The trilogy is COMPLETE!! Thank you everyone for joining us and waiting patiently for this final part to be edited😅 our full reaction can also be watched on our Patreon www.patreon.com/caraprez We will be bringing MONTHLY MOVIES to the channel starting September!What would you guys like to see?🤔
Don't worry guys, most of us teared up the first time we saw the ride of the Rohirrim, I still do every time I rewatch it. Nothing fills your soul with more hope and light than watching those brave souls charge into the heart of darkness, despite their flaws and their connections and their families and friends. They have something the orcs and other dark forces of middle earth don't have, the human spirit. And that scene showcases it, in all its beautiful and unwavering glory. Above all differences and shortcomings, we band together to achieve the common good, not because we want to, but because we have to.
I was 22, just graduated college and was teaching HS part-time. I went with some friends and met up with my dad and some of his co-workers and saw the first 12pm show on the Friday it opened in theaters. I am not lying or exaggerating when I say at least HALF the audience (giant theater) stood up and cheered when Rohan appeared on the Pelennor Fields.
Sam is eventually elected Mayor of the Shire, and Merry and Pippin hold offices as well. Once they all grow old; Sam goes to Valinor to be with Frodo as he is allowed to because he was a ring bearer for a time, Merry and Pippin go and hang out with Eomer who is a King and become his advisors. Once King Eomer dies, Merry and Pippin go to Gondor to live out the rest of their days. When they die theyre burried among the greatest men of Gondor. Once King Elessar(Aragorn) dies, they are moved to be by his side. After the passing of King Elessar, Legolas and Gimli leave Middle Earth to go to Valinor as well. Gimli becomes the only Dwarf allowed in Valinor thanks to his friendship with Legolas. And so ends the Fellowship of the Ring.
And after everyone is gone or dead, Arwen goes back to Lorien and falls asleep in the wood...and there she will lie ever until elanor and nephredil bloom no more this side of the sea...the last words of the Lord of the Rings.
There will never be anything like this in cinema ever again. This was a once in a lifetime production and everyone poured their all into it. They made a timeless masterpiece. It is undeniable how important these films are in the history of cinema, be it in adaptation theory or in the endless technology that was developed for this. Some techniques and software is still being used today, and it was first used on these films, seriously it's craaaazy once you dive into it. These movies made me go into film school and istg I do a yearly re-watch cause it is just magical. I can't tell you how specials these movies are for me and watching you guys react to it made me incredibly happy to be part of it, thank you for this!
38:09 Common "modern" misconception... Eowyn and Merry weren't told to stay back from war because they were "looked down upon"... Theoden and Eomer tried to spare them from the horrors of battle and keep them alive to continue to live in the world and continue to do good. Theoden wanted Eowyn to lead the people, because he trusted her. That's a big deal and an honorable thing. Same thing at Helm's Deep. The honorable thing isn't always to die or to experience death and horror... sometimes it's to keep living and keep doing good!
Well said. Also, I hope I don't sound mean or anything but I'm always so surprised when adult people watching LOTR movies react the same way I did when I was 12 😅You' d think as grown ups we would put more thought into analysing the characters and their motivations. Of course it is still interesting to hear a different perspective.
Yeah, it's not like, 'Oh yeah, we're men, so we get to go and fight." It's a heavy, terrible weight. It's glamorized in songs and tales, but especially the scene with Eomer and Eowyn, you can see that he's just trying to protect his little sister. He's already lost his cousin and who knows how many comrades in battle
@@silver9wolf6 The problem is very few women seem to understand this. You don't become a hero by never leaving the office...you become a hero by being in pain for the rest of your life. Men do not want women to experience that kind of pain.
@@SixFour0391 You become a hero by risking your life for those you care for--from your comrades in arms up to everyone in the world you just saved. My uncle earned a bronze star in Vietnam for bravery, and never got a scratch on him...but he's only shared his experiences with my father, who is also a Vietnam vet. They get it. You do your duty...no one tries to earn a medal, they just try to help one another in the middle of madness and hell. Eowyn was already a warrior, a shield-maiden, which was a tradition in Rohan. They weren't common, but women who had the ability carried arms in their land. Most women don't have what it takes to be infantry, but you know what? Most men don't, either. I'm 6'5", and was a basketball player and track & field athlete in high school...but there was a girl on the team who did shot put and discus who could have broken me in half for all of that. Theoden also named Eomer his heir after his son died, and before they both rode off to war, Theoden named Eowyn next in line to rule, if he and Eomer died.
Frodo isn't going across the sea for new adventures. He's going there to find peace from the trauma he has suffered. Fun fact, Sam will one day follow him once his kids are grown and Rosie passes away, so they do reunite eventually.
Not to be *that guy* but they will not reunite in Valinor as Frodo will have passed on by then. Mortals still die in the Undying Lands (so named for the occupants of that land, not because it makes anyone immortal) in fact they burn out quicker. But he will be healed first. So sadly if Frodo and Sam ever reunite it will be wherever Men's souls go when they leave the Circles of the World (the Elves know not whence). Edit: Sources in Letter 325 and Akallabeth, see below
@sagequerido266 I have read all of Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales, Children of Húrin, Fall of Númenor, Ainulindalë and The Fall of Gondolin....... but never once, not once I found it written anywhere that mortals die in Arda. In Ainulindalë it's just said that it's not permitted to return upon entrance. You are just creating your own theories at this point.
@@saranyasaha7274 Letter 325: "As for Frodo or other mortals, they could only dwell in Aman for a limited time - whether brief or long. The Valar had neither the power nor the right to confer 'immortality' upon them. Their sojourn was a 'purgatory', but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (die at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing." And in Akallabeth: " 'The Doom of the World,’ they said, ‘One alone can change who made it. And were you so to voyage that escaping all deceits and snares you came indeed to Aman, the Blessed Realm, little would it profit you. For it is not the land of Manwë that makes its people deathless, but the Deathless that dwell therein have hallowed the land; and there you would but wither and grow weary the sooner, as moths in a light too strong and steadfast.’ " You could just ask for a source.
@@saranyasaha7274 nothing can stop the fate of men, even in Valinor. Only Tuor was given eternal life, and that was because he was remade into one of the eldar.
@@sagequerido266 Mortals don't literally "burn out" in Aman. They seem to age quicker because only they are aging. It's possible Frodo was still alive when Sam journeyed to the west but we don't have confirmation from Tolkien.
Our patience has paid off! Congratulations, Cara! You have now bore witness to one of, if not THE best, trilogies in the history of cinema. Return of the King had everything you could ask for and more, then proceeded to win every Oscar it was nominated for. EDIT: Also, I encourage you both to look up the Behind the Scenes of the trilogy. Particularly the story about how Sir Christopher Lee dictated how he would be stabbed by Wormtongue!
iirc, Peter Jackson tried to tell Sir Christopher Lee how to get stabbed, to which Lee replied "have you ever seen a man get stabbed to death?" alluding to his military service. For all his life he refused to give any details about his time as an intelligence officer.
Sorry for the double comment but: what Eowyn loved in Aragorn was mostly an image of a high, lordly, brave, heroic figure, because that's what she wished to be herself. As Aragorn put it in the book: the same way a little boy who aspires to be a soldier admires a great, famous, brave captain. Faramir at first pitied her but very quickly fell in love with her and Eowyn after a short time realized that she loves him too and that in Aragorn she loved an idea. They spent a long time together in the Houses of Healing, but they've never met before. Eowyn also decided that she doesn't want to live only for war and fighting anymore, she will rather "care for things that grow". After the war they married, Faramir was made Prince of Ithilien and they lived together there, within sight of Minas Tirith
So each of the Nazgul has what is called the Black Breath, which infects anyone they come into contact with. It's like a plague, inflicting a painful sickness on whoever is inflicted with it. Merry and Eowyn both got hit with the Black Breath from fighting the Witch-king. That's why they were so weak in the aftermath of the battle, and why Eowyn was out cold. Also imagine being Eomer, who not only lost his uncle the king in the battle, but also just found his sister - who wasn't even supposed to be there - laying lifeless on the battlefield.
@@rigrmortis3393Then suddenly he beheld his sister Éowyn as she lay, and he knew her. He stood a moment as a man who is pierced in the most of a cry by an arrow through the heart; and then his face went deathly white, and a cold fury rose in him, so that all speech failed him for a while. 'Éowyn, Éowyn!' he cried at last. 'Éowyn, how came you here? What madness or devilry is this? Death, death, death! Death take us all!' Then without taking counsel or waiting for the approach of the men of the City, he spurred headlong back to the front of the great host, and blew a horn, and cried aloud for the onset. Over the field rang his clear voice calling:' Death! Ride, ride to ruin and the world's ending!' And with that the host began to move. But the Rohirrim sang no more. *Death* they cried with one voice loud and terrible, and gathering speed like a great tide their battle swept about their fallen king and passed, roaring away southwards.
What I love about Frodo sailing to the Undying Lands is that most fantasy stories, stories about journeys, just show a happy ending. All is good in the world, without trauma, without reflection. I think that, on top of being an extremely talented writer, Tolkien used his own experiences to show that the journey all comes with sacrifice, and sometimes that sacrifice can leave wounds that can never be healed. That is reality. Frodo never wanted to be a hero, and he never wanted to leave the Shire. Despite wanting to follow Bilbo's footsteps (at times), he acknowledged that he was not like Bilbo, something that I think most people forget. Frodo took on the role of the Ring-bearer out of duty, sense of responsibility, and his love for the Shire. He started this journey completely unprepared, full of innocence, not knowing what life was like outside the Shire. Encountering the Nazgul, with their blood-chilling cries and their evil presence, is enough to paralyze just about anyone. Their cries are a reminder to Frodo that they are always chasing him. Frodo has nightmares about the Nazgul, even when he is in places where Sauron cannot reach him. It's an impending fear of death that haunts him over and over, on top of the ring's effects. The stab wound he received would be a wound that he would never heal from, signaling both a physical and psychological trauma. As he gets closer and closer to evil, the one ring's power becomes more powerful and evil. Frodo doesn't even have to see Sauron's eye in-person; he can feel his searching gaze on him all the time. Knowing this, as he gets closer to the tower where the eye actually is, his fear and anxiety only continues to grow. The eye invades your privacy - you are completely naked in front of it, mind, body and heart. There is no escape, there is no air to breathe. Frodo carries the ring knowing that he will probably never make it out alive. He'll probably never return to the Shire again, see his family and friends, see the joy and peace that he's always known. Frodo believed that the destruction of the ring also meant his death, because there was just no way he'd make it out. On one hand, he was sort of right. He made it out, but he didn't make it out the same. Frodo was left with PTSD from the wound, from seeing the eye so many times, from being on the verge of death several times, from several injuries aside from the morgul blade stabwound, the mental corruption caused by the ring, the loss of friends, etc. I don't think that the film trilogy did justice in showing just how traumatized and impacted Frodo was left after his journey. The book (obviously) definitely helps you better understand the depth of pain, fear, hopelessness, and anxiety that Frodo actually had throughout his whole journey. Then again, it's really difficult to portray on film. Overall though, I think the films did an excellent job and they will forever be my favorite films of all time.
While there is some allusion to that at the end with some of the imagery and Frodo’s line, “there is no going back,” I agree that part wasn’t focused on all that much. Also that for a Hollywood fantasy film it would have been difficult to decide to include all that crushing PTSD. That stuff is usually reserved for “war films,” and including too much of that in a film that was intended to be a massive, worldwide, hope-inspiring, fantasy blockbuster might not have seemed like a sure bet. As someone who’s experienced severe PTSD due to having been nearly killed, and then hunted, I appreciate that part of the story being acknowledged so much more now.
