Thank you for voicing your love of Boromir, so many people misunderstand his character and make him out to be almost a villain when he's anything but. His care for the Hobbits, his placing his hand on Gimli's shoulder in Moria to comfort him, his speech to Frodo about not carrying the weight of the dead...and the only reason the ring corrupted him was not out of a desire for personal power but to save his people whom he cared so much about. And then he goes and redeems his moment of weakness in one of the most badass ways possible. He'll forever be one of my favorite characters. A flawed hero who we all can sympathize with.
Agreed. Additionally when you look back on his character in the movie with the context of the way his father treated him and his brother Faramir, it adds depth to the choices and performances.
I read (and have continued to re-read these books) ever since the age of 11. The more I read them, and as I continue my own journey, I get different interpretations of the story, the travels, the characters and just the over all love for these books. So many authors have penned their own love of these books. HP, etc, have all their roots in these books. I am SOO looking forward to continuing with you on this journey of the movies and books.
He didn´t even want that power to save his people, he wanted the power because his father pushed him to aquire it. Boromir was intially sceptical as well.
Sir Christopher Lee (Saruman) was the only cast member to actually know JRR Tolkein. He read the trilogy every year as an adult! He wanted to play Gandalf but Peter felt he fit better as Saruman. Sir Christopher was a British spy during WW2, almost married a Danish Princess and was the real life inspiration for the character "James Bond"! The Bond author, Ian Flemming, was Lee's cousin!
By the time the movie was being filmed, Christopher Lee was simply too old to play Gandalf. Saruman spends most of his time sitting in his throne, which was physically possible for Lee. Watching the Making Of videos that accompanied the DVD release, it is clear to me that Christopher Lee understood Tolkien's book better than anybody else in the project, including the Directors.
I love that you read the book before seeing the film again. It's not a perspective that we get to see often, and it allows for a deeper appreciation of the story and characters. Thank you, this was a real treat!
this really changed the tone. i also did read the books and 20 years ago I rooted for these movies as a kid. middle earth has set its anchor into my heart
That's not greed Boromir is showing when tempted by the ring, that's despair. Again, the ring tempts you in different ways. It's not always greed. Can be anger, fear, lust, fame, sadness, respect etc.
Yes, exactly. And none of the others had that desperate need for the ring to exploit. He's carrying the responsibility of the survival of his people -- the ones who are keeping the rest of the world safe -- on his shoulders.
25:32 That is so cool indeed. In 1911 Tolkien was traveled around Switzerland. He later described the local landscapes in his books. Hobbiton, for example, is the charming district of Unterseen in the beautiful city of Interlaken. In this scene we see Rivendell, which in the real world exists under the name Lauterbrunnen, which means: Deep Cut Valley. A beautiful valley with 72 waterfalls flowing down into it. When I found this place, I found a job and lived here for almost a decade.
20:38 "why are they so scary... cause they`re evil." Looks are sometimes NOT deceiving! 37:16 Thalassophobia is the fear of deep water. It is one of the fears expressed in the writings of HP Lovecraft. 47:00 Saruman sounds slightly irritated when he specifies "unspoiled", as if he has had miscommunications with orcs in the past.
haha, I have a grey ("Tolkien spelling," lol) Toyota Camry, and I joked in a letter to a friend that I had named it "Shadowfax" (Silver in the day, grey under the moon, etc), but that really, considering it is the most mainstream of cars, tho very faithful, AND has a history of being wounded, as it has a bullet hole in the front passenger side door, I really should be calling it "Bill," lol.
Fun Fact: John Rhys-Davies has said the "Not the beard!" moment was actually improvised. Orlando Bloom was supposed to grab his armor after the jump, but it was a little farther then John realized and the beard actually took over an hour to apply in makeup and John really disliked the process. So when Orlando grabbed his beard by accident John yelled that famous line. Peter Jackson liked it so much he left it in the movie. If i'm not mistaken it's the only improvised line in the trilogy (Viggo's scream kicking the orc helmet and breaking his toe in Two Towers not withstanding).
Check out his reading of Song Of Durin in Gimli’s Voice. One did. Great video with his voice edited into it. The original where he recited it was when interviewed for the second time or so by NerdOfTheRings
@@OMGtheykilledKenny42this is not true. It is an urban legend that keeps being repeated. In the director’s commentary Peter Jackson commends Viggo for successfully deflecting the knife in one take, implying that it was scripted to happen. Someone made this story up to make Viggo seem more badass and everyone keeps repeating it.
@@Zamrod he is badass. He literally kept his handmade outfit on when going into the woods, went camping like a real ranger, not a random camper. Hunted, everything. Even went to the dentist with it on. And the blood he said to keep wherever it landed so it looked more authentic with whatever his next scene was!
The reason they couldn’t take the eagles to Morder is because the quest of the ring was a secret mission! Sauron would have seen a group of eagles flying to his kingdom and that the ring was with them. He would have sent the Nazgûl to kill them, and armies of orcs to mount doom to keep them away from the lava to destroy it. It’s never explicitly said but the whole journey was very secretive to sneak right under the eye of Sauron
Completely agree with you. Also would add, and only if the Eagles agreed. They had their own thoughts and fears. They weren’t mindless pets. Edit: toodlescae, I didn’t see your comment before I added mine.
I always assumed the reason they didn’t fly the ring into Mordor with the eagles was because it would be too obvious and Sauron has aerial forces like the fell beasts to intercept, so they would essentially just be delivering directly the ring to Sauron. The entire purpose of the fellowship was to keep the location of the ring a secret.
Much like the Ents, the eagles had their own will and agenda. They weren't just a taxi service to some puny humans. It's lucky they showed up to save the day as many times as they did.
The bridge of Khazad Dum had a good reason to be so narrow and dangerous. The only folk in the old days that would come to the west door was the elves who at the time were the allies of the dwarves. The east door on the other hand was a different story. Orcs would attack often. but the Dwarves needed to go to places east of the mountains so they made the bridge so narrow that attackers had to come in single file and there were many hidden archer emplacements to pick off attackers one by one.
In Tolkien's book, Arwen is barely mentioned. Tolkien never could work the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen into the main story in a way that satisfied him, so he relegated their romance to an Appendix following ROTK. It's a beautiful story, and be sure and read it after you have read the main story. I think Peter Jackson & Co. did an excellent job of integrating the two stories into the movie.
Personally, I thought having Arwen carry the wounded Frodo to Rivendell, and face off against the Nazgul en route, was a perfect, and possibly necessary, change to make here. In the novel it's Glorfindel, a near-mythological elf hero from the ancient past, who pops up out of nowhere to do that, and once done, he just goes away, vanishes from the story. Arwen is supposed to be important to Aragorn, and even to the overall narrative, so giving her a significant introduction, showing that she's more than just a pretty trophy for Aragorn to win, works perfectly.
I was wondering why she hasn't been in the books yet! I didn't realize the Appendix was so important. I'll definitely read that as well. I'm glad Jackson expanded her role in these films.
Arwen has very, very little presence in the novels. Her primary purpose there is simply to be described repeatedly as beautiful and devoted. She has no perceptible personality, not even any thoughts, really, aside from "I love Aragorn". She's not even really a character, she's just a goal to be achieved. Like a sports trophy to be awarded to the victor.
@@reactswithjax The main reason was simplification. There are a LOT of characters completely left out of the movies. If they put them all in, the movies would be twice as long. Anyone up for a LotR hexalogy? But also, Hollywood can't resist throwing in some romance into a story, even when it really wasn't there much in the book,
Gimli asking Galadriel for a single strand of her hair and getting three is a very cool detail if you are familiar with the deep lore. Feanor asked three times for a single strand and she refused him. Gimli uses the 3 strands to make gems in tribute to her beauty, a parallel to the three Silmarils Feanor created out of his frustrated selfish desire to possess that beauty. Amazing world building.
@@nidheeshkumar6760it started because of the petty dwarves who weren’t dwarves long before dwarven forefathers awoken! They were hostile to elves and they thought they were another being of Morgoth to and killed then on sight so when they saw dwarves they killed then on the spot too
I remember Peter Jackson saying that they developed Arwyn’s character more because she’s central to Aragorn’s motivations throughout the quest, but she’s barely mentioned in the book, so they mined the appendices and Tolkien’s notes for more information on her. As for why Elrond didn’t destroy the ring it’s a moral question. Isildur was the descendant of Elrond’s brother who chose to be fully human, whilst Elrond chose to be fully elf (they were both half human/half elf and the Valar gave them the choice to change). So what was Elrond to do? Push his brother’s descendant into the fiery pit, or wrestle the Ring off him and potentially become corrupted himself? Plus did anyone truly know at that point how corrupting the Ring was?
Good points. No one who has willfully taken possession of the ring could have willfully destroyed it. Frodo couldn't. Isildur couldn't. Gandalf wouldn't even touch the thing. The only one that could have willfully tossed it to its destruction is maybe Bombadil. Though I doubt you could have ever gotten him to go there in the first place.
You forget that both of them was leaders of their respective races if one of them would have killed the other it would have started a new blood feud kinda like the elves already have with the dwarfes
Merging characters is the smart thing in movies. You can have Glorfindel in the book but it's just distracting and confusing on film. Great choice by Jackson.
The other thing was that the scene with Elrond and Isildur inside the volcano didn’t actually happen in the book. No one thought the Ring had any power left after Sauron died, and Elrond didn’t find out Isildur took the Ring until long after (I don’t recall, it may not have even been until the Council of Elrond 3000 years later). So the answer to question of “why didn’t Elrond just throw Isildur into the volcano” is the same as the answer to the question of “why didn’t George Washington just assassinate Hitler?”
Yeah, I absolutely think they made the right choice there. She's a part of the story through Aragorn, so her story and personal sacrifices should be dealt with as well. Although I absolutely think Elrond should have thrown both himself and Isildur into the fire if need be 😂
cristopher lee said about the films that they cut out parts that were not needed and expanded on parts that sorely needed expanding, and lee was the biggest lord of the rings fan on set, he read it annually and had met tolkien in person in the past
Most people have it the wrong way: JRR Tolkien developed the languages, then created a world for them (and used it, in the Hobbit, for bedtime stories for his son Christopher who died in 2020). He also worked on the Oxford Dictionary. The man loved languages. Rest in peace, JRR and Christopher Tolkien.
Christopher also hated the movies at first because they weren't "faithful enough" to the text. Simon, on the other hand, idiotically said the movies stayed _too close_ to the books and that's partially why he allowed the travesty that is Rings of Power.
As a fan of the books, I was very surprised and delighted how well the movies were crafted. When Jackson added dialogues, they were exquisite. They are timeless classics. I enjoyed your enthusiasm.
“Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord.” -- Gimli, after parting from Galadriel.
During Aragorn's fight with the big Uruk, I always think "Its just a flesh wound". And then you said it. Then when Aragorn cuts his head off, "OK, we'll call it a draw."
Gandalf's transformation is one of the few times Eru Iluvatar (God) steps in to directly intervene. The line "Servant of the Secret Fire" is referencing his undying allegiance to Eru who can only wield the power of true creation. Beautiful reaction. Excited for you to continue the parallel journey through novel and film. Cheers!
"Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-dûm in Elder Days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone.’ She looked upon Gimli, who sat glowering and sad, and she smiled. And the Dwarf, hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding." ... It is a favourite part of the book for me and I felt Cate player the part so very well.
At 43:00 you ask, "why that [bridge] doesn't even have railings--that's a hazard." Tolkien writes, "...The outer door could only be reached by a slender bridge of stone, without kerb or rail, that spanned the chasm with one curving spring of fifty feet. It was an ancient device of the Dwarves against any enemy that might capture the First Hall and the outer passages."
Your question about why they didn't they fly the Eagles to Mordor. There is an actual quote of JRR Tolkien answering this very question. He answered.. "I get this same question asked to me by some people I see at the pub, and I'll tell you the same thing I tell them. Shut up." My all-time favorite Tolkien quote.
I'm 74 and was introduced to JRR Tolkien at around 14 by my English teacher in Middle School. I fell completely in love with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; I read both at least once a year and was very interested in how Peter Jackson would interpret the book. I got to see it in the theater when it first came out and it was amazing, there was not a sound from anyone in the theater except for their reaction to movie. It was an experience I'll not forget, the worst part was having to wait a year before the next segment was released. It just gets better, the book as well as the movie.
I think that one of the key bits of information from the Silmarillion that is never communicated in the films is that after the Valar saved middle earth from Morgoth, when the people of middle earth expressed not wanting to be ruled by the gods , they were left to their own devices. But by the Grace of Manwe, he sent the wizards and the Eagles to watch over Middle earth in case evil rose again. But they were strictly forbidden to interfere or overly intervene and the affairs of middle earth. That is the reason why the Eagles are not readily available to assist or that the wizards are not flexing all their magical powers . Unless there was great need, and even then in its minimal expression. Besides Saruman , of course who betrayed his mission. With such powers from the extra natural world, how could the people in middle Earth really be free to make their own decisions.
The 20 minutes of credits at the end of "Fellowship" included everybody that had been involved in the fan website that was launched when the movie series was announced. Anyone that took part in online discussions was given the opportunity to have their name listed. I was one of those fans. I won tickets to the Fellowship premiere in Orlando,Fl. I have a 18" replica statue of Gandalf that I won on-line. I have a replica "Sting" sword that looks like and is as heavy as a real sword. But when you slide a switch, it glows blue and hums! I also have polystone statues of Golem and Smeagol, The Argonath and Minas Tirith. My wife an I attended a LOTR marathon when the "Return of the King" was released. It included the Extended editions of the first two movies as well. It started @ 9:30 am, included meals & breaks between the movies and movie related giveaways. It ended the next morning at 1:30 am... and 10 years later we did the "Hobbit" movies at the same theater the same way!!!
That sounds AMAZING!! I found LOTR after the first one had already been out, so although I was a bit late for the 1st movie, I dove into the rest of the trilogy almost immediately. I did get to see the 3rd one in the theater and it pretty much secured my complete love for this masterpiece. Fun fact: I had an Audi a few years back and had a vanity plate that said LOTR lol. 🤓 Talk about obsessed 😄! I would absolutely LOVE to be able to take part in such a wonderful event, even now. I've watched all of the behind the scenes and everything that was involved in its production (weapon and costume making, makeup, etc) and to be able to have not only been a part of everything, but to also have been so fortunate to own several serious pieces of the film itself. You are so lucky!!! I wish there were showings of the entire trilogy annually and set up the way your screening was, with meals and drinks, that would be something I'd definitely take part in! Sign me up ✍️🏾✍️🏾✍️🏾😊😊
Me and 12 of my friends had rented a cinema so that we could watch the 3 films as soon as they were released but each time in a totally empty room (around 3am). Beer, popcorn, sweets, everything to our liking. (We knew the owner's son.)
The difference between Boromir and Faramir was that for Boromir, war was a chance to gain personal glory, that's what the ring preyed upon. His brother OTOH saw war as an evil necessity. In the book he says: "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." Therefor the ring could not get hold over him. Tolkien had been an officer in WWI. An officers main goal now had become to bring home their troops safely and not to fight for personal glory. One cannot really find glory in the trenches under artillery fire.
"Unless they planted the trees for this" Not the trees, but all the bushes and vegetation. It took about a year for it to grow in, before they started shooting.
20:38 "why are they so scary... cause they`re evil." Looks are sometimes NOT deceiving! 37:16 Thalassophobia is the fear of deep water. It is one of the fears expressed in the writings of HP Lovecraft. 47:00 Saruman sounds slightly irritated when he specifies "unspoiled", as if he has had miscommunications with orcs in the past.
If you read “The Silmalrilion,” you will understand why Galadriel gave Gimli three strands of her hair. It will also give you a deeper understanding of how precious that gift was. ❤
20:38 "why are they so scary... cause they`re evil." Looks are sometimes NOT deceiving! 37:16 Thalassophobia is the fear of deep water. It is one of the fears expressed in the writings of HP Lovecraft. 47:00 Saruman sounds slightly irritated when he specifies "unspoiled", as if he has had miscommunications with orcs in the past.
ringwraiths aren't scared of water in the books.. Merry also said that there is no horse that swam in the Brandywine river,.. and the ringwraiths are clothed so if they lose their clothes they're naked and can't do anything in the living world @@Mark-in8ju
Gwaihir the king of the eagles doesn't work for Gandalf. He is a friend of Radagast and prepared to do him and Gandalf a few favours, but not to take his people into Mordor while Sauron is alive.
What you said is correct. Another important element to take into account is the fact that the giant eagles and just that... giant eagles. They can be killed by a simple arrow shot from a basic bow. It's far too risky to fly there and they would've been spotted immediately.
Never liked that reasoning. No matter where it stems from. For myself I simply accepted Tolkien to not be plothole-free. Doesn't has to be. It's perfect as is ❤
Just a couple points that may help clarify some parts of the story for you: 1. Manwe was the King of all Gods on Middle Earth and his domain was the wind and the sky. All birds answered to his call and the Eagles were under his direct bidding. They never interfered with the events in Middle Earth unless under direct command from Manwe. When the Elves (Elrond's forefathers) were banished to Middle Earth for their kinslaying in the holy land, the Gods swore to never interfere with these events again. They basically forsook Middle Earth to the fate of Eru (the One who created everything). But Manwe, in his love for the people of Middle Earth, breaks this doom by sending the Eagles, but only at the uttermost end of need, like to help turn the tide of the last battle and save Aragorn and the others from certain death. So, no eagle riding to destroy the ring. 2. It was Elindil and Gil-galad, the kings of both men and elves respectively, who killed Sauron in that battle at the beginning of the movie although they died as well. Isildor was the only one around them when they all fell and no one actually saw him take the ring, and there was no argument about destroying it at all. Hope that helps! :-)
Wanna add to that: 3) the hobbits do indeed encounter 1 Nazgul on thier way to Bree and are saved by Gildor Inglorion and his traveling elves. And they go into the old forest after leaving Frodos new home in Buckland, and not after they came to Bree. 4) Aragorn 'only' fights 5 wraith on Weathertop! Gandalf had been at weathertop some days earlier, and was assulted by the other 4 wraith, and managed to draw them away. In the books its speculated that this proly saved Aragorn and the hobbits, cause Aragorn would most likely not have been able to fight the combined might of all 9 Nazgul combined.
