This is one of the best lord of the rings reactions on TH-cam Extended editions Keeps the best scenes in and reactions Picks up on additional and subtle details Recognizes musical cues and their thematic relevance Pays attention Long video lengths Not overbearing or exaggerated, just relaxed, interested, and invested Bravo
Agreed on all of the above. One thing she also does that's awesome, she doesn't just repeat the thing she sees on the movie. So many just say what they see, like, we know we see it too. She analyzes the movie and discusses it with the viewer.
A couple of factoids to throw at you: - The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol In the books... - The reason both Bilbo and Frodo were invited to go with the Elves is because they were both "ring-bearers." - After Rosie passed and his children grown, Sam was invited to leave Middle-Earth as well, because he too was considered a ring-bearer (even though he only possessed it a short time). - When Legolas' time came to leave with the Elves, he was allowed to invite his best friend, Gimli. He was the only Dwarf to go into the Grey Havens. - Merry and Pippin left the Shire as they grew older. After visiting Rohan, they went back to Gondor, where they lived out their days. In fact, they were both buried along side Aragorn in the House of Kings after his passing, Great reactions!
"The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol" Correct. This is a factoid. The elder child is Ali Astin, Sean's daughter. The baby is Maisie McLeod-Riera, Sarah McLeod's (Rosie Cotton) daughter.
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor. Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received. And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor. Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received. And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
[1:2158] This scene captures so well a feeling common to so many veterans. You leave home to do your duty, but life at home simply goes on without you, as it must. Once the veteran returns home, it's never the same place it was when he or she left. There's a sense of loss to the veteran, and this intangible, durable, almost permanent obstruction to ever feeling truly connected with those to whom you've come back as you had been connected to them before leaving. Other veterans know this feeling as well and can relate, but anyone who remained at home would never know the veteran next to them will always struggle with this sense of otherness and disconnection. In that sense, it's much like Frodo's wound from Weathertop: it's never truly heals.
@economath8164 the author JRR Tolkien served in the British army in WW1 and returned home having been wounded. So he very well knew what he was writing about. When Eomer talks to Eowyn about the horrors of battle, Tolkien was writing from personal experience...
I love that moment so much. But also I partly love it because of the reaction of the crowd - Aragorn bows and suddenly the whole crowd is like "oh shit, the king's bowing to them - quick, get down, get down!"
The thing that got me into this whole world was a wonderful Primary School teacher, here in the UK that read us a bit of the Hobbit, every day at the end of school. She did all the voices and made Middle Earth come alive. That was back in the 80s, so I had to wait a while until the films came out, but when they did (both trilogies), I loved them.
At 19:50 you ask, "If they destroy the Ring, will the Nazgul just be gone?" In the book, Gandalf says, "If [the Ring] is destroyed, then he will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again...all that was made or begun with that power will crumble, and he will be maimed for ever, becoming a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, but cannot again grow or take shape." That would include the Nazgul.
Remember, when Frodo wakes up and sees Gandalf, it's the first time he saw him since he fell with the Balrog. Also, in the book, Shadowfax is with them when the board the last ship. RIP Blanco -aka- The lord of all horses!
Love Jen's reaction to Theoden's line, "And Rohan will answer!" She hums the Rohan theme which, up to that point had been played with strings. We now hear it played with drums and horns which completely changes it's meaning. It's absolutely epic and as the culmination of "The lighting of the beacons" is my favorite moment of the trilogy.
This is one of my favorite scenes for reasons that often goes unnoticed. During the seige of Rohan Theodan tells his neice that it was Aragon who saved the Rohan, not himself. Later he learned Aragon's truth- that he is the heir to Isildur and the throne of Gondor. When Theodon first sees the beacon lights lit he has no desire to answer, but when Aragon himself pleads, "Gondor calls for aid!"- in this moment Theodan sees not some Ranger of the North, but the true heir of Gondor. He had already risked his life to save Rohan, and Theodan stares Aragon in the eyes and, King to King, replies, "And Gondor will answer." He wasn't responding to Denethor's beacon lights. He was responding personally to Aragon, the King of Gondor.
The true genius of this trilogy (of course the writing) are the values portrayed. Faith, Hope, Family, Courage, Compassion, Sacrifice, Empathy, etc. Thank you for the time and effort you put into these reactions, Jen. Much appreciated. 😊
At 16:30 you asked, "How did Denethor know about Aragorn?". The long movie cannot cover all the subplots of the books. Denethor also had a Palantir crystal ball through which Sauron showed him Aragorn to stoke Denethor's jealousy and sow chaos amongst the forces of Good. Sauron also showed Denethor a possible future of the destruction of Minas Tirith similar to Frodo being shown the destruction of the Shire in Galadriel's Mirror. He was depressed and thought this was his fate, along with his mind being purposely corrupted by Sauron to weaken the forces of Good. Frodo overcame his vision, Denethor did not.
Many years later, after becoming mayor, Sam joined Frodo in the Undying Lands as he was allowed due to him being a ring bearer even though it was only for a short while.
@@elzar760 He did it totally on spec too because he wanted the see the Lady of Light one last time. He wasn't invited but Galadriel herself intervened on Gimii's behalf and he was allowed to stay.
Frodo never fully healed from his wounds, which means he could never stay happy in Middle-Earth. He, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the rest are going to the undying lands (Elf heaven essentially), where mortal beings usually aren't allowed. An exception is made for Frodo and Bilbo because they were ring bearers. In the appendices we learn that Sam becomes mayor of the Shire and lives a long and happy life. After his wife dies, he also sails west to the undying lands because he was briefly a ring bearer. So Frodo and Sam do meet again. Merry and Pippin spend their days with Aragorn in Gondor, and when they die they are buried next to Aragorn's grave. Legolas and Gimli remain friends, and their friendship heals the rift between Dwarf and Elf. When they reach their end, they also sail to the undying lands together. It's a massive honor for Gimli, being a dwarf, and never a ring bearer. Once they leave, the fellowship is gone from Middle Earth forever.
Well it is very unlikely Sam saw Frodo in Valinor again. Frodo most likely died already, being older then Sam already and living in the Undying Lands makes mortals actual die earlier. But they will meet again in whatever fate awaits mortal men in the afterlive.
Yes, that is such sincerity and warmth and love in his voice at that line. Another line that gets me is Aragorn and the final remnants of his army outside the black gate and Sauron tries (and fails) one last time to persuade/control Aragorn to darkness and it looks like there is a brief temptation/struggle from Aragorn. They he snaps out of it and simply says "For Frodo." ♥
37:02 Aragorn's nickname as a kid was "Estel", which is Elvish for hope. The line "I give hope to men, I keep none for myself." was the epitaph on Aragorn's mother's gravestone. We actually see it for a split second in Fellowship: its the one he's cleaning moss off of before they leave Rivendell.
Frodo said the bravest thing Sam ever did was ask Rosie to marry him. Although we all know that Rosie adored Sam he still worried he wasn't worthy of her which, of course, is silly.
Something often overlooked is the fact that Smeagol murdered his cousin Deagol over the Ring just after seeing it for the first time, even though the Ring was still in its dormant state. Bilbo, meanwhile, picked it up and deliberately spared Smeagol despite having the opportunity to kill him and then proceeded to carry the Ring around for sixty years with minimal corruption before the Ring awoke. In short, Smeagol was already a bad egg before the Ring found him. (This is actually made a bit more clear in the book with Gandalf's narration of Gollum's backstory.) That said, he is still pitiable, and his story is tragic.
To that point, Bilbo's compassion (and later Frodo's) was all a part of the "plan" Smeagol needed to be a live so that his greed could destroy the ring, in the end no one could ever WILLINGLY destroy the ring. Even Frodo was going to refuse. That's one of the great things about Tolkien. All of the things are interconnected in multiple ways. Was is a part of Eru's ultimate plan to have the ring be found by a family with 2 unusually compassionate people in it? There's no real answer here as far as I know, but there's room for almost infinite speculation in any direction. It's one of the things I really dislike about the movies, they make it seem as though the entire undertaking was a series of decisions made by mortals (and sometimes gandalf). In the books a large part of the story is "coincidence" of some form.
@@dinkywinky2860 🏆 🍺🍺 "Even the very wisest can still not see all ends. I feel that Gollum has a further part to play in this.. for the good or the bad." (paraphrasing Gandalf)
hobbits also have a natural resistance to the ring, and corruption in general. That only reason Sam was hesitant to hand the ring back to Frodo in the Goblin Tower in Mordor was because he loves Frodo and knew what it was doing to him. He didn't want it for himself.
The leader of the orc army, Gothmog, is played by Maori actor Lawrence Makoare. He also played Lurtz, the leader of the Uruk-hai who shoots Boromir with arrows and is killed by Aragorn, and he was the physical character of the Witch-King of Angmar in the 3rd movie, but the voice for the Witch-King was done by the amazing, multi-talented Andy Serkis.
Hey Jen, funny thing. Robert Plant was obsessed with LOTR. Led Zeppelin has several amazing songs dedicated to the concepts in LOTR. Listen to , "The Battle of Evermore". And "Stairway to heaven" is about Galadriel. The Elvin Queen.
This really is the greatest epic in the history of cinema. There is nothing that matches the spectacle, the scope, the grandeur, the emotions, etc. An absolute masterpiece of film.
So glad that Peter Jackson made it - it's so obvious that he loves the source material and he took great care to make the best trilogy he could. And he succeeded. A true masterpiece.
@@OldRod99 It's a shame he didn't want to do the Hobbit in as big of a scale but it would have been so much harder with everyone watching like they were after LotR was such a success. It never could've been the same.
@@TheHighSorcerer The source material for the Hobbit doesn't have the scale of LOTR and there aren't many writers that could match Tolkien that's why so much of the Hobbit trilogy seems forced, they had to add so much non-source material to make it a trilogy. I mean they're good movies and worth a watch but they're not epic masterpieces like LOTR.
Not shown in the movie, but in the books, Denethor also had one of the palantir, the seeing stones - and through that, he saw what Sauron wished him to see.
It's a shame they did not show a quick scene of him using the Palantir, it would have explained allot, Denethor was not a bad man, he was corrupted and with grief because of the loss of his oldest son and was certain Gondor was lost.