At 33:40, while we're hating on Denethor, let's acknowledge John Noble's wonderful performance--there's a reason you see him in closeup so often. Denethor's character is one of my major gripes with the movie. In the book Denethor is a much more nuanced character. For example, in the movie all the women and children are caught up in the battle, but in the book, they had been sent to safety in the mountains a week before the fighting started. Denethor had the city fully ready for war. What the movie omits is the crucial detail that Denethor also possessed a Palantir. Using it had given him great knowledge of all that happened in the world, but Sauron had warped his vision, allowing him to see only those sights that fed his despair.
Fun Fact: The giant spider is named Shelob and her mother (A bigger spider) is named Ungoliant. They are both said to be partially inspiered by a tarantula that bit JRR Tolkien when he was younger. It is also not a leap to say that the prevalence of spiders in fantasy is partially due to their inclusion in LOTR as it is the father of modern fantasy. One could therefore argue that that one bastard of a tarantula is responsible for the terror of arachnophobes everywhere. Thank you for comming to my TED talk.
I’ll never understand how Andy Serkis wasn’t at least nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal as Gollum. Wouldn’t be surprised if he got a Lifetime Achievement award for this performance at some point. One of the most transformative CG performances of all time.
Yeah, he is the first person to give a truly great performance using CGI capture. If he doesn't get one, it's a missed opportunity. Never thought of that. Great call out!!!
He absolutely will get at least a lifetime achievement Oscar for his roles that transformed how animated/CGI characters were done and the transformative effect it had on Hollywood as a whole. He’s only in his 50’s, I believe, so he has many more years of acting to go. He may earn an Oscar for a future role, but he absolutely deserves one for how much he helped change filmmaking.
The Rohirrim ride never fails to bring me chills and tears. The greatness of human spirit in all its grandeur! They know they couldn't possibly win but nonetheless they ride. And this scream: "Death!", which conquers the fear, resonates with glory and scares the hell out of these foul orcs! So greatly done! Bernard Hill was absolutely astonishing in this scene, may he rest in peace.
Fun fact: Merry's knife was an enchanted elvish weapon that removed the Witch King's protection which allowed him to be killed by Eowyn. This fact about the blade is explicitly mentioned in the books
Oh really? I always assumed it was the fact that Eowyn was a woman, because it was a loophole in the spell that "no man" could kill him. But you're saying that in that moment, anyone could have killed him, even a man?
@@DudeLongcouch It was more of a prophecy that "no man will kill" him. He was instead killed by a Hobbit, and a woman. Hobbits are not "men" in the lore of Folklore, only Human males are called "Men". That's why a male elf, is called exactly that, "male elf". Not "man".
“ Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered, a sword-day, a rede day, ere the Sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor! DEATH! DEAAAAATTHH!!! DEAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! “
Fun trivia: 46.28 the guy who gets the arrow is the LOTR director, Peter Jackson. When you see Sam's arm come into shot to attack Shelob...its actually Director Jackson's arm holding the sword. The little girl Sam picks up at the end is Sean Astins real-life daughter plus his final words 'I'm back'...is the final line in the book.
Jackson is also in the 1st film as the guy in Bree eating a carrot as the Hobbits walk through town. His cameo in 2 is throwing a rock from the keep of Helms Deep. On the ship in the 3rd on those are all cameos by the producers, various department heads, etc. A ship of fools. The boy and girl in 1 when Bilbo talks about the trolls at the party are Jackson's kids. They appear again in 2 as two kids with their mom in the cave during Helms Deep. In 2 when Aragorn talks to the teen before the battle... that is his real son who told him he had to take this role as it is his favorite books. SOOOOO many cameos are in this. It's insane. The screech the Nazgul make is actually Jackson's partner Fran Walsh. The chanting of the orcs before Helms Deep was recorded by the fans of the NZ All Black's rugby team during a home game in the stadium. They set up microphones all around and put the words up on the screens and had thousands chanting and stomping. You don't have tobreact to it but you should get ahold of the extras for the extended films. You have never seen a more incredible look at making any film before. The pure live that went into these for nearly a decade of some people's lives. The stories they all share.
"I wonder if he feels regret?" If you remember the Smeagol/Gollum argument in Two Towers, one of the ways Gollum demeans and beats down Smeagol is by calling him "murderer." King of manipulation, the Ring pushed Smeagol to kill and then uses the guilt over the act to control him.
It's sort of an analogy for sin. Tolkien was actually a Catholic, and he included a ton of catholic theology in this story. In our understanding, satan and his demons use our sin as a means to guilt, shame, and attack us. We call him "the accuser" for that reason. He tempts us to sin, then immediately accuses us of that sin to draw our minds away from god and into a state of shame and disconnect from him.
At 1:08:00, in the book, Samwise spends a fair amount of time wearing the Ring, and it starts to play with his mind. Tolkien writes, "Wild fantasies arose in his mind, and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call...And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. he had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his sown, and all this could be." Fortunately, Sam's plain Hobbit-sense carries the day.
merry and pippin charging first is pretty funny but its even more powerful, out of a whole army of men and even including gandalf, legolas and gimli, the two hobbits are the only ones who didnt hesitate for a second to follow aragorn, also 'you bow to no one' is one of the greatest scenes ever filmed and someone else may have commented about this but its definitley worth looking up a summary of what happens to the characters in the following decades after this to get even more closure
During filming Peter Jackson was giving tips on how Christopher Lee (Saruman) should act when stabbed in the back by Grima Wormtongue. Lee had served in the Royal Air Force as an intelligence officer, had worked with the Special Operations Executive, precursor to MI6 during the Second World War, and had carried out operations behind enemy lines in North Africa. So when Jackson advised him on how to act when stabbed, he plainly told him I know how a man sounds when he's being stabbed. Such a legendary man.
One aspect almost everyone misses is with the ghost army. The entire concept of the ghost army is that Aragorn cannot win unless he accepts the responsibility of becoming king. Aragorn finally accepting his role in the world allows for the forces of good to win. A concept that Tolkien would have been very familiar with given that he experienced both WWI and WWII on a personal level.
Aragorn having anything like this arc is a change for the movie. Book Aragorn resolved all of this before meeting the Hobbits in Bree. He even has the broken sword on him, and has it reforged before they leave Rivendell.
Sam fighting the orcs on the stairs is memorialized in the Led Zeppelim line from Stairway to Heaven, "Our shadows bigger than our souls." Because the orcs sensed the ring on Sam and they also heard that a great elf warrior had defeated Shelob.
There was a courtship in the house of healing between Faramir and Aowen. He became a Prince and rules over Ithillien She went Back to Rohan to lay Theoden to Rest Eomer became King and he gave her away to Faramir. Frodo went into the west because he would never recover. Gandalf and Elrond therorized he would turn clear as a glass of water due to his wound and the Ring.
When Sam and Rosie are first reunited in the book, she tells him, "They said you were dead, but I've been expecting you since the Spring." She had faith and waited for him 🥰 And they go on to have 13 beautiful Hobbit children together!
41:43 Bones usualy loses all smell of putrefaction after 10 years or so depending of the environement. That said, the stench of death has a way to cling to many things.
I truly appreciate how emotionally invested you both were in the characters. As a person who has watched it over a hundred times, read the books, studied tolien's life, it was wonderful to experience it again at your level of first pain and joy, for the once again.
It’s been 20+ years and I’ve seen the movies countless times and I still always tear up at “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!” and “My friends, you bow to no one.” Every single time.
Hopefully, they are well stocked, have good houses there, and maybe once a half year the guard changes. It'd be a boring and cold duty, but an honorable and important one.
9:05 Actually the subtitlers made a mistake there, she wasn't speaking Elvish but her own tongue Rohirric (i.e. Anglo-Saxon). She was just hailing him (i.e. wishing him health)
Yeah the books did a better job of showing why Denethor had fallen into such a state of despair. I honestly can't remember if my theater reacted the same way or not as I was just too into the movie.
At 50:46 you say, "How does no one know you're here?" Good question! In the book, Tolkien writes, "There seemed to be some understanding between Dernhelm [Eowyn in disguise] and Elfhelm, the Marshal who commanded the eored in which they were riding. He and all his men ignored Merry and pretended not to hear if he spoke." Presumably she kept her helm on more than she does in the movie.
the third movie the return of the king won 11 oscars including best picture, best director and best original score. the trilogy won 17 oscars in total out of 33 nominations
For 1:05:03 Guys you must know this because you cant understand just watching this film... The Nazgül are not just creatures that fight with swords and their mounts. One of their weapons is their screams. These screams are not normal screams. They are magical screams. They create fear, terror and panic in the hearts of even the bravest soldiers who are exposed to this scream. When they hear it from a certain distance away, they become paralyzed. A weapon that can stun and even kill with its black curse. In other words, people don't cover their ears just because it makes a high-pitched sound. Soldiers lay down their weapons, fall down in fear, faint, or even die. Moreover, these soldiers are not normal men, they are BRAVE soldiers of Gondor.. 2. Their weapons are surrounded by a cursed and black magic aura known as Black Breath. So, for example, there is a black magic aura around them with a diameter of 4-5 meters. Even if a Nazgul never touches you, even if you stay within 4-5 meters of them for a certain period of time, this It means that you are poisoned by the black curse and fall to your death, and you fall into dark nightmares and cannot wake up. Think of it like a radioactive substance. If you are exposed to it at a certain distance for a certain period of time, you die in pain after a while. These weapons are called Black Breath. Now why, Eowyn and Pippin, Did you realize that after killing the Witch King, you stayed in the hospital in a death sleep and Aragorn barely saved them?
This adds an extra layer of bravery to Pippin; the Witch King and his Fell-Beast destroy Gandalf's staff, knock him down, and terrify Shadowfax. Still, Pippin is able to stand and tries to strike the Witch King. I don't quite recall how it went down in the books, but I appreciate that the movie gave Pippin this moment of heroism
@@pabloc8808 In the books Pippin could be clumsy but he is not a coward or self-indulgent.. In those hobbits, he could be bravest hobbit .. Because He is a Took..not baggins (Cousins of Baggins).. Tooks are bravest Hobbits.. At last pages of the book, when southern men and Saruman occupied whole shire, any hobbit cant resist that except Tooks.. Men were carried staffs and beated hobbits.. Hobbits were scared of them.. But when the men tried to occupy Brandybuck (Tooks' place), Tooks resisted..Took Tribe is crowded ..They retreated into the hollows on the top of mountains and They showered people with arrows from those hills..Tooks commander was Pippin's father.. When a few men died, people had to retreat from there.. After than, at the battle of Bywater, Pippin brought Took groups from Brandybuck to aid Hobbits..He took command from his own father.. So At films Pippin could be the most useless hobbit of the group but he's not.. He could be clumsy because he is a Took.. He has a natural curiosity :D
@@pabloc8808 Death of Witch King is not a simple situation.. So many brave Gondor king could manage that.. He destroyed Kingdom of Arnor and Angmar.. He occupied Minas İthil and turned it to Minas Morgul.. He lived approximately 4209 years.. Also Merry could hurt him becauseMerry had in his hand the sword taken from the mounds.. Ancient Arnor King's weapons.. One of them is taken by Merry.. Merry was lucky because he didnt know any weapon, any normal crafting weapon couldn't harm Witch King.. But his special sword was specially forged against the witches of the kingdom of Angmar and had magical runes placed on it.. Fate.. He couldn't even harm the Witch King if he has not that special sword.. When he stabbed Witch King, His spell is broken and Eowyn murdered him.. :))
@@pabloc8808 Duel of Witch King and Gandalf was not like that.. They cant beat each other.. At films, The Director want that Witch King beats Gandalf because He need to show us to that Nazguls are not weak creatures (Aragorn beated them at first movie).. But in the books Gandalf and witch king's aurora and magical powers couldnt beat each other
It is a testament to director Peter Jackson's love of Tolkien's novel and his devotion and respect for the fans that the last line in the book is also the last line in the movie. I think that, ultimately, he did Tolkien proud, treating the story with the respect it deserved. Glad to accompany you both on this journey. Now you know why these movies had a built-in audience of millions of die-hard fans and is such a beloved work of art.