@@reactswithjax I'll also add 1a. Sauron would have seen the eagles coming from a long distance away. This is a mission that requires stealth and secrecy. 5. Bilbo did not "age rapidly". It's a full 17 years between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo leaving the Shire. The armies of Mordor took time to build. Uruk-hai are not made in a microwave oven.
I would argue the point about the Eagles only answering to Manwe as in The Hobbit, Gandalf convinces the Eagles to fly them to Carrock without any order from Manwe to do so.
29:31 - It wasn't until re-watching this Extended version AFTER I had returned home from the theatre following "The Return of the King" that I realized Howard Shore had introduced the Gondor Theme throughout this part of the council scenes. It filled my heart with extra Joy to hear it this early on in the Trilogy.
Glorfindel was eliminated and his actions were given to Arwyn. Also, in the book, it was 17 years between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo's arrival in Rivendell.
It might have been better to have a vague sort of mixture of Glorfindel and Arwen where one or the other takes him from one horse to the other. Then glorfindel or together with her launch the waves upon the Nazgûl. There is some gravest artwork of it. Even the part where they all had torches together and glorfindel was leading it. Then that one where he called the waters forth through the Vala named Ulmo. His eyes glowing white while his Fëa spirit burned bright. etc. “an elven Lord revealed in wrath”
This is a fun reaction. Your comments, and words of wisdom like: “If I don’t look it didn’t happen.” ‘rings’ true. That’s why I stopped looking in the mirror in the morning! I read the books in 1970. My dad working overseas left the books in my uncle’s room which was turned into storage. I saw the title ‘Lord of the Rings’ and there was a tingling in the room because of the ‘whispers’ heard from my cousin and the grown ups about the story. I swear there was a whisper in the room, “Read me, Precious.” Unfortunately, I read book two, The Two Towers first as Dad kept the first book for himself, to read on the plane. I moved to Canada in 1979 and bought my own copies of the trilogy and finally read ‘The Fellowship of the Ring. In one of my first social gathering of Filipinos in Canada, I was with the kids while the grown ups were socializing. The kids were all bored and just wanted to go home. I asked them, “do you want to hear a story?” I started telling them ‘The Fellowship of the Ring”. The kids sitting on the floor, moved closer, so I kept going. Past midnight most of the grown ups were snoring all over the house. In the dim light the kids were all asleep on the carpet around me. I couldn’t sleep, so I just sat there, feeling like Aragorn standing guard over all the little Hobbits on the floor. One of my fondest memories of moving to Canada. I remember the first thoughts in my head when I saw each film, “This is what I saw in my head!” Years ago I was commissioned to do a bookcover for wargaming combining Medieval warfare and Sword and Sorcery. I did the Anglo-Saxon shield wall at Hastings, bracing themselves against the onslaught of Norman cavalry, who were reinforced by Orcs and Wargs, led by a Nazgûl! I named the artwork “Ragnarok at Hastings” for the book “Bear Yourselves Valiantly”. Tolkien still inspires me in my work to this day.
When I was a young teenager I received the Hobbit as a birthday gift from my sister, my birthday is in early august, and so happen to read it in the last days of summer I really loved it and was hooked. I think that next Christmas I was then gifted the first book of the trilogy, I vividly remember reading it by candle light in my family's winter cabin (no electricity) as the winter stormed outside. You see I am Icelandic and Tolkien borrowed a lot from Nordic mythology, he was a linguist after all, at the same time I had been exposed to the mythical histories at school they are very important to Icelandic culture. Then over the very next years the LOTR movies would come out every Christmas season and I would go and see them with my family, and I would also be gifted the extended DVDs of the previous movie. It was magical. The books and the movies left a big impression on me and I feel that I am very lucky to have experienced the movies as they came out at the age I was. LOTR is my favourite, nothing else comes even close. I really love watching people experience the movies for the first time or like in this case right after having read the books. I remember being a bit disappointed about the omission of Glorfindel but eventually realized why it was done. Tom Bombadil being cut was more obviously understandable. I don't remember the part about the blindfolding of the party in Lórien which is probably a sign I should read the books again.
43:13 "That's such a teeny tiny bridge! Why didn’t they just make a bigger one?" That's a defensive feature of the dwarven city. Having a bridge makes it possible for people to come and go, but making it narrow and difficult to cross quickly gives the dwarves an advantage against an invading army in a siege. It basically forces the enemy into a bottleneck so their archers can pick them off as it takes them longer to cross the chasm.
I think one of the reasons why Tolkien's world-building feels so rich is that his biggest passion was languages. He created the languages first, just as a fun pastime that he was very passionate about, then created the world of Arda and the people living in it around those languages. It really makes Middle-Earth feels like a real, lived-in place, with it's own cultures, stories, songs and mythologies. It also helps that creating the world of Arda, and especially the continent/area of Middle-Earth was pretty much a life-long project for him, starting when he was a student, even following with him into the trenches of WWI, as well as to Oxford when he became a professor in languages there. As for your question about the ring, it's supposed to be semi-sentient. It's not self-aware, but it has a will of its own, always wanting to be reunited with its master, Sauron. Oh, and hobbit feet have thick hard soles, and because they're covered in fur-like hair they're also pretty much always warm and toasty, even in cold weather, which is why they don't feel any need to wear shoes.
Let me emphasize how important that is by showing how big the rift was before she and Legolas Mendes it for good. - The thing is with a certain clan of dwarves: A giant set of events throughout the ages caused a huge rift between dwarves and elves since before any elf ever saw a dwarf. Elves are the firstborn. Men are the secondborn. Dwarvish forefathers were created by the hands of one of the Valar named Aulë, then essentially Eru Îlluvatar(AllFather) breathed life into them to later wake up at a later date since Aulë was still excited to create things of his very own. It’s also why dwarves overall can resist the rings power and so forth. There were these beings became known as Petty Dwarves in the books where these beings were super hostile and the elves thought it was just another spawn of Melkor (now Morgoth) so when they finally did see actual dwarves they killed them on site. That and dwarves were keen on chopping down trees by huge amounts so you can kind of see why… but this was only the beginning. But it’s not a very good start. Buuut not all dwarvish clans share this rift as the creator of the 16 rings was an elf named Celebrimbor and is one of the best characters ever. His main smithery guild in Eregion was full of dwarves and elves called the “Gwaith Ír Mirdain”. Even Gimli’s father was really close to a certain elf I won’t name yet! ❤ Not all dwarves were enemies to elves. Galadriel and her brother were best friends with dwarves. Famously the fortress of Nargothrond was built by Finrod Felagund with the dwarves! It was only a certain clan that killed Elu Thingol! (Elwë) Galadriel & her elder brother Finrod Felagund were best friends with the dwarves. Finrod was named Felagund by the dwarves meaning “Earth Hewer” from the fact he helped them build the great fortress called Nargothrond of which he was the elven lord that ruled there justly. Was the same for Celebrimbor and the dwarves of Eregion especially the guild called Gwaith Í Mirdain. His bestie was Narvi the dwarf. Narvi and Celebrimbor created the doors of Moria. Moria is also the elvish name for Khazad Dûm. This gift for Gimli set it into imperishable Crystal and would be the only thing left in middle earth that holds the light of the two trees of Valinor (Valanor by the Eldar). It’s basically the uncursed version of the Nauglamir. He named it The Galadramir. ❤ If you search for 'victorian hair art' then you can see what amazing things people created with hair in the past. Craftsmen as dwarfs were, I imagine that Gimli must have created something beyond exquisite!
I think they did a good job at portraying Boromir as an ultimately good person who was corrupted by the ring, with having to introduce the conflict in the condensed timeline that they had to use.
Frodo saw the Eye of Sauron only a few times: in the Mirror of Galadriel, atop Amon Hen on the stone Seat of Seeing (after Boromir tried to take the Ring) and the next time (I think) saw the Eye only when they got to Mordor. Bilbo didn't see anything like that, because Sauron wasn't aware of the Ring being found yet and wasn't actively looking for it in the Shire. Frodo left the Shire seventeen years after Bilbo's departure. Sauron probably captured Gollum only a few months before Frodo left Hobbiton and thus learned about the Shire and the name Baggins. When Frodo sees the “Eye”, he feels the weight of the Ring increased for the time being. “Afternoon tea” is basically dessert assortment with tea. Aragorn fought off five Nazgul at Amon Sul, which was quite an achievement, because that was in the night when they were at their full power. I am sure Aragorn heard the true prophecy about the Witch King from Glorfindel himself while he was raised in Rivendell. It said that “not by the hand of man WILL he fall”. There was a misinterpreted version amongst people that the Witch King CANNOT be killed by a man (a male). The truth was that anybody with sufficient combat skills, strong will and a weapon of Dunedain make could kill the WK. It only happened that threads of circumstances led to fulfilment of Glorfindel's prophecy quite literally; you'll see in the third book/movie. It would be counterproductive destroying Vilya, the “Ring of Air” that was in Elrond's care, as it was crafted with the power of protection and preservation of good things and beauty and the will to oppose Sauron, same as the other two Elven Rings of Power (Narya, the Ring of fire, wielded by Gandalf, and Nenya, the Ring of Water, wielded by Galadriel). None of the Wise - Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel - were willing to even touch the One Ring for the reasons that Gandalf explained to Frodo. And even if Sauron decided he didn't need the Ring anymore, he couldn't destroy it - such corruptive malice and lust was in it. Almost no one in Middle Earth was strong enough to throw the One Ring into the fires of Mt Doom willingly. So Elrond's dissapointment with Isildur is a bit unfair. And if I am not mistaken, when Isildur was killed, he was actually planning on stopping in Rivendell to talk to Elrond about what to do with the Ring on his way to his Northern Kingdom of Arnor. The Bridge of Khazad-Dum was this narrow as a defensive feature preventing large number of enemies to enter at once. As an escape route - well, not as great. Saruman wanted Hobbits as healthy (no injuries) as possible, so he could interrogate them about their whole plan; and possibly turn them against their friends as his agents. Legolas and Gimli became friends during their stay in Lothlorien. Although they had to enter blindfolded, after Celeborn and Galadriel's approval, they explored Lothlorien together. Galadriel's gift to Gimli was of immense significance, as millenia before she refused three times to give a tress of her hair (it was held a marvel unmatched, because it contained the light of the Two Trees) to her uncle Feanor, the greatest of the Eldar (Elves), maker of Silmarills, three gems of unmatched beauty containing the light of the Two Trees that great wars would be fought over. Feanor wanted to set Galadriel's hairs inside the Silmarills. Galadriel sensed darkness in him, so she refused three times. About 550 years later a tragedy struck that put the long lasting rift and hatred between the Elves and Dwarves. Fast forward 6540 years later Galadriel chose to reward Gimli's noble heart with three golden strands of her hair (Gimli asked for one only after Galadriel encouraged him to ask for a gift). In our medieval terms Gimli basically chose to be Galadriel's knight and defend her honour; to Gimli, Galadriel was the fairest in the world beyond everyone and everything.* Aragorn knelt down just to reasure him eye to eye. Frodo is 4'1", whilst Aragorn is 6'6". Frodo was supposed to meet Gandalf in Prancing Pony Inn in Bree and then go to Rivendell with him. On his way to Saruman, Gandalf found Aragorn and asked him to look out for Frodo. At the end of the book (and movie too) Frodo was left with another impossible task. He didn't want to leave the Fellowship, but he saw how corruptive the One Ring was and decided to take it upon himself alone, so it wouldn't tempt anyone else. That's why he was so hesitant. Original plan was for Gandalf and Sam to go with Frodo to Mordor, and Aragorn with the rest of the Fellowship to go to Gondor and claim the throne. Aragorn's plan B (after fall of Gandalf) was to go to Mordor with Frodo, Sam and Gimli, whilst Legolas would help Boromir in Gondor and take Merry and Pippin with them. And of course all plans went down to “udun” after the Uruk ambush. * (Spoiler) After the war Gimli set Galadriel's hairs in an imperishable crystal as a symbol of friendship between Dwarves and Elves. And 120 years later after Aragorn death he was allowed to sail with Legolas to Undying Lands to see Lady Galadriel again; being the only Dwarf gifted such a privilage.
Many people wonder why Sauron couldn't sense the ring when Bilbo was so close to Dol Guldur in The Hobbit. They forget that Sauron had no tower there to sit atop as the Great Eye able to see everything. In fact in DG he had to stay hidden so as to not reveal his identity, He couldn't reach out with his mind to search for it, being that he had two powerful ring bearers, Elrond and Galadriel to the West and South, and Sindar elf King Thranduil to the North. He would have immediately been sensed and detected. I believe Tolkien even says he has his minions do the dirty work of trying to find it in the area of the Anduin where it was last known to be.
“Unspoiled” refers to the “spoils of war.” Saruman is telling his soldiers not to confiscate any possessions the Hobbits may be carrying. He doesn’t want one of the Uruk-hai to get its hands on the Ring.
Nah, I think you're a bit wrong here. The instruction to bring them in _unspoiled,_ most probably refers to not having any of the other orcs killing, ripping, and ruining the hobbits so that the ring might be lost, he is dealing of the unreliability of simple minds. Saruman wants to bring them to him and take the ring himself. That is most logical and how I saw it.
I love the Shire, but I'd live in Rivendell above anywhere else. So, so fast. (Also, speaking of which, the Elves made their rings themselves -- Sauron never touched them. So they were uncorrupted but could be laid bare by the Ring if it was found.) I love the integration of Aragorn and Arwen's story into the main trilogy. It is pretty faithfully presented by Tolkien in the Appendices in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen." There are several segments in "Two Towers" that are almost verbatim from that. The "eagle" aspect is a constant question, but the simple answer is: they can't take the Eagles to Mordor because Sauron is actively LOOKING for the Ring. They would have been shot down and taken instantly. It is only through the stealth of the fellowship and the "down-low" approach that they are able to approach Mordor successfully. Plus, at the same time, Gandalf, Aragorn, and the other allies drawing Sauron's eye away from Mordor aross those same months. Meanwhile, the Black Rider showing up in the Shire (and Frodo and the hobbits hiding) is right out of the book. The only major change is that Merry isn't there, but instead shows up later, after Farmer Maggott, and then helps them cross the Brandywine. I prefer Arwen to Glorfindel in Fellowship. It adds so much to her courage and character (and relationship with Aragorn), while Glorfy just disappeared in the books. Plus giving us girls another girl to root for. I love that Aragorn puts on Boromir's bracers. He wears them for the rest of the trilogy. Thank you for the reaction!
It's nice to see you appreciate how much care and detail was put into the movies, because some book fans are can be very particular. 😅 I'm always a little cautious because of that, but it's interesting to hear your opinion from that perspective! No adaptation can follow the books exactly, and I think these movies are just about as well as it could possibly be done. Not that I agree with every change they made, but most of them were good, and if not, at least understandable. They even made some outright improvements like better pacing and giving us more development for central characters, where the books leaves that out in many cases. I love the way the portray Boromir in the movies! He's such a tragic character, and the more we see of Middle Earth, the more we understand the very real, dire need that led him to falling prey to the ring. He's always the one to offer comfort and protect the others. If he cared less about protecting people, he wouldn't have wanted the ring so much. And all that weight on his shoulders should rightfully be Aragorn's -- Boromir has been doing his job all his life. The way they show us Boromir and Aragorn's developing relationship, and how Boromir's death gives Aragorn the resolve he needs to take on the responsibility he's been avoiding, is really beautifully done. And I do think it's a benefit for viewers to see Aragon come into his kingship rather than just assuming he's entitled to it from the beginning.
I was part of the online Tolkien community that critiqued every detail of the films as they were in production. One day we found some scraps of horrible dialogue, presumably from an early draft of the screenplay, that had the whole community in an uproar. At that time, Sir Ian McKellen maintained a personal web page from New Zealand, and I emailed the excerpts to him and asked if this was the calibre of writing we should expect. Of course I expected no response, but I actually got one. His answer (I'm paraphrasing) was: "I have a very good ear for detecting misplaced dialogue, and I assure you that Gandalf will never speak such nonsense!" And of course he never did. I think that's a good illustration of how seriously everyone took this near-impossible project.
What an incredibly heartwarming story! I have a big smile on my face! What a special response to get from such a wonderful actor. I appreciate how deeply the cast and crew cared about these films. They did such an amazing job.
Hobbits have tough leathery soles on their feet as well as coarse curly hair on the top of their feet to keep them warm. At that point shoes become redundant. 😂 Mithril is incredibly rare. Bilbo's mithril chainmail shirt is worth everything in the Shire. 😮 Unspoiled means that they are unharmed. They could be kept alive but be missing limbs. Orcs and goblins like to play with their prey. 😮 Viggo Mortenson was not Peter Jackson's first pick for Aragorn. The actor they originally chose was too young and after weeks of filming it became apparent he wasn't going to work out. So they brought in Viggo. He likened it to running to catch up to an already moving train. He did do a fantastic job though. 😅
This was such a refreshing reaction to my favorite work of literature, from the perspective of someone who actually read -- and loved -- Tolkien's story. I, too, read the story in the summer/fall of 1973, about the time that Tolkien died. And I have since read it at least 13 times. One thing I loved about the movies was hearing Tolkien's words spoken by the charcters: Noro lim, Asfaloth! I feel like butter scraped over too much bread. What do they eat when they can't get hobbit? And many more such lines of dialog. The reason these movies were so successful is because Peter Jackson sought out and hired a crew that was just as enamored with the story as he was. Yes, translating an epic story as detailed as this into an equally gripping movie is an impossibility, but Jackson and crew pulled it off. Looking forward to your reactions to the remainder of this excellent fantasy novel.
