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If you are going to read the books I can highly recommend the Hobbit, it precedes the lord of the rings and Bilbo is the protagonist. Just finished listening to it a few days ago (narrated by Andy Serkis, the actor who plays Gollum) and he does a fenominal job.

I regret opening this

@@horizon5873: I bet all those patrons feel fully appreciated by being stuffed into a list like that, lmao.

@@hoon_sol They can take comfort from the idea that there’s a whole bunch of people like them who pay money for questionable value.

I always picture those four sitting in the pub, watching everybody else enjoy the security and good lives they fought to provide them. “Yeah. We made this possible.”

Whilst civvies say, "Thank you for your service", and they genuinely hold us in high esteem, only those of us who have served will ever know what it truly means to have served. You leave the military changed in ways that only fellow veterans can understand.

There are many, many moments throughout Lord of the Rings that work on their own as story telling moments, but if you view them through the scope of the trauma and feelings a veteran of WW1 would’ve had are much more powerful, one of my favorites being Frodo and Gandalf talking to eachother about everything that’s happening while in Moria: Frodo: “I wish it need not have happened in my time, that I hadn’t been born to go through such things.” Gandalf: “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” If you think about that in the context of someone who was young enough to have been deployed into the First World War and how they felt about it, it’s much more potent of a moment.

It's not just that, nobody in the Shire even knows it happened.

And the scene is different from the book. In the books, the war reached the shire as well. The Scouring of the Shire.

EVERY TIME!

My favorite moment of the trilogy!

Every time. As well as 'I would have followed you my brother... my captain...my king'

Me TOO, I hold it together until then.

ikr? you think your heart is made of steel for enduring the entire saga without breaking and then suddenly the King bows to the hobbits

Theoden definitely gets some of the best moments, like the charge on Pelennor fields. And somehow they're even more awesome in written form. "Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before: Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor! With that he seized a great horn from Guthláf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains. Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor! Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and the darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City."

under appreciated line from the movie

And on this day he did. Rest in peace Bernard Hill.

@@jamesboyd304 I know 😭 sad day

@@jamesboyd304 and he can rest in pride!

Sam is the homie we all wish for. However, more importantly, he’s the homie we should all ASPIRE to be.

That part in the theater gave me goosebumps and made me realize we should all be like Sam at some point in life.. give a helping hand for those in need when we can.

Even us guys cried at that part...on the inside. ;)

That represent Christ.This is Christian movie written by devoted Catholic J.R.R. Tolkien.

this movie has so many epic lines it's hard to keep track

Me too. Not everyone catches that

I don't Because of the black death he like Eowyn shouldn't even be at the black gate

@@jonasrmb01 we don't know how long transpired between him being healed and marching to the black gate. We see Eowyn up and walking and she was more injured than Merry was, so it isn't a far stretch to imagine he had quicker recovery than her. It doesn't happen in the books, true. Sam and Frodo weren't in osgiliath but it works out.

I've seen these films countless times, commentaries, bts and the making of. All of it... I've NEVER put that together. 😂 That's such an AMAZING detail. Eomer respects Merry after he helped his Sister survive in battle. Brilliant! Thanks for mentioning that. 💖

Movie-wise that's a great deal of consistency. Though a fun fact, Merry didn't take part in the Black Gate battle in the original book. With a good reason, obviously. Gandalf said that Merry distinguished himself so much by slaying the Witch King that Pipin should take his place at Black Gate to earn his own battle feats.

Yep, Sam went to the Undying Lands🙂

Sam eventually went, after serving 13-14 terms as the Mayor of the shire.

THEY DIE?! OH NO!! D:

And then Morgoth came back for Dagor Dagorath, the final battle at the end of time, at which point Eru had enough and fucked off.

@@Cristopher.C Old age, which was good luck!

Sam is the hero, and Frodo is the sacrifice :(

The best thing is like every movie the very last scène is the hero of the story coming home to a happy ending. The hero is undoubtely Sam.