At 21:20, in the book, the Witch-King pauses here a moment in doubt, sensing the presence of the Ring. Frodo clutches the Phial of Galadriel, forgotten until now, and the Nazgul continues down the valley with his army.
As is typical of movies -- and this one especially -- sometimes things need to be compressed for time. Hence Faramir and Eowyn "fall instantly in love". The book spends a little more time with it. There are a number of things that do this to for the sake of pacing. In Fellowship, Frodo's journey to Rivendell is considerably shortened. Denethor's madness is quickly handled, making him more a lunatic than a fallen noble. The confrontation with the King of the Dead is not just shortened but rewritten for the sake of pacing. Some of these changes were good and others not so much, but pacing is pacing... :)
Frodo never fully healed from his wounds, which means he could never stay happy in Middle-Earth. He, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the rest are going to the undying lands (Elf heaven essentially), where mortal beings usually aren't allowed. An exception is made for Frodo and Bilbo because they were ring bearers. In the appendices we learn that Sam becomes mayor of the Shire and lives a long and happy life. After his wife dies, he also sails west to the undying lands because he was briefly a ring bearer. So Frodo and Sam do meet again. Merry and Pippin spend their days with Aragorn in Gondor, and when they die they are buried next to Aragorn's grave. Legolas and Gimli remain friends, and their friendship heals the rift between Dwarf and Elf. When they reach their end, they also sail to the undying lands together. It's a massive honor for Gimli, being a dwarf, and never a ring bearer. Once they leave, the fellowship is gone from Middle Earth forever.
Faramir was wise brother, Boromir was a warrior.. Their Father (Denethor) doesnt show his love to Faramir because Faramir looks exactly like himself (Denethor).. When Denethor looks Faramir, he sees himself.. Also, in the books Denethor was a big and wise man.. If the wises man of this world is Gandalf, Denethor could be second.. But He is poisoned for tens of tens years.. There is a palantir stone at Minastirith and he used that palantir over 30 years.. Sauron effected him for 30 years and Sauron poisoned his mind that is no victory against Mordor armies idea..He is so wise and strong man, and because of this Saruman had corrupted Theoden, but despite 30 years of brainwashing, Sauron was unable to convert Denethor to his side. Sauron could only turn him into a hopeless leader.Because of this he(denethor) looks like a shitty man.. But at the books, he is so wise and great leader.. It's similar to ring effects..
The movies really did Denethor dirty, I remember watching the movies first, then reading the books. When I got to Denethor in the books I was like "not this guy" and was very surprised that he wasn't like in the movies, he's much more sympathetic
Actually Faramir looks more like his mother, who died giving birth to him. Denethor could never forgive Faramir for taking his wife away from him, and he serves as a living reminder of his heartbreak.
Every moment in Middle-Earth is a blessing. I hope to continue the adventure with you in "THE HOBBIT" trilogy, as well. It covers Bilbo's adventure, and lays the foundation for the LOTR. See you there.
You kept that little cutie from us until the end?? I really enjoyed your reaction to this. It's always great to see someone fall in love with one of your favorite movies. Especially if they can appreciate it the way you both did.
The song Aragorn sings at his coronation was a deep lore cut PJ and co. put in for book fans. He's repeating the oath that Elendil (the king who dies at the start of _Fellowship_ ) swore when he first arrived in Middle-Earth after the downfall of Numenor: "Out of the Great Sea / to Middle-earth I am come / In this place will I abide / and all my heirs / unto the ending of the world." It was probably one of the biggest 'You didn't have to, and I wouldn't have been angry if you didn't; but you did!' moments of the whole film saga when I first saw that scene and realised what Viggo was singing.
Congratulations on reaching the end! You must understand, that no living creature - irrespective of race or strength - would have been able to willingly destroy the One Ring. Especially since it's power grew stronger and stronger as it got closer to the place where it was made. And Gandalf knew it. He knew that Frodo took upon himself a deadly task which had rationally speaking no chance of success and even less chance for Frodo to get out of it alive. And yet he trusted something, because - as he mentioned in Moria - there are other powers at work here. As he himself said it: Bilbo was meant to find the ring, in which case Frodo was also meant to have it. So he decided to trust that other power against all reason. There is a truckload of lore behind this, thousands of years of history, wars, alliances, tragedies, complex events, languages, cultures, writing, most of it detailed in The Silmarillion, so I'm not going to explain what that other power is, suffice it to say that Tolkien's universe has a supreme deity, Eru Iluvatar. He very rarely intervenes in the events and when he does it, it's very subtle. One of the more spectacular occasions was when he sent Gandalf back as white, allowing him to reveal a little more of his true angelic powers.
Well that was worth the wait! It was so fun rewatching this movie with you two. So happy to see you both enjoy and get immersed in it. Cara getting so worked up in the Denethor scenes reminded me of my lola getting worked up watching her telenovelas lmao The Faramir and Eowyn thing did kinda came out of nowhere, but it's just the time passing that the movie didn't/couldn't show because it's not the main focus. We're kinda just supposed to imagine it. I imagine it took weeks or at least a month after the battle at Gondor before Aragorn marched to the Black Gate. In the books when Gandalf left the Shire to research about the Ring, it actually took 17 years for him to return and send Frodo and Sam off, and that's insane.
There's a lot of stuff in Appendix B. The Battle of Minas Tirith is March 14-15, and the fight at the Black Gate/Frodo in Mt Doom is March 25. Didn't see Eowyn and Faramir's wedding, but Sam married Rose 6 months to the day after he arrived back in the Shire. Back in the day, shorter engagements were common. (OTOH, Aragorn and Arwen were engaged for 60+ years; Elrond said that no Man except the returned king of Gondor was good enough for her.)
JRR Tolkien was a soldier in WW1 and he lost several friends from his small village. A "Shire" is similar to a county in England. It's easy to see the ending of the LoTR as an allegory for what it was like for the young men who fought in WW1, many of whom came from small towns and villages much like the shire, to return home after experiencing the horrors of war. That scene where the hobbits are sitting quietly in the taproom, while everyone else talks, jokes, and laughs. They look at each other and realize that there is no going back to what they were (not unlike PTSD). Fitting then, that it is Sam that shows them a way forward by finding his courage and courting/marrying Rosie.
Couple things about the Army of the Dead. They actually cannot physically touch living people (which is how they went through Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli) so they cannot fight, they instead scare the life out of you, at the river they scared the Corsairs off, some of which died of fright while others drowned in the river. The other is Aragorn releases them after they take the ships, he brought men up to Gondor.
Yeah, the movie just turned them into this huge Deus ex Machina. I would have preferred if they had just been used to even the odds, so to speak, rather than be responsible for the entire victory. It would have given the chance to show what the Gondorian army could do when properly motivated. They're supposed to be the elite army of Middle Earth, but all they do in the movie is get their asses kicked until Aragorn and Rohan get there.
Faramir and Eowyn met while they were in hospital (Ringwraith poisoning ward). In the book, Meriadoc introduced them, and told Faramir that Eowyn was "on the bounce" and some more of her history.
1:02:16 Team Effort, Eowyn isnt man but neither is Merry (He's a Hobbit). In the book that sword he stabbed the Witchking with was taken from a Barrow (Hill Gravesite). The Barrow was from the days of the War in the North between the Arnor and Angmar (Kingdom of the WItchking). A Lot of Undead wraiths and wrights about during that war; there were a number of swords created for high-born men that could break the spells of protection around them and weaken their spirit. This is What Merry did when he stabbed the Witchking, allowing Eowyn's sword to hit home. Yeah they skipped quite a bit from the books.
1:10:22 I'll answer your questions.. Eowyn is injured by the Witch King's black breath and Faramir was injured also.. They were being healing together in the same healing house..
Faramir falling in love with Eowyn was more understandable in the books, because the two of them had to convalesce after the war. They spent (IIRC) 2 months healing up, together. So their relationship bloomed over time, and they helped each other to recover. The movie sorta took a short-cut here and just showed the outcome without the development. However, the movie was already 4 hours, so they didn't really have another 20 minutes to develop their romance.
Next Trilogy The Hobbit Extended Edition Of The Adventures Of Bilbo Baggin: (1) An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition (2) The Desolation Of Smaug Extended Edition (3) The Battle Five Armie Extended Edition
I admit that while I love the extended edition of LotR, for the Hobbit, even the regular movie version was too long, IMHO. A trilogy of 3 hour long movies was a bit much for the source material. Still very much enjoyed those as well, but they had a few lengths that Lord of the Rings didn't have.
appreciations, Cara and Prez - you've done it! ...to re-watch this with you guys was great... I very much related to your journey with it, your comments and also seeing your facial expressions... a beast of an emotional ride, and such a well written story... love LotR so much, and will probably never stop... the books are even a bit better, as Tolkien is an excellent writer, and your imagination is also more free, but I have to give it to Jackson and his team, that they did an excellent job! I was especially impressed when I saw it first, after reading the books many a time, how well the main characters are impersonated by all actors... 10 out of 10!
20 years later, and after many, many rewatches, I still get huge chills when the Rohirrim charge. And teary eyed when Sam carries Frodo. Movie magic at its finest.
CONGRATS! One of the very few who recognize that when Frodo wakes up, he thought Gandalf had died fighting the Balrog... btw, Gandalf: I better order up a third eagle for the search/rescue... just in case." 7 hours...6.5hrs later, was it worth it? I thought so. The last of the great model movies now that CGI and AI has taken over. See you when you all watch The Hobbit... Extended Editions of course. Cheers!
"Gandalf died fighting the Balrog, I died on Mt Doom, and now here we all are, wearing white, in an extremely well-lit room, on the comfiest bed of my life... This all makes perfect sense..."
At 9:03, the caption reads [speaking in Elvish], but Eowyn is actually speaking in her own language. In Tolkien's story, the Rohirrim speak a speech different from the Common Tongue or Westron spoken by the other Men of the West. Tolkien translates the Westron as Modern English, but the language of Rohan is represented by Anglo-Saxon or Old English. The leaders of the Rohirrim such as Theoden and Eowyn could speak both tongues. Peter Jackson & Co. wisely decided this was an unnecessary complication for their movie. In T2T, Eowyn's song at Theodred's funeral is also in Old English, as are Aragorn's words calming the horse Brego.
From the book, when Sam sees the star in Mordor: "“Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a bright star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach." -- JRR Tolkien, "The Return of the King"
Eowyn's soft sob when King Theoden dies is gut wretching. Miranda Otto had it so perfectly, you actually feel the pain, the loss of a loved one. Westu hál. Ferðu, Théoden, Ferðu.
I love at 19:50 when Gandalf tells Pippin that there was only ever “a fool’s hope,” with just a bit of a smile. Throughout the trilogy, he’s called Pippin a fool, and here he basically is saying it takes one to know one.
At 32:08 You must understand.. Frodo thought the ring seduced Sam too.. Because The Ring is such a powerfull object and it can even seduce Gandalf or Aragorn.. So Frodo thought like that.. His trusty didnt gone .. He just think Sam is corrupted by Ring's power too.. Like Brave and Noble Boromir..
That ride of Rohan into the battle...so epic. Dudes (and lady) just screaming "Death!" as they take off...any army would take a second to rethink their situation lol. And that scene where Aragorn says, "my friends! you bow to no one." just hits hard. Those little hobbits just did so much to save the world from doom and people didn't even really know they existed. The smallest of people...changing the course of history. One of them (Frodo) literally sacrificing his very soul.
