they were ring bearers. In the appendices we learn that Sam becomes mayor of the Shire and lives a long and happy life. After his wife dies, he also sails west to the undying lands because he was briefly a ring bearer. So Frodo and Sam do meet again. Merry and Pippin spend their days with Aragorn in Gondor, and when they die they are buried next to Aragorn's grave. Legolas and Gimli remain friends, and their friendship heals the rift between Dwarf and Elf. When they reach their end, they also sail to the undying lands together. It's a massive honor for Gimli, being a dwarf, and never a ring bearer. Once they leave, the fellowship is gone from Middle Earth forever.
Well it is very unlikely Sam saw Frodo in Valinor again. Frodo most likely died already, being older then Sam already and living in the Undying Lands makes mortals actual die earlier. But they will meet again in whatever fate awaits mortal men in the afterlive.
The benefit of going to the Undying Lands was easing of their pain.
Oh, and the Undying Lands was only the first stop for the Ringbearers. Elves and the Valar and Maiar had to stay in the Undying Lands, and would live forever -- but Men could "truly die" and went into the presence of Illuvatar, the creator of Middle Earth. Hobbits are a variety of Men, so they got that privilege as well. Sam and Frodo were at least reunited then.
I believe that Sam did get to the Blessed Realm in time to see Frodo.
@@nancyhayes9958 I like to think the entire fellowship was reunited in Valinor one last time. Even Aragorn and Boromir before they passed on to what I assume is the Timeless Halls of Illuvatar. I realize there is nothing saying this in the book but I just like to think of it this way.
A couple of factoids to throw at you:
- The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol
**Editor's Note: several people have corrected me. ONE child is Sean Ashton's, the other belongs to the actress playing Rosie.**
In the books...
- The reason both Bilbo and Frodo were invited to go with the Elves is because they were both "ring-bearers."
- After Rosie passed and his children grown, Sam was invited to leave Middle-Earth as well, because he too was considered a ring-bearer (even though he only possessed it a short time).
- When Legolas' time came to leave with the Elves, he was allowed to invite his best friend, Gimli. He was the only Dwarf to go into the Grey Havens.
- Merry and Pippin left the Shire as they grew older. After visiting Rohan, they went back to Gondor, where they lived out their days. In fact, they were both buried along side Aragorn in the House of Kings after his passing,
Great reactions!
The little girl is Sean Astin's daughter but the baby is the child of the actress who plays Rosie
"The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol"
Correct. This is a factoid. The elder child is Ali Astin, Sean's daughter. The baby is Maisie McLeod-Riera, Sarah McLeod's (Rosie Cotton) daughter.
@@ccvan5191 That's right. My bad
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor.
Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received.
And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor.
Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received.
And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
The thing that got me into this whole world was a wonderful Primary School teacher, here in the UK that read us a bit of the Hobbit, every day at the end of school. She did all the voices and made Middle Earth come alive. That was back in the 80s, so I had to wait a while until the films came out, but when they did (both trilogies), I loved them.
My dad did this. He has an eidetic memory, so he never stumbled over words. It was a good way to grow up.
@@GraemeCampbellMusic thank u for sharing that. Great story. Great teacher
My 6th grade teacher read the Hobbit to us a chapter at a time on Friday afternoons in the early 70s. I nagged mom into buying me the Hobbit, and she also bought me LOTR at the same time. I had a few false starts until I got to Bree; then I finished the entire trilogy, including appendices, in less than a week. I spent 30 years waiting for a decent adaptation. Jackson and his people gave us a magnificent one.
@@nancyhayes9958 You didn't go to Virginia Heights Elementary, did you? My 6th grade teacher read us the book during the '73-'74 school year!
@susanlab572 It was Edgemont Elementary in 1971. Great teachers think alike. Our company is having a book drive for kids, so I got a copy of the Hobbit to put in the bin. With any luck, it will spark someone else's interest in Middle-earth.
[1:21:58] This scene captures so well a feeling common to so many veterans. You leave home to do your duty, but life at home simply goes on without you, as it must. Once the veteran returns home, it's never the same place it was when he or she left. There's a sense of loss to the veteran, and this intangible, durable, almost permanent obstruction to ever feeling truly connected with those to whom you've come back as you had been connected to them before leaving. Other veterans know this feeling as well and can relate, but anyone who remained at home would never know the veteran next to them will always struggle with this sense of otherness and disconnection. In that sense, it's much like Frodo's wound from Weathertop: it's never truly heals.
@economath8164 the author JRR Tolkien served in the British army in WW1 and returned home having been wounded. So he very well knew what he was writing about. When Eomer talks to Eowyn about the horrors of battle, Tolkien was writing from personal experience...
Well said, sir. Well said.
it must be a similar but much more extreme version of going away to college only to come back and be condescended to by anti-intellectualist far-right family members.
As a veteran I 100% agree. I have noticed the same myself.
Yes. When I got back to the world, I felt the same way, and that scene with the Hobbits in the pub effects me more strongly than any scene in the movies. I actually felt them and their emotions.
"My friends, you bow to no one." destroys me still.
Yes, that is such sincerity and warmth and love in his voice at that line. Another line that gets me is Aragorn and the final remnants of his army outside the black gate and Sauron tries (and fails) one last time to persuade/control Aragorn to darkness and it looks like there is a brief temptation/struggle from Aragorn.
They he snaps out of it and simply says "For Frodo." ♥
Always chokes me up.
Me too
Always emotional 💖
Just reading this post, you quoting the line, brought a tear to my eye. Such powerful scenes in this series. "Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?" That soliloquy ALWAYS gives me goose bumps.
Notice how Gandalf brought 3 eagles to the summit of Mount Doom. He fully intended on saving Sméagol too if he has alive. Just a nice little touch to show Gandalf’s pity and compassion to the end.
this is true but considering how light the hobbits and gollum are, i think any eagle that can carry gandalf can at least carry two hobbits
but you know, third eagle was this one with Gandalf on back. Also looking at how eagles take Frodo and Sam, we can easily assume two more people/hobbits/something could be taken too. Or even 4 if we count Gandalf's eagle, but I don't know if this eagle could take more weight. People just like to see things where in reality is nothing.
@@kunegundabrunhildabrum-bru4306No, the eagle that picked up Frodo was the one carrying Gandalf, leaving one eagle unladen.
No the eagles were just very late and the third one is the 07-45.
It happens.