I hate to be a jackass when I say this, but Frodo was a bit of a coward in the film series. He wasn’t in the books. He was basically the male equivalent of a damsel in distress. If we had to pick the TRUE hero throughout the series, it would be Sam.

In the book, gandalf and bilbo said that frodo is the best and the most perfect hobbit they ever see. No one can carry the ring excep frodo.

@vikiwayne7130 that's true. Basically the whole quest would have failed if not for every member of the fellowship and then some did exactly like they did. It was meant to go like it did.

I DIED when that happened.

​@@Larryandhisbelts Hope you are ok bro

@@auricapumndefier He got better...

It was his first smile since he'd seen Bilbo again in Rivendell, and his first full smile since his first scene under the tree with the book.

Frodo's going to the one place where he can find peace, where the darkness won't haunt him any longer. A deeply bittersweet moment.

He didn't stop smiling and laughing when he saw all of his friends in Rivendell

And at the end when he wakes up and sees Gandalf, it's the first he's seen him since "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" in the first movie. Frodo thought he was dead the whole time afterwards and at first thought he himself had died as well.

Also one of the first shots in the Trilogy is a zoom in of Frodo smiling as he hears Gandalf singing. The movies begin and end with Frodo smiling

Preach!

A true king.. He and Aragorn would have been the best King duo..

I agree, Theoden's whole arc throughout two movies is just, EPIC.

My cousin's son is named after Theoden.

There's a subtlety to his character. Like if you blink you might miss the beautiful character arc. He was a king without any accomplishments. Poisoned by Sauroman and his people made to suffer because of it. And even in the victory at Helms Deep it wasn't his victory. It was Aragorn inspiring him & his people to fight for victory. So at the gates of Minis Tirith Theoden truly steps into his own & can face his ancestors with pride. How he rides out with such speed that NO ONE can keep his pace and the entire force follows him into certain death. How he played his part in making sure Gondor and Middle-Earth doesn't fall into darkness. It's a great example of writing a character arc and masterully done by Tolkien.

Aragon is truly a tremendous healer, possibly one of the greatest doctors in Middle Earth. He fulfills the prophecy of that the king of Gondor will be a healer of men.

@@lpsp442 And women. And Hobbits, it seems.

@@panther-nk2hn”Men” means humans in LoTR

Don't need to have that detailed in the movie though - it's a WAR, and look at how long and hard they had to fight just in the plot of this film. Sure you can always read the books and fill in certain details for your own pleasure - but for those who will never read the books, the film conveys enough, and the choices Jackson made of things that needed to get on screen in the time - they did well.

Frodo,Gandalf and Aragorn represent Jesusu Christ.Tolkien was devoted Catholic.This is a Christian movie.Peter Jackson respected that.

And it's 100% correct, too. The Fellowship prevailed, the bond forged between the 9 of them held strong and gave them the courage to fight and (in Boromir's case) die for their friends and for the world. The sacrifices they were willing to make because of those connections, those friendships, were exactly what gave them the edge over Sauron in the end.

@@panther-nk2hn Yup. Evil people, be it Sauron, an orc, or Donald Trump, are selfish. They don't really have friends because they can't be a friend. The Fellowship, against all odds, were true friends to each other. It may sound sappy, but what is life without love and trust, and the willingness to fight for it? Empty and lonely, like that of an evil person. That's not to say that all people who are living empty or lonely lives are evil. They may be victims of circumstance, or so hurt that they fear to reach out. Like my old Gaffer used to say, "A friend with weed is a friend indeed."

The universal experience of LOTR is shameless Samwise appreciation

Well that's because Sam is the hero of the novels. The film centers on Sam throughout. He is the core of the series.

It's wild to think that even Gollum was essential for the mission as well. Even though he was a bit of an antagonist to the story.

@@t0dd000 Sam and Frodo are two halves of the same Hero. Neither could have done the Quest alone, they both had to be there so support and accomplish the Quest.