After the ring was destroyed: Frodo left Middle Earth, so that he may be fully healed. He was still able to feel the wound on his arm from the sword at the beginning, plus for being the ring-bearer and it nearly consuming him like it did Gollum. Aragorn returned Gondor to it's former glory, and ruled happily with Arwen for 120 years. He had one son and two daughters. When his time drew near, he chose to take command of his own end. We laid in the House of the Kings in Minas Tirith with Gondor's past rulers and drifted into eternal sleep. Arwen passed one year later. Gimli became the Lord of the Glittering Caves under Helm's Deep, as it was rich with Mithril. He kept his word to Galadriel, and encased the strands of hair within glass and treasured it. Legolas restored the woodlands of Middle-Earth that were ravaged by the war, along with adventuring with Gimli. After Aragorn's death, Legolas made a ship of his own in Ithilien, and left Middle-Earth to cross the sea to reunite with the rest of the elves in the Undying Lands. Gimli crossed the sea with Legolas, due to his close friendship with the elf, and was the only dwarf that was offered that honor. Samwise married Rosie and had 13 children. He was also elected Mayor of the Shire for seven consecutive seven-year terms (49 years.) Afterwards, Sam was given passage to the Undying Lands to reunite with Frodo, as Samwise was also a Ring-Bearer, even for a short time. Pippin became the 32nd Thane of the Shire, and held that position for 50 years. He had one son named Faramir Took I, who later married Sam's daughter. After he retired as Thane, he left with Rohan and Gondor with Merry. He remained there for the rest of his life, and was entombed in the Hall of the Kings, and later moved to be laid to rest alongside Aragorn. Merry was knighted by King Eomer and become Master of Buckland. He married, and wrote a book. He had at least one son. At 102, he returned to Rohan and Gondor with Pippin, dying around the same time as Pippin. He was laid to rest in Gondor with Pippin, and later moved alongside Aragorn.
At 1:23:50, Aragorn's words are the words of his ancestor Elendil: "Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." Viggo Mortensen had the happy idea of having Aragorn sing the words--I'm sure Tolkien would approve.
7:31 my favorite trivia bit is that Peter Jackson wanted Saruman to yell out in pain when he got stabbed, but Christopher Lee, who served in the RAF in North Africa and Italy during WWII as an intelligence and allegedly special forces operative, said “no, that’s not what someone sounds like when they are getting stabbed.” So listen closely when Grima stabs him
28:00 - Yeah, Faramir ran into Frodo and Sam in Ithilien, on the other / Eastern side of the river, and took them back to Osgiliath (the ruined city on an island in the center of the river) - Minas Tirith is like a similar distance to the west of the river that Ithilien and Minas Morgul are to the east of the river, Osgiliath (from where the horsemen just retreated) is right in the middle.
42:00 I can tell you from experience that skull do not smell. And how do I know ? Well I once had a drink siting on a pit fill to the brim with skull pieces and human bones. It was in Paris catacombs (unoficial parts that can only be accessed from sewage manhole and other tricky acess). We spent an hour in that room and no odour other that that of old dirt, stone and our lighted joint Quite the experience.
Guys There is an AMAZİNG DETAİL at 1:16:32 .. For Frodo moment.. Listen to background theme music when Aragorn says "For Frodo" at 1:16:32 ... That Background Theme Music's lyrics is the promise which Aragorn gave Frodo at Rivendell"... Lyrics are this.. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword.." .. That is so significant moment .. So that means, Aragorn did what he promised..
Great reaction! Couple trivia items most people don't catch unless you read the books. Denathor has one of the last Palantirs and, like Saruman, he was manipulated by Sauron and driven mad. Next, Gimli was not actually sitting on the throne, but he was sitting on the Steward's seat. If you watch again you can actually see stairs leading up to the grand throne of the king and the steward's seat is at the foot of those stairs. Finally, Gandalf came with three eagles because he still held hope that gollum would be redeemed in the end.
I only now just realized that when Faramir was brought back to Minas Tirith by his horse, he had three arrows in him, like Boromir, but he survived. I think it's a cool message, he surpassed his brother because not only did he come back to the white city, he survived after going through the same kind of thing. I think the main reason for that wouldn't be to highlight Faramir's durability as THE feat that made him surpass his brother, but because Faramir was able to let the ring go while he had every reason (even more than Boromir) to take it. Faramir's reasoning, the way he decided that the ring must be destroyed, is for me the reason why he survived and surpassed his brother on a narrative standpoint.
1:19:41 neat detail, even as gollum is dying, the rings temptation is so strong that its making him prioritise the ring over himself whos literally burning. The ring is the last thing to touch the lava.
It's just sooooo cute to watch these kids discover the magic of LotR 23 years later and completely lose their shit. Back around 1999 when the production started we had such a great time with all the speculation, the announcement of the actors, the photo "leaks" from the shoot, nerding out on forums about whether elves had pointy ears and balrogs had wings. Peter Jackson totally wrote the book on how to hype up nerdy fans on the internet. And with the release of the first movie in 2001 the years of drip-fed anticipation came to a culmination. For us old-time Tolkien fans we were hyped in a way similar to how Star Wars fans were hyped up for the Phantom Menace. Except our hopes were fulfilled in such a beautiful way. Ah, memorable times indeed. Namárië, mellon.
Great reaction as always! FYI - Sam’s full name is Samwise, not Samuel (you called him Samuel several times). A nice addition to the ending from the books that they left out of the movie: As a ringbearer, Sam also earned the honor of going to the Undying Lands. After he lives a long and happy life, in his extreme old age, the elves bring a ship and take him to the Undying Lands to see Frodo again.
Fun fact: both Frodo and Faramir are educated in the Elvish language yet neither realises that the dark terror in Cirith Ungol (Literally means pass of the Spider) Is a giant spider. Frodo also definitely knows that giant spiders are a thing Also another fun fact about the drinking game: In the books there is a scene when the guards of Legolas' father steal some of the good wine that we can assume Legolas would also drink and both guards get so drunk they fall asleep after one cup. Legolas is used to strong stuff.
1:10:15 Super good call. Faramir and Eowyn didn't just fall in love instantly. They were together in the House of Healing for quite a while and Faramir worked really hard to win her over, and eventually made her see that Aragorn was different from normal men and also that he was taken and that nothing she could do would change that. Plus the movies kind of did Faramir dirty, the book says that he was almost pure Numenorean blood, like Denethor his father (they also did him super dirty in the movie, the books state that he was wise and powerful and they explain why he lost his mind to despair)
Thank you very much. I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction. The romance between Eowyn and Faramir is, sadly, stripped to the bone in the film. In the book, there is a whole chapter, beautifully written, in which Tolkien describes how their love for each other develops as they recover in the Houses of Healing. It is then that Eowyn realises that what she felt for Aragorn was a sort of crush but that her love for Faramir is real. The battles in these films are based on actual battles in medieval warfare which is why, imo, they are so successful. During sieges, for instance, the besiegers would often throw heads and body parts over the walls: it was not only demoralising but brought disease into the city and so was a very successful tactic.
Your Fellowship of The Ring reaction is the first video I watched from you guys, and this is the third (I may be going over to see your Haikyu!! reaction, one of my favourite animes). In case no-one has mentioned it already (although, they might have) the actor who plays Samwise Gamgee, Sam Astin, really struggled during the wedding scene with Rosie towards the end because he was happily married; Elijah Wood (Frodo), Dominic Monaghan (Merry) and Billy Boyd (Pippin) - from memory, but I could be recalling wrong - were there as a big support for him at that point because of how difficult he found the scene. I would seriously recommend reading the books, because although it can be a bit slow-paced you get a lot more of the lore and context for stuff like Eowyn and Faramir's romance and what happens after Sauron's defeat :) Also your dog is so adorable! 🥰
So, the distance between the city Osgiliath (on the river) and Minas Tirith (the white city) is 20 miles. It's hard to tell in the shots but Osgiliath was a LARGE city on a major river. It handled significant amounts of river traffic north and south for hundreds of miles. Gondor had other port cities north (Cair Andros) and south (Pelargir) as well as ports down toward the coast in the river delta. The large fields in front of Minas Tirith are dotted with small villages, farm communities, etc. The film shows it all as grassland for simplicities sake. But the whole area is surrounded by a wall, not as large as the main walls of the city, but enough to provide protection and high ground to defend from. There are multiple fortified sections of the wall containing garrisons as well. The battle plays out differently in the books, and is far more massive and complex involving 4 main forces from Mordor comprised of surface, naval, and air forces amassed from numerous human nations far to the south and east, behind Mordor. Gondor also has multiple armies, those garrisoning the city, those at the east patrolling the borders with Mordor (under Faramir), there are those in their lands to the south toward the ocean. Another to the north along the flanks of the mountains. Rohan has it's part. The army of the dead, and there are others still involved we don't see at all in the film. But for time, scale, etc, here is a tactical and strategic breakdown of movements etc that someone put together like it's a history lesson in class. It's brilliantly done. mcbrennan.github.io/minas_maps.pdf
In the book, it was weeks from one battle to another. There was plenty of time for Eowyn and Faramir to establish a relationship. There weren’t a whole lot of people left. Eomyr became king of Rohan I believe. It took several days for Pippin to find Merry after the battle. Loved your reaction though.
Haha, I never made the connection of "You can't simply walk into Mordor" and the fact that Sam and Frodo simply did exactly that^^. The scene that always makes me cry is where Sam says he can't carry the ring for Frodo but he can carry him. Every time.
The trilogy is COMPLETE!! Thank you everyone for joining us and waiting patiently for this final part to be edited😅 our full reaction can also be watched on our Patreon www.patreon.com/caraprez
We will be bringing MONTHLY MOVIES to the channel starting September!What would you guys like to see?🤔
How about other great movies around the era of LOTR? Braveheart, Troy, The Last Samurai, Fight Club, etc
Joke suggestion: Swiss Army Man
Serious suggestion: Shawshank Redemption
Way out there suggestion: The Lighthouse
that orc captain who led the invasion of Gondor was supposed to be a jab at harvey weintein
The Hobbit Trilogy please. It's not as good sa LOTR, but still some of the best movies in the 2010-2019 era.
After this, how about 1 from the other end of the cinematic spectrum... Shaymalan's Avatar the Last Airbender. 😂
Don't worry guys, most of us teared up the first time we saw the ride of the Rohirrim, I still do every time I rewatch it. Nothing fills your soul with more hope and light than watching those brave souls charge into the heart of darkness, despite their flaws and their connections and their families and friends. They have something the orcs and other dark forces of middle earth don't have, the human spirit. And that scene showcases it, in all its beautiful and unwavering glory. Above all differences and shortcomings, we band together to achieve the common good, not because we want to, but because we have to.
jeez man your comment is making me tear up again.
I was 22, just graduated college and was teaching HS part-time. I went with some friends and met up with my dad and some of his co-workers and saw the first 12pm show on the Friday it opened in theaters. I am not lying or exaggerating when I say at least HALF the audience (giant theater) stood up and cheered when Rohan appeared on the Pelennor Fields.
Seeing the ride of the Rohirrim in the theatre was a moment of overwhelming emotion.
Every time.
Thr Rohirrim know they can't win. But they ride anyway.
Sam is eventually elected Mayor of the Shire, and Merry and Pippin hold offices as well. Once they all grow old; Sam goes to Valinor to be with Frodo as he is allowed to because he was a ring bearer for a time, Merry and Pippin go and hang out with Eomer who is a King and become his advisors. Once King Eomer dies, Merry and Pippin go to Gondor to live out the rest of their days. When they die theyre burried among the greatest men of Gondor. Once King Elessar(Aragorn) dies, they are moved to be by his side. After the passing of King Elessar, Legolas and Gimli leave Middle Earth to go to Valinor as well. Gimli becomes the only Dwarf allowed in Valinor thanks to his friendship with Legolas. And so ends the Fellowship of the Ring.