@@ericstoverink6579 okay, but then 2 more people could sit on eagle as Gandalf and 4 more people could be carried as Frodo and Sam were, bcs every eagle has 2 legs with claws. So still much more than was needed, even if they take Gollum. Maybe eagle who carried Sam will also take Gollum, so there will be one free eagle too.
This movie won _eleven_ Oscars, equalling the record. They were widely seen as being for the entire trilogy.
RotK got 11, Fellowship got at least one more for I think costume
Every time I hear, "You bow to know one..." I cry. Imagine that. It didn't take super powers. It took courage.
Im close to 40 years old and this happens every time. Like a small child
Correction: "You bow to no one." Takes one to know one...
I love that moment so much. But also I partly love it because of the reaction of the crowd - Aragorn bows and suddenly the whole crowd is like "oh shit, the king's bowing to them - quick, get down, get down!"
ive no idea how many times ive seen the movie's, pluss reaction.. still gets me everytime. the most powerful moment in any movie ever
Gets me every time. With the swell of music, holy cow.
One of my favorite scenes for, reasons that often goes unnoticed, is Rohan seeing the beacon lights.
During the seige of Rohan Theodan tells his neice that it was Aragon who saved the Rohan, not himself.
Later he learned Aragon's truth- that he is the heir to Isildur and the throne of Gondor. When Theodon first sees the beacon lights lit he has no desire to answer, but when Aragon himself pleads, "Gondor calls for aid!"- in this moment Theodan sees not some Ranger of the North, but the true heir of Gondor. He had already risked his life to save Rohan, and Theodan stares Aragon in the eyes and, King to King, replies, "And Rohan will answer."
He wasn't responding to Denethor's beacon lights. He was responding personally to Aragon, the King of Gondor.
Never thought of that but i like it!
Not to be that guy but it’s “and Rohan will answer”
@@MogMonster87 Oops. Thank you! Corrected now.
You can see Aragorn taking control with Theoden in a later conversation, where he tells him that they must take the riders they have and head to Gondor. Theoden just nods in agreement. At that moment you can see the King of Gondor taking charge.
I love how much you appreciate the music
Remember, when Frodo wakes up and sees Gandalf, it's the first time he saw him since he fell with the Balrog. Also, in the book, Shadowfax is with them when the board the last ship. RIP Blanco -aka- The lord of all horses!
People forget that Horses were a race all their own, like men, Elves and Hobbits. Eagles too. The Eagles mainly remained neutral, however.
Others will probably mention it, but Denethor was misrepresented the most in the movie as compared to the books. In the books, he was not like that for very long, and was actually a great leader and steward of Gondor. He was also not nearly as cruel to Faramir in the books. He never wished Faramir had died instead, only that he had sent Faramir to Rivendell instead. (in his mind Boromir would have then met Frodo later as opposed to Faramir, and brought the ring to Gondor.) There was also some unresolved trauma, as Faramir's birth directly resulted in his mother's death. Considering Sauron knows how to break you, it's quite likely he was reminded of that at every opportunity when using the Palantir.
He used the Palantir to spy on Sauron and track their troop movement, and was a big reason why Gondor lasted as long as they did. You are seeing Denethor for the first time near the end of his character arc. He resisted Sauron's influence for 35 YEARS before it finally broke him. He is still deeply flawed (his jealousy of Aragorn is very real, but understandable); there is a lot more duality to him that was left out.
This is right. The writers of the movies had to make some tough choices about what to leave in and cut out but I think they really did a bad job with Denethor. They made him out to be some kind of loony which he wasn't. I guess they figured putting another palantir into the movie would just confuse people without a long tedious explanation. In the book his end was even more creepy. He doesn't jump of the parapet like in the move but burns alive on the pyre while holding the palantir. After that anyone looking into that palantir only saw two hands withering in flames. Creepy.
Denethor lasted a hell of a lot longer against Sauron than Saruman did. He wasn’t a likable character in the book, but until he went mad, he was an honorable, competent ruler.
Yeah, the fault of Book Denethor is that he despairs because he's putting all his faith in the armies of Men rather than in Eru and thus he thinks that Sauron can't be beaten, but he certainly doesn't stop doing his duty as lord of Gondor (and thus the guy in charge of the defenses) to the best of his ability until he loses it at the very end. Jackson did him dirty
@@hrotha I think they also wanted a contest to Theoden, but they could have done that without cutting his character. I always found it sad that he played favorites with his son's after having it happen to him with Thorongil/Aragorn being the favorite.
At 19:50 you ask, "If they destroy the Ring, will the Nazgul just be gone?" In the book, Gandalf says, "If [the Ring] is destroyed, then he will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again...all that was made or begun with that power will crumble, and he will be maimed for ever, becoming a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, but cannot again grow or take shape." That would include the Nazgul.
The end of the remaining eight Nazgûl as they rushed to Mount Doom is one of the most dramatic passages in the story: “And into the heart of the storm, with a cry that pierced all other sounds, tearing the clouds asunder, the Nazgûl came, shooting like flaming bolts, as caught in the fiery ruin of hill and sky they crackled, withered, and went out.”
@@johnwalters1341 presumably also the army of the Dead, if they hadn't redeemed themselves by then
@@Mephistolomaniac
Aragorn released them after they fulfilled their ancient oath to defend Minas Tirith when called upon. This was shown at the end of the Battle of Pelennor Fields earlier in the film.
The true genius of this trilogy (of course the writing) are the values portrayed. Faith, Hope, Family, Courage, Compassion, Sacrifice, Empathy, etc. Thank you for the time and effort you put into these reactions, Jen. Much appreciated. 😊
Well said, Eric!
Thanks Kevin 😊@@kevinlewallen4778
All Sam had to do to get the courage to ask out the woman he likes is follow Frodo into Mordor to destroy an ancient evil!
Frodo said the bravest thing Sam ever did was ask Rosie to marry him.
Although we all know that Rosie adored Sam he still worried he wasn't worthy of her which, of course, is silly.
@@ronweber1402and yet that humility is much of what makes Sam so worthy.
How good the world would be if everyone tried to be someone's Sam.
@@ronweber1402you could allready see that in the dance on Bilbo's birthday party.
After fighting Shelob, going up to talk to Rosie is 0/10 on the fear factor scale.