If I remember correctly the horses used by the 9 are stolen from Rohan and trained for a long time before they're actually used. They serve as the Nazgul's eyes as the Nazgul themselves can't see well in the "real" world, specially in daylight.
The nine can vaguely sense the ring, which is why they can be on their trail. However, it isn't until someone puts the ring on that they can sense it strong enough to precisely locate it. When Frodo put the ring on in The Prancing Pony, the nine instantly knew where the ring was...at least close enough to know it was probably in that building. Once the ring was taken off, their sense of it becomes vague again. They actually have to resort to old fashion tracking. They went to the room with the pillow dummies because they knew Hobbits had the ring, and that room was the only Hobbit size room in the Inn. They did the best they could.
There were several men in the Prancing Pony who were spies for the Nazgul and on the watch for a band of hobbits (the gatekeeper, a few friends of Bill Ferny), and after Frodo caused the scene with the Ring, they went out to them and gave them information.
Elrond cannot be blamed for not taking the ring from Isildur by force when he had the chance. Elrond understood too well that the moment he would seize the ring is the very moment when the ring would seize him body and soul. Had he had a chance to get it by chance without fight or strong emotions, a bit like when Bilbo found it, perhaps it would have been realistic for him to think he could destroy it. What I would have liked to watch in the extended version is additional scenes of the fight opposing the Balrog and Gandalf, notably the chase in the endless stairs when the Balrog whose fire was temporarily extinguished understood he had to flee away from Gandalf.
Exactly! Even Elrond would not have been able to destroy the ring of his own will. No one in Middle Earth could have destroyed it, except for one person - and that person isn't even in the movies.
The Peter Jackson movies are masterpieces but they do Isildur some injustice. In the books, while he doesn’t ever succumb’, he spends his time being a fair ruler who practically gave power away to the people instead of being power hungry. He comes to realize that he is not powerful enough to truly bend the ring to his will. That it will eventually overcome him. Isildur resolves to give the ring to Elrond but is killed on the way to Rivendel. It's a tragic story of a man that tries to right his wrong but ultimately fails. In the books isildur literally repented and was about to bring the ring to Rivendell and apologize as he recognized it was beyond him even for a great numenorean connected to the faithful line of the mighty Elendil I preface the prologue & war, other depictions I LOVE, captured the themes WELL, the vibe of the whole trilogy! The significance of the duel between Elendil & Sauron was Nerffed; (He wasn’t some random old bloke in armour getting smacked around) This man was MIGHTY and gleaming with power which you’ll find out in the great videos you’ll soon react to with joy! * He and Gil-Galad; last true Elven King battled Sauron and slayed Sauron’s physical body and both died in the process. GilGalad was held high by the face for all free peoples to see as he then incinerated his bodily form to a crisp of ash! Isildur was part of the fight too but not as prominently and he just comes up to the body to cut the ring finger off and…. So one example is how easily Sauron is killed in the intro. * • He's set up as this super powered badass, but all you have to do is cut off his finger? That's not how it went down in the book, where the greatest man-king and the greatest elven-king had to double-team Sauron to strike down his body, but were killed in the effort (Isildur then cuts the ring from the corpse). Especially for elves the title of king has many meanings & by the Third Age there isn’t a population large enough to even attempt to such a thing as creating a unified kingdom which would put a target on their backs, let alone many of them are beyond all of that anyway as it’s seen as doing more harm than anything good. * They also seen what happened when the elves fell upon the swords of their own hubris and passion no matter if it was for the right reasons some of the time. That it always ended up in some sort of tragedy which sometimes even damaged the earth itself. They had long known about what’s called the Long Defeat as ever since Morgoth’s marring of the land itself; pouring his remnants into it that caused the “magic” to slowly drain away from the land itself which is sad because for ages several clans of elves were born there. even the greatest ancestors were “born” in middle earth awakening to the stars ! Many of who are left have accepted the next phase of their life which is to become councillors, healers and loremasters to those within the heart to listen and the desire to learn. But above all the guardians and custodians of several things and the world itself for as long as they can remain!❤ The elves “exist” as long as the world does. And Tolkien made it obvious in many ways that it’s our world as he restored Anglo Saxon culture/Mythologies and folklore, and their languages too alongside Irish, Welsh and Finnish mythologies too. Especially Norwegian(of which I am) This is what Amazon (the show that shall not be named) didn’t deliver either [[AKA the actual story which inspired everything we love into existence with games and movies and books and so forth. Skyrim, elder scrolls, oblivion, Diablo, and world of Warcraft and D&D. And Game Of Thrones was hugely inspired by Tolkien… yet as the godfather of everything and the heart of what caused many peoples lives to be saved cannot get the justice it deserves for adaptations? People literally conquered cancer because of the books and the trilogy, the books were read to their children for years. All 25 of them. The man was a hugely respected scholar and professor in the world. Translated ancient artifacts and hieroglyphs and petroglyphs and so forth for the government etc. (JRR Tolkien even rejected being recruited into the CIA several times & he wrote everyone by letter and referenced the dudes who came to him as “little boys who knew not what they got themselves into” which showed his fearlessness.). The readers of the trilogy that came out are who he writes back to despite always replying to everyone back and forth. Many people have shared the stories regarding these conversations which were past down throughout the family lines of the people who had a personal relationship with Tolkien which was hundreds of people when he was alive. Thousands. (Some are in video format too or happened to be shared later on in the video or comes up during a video about him and his work. Especially nowadays when many of us came out of the woodwork to defend professor Tolkiens legacy from amazons money grubbing hands and so forth. Giving many channels a new lease on life where some make Tolkien related content now amongst other things they create content wise.
@@congaplayathat would have caused another kinstrife. IE the silmarillion and the book of lost tales and unfinished tales. well covered by GirlNextGondor and Tolkien Untangled and The Red Book
@@congaplaya Just the intent to push Isildur, hence killing him as a consequence, would have been a pathway for the ring's influence on Elrond. And I don't think that Isildur, though not as strong as Elrond, was a weak pushover. He would have reacted and even assuming a short fight, Elrond's final intention would probably have been to preserve the ring.
Speaking of Bill the pony, Lord of the Rings Online actually gave people an optional little quest to find Bill somewhere outside of Moria and escort him safely away from any danger so he can make his way home. ❤
Thanks, had to scour the comments to find this; should really be mentioned in the title, since me and many like me are never going to watch non-extended content.
Fun fact in the books Gandalf left for 17 years after the talk with Frodo. The movie makes it seem like a few weeks before he comes back. But it's fricken 17 years... was from 9:50 to 11:08 is 17 YEAR'S!!!
no, in the movie it is not that long. it is really few weeks or so. it was done intentionally to keep Frodo young. Helps with character development. An older person reacts differently to the events.
The funny thing, if I remember correctly, was that the entire story took 40 years to complete. Yet the movies are like a year. Can you imagine being Frodo, you separate from Aragorn, and you don’t see him again for twenty+ years?
Tolkien created a huge legendarium with various languages and cultures, however it wasn't all off the top of his head. Like fantasy writers today take inspiration from other fantasy, Tolkien drew his inspiration largely from the languages and cultures of England and Scandinavia around the latter part of the first millenium. Many of his names are taken directly from Old English, which he studied, and his various languages were also inspired by aspects of the Welsh and Finnish languages. An example is Earendil is actually a mashup of Earendel and Aurendil, the Old English and Old High German names for the same figure in Germanic mythology (Aurvandill in Old Norse) who was associated with the morning star and the dawn. The name Gandalf comes straight from the Old Norse Poetic Edda. If you study the early medieval European languages and mythology you will really start to pull back the curtain and see Tolkien's thought process. Everything from his choice of words to style of poetry is informed by this period. Also, the pronunciation of the names is largely based on Old English pronunciation (In OE the letter C never made an S sound, only K or CH).
"That's a safety hazard" lol, these films were safety hazards in my childhood. Made me want to go fight cactuses in Mexico and jump off rooftops in the favelas. You should check out the behind the scenes featurettes. Really delves into the production of the films and what Peter Jackson had to do to keep the ship afloat. These films are truly made by a fan who understands Tolkien, film and written works of art.
I like that the filmmakers wanted to give us just a glimpse of what Bilbo could have turned into had he kept the ring. (Show, don’t tell.) That lunge for the ring by Bilbo was both startling and memorable.
" Why don't they just take an eagle to Mordor? " 1. The stealth eagle doesn't exist. Sauron would see it coming. The very reason for choosing Hobbits is their uncanny ability to hide and pass unnoticed by " big folk ". 2. The eagles aren't running a taxi service on demand.
I've read several comments on that the eagles are no taxi service, as that is one of the arguments, and it's the weakest one. Note, I'm not one of the people who disputes that the fellowship should fly to Mordor, but this quest is of uttermost importance, the future of Middle Earth depends on it. Isn't that a reason most acceptable? I think the reason the eagles are not ordered or persuaded to fly them there have better arguments to people.
@jericoba Chill out, dude. The " not a taxi service " argument actually comes from Peter Jackson on the DVD extras, where he discusses this dilemma and is only offered as a humorous homage to Jackson. The thing is that we don't know that the eagles weren't already engaged somewhere else, just like the Dwarves and the Elves.
@@reactswithjax I've just posted brand new comments beneath your video! Please read them! I'd love to see your reply too! Feel free to ask questions too.
Regarding Aragorn "having no fear of fire" with the candle at The Prancing Pony: It's a fact that if you lick the tips of your fingers first, you can snuff out a candle flame with no discomfort. The saliva takes the heat.
One of my biggest pet peeves with them leaving out Tom Bombadil is the fact he showed the audience that the ring plays to the wearer and provides power in the way they want it at the time. Most of the time we see the ring used in the movies, it is worn by Hobbits, who just want to go around unseen and undisturbed, thus it provides invisibility to them. One could say that in the movie, it provided invisibility to Isildur because he was attempting to get away from the battle his forces were losing, but the ring betrayed him and slipped off his hand. The only time in the movies we see the ring used NOT for invisibility was when Sauron wore it. Tom Bombadil in the book put it on and had nothing happen, showing that for someone who was content and unwanting of anything, the ring held no power.
- J.R.R. Tolkien was a philologist, a professor of Old English, and had a passion for invented languages since childhood. He started writing tales for his personal mythology when he was recovering from trench fever, acquired when he went to the Battle of the Somme in World War I. - Yes, the One Ring _is_ sentient. - The _writing_ in the Ring Inscription is Elvish, but the language is the Black Speech. It's like using the Roman alphabet to write languages that are not Latin. - Yeah, the chapters telling about Tom Bombadil and the Old Forest "shortcut" were cut from the movie. At the time I was mad, but these days I understand why it was done. - Arwen's role was greatly augmented for the movies, at the beginning of the story she's just briefly mentioned. The saving of Frodo was made by Glorfindel in the book. - And technically Elrond is a Half-Elf... - The tale of the Boromir's meme is that Sean Bean for some reason I forget now was late for the shooting and couldn't get his lines on time, so he had the script on his knees while the shoot was made. - The Council of Elronds's outcome is another stylistic choice made by Peter Jackson, in the book it has a conspiracy tone where everyone is learning about the bits and pieces of the whole story they didn't knew before planning what to do. - Since you already know that, your conjecture is right: had Saruman never got corrupted, there would be no reason for Gandalf assuming his place in the Order. He even says in The Two Towers when he was revealed Gandalf the White the he _was_ Saruman, or Saruman as he should have been. - The Bridge of Khazad-dûm was that narrow on purpose, it was made this way by the Dwarves to force enemies trying to invade Moria from the East Gate (the one the Fellowship is trying to reach to exit the mines) to march in single line. - Fun fact: in the book the sentence is "You cannot pass!" - Concerning pronunciations, try to follow Ian McKelley's: he made a _very_ good job following the linguistic instructions made by Tolkien. - Frodo had sold Bag-End to the Sackville-Baggins and moved to Crickhollow with the help of Sam, Merry, and Pippin. They already knew Frodo was planning to leave shortly after for Rivendell, but conspired to go with him anyway. To finish this watch along live commentary, I'll say that you are right when say that adaptations were inevitable, the medias are too different to make a 1-to-1 transcription. But after all these years, I'm still mad with what they have done to Faramir in movie 2. It's the only change that went directly against the spirit of the character. There's also a scene on movie 3 where, during the Battle of the Pelennor (the one in Minas Tirith), Gandalf tells to Pippin what happens to Men after death. That was completely invented by Peter Jackson, since in the mythology it is explicitly told that no one knows the Destiny of Men after death, which is known only by Eru Ilúvatar (basically the name of God in this world).
Unlike in D&D, being half-elven, Elrond still pretty much gets all the perks of being an elf. He got to choose whether to accept the gift of immortality if I recall. As for the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, that makes sense, but if I were a dwarven architect I'd have some easily-removable railings on there. Maybe some heavy posts set in some holes, with chains between. In the event of invasion just pick up the posts and toss em in the storeroom! Source: I played Dwarf Fortress.
@@m_chupon5131 he isn't half elf. His father is since Peredhel is just a title and signifier of his lineage to Eärendil who was the true half elf. Elrond became full elf from the choice. Elros chose gift of men. His father was the son of Tuor and Idril and tuor ended up being able to choose to become counted as one of the Eldar so as to remain with her forever all the way to Dagor Dagorath and also forever more after the remaking of the world at the second Ainulindalë starring all the children of Eru Îlluvatar!
@@m_chupon5131 the bridge was to actually limit any enemy which would funnel them towards you so you can pick them off slowly etc and maybe there used to be other designs around it that broke in that war of moria so....
I agree that changing Faramir's character wasn't for the better. I liked the scene between Gandalf and Pippin during the Battle of the Pelennor, but you have a great point that no one knows what happens after men die. This was a fun read! I had no idea Sean Bean needed the script on his knee! Ha, that's funny
Here's the explanation for the no use of the Eagles: they were commanded by their creator to observe the Free Peoples but not to interfere unless there was no other hope or need of others is too great to ignore. So using them as a glorified taxi service is not gonna happen. Also Boromir was a little less eager in the book but also in the book Aragorn also had a set of balls from the onset to obtain his birthright as king of Gondor. It started shifting when in Lothlorien Legolas rode with Haldir and his company to patrol for & hunt any Orcs that followed the Fellowship from Moria into the forest & Legolas insisted on taking Gimli which both touched Gimli & reaffirmed that it was indeed a fellowship
Love your Reaction with the knowledge you add to it by reading the books. I enjoy´d it as always watching your Reaction! Best wishes from Germany, enjoy your weekend. Keep up the good work. :)
I had friends in college who were huge LotR fans. I finally read the books after graduation, mostly on my daily commute on NYC transit. I found them a slog, and I more admired them than loved them, but I did truly admire the creativity and the world building and the storytelling. And there were a few scenes that absolutely stayed with me. The ruin of the mines of Moria, and the Argonath were two from the first book that I was thrilled to see brought to life. One change I appreciated in the film was how Arwen was treated. She barely appears in the books. As I recall she doesn't really show up until the end, and I only understood who she was from the Appendices. Tolkien was quoted as saying that he didn't know how to write for female characters, and mostly he avoided them. Eowyn is about the only one he brought to life, so I'm glad the movie made Arwen a more rich and interesting character.
The whole ring poem is actually : Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie
It is really interesting to watch a person react to this that has recently read the book(s). It definitely provided something extra combined with your commentary about how you interpreted the passages and text in the story. It was a really good idea to watch the extended editions as well, as they have some important plot points to the story, such as the explanation of the gifts that Galadriel gives the company, especially the three hairs she gives to Gimli (I think the significance to that is in the Silmarillion). It would be cool if you did The Hobbit trilogy after these. They also have an extended cut of those. I know they aren't as well received as these movies, but you will most definitely be able to see and recognize things in those movies that are referenced here, and it is told from Bilbo's perspective instead of Frodo's. The shift in tone is definitely recognizable in the books, and also some in the movies, but a little less so. The Hobbit differs significantly though, as it was written with a children audience in mind, and Tolkien has said this, and also explained why it was written in a "lighter" tone compared to LOTR. Incidentally, I love that you are a, "Tea? Earl Grey, hot" lady! Excellent choice, full marks! 👏👏👏👌
I love your Picard reference! Since I haven't read The Hobbit, I'm sure those films will be a very different viewing experience than these ones. I didn't realize they had extended cuts of those films as well. It will be fun to watch them!
Time flowed differently within Lothlòrien(like it did for the whole world in the time before the sun and moon.), which is why even the fellowship didn’t realize how long they were there for after a while. None of them wanted to leave. When they left that realm they realized soon afterwards how much grime truly went by in the outside world. It was a testament to how time flowed differently in the second and especially in the first age and especially prior to the first age(where it was comprised of several ages of huge amounts of time prior to said first age)
A couple of fun facts from the writing process of the books: the early name for Frodo was Bingo Bolger-Baggins, and Aragorn started out as a hobbit whose Ranger name was Trotter. You can see where things started! I highly recommend to any hardcore Tolkien fans to read the History of Middle Earth, in those books Christopher Tolkien has compiled, edited and commented on his father's manuscripts and the development process of the novels. It's truly fascinating
They had a *lot* of ground to cover (literally) in this movie. I think Boromir's fall from grace was a necessary casualty of the run time; they had to shallow him out as the clear "insider threat".
I really love that even with knowing how the story goes and having less surprises around the corner, you still find the emotion in this. I've seen these movies countless times an know this story forward and back and there are parts that still bring me to tears. Good work
It's a shame the theatrical cut doesn't really do a great job of showing this. The scenes that really add to his humanity by showing his empathy and the burden he's under tended to be cut, and mostly only appear in the extended editions.