The lighting of the beacons is probably the part of the trilogy i look forward to the most , along with the music its truly epic and beautifully shot , i love it 🔥🔥🔥
Sailing into the West (the sunset) is a metaphor for death. The time of elves and magic is over, Bilbo is very old, and the tip of the Witch King’s blade is still in Frodo, slowly killing him.
One of my favorite scenes for, reasons that often goes unnoticed, is Rohan seeing the beacon lights. During the seige of Rohan Theodan tells his neice that it was Aragon who saved the Rohan, not himself. Later he learned Aragon's truth- that he is the heir to Isildur and the throne of Gondor. When Theodon first sees the beacon lights lit he has no desire to answer, but when Aragon himself pleads, "Gondor calls for aid!"- in this moment Theodan sees not some Ranger of the North, but the true heir of Gondor. He had already risked his life to save Rohan, and Theodan stares Aragon in the eyes and, King to King, replies, "And Gondor will answer." He wasn't responding to Denethor's beacon lights. He was responding personally to Aragon, the King of Gondor.
The march when faramir and the riders are going back to osgiliath and denethor is eating is the most haunting scene. Such a gorgeous juxtaposition. The flowers the people were throwing at the horses feet as they were leaving on their doomed ride feels like their preemptive funeral flowers. Because they know they won’t make it. The music in this is the most amazing set of scores and themes of anything i have ever seen.
Winner of 11 Oscars including Best Picture, making it the first fantasy movie to win in all categories. When Steven Spielberg presented the Best Picture winner, he said, "It's a clean sweep! LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING!" It's also the third and final film to win 11 Oscars, alongside BEN HUR and TITANIC. Two more fantasy films would win multiple Oscars: The Shape Of Water (4) Everything Everywhere All At Once (7)
And the now late Bernard Hill starred in two of those 11 Oscar winning movies. Probably the only actor who will ever achieve that (though I will never say never).
At 7:05 you ask, "Can Elves get drunk?" Evidently, not on ale. However, in the earlier book The Hobbit, Bilbo gets his Dwarf companions out of an Elvish jail by getting the jailers drunk on wine.
I fell in love with Tolkien's works when I first read them over 50 years ago. I have reread them countless times since and cannot recommend them highly enough, especially to someone who enjoys a well-written tale. These movies, I feel, are a gift to Tolkien lovers the world over, and a passkey to those who will want for more, read the books, and come to join the throng. watching you and other reactors see these for the first time allows me to enjoy them anew through fresh eyes.
At 9:25, Eowyn's "great wave" was the wave that engulfed the island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age. In the book, this dream was dreamed by Faramir later in the story. Tolkien himself often dreamed this dream when he was growing up.
The fiddle used in the Rohan theme is the so-called Geiranger fiddle. A Norwegian instrument. The Rohan theme itself is in A dorian (A minor but raised 6th (F > F#). As for how much time passes: It's glossed over a LOT in the movies but the books give more detail. I won't go into detail how the calendar of Middle Earth works so I highly recommend reading the books and the appendices if you are interested in more. Anyway: Bilbo finds the ring in 2941 of the Third Age. On September 22nd in the year 3001, he celebrates his 111th birthday; Frodo turns 33 on the same day. Here the book does a 17 year leap, and in April 3018 Gandalf realises what the ring is and goes to Hobbiton to tell Frodo. However, they don't actually leave until September 3018. They arrived in Rivendell in October and the Council of Elrond takes place in the same month. The Fellowship doesn't leave Rivendell until December however. Gandalf is lost in January 3019. The Battle of Helm's Deep takes place on 3rd of March 3019. The battle of Pelennor Fields (Minas Tirith) then takes place between the 13th and 15th of March. The ring is destroyed on the 25th. The Hobbits return to the Shire in November. Finally, Frodo and Bilbo arrive in the Grey Havens, on September 29nd, 3021. At age 131 years and 7 days, Bilbo is now the oldest Hobbit ever. So: They leave in October 3018 and return in November 3019, a trip of 13 months in total. OK, so that was a really quick and dirty timeline but as I say, I recommend reading the books. It's great! :) 25:30 The Dwarves are busy fighting Sauron's forces in Dale (Dale is seen in The Hobbit movies).
At 26:52 you note, "Pippin rode out with him." This seems strange, and in the book Pippin watches Gandalf from the walls of the City. The screen writers' first idea was to have this fight occur as Gandalf and Pippin first approached Minas Tirith. But the time line of the story would be all wrong, and so they moved the action to its proper place, dragging Pippin along with it. It does allow Gandalf and Pippin to meet Faramir at the same time and learn of his meeting with Frodo and Sam.
5:40 In the script, Saruman was supposed to scream out in pain when he was stabbed. But Christopher Lee, who served in the British military, told Peter Jackson that people dont scream when they are stabbed. They kinda grunt and gasp... how does Christopher Lee know that lol so bad ass.
Fun Fact : Sir Christopher Lee was the Cousin of one Ian Flemming, the author of James Bond, and its widely believed the character of Bond was directly based on Lee's exploits with the SAS during ww2
The opening scene with Saruman combines two scenes that were cut from the theatrical release: Saruman's "trial", as it were, and the ending of the Scouring of the Shire chapter. Sir Christopher Lee, the actor who plays Saruman (and Count Dooku and a ton of other villains), is a _huge_ Tolkien fan, and he was _not_ happy that his final scene was cut from the theatrical release, especially after he went through the trouble of using his experience as a war veteran and commando to make the death real. So Jackson made sure to bring it back and add a fitting end since he had no plans to put the Scouring chapter into film. Film score is what saved classical music, and Howard Shore's score in the 3rd film, let alone the trilogy, is Oscar-worthy, especially since there are several scenes where there is no dialogue, just a bunch of wide panning shots and the booming score setting the tone. The Minas Tirith reveal is one, the lighting of the Beacons is another. In the original books there was another _palantir_ or seeing stone, and it was in Denethor's possession. There are hints in the film to this ("Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind!?"), but unfortunately that's all we get in the films. Denethor's death in the books is possibly too gruesome to portray on screen, as he revealed the _palantir_ as he lit the fire and when Faramir was freed, he lay down clutching the seeing stone, and everyone was banned from setting foot in the tomb ever again.
Aragorn uses Denathor's Stone to send a message to Sauron "Behold the Sword of Elendil!!" , he picks it up off the Steward's Seat in the Throne room of Minas Tirith
Hey jen, to see the demise of Smegol at the start of ROTK is so sad. From the moment Smegol saw the ring of power he was captivated by its gaze. It led him to instanly committ murder of his brother Deagol. --------- That only the begining as we fall into his dive into madness and isolation. The only way to cope with 500 years of torment by the ring is to create the alternate personality of Gollum. ---------- WHAT A SAD SAD TALE Smegol has had.
At 37:28, in the book Aragorn felt really bad about breaking Eowyn's heart. Later in the story he tells Eomer, "Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned. Sorrow and pity have followed me ever since I left here desperate in Dunharrow and rode to the Paths of the Dead; and no fear upon that way was so present as the fear for what might befall her."
1:15:30 I do believe that Tolkien once said or wrote that no mortal would've been able to throw the Ring in the fire, if they were faced with the option.
Hey Jen, if you think the Balrog was nightmare fuel, time to meet Shelob. A monsterous spider living in the cavens of Mordor. Thank God for "The light of Arendi" ---------- When Peter Jackson visualized Shelob he asked the animator to have the sprider movement to reflect that of a cheeta. ----------- Making her even more dangerous and menacing that we can normally imagine, since we see spiders as small creatures in real life.
I loved your reaction to this and the trilogy as a whole, Jen. Things for you to know, Jen; the reason why Frodo had to leave was that he was slowly dying of the injuries he received as The Ring Bearer so, to prolong his life he had to leave to live with The Elves and The Wizards. The places and people in The Lord of The Rings are based off of the U.K. as a whole 'The Shire' is the West Country, Somerset, Dorset, etc, 'The Hobbits' are the people in those areas hence their accent; 'The Elves' are the Welsh; 'The Dwarves' are the Scottish; 'The Wizards', Gandalf (The Grey/White), Saruman (The White), Radagast (The Brown) not seen in the LOTR films, Alatar (One of The Blue Wizards) and Pallando (another Blue Wizard) not seen in the LOTR films, these Wizards are taken from The Druids. I hope that this helps you, Jen?
Sam said "WE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE" in his monologue at the end of The Two Towers, he really means it because in the book Frodo and Sam never been to Osgiliath.. 😊
"Where are the dwarves?" They, along with the elves of Mirkwood and Lothlorien, were fighting the orcs of the Misty Mountains in the north of Middle-Earth.
While the battle of the Pelanor was going on Orcs Attacked Rohan in the rear and were defended by the Hurons and Treebeard, Lothlorien was attacked and King Dain and the Dwarves of Erebor came to the aid of The King of Dale both were killed. It was the end of the Third Age. The last battle was actually fought in The Shire.
Jen, this movie put you on an emotional roller coaster, but you held steady. The music is what helped the movie pierce your heart; I noticed this especially with the Shire theme. Your empathy with all of the main characters was deep and it was easy to see how you were caught up in it. I now go back to my holiday, but my sincere thanks for your impeccable timing with this post. 😀
Thank you for watching these editions! Saruman was sorely missing from the theatrical version, and I'm glad we closed his story here with an epic performance by Christopher Lee. I even felt bad for Gríma. Also, the arrangement of the Rohan theme as Théoden leads his army into Gondor always gives me goosebumps in the best way.
At the end, Bilbo and Frodo go to The Undying Lands, ostensibly to die, but to live on forever in another realm. Kind of like 'Elven Heaven'. And you were right about the reason: because The Ring had changed them both irretrievably. Also: Frodo's wound from the Morgul Blade would never fully heal and would continue to cause him pain. The Elves leaving paved the way for the Time of Men in Middle Earth. The Appendices in the books explain The Undying Lands a bit more, and you can find out more by reading other books about Middle Earth (there are quite a few), or by reading through various online LOTR lore wikis. "The Undying Lands were a realm inhabited by Ainur and Eldar. The area included the continent of Aman and the island of Tol Eressëa. The ocean Belegaer separated the Undying Lands from the western shores of Middle-earth. With very few exceptions, only immortal beings were allowed to live in this realm."