And after everyone is gone or dead, Arwen goes back to Lorien and falls asleep in the wood...and there she will lie ever until elanor and nephredil bloom no more this side of the sea...the last words of the Lord of the Rings.
There will never be anything like this in cinema ever again. This was a once in a lifetime production and everyone poured their all into it. They made a timeless masterpiece.
It is undeniable how important these films are in the history of cinema, be it in adaptation theory or in the endless technology that was developed for this. Some techniques and software is still being used today, and it was first used on these films, seriously it's craaaazy once you dive into it.
These movies made me go into film school and istg I do a yearly re-watch cause it is just magical. I can't tell you how specials these movies are for me and watching you guys react to it made me incredibly happy to be part of it, thank you for this!
38:09 Common "modern" misconception...
Eowyn and Merry weren't told to stay back from war because they were "looked down upon"... Theoden and Eomer tried to spare them from the horrors of battle and keep them alive to continue to live in the world and continue to do good.
Theoden wanted Eowyn to lead the people, because he trusted her. That's a big deal and an honorable thing. Same thing at Helm's Deep. The honorable thing isn't always to die or to experience death and horror... sometimes it's to keep living and keep doing good!
Well said. Also, I hope I don't sound mean or anything but I'm always so surprised when adult people watching LOTR movies react the same way I did when I was 12 😅You' d think as grown ups we would put more thought into analysing the characters and their motivations. Of course it is still interesting to hear a different perspective.
Yeah, it's not like, 'Oh yeah, we're men, so we get to go and fight." It's a heavy, terrible weight. It's glamorized in songs and tales, but especially the scene with Eomer and Eowyn, you can see that he's just trying to protect his little sister. He's already lost his cousin and who knows how many comrades in battle
@@silver9wolf6 The problem is very few women seem to understand this.
You don't become a hero by never leaving the office...you become a hero by being in pain for the rest of your life. Men do not want women to experience that kind of pain.
@@SixFour0391 You become a hero by risking your life for those you care for--from your comrades in arms up to everyone in the world you just saved. My uncle earned a bronze star in Vietnam for bravery, and never got a scratch on him...but he's only shared his experiences with my father, who is also a Vietnam vet. They get it. You do your duty...no one tries to earn a medal, they just try to help one another in the middle of madness and hell.
Eowyn was already a warrior, a shield-maiden, which was a tradition in Rohan. They weren't common, but women who had the ability carried arms in their land. Most women don't have what it takes to be infantry, but you know what? Most men don't, either. I'm 6'5", and was a basketball player and track & field athlete in high school...but there was a girl on the team who did shot put and discus who could have broken me in half for all of that.
Theoden also named Eomer his heir after his son died, and before they both rode off to war, Theoden named Eowyn next in line to rule, if he and Eomer died.
I mean, it's a little bit of both but yeah, she's his only heir left if Eomer also goes in battle.
Frodo isn't going across the sea for new adventures. He's going there to find peace from the trauma he has suffered. Fun fact, Sam will one day follow him once his kids are grown and Rosie passes away, so they do reunite eventually.
Not to be *that guy* but they will not reunite in Valinor as Frodo will have passed on by then. Mortals still die in the Undying Lands (so named for the occupants of that land, not because it makes anyone immortal) in fact they burn out quicker. But he will be healed first. So sadly if Frodo and Sam ever reunite it will be wherever Men's souls go when they leave the Circles of the World (the Elves know not whence).
Edit: Sources in Letter 325 and Akallabeth, see below
@sagequerido266 I have read all of Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales, Children of Húrin, Fall of Númenor, Ainulindalë and The Fall of Gondolin....... but never once, not once I found it written anywhere that mortals die in Arda. In Ainulindalë it's just said that it's not permitted to return upon entrance. You are just creating your own theories at this point.
@@saranyasaha7274
Letter 325:
"As for Frodo or other mortals, they could only dwell in Aman for a limited time - whether brief or long. The Valar had neither the power nor the right to confer 'immortality' upon them. Their sojourn was a 'purgatory', but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (die at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing."
And in Akallabeth:
" 'The Doom of the World,’ they said, ‘One alone can change who made it. And were you so to voyage that escaping all deceits and snares you came indeed to Aman, the Blessed Realm, little would it profit you. For it is not the land of Manwë that makes its people deathless, but the Deathless that dwell therein have hallowed the land; and there you would but wither and grow weary the sooner, as moths in a light too strong and steadfast.’ "
You could just ask for a source.
@@saranyasaha7274 nothing can stop the fate of men, even in Valinor. Only Tuor was given eternal life, and that was because he was remade into one of the eldar.
@@sagequerido266 Mortals don't literally "burn out" in Aman. They seem to age quicker because only they are aging. It's possible Frodo was still alive when Sam journeyed to the west but we don't have confirmation from Tolkien.
Our patience has paid off! Congratulations, Cara! You have now bore witness to one of, if not THE best, trilogies in the history of cinema. Return of the King had everything you could ask for and more, then proceeded to win every Oscar it was nominated for.
EDIT: Also, I encourage you both to look up the Behind the Scenes of the trilogy. Particularly the story about how Sir Christopher Lee dictated how he would be stabbed by Wormtongue!
It was an experience well worth starting!
iirc, Peter Jackson tried to tell Sir Christopher Lee how to get stabbed, to which Lee replied "have you ever seen a man get stabbed to death?" alluding to his military service. For all his life he refused to give any details about his time as an intelligence officer.
The two of you must react to the Hobbit trilogy the extended versions of all three trust much better.@@CaraPrezReacts
Sorry for the double comment but: what Eowyn loved in Aragorn was mostly an image of a high, lordly, brave, heroic figure, because that's what she wished to be herself. As Aragorn put it in the book: the same way a little boy who aspires to be a soldier admires a great, famous, brave captain.
Faramir at first pitied her but very quickly fell in love with her and Eowyn after a short time realized that she loves him too and that in Aragorn she loved an idea.
They spent a long time together in the Houses of Healing, but they've never met before.
Eowyn also decided that she doesn't want to live only for war and fighting anymore, she will rather "care for things that grow".
After the war they married, Faramir was made Prince of Ithilien and they lived together there, within sight of Minas Tirith
And Pippin named his son Faramir! 😁
So each of the Nazgul has what is called the Black Breath, which infects anyone they come into contact with. It's like a plague, inflicting a painful sickness on whoever is inflicted with it. Merry and Eowyn both got hit with the Black Breath from fighting the Witch-king. That's why they were so weak in the aftermath of the battle, and why Eowyn was out cold. Also imagine being Eomer, who not only lost his uncle the king in the battle, but also just found his sister - who wasn't even supposed to be there - laying lifeless on the battlefield.
That cry from Eomer is something else. Soul crushing doesn't do it justice.
It was more from them striking him, a being of such fell power and enchantment. The Black Breath affected anyone they flew over and breathed on.
@@rigrmortis3393Then suddenly he beheld his sister Éowyn as she lay, and he knew her. He stood a moment as a man who is pierced in the most of a cry by an arrow through the heart; and then his face went deathly white, and a cold fury rose in him, so that all speech failed him for a while.
'Éowyn, Éowyn!' he cried at last. 'Éowyn, how came you here? What madness or devilry is this? Death, death, death! Death take us all!'
Then without taking counsel or waiting for the approach of the men of the City, he spurred headlong back to the front of the great host, and blew a horn, and cried aloud for the onset. Over the field rang his clear voice calling:' Death! Ride, ride to ruin and the world's ending!'
And with that the host began to move. But the Rohirrim sang no more. *Death* they cried with one voice loud and terrible, and gathering speed like a great tide their battle swept about their fallen king and passed, roaring away southwards.
What I love about Frodo sailing to the Undying Lands is that most fantasy stories, stories about journeys, just show a happy ending. All is good in the world, without trauma, without reflection. I think that, on top of being an extremely talented writer, Tolkien used his own experiences to show that the journey all comes with sacrifice, and sometimes that sacrifice can leave wounds that can never be healed. That is reality.
Frodo never wanted to be a hero, and he never wanted to leave the Shire. Despite wanting to follow Bilbo's footsteps (at times), he acknowledged that he was not like Bilbo, something that I think most people forget. Frodo took on the role of the Ring-bearer out of duty, sense of responsibility, and his love for the Shire. He started this journey completely unprepared, full of innocence, not knowing what life was like outside the Shire. Encountering the Nazgul, with their blood-chilling cries and their evil presence, is enough to paralyze just about anyone. Their cries are a reminder to Frodo that they are always chasing him. Frodo has nightmares about the Nazgul, even when he is in places where Sauron cannot reach him. It's an impending fear of death that haunts him over and over, on top of the ring's effects. The stab wound he received would be a wound that he would never heal from, signaling both a physical and psychological trauma. As he gets closer and closer to evil, the one ring's power becomes more powerful and evil. Frodo doesn't even have to see Sauron's eye in-person; he can feel his searching gaze on him all the time. Knowing this, as he gets closer to the tower where the eye actually is, his fear and anxiety only continues to grow. The eye invades your privacy - you are completely naked in front of it, mind, body and heart. There is no escape, there is no air to breathe. Frodo carries the ring knowing that he will probably never make it out alive. He'll probably never return to the Shire again, see his family and friends, see the joy and peace that he's always known. Frodo believed that the destruction of the ring also meant his death, because there was just no way he'd make it out. On one hand, he was sort of right. He made it out, but he didn't make it out the same. Frodo was left with PTSD from the wound, from seeing the eye so many times, from being on the verge of death several times, from several injuries aside from the morgul blade stabwound, the mental corruption caused by the ring, the loss of friends, etc.
I don't think that the film trilogy did justice in showing just how traumatized and impacted Frodo was left after his journey. The book (obviously) definitely helps you better understand the depth of pain, fear, hopelessness, and anxiety that Frodo actually had throughout his whole journey. Then again, it's really difficult to portray on film. Overall though, I think the films did an excellent job and they will forever be my favorite films of all time.
While there is some allusion to that at the end with some of the imagery and Frodo’s line, “there is no going back,” I agree that part wasn’t focused on all that much. Also that for a Hollywood fantasy film it would have been difficult to decide to include all that crushing PTSD. That stuff is usually reserved for “war films,” and including too much of that in a film that was intended to be a massive, worldwide, hope-inspiring, fantasy blockbuster might not have seemed like a sure bet. As someone who’s experienced severe PTSD due to having been nearly killed, and then hunted, I appreciate that part of the story being acknowledged so much more now.
At 33:40, while we're hating on Denethor, let's acknowledge John Noble's wonderful performance--there's a reason you see him in closeup so often. Denethor's character is one of my major gripes with the movie. In the book Denethor is a much more nuanced character. For example, in the movie all the women and children are caught up in the battle, but in the book, they had been sent to safety in the mountains a week before the fighting started. Denethor had the city fully ready for war. What the movie omits is the crucial detail that Denethor also possessed a Palantir. Using it had given him great knowledge of all that happened in the world, but Sauron had warped his vision, allowing him to see only those sights that fed his despair.
Fun Fact: The giant spider is named Shelob and her mother (A bigger spider) is named Ungoliant. They are both said to be partially inspiered by a tarantula that bit JRR Tolkien when he was younger. It is also not a leap to say that the prevalence of spiders in fantasy is partially due to their inclusion in LOTR as it is the father of modern fantasy.
One could therefore argue that that one bastard of a tarantula is responsible for the terror of arachnophobes everywhere.