@@zerobyte802 I don't know. Giant spiders can kill you. People you're attracted to can make you wish you were dead. 🤭
For some reason, the movies fail to mention the fact that Denethor has a palantír of his own. That's how he knew about nearly everything that was going on. In fact, he is so strong a Man that he actually resisted the power and corruption of Sauron better than Saruman, a freaking Maia, did. Sauron could not fully corrupt him, but he twisted what Denethor saw to drive him to utter despair and madness. That's why he's so crazy, or at least that's one reason.
@rbrtck indeed, and I often think a very quick shot of Denethor using the Palantir should have been included and would have explained so much that puzzles viewers about his behaviours...but I'm not complaining!
The one thing I dislike about the movies is the absolute Denethor slander that is created because people don't know the whole story. He is a classic tragedy I think, but the movies only show half the story.
Still the greatest trilogy of movies I know though, no argument there.
@@ryanphillips5126 It's not just that we only see half the story; in the book Denethor does not treat Faramir nearly so badly, so there is not nearly as much that needs explaining. Boromir was still his favourite, but he didn't hate Faramir.
I always felt that the films did Denethor and to a lesser extent Faramir dirty. I do love the films regardless
Denethor had been corrupted. Hence not only his madness but his attitude towards his son.
1:09:25 the original version of this quote from the novel is probably my favorite passage from any book.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.” --The Return of the King
Every veteran who has come home from war, from horrific battles, has sat at that very table in the Green Dragon. He’s looked around at the oblivious peace on every face, and shared that same knowing glance with his brothers in arms.
I've never served, but every time I see that scene I imagine it must be so.
Tolkien was part of a club of four friends called the “Tea Club and Barrovian Society” which met regularly at Barrow Stores at King Edward’s School in Birmingham.
J.R.R. Tolkien lost two of his close friends from the T.C.B.S. during World War I. Robert Quilter Gilson died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, and Geoffrey Bache Smith died later that year from wounds sustained in battle. Out of the four core members of the T.C.B.S., only Tolkien and Christopher Wiseman (who served in the navy) survived the war.
Whenever I see the pub scene I imagine it is Tolkien and Wiseman remembering their fallen companions.
i am one of those and funny enough, when people ask me sometimes how comes I don't enjoy a party or an event as much as they do, or why certain things make me, "a strong man", cry uncontrollably ... well, I always tell them "That's what I call the Hobbit effect ... something that you who have never left the Shire will fortunately never understand."
Tolkien wrote LOTR and The Hobbit after returning from war or so I've heard
The emotions you feel and somehow share with us enhances the story and make watching with you too special for words. May you understand the blessing you share with us, and it increases your joy and peace, as always thank you Jen.🌹
37:02 Aragorn's nickname as a kid was "Estel", which is Elvish for hope. The line "I give hope to men, I keep none for myself." was the epitaph on Aragorn's mother's gravestone. We actually see it for a split second in Fellowship: its the one he's cleaning moss off of before they leave Rivendell.
Ónen i-estel edain, ú-chebin estel anim. Rough phonetic transcription: /ˈɔːnɛn iˈɛstɛl ɛdajn uːˈxɛbɪn ˈɛstɛl ˈanɪm/
It was more than his nickname--it was his undercover name. He was raised in Rivendell by Elrond without being told of his lineage, much like Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter, which is common in this kind of fantasy fiction. Tolkien wasn't the first to use it, but it's a cool trope.
In the first hobbit movie I was hoping to see a young Estel in Rivendell.
And at Helm's Deep it would have been great to have an old Rohirrim yell out "Thorongil!" when sighting Aragorn.
@@gmansard641Absolutely. In my head canon, Bilbo is wandering Rivendell and finds one of the libraries. While he’s in there, he meets and befriends a ten year old kid named Estel.
@@gmansard641 Peter Jackson messed with Aragorn's year of birth because of the time compression in the Hobbit film trilogy. Instead of a 10 year-old boy in Rivendell known as Estel, Aragorn is already an adult in his mid-20s known as Strider.
The Hobbit book was written as a story for children so it's more whimsical. The Lord of the Rings was written with Tolkien taking the role of a historian that found the book Bilbo & Frodo wrote and other writings about their time, and translated those works to english so he could chronicle those more than ancient times. Middle Earth is very much supposed to be our Earth, just a time so lost that no one remembers anymore. It's also mentioned in the prologue that Hobbits may exist to this day but they are so good at hiding no one notices them.
The fiddle used in the Rohan theme is the so-called Hardanger fiddle. A Norwegian instrument. The Rohan theme itself is in A dorian (A minor but raised 6th (F > F#).
As for how much time passes: It's glossed over a LOT in the movies but the books give more detail. I won't go into detail how the calendar of Middle Earth works so I highly recommend reading the books and the appendices if you are interested in more. Anyway: Bilbo finds the ring in 2941 of the Third Age. On September 22nd in the year 3001, he celebrates his 111th birthday; Frodo turns 33 on the same day. Here the book does a 17 year leap, and in April 3018 Gandalf realises what the ring is and goes to Hobbiton to tell Frodo. However, they don't actually leave until September 3018. They arrived in Rivendell in October and the Council of Elrond takes place in the same month. The Fellowship doesn't leave Rivendell until December however. Gandalf is lost in January 3019. The Battle of Helm's Deep takes place on 3rd of March 3019. The battle of Pelennor Fields (Minas Tirith) then takes place between the 13th and 15th of March. The ring is destroyed on the 25th. The Hobbits return to the Shire in November. Finally, Frodo and Bilbo arrive in the Grey Havens, on September 29nd, 3021. At age 131 years and 7 days, Bilbo is now the oldest Hobbit ever. So: They leave in October 3018 and return in November 3019, a trip of 13 months in total.
OK, so that was a really quick and dirty timeline but as I say, I recommend reading the books. It's great! :)
25:30 The Dwarves are busy fighting Sauron's forces in Dale (Dale is seen in The Hobbit movies).
EDITED to correct a factual error, the fiddle in the Rohan theme is NOT the Geiranger fiddle (which doesn't exist afaict) but the Hardanger fiddle. I guess I had Geiranger on my mind because of the two Norwegian disaster movies Bølgen (The Wave) and Skjælvet (The Quake), I recommend both of those.
The leader of the orc army, Gothmog, is played by Maori actor Lawrence Makoare. He also played Lurtz, the leader of the Uruk-hai who shoots Boromir with arrows and is killed by Aragorn, and he was the physical character of the Witch-King of Angmar in the 3rd movie, but the voice for the Witch-King was done by the amazing, multi-talented Andy Serkis.