1:00:55 Yes, "No man can kill me!" Merry is a Hobbit, not a man. It was a team effort. It isnt talked about in the movies but the blade Merry (and others) carry (given to them By Aragorn at Weather top *in the movies* ) has the ability to unbind the protective spells wove around the Nazgul; which it did. Thus Eowyn's sword was able to kill the Witchking. Its all in the books not in the movies.
I'm with ya, except Merry is male, despite being a Hobbit. If it was man, as in the race of man, then Eowyn wouldn't have been able to kill him either......
46:38 “guys! Guys! Guys! This is gonna be soooo cool. You all hide in the wall and I BET someone will say ‘you and whose army’ and I’ll say ‘this army!’ And blam! Charge them ! It’s gonna be soooo cool epic!” 🤣
Shelob the spider is actually a female. She has human form to. => Shelob appears as a raven-haired woman in a black dress. Actually, Sam was stronger than you think. He resisted the ring. He willing handed it to Frodo. His eyes tell you the evil he saw and didn't want it. This is powerful. As Sam is the only one to ever give up thing willing. Save Bilbo under threat from Gandalf. :) At the Saruman mentioned again the remember Gandalf knew the person to be the ring bearing would forfeit their life to save the world. AKA good sacrifice to save world from evil. Sam was the true hero, as much as Frodo was because call back Frodo was right...Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam. Sam was hope.
I will never forget the midnight premiere... To say the theater was packed would be an understatement. It had like 300 seats and it was the largest theater in my part of town. Somehow they managed to cram in 600 of us. People were standing at the sides for 3 hours watching the movie. It was insane!
Oh really , sad to know that he was such a pioneer in those parody films along with his childhood friends the two Zucker brothers David and Jerry who were collectively known as ZAZ RIP Jim Abrahams 🙏
At 14:34, after the filming of the Battle of Helm's Deep was finished, they tore down Helm's Deep and built Minas Tirith in its place. After ROTK was done, some of the pieces of Minas Tirith ended up as scenery for Amon Sul (Weathertop) in FOTR, when the Lord of the Nazgul stabbed Frodo. One of the advantages of filming three movies simultaneously...
14:14 Arwen like her father is half elf. They can make the choice between being human or elf. Elrond's twin brother Elros choice to be human. Arwen made that choice in this exact moment. 18:52 It's Osgilliath. It was the capitol of Gondor once. Minas Tirith is now the capitol. The dead city Minas Morgul was once Minas Ithil. All of this was once within Gondor's borders. 20:40 Sauron's tower Barad-Dur sent a signal. You can see the red flash. Minas Morgul responded with the green ray of light. A way of saying message recieved. 26:15 Gothmog, one of the sexiest male characters in movie history.
At 18:48 you ask, "Is that Gondor in the distance, between Mordor and this city?" The geography of MIddle-earth can be confusing, especially the first time around. Pippin and Gandalf are looking eastward from the walls of MInas Tirith, the chief city of the kingdom of Gondor. They are looking toward the great river Anduin and Osgiliath, the former capital of Gondor, now ruined and partially held by the Enemy. The realm of Gondor is basically everything south of Rohan and west of the Anduin, although in former times the kingdom was much larger.
The running joke about Legolas in the films was that he seemingly never ran out of arrows, even though in the books, there were occasions when he did run out.
Sauron lost yet another tower. He must have particularly hated the loss of a tower to Luthien, grandmother of Elrond if I remember right, and also from memory “she declared her power and cast down his tower” or words similar to that. Sauron was holding prisoner the man she loved so she removed the prison.
Thanks so much for uploading this today! My Thanksgiving tradition after hanging out with family and eating is watching movies. So this is perfect lol. Hope youre having a great day!!!
In the theater, filled with people down to the staircases, Aragorn says "My friends, you bow to no one", and we all stand and clapped, didn't even gave a second thought.
The ring will eventually corrupt anyone, but the effects are amplified or slowed by two things. The first is the character of the bearer and second how the ring came into their possession. Smeagol was someone who was mean-spirited and enjoyed playing mean tricks on people as well as spying on people when invisible. The ring came into his possession by murder. While Bilbo was a good-hearted, good-natured person and came into possession of the ring by chance. Frodo as well was good-hearted and was given the ring, though his constant exposure to the ring in its "active" state eventually overwhelmed him. There is also no one who could resist the ring inside Mount Doom.
14:26: "This has to be the sword that kills Sauron." Reminds of the Princess Bride: *_Kid:_* Well, who kills Prince Humperdink? At the end, somebody's got to do it! *_Grandpa:_* Nobody. Nobody kills him! He lives! *_Kid:_* Jesus, Grandpa! What did you read me this thing for!?
"Is that his baby?" As a matter of fact, little Elanor is played by Sean Astin's daughter Alexandra! (Hobbit girls are often named after flowers or gemstones. The elanor is a small, star-shaped, golden flower that only grows in Lothlorien... and is beautiful enough for Sam to find it worthy as a name for his daughter ❤)
Eowyn is incredibly bad-ass. In the books, there's a great moment where Gandalf takes Eomer to task for underestimating his little sister and says bluntly (in front of a bunch of people, including Aragorn, lol) that Eowyn has at minimum as much courage and spirit as Eomer.
"Where are the dwarves?" Good question. They are fighting in the North; Erebor and the Iron Hills received emissaries from Mordor inquiring about the Ring, and got a less-than-welcome reception. This was actually one of the reasons Gloin and Gimli went to Rivendell in the first place. During the siege of Minas Tirith, King Dain II Ironfoot is fighting his final battle, defending Dale and Erebor against a host of Easterlings. EA put out a couple of games exploring this little-explored War In The North
FYI, Sam wasn't tempted to take the Ring, at least in the book. It tempts people with their greatest desires, and offered to make all lands like a garden for Sam to tend, but Sam was like "That seems a bit much, a small garden would do me, and I don't need your power to do that!"
The scene where Denathor is eating dinner is a symbolism. You see, the Tomato was introduced to Europe by the Spanish conquistadors and because people were still using pewter plates the acids from the tomato juice leeched into the pewter material and caused people to suffer from lead poisoning. I believe this scene was Peter Jackson trying to subtle point out that lead poisoning was contributing to Denathors deteriorated mental health.
The dwarves and the men of the north are fighting against Sauron's legions of the east at the Lonely Mountain, the elves of Lothlorien and Mirkwood are fighting Sauron's armies coming out of Dol Guldur. The other free peoples aren't just "sitting out the fight" and letting Gondor do all the work. They are busy defending their own homelands. Sauron had been preparing this stroke for years and without Galdalf and the Ents, Rohan would have been too busy with their own problems to help Gondor. Do not judge Denethor too harshly, by using the Palantir of Minas Tirith Denethor has learned many things that helped his people, but Sauron used the stone he got from Minas Ithil (Minas Morgul) to decieve Denethor and cause him to despair. Basically he's gone mad from worry and has no hope but he never fell under the control of Sauron like Saruman did in similar circumstances. "You can't fight these guys!" well a few surface to air missiles would help, or at least some flak batteries. LOL. Whoo boy ummm explain Valinor (where the elves, wizards, and ringbearers go) that's a big ask Jen. To simplify a lot, Valinor is as close to what Eru (the creator) wanted to create as is left after the discord of Melkor entered the song of creation. The Valar live there, supernatural beings of a higher order than Sauron, the Balrog, or the Wizards. There are also the Maiar, one step below the Valar which would include those mentioned, it is also the adopted homeland of the 3 "tribes" of elves the Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri who were summoned by the Valar after they awoke to protect them from Melkor (Sauron's boss). It is also where the spirits of the elves go when they are slain to reflect on their lives and to await rebirth in Valinor. If anyone who exists in the Circle of the World can fully heal the unseen wounds caused by the Ring to a person's soul or the touch of a Morgul blade it would be the Valar, they could also ask for the intercession of the creator Eru if necessary and reasonably expect an answer. So the elves and Maiar go there because it's their home, and the ringbearers go there by special dispensation. Ok time for Jen trivia. Who had the 3 elven rings?
11:32 I don't remember how it went in the books, but in the films, they didn't indicate Rohan asking for help. Furthermore, it isn't indicated that Gondor, or any other group, was even aware of Rohan's immediate trouble. So, it doesn't make sense for Théoden to be bitter about not getting help.