I always cry during that scene 😅

Agreed

Reading this is enough to give me chills. Truly one of the greatest movie scenes of all time!

I think I watched it too many times, it no longer gives me chills. I just cry instead.

Absolutely, you hear the Rohan theme so much in Two Towers, but then you go such a long time focusing on Gondor and its musical motifs in ROTK, that when they roll the Rohan theme back out, its such a powerful moment... Chills..

you call that bad acting emotional energy? lmao

@@Alexus1138 her reaction is very obviously sincere, that entire part of the movie is emotionally exhausting

@@Alexus1138oh yeah cuz she just forces snot and tears out on command like a bad actor. Lmao. Cringe comment

@@Cinerary ok simp

@@Alexus1138 sadly there's always one. why are you even here?

I prob would’ve been worried I was dead 😂

And to see Gandalf laughing so freely. Obviously he's seen Gandalf be happy & merry. But never like THAT!! Gandalf basically have fulfilled his sole purpose on Middle Earth and to have that burden lifted off of him was a huge change in Gandalf's personality.

In the book it was from Sam's POV when he woke up: But Sam lay back, and stared with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last he gasped: "Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?" "A great Shadow has departed," said Gandalf, and then he laughed, and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count. It fell upon his ears like the echo of all the joys he had ever known. But he himself burst into tears. Then, as a sweet rain will pass down a wind of spring and the sun will shine out the clearer, his tears ceased, and his laughter welled up, and laughing he sprang from his bed.

@@toddjh yeah, it's a great piece of writing by Tolkien. And CLEARLY something he must've experienced himself going though WWI. I can't imagine British morale was ever that great for TRUE laughter while in their poorly made trenches. But after the war, when life returned to some normalcy, he probably did have a genuine moment of joy & laughter. And it was probably a foreign feeling to him at first. And yet, it does make sense that they would do this scene from Frodo's POV. Not only does it call back to Frodo recovering in Rivendell but Frodo was the bearer of so much at stake. But I still really enjoy that Gandalf was laughing and was content that his purpose was served.

honestly i kinda ant to see a cut of the movie that only tells frodos perspective. like in the books. i know the pacing will be off, but it would be interesting

That made me tear up a little bit. Thank you for sharing

If i recall in Tolkien's notes they end up moving down south in the last of their years and get buried in the royal courtyard. I believe Aragorn is buried right next to them.

@@OrignalElidest Eomer, nearing the end of his life, sends a messenger to see Merry again, so he and Pippin decide to return east, and spend some time with Eomer before he passes, then they spend the remainder of their time in Minas Tirith and were both entombed in the hall of kings. When Aragon finally passes on, they are laid to rest in his royal crypt with him. It is then that Legolas builds a boat and along with Gimli, sails to the west and the undying lands. Gimli is allows in because of his friendship with elves and Galadriel put in a good word. Sam, after the death of Rosie, gives the book to his oldest daughter and sails west as well as the last of the ring bearers to depart middle earth.

Don't forget that Sam joins him later!

Frodo reminds me of the story of one of the guys HBO The Pacific is based on. Eugene Sledge would wake up from nightmares and finally his wife demanded that if he can't talk about the experiences that haunted him, that he should write a book about it so that the evil can live somewhere outside his head. 100% that's the same reason Frodo would've wrote The Lord of the Rings.

When watching this moment I always think the struggle for Frodo isn’t if he can physically climb back up form the ledge, or if he has the will to keep on living. I think that what was going through his mind in that moment was to drop down and try to recover the ring as it sits on the lava (even if it is just for a few seconds as gollum had with it). But of course he lets it go and reaches for Sam instead. Just shows how much power the ring has over people’s mind/will.

It went way beyond a promise. Promise or no promise, Sam loved Frodo more than anything and was not about to let him die. In the book when he thinks Shelob has killed Frodo, he even declares that his one wish would be to come back to Frodo’s body after finishing the Quest, and never leave him again. And it goes both ways. Frodo is in total despair dangling from the ledge, but then he looks into Sam’s eyes, and suddenly he wants to live again, because of Sam.