And he played Chiron in the adventure series of Hercules and young Hercules
They also intentionally modeled his face to resemble Harvey Weinstein.
The march when faramir and the riders are going back to osgiliath and denethor is eating is the most haunting scene. Such a gorgeous juxtaposition. The flowers the people were throwing at the horses feet as they were leaving on their doomed ride feels like their preemptive funeral flowers. Because they know they won’t make it. The music in this is the most amazing set of scores and themes of anything i have ever seen.
That Jackson used the sound of the food instead of showing the actual fight is sheer genius.
Many years later, after becoming mayor, Sam joined Frodo in the Undying Lands as he was allowed due to him being a ring bearer even though it was only for a short while.
If I recall correctly, Gimli elf friend was also allowed to go with Legolas across the sea later too.
@@elzar760 yes he did
@@terryroxburgh3276 I was in awe the first time I saw all the beacons being lit along the mountain tops.
@@elzar760 He did it totally on spec too because he wanted the see the Lady of Light one last time. He wasn't invited but Galadriel herself intervened on Gimii's behalf and he was allowed to stay.
@@elzar760 True!
So many great performances here, but I really want to point out how damn good Elijah Wood is as Frodo. In each film, he gets progressively less dialogue, but his ability to convey emotions and thoughts on his extremely expressive face is remarkable. The fact that he filmed most of the trilogy when he was only 19 is astounding to me. He was an experienced child actor (Roger Ebert called him the best actor of his generation when he was just 13), but this role elevated him into grown-up status.
I loved reading the stories of the films’ casting. EW took the initiative and filmed his own audition tape in a wooded location in costume, Viggo was called in at the last minute, Dom Monaghan had auditioned for Frodo and was reconsidered for Merry when they couldn’t find a Merry in their first pass and revisited the audition tapes for Frodo, and Sean Astin had been hoping to be in a Peter Jackson film ever since his father John Astin came back from filming The Frighteners and told Sean it was the best time he’d ever had on a set.
You're just so good at what you do, Jen.
Thank you.
The lighting of the beacons is probably the part of the trilogy i look forward to the most , along with the music its truly epic and beautifully shot , i love it 🔥🔥🔥
The music for the lightning of the beacons is so majestically awesome! And to think this guy wrote the Saturday Night Live theme all those years ago.
My to 3 moments in the Return of the King:
1: "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you, c'mon!"
2: The arrival of the Rohiram and King Theoden's speech and charge.
3: The opening with Smeagel's backstory and transformation.
Runner up: The scene where Denethor sees a vision of Boromir behind Faramir, the actor who played Denethor doesn't get enough credit.
A simple red arrow just would of been to boring.
@@DerekMoore82John Noble is brilliant at creating a character so utterly despicable.
@@DerekMoore82”I would have followed you. My brother. My Captain. My king.” and “I can’t carry it for you, butI can carry you” are the two scenes that get me misty every single time. The two scenes that make me want to grab a sword and kill bad guys are the lighting of the beacons and 5he Ride of the Rohirrim.
"We shall have peace... when you answer for the burning of the Westfold! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows! Then we shall have peace." Theoden is the best trash talker in Middle Earth.
As for the dwarves, it's not mentioned in the movie, but there are battles against Sauron's forces taking place elsewhere besides Minas Tirith. The dwarves of the Iron Hills, Gimli's kin, are busy fighting their own war.
Nothing like seeing Jen so enthralled by the music of a show or movie.
Fun facts and personal feelings:
You were wise to watch the extended editions(lol, just a fun fact).
Isengard: In the original scene, Saruman was going to scream when he was stabbed. However, Christopher Lee asked Peter Jackson if he knew how a person sounded when they were stabbed in the back, "Because I do." This is because Lee was a soldier in WW2 in espionage and he gave the real noise a person made when stabbed(more like their breath being pushed out of them).
In the original material, Saruman is defeated near the end of the "Two Towers"and escapes, though he returns in "Return of the King", the Shire gets scoured and destroyed as he(now without his staff)and Grima take it over with a vagabond army, getting killed near the end of the story.
The Elven smiths who reforge Anduril are played by two of the actual weaponsmiths who made the swords and such for the movies.
It's a little sadder in the books(though Sam isn't sent away)before they go into the Lair, as Smeagol is ready to repent his actions rather than lead Frodo into Shelobs Lair, as he truly does love him and care for him. However, Sam wakes up and coldly accuses him of sneaking, which drives Smeagol to betray them out of sheer anger. Tolkien did say that had Sam been kinder, Smeagol would never have betrayed them.
Arya dying as a result of Sauron's power was tacked on to give some stakes(book version of Aragorn is fully on board with being the king of Gondor and has Anduril reforged before they leave Rivendell, to my recollection).
Grond(the giant ram/Wolfs Head)is named after the war mace of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth(Sauron was the second Dark Lord).
The corsair that Legolas accidentally shoots is played by Peter Jackson.
Shelob is a creature known as a Maiar spirit. There are a few of them that, when choosing a form, become something monstrous or strange). The Balrog is one as well. But as to Shelob, she's the child of the first spider, whose name was Ungoliant. Ungoliant was absolutely massive compared to Shelob, poisoned and drank the light from the Two Trees(magical trees from Valinor, where the elves came from)and tried to steal a set of magical gems from Morgoth before she was driven away by six Balrogs. She eventually ate herself to death.
52:11 , chills every time as Sam shows up and faces down the abomination spider.
Any wounds made by the Nazgul can cause the sort of horrible injuries, and even wounding one can do awful injury to the attacker too. The Morgul Blade was a little different, but I think what affected Eowyn is called the Black Breath.
RIP Bernard Hill(Theodan)
Goddamn, the whole finale is just strike after strike. Aragorn's speech, Sam carrying Frodo, Aragorn seeming to be about to despair, only to quietly whisper "For Frodo..."and charge, with the rest of the army running forward as the Fellowship theme blares in choir, Smeagol's return, the eagles coming to the rescue...just tearing up watching your reactions!
Frodo:"You swore! You swore on the precious! Smeagol promised!"
Smeagol:"....Smeagol LIED." Friggin' savage line.
Smeagol stands upright for the first time when he regains the Ring.
Gandalf brought three eagles to Mount Doom, as he fully expected that Gollum could be redeemed and was going to save him as well.