in the Book Denathor had LONG since sent the "Red Arrow" to Rohan indicating they were summoned to help, all the "animosity" between Gondor and Rohan never existed in the book, and I didnt understand why Jackson felt the need to try to "shoehorn" in that tension, there is already plenty of tension in the ROTK, no need to manufacture more
Fun facts and personal feelings: You were wise to watch the extended editions(lol, just a fun fact). Isengard: In the original scene, Saruman was going to scream when he was stabbed. However, Christopher Lee asked Peter Jackson if he knew how a person sounded when they were stabbed in the back, "Because I do." This is because Lee was a soldier in WW2 in espionage and he gave the real noise a person made when stabbed(more like their breath being pushed out of them). In the original material, Saruman is defeated near the end of the "Two Towers"and escapes, though he returns in "Return of the King", the Shire gets scoured and destroyed as he(now without his staff)and Grima take it over with a vagabond army, getting killed near the end of the story. The Elven smiths who reforge Anduril are played by two of the actual weaponsmiths who made the swords and such for the movies. It's a little sadder in the books(though Sam isn't sent away)before they go into the Lair, as Smeagol is ready to repent his actions rather than lead Frodo into Shelobs Lair, as he truly does love him and care for him. However, Sam wakes up and coldly accuses him of sneaking, which drives Smeagol to betray them out of sheer anger. Tolkien did say that had Sam been kinder, Smeagol would never have betrayed them. Arya dying as a result of Sauron's power was tacked on to give some stakes(book version of Aragorn is fully on board with being the king of Gondor and has Anduril reforged before they leave Rivendell, to my recollection). Grond(the giant ram/Wolfs Head)is named after the war mace of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth(Sauron was the second Dark Lord). The corsair that Legolas accidentally shoots is played by Peter Jackson. Shelob is a creature known as a Maiar spirit. There are a few of them that, when choosing a form, become something monstrous or strange). The Balrog is one as well. But as to Shelob, she's the child of the first spider, whose name was Ungoliant. Ungoliant was absolutely massive compared to Shelob, poisoned and drank the light from the Two Trees(magical trees from Valinor, where the elves came from)and tried to steal a set of magical gems from Morgoth before she was driven away by six Balrogs. She eventually ate herself to death. 52:11 , chills every time as Sam shows up and faces down the abomination spider. Any wounds made by the Nazgul can cause the sort of horrible injuries, and even wounding one can do awful injury to the attacker too. The Morgul Blade was a little different, but I think what affected Eowyn is called the Black Breath. RIP Bernard Hill(Theodan) Goddamn, the whole finale is just strike after strike. Aragorn's speech, Sam carrying Frodo, Aragorn seeming to be about to despair, only to quietly whisper "For Frodo..."and charge, with the rest of the army running forward as the Fellowship theme blares in choir, Smeagol's return, the eagles coming to the rescue...just tearing up watching your reactions! Frodo:"You swore! You swore on the precious! Smeagol promised!" Smeagol:"....Smeagol LIED." Friggin' savage line. Smeagol stands upright for the first time when he regains the Ring. Gandalf brought three eagles to Mount Doom, as he fully expected that Gollum could be redeemed and was going to save him as well. "My friends...you bow to no one..." Goddamn, tearing up. The moment that makes me bawl every time I watch the movie is when Bilbo and Gandalf leave. Keep in mine that I read the first book, the Hobbit, when I was eight years old and the pair were the staple characters, so seeing them leave to go to Valinor was like a goodbye.
So cute when you sing along with the music! 🙂 I'll never forget the story of how Christopher Lee educated Peter Jackson on the actual sound of literally getting stabbed in the back. We still don't know all the secret stuff Christopher did in his World War II career. Shivers.
Jen, your timing is good. I'm kicking back and enjoying Thanksgiving with no one but my roommate. Love spending time with you on a holiday! Will post a more relevant comment later.
"I give Hope to men. I keep none for myself," Elronds says to Aragorn when he give him the the sword. Its the epitaph of Aragorns mother, Gilraen, whose grave he visited when he left Rivendell. Aragorns elvish name is Estel, which means hope. When his father was killed by prcs, she brought to Elrond to raise him and protect him.
BTW...if you do 'want more', I highly recommend the extra's discs that went along with this film trilogy. Honestly, they're (as one might at first assume (rightly so)) not dry, if you want that feeling of your heart swelling, then do try them. Tell you what, there is a lady with her channel and she's going through the discs right now... try her first posting. And by that I'm just saying if you don't want to commit to it all or any for that matter, watch her posting as it is edited down, and yeah, watching her get speechless and into it is just so heartfelt. I hope you try one episode, Jen :)
Sometimes, wounds don't heal, and Frodo, more than anyone in the Fellowship, was essentially tortured, and traumatized for an extended period. In some cases, there is no going back. He earned his spot on the ship.
Few movies get better and better the more you watch them, the LotR films are 3 of them. It's been a little over two decades since their release and I'm still enthralled every single time. I adore the way you pay so much attention to the score which is a character in and of itself. The best to you, yours and the folks in the comments.
You finally made it to The Return Of The King, which is the final chapter / conclusion of The Lord Of The Rings, I think you should watch The Queen’s Gambit at some point, and I can’t wait for you to watch It’s A Wonderful Life next, since Christmas is starting
So many great performances here, but I really want to point out how damn good Elijah Wood is as Frodo. In each film, he gets progressively less dialogue, but his ability to convey emotions and thoughts on his extremely expressive face is remarkable. The fact that he filmed most of the trilogy when he was only 19 is astounding to me. He was an experienced child actor (Roger Ebert called him the best actor of his generation when he was just 13), but this role elevated him into grown-up status. I loved reading the stories of the films’ casting. EW took the initiative and filmed his own audition tape in a wooded location in costume, Viggo was called in at the last minute, Dom Monaghan had auditioned for Frodo and was reconsidered for Merry when they couldn’t find a Merry in their first pass and revisited the audition tapes for Frodo, and Sean Astin had been hoping to be in a Peter Jackson film ever since his father John Astin came back from filming The Frighteners and told Sean it was the best time he’d ever had on a set.
25:21 The Dwarves of Erebor (which is where Gimli is from) are currently under siege by Sauron's forces as well so they can't really do anything to help.
There's a very interesting story about Sarumans death in the film. Peter Jackson wanted Christopher Lee to scream in pain when stabbed, to which Lee responded "Do you know the sound a man makes when he is stabbed? Because I do, and it's not a scream." Lee had been a member of an elite British commando unit in WW2(whose records are sealed for several more decades at least), so Jackson differed to him.
Two of my favorite scenes in the trilogy, if not in all of cinema, are here, due to their editing, cinematography, and music, as well as performances-the charge on Osgiliath and that final crawl up Mount Doom. Both are beautifully shot, but convey such despair and hopelessness in conjunction with bravery. The score for both of them are shining examples of what music does for a film. And the look of both scenes is stunning. I’ve always thought that the final image of Gandalf sitting in the alley at the end of the charge could have been painted by Vermeer.
In the books the resoen Gandalf is stronger is because Iluvitar (God) gave him Saruman's job. Saruman was supposed to be the leader of the Wizards the strongest of them who stood against Soron. They were sent by the Valar {angels) to help and guide the Free People. Saruman was faithful to this for a long time but he eventually fell. So now Gandalf is fulfilling that role Gandalf was able to break Saruman's staff because he was given the authority to do it. In the book he says "You have no color now and I cast you from the Order and from the (White) Counsel. Your staff is broken! I know this is a long answer but I hope it helps. Thank you for doing these reactions.
At 25:25, Gimli is the only Dwarf that features prominently in Tolkien's story. The Dwarf kingdom in the Lonely Mountain, which you can see in The Hobbit (book or movie) was also attacked by an army of Sauron's (the War of the Ring was much larger than the part we see in the movie). We hear later at second hand that the Dwarves fought alongside the Men of Dale in a great battle in the north.
Thoeden has one of the best character arcs. When he is crying over his son’s grave in the second movie, we don’t even know anything about him or his son and it makes me sob hysterically. He was a fantastic actor.
Btw, Tolkien actually said that hero of the story was Sam! Also, an interesting factoid to learn, the actor who played Sauramon (sp?) actually met Tolkien. And my student room for a year (actually the other one would have been about the same) was literally only a couple of hundred yards from Tolkiens house where he wrote this (on Holywell St in Oxford).
#1 movie experience(s) in my entire life when I saw them in the cinema. Nothing else comes close when it comes to epic storytelling and Peter Jacksons amazing work to bring it to the screen.
Please subscribe if you like watching movies with me!
LOTR Playlist th-cam.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5dqBER4gcQDE1W-hrBEEw3ZD.html
Now you have to watch the prank interview on Elijah Woods by Dom... "When will you wear wigs?"
Colette Cherry 🍒 Love Return of the King 👑 Reaction in the list
You are by far and away the most charming lass on TH-cam. Very bonnie as well. 😊
There's only one return, and it ain't of the King it's of the Jedi.
Jen, this is your hint to watch the Clerks movies.
Smeagle was never a good guy. Instant murder to soin just to be the ring
This is one of the best lord of the rings reactions on TH-cam
Extended editions
Keeps the best scenes in and reactions
Picks up on additional and subtle details
Recognizes musical cues and their thematic relevance
Pays attention
Long video lengths
Not overbearing or exaggerated, just relaxed, interested, and invested
Bravo
Agreed on all of the above. One thing she also does that's awesome, she doesn't just repeat the thing she sees on the movie. So many just say what they see, like, we know we see it too. She analyzes the movie and discusses it with the viewer.
Agreed. I've seen quite a few reactions. I can only hope this feeds an appetite to eventually tackle the book/s!!
Reel rejects started on LOTR and those girls do not pay attention at all.
Agreed for 1 and 2 but return of the king is the worst of the 3 and the extended edition is worse than the theatrical.
THIS..!
A couple of factoids to throw at you:
- The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol
In the books...
- The reason both Bilbo and Frodo were invited to go with the Elves is because they were both "ring-bearers."
- After Rosie passed and his children grown, Sam was invited to leave Middle-Earth as well, because he too was considered a ring-bearer (even though he only possessed it a short time).
- When Legolas' time came to leave with the Elves, he was allowed to invite his best friend, Gimli. He was the only Dwarf to go into the Grey Havens.
- Merry and Pippin left the Shire as they grew older. After visiting Rohan, they went back to Gondor, where they lived out their days. In fact, they were both buried along side Aragorn in the House of Kings after his passing,
Great reactions!
The little girl is Sean Astin's daughter but the baby is the child of the actress who plays Rosie
"The two kids shown with Sam at the end were Sean Ashton's actual children lol"
Correct. This is a factoid. The elder child is Ali Astin, Sean's daughter. The baby is Maisie McLeod-Riera, Sarah McLeod's (Rosie Cotton) daughter.
@@ccvan5191 That's right. My bad
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor.
Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received.
And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
Also Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbition for several terms. After 6 times he stopped running but they saw no one more fit to take his place so it was unspoken that he was simply the mayor.
Also Merry and Pippin being laid to rest beside Aragorn was an honor none had ever received.
And Legolas and Gimil made the ship they sailed on.
[1:2158] This scene captures so well a feeling common to so many veterans. You leave home to do your duty, but life at home simply goes on without you, as it must. Once the veteran returns home, it's never the same place it was when he or she left. There's a sense of loss to the veteran, and this intangible, durable, almost permanent obstruction to ever feeling truly connected with those to whom you've come back as you had been connected to them before leaving. Other veterans know this feeling as well and can relate, but anyone who remained at home would never know the veteran next to them will always struggle with this sense of otherness and disconnection. In that sense, it's much like Frodo's wound from Weathertop: it's never truly heals.