Thank you for comming to my TED talk.
The great thing is that Sam's kids in the end are his actual children. How cute!
Only the one that runs towards him, that's his daughter Ali :)
And the baby Rosie's holding is her real-life baby.
I’ll never understand how Andy Serkis wasn’t at least nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal as Gollum. Wouldn’t be surprised if he got a Lifetime Achievement award for this performance at some point. One of the most transformative CG performances of all time.
Yeah, he is the first person to give a truly great performance using CGI capture.
If he doesn't get one, it's a missed opportunity.
Never thought of that.
Great call out!!!
He absolutely will get at least a lifetime achievement Oscar for his roles that transformed how animated/CGI characters were done and the transformative effect it had on Hollywood as a whole.
He’s only in his 50’s, I believe, so he has many more years of acting to go. He may earn an Oscar for a future role, but he absolutely deserves one for how much he helped change filmmaking.
The Rohirrim ride never fails to bring me chills and tears. The greatness of human spirit in all its grandeur! They know they couldn't possibly win but nonetheless they ride. And this scream: "Death!", which conquers the fear, resonates with glory and scares the hell out of these foul orcs! So greatly done!
Bernard Hill was absolutely astonishing in this scene, may he rest in peace.
The books say that Theodin charged with an almost madness. He road so fast that his men tried to catch up but never did.
Fun fact: Merry's knife was an enchanted elvish weapon that removed the Witch King's protection which allowed him to be killed by Eowyn. This fact about the blade is explicitly mentioned in the books
Oh really? I always assumed it was the fact that Eowyn was a woman, because it was a loophole in the spell that "no man" could kill him. But you're saying that in that moment, anyone could have killed him, even a man?
@@DudeLongcouchI always took it as more of a prophecy rather than WK being factually unable to be killed by men.
@@DudeLongcouch It was more of a prophecy that "no man will kill" him. He was instead killed by a Hobbit, and a woman. Hobbits are not "men" in the lore of Folklore, only Human males are called "Men". That's why a male elf, is called exactly that, "male elf". Not "man".
“ Arise, arise,
Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spears shall be shaken,
shields shall be splintered,
a sword-day,
a rede day,
ere the Sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
DEATH!
DEAAAAATTHH!!!
DEAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! “
DEEEEEEAAAAATTTTTHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
*This is the way.*
DEEEEEEAAAAATTTTTHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fun trivia: 46.28 the guy who gets the arrow is the LOTR director, Peter Jackson.
When you see Sam's arm come into shot to attack Shelob...its actually Director Jackson's arm holding the sword. The little girl Sam picks up at the end is Sean Astins real-life daughter plus his final words 'I'm back'...is the final line in the book.
Jackson is also in the 1st film as the guy in Bree eating a carrot as the Hobbits walk through town. His cameo in 2 is throwing a rock from the keep of Helms Deep. On the ship in the 3rd on those are all cameos by the producers, various department heads, etc. A ship of fools.
The boy and girl in 1 when Bilbo talks about the trolls at the party are Jackson's kids. They appear again in 2 as two kids with their mom in the cave during Helms Deep.
In 2 when Aragorn talks to the teen before the battle... that is his real son who told him he had to take this role as it is his favorite books. SOOOOO many cameos are in this. It's insane. The screech the Nazgul make is actually Jackson's partner Fran Walsh.
The chanting of the orcs before Helms Deep was recorded by the fans of the NZ All Black's rugby team during a home game in the stadium. They set up microphones all around and put the words up on the screens and had thousands chanting and stomping.
You don't have tobreact to it but you should get ahold of the extras for the extended films. You have never seen a more incredible look at making any film before. The pure live that went into these for nearly a decade of some people's lives. The stories they all share.
Great reaction guys. :) Akshuuuaally GImli is not sitting on the king's throne but on the steward's throne to the side of it (like Denethor did).
Yeah, there's not a lot of shots where you can see the actual throne (Unfortunetly, I would've liked to have seen it more!)
"I wonder if he feels regret?" If you remember the Smeagol/Gollum argument in Two Towers, one of the ways Gollum demeans and beats down Smeagol is by calling him "murderer." King of manipulation, the Ring pushed Smeagol to kill and then uses the guilt over the act to control him.
It's sort of an analogy for sin. Tolkien was actually a Catholic, and he included a ton of catholic theology in this story. In our understanding, satan and his demons use our sin as a means to guilt, shame, and attack us. We call him "the accuser" for that reason. He tempts us to sin, then immediately accuses us of that sin to draw our minds away from god and into a state of shame and disconnect from him.
@@wahterr6281 Tangentially related, “Great Deceiver” has always been one of my favorite lesser known King Crimson songs.
At 1:08:00, in the book, Samwise spends a fair amount of time wearing the Ring, and it starts to play with his mind. Tolkien writes, "Wild fantasies arose in his mind, and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call...And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. he had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his sown, and all this could be." Fortunately, Sam's plain Hobbit-sense carries the day.
merry and pippin charging first is pretty funny but its even more powerful, out of a whole army of men and even including gandalf, legolas and gimli, the two hobbits are the only ones who didnt hesitate for a second to follow aragorn, also 'you bow to no one' is one of the greatest scenes ever filmed and someone else may have commented about this but its definitley worth looking up a summary of what happens to the characters in the following decades after this to get even more closure
During filming Peter Jackson was giving tips on how Christopher Lee (Saruman) should act when stabbed in the back by Grima Wormtongue. Lee had served in the Royal Air Force as an intelligence officer, had worked with the Special Operations Executive, precursor to MI6 during the Second World War, and had carried out operations behind enemy lines in North Africa. So when Jackson advised him on how to act when stabbed, he plainly told him I know how a man sounds when he's being stabbed. Such a legendary man.
The real life James Bond
One aspect almost everyone misses is with the ghost army. The entire concept of the ghost army is that Aragorn cannot win unless he accepts the responsibility of becoming king. Aragorn finally accepting his role in the world allows for the forces of good to win. A concept that Tolkien would have been very familiar with given that he experienced both WWI and WWII on a personal level.
Aragorn having anything like this arc is a change for the movie. Book Aragorn resolved all of this before meeting the Hobbits in Bree. He even has the broken sword on him, and has it reforged before they leave Rivendell.
Sam fighting the orcs on the stairs is memorialized in the Led Zeppelim line from Stairway to Heaven, "Our shadows bigger than our souls." Because the orcs sensed the ring on Sam and they also heard that a great elf warrior had defeated Shelob.
Pippins song gave me chills, and when I saw a behind the scenes, the cast and crew were in awe of good Pippins singing is.
1:24:33 Aragorn's "you bow to no one" line, followed by the Shire theme swelling as everyone kneels... it gets me every time 😭
There was a courtship in the house of healing between Faramir and Aowen. He became a Prince and rules over Ithillien She went Back to Rohan to lay Theoden to Rest Eomer became King and he gave her away to Faramir. Frodo went into the west because he would never recover. Gandalf and Elrond therorized he would turn clear as a glass of water due to his wound and the Ring.
When Sam and Rosie are first reunited in the book, she tells him, "They said you were dead, but I've been expecting you since the Spring." She had faith and waited for him 🥰 And they go on to have 13 beautiful Hobbit children together!
41:43 Bones usualy loses all smell of putrefaction after 10 years or so depending of the environement. That said, the stench of death has a way to cling to many things.
I truly appreciate how emotionally invested you both were in the characters. As a person who has watched it over a hundred times, read the books, studied tolien's life, it was wonderful to experience it again at your level of first pain and joy, for the once again.
It’s been 20+ years and I’ve seen the movies countless times and I still always tear up at “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!” and “My friends, you bow to no one.”
Every single time.
And when you think about it, those beacon keepers have spent their lives for generations for that one moment.
Hopefully, they are well stocked, have good houses there, and maybe once a half year the guard changes. It'd be a boring and cold duty, but an honorable and important one.
9:05 Actually the subtitlers made a mistake there, she wasn't speaking Elvish but her own tongue Rohirric (i.e. Anglo-Saxon). She was just hailing him (i.e. wishing him health)
I saw this in theaters when it came out and i always remember the theater erupting in cheers when Gandolf smacks Denethor.
Yeah the books did a better job of showing why Denethor had fallen into such a state of despair. I honestly can't remember if my theater reacted the same way or not as I was just too into the movie.
At 50:46 you say, "How does no one know you're here?" Good question! In the book, Tolkien writes, "There seemed to be some understanding between Dernhelm [Eowyn in disguise] and Elfhelm, the Marshal who commanded the eored in which they were riding. He and all his men ignored Merry and pretended not to hear if he spoke." Presumably she kept her helm on more than she does in the movie.
the third movie the return of the king won 11 oscars including best picture, best director and best original score. the trilogy won 17 oscars in total out of 33 nominations
And RotK didn't lose a single category!
For 1:05:03 Guys you must know this because you cant understand just watching this film...
The Nazgül are not just creatures that fight with swords and their mounts. One of their weapons is their screams. These screams are not normal screams. They are magical screams. They create fear, terror and panic in the hearts of even the bravest soldiers who are exposed to this scream. When they hear it from a certain distance away, they become paralyzed. A weapon that can stun and even kill with its black curse. In other words, people don't cover their ears just because it makes a high-pitched sound. Soldiers lay down their weapons, fall down in fear, faint, or even die. Moreover, these soldiers are not normal men, they are BRAVE soldiers of Gondor.. 2. Their weapons are surrounded by a cursed and black magic aura known as Black Breath. So, for example, there is a black magic aura around them with a diameter of 4-5 meters. Even if a Nazgul never touches you, even if you stay within 4-5 meters of them for a certain period of time, this It means that you are poisoned by the black curse and fall to your death, and you fall into dark nightmares and cannot wake up. Think of it like a radioactive substance. If you are exposed to it at a certain distance for a certain period of time, you die in pain after a while. These weapons are called Black Breath. Now why, Eowyn and Pippin, Did you realize that after killing the Witch King, you stayed in the hospital in a death sleep and Aragorn barely saved them?
This adds an extra layer of bravery to Pippin; the Witch King and his Fell-Beast destroy Gandalf's staff, knock him down, and terrify Shadowfax. Still, Pippin is able to stand and tries to strike the Witch King. I don't quite recall how it went down in the books, but I appreciate that the movie gave Pippin this moment of heroism
@@pabloc8808 In the books Pippin could be clumsy but he is not a coward or self-indulgent.. In those hobbits, he could be bravest hobbit .. Because He is a Took..not baggins (Cousins of Baggins).. Tooks are bravest Hobbits.. At last pages of the book, when southern men and Saruman occupied whole shire, any hobbit cant resist that except Tooks.. Men were carried staffs and beated hobbits.. Hobbits were scared of them.. But when the men tried to occupy Brandybuck (Tooks' place), Tooks resisted..Took Tribe is crowded
..They retreated into the hollows on the top of mountains and They showered people with arrows from those hills..Tooks commander was Pippin's father.. When a few men died, people had to retreat from there.. After than, at the battle of Bywater, Pippin brought Took groups from Brandybuck to aid Hobbits..He took command from his own father.. So At films Pippin could be the most useless hobbit of the group but he's not.. He could be clumsy because he is a Took.. He has a natural curiosity :D
@@pabloc8808 Death of Witch King is not a simple situation.. So many brave Gondor king could manage that.. He destroyed Kingdom of Arnor and Angmar.. He occupied Minas İthil and turned it to Minas Morgul.. He lived approximately 4209 years.. Also Merry could hurt him becauseMerry had in his hand the sword taken from the mounds.. Ancient Arnor King's weapons.. One of them is taken by Merry.. Merry was lucky because he didnt know any weapon, any normal crafting weapon couldn't harm Witch King.. But his special sword was specially forged against the witches of the kingdom of Angmar and had magical runes placed on it.. Fate.. He couldn't even harm the Witch King if he has not that special sword.. When he stabbed Witch King, His spell is broken and Eowyn murdered him.. :))
@@pabloc8808 Duel of Witch King and Gandalf was not like that.. They cant beat each other.. At films, The Director want that Witch King beats Gandalf because He need to show us to that Nazguls are not weak creatures (Aragorn beated them at first movie).. But in the books Gandalf and witch king's aurora and magical powers couldnt beat each other
It is a testament to director Peter Jackson's love of Tolkien's novel and his devotion and respect for the fans that the last line in the book is also the last line in the movie. I think that, ultimately, he did Tolkien proud, treating the story with the respect it deserved. Glad to accompany you both on this journey. Now you know why these movies had a built-in audience of millions of die-hard fans and is such a beloved work of art.