"My friends...you bow to no one..." Goddamn, tearing up.
The moment that makes me bawl every time I watch the movie is when Bilbo and Gandalf leave. Keep in mine that I read the first book, the Hobbit, when I was eight years old and the pair were the staple characters, so seeing them leave to go to Valinor was like a goodbye.
This really is the greatest epic in the history of cinema. There is nothing that matches the spectacle, the scope, the grandeur, the emotions, etc. An absolute masterpiece of film.
I agree. 'The Passion of The Christ' is epic also. ♥
@@mr.a8315And also settled in the genre Fantasy.
So glad that Peter Jackson made it - it's so obvious that he loves the source material and he took great care to make the best trilogy he could. And he succeeded. A true masterpiece.
@@OldRod99 It's a shame he didn't want to do the Hobbit in as big of a scale but it would have been so much harder with everyone watching like they were after LotR was such a success. It never could've been the same.
@@TheHighSorcerer The source material for the Hobbit doesn't have the scale of LOTR and there aren't many writers that could match Tolkien that's why so much of the Hobbit trilogy seems forced, they had to add so much non-source material to make it a trilogy. I mean they're good movies and worth a watch but they're not epic masterpieces like LOTR.
I loved your reaction to this and the trilogy as a whole, Jen. Things for you to know, Jen; the reason why Frodo had to leave was that he was slowly dying of the injuries he received as The Ring Bearer so, to prolong his life he had to leave to live with The Elves and The Wizards.
The places and people in The Lord of The Rings are based off of the U.K. as a whole 'The Shire' is the West Country, Somerset, Dorset, etc, 'The Hobbits' are the people in those areas hence their accent; 'The Elves' are the Welsh; 'The Dwarves' are the Scottish; 'The Wizards', Gandalf (The Grey/White), Saruman (The White), Radagast (The Brown) not seen in the LOTR films, Alatar (One of The Blue Wizards) and Pallando (another Blue Wizard) not seen in the LOTR films, these Wizards are taken from The Druids.
I hope that this helps you, Jen?
Okay, so about the Dwarves. They were fighting their own battle against Sauron's forces. Easterlings had put the City of Dale and The Lonely Mountain under siege. The Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlorien were also under siege. (In the books, there were no Elves at Helm's Deep, except of course for Legolas. Also, Eomer wasn't bannishd, so he was there. It was Erkenbrand and his men whom Gandalf brought.)
Yes and there were also the 2 sons of Elrond, and the prince of Dol Amroth.
At 9:25, Eowyn's "great wave" was the wave that engulfed the island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age. In the book, this dream was dreamed by Faramir later in the story. Tolkien himself often dreamed this dream when he was growing up.
Yay Jenowyn. You should definitely read the books. There is so much more, (which I won't spoil), though it's understandable that a lot got left out. I'm not sure they could have covered the whole book if they had 20 hours. But there will be 2 characters that you didn't meet in the movies that you will love in the book.
As far another movie like these, therr isn't one. This is the very pinnacle of film history. Nothing since has even came close.
You bow to no one gets me every time. Not surprised it got you too. It's a truly magical moment.
I'm pretty sure the other replies have covered your questions as much as they can. Reading the book will answer them more thoroughly. And I do recommend the appendices of the extended edition DVDs. They are the best making of collection for any movie.
As I said after your Two Towers reaction, this deserved every Oscar that it won. Thanks for a wonderful reaction Jen.
On a very different track, I will recommend Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. You like movies about con artists, and in my book, it's second only to The Sting for movies about cons. You won't regret it. Plus, it hasn't been done ad nauseam by the other reaction channels.
Well said and I second the suggestion of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Where can I buy the appendices of the extended edition DVDs??
Anyone who watches all Jen's reactions knows that it takes a lot to make her cry... and I really mean A LOT.....
Four little Hobbits did her in.
Something often overlooked is the fact that Smeagol murdered his cousin Deagol over the Ring just after seeing it for the first time, even though the Ring was still in its dormant state. Bilbo, meanwhile, picked it up and deliberately spared Smeagol despite having the opportunity to kill him and then proceeded to carry the Ring around for sixty years with minimal corruption before the Ring awoke. In short, Smeagol was already a bad egg before the Ring found him. (This is actually made a bit more clear in the book with Gandalf's narration of Gollum's backstory.) That said, he is still pitiable, and his story is tragic.
Agreed.
Smeagle was never a good guy
To that point, Bilbo's compassion (and later Frodo's) was all a part of the "plan"
Smeagol needed to be a live so that his greed could destroy the ring, in the end no one could ever WILLINGLY destroy the ring. Even Frodo was going to refuse.
That's one of the great things about Tolkien. All of the things are interconnected in multiple ways. Was is a part of Eru's ultimate plan to have the ring be found by a family with 2 unusually compassionate people in it? There's no real answer here as far as I know, but there's room for almost infinite speculation in any direction.
It's one of the things I really dislike about the movies, they make it seem as though the entire undertaking was a series of decisions made by mortals (and sometimes gandalf). In the books a large part of the story is "coincidence" of some form.
@@dinkywinky2860 🏆 🍺🍺
"Even the very wisest can still not see all ends. I feel that Gollum has a further part to play in this.. for the good or the bad." (paraphrasing Gandalf)
hobbits also have a natural resistance to the ring, and corruption in general.
That only reason Sam was hesitant to hand the ring back to Frodo in the Goblin Tower in Mordor was because he loves Frodo and knew what it was doing to him. He didn't want it for himself.
The way the colour immediately comes back to Frodo's face the minute he steps on the boat kills me every time. Thank you for sharing your journey with us! I've loved seeing it through your eyes
I fell in love with Tolkien's works when I first read them over 50 years ago. I have reread them countless times since and cannot recommend them highly enough, especially to someone who enjoys a well-written tale. These movies, I feel, are a gift to Tolkien lovers the world over, and a passkey to those who will want for more, read the books, and come to join the throng. watching you and other reactors see these for the first time allows me to enjoy them anew through fresh eyes.
At 18:48 you ask, "Is that Gondor in the distance, between Mordor and this city?" The geography of MIddle-earth can be confusing, especially the first time around. Pippin and Gandalf are looking eastward from the walls of MInas Tirith, the chief city of the kingdom of Gondor. They are looking toward the great river Anduin and Osgiliath, the former capital of Gondor, now ruined and partially held by the Enemy. The realm of Gondor is basically everything south of Rohan and west of the Anduin, although in former times the kingdom was much larger.