@economath8164 the author JRR Tolkien served in the British army in WW1 and returned home having been wounded. So he very well knew what he was writing about. When Eomer talks to Eowyn about the horrors of battle, Tolkien was writing from personal experience...
Every time I hear, "You bow to know one..." I cry. Imagine that. It didn't take super powers. It took courage.
Im close to 40 years old and this happens every time. Like a small child
Correction: "You bow to no one." Takes one to know one...
I love that moment so much. But also I partly love it because of the reaction of the crowd - Aragorn bows and suddenly the whole crowd is like "oh shit, the king's bowing to them - quick, get down, get down!"
ive no idea how many times ive seen the movie's, pluss reaction.. still gets me everytime. the most powerful moment in any movie ever
Gets me every time. With the swell of music, holy cow.
The thing that got me into this whole world was a wonderful Primary School teacher, here in the UK that read us a bit of the Hobbit, every day at the end of school. She did all the voices and made Middle Earth come alive. That was back in the 80s, so I had to wait a while until the films came out, but when they did (both trilogies), I loved them.
My dad did this. He has an eidetic memory, so he never stumbled over words. It was a good way to grow up.
At 19:50 you ask, "If they destroy the Ring, will the Nazgul just be gone?" In the book, Gandalf says, "If [the Ring] is destroyed, then he will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again...all that was made or begun with that power will crumble, and he will be maimed for ever, becoming a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, but cannot again grow or take shape." That would include the Nazgul.
Remember, when Frodo wakes up and sees Gandalf, it's the first time he saw him since he fell with the Balrog. Also, in the book, Shadowfax is with them when the board the last ship. RIP Blanco -aka- The lord of all horses!
Love Jen's reaction to Theoden's line, "And Rohan will answer!" She hums the Rohan theme which, up to that point had been played with strings. We now hear it played with drums and horns which completely changes it's meaning. It's absolutely epic and as the culmination of "The lighting of the beacons" is my favorite moment of the trilogy.
This is one of my favorite scenes for reasons that often goes unnoticed. During the seige of Rohan Theodan tells his neice that it was Aragon who saved the Rohan, not himself.
Later he learned Aragon's truth- that he is the heir to Isildur and the throne of Gondor. When Theodon first sees the beacon lights lit he has no desire to answer, but when Aragon himself pleads, "Gondor calls for aid!"- in this moment Theodan sees not some Ranger of the North, but the true heir of Gondor. He had already risked his life to save Rohan, and Theodan stares Aragon in the eyes and, King to King, replies, "And Gondor will answer."
He wasn't responding to Denethor's beacon lights. He was responding personally to Aragon, the King of Gondor.
@@derekweiland1857 Great point, i never thought of that.
The true genius of this trilogy (of course the writing) are the values portrayed. Faith, Hope, Family, Courage, Compassion, Sacrifice, Empathy, etc. Thank you for the time and effort you put into these reactions, Jen. Much appreciated. 😊
Well said, Eric!
Thanks Kevin 😊@@kevinlewallen4778
At 16:30 you asked, "How did Denethor know about Aragorn?". The long movie cannot cover all the subplots of the books. Denethor also had a Palantir crystal ball through which Sauron showed him Aragorn to stoke Denethor's jealousy and sow chaos amongst the forces of Good. Sauron also showed Denethor a possible future of the destruction of Minas Tirith similar to Frodo being shown the destruction of the Shire in Galadriel's Mirror. He was depressed and thought this was his fate, along with his mind being purposely corrupted by Sauron to weaken the forces of Good. Frodo overcame his vision, Denethor did not.
Many years later, after becoming mayor, Sam joined Frodo in the Undying Lands as he was allowed due to him being a ring bearer even though it was only for a short while.
If I recall correctly, Gimli elf friend was also allowed to go with Legolas across the sea later too.
@@elzar760 yes he did
@@terryroxburgh3276 I was in awe the first time I saw all the beacons being lit along the mountain tops.
@@patmurray9730 My favorite moment in the trilogy.
@@elzar760 He did it totally on spec too because he wanted the see the Lady of Light one last time. He wasn't invited but Galadriel herself intervened on Gimii's behalf and he was allowed to stay.
Frodo never fully healed from his wounds, which means he could never stay happy in Middle-Earth. He, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the rest are going to the undying lands (Elf heaven essentially), where mortal beings usually aren't allowed. An exception is made for Frodo and Bilbo because they were ring bearers. In the appendices we learn that Sam becomes mayor of the Shire and lives a long and happy life. After his wife dies, he also sails west to the undying lands because he was briefly a ring bearer. So Frodo and Sam do meet again. Merry and Pippin spend their days with Aragorn in Gondor, and when they die they are buried next to Aragorn's grave. Legolas and Gimli remain friends, and their friendship heals the rift between Dwarf and Elf. When they reach their end, they also sail to the undying lands together. It's a massive honor for Gimli, being a dwarf, and never a ring bearer. Once they leave, the fellowship is gone from Middle Earth forever.
Well it is very unlikely Sam saw Frodo in Valinor again. Frodo most likely died already, being older then Sam already and living in the Undying Lands makes mortals actual die earlier. But they will meet again in whatever fate awaits mortal men in the afterlive.
"My friends, you bow to no one." destroys me still.
Yes, that is such sincerity and warmth and love in his voice at that line. Another line that gets me is Aragorn and the final remnants of his army outside the black gate and Sauron tries (and fails) one last time to persuade/control Aragorn to darkness and it looks like there is a brief temptation/struggle from Aragorn.
They he snaps out of it and simply says "For Frodo." ♥
37:02 Aragorn's nickname as a kid was "Estel", which is Elvish for hope. The line "I give hope to men, I keep none for myself." was the epitaph on Aragorn's mother's gravestone. We actually see it for a split second in Fellowship: its the one he's cleaning moss off of before they leave Rivendell.
Ónen i-estel edain, ú-chebin estel anim. Rough phonetic transcription: /ˈɔːnɛn iˈɛstɛl ɛdajn uːˈxɛbɪn ˈɛstɛl ˈanɪm/
All Sam had to do to get the courage to ask out the woman he likes is follow Frodo into Mordor to destroy an ancient evil!
Frodo said the bravest thing Sam ever did was ask Rosie to marry him.
Although we all know that Rosie adored Sam he still worried he wasn't worthy of her which, of course, is silly.
Something often overlooked is the fact that Smeagol murdered his cousin Deagol over the Ring just after seeing it for the first time, even though the Ring was still in its dormant state. Bilbo, meanwhile, picked it up and deliberately spared Smeagol despite having the opportunity to kill him and then proceeded to carry the Ring around for sixty years with minimal corruption before the Ring awoke. In short, Smeagol was already a bad egg before the Ring found him. (This is actually made a bit more clear in the book with Gandalf's narration of Gollum's backstory.) That said, he is still pitiable, and his story is tragic.
Agreed.
Smeagle was never a good guy
To that point, Bilbo's compassion (and later Frodo's) was all a part of the "plan"
Smeagol needed to be a live so that his greed could destroy the ring, in the end no one could ever WILLINGLY destroy the ring. Even Frodo was going to refuse.
That's one of the great things about Tolkien. All of the things are interconnected in multiple ways. Was is a part of Eru's ultimate plan to have the ring be found by a family with 2 unusually compassionate people in it? There's no real answer here as far as I know, but there's room for almost infinite speculation in any direction.
It's one of the things I really dislike about the movies, they make it seem as though the entire undertaking was a series of decisions made by mortals (and sometimes gandalf). In the books a large part of the story is "coincidence" of some form.
@@dinkywinky2860 🏆 🍺🍺
"Even the very wisest can still not see all ends. I feel that Gollum has a further part to play in this.. for the good or the bad." (paraphrasing Gandalf)
hobbits also have a natural resistance to the ring, and corruption in general.
That only reason Sam was hesitant to hand the ring back to Frodo in the Goblin Tower in Mordor was because he loves Frodo and knew what it was doing to him. He didn't want it for himself.
The leader of the orc army, Gothmog, is played by Maori actor Lawrence Makoare. He also played Lurtz, the leader of the Uruk-hai who shoots Boromir with arrows and is killed by Aragorn, and he was the physical character of the Witch-King of Angmar in the 3rd movie, but the voice for the Witch-King was done by the amazing, multi-talented Andy Serkis.
Hey Jen, funny thing. Robert Plant was obsessed with LOTR. Led Zeppelin has several amazing songs dedicated to the concepts in LOTR. Listen to , "The Battle of Evermore". And "Stairway to heaven" is about Galadriel. The Elvin Queen.
This really is the greatest epic in the history of cinema. There is nothing that matches the spectacle, the scope, the grandeur, the emotions, etc. An absolute masterpiece of film.
I agree. 'The Passion of The Christ' is epic also. ♥
@@mr.a8315And also settled in the genre Fantasy.
So glad that Peter Jackson made it - it's so obvious that he loves the source material and he took great care to make the best trilogy he could. And he succeeded. A true masterpiece.
@@OldRod99 It's a shame he didn't want to do the Hobbit in as big of a scale but it would have been so much harder with everyone watching like they were after LotR was such a success. It never could've been the same.
@@TheHighSorcerer The source material for the Hobbit doesn't have the scale of LOTR and there aren't many writers that could match Tolkien that's why so much of the Hobbit trilogy seems forced, they had to add so much non-source material to make it a trilogy. I mean they're good movies and worth a watch but they're not epic masterpieces like LOTR.
Not shown in the movie, but in the books, Denethor also had one of the palantir, the seeing stones - and through that, he saw what Sauron wished him to see.
It's a shame they did not show a quick scene of him using the Palantir, it would have explained allot, Denethor was not a bad man, he was corrupted and with grief because of the loss of his oldest son and was certain Gondor was lost.
It was shown. In this extended version.
It is a crime what peter jackson did to his character. Denethor is one of the greatest characters in the books.
The lighting of the beacons is probably the part of the trilogy i look forward to the most , along with the music its truly epic and beautifully shot , i love it 🔥🔥🔥
Agreed, it's my favorite moment, a mastepiece of cinmatography, editing and music.
The music for the lightning of the beacons is so majestically awesome! And to think this guy wrote the Saturday Night Live theme all those years ago.