The elvish songs of lamentation were for Gandalf when they arrived in Lothlórien. So the song you hear is literally for him whilst being a theme for the movie itself. The only excerpt from these songs is "Mithrandir, Mithrandir, O Pilgrim Grey!" This was expanded & set to music by Philippa Boyens & Howard Shore, respectively, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It was sung in the said film by Elizabeth Fraser in the track Lothlórien. Notable about this song is that it assumes that the elves of Lothlórien were aware that Gandalf was an incarnate Maia. This is debatable. As well, the lyrics ask "What drove you to leave/That which you loved?". This suggests that Gandalf was well aware that he would fall in Moria. Other debatable verses include the claims that Gandalf was the wisest of the Maiar, and that with him the Flame of Anor would leave the world (assuming that it and he were one, or he was the only wielder of the Flame). (English comes after the Quenya) * The first part is in Quenya: A Olórin i yáresse Mentaner i Númenherui Tírien i Rómenóri Maiaron i Oiosaila Manan elye etevanne Nórie i melanelye? The Second part is in Sindarin: Mithrandir, Mithrandir, A Randir Vithren ú-reniathach i amar galen I reniad lín ne mór, nuithannen In gwidh ristennin, i fae narchannen I lach Anor ed ardhon gwannen Caled veleg, ethuiannen. * Olórin, who once was... Sent by the Lords of the West To guard the lands of the East Wisest of all Maiar What drove you to leave That which you loved? Mithrandir, Mithrandir O Pilgrim Grey No more will you wander the green fields of this earth Your journey has ended in darkness. The bonds cut, the spirit broken The Flame of Anor has left this World A great light, extinguished.
Im a big fan of both books and movies! I understand they had to change some things, but I like the characters in the books better, with one exception. Boromir had more time to develop in the book, and you get to see that he wasn't a weak man and was full of integrity. Merry, Pippin and Gimli are all different in the books as well. Less comic relief and more solid dependable company. I wish they would have had time to really show the 17yrs gap in the shire where Gandalf comes and goes during his search for information and Frodo plans his "moving" to cover his absence in Bag End. Also, the "Friend Conspiracy" with Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Fatty. The one change I'm glad they made was to Aragorns character. In the books, he is not the reluctant hero. He carries the broken sword with him and never misses an opportunity to pull it out and show people, "behold, the sword the cut the ring from Saurons hand!" I think he does it more as a rallying cry to encourage people to stand up and resist the darkness, but a reluctant heir to the kingdom just fits the movie so much more than the other Aragorn would have.
@jacobwalsh1888 oh I like book Aragorn! He's full of duty and honor. But he doesn't really work for the movies. They would have needed to do 6 movies to fully portray book Aragorn. His character is one that takes time to establish and do correctly. And while I would have loved a 6 movie arch, complete with Farmer Maggot and Tom Bombadill, no one is going to finance that many.
I love that you commented on Sam and his loyalty in the books. Obviously we can all understand and appreciate the changes made for a cinematic retelling. But some things are worth remembering. Like the conspiracy of hobbits plotting to help Frodo. And Boromir. Oh Boromir. How my teenage heart connected to his struggle when I first read the books. I agree with your original assessment, the movies where a little to eager to have him be an unstable character. (Again, cinematic and understandable). But he was such a strong, steady member of the fellowship. Someone once put it: if LOTR had been any other medieval story, Boromir would have been the main character, such is his character type. But Tolkien wrote a new kind of tale. One in which the small was exalted. And also Aragorn.
Great reaction! I stumbled upon your channel due to the fact that I love watching others who have never seen these movies, and I enjoy watching them fall in love with everything about them. Also, may I just say it was so nice to see you geeking out over certain aspects of the movie in comparison to the books 📚 🙂. And side note, may I just say that it's so awesome to see the helpful and informative comments others have left for you; the number of people who, despite coming from various backgrounds, cities/countries, men, women, etc. who have all chimed in to share their knowledge and show their love and support of yet another inductee into the world of LOTR and Tolkien is something that truly warms my heart. I may not know you or anyone else here personally, but I love my LOTR community so much. ❤ I hope you all have an amazing rest of your day/night.😊
Fun fact, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (author of the Narnia books) were friends and would often meet and discuss their stories as they wrote them. Shortly after writing about the hobbits arriving at the Prancing Pony, Tolkien commented to Lewis that his hobbits had met a mysterious hooded figure that he feels will be important. I don't know how much of the story Tolkien had planned before he started writing, but the idea that Aragon wasn't in the plan from the start is amusing to me.
Many writers describe the process of writing as the story revealing itself to them as they write it instead of having a plan and then filling in the details which I find fascinating and can't fathom how they do it.
From his letters and writings, Tolkien hadn't really planned anything in The Lord of The Rings. He was asked by his publisher to look into writing a sequel to The Hobbit, so he set out to do so... then found himself on an "adventure", delving into his own invented myth. The fact that after it's publication, he then went and rewrote sections of The Hobbit, to make them consistent with The Lord of The Rings, shows not only that he wasn't aware of how the story would go, but his dedication to creating a "real" history.
Tolkien had planned almost nothing; all he knew was that his publisher wanted him to create a sequel to _The Hobbit_. When he first began writing, neither the Ring nor Sauron were part of the plot. The Black Riders chasing Frodo and friends came to his mind as he started writing his second chapter, but it took him a while to decide who they were and why they were after the good guys. Aragorn was originally going to be a hobbit with wooden prosthetic feet called Trotter.
@@TheJrr71 funny thing is he was supposed to end up with who Eomer ended up with and Èomer believe it or not from OLD notes and letters that he married Arwen.
(Part 2 About Galadriel) ever wondered how old Galadriel is during the War of the Ring? I have looked in many different sources and depending on where you look, she’s anywhere from 17,000-20,000 years old. 6,000 seems too young as it would make her close in age to Elrond, who I know is much younger than her even though he’s 6000-8000 by the third age, which wouldn’t make sense for her at all even if she was (“690 years older” as some kept repeating on the internet making 6960!)As she was around long before Elrond was even born and time was experience differently to say the LEAST as there is a lot to go into on that subject lol.) She was born during the Years of the Trees & back then the years were something like 9X longer than a solar year so I understand the math is hard, especially since she isn’t given an exact birth year. But it is said that Finarfin, her father, was born in Y.T. 1230, so I would assume she was born sometime within 1000 years of then (being generous). Basically, I’m wondering what the most accurate range is for her age during the events of Lord of the Rings. I’ll also add that Galadriel is was around before the ents even existed (of which Treebeard is 15,000 years old so she’s OLDER than Treebeard/Fangorn) or very close to when they were “created” by Yavannah and probably had much knowledge to do with such things and or direct knowledge of what happened. Probably through an early prototype of her mirror or simply another dream that made her long for middle earth all over again ontop of the yearning she already had to go there and explore. Nothing to do with Fëanor’s oath and all that jazz. Just going from the Appendices (and maybe Silmarillion) she would have to be at least 9000+ years older than Elrond, Elrond was born near the end of the First Age, Galadriel was adult before the destruction of the Trees. Actually, more than that: I just checked, and the Second Age ended in SA 3441. So an elf born literally at the end of the First Age (FA 590) is 3441+3018 = 6459 years old when Frodo leaves for Rivendell. Elrond was born in FA 532, so adds 58 years to get 6517. Elves are mature at 100, so Galadriel adds at leas 632 to Elrond's age, to be at least 7149, and possibly quite a bit more (as attested by other comments.) One fic had Maglor(Elrond’s Adoptive Father, Maedhros was also adoptive father alongside Maglor, they were the eldest sons of Fëanor) - One fic had as much older than Galadriel; I wondered how we knew, and it was pointed out to me that Maglor was the second oldest son of the first son of Finwë, while Galadriel is the youngest child of the third son of Finwë. So, yeah. Note that the second age was the LONGEST and again time was experienced very differently back then too aside from the internal clock of elves working very differently, she’s definitely older as far as the world and the other beings that age far faster around her. I also remind you all that she’s older than the sun and the moon and witnessed & most likely even helped in the Valar’s crafting what would be the vessels of the last fruit & flower of the two trees of Valinor. She was the most involved with learning everything possible from them and it was stated that she learned all there was to learn from ALL of the Valar that they could teach and she mastered all at a deep level. (Wow hey?) She’s 25th generation from Tata one of the elven forefathers to wake to the stars. Their birth was rather shrouded in mist. Only those of her grandfathers ilk have a chance of knowing the origins a bit better as they are closer to that culture that stemmed from the beginning. The Years of the Trees were the second of the three great time periods in Arda that followed the Years of the Lamps and preceded the Years of the Sun&Moon. They were known to be comprised of several Ages and lasted in total around 1500 Valian Years or 14,373 solar years. Time flowed differently back then and time flowed differently within them too for the elves live as long as the world does. Epic hey?❤❤ The Dúnedain said that Galadriel’s height was two rangar, or "man-high" - some 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm). However, Galadriel's most striking feature was her beautiful long silver-golden hair. The Elves of Tirion said it captured the radiance of the Two Trees Laurelin and Telperion themselves. Galadriel was said to be the tallest female in Middle Earth, at 6'4”. But then Thingol was the tallest elf ever to live, and he's estimated to be almost 9' (274 cm) Thingol was also a very very prominent figure within the Silmarillion and other books. He’s the great ancestor of Elrond+Arwen and through Aragorn being directly but distantly related to Elronds Twin Brother Elros it makes him loosely connected to Thingol as well. Let’s just say he died a tragic death long long ago. I’m a continent that doesn’t exist anymore. The events I spoke of in my earlier story of Elrond about his fathers deeds, which lead to the Valar helping with putting a Stop to Morgoth for good so to say and that War Of Wrath lasted 80 years straight and it left the landmass torn asunder from the clash of gods and the holy host of Vanyar elves that were closest to the Valar than all other elves so you can imagine what a bunch of mighty elves men and Maiar fighting a bunch of fowl creatures and beings for 80 years would do to a continent. It all fell into the sea. Galadriel barely made it over the mountain before that part of the story officially broke out.
48:40 Fun fact! Cranes predate the Old Testament by over 2000 years! The Medieval period (around which LOTR is based) boasted some pretty impressive advances in technology, including the common usage of human- or animal-powered cranes for anything between lifting water, to lifting the stone blocks used in castle construction! With the means and the wealth facilitated by the Late Numenorean/Early Gondorian civilisations, it's perfectly plausible that they may have been able to construct such things as the Argonath in no more than a few decades. Although! An important point to make here is that in the books, the Argonath look distinctly like mountains from even a relatively short distance, so one may reason they don't have their arms raised as in _outstretched,_ but raised as in, actually raised up in warning/greeting. The films' interpretation does do a better job of showing that these are _border_ stones, specifically erected to act as a message of "do not enter here, enemy, unless as a friend", but they would be a sight harder to make without cracking. _Then again,_ the craftsmen of Old made such things as Isengard and Minas Ithil, both towers so strong that not even the great kingdoms of yore could hope to dismantle them entire.
Most of the language creation was based around Olde English, which mainly contained hard sounds. So a C is pronounced like we would a K. Keleborn. Gimli is a hard G, not pronounced like Jimli. There was a Celtic (hard C) tribe in East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk in modern Britain) known as the Iceni. it's usually these days pronounced as Eye-seen-eye. The true pronunciation is Ickeni. Boudicca was leader (queen) of the Iceni. These days it is usually accepted that her name was Boudicca. (Boo-di-ka) In years past it was often spoken as Boadacia. (Bo-da-see-ya). There is a bronze statue of Boudicca in London, on board a chariot pulled by horses. All very Celtic tribal. Latin was similar. The Latin word for Queen was Regina, usually these days pronounced Re-jeen-a. The old Latin would have pronounced it Ri-gyne-a. A hard G. There was little that was soft in the ancient world.
This is one of the best story and movie trilogies. I read all 3 books in one sitting after watching the first movie. Even with extended versions, there were still so much they had to cut and the movies are still awesome.
One of my favorite trilogy movies. Glad to watch the final movie in theaters at the time. It’s one of the most epic fantasy tale movies ever in my opinion.
I read the books for the first time in the early '80s, maybe 9 or 10 years old. Have read them more than once and own them all here in my bedroom I think the movie is a great telling of the books. Done as well as it can be done. They are not the same but I enjoy both. Great reaction BTW. You get very intense at the start and almost remind me of my sisters. (only a bit as you are way to nice) They only SEEM nice. 😄
The reason why Elrond didn't push Isildor into the volcano is the same reason why the eagles couldn't be forced to take the ring to Mordor: in Tolkien's morality only evil can compel. Good must convince.
So glad to see you get around to LOTR! Regarding the eagles… my understanding is they are under the control of the god Manwë and have other tasks at hand. Also, giant birds flying towards Mordor isn’t very inconspicuous and Sauron would have sent the Nazgûl to resist and fortified Mount Doom.
Just remember, you have to tell a story in a limited time to the modern audience. Even with the extended cuts, there is little time to convey what transpires in the books. In the books, you can get ideas and thoughts across that will have to take time for modern audiences to grasp. Also, in the books, there was not a lot of character development in Boromir, nor even Aragorn. We had an unfair advantage in knowing the story before we watched it. This has to convey the power and emotions of characters through action. I think Jackson did the best ANYONE could within the constraints of a modern movie audience. This will remain the best movie series EVER.
Yes, the ring is DEFINATELY sentient, and does things to try and get back to Sauron Also, I absolutely LOVE the longest setup and punchline ever, that took me years to realize although it now feels so, SO DAMN obvious... When Frodo wakes up in Rivendell, and asks Frodo "What happened, you were supposed to meet us" and he answers "I'm sorry... I was delayed", coming back to the "A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to." from the start of the movie.
Funny you should mention the MCU. 8 of the actors from LotR also played in the MCU universe, including movies and series. And, 'Every medium of storytelling has its own style,' is so very well put!
The reason Hobbits most likely don't wear shoes is because the have hair on the upper part of their feet. I don't have hair on the upper part of my feet, but I can imagine it would be horribly uncomfortable, also, it would probably make them more stealthy when hiding from danger.
Thank you for voicing your love of Boromir, so many people misunderstand his character and make him out to be almost a villain when he's anything but. His care for the Hobbits, his placing his hand on Gimli's shoulder in Moria to comfort him, his speech to Frodo about not carrying the weight of the dead...and the only reason the ring corrupted him was not out of a desire for personal power but to save his people whom he cared so much about. And then he goes and redeems his moment of weakness in one of the most badass ways possible. He'll forever be one of my favorite characters. A flawed hero who we all can sympathize with.
Boromir is such a wonderful character! His death was terribly sad, but such a wonderful redemption moment.
Agreed. Additionally when you look back on his character in the movie with the context of the way his father treated him and his brother Faramir, it adds depth to the choices and performances.
Sean Bean is terrific despite the script tainting Boromir's character (to a degree).
I read (and have continued to re-read these books) ever since the age of 11.
The more I read them, and as I continue my own journey, I get different interpretations of the story, the travels, the characters and just the over all love for these books.
So many authors have penned their own love of these books.
HP, etc, have all their roots in these books.
I am SOO looking forward to continuing with you on this journey of the movies and books.
He didn´t even want that power to save his people, he wanted the power because his father pushed him to aquire it. Boromir was intially sceptical as well.
Sir Christopher Lee (Saruman) was the only cast member to actually know JRR Tolkein. He read the trilogy every year as an adult! He wanted to play Gandalf but Peter felt he fit better as Saruman. Sir Christopher was a British spy during WW2, almost married a Danish Princess and was the real life inspiration for the character "James Bond"! The Bond author, Ian Flemming, was Lee's cousin!
Wow great facts! Thanks for sharing 🤯
He's one of the most interesting men in the world. Also his mother was a duchess if I remember correctly and he was an accomplished fencer as well
Well said 😀
By the time the movie was being filmed, Christopher Lee was simply too old to play Gandalf. Saruman spends most of his time sitting in his throne, which was physically possible for Lee. Watching the Making Of videos that accompanied the DVD release, it is clear to me that Christopher Lee understood Tolkien's book better than anybody else in the project, including the Directors.
It’d be kind of cool if they made a James Bond esque series about Christopher Lee and his actual adventures as a spy.
I love that you read the book before seeing the film again. It's not a perspective that we get to see often, and it allows for a deeper appreciation of the story and characters. Thank you, this was a real treat!
Thank you so much for watching!
I did watch the movies just after reading all 3 books before the first movie was aired 😊
@@reactswithjax @1:51 I loved the reference to your own ring. Classic! Stay a good person. Don’t let the ring overpower you. 😁
this really changed the tone. i also did read the books and 20 years ago I rooted for these movies as a kid. middle earth has set its anchor into my heart
That's not greed Boromir is showing when tempted by the ring, that's despair. Again, the ring tempts you in different ways. It's not always greed. Can be anger, fear, lust, fame, sadness, respect etc.
Yes, exactly. And none of the others had that desperate need for the ring to exploit. He's carrying the responsibility of the survival of his people -- the ones who are keeping the rest of the world safe -- on his shoulders.
@@vanyadolly Yep and they claim people like me don't have media literacy... You can't make this $hit up.
Just like Faramir's temptation was to finally gain Denethor's approval by presenting the One Ring to him.
25:32 That is so cool indeed. In 1911 Tolkien was traveled around Switzerland. He later described the local landscapes in his books. Hobbiton, for example, is the charming district of Unterseen in the beautiful city of Interlaken. In this scene we see Rivendell, which in the real world exists under the name Lauterbrunnen, which means: Deep Cut Valley. A beautiful valley with 72 waterfalls flowing down into it. When I found this place, I found a job and lived here for almost a decade.
Love this comment. Hope she pins this comment for all to see. ❤
Came here to thank you for your appropriate level of Bill appreciation. Those of us who've read the books know Bill deserves nothing less.
I'm happy to see another fan of Bill! He's such a champ. ❤
I will ALWAYS pick Bill as my favorite character.
20:38 "why are they so scary... cause they`re evil." Looks are sometimes NOT deceiving!
37:16 Thalassophobia is the fear of deep water. It is one of the fears expressed in the writings of HP Lovecraft.
47:00 Saruman sounds slightly irritated when he specifies "unspoiled", as if he has had miscommunications with orcs in the past.