That scream was so convincing, it shook me. D:

Wait, that's Karl Urban?! Damn, I had no idea he was in LotR.

It is so good, which is why it always annoys me that there is no build up. The last time we see Eowyn she is hurt but ok and then suddenly next time we see her she isn't. I wish there was a scene where she succumbs to the effects of killing the witch king so that it made more sense because his scream of despair is so excellent.

In the book, Eowyn is beloved by the Rohirrim, and her cadre knows she rides with them to Gondor. Theoden is Not the one who starts the Rohirrim screaming “Death !” The battle is undecided when she falls to the Witch King, but Eomer’s pain at seeing her - thinking her dead - and his resulting fury so enrage him and the Rohirrim that they rally, screaming “Death!” and turn the tide of battle.

That's a big brother who loves his sister right there, my man Eomer

In the book, Merry was also recuperating in the Houses of Healing, and he played a part in bringing Faramir and Eowyn together.

One of my favorite fiction romances

I saw another reactor see them come together, and between her tearful sobs at everything, hiccups and all said "i ship it" and i love that so much lol

And the fact that it represented the union of Rohan and Gondor sent chills down the spine

I remember when I 1st saw the film with my Parents, I said out loud (under my sobbing and puffy red face lol). 'They can heal together now. Wow... they are meant to be 😌'. Meaning physically, emotionally and spiritually heal and thrive together. I adore them. 💖

In the first movie minutes after complaining about the time she's is aghast when it ends with a cliffhanger. That's how good it is, you want more.

I first saw these when I was too young to really understand them, so I never got the full first-watch impact of these movies like that since I grew up with them. Nevertheless, they are now still just as emotional, especially if you get to watch it along with a roomful of fans of the movie. I recently got the chance to watch ROTK in theaters, and literally the last third of the movie was all tears of sadness and joy and everything.

they are also the first 2 to run after Aragorn. just amazing

Yep, Karl Urban is just amazing

One of my favorite moments in the movie. Karl Urbans delivery is simply stunning.

He thought his sister was safely back at home, leading what's left of their civilization, only to find her apparently dead on the field of battle.

That always gets me too!

I think a lot of people miss the point that he's not just finding her seemingly dead, but she's not even supposed to be there, she should be safe at home so the shock for Eomer would be that much more intense

That is why Gandalf brought 3 eagles to the summit of Mount Doom…it was his intention to try to save Gollum too if possible.

@@brendansheehy8124 nooooooo I didn't realize. Geeeezzzz I'm tearing up now. 🥺 That makes SO much sense. Thank You for saying that, I would have never caught on. 💖

the best part is that gollum fell because of interference from Ilúvatar himself

and underscoring those lines are the notes of "Into the West", simultaneously sad but hopeful.

It is shown better in the books. He had the Palantir, and he, as Saruman, used it to scry on the movement and intention of Sauron. But, unlike Saruman, Denethor never gave up to temptation of power and knowledge offered by the Enemy. Then Sauron started to show him only what he wanted Denethor to see. For decades, Denethor saw only how Sauron forces grew, his allies rallied and his servants spread, and when he tried to look for any resistance to this, Sauron denied it to him. So, after dozens of years of this Denethor saw that he stood alone, and while it was not the case, he broke. Sauron wasn't able to make him his servant, so he used the power of fake news to break him and make him a hinderance to those who still fought. For shame, he was a good Steward, at the beginning.

@@tius_thus_reborn YES!! It’s definitely been too long since I read the trilogy, I forgot all the depths you just brought out! Thank you so much, that’s magnificent insight for our society now. 💖

I strongly recommend the channel Badd Medicine’s reactions to these movies!