@@kevinschultz5678 Howard Shore wrote that? Citation? I don't think so.
@@kevinschultz5678 Actually, he was the musical director. I don't know If he wrote the theme, Wikipedia lists him only as the musical director.
Sailing into the West (the sunset) is a metaphor for death. The time of elves and magic is over, Bilbo is very old, and the tip of the Witch King’s blade is still in Frodo, slowly killing him.
Not to mention the damage the Ring did to Frodo's soul. He never voluntarily gave up the Ring and he longed for it every day since it was destroyed.
One of my favorite scenes for, reasons that often goes unnoticed, is Rohan seeing the beacon lights.
During the seige of Rohan Theodan tells his neice that it was Aragon who saved the Rohan, not himself.
Later he learned Aragon's truth- that he is the heir to Isildur and the throne of Gondor. When Theodon first sees the beacon lights lit he has no desire to answer, but when Aragon himself pleads, "Gondor calls for aid!"- in this moment Theodan sees not some Ranger of the North, but the true heir of Gondor. He had already risked his life to save Rohan, and Theodan stares Aragon in the eyes and, King to King, replies, "And Gondor will answer."
He wasn't responding to Denethor's beacon lights. He was responding personally to Aragon, the King of Gondor.
Never thought of that but i like it!
The march when faramir and the riders are going back to osgiliath and denethor is eating is the most haunting scene. Such a gorgeous juxtaposition. The flowers the people were throwing at the horses feet as they were leaving on their doomed ride feels like their preemptive funeral flowers. Because they know they won’t make it. The music in this is the most amazing set of scores and themes of anything i have ever seen.
Winner of 11 Oscars including Best Picture, making it the first fantasy movie to win in all categories.
When Steven Spielberg presented the Best Picture winner, he said, "It's a clean sweep! LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING!"
It's also the third and final film to win 11 Oscars, alongside BEN HUR and TITANIC.
Two more fantasy films would win multiple Oscars:
The Shape Of Water (4)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (7)
And the now late Bernard Hill starred in two of those 11 Oscar winning movies. Probably the only actor who will ever achieve that (though I will never say never).
Actually, Everything Everywhere all at once is more science fiction than fantasy. In fact, Wikipedia specifically lists it as science fiction.
At 7:05 you ask, "Can Elves get drunk?" Evidently, not on ale. However, in the earlier book The Hobbit, Bilbo gets his Dwarf companions out of an Elvish jail by getting the jailers drunk on wine.
I fell in love with Tolkien's works when I first read them over 50 years ago. I have reread them countless times since and cannot recommend them highly enough, especially to someone who enjoys a well-written tale. These movies, I feel, are a gift to Tolkien lovers the world over, and a passkey to those who will want for more, read the books, and come to join the throng. watching you and other reactors see these for the first time allows me to enjoy them anew through fresh eyes.
At 9:25, Eowyn's "great wave" was the wave that engulfed the island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age. In the book, this dream was dreamed by Faramir later in the story. Tolkien himself often dreamed this dream when he was growing up.
Whenever Gandalf visited the city Faramir would hang out with him and learn whatever he could. Denethor disapproved, hence the “wizards pupil” line.
The fiddle used in the Rohan theme is the so-called Geiranger fiddle. A Norwegian instrument. The Rohan theme itself is in A dorian (A minor but raised 6th (F > F#).
As for how much time passes: It's glossed over a LOT in the movies but the books give more detail. I won't go into detail how the calendar of Middle Earth works so I highly recommend reading the books and the appendices if you are interested in more. Anyway: Bilbo finds the ring in 2941 of the Third Age. On September 22nd in the year 3001, he celebrates his 111th birthday; Frodo turns 33 on the same day. Here the book does a 17 year leap, and in April 3018 Gandalf realises what the ring is and goes to Hobbiton to tell Frodo. However, they don't actually leave until September 3018. They arrived in Rivendell in October and the Council of Elrond takes place in the same month. The Fellowship doesn't leave Rivendell until December however. Gandalf is lost in January 3019. The Battle of Helm's Deep takes place on 3rd of March 3019. The battle of Pelennor Fields (Minas Tirith) then takes place between the 13th and 15th of March. The ring is destroyed on the 25th. The Hobbits return to the Shire in November. Finally, Frodo and Bilbo arrive in the Grey Havens, on September 29nd, 3021. At age 131 years and 7 days, Bilbo is now the oldest Hobbit ever. So: They leave in October 3018 and return in November 3019, a trip of 13 months in total.
OK, so that was a really quick and dirty timeline but as I say, I recommend reading the books. It's great! :)
25:30 The Dwarves are busy fighting Sauron's forces in Dale (Dale is seen in The Hobbit movies).
At 26:52 you note, "Pippin rode out with him." This seems strange, and in the book Pippin watches Gandalf from the walls of the City. The screen writers' first idea was to have this fight occur as Gandalf and Pippin first approached Minas Tirith. But the time line of the story would be all wrong, and so they moved the action to its proper place, dragging Pippin along with it. It does allow Gandalf and Pippin to meet Faramir at the same time and learn of his meeting with Frodo and Sam.
5:40 In the script, Saruman was supposed to scream out in pain when he was stabbed. But Christopher Lee, who served in the British military, told Peter Jackson that people dont scream when they are stabbed. They kinda grunt and gasp... how does Christopher Lee know that lol so bad ass.
That's this movie's contractually-obligated TH-cam Comments Fun Fact
@@christopherwall2121 I wouldn't call it a fun fact tho, just a dark and unsettling one lol.
@Thewingkongexchange The fact that Lee just dropped that so casually is, though
Fun Fact : Sir Christopher Lee was the Cousin of one Ian Flemming, the author of James Bond, and its widely believed the character of Bond was directly based on Lee's exploits with the SAS during ww2
He knew it, because he was a member of a special force group in the british army in WWII. He stabbed multiple enemies to death. That's how he knew.
The opening scene with Saruman combines two scenes that were cut from the theatrical release: Saruman's "trial", as it were, and the ending of the Scouring of the Shire chapter. Sir Christopher Lee, the actor who plays Saruman (and Count Dooku and a ton of other villains), is a _huge_ Tolkien fan, and he was _not_ happy that his final scene was cut from the theatrical release, especially after he went through the trouble of using his experience as a war veteran and commando to make the death real. So Jackson made sure to bring it back and add a fitting end since he had no plans to put the Scouring chapter into film.
Film score is what saved classical music, and Howard Shore's score in the 3rd film, let alone the trilogy, is Oscar-worthy, especially since there are several scenes where there is no dialogue, just a bunch of wide panning shots and the booming score setting the tone. The Minas Tirith reveal is one, the lighting of the Beacons is another.
In the original books there was another _palantir_ or seeing stone, and it was in Denethor's possession. There are hints in the film to this ("Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind!?"), but unfortunately that's all we get in the films. Denethor's death in the books is possibly too gruesome to portray on screen, as he revealed the _palantir_ as he lit the fire and when Faramir was freed, he lay down clutching the seeing stone, and everyone was banned from setting foot in the tomb ever again.
Aragorn uses Denathor's Stone to send a message to Sauron "Behold the Sword of Elendil!!" , he picks it up off the Steward's Seat in the Throne room of Minas Tirith
they just dont give any exposition to it
Hey jen, to see the demise of Smegol at the start of ROTK is so sad. From the moment Smegol saw the ring of power he was captivated by its gaze. It led him to instanly committ murder of his brother Deagol. --------- That only the begining as we fall into his dive into madness and isolation. The only way to cope with 500 years of torment by the ring is to create the alternate personality of Gollum. ---------- WHAT A SAD SAD TALE Smegol has had.
At 37:28, in the book Aragorn felt really bad about breaking Eowyn's heart. Later in the story he tells Eomer, "Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned. Sorrow and pity have followed me ever since I left here desperate in Dunharrow and rode to the Paths of the Dead; and no fear upon that way was so present as the fear for what might befall her."
1:15:30
I do believe that Tolkien once said or wrote that no mortal would've been able to throw the Ring in the fire, if they were faced with the option.
Hey Jen, if you think the Balrog was nightmare fuel, time to meet Shelob. A monsterous spider living in the cavens of Mordor. Thank God for "The light of Arendi" ---------- When Peter Jackson visualized Shelob he asked the animator to have the sprider movement to reflect that of a cheeta. ----------- Making her even more dangerous and menacing that we can normally imagine, since we see spiders as small creatures in real life.
I loved your reaction to this and the trilogy as a whole, Jen. Things for you to know, Jen; the reason why Frodo had to leave was that he was slowly dying of the injuries he received as The Ring Bearer so, to prolong his life he had to leave to live with The Elves and The Wizards.
The places and people in The Lord of The Rings are based off of the U.K. as a whole 'The Shire' is the West Country, Somerset, Dorset, etc, 'The Hobbits' are the people in those areas hence their accent; 'The Elves' are the Welsh; 'The Dwarves' are the Scottish; 'The Wizards', Gandalf (The Grey/White), Saruman (The White), Radagast (The Brown) not seen in the LOTR films, Alatar (One of The Blue Wizards) and Pallando (another Blue Wizard) not seen in the LOTR films, these Wizards are taken from The Druids.
I hope that this helps you, Jen?
Peter Jackson and everyone who worked on this film KILLED it…..and then they murdered The Hobbit.
Sam said "WE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE" in his monologue at the end of The Two Towers, he really means it because in the book Frodo and Sam never been to Osgiliath.. 😊
It must have been a branch off the timeline. It's a good thing for Middle Earth that they got back on track.
Growing up,Faramir liked to hang around with Gandalf. That's why his father calls him a wizards pupil.
"Where are the dwarves?" They, along with the elves of Mirkwood and Lothlorien, were fighting the orcs of the Misty Mountains in the north of Middle-Earth.
While the battle of the Pelanor was going on Orcs Attacked Rohan in the rear and were defended by the Hurons and Treebeard, Lothlorien was attacked and King Dain and the Dwarves of Erebor came to the aid of The King of Dale both were killed. It was the end of the Third Age. The last battle was actually fought in The Shire.