Bill from lotr and bela from wot are the best horses
haha, I have a grey ("Tolkien spelling," lol) Toyota Camry, and I joked in a letter to a friend that I had named it "Shadowfax" (Silver in the day, grey under the moon, etc), but that really, considering it is the most mainstream of cars, tho very faithful, AND has a history of being wounded, as it has a bullet hole in the front passenger side door, I really should be calling it "Bill," lol.
Fun Fact: John Rhys-Davies has said the "Not the beard!" moment was actually improvised. Orlando Bloom was supposed to grab his armor after the jump, but it was a little farther then John realized and the beard actually took over an hour to apply in makeup and John really disliked the process. So when Orlando grabbed his beard by accident John yelled that famous line. Peter Jackson liked it so much he left it in the movie. If i'm not mistaken it's the only improvised line in the trilogy (Viggo's scream kicking the orc helmet and breaking his toe in Two Towers not withstanding).
And Viggo deflecting the knife!
That is amazing!
Check out his reading of Song Of Durin in Gimli’s Voice. One did. Great video with his voice edited into it. The original where he recited it was when interviewed for the second time or so by NerdOfTheRings
@@OMGtheykilledKenny42this is not true. It is an urban legend that keeps being repeated. In the director’s commentary Peter Jackson commends Viggo for successfully deflecting the knife in one take, implying that it was scripted to happen. Someone made this story up to make Viggo seem more badass and everyone keeps repeating it.
@@Zamrod he is badass. He literally kept his handmade outfit on when going into the woods, went camping like a real ranger, not a random camper. Hunted, everything. Even went to the dentist with it on. And the blood he said to keep wherever it landed so it looked more authentic with whatever his next scene was!
The reason they couldn’t take the eagles to Morder is because the quest of the ring was a secret mission! Sauron would have seen a group of eagles flying to his kingdom and that the ring was with them. He would have sent the Nazgûl to kill them, and armies of orcs to mount doom to keep them away from the lava to destroy it. It’s never explicitly said but the whole journey was very secretive to sneak right under the eye of Sauron
Plus you'd have to get the eagles to agree to it.
Completely agree with you. Also would add, and only if the Eagles agreed. They had their own thoughts and fears. They weren’t mindless pets.
Edit: toodlescae, I didn’t see your comment before I added mine.
It is in fact implied or even said in the movies that it is a secret mission. But yeah, perhaps people miss that.
Imagine being carried by an eagle, soaring over jagged peaks and sheer cliffs, and he just won't stop glancing at the little chain around your neck...
Also, there wouldn’t be a story.
I always assumed the reason they didn’t fly the ring into Mordor with the eagles was because it would be too obvious and Sauron has aerial forces like the fell beasts to intercept, so they would essentially just be delivering directly the ring to Sauron. The entire purpose of the fellowship was to keep the location of the ring a secret.
Much like the Ents, the eagles had their own will and agenda. They weren't just a taxi service to some puny humans. It's lucky they showed up to save the day as many times as they did.
The gods defeat Melkor AND Sauron Is busines of men, but god send the wizard to "help"
Gandalf, if have permission, would be like Superman 😂
The bridge of Khazad Dum had a good reason to be so narrow and dangerous. The only folk in the old days that would come to the west door was the elves who at the time were the allies of the dwarves. The east door on the other hand was a different story. Orcs would attack often. but the Dwarves needed to go to places east of the mountains so they made the bridge so narrow that attackers had to come in single file and there were many hidden archer emplacements to pick off attackers one by one.
That's a great battle strategy!
In Tolkien's book, Arwen is barely mentioned. Tolkien never could work the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen into the main story in a way that satisfied him, so he relegated their romance to an Appendix following ROTK. It's a beautiful story, and be sure and read it after you have read the main story. I think Peter Jackson & Co. did an excellent job of integrating the two stories into the movie.
Personally, I thought having Arwen carry the wounded Frodo to Rivendell, and face off against the Nazgul en route, was a perfect, and possibly necessary, change to make here. In the novel it's Glorfindel, a near-mythological elf hero from the ancient past, who pops up out of nowhere to do that, and once done, he just goes away, vanishes from the story. Arwen is supposed to be important to Aragorn, and even to the overall narrative, so giving her a significant introduction, showing that she's more than just a pretty trophy for Aragorn to win, works perfectly.
@@user-mg5mv2tn8qa pretty trophy? What do you mean by this?
I was wondering why she hasn't been in the books yet! I didn't realize the Appendix was so important. I'll definitely read that as well. I'm glad Jackson expanded her role in these films.
Arwen has very, very little presence in the novels. Her primary purpose there is simply to be described repeatedly as beautiful and devoted. She has no perceptible personality, not even any thoughts, really, aside from "I love Aragorn". She's not even really a character, she's just a goal to be achieved. Like a sports trophy to be awarded to the victor.
@@reactswithjax The main reason was simplification. There are a LOT of characters completely left out of the movies. If they put them all in, the movies would be twice as long. Anyone up for a LotR hexalogy?
But also, Hollywood can't resist throwing in some romance into a story, even when it really wasn't there much in the book,
Gimli asking Galadriel for a single strand of her hair and getting three is a very cool detail if you are familiar with the deep lore. Feanor asked three times for a single strand and she refused him. Gimli uses the 3 strands to make gems in tribute to her beauty, a parallel to the three Silmarils Feanor created out of his frustrated selfish desire to possess that beauty. Amazing world building.
And Legolas smiles after Gimli says this because he knows that story and what a meaningful gift that truly was.
@@corvus1970yup their 😢animosity started because of silmarils
@@nidheeshkumar6760it started because of the petty dwarves who weren’t dwarves long before dwarven forefathers awoken! They were hostile to elves and they thought they were another being of Morgoth to and killed then on sight so when they saw dwarves they killed then on the spot too
Sorry but those silmarils burn the hands of evil beings and burns and destroys evil beings. They flee before them
@@Makkaru112 even after that misunderstanding the relationship stabilized but after the gems never
"I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my king" just DESTROYS me every time. Great video, Jax. Thanks!
That was an incredible line of dialogue! What a beautiful thing for him to say, especially since he initially rejected Aragorn as king at first.
"Be at peace, son of Gondor."
At this point, Sean Bean HAS to have mastered the art of a death scene!
I remember Peter Jackson saying that they developed Arwyn’s character more because she’s central to Aragorn’s motivations throughout the quest, but she’s barely mentioned in the book, so they mined the appendices and Tolkien’s notes for more information on her. As for why Elrond didn’t destroy the ring it’s a moral question. Isildur was the descendant of Elrond’s brother who chose to be fully human, whilst Elrond chose to be fully elf (they were both half human/half elf and the Valar gave them the choice to change). So what was Elrond to do? Push his brother’s descendant into the fiery pit, or wrestle the Ring off him and potentially become corrupted himself? Plus did anyone truly know at that point how corrupting the Ring was?
Good points. No one who has willfully taken possession of the ring could have willfully destroyed it. Frodo couldn't. Isildur couldn't. Gandalf wouldn't even touch the thing. The only one that could have willfully tossed it to its destruction is maybe Bombadil. Though I doubt you could have ever gotten him to go there in the first place.
You forget that both of them was leaders of their respective races if one of them would have killed the other it would have started a new blood feud kinda like the elves already have with the dwarfes
Merging characters is the smart thing in movies. You can have Glorfindel in the book but it's just distracting and confusing on film. Great choice by Jackson.
The other thing was that the scene with Elrond and Isildur inside the volcano didn’t actually happen in the book. No one thought the Ring had any power left after Sauron died, and Elrond didn’t find out Isildur took the Ring until long after (I don’t recall, it may not have even been until the Council of Elrond 3000 years later). So the answer to question of “why didn’t Elrond just throw Isildur into the volcano” is the same as the answer to the question of “why didn’t George Washington just assassinate Hitler?”
Yeah, I absolutely think they made the right choice there. She's a part of the story through Aragorn, so her story and personal sacrifices should be dealt with as well.
Although I absolutely think Elrond should have thrown both himself and Isildur into the fire if need be 😂
cristopher lee said about the films that they cut out parts that were not needed and expanded on parts that sorely needed expanding, and lee was the biggest lord of the rings fan on set, he read it annually and had met tolkien in person in the past
Every time I watch the movies I send a prayer of thanks for the gutting of Tom Bombadill and the scouring of the shire. Good riddance! ☺
“Sam loved three things: Frodo, Bill, and rope.” I’m dying 🤣 but also you’re not wrong.
Don't forget taters precious.
Can't forget about Rosie! 😢
Po-ta-toes
@@rednovamistress8590boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew!
Add three more: Taters, Rosie and The Shire.
Most people have it the wrong way: JRR Tolkien developed the languages, then created a world for them (and used it, in the Hobbit, for bedtime stories for his son Christopher who died in 2020). He also worked on the Oxford Dictionary. The man loved languages.
Rest in peace, JRR and Christopher Tolkien.
Christopher also hated the movies at first because they weren't "faithful enough" to the text. Simon, on the other hand, idiotically said the movies stayed _too close_ to the books and that's partially why he allowed the travesty that is Rings of Power.
As a fan of the books, I was very surprised and delighted how well the movies were crafted. When Jackson added dialogues, they were exquisite. They are timeless classics. I enjoyed your enthusiasm.
“Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord.” -- Gimli, after parting from Galadriel.
During Aragorn's fight with the big Uruk, I always think "Its just a flesh wound". And then you said it.
Then when Aragorn cuts his head off, "OK, we'll call it a draw."
Hahahah! I should have said "Ok, we'll call it a draw." What a missed opportunity!
Gandalf's transformation is one of the few times Eru Iluvatar (God) steps in to directly intervene. The line "Servant of the Secret Fire" is referencing his undying allegiance to Eru who can only wield the power of true creation. Beautiful reaction. Excited for you to continue the parallel journey through novel and film. Cheers!
I didn't realize Eru Iluvatar stepped in to help Gandalf. Thank you so much for watching! ❤️
"Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-dûm in Elder Days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone.’ She looked upon Gimli, who sat glowering and sad, and she smiled. And the Dwarf, hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding." ... It is a favourite part of the book for me and I felt Cate player the part so very well.
At 43:00 you ask, "why that [bridge] doesn't even have railings--that's a hazard." Tolkien writes, "...The outer door could only be reached by a slender bridge of stone, without kerb or rail, that spanned the chasm with one curving spring of fifty feet. It was an ancient device of the Dwarves against any enemy that might capture the First Hall and the outer passages."
I had forgotten about that!
Your question about why they didn't they fly the Eagles to Mordor.
There is an actual quote of JRR Tolkien answering this very question. He answered..
"I get this same question asked to me by some people I see at the pub, and I'll tell you the same thing I tell them. Shut up."
My all-time favorite Tolkien quote.
Source?
That is not a real quote. Tolkien never said it.
Sauron would see the Eagles coming from far away and have the Nazgul fell beasts on standby to intercept the Eagles.
Search RUclips "why the eagles didn't fly the ring to mordor" and scroll to the 50 second audio clip of him saying that in an interview
@@kitsunetrask I know that video and it is fake.
I'm 74 and was introduced to JRR Tolkien at around 14 by my English teacher in Middle School. I fell completely in love with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; I read both at least once a year and was very interested in how Peter Jackson would interpret the book. I got to see it in the theater when it first came out and it was amazing, there was not a sound from anyone in the theater except for their reaction to movie. It was an experience I'll not forget, the worst part was having to wait a year before the next segment was released. It just gets better, the book as well as the movie.
I think that one of the key bits of information from the Silmarillion that is never communicated in the films is that after the Valar saved middle earth from Morgoth, when the people of middle earth expressed not wanting to be ruled by the gods , they were left to their own devices. But by the Grace of Manwe, he sent the wizards and the Eagles to watch over Middle earth in case evil rose again. But they were strictly forbidden to interfere or overly intervene and the affairs of middle earth. That is the reason why the Eagles are not readily available to assist or that the wizards are not flexing all their magical powers . Unless there was great need, and even then in its minimal expression. Besides Saruman , of course who betrayed his mission. With such powers from the extra natural world, how could the people in middle Earth really be free to make their own decisions.
The 20 minutes of credits at the end of "Fellowship" included everybody that had been involved in the fan website that was launched when the movie series was announced. Anyone that took part in online discussions was given the opportunity to have their name listed. I was one of those fans. I won tickets to the Fellowship premiere in Orlando,Fl. I have a 18" replica statue of Gandalf that I won on-line. I have a replica "Sting" sword that looks like and is as heavy as a real sword. But when you slide a switch, it glows blue and hums! I also have polystone statues of Golem and Smeagol, The Argonath and Minas Tirith. My wife an I attended a LOTR marathon when the "Return of the King" was released. It included the Extended editions of the first two movies as well. It started @ 9:30 am, included meals & breaks between the movies and movie related giveaways. It ended the next morning at 1:30 am... and 10 years later we did the "Hobbit" movies at the same theater the same way!!!
How wonderful that you were a part not only of cinematic history, but also of fan culture!
I am so jealous! But so very happy for you. I honestly can't imagine.
That sounds AMAZING!! I found LOTR after the first one had already been out, so although I was a bit late for the 1st movie, I dove into the rest of the trilogy almost immediately. I did get to see the 3rd one in the theater and it pretty much secured my complete love for this masterpiece. Fun fact: I had an Audi a few years back and had a vanity plate that said LOTR lol. 🤓 Talk about obsessed 😄! I would absolutely LOVE to be able to take part in such a wonderful event, even now. I've watched all of the behind the scenes and everything that was involved in its production (weapon and costume making, makeup, etc) and to be able to have not only been a part of everything, but to also have been so fortunate to own several serious pieces of the film itself. You are so lucky!!! I wish there were showings of the entire trilogy annually and set up the way your screening was, with meals and drinks, that would be something I'd definitely take part in! Sign me up ✍️🏾✍️🏾✍️🏾😊😊
Awesome, I didn't know that and it shows how hard PJ and New Line worked to get the true fan base on side. Great story, thanks!
Me and 12 of my friends had rented a cinema so that we could watch the 3 films as soon as they were released but each time in a totally empty room (around 3am). Beer, popcorn, sweets, everything to our liking. (We knew the owner's son.)
The difference between Boromir and Faramir was that for Boromir, war was a chance to gain personal glory, that's what the ring preyed upon. His brother OTOH saw war as an evil necessity. In the book he says: "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." Therefor the ring could not get hold over him. Tolkien had been an officer in WWI. An officers main goal now had become to bring home their troops safely and not to fight for personal glory. One cannot really find glory in the trenches under artillery fire.
"Unless they planted the trees for this"
Not the trees, but all the bushes and vegetation. It took about a year for it to grow in, before they started shooting.
That's incredible!
20:38 "why are they so scary... cause they`re evil." Looks are sometimes NOT deceiving!
37:16 Thalassophobia is the fear of deep water. It is one of the fears expressed in the writings of HP Lovecraft.
47:00 Saruman sounds slightly irritated when he specifies "unspoiled", as if he has had miscommunications with orcs in the past.
the tree on top of Bag end is dead they had to put cables to prevent it from falling and added thousands of fake leaves
That's gotta be one of top 10 efforts made to shoot a movie - grow the backdrop plants yourself 😂
54:11 "I don't know what you call it"
The piece of armor worn around the forearm is called a bracer.
If you read “The Silmalrilion,” you will understand why Galadriel gave Gimli three strands of her hair. It will also give you a deeper understanding of how precious that gift was. ❤
20:38 "why are they so scary... cause they`re evil." Looks are sometimes NOT deceiving!
37:16 Thalassophobia is the fear of deep water. It is one of the fears expressed in the writings of HP Lovecraft.
47:00 Saruman sounds slightly irritated when he specifies "unspoiled", as if he has had miscommunications with orcs in the past.
ringwraiths aren't scared of water in the books.. Merry also said that there is no horse that swam in the Brandywine river,.. and the ringwraiths are clothed so if they lose their clothes they're naked and can't do anything in the living world @@Mark-in8ju
Gwaihir the king of the eagles doesn't work for Gandalf. He is a friend of Radagast and prepared to do him and Gandalf a few favours, but not to take his people into Mordor while Sauron is alive.
What you said is correct. Another important element to take into account is the fact that the giant eagles and just that... giant eagles. They can be killed by a simple arrow shot from a basic bow. It's far too risky to fly there and they would've been spotted immediately.
Those are Manwe's Eagles.
Radagast is just a friend of Nature and Animals.
Never liked that reasoning. No matter where it stems from. For myself I simply accepted Tolkien to not be plothole-free. Doesn't has to be. It's perfect as is ❤
The eagles are angelic spirits. They aren’t a taxi service either
@@RoxxSermTolkien and many giant Tolkien channels explain why they don’t fly to Mordor lol
Just a couple points that may help clarify some parts of the story for you:
1. Manwe was the King of all Gods on Middle Earth and his domain was the wind and the sky. All birds answered to his call and the Eagles were under his direct bidding. They never interfered with the events in Middle Earth unless under direct command from Manwe. When the Elves (Elrond's forefathers) were banished to Middle Earth for their kinslaying in the holy land, the Gods swore to never interfere with these events again. They basically forsook Middle Earth to the fate of Eru (the One who created everything). But Manwe, in his love for the people of Middle Earth, breaks this doom by sending the Eagles, but only at the uttermost end of need, like to help turn the tide of the last battle and save Aragorn and the others from certain death. So, no eagle riding to destroy the ring.
2. It was Elindil and Gil-galad, the kings of both men and elves respectively, who killed Sauron in that battle at the beginning of the movie although they died as well. Isildor was the only one around them when they all fell and no one actually saw him take the ring, and there was no argument about destroying it at all.
Hope that helps! :-)
Wanna add to that:
3) the hobbits do indeed encounter 1 Nazgul on thier way to Bree and are saved by Gildor Inglorion and his traveling elves. And they go into the old forest after leaving Frodos new home in Buckland, and not after they came to Bree.