I’m sure there’s some official commentary on it somewhere, but my guess is that Denethor is struggling with the lose of his wife, possibly at childbirth, which would explain his misplaced anger and resentment towards his youngest son, Faramir.

@@zjjohnson3827 Oh Ya! The Oak kills me. The guy you would expect to hate all the fantasy stuff, and even believed it himself, became the the biggest LOTR and Harry Potter fanboy ever and it is glorious.

It's like the ring refused to melt as long as Frodo was in despair. But when Frodo decided to live and reached for Sam, the ring lost its hold on him and couldn't resist the heat anymore.

Right? I didn’t notice the first time either.

Yep, if I remember correctly too it was actually lotrs God Eru that caused Frodo and Gollum to fall off the edge.

I always thought that it was greed that killed it rather than a god giving them a nudge. It makes more sense to me that evil will inevitably destroy itself.

@@carolusrex5213 In Tolkeins work's Gollum trips over after he gets the ring which may have been the work of Eru but I like to think it was Gollum forgetting his surroundings in his moment. A big part point of the story Tolkein wanted to get across is that some evil cannot be overcome by good (hence nobody being able to resist the ring) but all evil eventually destroys itself (hence the ring clouding Gollum's mind so much that he trips off of a ledge over a volcano dancing in joy).

I like to imagine the Ring floating on that cooled bit of lava thinking "Oh, shit! What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!?" And then it's like "FUUUUU--"

Tolkien's point was "providence" it was providence that made the quest be finished.

Sean Astin absolutely killed it playing Samwise.

And you could see the genious talent of Sean Astins acting allready when he was a kid in the goonies. Allready there he had a perfect emotional monologue down inside the wishing well.

I watched this in theaters and the "but I can carry you!' made the entire place EXPLODE! It was insane how it emotionally hitched us all to the same wagon.

In the books, when he's looking for Frodo in Cirith Ungal, he can't find him, just a lot of dead orcs, and he starts to weep and sing a song from the Shire, and Frodo hears it, and sings back, thinking he's dreaming, then Sam finds him behind a trap door and I absolutely sob every time I read that part! Truly the most wonderful character!

@@selardohr7697 I need to start reading the books faster, but 1st - the appendices😭

"You bow to no one!" Always gets me too :) 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

Only a dozen? Stop slacking 😉

Same! May I ask if do you know another reactor/s who also understands Frodo? I've been watching some Lotr reactions but I decided no to continue because some of the reactors doesn't understand Frodo's character at all :/

The first video that comes to mind, where someone appreciated Frodo, is Merphy Napier's "Defending Frodo From My Past Self". Schnee's "Why This Line Makes You CRY... | Lord of the Rings" probably counts because of his focus on the humble goodness Frodo needed to carry the Ring as far as he did. I would have to rewatch certain reactions to be able to suggest people who vocally appreciated Frodo, but I think Popcorn in Bed was a good one, as were Natalie Gold and Magic Magy.

One part of the book version of RotK that isn’t part of the movie that I enjoyed would have to be the chapter named “The scouring of the Shire”.

Humility is a wonderful vaccination against evil

It's crazy because Sam at the beginning may have fallen for that. In one of Tolkien's letters, Tolkien mentions Sam is "cocksure, and deep down a little conceited, but his conceit had transformed into his devotion to Frodo." Early Sam might fallen prey to the ring. Before Rivendell, it may have tried to intice him with an adventure where he is the hero (my thoughts). It was this devotion and small mindedness that kept the malice in Gollum, and forced him to betray the two hobbits. If Sam would have been kind, Gollum may have stolen the ring, but Smeagol may have given his life to redeem himself fully (Tolkien's words). Treating Gollum the way he does is understood due to his devotion to frodo and keep him safe. But we don't call it out, because they are very human traits, and we would all do that in this situation, and likely have. How many times have you wrote someone off without a second chance even if it was something small? Just food for thought.

Of course then he actually winds up with the entire Shire as basically his personal garden, and he knocks it out of the park!

@@GRIFFIN1238 Exquisitely put.