It goes into more detail in the book, but for that brief moment before handing the ring back to Frodo, Sam was tempted to keep it. As we saw, Frodo succumbed to the ring in the end, as did Gollum and Boromir. Gandalf, Galadriel, and Aragorn refused to even touch it because they knew they wouldn’t be able to resist it, and Bilbo had to be pushed by Gandalf to give it up. That makes Sam the only character who actually held the ring (if only briefly) and gave it up willingly, and out of all of them, he probably gets the best ending.
Winner of 11 Oscars including Best Picture, making it the first fantasy movie to win in all categories.
When Steven Spielberg presented the Best Picture winner, he said, "It's a clean sweep! LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING!"
It's also the third and final film to win 11 Oscars, alongside BEN HUR and TITANIC.
Two more fantasy films would win multiple Oscars:
The Shape Of Water (4)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (7)
And the now late Bernard Hill starred in two of those 11 Oscar winning movies. Probably the only actor who will ever achieve that (though I will never say never).
At 16:30 you asked, "How did Denethor know about Aragorn?". The long movie cannot cover all the subplots of the books. Denethor also had a Palantir crystal ball through which Sauron showed him Aragorn to stoke Denethor's jealousy and sow chaos amongst the forces of Good. Sauron also showed Denethor a possible future of the destruction of Minas Tirith similar to Frodo being shown the destruction of the Shire in Galadriel's Mirror. He was depressed and thought this was his fate, along with his mind being purposely corrupted by Sauron to weaken the forces of Good. Frodo overcame his vision, Denethor did not.
Agreed with your comment right until the end. Frodo in fact did not overcome his visions. He didn't even destroy the ring, he in fact took it for himself!
That is kind of an oversimplification though. Denethor is probably the character who was done dirty more than any other. Denethor used the Palantir to track the movement of Sauron's forces, and was one of the primary reasons they lasted that long. Denethor was not just shown a handful of visions, he resisted Sauron's influence for 35 YEARS before it broke him.
@@NHNuisance Agreed, hence that nuanced, silent, 'knowing look' Director Jackson instructed Frodo and Sam give one another when they are reunited at the bedside gathering/celebration of the Fellowship at the end; only those two really knew that a fortunate eucatastrophe involving Gollum destroyed the Ring.
Part of the reason this series is so cohesive is Jackson apparently pulled a fast one with the studios: Economizing shots at the same locale between movies. And cast who didn't know about the source material were confused but rolled with it since everyone loved the project. So the money ran out quickly and the studio had nothing except bits of each movie, when Jackson asked for more cash. The studio was beyond infuriated that they were essentially being extorted.
But it was magic in a bottle. A time between practical effects and cgi. So in a way it echoed a time of our world never to be seen again.
The BTS on the extended version DVDs are something else. Seeing how much work and love and care that went into these movies is almost beyond comprehension. Whenever I’m feeling down about life I can put those on and some of my faith in humanity is restored.
15:51 I always laugh at Pippin's ability to test the patience of one of the wisest beings on Middle Earth.😂
Gandalf reminds me of a bored babysitter that is forced to babysit his own younger sibling.
Jen, this movie put you on an emotional roller coaster, but you held steady. The music is what helped the movie pierce your heart; I noticed this especially with the Shire theme. Your empathy with all of the main characters was deep and it was easy to see how you were caught up in it. I now go back to my holiday, but my sincere thanks for your impeccable timing with this post. 😀
Sailing into the West (the sunset) is a metaphor for death. The time of elves and magic is over, Bilbo is very old, and the tip of the Witch King’s blade is still in Frodo, slowly killing him.
Not to mention the damage the Ring did to Frodo's soul. He never voluntarily gave up the Ring and he longed for it every day since it was destroyed.
The Academy Award-winning song, "Into the West," is lyrically about peacefully dying after a long journey (life). Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics gave that tune heart and it's music win was very well-deserved.
Aragorn and Arwen's kiss at the end of it all remains one of the greatest movie kisses in history.
Every single time I watch the end of "The Princess Bride" and Peter Falk narrates about that kiss blowing all the greatest kisses out of the water, I immediately think of how much greater this kiss was. And is actually the best kiss in cinema I've seen in my lifetime.
Merry actually had the Black Breath, too, although Aragorn wasn't shown healing him. In the books, one could get that affliction just from proximity to a Nazgûl or by getting hit by an arrow from them, so there were a lot of victims of this fatal condition. Aragorn had to work tirelessly for days to bring them all back, and that was part of what made him a legend, and convinced the people of Gondor that their king had returned.
“When the black breath blows and death’s shadow grows and all lights pass, come athelas! come athelas! Life to the dying In the king’s hand lying!” (ROTK, Houses of Healing) I always loved that one of the signs of the king was that he was a healer. It’s a beautiful scene in the book.
@@nancyhayes9958 That's right, it's part of a prophecy that said the people of Gondor would know their king because he was a great healer. As rich and dense as these movies are, there is just so much more in the books--too much, even, for the narrative, hence there are appendices.
@@rbrtck I’m so glad Tolkien included the appendices. One thing, among many, that I like about Jackson’s movies is he used the appendices as well as the main story. The vision Elrond shows to Arwen in Two Towers is straight from Aragorn and Arwen’s tale. I cannot remember the source, but someone said that Arwen was a late edition to LOTR and that’s why she has so little action in the main story.
57:32 King Theoden became one of my favorite characters over the years of watching this trilogy. I love every scene he is in. Even against overwhelming odds, and Giant War Elephants, he doesn't even hesitate to reform the line and charge...RIP Bernard Hill, a truly legendary, and memorable performance.
His battle Speech, and The Ride of the Rohirrim gets me all emotional every, single, time.
That speech was basically, "If we're gonna die here, we'll do it in the greatest blaze of glory Middle-earth has ever seen! And we're gonna drag as much of them with us as we can!"
Many kudos to the editor of these reaction videos! For me it all comes down to Sam. Sam is gold, be like Sam.
Legolas' last words to frodo were so impactful. "And you'll have my bow"
Fun watching with you. It still evokes the same emotions no matter how times I’ve watched it. Happy thanksgiving!
Not shown in the movie, but in the books, Denethor also had one of the palantir, the seeing stones - and through that, he saw what Sauron wished him to see.