4) Aragorn 'only' fights 5 wraith on Weathertop! Gandalf had been at weathertop some days earlier, and was assulted by the other 4 wraith, and managed to draw them away. In the books its speculated that this proly saved Aragorn and the hobbits, cause Aragorn would most likely not have been able to fight the combined might of all 9 Nazgul combined.
Thank you! That makes so much sense about the eagles. I didn't realize they had such a rich backstory!
@@reactswithjax I'll also add 1a. Sauron would have seen the eagles coming from a long distance away. This is a mission that requires stealth and secrecy.
5. Bilbo did not "age rapidly". It's a full 17 years between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo leaving the Shire. The armies of Mordor took time to build. Uruk-hai are not made in a microwave oven.
@@PhilBagels I'm now picturing uruk-hai as microwaved marshmallow peeps.
I would argue the point about the Eagles only answering to Manwe as in The Hobbit, Gandalf convinces the Eagles to fly them to Carrock without any order from Manwe to do so.
29:31 - It wasn't until re-watching this Extended version AFTER I had returned home from the theatre following "The Return of the King" that I realized Howard Shore had introduced the Gondor Theme throughout this part of the council scenes. It filled my heart with extra Joy to hear it this early on in the Trilogy.
Glorfindel was eliminated and his actions were given to Arwyn. Also, in the book, it was 17 years between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo's arrival in Rivendell.
It might have been better to have a vague sort of mixture of Glorfindel and Arwen where one or the other takes him from one horse to the other. Then glorfindel or together with her launch the waves upon the Nazgûl. There is some gravest artwork of it. Even the part where they all had torches together and glorfindel was leading it. Then that one where he called the waters forth through the Vala named Ulmo. His eyes glowing white while his Fëa spirit burned bright. etc. “an elven Lord revealed in wrath”
This is a fun reaction. Your comments, and words of wisdom like: “If I don’t look it didn’t happen.” ‘rings’ true. That’s why I stopped looking in the mirror in the morning! I read the books in 1970. My dad working overseas left the books in my uncle’s room which was turned into storage. I saw the title ‘Lord of the Rings’ and there was a tingling in the room because of the ‘whispers’ heard from my cousin and the grown ups about the story. I swear there was a whisper in the room, “Read me, Precious.” Unfortunately, I read book two, The Two Towers first as Dad kept the first book for himself, to read on the plane. I moved to Canada in 1979 and bought my own copies of the trilogy and finally read ‘The Fellowship of the Ring. In one of my first social gathering of Filipinos in Canada, I was with the kids while the grown ups were socializing. The kids were all bored and just wanted to go home. I asked them, “do you want to hear a story?” I started telling them ‘The Fellowship of the Ring”. The kids sitting on the floor, moved closer, so I kept going. Past midnight most of the grown ups were snoring all over the house. In the dim light the kids were all asleep on the carpet around me. I couldn’t sleep, so I just sat there, feeling like Aragorn standing guard over all the little Hobbits on the floor. One of my fondest memories of moving to Canada. I remember the first thoughts in my head when I saw each film, “This is what I saw in my head!” Years ago I was commissioned to do a bookcover for wargaming combining Medieval warfare and Sword and Sorcery. I did the Anglo-Saxon shield wall at Hastings, bracing themselves against the onslaught of Norman cavalry, who were reinforced by Orcs and Wargs, led by a Nazgûl! I named the artwork “Ragnarok at Hastings” for the book “Bear Yourselves Valiantly”. Tolkien still inspires me in my work to this day.
Gàndalfs speech unveils him as an equal 9f the Balrog "i am a servant of the secret fire. Flame of Udun your darkness will not avail you"
When I was a young teenager I received the Hobbit as a birthday gift from my sister, my birthday is in early august, and so happen to read it in the last days of summer I really loved it and was hooked. I think that next Christmas I was then gifted the first book of the trilogy, I vividly remember reading it by candle light in my family's winter cabin (no electricity) as the winter stormed outside. You see I am Icelandic and Tolkien borrowed a lot from Nordic mythology, he was a linguist after all, at the same time I had been exposed to the mythical histories at school they are very important to Icelandic culture. Then over the very next years the LOTR movies would come out every Christmas season and I would go and see them with my family, and I would also be gifted the extended DVDs of the previous movie. It was magical. The books and the movies left a big impression on me and I feel that I am very lucky to have experienced the movies as they came out at the age I was. LOTR is my favourite, nothing else comes even close.
I really love watching people experience the movies for the first time or like in this case right after having read the books. I remember being a bit disappointed about the omission of Glorfindel but eventually realized why it was done. Tom Bombadil being cut was more obviously understandable. I don't remember the part about the blindfolding of the party in Lórien which is probably a sign I should read the books again.
43:13 "That's such a teeny tiny bridge! Why didn’t they just make a bigger one?"
That's a defensive feature of the dwarven city. Having a bridge makes it possible for people to come and go, but making it narrow and difficult to cross quickly gives the dwarves an advantage against an invading army in a siege. It basically forces the enemy into a bottleneck so their archers can pick them off as it takes them longer to cross the chasm.
I think one of the reasons why Tolkien's world-building feels so rich is that his biggest passion was languages. He created the languages first, just as a fun pastime that he was very passionate about, then created the world of Arda and the people living in it around those languages. It really makes Middle-Earth feels like a real, lived-in place, with it's own cultures, stories, songs and mythologies.
It also helps that creating the world of Arda, and especially the continent/area of Middle-Earth was pretty much a life-long project for him, starting when he was a student, even following with him into the trenches of WWI, as well as to Oxford when he became a professor in languages there.
As for your question about the ring, it's supposed to be semi-sentient. It's not self-aware, but it has a will of its own, always wanting to be reunited with its master, Sauron.
Oh, and hobbit feet have thick hard soles, and because they're covered in fur-like hair they're also pretty much always warm and toasty, even in cold weather, which is why they don't feel any need to wear shoes.
I LOVE YOUR BOOK TO MOVIE COMPARISON!! Can't wait for more!! 😊
THANK YOU!!!
When Bilbo drops the ring ont he floor; a magnet was used so that the ring would not bounce. It must represent its weight.
That's so cool!
The dvd extras are outstanding. Every subject is touched including the challenge of adapting the book for screen, creating the prologue, etc...
There's a particular significance to the gift Gimli asks of Galadriel and her response, I'm glad they at least included it in the extended version.
Let me emphasize how important that is by showing how big the rift was before she and Legolas Mendes it for good. - The thing is with a certain clan of dwarves: A giant set of events throughout the ages caused a huge rift between dwarves and elves since before any elf ever saw a dwarf. Elves are the firstborn. Men are the secondborn. Dwarvish forefathers were created by the hands of one of the Valar named Aulë, then essentially Eru Îlluvatar(AllFather) breathed life into them to later wake up at a later date since Aulë was still excited to create things of his very own. It’s also why dwarves overall can resist the rings power and so forth.
There were these beings became known as Petty Dwarves in the books where these beings were super hostile and the elves thought it was just another spawn of Melkor (now Morgoth) so when they finally did see actual dwarves they killed them on site. That and dwarves were keen on chopping down trees by huge amounts so you can kind of see why… but this was only the beginning. But it’s not a very good start. Buuut not all dwarvish clans share this rift as the creator of the 16 rings was an elf named Celebrimbor and is one of the best characters ever. His main smithery guild in Eregion was full of dwarves and elves called the “Gwaith Ír Mirdain”. Even Gimli’s father was really close to a certain elf I won’t name yet! ❤
Not all dwarves were enemies to elves. Galadriel and her brother were best friends with dwarves. Famously the fortress of Nargothrond was built by Finrod Felagund with the dwarves! It was only a certain clan that killed Elu Thingol! (Elwë)
Galadriel & her elder brother Finrod Felagund were best friends with the dwarves. Finrod was named Felagund by the dwarves meaning “Earth Hewer” from the fact he helped them build the great fortress called Nargothrond of which he was the elven lord that ruled there justly. Was the same for Celebrimbor and the dwarves of Eregion especially the guild called Gwaith Í Mirdain. His bestie was Narvi the dwarf. Narvi and Celebrimbor created the doors of Moria. Moria is also the elvish name for Khazad Dûm. This gift for Gimli set it into imperishable Crystal and would be the only thing left in middle earth that holds the light of the two trees of Valinor (Valanor by the Eldar). It’s basically the uncursed version of the Nauglamir. He named it The Galadramir. ❤
If you search for
'victorian hair art' then you can see what amazing things people created with hair in the past. Craftsmen as dwarfs were, I imagine that Gimli must have created something beyond exquisite!
I think they did a good job at portraying Boromir as an ultimately good person who was corrupted by the ring, with having to introduce the conflict in the condensed timeline that they had to use.
Frodo saw the Eye of Sauron only a few times: in the Mirror of Galadriel, atop Amon Hen on the stone Seat of Seeing (after Boromir tried to take the Ring) and the next time (I think) saw the Eye only when they got to Mordor.
Bilbo didn't see anything like that, because Sauron wasn't aware of the Ring being found yet and wasn't actively looking for it in the Shire. Frodo left the Shire seventeen years after Bilbo's departure. Sauron probably captured Gollum only a few months before Frodo left Hobbiton and thus learned about the Shire and the name Baggins.
When Frodo sees the “Eye”, he feels the weight of the Ring increased for the time being.
“Afternoon tea” is basically dessert assortment with tea.
Aragorn fought off five Nazgul at Amon Sul, which was quite an achievement, because that was in the night when they were at their full power.
I am sure Aragorn heard the true prophecy about the Witch King from Glorfindel himself while he was raised in Rivendell. It said that “not by the hand of man WILL he fall”. There was a misinterpreted version amongst people that the Witch King CANNOT be killed by a man (a male). The truth was that anybody with sufficient combat skills, strong will and a weapon of Dunedain make could kill the WK. It only happened that threads of circumstances led to fulfilment of Glorfindel's prophecy quite literally; you'll see in the third book/movie.
It would be counterproductive destroying Vilya, the “Ring of Air” that was in Elrond's care, as it was crafted with the power of protection and preservation of good things and beauty and the will to oppose Sauron, same as the other two Elven Rings of Power (Narya, the Ring of fire, wielded by Gandalf, and Nenya, the Ring of Water, wielded by Galadriel).
None of the Wise - Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel - were willing to even touch the One Ring for the reasons that Gandalf explained to Frodo. And even if Sauron decided he didn't need the Ring anymore, he couldn't destroy it - such corruptive malice and lust was in it. Almost no one in Middle Earth was strong enough to throw the One Ring into the fires of Mt Doom willingly. So Elrond's dissapointment with Isildur is a bit unfair. And if I am not mistaken, when Isildur was killed, he was actually planning on stopping in Rivendell to talk to Elrond about what to do with the Ring on his way to his Northern Kingdom of Arnor.
The Bridge of Khazad-Dum was this narrow as a defensive feature preventing large number of enemies to enter at once. As an escape route - well, not as great.
Saruman wanted Hobbits as healthy (no injuries) as possible, so he could interrogate them about their whole plan; and possibly turn them against their friends as his agents.
Legolas and Gimli became friends during their stay in Lothlorien. Although they had to enter blindfolded, after Celeborn and Galadriel's approval, they explored Lothlorien together.
Galadriel's gift to Gimli was of immense significance, as millenia before she refused three times to give a tress of her hair (it was held a marvel unmatched, because it contained the light of the Two Trees) to her uncle Feanor, the greatest of the Eldar (Elves), maker of Silmarills, three gems of unmatched beauty containing the light of the Two Trees that great wars would be fought over. Feanor wanted to set Galadriel's hairs inside the Silmarills. Galadriel sensed darkness in him, so she refused three times.
About 550 years later a tragedy struck that put the long lasting rift and hatred between the Elves and Dwarves.
Fast forward 6540 years later Galadriel chose to reward Gimli's noble heart with three golden strands of her hair (Gimli asked for one only after Galadriel encouraged him to ask for a gift). In our medieval terms Gimli basically chose to be Galadriel's knight and defend her honour; to Gimli, Galadriel was the fairest in the world beyond everyone and everything.*
Aragorn knelt down just to reasure him eye to eye. Frodo is 4'1", whilst Aragorn is 6'6".
Frodo was supposed to meet Gandalf in Prancing Pony Inn in Bree and then go to Rivendell with him. On his way to Saruman, Gandalf found Aragorn and asked him to look out for Frodo.
At the end of the book (and movie too) Frodo was left with another impossible task. He didn't want to leave the Fellowship, but he saw how corruptive the One Ring was and decided to take it upon himself alone, so it wouldn't tempt anyone else. That's why he was so hesitant.
Original plan was for Gandalf and Sam to go with Frodo to Mordor, and Aragorn with the rest of the Fellowship to go to Gondor and claim the throne.
Aragorn's plan B (after fall of Gandalf) was to go to Mordor with Frodo, Sam and Gimli, whilst Legolas would help Boromir in Gondor and take Merry and Pippin with them.
And of course all plans went down to “udun” after the Uruk ambush.
* (Spoiler)
After the war Gimli set Galadriel's hairs in an imperishable crystal as a symbol of friendship between Dwarves and Elves. And 120 years later after Aragorn death he was allowed to sail with Legolas to Undying Lands to see Lady Galadriel again; being the only Dwarf gifted such a privilage.
Many people wonder why Sauron couldn't sense the ring when Bilbo was so close to Dol Guldur in The Hobbit. They forget that Sauron had no tower there to sit atop as the Great Eye able to see everything. In fact in DG he had to stay hidden so as to not reveal his identity, He couldn't reach out with his mind to search for it, being that he had two powerful ring bearers, Elrond and Galadriel to the West and South, and Sindar elf King Thranduil to the North. He would have immediately been sensed and detected. I believe Tolkien even says he has his minions do the dirty work of trying to find it in the area of the Anduin where it was last known to be.
I dont think there will be a trilogy like this ever again! This will live on through eternity! Hopefully you will do the hobbit after these films😊
True. Even Jackson said he didn't think the movies would be repeatable.
@@throfur3489 so far none has, the only movies i think stands up to lotr is harry potter. All other things are garbage 😂
@@henkebenke573 Well that is just not true as I have plenty of favorites in the movie scene, but book -> movie maybe.
“Unspoiled” refers to the “spoils of war.” Saruman is telling his soldiers not to confiscate any possessions the Hobbits may be carrying. He doesn’t want one of the Uruk-hai to get its hands on the Ring.
Nah, I think you're a bit wrong here. The instruction to bring them in _unspoiled,_ most probably refers to not having any of the other orcs killing, ripping, and ruining the hobbits so that the ring might be lost, he is dealing of the unreliability of simple minds. Saruman wants to bring them to him and take the ring himself.
That is most logical and how I saw it.
@@jericoba I was about to say the same as you, as unspoilt = with all limbs intact and no injuries.
@@jericoba @Jeff_Vader
To be fair it could be both meanings; fully intact, *and* not looted.
@@ilovejettrooper5922 Well, yeah. Sure. You could argue that, if I think about it. Hm, double meaning, in a way.
I'd definitely go with the first poster who said it was "not looted".
I love the Shire, but I'd live in Rivendell above anywhere else. So, so fast. (Also, speaking of which, the Elves made their rings themselves -- Sauron never touched them. So they were uncorrupted but could be laid bare by the Ring if it was found.)
I love the integration of Aragorn and Arwen's story into the main trilogy. It is pretty faithfully presented by Tolkien in the Appendices in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen." There are several segments in "Two Towers" that are almost verbatim from that.
The "eagle" aspect is a constant question, but the simple answer is: they can't take the Eagles to Mordor because Sauron is actively LOOKING for the Ring. They would have been shot down and taken instantly. It is only through the stealth of the fellowship and the "down-low" approach that they are able to approach Mordor successfully. Plus, at the same time, Gandalf, Aragorn, and the other allies drawing Sauron's eye away from Mordor aross those same months.
Meanwhile, the Black Rider showing up in the Shire (and Frodo and the hobbits hiding) is right out of the book. The only major change is that Merry isn't there, but instead shows up later, after Farmer Maggott, and then helps them cross the Brandywine.
I prefer Arwen to Glorfindel in Fellowship. It adds so much to her courage and character (and relationship with Aragorn), while Glorfy just disappeared in the books. Plus giving us girls another girl to root for.
I love that Aragorn puts on Boromir's bracers. He wears them for the rest of the trilogy. Thank you for the reaction!
It's nice to see you appreciate how much care and detail was put into the movies, because some book fans are can be very particular. 😅 I'm always a little cautious because of that, but it's interesting to hear your opinion from that perspective!
No adaptation can follow the books exactly, and I think these movies are just about as well as it could possibly be done. Not that I agree with every change they made, but most of them were good, and if not, at least understandable. They even made some outright improvements like better pacing and giving us more development for central characters, where the books leaves that out in many cases.
I love the way the portray Boromir in the movies! He's such a tragic character, and the more we see of Middle Earth, the more we understand the very real, dire need that led him to falling prey to the ring. He's always the one to offer comfort and protect the others. If he cared less about protecting people, he wouldn't have wanted the ring so much. And all that weight on his shoulders should rightfully be Aragorn's -- Boromir has been doing his job all his life. The way they show us Boromir and Aragorn's developing relationship, and how Boromir's death gives Aragorn the resolve he needs to take on the responsibility he's been avoiding, is really beautifully done. And I do think it's a benefit for viewers to see Aragon come into his kingship rather than just assuming he's entitled to it from the beginning.
I've been waiting for these reactions since the start. So excited for you.
I was part of the online Tolkien community that critiqued every detail of the films as they were in production. One day we found some scraps of horrible dialogue, presumably from an early draft of the screenplay, that had the whole community in an uproar. At that time, Sir Ian McKellen maintained a personal web page from New Zealand, and I emailed the excerpts to him and asked if this was the calibre of writing we should expect.