Jen, this movie put you on an emotional roller coaster, but you held steady. The music is what helped the movie pierce your heart; I noticed this especially with the Shire theme. Your empathy with all of the main characters was deep and it was easy to see how you were caught up in it. I now go back to my holiday, but my sincere thanks for your impeccable timing with this post. 😀
That scene with Shelob stalking Frodo, and how silent she was scared the hell out of me.
Thank you for watching these editions! Saruman was sorely missing from the theatrical version, and I'm glad we closed his story here with an epic performance by Christopher Lee. I even felt bad for Gríma. Also, the arrangement of the Rohan theme as Théoden leads his army into Gondor always gives me goosebumps in the best way.
At the end, Bilbo and Frodo go to The Undying Lands, ostensibly to die, but to live on forever in another realm. Kind of like 'Elven Heaven'. And you were right about the reason: because The Ring had changed them both irretrievably. Also: Frodo's wound from the Morgul Blade would never fully heal and would continue to cause him pain. The Elves leaving paved the way for the Time of Men in Middle Earth. The Appendices in the books explain The Undying Lands a bit more, and you can find out more by reading other books about Middle Earth (there are quite a few), or by reading through various online LOTR lore wikis.
"The Undying Lands were a realm inhabited by Ainur and Eldar. The area included the continent of Aman and the island of Tol Eressëa. The ocean Belegaer separated the Undying Lands from the western shores of Middle-earth. With very few exceptions, only immortal beings were allowed to live in this realm."
1:00:55 Yes, "No man can kill me!" Merry is a Hobbit, not a man. It was a team effort.
It isnt talked about in the movies but the blade Merry (and others) carry (given to them By Aragorn at Weather top *in the movies* ) has the ability to unbind the protective spells wove around the Nazgul; which it did.
Thus Eowyn's sword was able to kill the Witchking.
Its all in the books not in the movies.
I'm with ya, except Merry is male, despite being a Hobbit. If it was man, as in the race of man, then Eowyn wouldn't have been able to kill him either......
46:38 “guys! Guys! Guys! This is gonna be soooo cool. You all hide in the wall and I BET someone will say ‘you and whose army’ and I’ll say ‘this army!’ And blam! Charge them ! It’s gonna be soooo cool epic!” 🤣
Fun watching with you. It still evokes the same emotions no matter how times I’ve watched it. Happy thanksgiving!
Shelob the spider is actually a female. She has human form to. => Shelob appears as a raven-haired woman in a black dress. Actually, Sam was stronger than you think. He resisted the ring. He willing handed it to Frodo. His eyes tell you the evil he saw and didn't want it. This is powerful. As Sam is the only one to ever give up thing willing. Save Bilbo under threat from Gandalf. :) At the Saruman mentioned again the remember Gandalf knew the person to be the ring bearing would forfeit their life to save the world. AKA good sacrifice to save world from evil. Sam was the true hero, as much as Frodo was because call back Frodo was right...Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam. Sam was hope.
That's not in the books, it was in a video game I believe. There's nothing in the books to suggest she can take the shape of a woman.
I will never forget the midnight premiere...
To say the theater was packed would be an understatement. It had like 300 seats and it was the largest theater in my part of town. Somehow they managed to cram in 600 of us.
People were standing at the sides for 3 hours watching the movie. It was insane!
R.I.P. Jim Abrahams (1944-2024) director /producer/writer of Airplane! (1980) and The Naked Gun (1988)
Oh really , sad to know that he was such a pioneer in those parody films along with his childhood friends the two Zucker brothers David and Jerry who were collectively known as ZAZ RIP Jim Abrahams 🙏
R.I.P. ♥ He must have been associated with the *outstanding* prequel series of the Naked Gun franchise 'Police Squad!" (in color).
At 14:34, after the filming of the Battle of Helm's Deep was finished, they tore down Helm's Deep and built Minas Tirith in its place. After ROTK was done, some of the pieces of Minas Tirith ended up as scenery for Amon Sul (Weathertop) in FOTR, when the Lord of the Nazgul stabbed Frodo. One of the advantages of filming three movies simultaneously...
14:14 Arwen like her father is half elf. They can make the choice between being human or elf. Elrond's twin brother Elros choice to be human. Arwen made that choice in this exact moment.
18:52 It's Osgilliath. It was the capitol of Gondor once. Minas Tirith is now the capitol. The dead city Minas Morgul was once Minas Ithil. All of this was once within Gondor's borders.
20:40 Sauron's tower Barad-Dur sent a signal. You can see the red flash. Minas Morgul responded with the green ray of light. A way of saying message recieved.
26:15 Gothmog, one of the sexiest male characters in movie history.
At 18:48 you ask, "Is that Gondor in the distance, between Mordor and this city?" The geography of MIddle-earth can be confusing, especially the first time around. Pippin and Gandalf are looking eastward from the walls of MInas Tirith, the chief city of the kingdom of Gondor. They are looking toward the great river Anduin and Osgiliath, the former capital of Gondor, now ruined and partially held by the Enemy. The realm of Gondor is basically everything south of Rohan and west of the Anduin, although in former times the kingdom was much larger.
Frodo left Bag End in September and approaches the stairs of Mordor in March of the following year.
The running joke about Legolas in the films was that he seemingly never ran out of arrows, even though in the books, there were occasions when he did run out.
Sauron lost yet another tower. He must have particularly hated the loss of a tower to Luthien, grandmother of Elrond if I remember right, and also from memory “she declared her power and cast down his tower” or words similar to that. Sauron was holding prisoner the man she loved so she removed the prison.
Oh yeah that was funnt
Thanks so much for uploading this today! My Thanksgiving tradition after hanging out with family and eating is watching movies. So this is perfect lol. Hope youre having a great day!!!
In the theater, filled with people down to the staircases, Aragorn says "My friends, you bow to no one", and we all stand and clapped, didn't even gave a second thought.
The ring will eventually corrupt anyone, but the effects are amplified or slowed by two things. The first is the character of the bearer and second how the ring came into their possession. Smeagol was someone who was mean-spirited and enjoyed playing mean tricks on people as well as spying on people when invisible. The ring came into his possession by murder. While Bilbo was a good-hearted, good-natured person and came into possession of the ring by chance. Frodo as well was good-hearted and was given the ring, though his constant exposure to the ring in its "active" state eventually overwhelmed him. There is also no one who could resist the ring inside Mount Doom.
14:26: "This has to be the sword that kills Sauron." Reminds of the Princess Bride:
*_Kid:_* Well, who kills Prince Humperdink? At the end, somebody's got to do it!
*_Grandpa:_* Nobody. Nobody kills him! He lives!
*_Kid:_* Jesus, Grandpa! What did you read me this thing for!?
"Is that his baby?" As a matter of fact, little Elanor is played by Sean Astin's daughter Alexandra!
(Hobbit girls are often named after flowers or gemstones. The elanor is a small, star-shaped, golden flower that only grows in Lothlorien... and is beautiful enough for Sam to find it worthy as a name for his daughter ❤)
Eowyn is incredibly bad-ass. In the books, there's a great moment where Gandalf takes Eomer to task for underestimating his little sister and says bluntly (in front of a bunch of people, including Aragorn, lol) that Eowyn has at minimum as much courage and spirit as Eomer.
"Where are the dwarves?" Good question. They are fighting in the North; Erebor and the Iron Hills received emissaries from Mordor inquiring about the Ring, and got a less-than-welcome reception. This was actually one of the reasons Gloin and Gimli went to Rivendell in the first place. During the siege of Minas Tirith, King Dain II Ironfoot is fighting his final battle, defending Dale and Erebor against a host of Easterlings. EA put out a couple of games exploring this little-explored War In The North
FYI, Sam wasn't tempted to take the Ring, at least in the book. It tempts people with their greatest desires, and offered to make all lands like a garden for Sam to tend, but Sam was like "That seems a bit much, a small garden would do me, and I don't need your power to do that!"
The scene where Denathor is eating dinner is a symbolism.
You see, the Tomato was introduced to Europe by the Spanish conquistadors and because people were still using pewter plates the acids from the tomato juice leeched into the pewter material and caused people to suffer from lead poisoning.
I believe this scene was Peter Jackson trying to subtle point out that lead poisoning was contributing to Denathors deteriorated mental health.
The dwarves and the men of the north are fighting against Sauron's legions of the east at the Lonely Mountain, the elves of Lothlorien and Mirkwood are fighting Sauron's armies coming out of Dol Guldur. The other free peoples aren't just "sitting out the fight" and letting Gondor do all the work. They are busy defending their own homelands. Sauron had been preparing this stroke for years and without Galdalf and the Ents, Rohan would have been too busy with their own problems to help Gondor.
Do not judge Denethor too harshly, by using the Palantir of Minas Tirith Denethor has learned many things that helped his people, but Sauron used the stone he got from Minas Ithil (Minas Morgul) to decieve Denethor and cause him to despair. Basically he's gone mad from worry and has no hope but he never fell under the control of Sauron like Saruman did in similar circumstances.
"You can't fight these guys!" well a few surface to air missiles would help, or at least some flak batteries. LOL.
Whoo boy ummm explain Valinor (where the elves, wizards, and ringbearers go) that's a big ask Jen. To simplify a lot, Valinor is as close to what Eru (the creator) wanted to create as is left after the discord of Melkor entered the song of creation. The Valar live there, supernatural beings of a higher order than Sauron, the Balrog, or the Wizards. There are also the Maiar, one step below the Valar which would include those mentioned, it is also the adopted homeland of the 3 "tribes" of elves the Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri who were summoned by the Valar after they awoke to protect them from Melkor (Sauron's boss). It is also where the spirits of the elves go when they are slain to reflect on their lives and to await rebirth in Valinor. If anyone who exists in the Circle of the World can fully heal the unseen wounds caused by the Ring to a person's soul or the touch of a Morgul blade it would be the Valar, they could also ask for the intercession of the creator Eru if necessary and reasonably expect an answer. So the elves and Maiar go there because it's their home, and the ringbearers go there by special dispensation.
Ok time for Jen trivia. Who had the 3 elven rings?