@@GRIFFIN1238 Humility and Common Sense.

It's a lovely scene, but I think of all the changes Peter Jackson & Co. made to Tolkien's story, this is the scene he would object to the most. The "far green country under a swift sunrise" is the Undying Lands, which are forbidden to mortals. It was the Numenoreans' desire to break the Ban of the Valar and conquer the Undying Lands that led to the fall of Numenor and all the events of LOTR.

@@johnwalters1341 But for people who never read the book that's enough. It's not specified that what Gandalf is describing are the Undying Lands where the Elves are going, so it can totally be a description of the Great Beyond. And for the emotional punch of the scene it's not important to know all the profound theological/existential issue of death and immortality in the world of Tolkien.

@@johnwalters1341 While true it doesn't stay completely forbidden to mortals as Gimli, Frodo, and Bilbo get to make the trip.

@@Stubbies2003 Gimli, Frodo, and Bilbo likely lived on Tol Eressea, the island at the mouth of the river, and didn't set foot in Valinor proper. Their maiar and elven friends could visit them easily enough on the island.

Yes! It seems like reactors often dislike Frodo because they don't understand the point of his character or the burden he bears. It was really refreshing to see somebody get it on the first watch.

The most important thing about the Ring is that NO ONE, not evan Sauron himself, can destroy it willingly

I also feel like Frodo failing right at the end only highlights the difference between him and just about everyone else, especially Golum. Like, he really was the only one strong enough to take the ring to Mt. Doom, even if he needed help along the way. He falters right there at the end, and yet despite him actually falling to the ring he comes back out of his own will. While Golum embraces the ring, even as he falls to his death, Frodo reaches out to grab Sam's hand and return. He could have just let go, but he didn't. Even as the ring took hold of him, Frodo didn't choose the ring in the end. And that's the step that kind of matters. Considering this, it's no wonder Frodo failed towards the end. Boromir was the weakest out of the Fellowship, and he was almost corrupted after just being near the ring for weeks. He managed to pull back from that because he only had been near it, never carrying it, it hadn't had the full effect on him. Sam traveled near it, wandering along Frodo, the ring probably constantly trying to work on him, and by his nature as a simple and content hobbit it took the ring months to even begin to tempt him, but even good ol' Samwise felt it's draw and faltered for a moment in the books. Months only being near it and it still began to reach him. Frodo carried that thing for those same months. Wore it around his neck even as he slept. Every hour, every minute, and every second of that massive journey we carried it, having its constant whispers in his ear, its constant influence pressing on his mind, its constant evil corrupting him. It's a bloody miracle he lasted until Mt. Doom and only faltered once the ring began to push hard in sheer desperation. It's like he carried a piece of radioactive material around his neck for months and just didn't get sick out of sheer force of will. You're going to run out of energy to resist eventually. The important part is that you get back up afterwards, and try again. Golum couldn't. Frodo could. And that's one of the major reasons why I adore Frodo as both a character and an archetype. And it saddens me when people only see his falure and not his reaction to said failure or his recovery. I think it says a lot more about a person when you see how they react to failure and what they do afterward.

@@Rodoet001 this is a good read. Have you seen the presentation I gave on trauma in Tolkien's work for the Tolkien Society in their 2021 seminar? If not, I recommend you check it out - it covers all of this stuff and more. My name is Jordan Doyle. If you can't find where my presentation begins, drop a comment and I'll give you an exact link.

@@Rodoet001 Yes. the other member of the fellowship fight on the outisde; frodo fights on the inside.

Incredible! I wish I got to experience that! I didn't see them until they came out on DVD.

Just a testament to how good Peter, Fran, and Philippa did on this is that even though there was quite a bit left out or changed from the source material but you didn't hear people getting up in arms about it. That in itself is an accomplishment as some people take that story almost as seriously as religion.