It's a shame they did not show a quick scene of him using the Palantir, it would have explained allot, Denethor was not a bad man, he was corrupted and with grief because of the loss of his oldest son and was certain Gondor was lost.
It was shown. In this extended version.
It is a crime what peter jackson did to his character. Denethor is one of the greatest characters in the books.
Gondor is the name of the entire region (or kingdom, back when there was still a king). In its hayday, it was comprised of Minas Anor (later renamed Minas Tirith), Minas Ithil (until it was captured by Sauron's forces and became the fortress of the Witch King and was renamed Minas Morgul), and Osgiliath the central city, which was originally the capital of Gondor. By the time Gandalf and Pippin arrive, only Minas Tirith remains fully under Gondorian control, and is the new capital.
Brilliant reactions and reviews as always, Jen. Indeed, many people, myself included, watch the trilogy annually, especially over Christmas. Christopher Lee, who played Saruman, said that he always read the trilogy annually. I now have the urge to revisit the books for the first time in about twenty years (although i also read them in the late Seventies around the time of the animated movie). We are Your Fellowship, Jen, and We bow to You 😊
The running joke about Legolas in the films was that he seemingly never ran out of arrows, even though in the books, there were occasions when he did run out.
He hadn't acquired the quiver of unlimited arrows. I'm okay with Max Level Legolas.
The books also mentioned him retrieving his arrows after a battle.
1:00:55
It's actually because Merry stabs the Witch King that Eowin is able to kill him. He breaks the WK's connection to Sauron for a second by wounding him. (Elf knife). That is why he becomes vulnerable to her attack.
52:30 Yes, spiders have those. They are called chelicerae. Or to be more precise: spiders. mites, scorpions, sea spiders and horseshoe crabs have them. Hence they are all grouped together as Chelicerata.
Here's some cursed knowledge: scorpions are the only arachnids that give birth to live young instead of eggs.
the thing about the extended editions is that Peter Jackson had won the oscar for this movie. then went back to New Zealand and shot two more scenes to finish up the extended editions.
around 53:00, Shelob (the Spider), is a She. Thats why Gollom said, she will take care of them (or something along those lines).
Shelobs, Mother was something really, really scary.
25:24 it's never mentioned in the movies explicitly outside this scene, but dwarves of Erebor and Iron Hills were tied up in their own fight against Sauron's forces, just like Mirkwood (Legolas' kin) and Lothlorien elves with Dol Guldur.
At 26:52 you note, "Pippin rode out with him." This seems strange, and in the book Pippin watches Gandalf from the walls of the City. The screen writers' first idea was to have this fight occur as Gandalf and Pippin first approached Minas Tirith. But the time line of the story would be all wrong, and so they moved the action to its proper place, dragging Pippin along with it. It does allow Gandalf and Pippin to meet Faramir at the same time and learn of his meeting with Frodo and Sam.
Great reactions, glad you loved em, even happier you've decided to read the books. They're an awesome, epic journey and you will find tons of new and different things there, enough to keep you wondering what's going to happen next, even having watched the films.
Jackson and co had to change a lot of stuff for the films, not everyone likes the changes, but imho even with the changes it is the best adaptation and trilogy ever made in film history and almost impossible to top. If anything ever tops this, we're going to have another masterpiece in our hands, cause that's what this was.
Happy reading!
Absolutely love the fact you have dropped these all so close together ❤❤
Thank you for reacting to the journey that has been a part of my life since I was a child. I loved going through it with you once again. The movies were wonderful, I think of them as Peter Jacksons interpretation of the Lord of the Rings. I still love the books the most, but Jackson and crew did a wonderful job.
Your reaction was very sweet!
Frodo leaves with the elves at the end because he has simply given everything he had to give to the ring quest. He just has nothing left; there’s no healing for him.
They’re going to the immortal lands; but Tolkien tells us that the mortals will live their lifespan there, in great peace; and then they will pass; actually faster than they would’ve in Middle Earth, Tolkien tells us.
By all means, you should read the books. There are things you just can’t get from only the films, great as they are. And I do agree with you-this is easily the greatest film series ever.
I’ll mention just one thing that’s missed for sure by most everyone who hasn’t read the books (they are too many to cover them all here): Back in Fellowship, near the beginning, when Bilbo gives up the One Ring when he goes off to Rivendell to live with the elves, it’s truly an EXTRAORDINARY-even unique-moment. Bilbo bore the Ring for 60 years; and no one else, in the entire history of the ring, who held it for such a significant time EVER willingly gave it up. Bilbo is the only one to achieve that. Not even Frodo could. That’s why Peter Jackson had that dramatic music for that scene, and it’s why, when Bilbo finally let the ring slip from his hand, Jackson went to such great lengths to convey the ring’s WEIGHT to us-he has it fall with a *THUD*, and not bounce at all.
I like how Aragorn is unaffected by Saruman's cutting words. The others seem hurt, while he just rolls his eyes (figuratively if not literally) at Saruman's babbling. 😄
The opening scene with Saruman combines two scenes that were cut from the theatrical release: Saruman's "trial", as it were, and the ending of the Scouring of the Shire chapter. Sir Christopher Lee, the actor who plays Saruman (and Count Dooku and a ton of other villains), is a _huge_ Tolkien fan, and he was _not_ happy that his final scene was cut from the theatrical release, especially after he went through the trouble of using his experience as a war veteran and commando to make the death real. So Jackson made sure to bring it back and add a fitting end since he had no plans to put the Scouring chapter into film.
Film score is what saved classical music, and Howard Shore's score in the 3rd film, let alone the trilogy, is Oscar-worthy, especially since there are several scenes where there is no dialogue, just a bunch of wide panning shots and the booming score setting the tone. The Minas Tirith reveal is one, the lighting of the Beacons is another.
In the original books there was another _palantir_ or seeing stone, and it was in Denethor's possession. There are hints in the film to this ("Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind!?"), but unfortunately that's all we get in the films. Denethor's death in the books is possibly too gruesome to portray on screen, as he revealed the _palantir_ as he lit the fire and when Faramir was freed, he lay down clutching the seeing stone, and everyone was banned from setting foot in the tomb ever again.
Aragorn uses Denathor's Stone to send a message to Sauron "Behold the Sword of Elendil!!" , he picks it up off the Steward's Seat in the Throne room of Minas Tirith
they just dont give any exposition to it
I really enjoyed the full watch-along on Patreon, but I just wanted to comment to say one thing about the youtube cut... This is a magnificent edit. Kudos to the editor.