At 21:20, in the book, the Witch-King pauses here a moment in doubt, sensing the presence of the Ring. Frodo clutches the Phial of Galadriel, forgotten until now, and the Nazgul continues down the valley with his army.
As is typical of movies -- and this one especially -- sometimes things need to be compressed for time. Hence Faramir and Eowyn "fall instantly in love". The book spends a little more time with it. There are a number of things that do this to for the sake of pacing. In Fellowship, Frodo's journey to Rivendell is considerably shortened. Denethor's madness is quickly handled, making him more a lunatic than a fallen noble. The confrontation with the King of the Dead is not just shortened but rewritten for the sake of pacing. Some of these changes were good and others not so much, but pacing is pacing... :)
Frodo never fully healed from his wounds, which means he could never stay happy in Middle-Earth. He, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the rest are going to the undying lands (Elf heaven essentially), where mortal beings usually aren't allowed. An exception is made for Frodo and Bilbo because they were ring bearers. In the appendices we learn that Sam becomes mayor of the Shire and lives a long and happy life. After his wife dies, he also sails west to the undying lands because he was briefly a ring bearer. So Frodo and Sam do meet again. Merry and Pippin spend their days with Aragorn in Gondor, and when they die they are buried next to Aragorn's grave. Legolas and Gimli remain friends, and their friendship heals the rift between Dwarf and Elf. When they reach their end, they also sail to the undying lands together. It's a massive honor for Gimli, being a dwarf, and never a ring bearer. Once they leave, the fellowship is gone from Middle Earth forever.
Faramir was wise brother, Boromir was a warrior.. Their Father (Denethor) doesnt show his love to Faramir because Faramir looks exactly like himself (Denethor).. When Denethor looks Faramir, he sees himself.. Also, in the books Denethor was a big and wise man.. If the wises man of this world is Gandalf, Denethor could be second.. But He is poisoned for tens of tens years.. There is a palantir stone at Minastirith and he used that palantir over 30 years.. Sauron effected him for 30 years and Sauron poisoned his mind that is no victory against Mordor armies idea..He is so wise and strong man, and because of this Saruman had corrupted Theoden, but despite 30 years of brainwashing, Sauron was unable to convert Denethor to his side. Sauron could only turn him into a hopeless leader.Because of this he(denethor) looks like a shitty man.. But at the books, he is so wise and great leader.. It's similar to ring effects..
The movies really did Denethor dirty, I remember watching the movies first, then reading the books. When I got to Denethor in the books I was like "not this guy" and was very surprised that he wasn't like in the movies, he's much more sympathetic
Great comment. Movie-Denethor had no subtlety. He is a tremendous character in the books.
Actually Faramir looks more like his mother, who died giving birth to him. Denethor could never forgive Faramir for taking his wife away from him, and he serves as a living reminder of his heartbreak.
Loved rewatching this fantastic trilogy with you guys. Thanks a bunch.
Every moment in Middle-Earth is a blessing. I hope to continue the adventure with you in "THE HOBBIT" trilogy, as well. It covers Bilbo's adventure, and lays the foundation for the LOTR. See you there.
You kept that little cutie from us until the end?? I really enjoyed your reaction to this. It's always great to see someone fall in love with one of your favorite movies. Especially if they can appreciate it the way you both did.
The song Aragorn sings at his coronation was a deep lore cut PJ and co. put in for book fans. He's repeating the oath that Elendil (the king who dies at the start of _Fellowship_ ) swore when he first arrived in Middle-Earth after the downfall of Numenor: "Out of the Great Sea / to Middle-earth I am come / In this place will I abide / and all my heirs / unto the ending of the world."
It was probably one of the biggest 'You didn't have to, and I wouldn't have been angry if you didn't; but you did!' moments of the whole film saga when I first saw that scene and realised what Viggo was singing.
Congratulations on reaching the end!
You must understand, that no living creature - irrespective of race or strength - would have been able to willingly destroy the One Ring.
Especially since it's power grew stronger and stronger as it got closer to the place where it was made.
And Gandalf knew it. He knew that Frodo took upon himself a deadly task which had rationally speaking no chance of success and even less chance for Frodo to get out of it alive.
And yet he trusted something, because - as he mentioned in Moria - there are other powers at work here.
As he himself said it: Bilbo was meant to find the ring, in which case Frodo was also meant to have it.
So he decided to trust that other power against all reason.
There is a truckload of lore behind this, thousands of years of history, wars, alliances, tragedies, complex events, languages, cultures, writing, most of it detailed in The Silmarillion, so I'm not going to explain what that other power is, suffice it to say that Tolkien's universe has a supreme deity, Eru Iluvatar.
He very rarely intervenes in the events and when he does it, it's very subtle. One of the more spectacular occasions was when he sent Gandalf back as white, allowing him to reveal a little more of his true angelic powers.
Well that was worth the wait! It was so fun rewatching this movie with you two. So happy to see you both enjoy and get immersed in it. Cara getting so worked up in the Denethor scenes reminded me of my lola getting worked up watching her telenovelas lmao
The Faramir and Eowyn thing did kinda came out of nowhere, but it's just the time passing that the movie didn't/couldn't show because it's not the main focus. We're kinda just supposed to imagine it. I imagine it took weeks or at least a month after the battle at Gondor before Aragorn marched to the Black Gate. In the books when Gandalf left the Shire to research about the Ring, it actually took 17 years for him to return and send Frodo and Sam off, and that's insane.
There's a lot of stuff in Appendix B. The Battle of Minas Tirith is March 14-15, and the fight at the Black Gate/Frodo in Mt Doom is March 25. Didn't see Eowyn and Faramir's wedding, but Sam married Rose 6 months to the day after he arrived back in the Shire. Back in the day, shorter engagements were common. (OTOH, Aragorn and Arwen were engaged for 60+ years; Elrond said that no Man except the returned king of Gondor was good enough for her.)
JRR Tolkien was a soldier in WW1 and he lost several friends from his small village. A "Shire" is similar to a county in England. It's easy to see the ending of the LoTR as an allegory for what it was like for the young men who fought in WW1, many of whom came from small towns and villages much like the shire, to return home after experiencing the horrors of war. That scene where the hobbits are sitting quietly in the taproom, while everyone else talks, jokes, and laughs. They look at each other and realize that there is no going back to what they were (not unlike PTSD). Fitting then, that it is Sam that shows them a way forward by finding his courage and courting/marrying Rosie.
Couple things about the Army of the Dead. They actually cannot physically touch living people (which is how they went through Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli) so they cannot fight, they instead scare the life out of you, at the river they scared the Corsairs off, some of which died of fright while others drowned in the river.
The other is Aragorn releases them after they take the ships, he brought men up to Gondor.
Yeah, the movie just turned them into this huge Deus ex Machina. I would have preferred if they had just been used to even the odds, so to speak, rather than be responsible for the entire victory. It would have given the chance to show what the Gondorian army could do when properly motivated. They're supposed to be the elite army of Middle Earth, but all they do in the movie is get their asses kicked until Aragorn and Rohan get there.
Faramir and Eowyn met while they were in hospital (Ringwraith poisoning ward). In the book, Meriadoc introduced them, and told Faramir that Eowyn was "on the bounce" and some more of her history.
1:02:16 Team Effort, Eowyn isnt man but neither is Merry (He's a Hobbit).
In the book that sword he stabbed the Witchking with was taken from a Barrow (Hill Gravesite). The Barrow was from the days of the War in the North between the Arnor and Angmar (Kingdom of the WItchking).
A Lot of Undead wraiths and wrights about during that war; there were a number of swords created for high-born men that could break the spells of protection around them and weaken their spirit.
This is What Merry did when he stabbed the Witchking, allowing Eowyn's sword to hit home.
Yeah they skipped quite a bit from the books.
The emotional rollercoaster starts with the speech of Theoden at Pelennor fields and ends with “i’m back”!
1:10:22 I'll answer your questions.. Eowyn is injured by the Witch King's black breath and Faramir was injured also.. They were being healing together in the same healing house..
Brillant in every aspect. Watching this in the cinema in 2003 was life-altering.
Faramir falling in love with Eowyn was more understandable in the books, because the two of them had to convalesce after the war. They spent (IIRC) 2 months healing up, together. So their relationship bloomed over time, and they helped each other to recover. The movie sorta took a short-cut here and just showed the outcome without the development. However, the movie was already 4 hours, so they didn't really have another 20 minutes to develop their romance.
Next Trilogy The Hobbit Extended Edition Of The Adventures Of Bilbo Baggin:
(1) An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition
(2) The Desolation Of Smaug Extended Edition
(3) The Battle Five Armie Extended Edition
I admit that while I love the extended edition of LotR, for the Hobbit, even the regular movie version was too long, IMHO. A trilogy of 3 hour long movies was a bit much for the source material. Still very much enjoyed those as well, but they had a few lengths that Lord of the Rings didn't have.
Eomer is Theoden's nephew and captain of Rohan's army Eowyn is his niece and Eomer's sister
appreciations, Cara and Prez - you've done it! ...to re-watch this with you guys was great... I very much related to your journey with it, your comments and also seeing your facial expressions... a beast of an emotional ride, and such a well written story... love LotR so much, and will probably never stop... the books are even a bit better, as Tolkien is an excellent writer, and your imagination is also more free, but I have to give it to Jackson and his team, that they did an excellent job! I was especially impressed when I saw it first, after reading the books many a time, how well the main characters are impersonated by all actors... 10 out of 10!
20 years later, and after many, many rewatches, I still get huge chills when the Rohirrim charge. And teary eyed when Sam carries Frodo. Movie magic at its finest.
CONGRATS! One of the very few who recognize that when Frodo wakes up, he thought Gandalf had died fighting the Balrog... btw, Gandalf: I better order up a third eagle for the search/rescue... just in case." 7 hours...6.5hrs later, was it worth it? I thought so. The last of the great model movies now that CGI and AI has taken over. See you when you all watch The Hobbit... Extended Editions of course. Cheers!
"Gandalf died fighting the Balrog, I died on Mt Doom, and now here we all are, wearing white, in an extremely well-lit room, on the comfiest bed of my life... This all makes perfect sense..."
Lord of the Rings trilogy is the greatest trilogy ever made
At 9:03, the caption reads [speaking in Elvish], but Eowyn is actually speaking in her own language. In Tolkien's story, the Rohirrim speak a speech different from the Common Tongue or Westron spoken by the other Men of the West. Tolkien translates the Westron as Modern English, but the language of Rohan is represented by Anglo-Saxon or Old English. The leaders of the Rohirrim such as Theoden and Eowyn could speak both tongues. Peter Jackson & Co. wisely decided this was an unnecessary complication for their movie. In T2T, Eowyn's song at Theodred's funeral is also in Old English, as are Aragorn's words calming the horse Brego.