11:32 I don't remember how it went in the books, but in the films, they didn't indicate Rohan asking for help. Furthermore, it isn't indicated that Gondor, or any other group, was even aware of Rohan's immediate trouble. So, it doesn't make sense for Théoden to be bitter about not getting help.
in the Book Denathor had LONG since sent the "Red Arrow" to Rohan indicating they were summoned to help, all the "animosity" between Gondor and Rohan never existed in the book, and I didnt understand why Jackson felt the need to try to "shoehorn" in that tension, there is already plenty of tension in the ROTK, no need to manufacture more
@@justinhephner2117 Because he wanted each movie to be able to function just as well as a stand-alone picture as part of a trilogy.
@@christopherwall2121 yea, i get why he did it, just dont agree, it IS one big story, not 3, they stand as a complete story or not at all
Fun facts and personal feelings:
You were wise to watch the extended editions(lol, just a fun fact).
Isengard: In the original scene, Saruman was going to scream when he was stabbed. However, Christopher Lee asked Peter Jackson if he knew how a person sounded when they were stabbed in the back, "Because I do." This is because Lee was a soldier in WW2 in espionage and he gave the real noise a person made when stabbed(more like their breath being pushed out of them).
In the original material, Saruman is defeated near the end of the "Two Towers"and escapes, though he returns in "Return of the King", the Shire gets scoured and destroyed as he(now without his staff)and Grima take it over with a vagabond army, getting killed near the end of the story.
The Elven smiths who reforge Anduril are played by two of the actual weaponsmiths who made the swords and such for the movies.
It's a little sadder in the books(though Sam isn't sent away)before they go into the Lair, as Smeagol is ready to repent his actions rather than lead Frodo into Shelobs Lair, as he truly does love him and care for him. However, Sam wakes up and coldly accuses him of sneaking, which drives Smeagol to betray them out of sheer anger. Tolkien did say that had Sam been kinder, Smeagol would never have betrayed them.
Arya dying as a result of Sauron's power was tacked on to give some stakes(book version of Aragorn is fully on board with being the king of Gondor and has Anduril reforged before they leave Rivendell, to my recollection).
Grond(the giant ram/Wolfs Head)is named after the war mace of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth(Sauron was the second Dark Lord).
The corsair that Legolas accidentally shoots is played by Peter Jackson.
Shelob is a creature known as a Maiar spirit. There are a few of them that, when choosing a form, become something monstrous or strange). The Balrog is one as well. But as to Shelob, she's the child of the first spider, whose name was Ungoliant. Ungoliant was absolutely massive compared to Shelob, poisoned and drank the light from the Two Trees(magical trees from Valinor, where the elves came from)and tried to steal a set of magical gems from Morgoth before she was driven away by six Balrogs. She eventually ate herself to death.
52:11 , chills every time as Sam shows up and faces down the abomination spider.
Any wounds made by the Nazgul can cause the sort of horrible injuries, and even wounding one can do awful injury to the attacker too. The Morgul Blade was a little different, but I think what affected Eowyn is called the Black Breath.
RIP Bernard Hill(Theodan)
Goddamn, the whole finale is just strike after strike. Aragorn's speech, Sam carrying Frodo, Aragorn seeming to be about to despair, only to quietly whisper "For Frodo..."and charge, with the rest of the army running forward as the Fellowship theme blares in choir, Smeagol's return, the eagles coming to the rescue...just tearing up watching your reactions!
Frodo:"You swore! You swore on the precious! Smeagol promised!"
Smeagol:"....Smeagol LIED." Friggin' savage line.
Smeagol stands upright for the first time when he regains the Ring.
Gandalf brought three eagles to Mount Doom, as he fully expected that Gollum could be redeemed and was going to save him as well.
"My friends...you bow to no one..." Goddamn, tearing up.
The moment that makes me bawl every time I watch the movie is when Bilbo and Gandalf leave. Keep in mine that I read the first book, the Hobbit, when I was eight years old and the pair were the staple characters, so seeing them leave to go to Valinor was like a goodbye.
I saw this in the theatre and it was amazing when Pippin sang everyone was in awe.
So cute when you sing along with the music! 🙂 I'll never forget the story of how Christopher Lee educated Peter Jackson on the actual sound of literally getting stabbed in the back. We still don't know all the secret stuff Christopher did in his World War II career. Shivers.
Jen, your timing is good. I'm kicking back and enjoying Thanksgiving with no one but my roommate. Love spending time with you on a holiday! Will post a more relevant comment later.
that fly stayed along for the hole 3 movies 😅😂🤣
"I give Hope to men. I keep none for myself," Elronds says to Aragorn when he give him the the sword. Its the epitaph of Aragorns mother, Gilraen, whose grave he visited when he left Rivendell. Aragorns elvish name is Estel, which means hope. When his father was killed by prcs, she brought to Elrond to raise him and protect him.
BTW...if you do 'want more', I highly recommend the extra's discs that went along with this film trilogy. Honestly, they're (as one might at first assume (rightly so)) not dry, if you want that feeling of your heart swelling, then do try them. Tell you what, there is a lady with her channel and she's going through the discs right now... try her first posting. And by that I'm just saying if you don't want to commit to it all or any for that matter, watch her posting as it is edited down, and yeah, watching her get speechless and into it is just so heartfelt. I hope you try one episode, Jen :)
Theoden was such a great leader in battle, mustering his troops to attack, before anyone had a chance to despair or panic, wow.
Sometimes, wounds don't heal, and Frodo, more than anyone in the Fellowship, was essentially tortured, and traumatized for an extended period. In some cases, there is no going back. He earned his spot on the ship.
Yes the final epic movie in the trilogy 😂thanks Jen.
"And they flowed in thought out to regions where pain and delight flow together, and tears are the very wine of blessedness." - Return of the King
Few movies get better and better the more you watch them, the LotR films are 3 of them. It's been a little over two decades since their release and I'm still enthralled every single time.
I adore the way you pay so much attention to the score which is a character in and of itself.
The best to you, yours and the folks in the comments.
You finally made it to The Return Of The King, which is the final chapter / conclusion of The Lord Of The Rings, I think you should watch The Queen’s Gambit at some point, and I can’t wait for you to watch It’s A Wonderful Life next, since Christmas is starting
So many great performances here, but I really want to point out how damn good Elijah Wood is as Frodo. In each film, he gets progressively less dialogue, but his ability to convey emotions and thoughts on his extremely expressive face is remarkable. The fact that he filmed most of the trilogy when he was only 19 is astounding to me. He was an experienced child actor (Roger Ebert called him the best actor of his generation when he was just 13), but this role elevated him into grown-up status.
I loved reading the stories of the films’ casting. EW took the initiative and filmed his own audition tape in a wooded location in costume, Viggo was called in at the last minute, Dom Monaghan had auditioned for Frodo and was reconsidered for Merry when they couldn’t find a Merry in their first pass and revisited the audition tapes for Frodo, and Sean Astin had been hoping to be in a Peter Jackson film ever since his father John Astin came back from filming The Frighteners and told Sean it was the best time he’d ever had on a set.
I always get the urge to rewatch this trilogy around the fall, something about these movies gives me big autumnal vibes
Yeah, a lot of it takes place in or around forests; that first amazing shot of Rivendell is giving me serious fall vibes as well.
25:21 The Dwarves of Erebor (which is where Gimli is from) are currently under siege by Sauron's forces as well so they can't really do anything to help.
There's a very interesting story about Sarumans death in the film. Peter Jackson wanted Christopher Lee to scream in pain when stabbed, to which Lee responded "Do you know the sound a man makes when he is stabbed? Because I do, and it's not a scream." Lee had been a member of an elite British commando unit in WW2(whose records are sealed for several more decades at least), so Jackson differed to him.
I love how you narrate your thoughts throughout the reaction!
Anyone who watches all Jen's reactions knows that it takes a lot to make her cry... and I really mean A LOT.....
Four little Hobbits did her in.
Two of my favorite scenes in the trilogy, if not in all of cinema, are here, due to their editing, cinematography, and music, as well as performances-the charge on Osgiliath and that final crawl up Mount Doom. Both are beautifully shot, but convey such despair and hopelessness in conjunction with bravery. The score for both of them are shining examples of what music does for a film. And the look of both scenes is stunning. I’ve always thought that the final image of Gandalf sitting in the alley at the end of the charge could have been painted by Vermeer.
Thanks for your reaction - I really appreciate you picking up on the musical themes and how they blend to tell the story - cheers.
In the books the resoen Gandalf is stronger is because Iluvitar (God) gave him Saruman's job. Saruman was supposed to be the leader of the Wizards the strongest of them who stood against Soron. They were sent by the Valar {angels) to help and guide the Free People. Saruman was faithful to this for a long time but he eventually fell. So now Gandalf is fulfilling that role Gandalf was able to break Saruman's staff because he was given the authority to do it. In the book he says "You have no color now and I cast you from the Order and from the (White) Counsel. Your staff is broken! I know this is a long answer but I hope it helps. Thank you for doing these reactions.
You know things have gotten bad when the Witch King showing up gets Jen to say "Oh S#!t" instead of "Oh frig."
The fact that they shot all three movies at the same time just blows me away. One of the greatest feats in filmmaking history
At 25:25, Gimli is the only Dwarf that features prominently in Tolkien's story. The Dwarf kingdom in the Lonely Mountain, which you can see in The Hobbit (book or movie) was also attacked by an army of Sauron's (the War of the Ring was much larger than the part we see in the movie). We hear later at second hand that the Dwarves fought alongside the Men of Dale in a great battle in the north.
Thoeden has one of the best character arcs. When he is crying over his son’s grave in the second movie, we don’t even know anything about him or his son and it makes me sob hysterically. He was a fantastic actor.
If you pay close attention, you can hear Shelob (the giant spider) laugh when she catches Sting after she tricked Sam into attacking
Btw, Tolkien actually said that hero of the story was Sam!
Also, an interesting factoid to learn, the actor who played Sauramon (sp?) actually met Tolkien. And my student room for a year (actually the other one would have been about the same) was literally only a couple of hundred yards from Tolkiens house where he wrote this (on Holywell St in Oxford).
#1 movie experience(s) in my entire life when I saw them in the cinema. Nothing else comes close when it comes to epic storytelling and Peter Jacksons amazing work to bring it to the screen.