Agreed my editor Dmytro did an amazing job. I'll pass your kudos along 👍
This is what I've always believed why Frodo chose to go to the Grey Havens: 1) The physical scarring he endured from the stab wound as well as from having to carry the Ring for so long. 2) The mental trauma he suffered from what the Ring put him through. If Gollum was the picture of addiction, then Frodo is the picture of PTSD. 3) Despite knowing what the Ring would do to him, from seeing what it did to Smeagol/Gollum and to Bilbo, and that all of his friends and all of Middle-Earth were counting on him to destroy it, he still tried to take the Ring for himself and he could never truly forgive himself for that moment of weakness. I truly believe that the only reason Frodo didn't let go and fall into the lava (either as penance or some other reason) was because deep down he knew Sam would have jumped in after him without hesitating and he couldn't do that to Sam.
It wasn’t Frodo’s fault that he couldn’t destroy the ring: no one could. But that wouldn’t stop Frodo from blaming himself, particularly when a wound was hurting or he woke up in the middle of the night from another sheet-ripper where his failure doomed the world.
Thanks for your reaction - I really appreciate you picking up on the musical themes and how they blend to tell the story - cheers.
was so lovely going on this journey with you!
At 7:05 you ask, "Can Elves get drunk?" Evidently, not on ale. However, in the earlier book The Hobbit, Bilbo gets his Dwarf companions out of an Elvish jail by getting the jailers drunk on wine.
And it definitivly takes more for Legolas to get drunk, becourse he is a sindar elf from mirkwood that makes the strongest wine in middle earth
The wine from Dorwinion that is favored by the Wood-elves seems to be particularly potent.
Indeed a film about friendship - such an iconic epic franchise (while I have admittedly not read the books I feel these are very very close to what they are at their core so I'm good w/that). Great reactions as usual Jen - I knew you'd love them.
I have seen LOR trilogy close to dozen times and have enjoyed it more watching it with you so again thanks for sharing the experience.
I greatly appreciate that you commented so much about the score of this masterpiece. While there is so much to praise in these movies, Howard Shore's work is absolutely amazing.
"is that his baby," at the end... yes, yes it is. Not only Samwise's baby but also Sean Astin's daughter. A neat cameo for a young lady.
59:02 Gandalf’s speech here is very poetic. Men (Hobbits included) are the only Race said to have an After Life. Gandalf is a Maiar, an Angel, so him describing the After Life to Pippin brings Hope as most Men fear Death.
Every time I watch the charge of the Rohirrim I get chills. And I've watched the extended edition at least 20 times.
Great reaction Jen...as always.
These movies really were the last great Epics made in our modern time.
Yes!!! You should totally read the books. Winter is such a great season for reading books, and you do live in Canada. 😅
Hey Jen, great series, thank you. Since you're a music nerd (at least you appear to be) and into the soundtrack of the movies, you might want to check out "The Breaking of the Fellowship" which includes the song "In Dreams" with lovely boy soprano.
When Sam and Frodo embrace at the end I cannot help but hear Lloyd Christmas wailing when he hugs Harry after he agrees to go to Aspen. Every time.
A quick and dirty explanation of where they are sailing (and I do invite further commentary and correction): Valinor is the home of the Valar, once a great island to the west of Middle-earth (Middle-earth being the central continent on the planet Arda). The planet was originally a flat-earth-style disk, but in response to the evil introduced by Morgoth, it was changed to a sphere, but with Valinor staying in its same line as when it was an island on a disk, coming ‘unstuck’ as it were, and no longer on the same plane of existence. Now, it is only reachable by ship, and by special permission and powers, to insulate it from that evil.
It is, as some have said, ‘Elf Heaven’, being that place where the Eldar go to be with the Valar, after the lingering evil from Morgoth in Middle-earth had polluted it, slowly making it too toxic for the Eldar to remain there.
So yes, a very big deal for non-Elves to be invited.
Thoeden has one of the best character arcs. When he is crying over his son’s grave in the second movie, we don’t even know anything about him or his son and it makes me sob hysterically. He was a fantastic actor.
Jen Murray the most precious reactor of them all 🔥🙌 ty for the wonderful journey through middle earth jen its been epic and a privilege 💙
Thanks Ian!
Thanks so much for uploading this today! My Thanksgiving tradition after hanging out with family and eating is watching movies. So this is perfect lol. Hope youre having a great day!!!
The best trilogy of all time. period. Great reaction as always. Love it.
I have just watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy and I must say your reaction/ review is nothing short of superb. Seriously, your empathy for the characters, your comments on the musical score and descriptive comments on the dettings from the Shire to Mordor were excellent. I remember seeing these movies years ago but your review of them , your attention to detail and the characters enabled me to see this trilogy in an entire new light. Thank you very much for sharing these movies with us, Jen-- you just accomplished a magical feat.❤️⭐⭐💯
I went to the theater 4 times for the first and second movies and the last one I went 7 times in theaters and I still watch them a few times a year
I appreciate that you have a unique perspective as a musician, its super interesting to watch
46:32 when legolas fired an arrow at the guys on the boat, the guy his arrow accidentally hit(because of gimli) was Peter Jackson! Lol!
I wish I could give you a thousand likes. This is one of the best trilogies ever made. Love your reaction to this.
You could check out Jen's Patreon for a month. It's only around $12. There are over 500 full length reactions there and a bunch of tv series. (Chernobyl) ♥
You might never leave though. I signed up to the monthly tier for access to full length films / tv series ($12 tier) for about 3 months. Then upgraded to Producer tier and paid the whole year up in advance.
My old bank manager said was it a wise idea? My new bank manager knows better. 👍
I saw this in the theatre and it was amazing when Pippin sang everyone was in awe.
Billy Boyd is primarily a professional singer. He even sings the outhro song of The Hobbit: battle of the five armies. "The last goodbye"
I've been hoping you'd react to these. These are my favorite movies of all time, and I'm happy to see that you enjoyed them as well. Your reactions are always good, and I'm glad you posted these.
Greatest trilogy of all time. Thank you Jen for watching this, it’s been a very rough couple of weeks but I’m glad that I have you and your reactions to help me get through anything 💙🔥
Thanks D! Sorry to hear you're having a rough time 🩵