Of course I expected no response, but I actually got one. His answer (I'm paraphrasing) was: "I have a very good ear for detecting misplaced dialogue, and I assure you that Gandalf will never speak such nonsense!"
And of course he never did. I think that's a good illustration of how seriously everyone took this near-impossible project.
What an incredibly heartwarming story! I have a big smile on my face! What a special response to get from such a wonderful actor. I appreciate how deeply the cast and crew cared about these films. They did such an amazing job.
Hobbits have tough leathery soles on their feet as well as coarse curly hair on the top of their feet to keep them warm. At that point shoes become redundant. 😂
Mithril is incredibly rare. Bilbo's mithril chainmail shirt is worth everything in the Shire. 😮
Unspoiled means that they are unharmed. They could be kept alive but be missing limbs. Orcs and goblins like to play with their prey. 😮
Viggo Mortenson was not Peter Jackson's first pick for Aragorn. The actor they originally chose was too young and after weeks of filming it became apparent he wasn't going to work out. So they brought in Viggo. He likened it to running to catch up to an already moving train. He did do a fantastic job though. 😅
This was such a refreshing reaction to my favorite work of literature, from the perspective of someone who actually read -- and loved -- Tolkien's story. I, too, read the story in the summer/fall of 1973, about the time that Tolkien died. And I have since read it at least 13 times.
One thing I loved about the movies was hearing Tolkien's words spoken by the charcters:
Noro lim, Asfaloth!
I feel like butter scraped over too much bread.
What do they eat when they can't get hobbit?
And many more such lines of dialog.
The reason these movies were so successful is because Peter Jackson sought out and hired a crew that was just as enamored with the story as he was.
Yes, translating an epic story as detailed as this into an equally gripping movie is an impossibility, but Jackson and crew pulled it off.
Looking forward to your reactions to the remainder of this excellent fantasy novel.
If I remember correctly the horses used by the 9 are stolen from Rohan and trained for a long time before they're actually used. They serve as the Nazgul's eyes as the Nazgul themselves can't see well in the "real" world, specially in daylight.
That's so sad that the horses were stolen and had to serve the Nazgul. Thanks for the background!
Jackson's interpretation of Boromir makes him more human, more susceptible to the vagaries of the human experience.
The nine can vaguely sense the ring, which is why they can be on their trail. However, it isn't until someone puts the ring on that they can sense it strong enough to precisely locate it. When Frodo put the ring on in The Prancing Pony, the nine instantly knew where the ring was...at least close enough to know it was probably in that building. Once the ring was taken off, their sense of it becomes vague again. They actually have to resort to old fashion tracking. They went to the room with the pillow dummies because they knew Hobbits had the ring, and that room was the only Hobbit size room in the Inn. They did the best they could.
There were several men in the Prancing Pony who were spies for the Nazgul and on the watch for a band of hobbits (the gatekeeper, a few friends of Bill Ferny), and after Frodo caused the scene with the Ring, they went out to them and gave them information.
More than vaguely. Heightened senses. Their true souls live within the unseen world
Elrond cannot be blamed for not taking the ring from Isildur by force when he had the chance. Elrond understood too well that the moment he would seize the ring is the very moment when the ring would seize him body and soul. Had he had a chance to get it by chance without fight or strong emotions, a bit like when Bilbo found it, perhaps it would have been realistic for him to think he could destroy it.
What I would have liked to watch in the extended version is additional scenes of the fight opposing the Balrog and Gandalf, notably the chase in the endless stairs when the Balrog whose fire was temporarily extinguished understood he had to flee away from Gandalf.
Exactly! Even Elrond would not have been able to destroy the ring of his own will. No one in Middle Earth could have destroyed it, except for one person - and that person isn't even in the movies.
Why would Elrond need to take the ring? He could have pushed Isildur over the side.
The Peter Jackson movies are masterpieces but they do Isildur some injustice. In the books, while he doesn’t ever succumb’, he spends his time being a fair ruler who practically gave power away to the people instead of being power hungry. He comes to realize that he is not powerful enough to truly bend the ring to his will. That it will eventually overcome him. Isildur resolves to give the ring to Elrond but is killed on the way to Rivendel. It's a tragic story of a man that tries to right his wrong but ultimately fails.
In the books isildur literally repented and was about to bring the ring to Rivendell and apologize as he recognized it was beyond him even for a great numenorean connected to the faithful line of the mighty Elendil
I preface the prologue & war, other depictions I LOVE, captured the themes WELL, the vibe of the whole trilogy! The significance of the duel between Elendil & Sauron was Nerffed; (He wasn’t some random old bloke in armour getting smacked around) This man was MIGHTY and gleaming with power which you’ll find out in the great videos you’ll soon react to with joy!
* He and Gil-Galad; last true Elven King battled Sauron and slayed Sauron’s physical body and both died in the process. GilGalad was held high by the face for all free peoples to see as he then incinerated his bodily form to a crisp of ash! Isildur was part of the fight too but not as prominently and he just comes up to the body to cut the ring finger off and…. So one example is how easily Sauron is killed in the intro.
* • He's set up as this super powered badass, but all you have to do is cut off his finger? That's not how it went down in the book, where the greatest man-king and the greatest elven-king had to double-team Sauron to strike down his body, but were killed in the effort (Isildur then cuts the ring from the corpse).
Especially for elves the title of king has many meanings & by the Third Age there isn’t a population large enough to even attempt to such a thing as creating a unified kingdom which would put a target on their backs, let alone many of them are beyond all of that anyway as it’s seen as doing more harm than anything good.
* They also seen what happened when the elves fell upon the swords of their own hubris and passion no matter if it was for the right reasons some of the time. That it always ended up in some sort of tragedy which sometimes even damaged the earth itself.
They had long known about what’s called the Long Defeat as ever since Morgoth’s marring of the land itself; pouring his remnants into it that caused the “magic” to slowly drain away from the land itself which is sad because for ages several clans of elves were born there. even the greatest ancestors were “born” in middle earth awakening to the stars !
Many of who are left have accepted the next phase of their life which is to become councillors, healers and loremasters to those within the heart to listen and the desire to learn. But above all the guardians and custodians of several things and the world itself for as long as they can remain!❤ The elves “exist” as long as the world does. And Tolkien made it obvious in many ways that it’s our world as he restored Anglo Saxon culture/Mythologies and folklore, and their languages too alongside Irish, Welsh and Finnish mythologies too. Especially Norwegian(of which I am)
This is what Amazon (the show that shall not be named) didn’t deliver either [[AKA the actual story which inspired everything we love into existence with games and movies and books and so forth. Skyrim, elder scrolls, oblivion, Diablo, and world of Warcraft and D&D. And Game Of Thrones was hugely inspired by Tolkien… yet as the godfather of everything and the heart of what caused many peoples lives to be saved cannot get the justice it deserves for adaptations? People literally conquered cancer because of the books and the trilogy, the books were read to their children for years. All 25 of them. The man was a hugely respected scholar and professor in the world. Translated ancient artifacts and hieroglyphs and petroglyphs and so forth for the government etc.
(JRR Tolkien even rejected being recruited into the CIA several times & he wrote everyone by letter and referenced the dudes who came to him as “little boys who knew not what they got themselves into” which showed his fearlessness.). The readers of the trilogy that came out are who he writes back to despite always replying to everyone back and forth. Many people have shared the stories regarding these conversations which were past down throughout the family lines of the people who had a personal relationship with Tolkien which was hundreds of people when he was alive. Thousands. (Some are in video format too or happened to be shared later on in the video or comes up during a video about him and his work. Especially nowadays when many of us came out of the woodwork to defend professor Tolkiens legacy from amazons money grubbing hands and so forth. Giving many channels a new lease on life where some make Tolkien related content now amongst other things they create content wise.
@@congaplayathat would have caused another kinstrife. IE the silmarillion and the book of lost tales and unfinished tales. well covered by GirlNextGondor and Tolkien Untangled and The Red Book
@@congaplaya Just the intent to push Isildur, hence killing him as a consequence, would have been a pathway for the ring's influence on Elrond. And I don't think that Isildur, though not as strong as Elrond, was a weak pushover. He would have reacted and even assuming a short fight, Elrond's final intention would probably have been to preserve the ring.
Speaking of Bill the pony, Lord of the Rings Online actually gave people an optional little quest to find Bill somewhere outside of Moria and escort him safely away from any danger so he can make his way home. ❤
That's so cool!!! ♥️
The opening narration, by Cate Blanchett, who also played Hela goddess of death in Thor Ragnarok.
Never knew that, cool! Don’t know much ab her but loved her as hela & she’s pretty hot👍🏼
she said the extended version and my knees buckled😍😍😍
Thanks, had to scour the comments to find this; should really be mentioned in the title, since me and many like me are never going to watch non-extended content.
Fun fact in the books Gandalf left for 17 years after the talk with Frodo. The movie makes it seem like a few weeks before he comes back. But it's fricken 17 years... was from 9:50 to 11:08 is 17 YEAR'S!!!
no, in the movie it is not that long. it is really few weeks or so. it was done intentionally to keep Frodo young. Helps with character development. An older person reacts differently to the events.
@@hint1k I have nothing against them doing what they did. It's just a fact that blew my mind after listening to the audio books!
The funny thing, if I remember correctly, was that the entire story took 40 years to complete. Yet the movies are like a year. Can you imagine being Frodo, you separate from Aragorn, and you don’t see him again for twenty+ years?
@randallwright1973 The movies made it seem like 3+ years. So yes, that would be wild. 😆
@hint1k according to Google it was 183 days which isn't even a year...
Tolkien created a huge legendarium with various languages and cultures, however it wasn't all off the top of his head. Like fantasy writers today take inspiration from other fantasy, Tolkien drew his inspiration largely from the languages and cultures of England and Scandinavia around the latter part of the first millenium. Many of his names are taken directly from Old English, which he studied, and his various languages were also inspired by aspects of the Welsh and Finnish languages. An example is Earendil is actually a mashup of Earendel and Aurendil, the Old English and Old High German names for the same figure in Germanic mythology (Aurvandill in Old Norse) who was associated with the morning star and the dawn. The name Gandalf comes straight from the Old Norse Poetic Edda. If you study the early medieval European languages and mythology you will really start to pull back the curtain and see Tolkien's thought process. Everything from his choice of words to style of poetry is informed by this period. Also, the pronunciation of the names is largely based on Old English pronunciation (In OE the letter C never made an S sound, only K or CH).
"That's a safety hazard" lol, these films were safety hazards in my childhood. Made me want to go fight cactuses in Mexico and jump off rooftops in the favelas. You should check out the behind the scenes featurettes. Really delves into the production of the films and what Peter Jackson had to do to keep the ship afloat. These films are truly made by a fan who understands Tolkien, film and written works of art.
I like that the filmmakers wanted to give us just a glimpse of what Bilbo could have turned into had he kept the ring. (Show, don’t tell.) That lunge for the ring by Bilbo was both startling and memorable.
" Why don't they just take an eagle to Mordor? "
1. The stealth eagle doesn't exist. Sauron would see it coming. The very reason for choosing Hobbits is their uncanny ability to hide and pass unnoticed by " big folk ".
2. The eagles aren't running a taxi service on demand.
EagleUber … provide flyer feedback … do you want to tip your eagle?
I've read several comments on that the eagles are no taxi service, as that is one of the arguments, and it's the weakest one. Note, I'm not one of the people who disputes that the fellowship should fly to Mordor, but this quest is of uttermost importance, the future of Middle Earth depends on it. Isn't that a reason most acceptable? I think the reason the eagles are not ordered or persuaded to fly them there have better arguments to people.
@jericoba Chill out, dude. The " not a taxi service " argument actually comes from Peter Jackson on the DVD extras, where he discusses this dilemma and is only offered as a humorous homage to Jackson.
The thing is that we don't know that the eagles weren't already engaged somewhere else, just like the Dwarves and the Elves.
Why didn't Gandalf try and summon the F15 eagle?
even Gwaihir the Windlord couldn't carry Gandalf too far.. he only carried him to Rohan to get a horse..
FYI- Viggo (Aragorn) bought the horse that Arwen's stunt double rode in the chase and gave it to the stuntwoman as a gift!
That's so cool!
@@reactswithjax I've just posted brand new comments beneath your video! Please read them! I'd love to see your reply too! Feel free to ask questions too.
Regarding Aragorn "having no fear of fire" with the candle at The Prancing Pony: It's a fact that if you lick the tips of your fingers first, you can snuff out a candle flame with no discomfort. The saliva takes the heat.
One of my biggest pet peeves with them leaving out Tom Bombadil is the fact he showed the audience that the ring plays to the wearer and provides power in the way they want it at the time. Most of the time we see the ring used in the movies, it is worn by Hobbits, who just want to go around unseen and undisturbed, thus it provides invisibility to them. One could say that in the movie, it provided invisibility to Isildur because he was attempting to get away from the battle his forces were losing, but the ring betrayed him and slipped off his hand. The only time in the movies we see the ring used NOT for invisibility was when Sauron wore it. Tom Bombadil in the book put it on and had nothing happen, showing that for someone who was content and unwanting of anything, the ring held no power.
- J.R.R. Tolkien was a philologist, a professor of Old English, and had a passion for invented languages since childhood. He started writing tales for his personal mythology when he was recovering from trench fever, acquired when he went to the Battle of the Somme in World War I.
- Yes, the One Ring _is_ sentient.
- The _writing_ in the Ring Inscription is Elvish, but the language is the Black Speech. It's like using the Roman alphabet to write languages that are not Latin.
- Yeah, the chapters telling about Tom Bombadil and the Old Forest "shortcut" were cut from the movie. At the time I was mad, but these days I understand why it was done.
- Arwen's role was greatly augmented for the movies, at the beginning of the story she's just briefly mentioned. The saving of Frodo was made by Glorfindel in the book.
- And technically Elrond is a Half-Elf...
- The tale of the Boromir's meme is that Sean Bean for some reason I forget now was late for the shooting and couldn't get his lines on time, so he had the script on his knees while the shoot was made.
- The Council of Elronds's outcome is another stylistic choice made by Peter Jackson, in the book it has a conspiracy tone where everyone is learning about the bits and pieces of the whole story they didn't knew before planning what to do.
- Since you already know that, your conjecture is right: had Saruman never got corrupted, there would be no reason for Gandalf assuming his place in the Order. He even says in The Two Towers when he was revealed Gandalf the White the he _was_ Saruman, or Saruman as he should have been.
- The Bridge of Khazad-dûm was that narrow on purpose, it was made this way by the Dwarves to force enemies trying to invade Moria from the East Gate (the one the Fellowship is trying to reach to exit the mines) to march in single line.
- Fun fact: in the book the sentence is "You cannot pass!"
- Concerning pronunciations, try to follow Ian McKelley's: he made a _very_ good job following the linguistic instructions made by Tolkien.
- Frodo had sold Bag-End to the Sackville-Baggins and moved to Crickhollow with the help of Sam, Merry, and Pippin. They already knew Frodo was planning to leave shortly after for Rivendell, but conspired to go with him anyway.
To finish this watch along live commentary, I'll say that you are right when say that adaptations were inevitable, the medias are too different to make a 1-to-1 transcription. But after all these years, I'm still mad with what they have done to Faramir in movie 2. It's the only change that went directly against the spirit of the character. There's also a scene on movie 3 where, during the Battle of the Pelennor (the one in Minas Tirith), Gandalf tells to Pippin what happens to Men after death. That was completely invented by Peter Jackson, since in the mythology it is explicitly told that no one knows the Destiny of Men after death, which is known only by Eru Ilúvatar (basically the name of God in this world).
They ruined Denethor as well.
Unlike in D&D, being half-elven, Elrond still pretty much gets all the perks of being an elf. He got to choose whether to accept the gift of immortality if I recall.
As for the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, that makes sense, but if I were a dwarven architect I'd have some easily-removable railings on there. Maybe some heavy posts set in some holes, with chains between. In the event of invasion just pick up the posts and toss em in the storeroom! Source: I played Dwarf Fortress.
@@m_chupon5131 he isn't half elf. His father is since Peredhel is just a title and signifier of his lineage to Eärendil who was the true half elf. Elrond became full elf from the choice. Elros chose gift of men. His father was the son of Tuor and Idril and tuor ended up being able to choose to become counted as one of the Eldar so as to remain with her forever all the way to Dagor Dagorath and also forever more after the remaking of the world at the second Ainulindalë starring all the children of Eru Îlluvatar!
@@m_chupon5131 the bridge was to actually limit any enemy which would funnel them towards you so you can pick them off slowly etc and maybe there used to be other designs around it that broke in that war of moria so....
I agree that changing Faramir's character wasn't for the better. I liked the scene between Gandalf and Pippin during the Battle of the Pelennor, but you have a great point that no one knows what happens after men die. This was a fun read! I had no idea Sean Bean needed the script on his knee! Ha, that's funny
Here's the explanation for the no use of the Eagles: they were commanded by their creator to observe the Free Peoples but not to interfere unless there was no other hope or need of others is too great to ignore. So using them as a glorified taxi service is not gonna happen.
Also Boromir was a little less eager in the book but also in the book Aragorn also had a set of balls from the onset to obtain his birthright as king of Gondor.
It started shifting when in Lothlorien Legolas rode with Haldir and his company to patrol for & hunt any Orcs that followed the Fellowship from Moria into the forest & Legolas insisted on taking Gimli which both touched Gimli & reaffirmed that it was indeed a fellowship
Love your Reaction with the knowledge you add to it by reading the books. I enjoy´d it as always watching your Reaction! Best wishes from Germany, enjoy your weekend. Keep up the good work. :)
Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed this. It was such a fun experience seeing the books brought to life!
I had friends in college who were huge LotR fans. I finally read the books after graduation, mostly on my daily commute on NYC transit. I found them a slog, and I more admired them than loved them, but I did truly admire the creativity and the world building and the storytelling. And there were a few scenes that absolutely stayed with me. The ruin of the mines of Moria, and the Argonath were two from the first book that I was thrilled to see brought to life.