From the book, when Sam sees the star in Mordor: "“Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a bright star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach." -- JRR Tolkien, "The Return of the King"
Eowyn's soft sob when King Theoden dies is gut wretching. Miranda Otto had it so perfectly, you actually feel the pain, the loss of a loved one. Westu hál. Ferðu, Théoden, Ferðu.
Gandalf came with three eagles because he was hoping to save smeagol too.
... oof 😢
That's actually just a fan theory, unconfirmed. Nice thought though.
I love at 19:50 when Gandalf tells Pippin that there was only ever “a fool’s hope,” with just a bit of a smile. Throughout the trilogy, he’s called Pippin a fool, and here he basically is saying it takes one to know one.
At 32:08 You must understand.. Frodo thought the ring seduced Sam too.. Because The Ring is such a powerfull object and it can even seduce Gandalf or Aragorn.. So Frodo thought like that.. His trusty didnt gone .. He just think Sam is corrupted by Ring's power too.. Like Brave and Noble Boromir..
That ride of Rohan into the battle...so epic. Dudes (and lady) just screaming "Death!" as they take off...any army would take a second to rethink their situation lol.
And that scene where Aragorn says, "my friends! you bow to no one." just hits hard. Those little hobbits just did so much to save the world from doom and people didn't even really know they existed. The smallest of people...changing the course of history. One of them (Frodo) literally sacrificing his very soul.
After the ring was destroyed:
Frodo left Middle Earth, so that he may be fully healed. He was still able to feel the wound on his arm from the sword at the beginning, plus for being the ring-bearer and it nearly consuming him like it did Gollum.
Aragorn returned Gondor to it's former glory, and ruled happily with Arwen for 120 years. He had one son and two daughters. When his time drew near, he chose to take command of his own end. We laid in the House of the Kings in Minas Tirith with Gondor's past rulers and drifted into eternal sleep.
Arwen passed one year later.
Gimli became the Lord of the Glittering Caves under Helm's Deep, as it was rich with Mithril. He kept his word to Galadriel, and encased the strands of hair within glass and treasured it.
Legolas restored the woodlands of Middle-Earth that were ravaged by the war, along with adventuring with Gimli. After Aragorn's death, Legolas made a ship of his own in Ithilien, and left Middle-Earth to cross the sea to reunite with the rest of the elves in the Undying Lands. Gimli crossed the sea with Legolas, due to his close friendship with the elf, and was the only dwarf that was offered that honor.
Samwise married Rosie and had 13 children. He was also elected Mayor of the Shire for seven consecutive seven-year terms (49 years.) Afterwards, Sam was given passage to the Undying Lands to reunite with Frodo, as Samwise was also a Ring-Bearer, even for a short time.
Pippin became the 32nd Thane of the Shire, and held that position for 50 years. He had one son named Faramir Took I, who later married Sam's daughter. After he retired as Thane, he left with Rohan and Gondor with Merry. He remained there for the rest of his life, and was entombed in the Hall of the Kings, and later moved to be laid to rest alongside Aragorn.
Merry was knighted by King Eomer and become Master of Buckland. He married, and wrote a book. He had at least one son. At 102, he returned to Rohan and Gondor with Pippin, dying around the same time as Pippin. He was laid to rest in Gondor with Pippin, and later moved alongside Aragorn.
At 1:23:50, Aragorn's words are the words of his ancestor Elendil: "Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." Viggo Mortensen had the happy idea of having Aragorn sing the words--I'm sure Tolkien would approve.
Smeagol would be fantastic at 50-50 situations in Among Us.
7:31 my favorite trivia bit is that Peter Jackson wanted Saruman to yell out in pain when he got stabbed, but Christopher Lee, who served in the RAF in North Africa and Italy during WWII as an intelligence and allegedly special forces operative, said “no, that’s not what someone sounds like when they are getting stabbed.” So listen closely when Grima stabs him
Same
also want to comment on how lovely you two seem to be together. genuine joy.
Yessss I’ve been waiting for this I’m so excited!!
amazing reactions, it felt like I got to watch it again for the first time 😂🔥
28:00 - Yeah, Faramir ran into Frodo and Sam in Ithilien, on the other / Eastern side of the river, and took them back to Osgiliath (the ruined city on an island in the center of the river) - Minas Tirith is like a similar distance to the west of the river that Ithilien and Minas Morgul are to the east of the river, Osgiliath (from where the horsemen just retreated) is right in the middle.
42:00 I can tell you from experience that skull do not smell. And how do I know ?
Well I once had a drink siting on a pit fill to the brim with skull pieces and human bones.
It was in Paris catacombs (unoficial parts that can only be accessed from sewage manhole and other tricky acess).
We spent an hour in that room and no odour other that that of old dirt, stone and our lighted joint
Quite the experience.
These movies hit me. I tear up every time. "I can't carry it for you. But I can carry you!"
Sam is this one.
Guys There is an AMAZİNG DETAİL at 1:16:32 .. For Frodo moment.. Listen to background theme music when Aragorn says "For Frodo" at 1:16:32 ... That Background Theme Music's lyrics is the promise which Aragorn gave Frodo at Rivendell"... Lyrics are this.. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword.." .. That is so significant moment .. So that means, Aragorn did what he promised..
Great reaction! Couple trivia items most people don't catch unless you read the books. Denathor has one of the last Palantirs and, like Saruman, he was manipulated by Sauron and driven mad. Next, Gimli was not actually sitting on the throne, but he was sitting on the Steward's seat. If you watch again you can actually see stairs leading up to the grand throne of the king and the steward's seat is at the foot of those stairs. Finally, Gandalf came with three eagles because he still held hope that gollum would be redeemed in the end.
I only now just realized that when Faramir was brought back to Minas Tirith by his horse, he had three arrows in him, like Boromir, but he survived. I think it's a cool message, he surpassed his brother because not only did he come back to the white city, he survived after going through the same kind of thing. I think the main reason for that wouldn't be to highlight Faramir's durability as THE feat that made him surpass his brother, but because Faramir was able to let the ring go while he had every reason (even more than Boromir) to take it. Faramir's reasoning, the way he decided that the ring must be destroyed, is for me the reason why he survived and surpassed his brother on a narrative standpoint.
I think you guys should react next to The Return of the King video game.
1:19:41 neat detail, even as gollum is dying, the rings temptation is so strong that its making him prioritise the ring over himself whos literally burning. The ring is the last thing to touch the lava.
Amazing, wonderful reaction! Truly is a masterpiece, epic, one of a kind trilogy.
And doggo is so cute!!
Outstanding work mates!! Great reactions, excellent incites. You showed great respect and appreciation for an amazing piece of art. Well done!
"my friends, you bow to no one". one of the best moments in cinema history
Each film ends with a song that matches the film. they are heartrending.
It's just sooooo cute to watch these kids discover the magic of LotR 23 years later and completely lose their shit. Back around 1999 when the production started we had such a great time with all the speculation, the announcement of the actors, the photo "leaks" from the shoot, nerding out on forums about whether elves had pointy ears and balrogs had wings. Peter Jackson totally wrote the book on how to hype up nerdy fans on the internet. And with the release of the first movie in 2001 the years of drip-fed anticipation came to a culmination. For us old-time Tolkien fans we were hyped in a way similar to how Star Wars fans were hyped up for the Phantom Menace. Except our hopes were fulfilled in such a beautiful way. Ah, memorable times indeed. Namárië, mellon.
Great reaction as always!
FYI - Sam’s full name is Samwise, not Samuel (you called him Samuel several times).
A nice addition to the ending from the books that they left out of the movie: As a ringbearer, Sam also earned the honor of going to the Undying Lands. After he lives a long and happy life, in his extreme old age, the elves bring a ship and take him to the Undying Lands to see Frodo again.
Fun fact: both Frodo and Faramir are educated in the Elvish language yet neither realises that the dark terror in Cirith Ungol (Literally means pass of the Spider) Is a giant spider. Frodo also definitely knows that giant spiders are a thing
Also another fun fact about the drinking game: In the books there is a scene when the guards of Legolas' father steal some of the good wine that we can assume Legolas would also drink and both guards get so drunk they fall asleep after one cup. Legolas is used to strong stuff.
17 oscars! This is the best trilogy ever!
1:10:15 Super good call. Faramir and Eowyn didn't just fall in love instantly. They were together in the House of Healing for quite a while and Faramir worked really hard to win her over, and eventually made her see that Aragorn was different from normal men and also that he was taken and that nothing she could do would change that. Plus the movies kind of did Faramir dirty, the book says that he was almost pure Numenorean blood, like Denethor his father (they also did him super dirty in the movie, the books state that he was wise and powerful and they explain why he lost his mind to despair)
Thank you very much. I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction. The romance between Eowyn and Faramir is, sadly, stripped to the bone in the film. In the book, there is a whole chapter, beautifully written, in which Tolkien describes how their love for each other develops as they recover in the Houses of Healing. It is then that Eowyn realises that what she felt for Aragorn was a sort of crush but that her love for Faramir is real.
The battles in these films are based on actual battles in medieval warfare which is why, imo, they are so successful. During sieges, for instance, the besiegers would often throw heads and body parts over the walls: it was not only demoralising but brought disease into the city and so was a very successful tactic.
Your Fellowship of The Ring reaction is the first video I watched from you guys, and this is the third (I may be going over to see your Haikyu!! reaction, one of my favourite animes).
In case no-one has mentioned it already (although, they might have) the actor who plays Samwise Gamgee, Sam Astin, really struggled during the wedding scene with Rosie towards the end because he was happily married; Elijah Wood (Frodo), Dominic Monaghan (Merry) and Billy Boyd (Pippin) - from memory, but I could be recalling wrong - were there as a big support for him at that point because of how difficult he found the scene.
I would seriously recommend reading the books, because although it can be a bit slow-paced you get a lot more of the lore and context for stuff like Eowyn and Faramir's romance and what happens after Sauron's defeat :)
Also your dog is so adorable! 🥰
So, the distance between the city Osgiliath (on the river) and Minas Tirith (the white city) is 20 miles. It's hard to tell in the shots but Osgiliath was a LARGE city on a major river. It handled significant amounts of river traffic north and south for hundreds of miles. Gondor had other port cities north (Cair Andros) and south (Pelargir) as well as ports down toward the coast in the river delta. The large fields in front of Minas Tirith are dotted with small villages, farm communities, etc. The film shows it all as grassland for simplicities sake. But the whole area is surrounded by a wall, not as large as the main walls of the city, but enough to provide protection and high ground to defend from. There are multiple fortified sections of the wall containing garrisons as well. The battle plays out differently in the books, and is far more massive and complex involving 4 main forces from Mordor comprised of surface, naval, and air forces amassed from numerous human nations far to the south and east, behind Mordor. Gondor also has multiple armies, those garrisoning the city, those at the east patrolling the borders with Mordor (under Faramir), there are those in their lands to the south toward the ocean. Another to the north along the flanks of the mountains. Rohan has it's part. The army of the dead, and there are others still involved we don't see at all in the film. But for time, scale, etc, here is a tactical and strategic breakdown of movements etc that someone put together like it's a history lesson in class. It's brilliantly done.
mcbrennan.github.io/minas_maps.pdf
In the book, it was weeks from one battle to another. There was plenty of time for Eowyn and Faramir to establish a relationship. There weren’t a whole lot of people left.
Eomyr became king of Rohan I believe.
It took several days for Pippin to find Merry after the battle.
Loved your reaction though.
Haha, I never made the connection of "You can't simply walk into Mordor" and the fact that Sam and Frodo simply did exactly that^^.
The scene that always makes me cry is where Sam says he can't carry the ring for Frodo but he can carry him. Every time.
Your channel is great guys I’ve been following for a while now, keep enjoying life