One change I appreciated in the film was how Arwen was treated. She barely appears in the books. As I recall she doesn't really show up until the end, and I only understood who she was from the Appendices. Tolkien was quoted as saying that he didn't know how to write for female characters, and mostly he avoided them. Eowyn is about the only one he brought to life, so I'm glad the movie made Arwen a more rich and interesting character.
The whole ring poem is actually : Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie
It is really interesting to watch a person react to this that has recently read the book(s). It definitely provided something extra combined with your commentary about how you interpreted the passages and text in the story. It was a really good idea to watch the extended editions as well, as they have some important plot points to the story, such as the explanation of the gifts that Galadriel gives the company, especially the three hairs she gives to Gimli (I think the significance to that is in the Silmarillion). It would be cool if you did The Hobbit trilogy after these. They also have an extended cut of those. I know they aren't as well received as these movies, but you will most definitely be able to see and recognize things in those movies that are referenced here, and it is told from Bilbo's perspective instead of Frodo's. The shift in tone is definitely recognizable in the books, and also some in the movies, but a little less so. The Hobbit differs significantly though, as it was written with a children audience in mind, and Tolkien has said this, and also explained why it was written in a "lighter" tone compared to LOTR. Incidentally, I love that you are a, "Tea? Earl Grey, hot" lady! Excellent choice, full marks! 👏👏👏👌
I love your Picard reference! Since I haven't read The Hobbit, I'm sure those films will be a very different viewing experience than these ones. I didn't realize they had extended cuts of those films as well. It will be fun to watch them!
Time flowed differently within Lothlòrien(like it did for the whole world in the time before the sun and moon.), which is why even the fellowship didn’t realize how long they were there for after a while. None of them wanted to leave. When they left that realm they realized soon afterwards how much grime truly went by in the outside world. It was a testament to how time flowed differently in the second and especially in the first age and especially prior to the first age(where it was comprised of several ages of huge amounts of time prior to said first age)
A couple of fun facts from the writing process of the books: the early name for Frodo was Bingo Bolger-Baggins, and Aragorn started out as a hobbit whose Ranger name was Trotter. You can see where things started! I highly recommend to any hardcore Tolkien fans to read the History of Middle Earth, in those books Christopher Tolkien has compiled, edited and commented on his father's manuscripts and the development process of the novels. It's truly fascinating
They had a *lot* of ground to cover (literally) in this movie. I think Boromir's fall from grace was a necessary casualty of the run time; they had to shallow him out as the clear "insider threat".
I really love that even with knowing how the story goes and having less surprises around the corner, you still find the emotion in this. I've seen these movies countless times an know this story forward and back and there are parts that still bring me to tears. Good work
The point of Boromir was to illustrate how the One Ring can corrupt anyone.
Even Gandalf dare not touch it.
It's a shame the theatrical cut doesn't really do a great job of showing this. The scenes that really add to his humanity by showing his empathy and the burden he's under tended to be cut, and mostly only appear in the extended editions.
The elvish songs of lamentation were for Gandalf when they arrived in Lothlórien. So the song you hear is literally for him whilst being a theme for the movie itself. The only excerpt from these songs is "Mithrandir, Mithrandir, O Pilgrim Grey!"
This was expanded & set to music by Philippa Boyens & Howard Shore, respectively, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It was sung in the said film by Elizabeth Fraser in the track Lothlórien. Notable about this song is that it assumes that the elves of Lothlórien were aware that Gandalf was an incarnate Maia. This is debatable. As well, the lyrics ask "What drove you to leave/That which you loved?". This suggests that Gandalf was well aware that he would fall in Moria. Other debatable verses include the claims that Gandalf was the wisest of the Maiar, and that with him the Flame of Anor would leave the world (assuming that it and he were one, or he was the only wielder of the Flame).
(English comes after the Quenya)
* The first part is in Quenya:
A Olórin i yáresse
Mentaner i Númenherui
Tírien i Rómenóri
Maiaron i Oiosaila
Manan elye etevanne
Nórie i melanelye?
The Second part is in Sindarin:
Mithrandir, Mithrandir, A Randir Vithren
ú-reniathach i amar galen
I reniad lín ne mór, nuithannen
In gwidh ristennin, i fae narchannen
I lach Anor ed ardhon gwannen
Caled veleg, ethuiannen.
* Olórin, who once was...
Sent by the Lords of the West
To guard the lands of the East
Wisest of all Maiar
What drove you to leave
That which you loved?
Mithrandir, Mithrandir O Pilgrim Grey
No more will you wander the green fields of this earth
Your journey has ended in darkness.
The bonds cut, the spirit broken
The Flame of Anor has left this World
A great light, extinguished.
"What drove you to leave that which you loved" really seems to be a theme of this story. Incredibly written. 🧡
Im a big fan of both books and movies! I understand they had to change some things, but I like the characters in the books better, with one exception.
Boromir had more time to develop in the book, and you get to see that he wasn't a weak man and was full of integrity.
Merry, Pippin and Gimli are all different in the books as well. Less comic relief and more solid dependable company. I wish they would have had time to really show the 17yrs gap in the shire where Gandalf comes and goes during his search for information and Frodo plans his "moving" to cover his absence in Bag End. Also, the "Friend Conspiracy" with Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Fatty.
The one change I'm glad they made was to Aragorns character. In the books, he is not the reluctant hero. He carries the broken sword with him and never misses an opportunity to pull it out and show people, "behold, the sword the cut the ring from Saurons hand!" I think he does it more as a rallying cry to encourage people to stand up and resist the darkness, but a reluctant heir to the kingdom just fits the movie so much more than the other Aragorn would have.
Strongly disagree. I vastly prefer the book Aragorn.
@jacobwalsh1888 oh I like book Aragorn! He's full of duty and honor. But he doesn't really work for the movies. They would have needed to do 6 movies to fully portray book Aragorn. His character is one that takes time to establish and do correctly. And while I would have loved a 6 movie arch, complete with Farmer Maggot and Tom Bombadill, no one is going to finance that many.
I love that you commented on Sam and his loyalty in the books. Obviously we can all understand and appreciate the changes made for a cinematic retelling. But some things are worth remembering. Like the conspiracy of hobbits plotting to help Frodo.
And Boromir. Oh Boromir. How my teenage heart connected to his struggle when I first read the books. I agree with your original assessment, the movies where a little to eager to have him be an unstable character. (Again, cinematic and understandable). But he was such a strong, steady member of the fellowship. Someone once put it: if LOTR had been any other medieval story, Boromir would have been the main character, such is his character type. But Tolkien wrote a new kind of tale. One in which the small was exalted. And also Aragorn.
Great reaction! I stumbled upon your channel due to the fact that I love watching others who have never seen these movies, and I enjoy watching them fall in love with everything about them. Also, may I just say it was so nice to see you geeking out over certain aspects of the movie in comparison to the books 📚 🙂. And side note, may I just say that it's so awesome to see the helpful and informative comments others have left for you; the number of people who, despite coming from various backgrounds, cities/countries, men, women, etc. who have all chimed in to share their knowledge and show their love and support of yet another inductee into the world of LOTR and Tolkien is something that truly warms my heart. I may not know you or anyone else here personally, but I love my LOTR community so much. ❤ I hope you all have an amazing rest of your day/night.😊
Fun fact, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (author of the Narnia books) were friends and would often meet and discuss their stories as they wrote them. Shortly after writing about the hobbits arriving at the Prancing Pony, Tolkien commented to Lewis that his hobbits had met a mysterious hooded figure that he feels will be important.
I don't know how much of the story Tolkien had planned before he started writing, but the idea that Aragon wasn't in the plan from the start is amusing to me.
Many writers describe the process of writing as the story revealing itself to them as they write it instead of having a plan and then filling in the details which I find fascinating and can't fathom how they do it.
That's wonderful! I love that those two incredible storytellers were friends and that Aragorn was a mystery to both the hobbits and Tolkien at first.
From his letters and writings, Tolkien hadn't really planned anything in The Lord of The Rings. He was asked by his publisher to look into writing a sequel to The Hobbit, so he set out to do so... then found himself on an "adventure", delving into his own invented myth. The fact that after it's publication, he then went and rewrote sections of The Hobbit, to make them consistent with The Lord of The Rings, shows not only that he wasn't aware of how the story would go, but his dedication to creating a "real" history.
Tolkien had planned almost nothing; all he knew was that his publisher wanted him to create a sequel to _The Hobbit_. When he first began writing, neither the Ring nor Sauron were part of the plot. The Black Riders chasing Frodo and friends came to his mind as he started writing his second chapter, but it took him a while to decide who they were and why they were after the good guys.
Aragorn was originally going to be a hobbit with wooden prosthetic feet called Trotter.
@@TheJrr71 funny thing is he was supposed to end up with who Eomer ended up with and Èomer believe it or not from OLD notes and letters that he married Arwen.
(Part 2 About Galadriel) ever wondered how old Galadriel is during the War of the Ring? I have looked in many different sources and depending on where you look, she’s anywhere from 17,000-20,000 years old. 6,000 seems too young as it would make her close in age to Elrond, who I know is much younger than her even though he’s 6000-8000 by the third age, which wouldn’t make sense for her at all even if she was (“690 years older” as some kept repeating on the internet making 6960!)As she was around long before Elrond was even born and time was experience differently to say the LEAST as there is a lot to go into on that subject lol.) She was born during the Years of the Trees & back then the years were something like 9X longer than a solar year so I understand the math is hard, especially since she isn’t given an exact birth year. But it is said that Finarfin, her father, was born in Y.T. 1230, so I would assume she was born sometime within 1000 years of then (being generous).
Basically, I’m wondering what the most accurate range is for her age during the events of Lord of the Rings. I’ll also add that Galadriel is was around before the ents even existed (of which Treebeard is 15,000 years old so she’s OLDER than Treebeard/Fangorn) or very close to when they were “created” by Yavannah and probably had much knowledge to do with such things and or direct knowledge of what happened. Probably through an early prototype of her mirror or simply another dream that made her long for middle earth all over again ontop of the yearning she already had to go there and explore. Nothing to do with Fëanor’s oath and all that jazz.
Just going from the Appendices (and maybe Silmarillion) she would have to be at least 9000+ years older than Elrond, Elrond was born near the end of the First Age, Galadriel was adult before the destruction of the Trees.
Actually, more than that: I just checked, and the Second Age ended in SA 3441. So an elf born literally at the end of the First Age (FA 590) is 3441+3018 = 6459 years old when Frodo leaves for Rivendell. Elrond was born in FA 532, so adds 58 years to get 6517. Elves are mature at 100, so Galadriel adds at leas 632 to Elrond's age, to be at least 7149, and possibly quite a bit more (as attested by other comments.)
One fic had Maglor(Elrond’s Adoptive Father, Maedhros was also adoptive father alongside Maglor, they were the eldest sons of Fëanor) - One fic had as much older than Galadriel; I wondered how we knew, and it was pointed out to me that Maglor was the second oldest son of the first son of Finwë, while Galadriel is the youngest child of the third son of Finwë. So, yeah.
Note that the second age was the LONGEST and again time was experienced very differently back then too aside from the internal clock of elves working very differently, she’s definitely older as far as the world and the other beings that age far faster around her.
I also remind you all that she’s older than the sun and the moon and witnessed & most likely even helped in the Valar’s crafting what would be the vessels of the last fruit & flower of the two trees of Valinor. She was the most involved with learning everything possible from them and it was stated that she learned all there was to learn from ALL of the Valar that they could teach and she mastered all at a deep level. (Wow hey?)
She’s 25th generation from Tata one of the elven forefathers to wake to the stars. Their birth was rather shrouded in mist. Only those of her grandfathers ilk have a chance of knowing the origins a bit better as they are closer to that culture that stemmed from the beginning.
The Years of the Trees were the second of the three great time periods in Arda that followed the Years of the Lamps and preceded the Years of the Sun&Moon. They were known to be comprised of several Ages and lasted in total around 1500 Valian Years or 14,373 solar years.
Time flowed differently back then and time flowed differently within them too for the elves live as long as the world does. Epic hey?❤❤
The Dúnedain said that Galadriel’s height was two rangar, or "man-high" - some 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm). However, Galadriel's most striking feature was her beautiful long silver-golden hair. The Elves of Tirion said it captured the radiance of the Two Trees Laurelin and Telperion themselves. Galadriel was said to be the tallest female in Middle Earth, at 6'4”. But then Thingol was the tallest elf ever to live, and he's estimated to be almost 9' (274 cm)
Thingol was also a very very prominent figure within the Silmarillion and other books. He’s the great ancestor of Elrond+Arwen and through Aragorn being directly but distantly related to Elronds Twin Brother Elros it makes him loosely connected to Thingol as well. Let’s just say he died a tragic death long long ago. I’m a continent that doesn’t exist anymore. The events I spoke of in my earlier story of Elrond about his fathers deeds, which lead to the Valar helping with putting a Stop to Morgoth for good so to say and that War Of Wrath lasted 80 years straight and it left the landmass torn asunder from the clash of gods and the holy host of Vanyar elves that were closest to the Valar than all other elves so you can imagine what a bunch of mighty elves men and Maiar fighting a bunch of fowl creatures and beings for 80 years would do to a continent. It all fell into the sea. Galadriel barely made it over the mountain before that part of the story officially broke out.
Don't forget, Elrond is Isildur and Aragorn' s great-great-great-great Uncle!
If you do the math, Aragorn and Arwen are first cousins, sixty-four times removed
48:40
Fun fact! Cranes predate the Old Testament by over 2000 years!
The Medieval period (around which LOTR is based) boasted some pretty impressive advances in technology, including the common usage of human- or animal-powered cranes for anything between lifting water, to lifting the stone blocks used in castle construction! With the means and the wealth facilitated by the Late Numenorean/Early Gondorian civilisations, it's perfectly plausible that they may have been able to construct such things as the Argonath in no more than a few decades.
Although!
An important point to make here is that in the books, the Argonath look distinctly like mountains from even a relatively short distance, so one may reason they don't have their arms raised as in _outstretched,_ but raised as in, actually raised up in warning/greeting. The films' interpretation does do a better job of showing that these are _border_ stones, specifically erected to act as a message of "do not enter here, enemy, unless as a friend", but they would be a sight harder to make without cracking.
_Then again,_ the craftsmen of Old made such things as Isengard and Minas Ithil, both towers so strong that not even the great kingdoms of yore could hope to dismantle them entire.
Most of the language creation was based around Olde English, which mainly contained hard sounds. So a C is pronounced like we would a K. Keleborn. Gimli is a hard G, not pronounced like Jimli.
There was a Celtic (hard C) tribe in East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk in modern Britain) known as the Iceni. it's usually these days pronounced as Eye-seen-eye. The true pronunciation is Ickeni. Boudicca was leader (queen) of the Iceni. These days it is usually accepted that her name was Boudicca. (Boo-di-ka) In years past it was often spoken as Boadacia. (Bo-da-see-ya). There is a bronze statue of Boudicca in London, on board a chariot pulled by horses. All very Celtic tribal.
Latin was similar. The Latin word for Queen was Regina, usually these days pronounced Re-jeen-a. The old Latin would have pronounced it Ri-gyne-a. A hard G.
There was little that was soft in the ancient world.
This is one of the best story and movie trilogies. I read all 3 books in one sitting after watching the first movie.
Even with extended versions, there were still so much they had to cut and the movies are still awesome.
I agree that this is one of the best stories! It's wild to think about how much they left out. Although, I think they included so many great parts.
One of my favorite trilogy movies. Glad to watch the final movie in theaters at the time. It’s one of the most epic fantasy tale movies ever in my opinion.
IIRC, Bill the Pony returns safely to Bree, because he remembers the way home.
I read the books for the first time in the early '80s, maybe 9 or 10 years old. Have read them more than once and own them all here in my bedroom I think the movie is a great telling of the books. Done as well as it can be done. They are not the same but I enjoy both. Great reaction BTW. You get very intense at the start and almost remind me of my sisters. (only a bit as you are way to nice) They only SEEM nice. 😄
The reason why Elrond didn't push Isildor into the volcano is the same reason why the eagles couldn't be forced to take the ring to Mordor: in Tolkien's morality only evil can compel. Good must convince.
So glad to see you get around to LOTR! Regarding the eagles… my understanding is they are under the control of the god Manwë and have other tasks at hand. Also, giant birds flying towards Mordor isn’t very inconspicuous and Sauron would have sent the Nazgûl to resist and fortified Mount Doom.
and also it's like 2000 Celsius around volcanos so you know.. not a good place for a bird
Just remember, you have to tell a story in a limited time to the modern audience. Even with the extended cuts, there is little time to convey what transpires in the books. In the books, you can get ideas and thoughts across that will have to take time for modern audiences to grasp. Also, in the books, there was not a lot of character development in Boromir, nor even Aragorn. We had an unfair advantage in knowing the story before we watched it. This has to convey the power and emotions of characters through action. I think Jackson did the best ANYONE could within the constraints of a modern movie audience. This will remain the best movie series EVER.
Yes, the ring is DEFINATELY sentient, and does things to try and get back to Sauron
Also, I absolutely LOVE the longest setup and punchline ever, that took me years to realize although it now feels so, SO DAMN obvious...
When Frodo wakes up in Rivendell, and asks Frodo "What happened, you were supposed to meet us" and he answers "I'm sorry... I was delayed", coming back to the "A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to." from the start of the movie.
Funny you should mention the MCU. 8 of the actors from LotR also played in the MCU universe, including movies and series. And, 'Every medium of storytelling has its own style,' is so very well put!
The reason Hobbits most likely don't wear shoes is because the have hair on the upper part of their feet. I don't have hair on the upper part of my feet, but I can imagine it would be horribly uncomfortable, also, it would probably make them more stealthy when hiding from danger.
"Why can't they just take the Eagles to Mordor?"
One does not simply fly into Mordor.
The Nazgul on a fell-beast would have taken out the eagles.