We waited in line for hours in the cold to watch these (they all came out around Christmas) at midnight and didn't get home until 4 in the morning but that crowd was the best! People in costumes, openly weeping and cheering!

The theater experience, seeing them AS they came out, was irreplaceable. After "Fellowship" ended, I recall standing up with the six friends I saw it with and saying just one thing: "Well, I guess the only question is: When do we see it again?" And of course the agonizing waits for the DVD's, the Watch parties, and yet I can't describe how friggin COOL it is to rexperience it in so many different ways here on KZfaq! Best of both worlds, man!

Yes, watching the trilogy in the theater was an experience unlike any I've had before and have never topped it yet. It was the first movies I've seen when people actually cheered and clapped at the same time as tears where streaming. I don't thing I will ever experience such a moment again. There's no story that have engaged so many of all ages before. Our parents and grandparents have read the books and now can re-live that feeling we all had when we read them for the first time. It was even a big event when the tickets were released. People was queuing outside the theater for days to get tickets to the premier. My LARP-club collaborated with the theater and made a nightly event outside the theater for TT and RotK. We were dressed up medieval style and served mulled wine, gingerbread, coffee and snacks to all who was waiting in line. That was fun. 😄

Even thinking about it makes me tear up.

we both are appreciate that.

Truth! That's why I really like her reactions. May I ask if do you know another reactor/s who also understands Frodo? I've been watching some Lotr reactions but I decided no to continue because some of the reactors doesn't understand Frodo's character at all :/

And when the music finally SWELLS and the tower crumbles and Sauron finally bites it for good, aaaahhhh

Scientifically, the ring would not just drown into lava, since Smeagol`s body fell first and cooled the top layer. It would take a little time for the ring to be melted. But it`s a nice timing, since it only melted after Frodo reached for Sam`s hand

...Gollum attacking Frodo and biting the finger off is in the book though. All Jackson and Walsh did was drag the fight out a little bit, and had Frodo almost fall in as well. I think he figured that having Gollum just do a pratfall into the volcano would look a bit too silly for such a serious moment.

@@snorpenbass4196 But Frodo getting up and fighting for the ring is not. In the book Gollum takes the ring and starts to dance and jump around in joy. During a rumbling of the volcano he trips and sinply falls in. Later, in the Silmarillion and from Tolkien's notes, it becomes a little bit more clear that it was the Allfather who shook the ground intentionally to make Gollum stumble. But honestly, this is is so abstract, anri-climactic and academic that Jackson made a brilliant move to change the climax in a more reasonable way which would fit the big screen and which would reward the audience.

I always felt the book ending was a disappointment. The film ending worked much better.

Didn't cry as a kid, teen while watching these. Nowadays I sob everytime

I think it’s one of the few movies and stories where it’s truly okay for men to show their emotions, and one of the few movies where the male characters openly portray their willingness to love and cry for their loved ones. Several times we see our favorite characters cry in the movies, even more so in the books (fellowship weeping for Gandalf, Aragorn weeping for Boromir, the hobbits for Frodo, etc. etc..) and for this we really connect and open up that it’s okay to be emotional too.

He also suffers from extreme arachnophobia, so he knew exactly how to make that shot as horrifying as possible.

Yeah it was the creature crew's stated goal to trigger the director as hard as possible

not just girls, I've seen male commentators laugh it off and are quick to judge as well (especially since, real talk, the concept of mental health is still uncomfortable to talk about in the vast majority and especially that the effect of the ring on Frodo/Bilbo/Smeagol is somewhat parallel to depression and obsession/addiction). But on that note, there have been those who, like Angie, were quick to understand. I observed that it's more prominent on solo reactors, because when it's a group there's that mob mentality (perfect for scenes like the Battle of Helms Deep, Ents vs Isengard, Ride of Rohirrim, etc but not so great during emotional scenes because most tend to laugh it off, ex. The Normies).

Carrying the ring is like getting injected with a constant stream of Heroin and PTSD, people forget that Frodo was the most capable and brave hobbit in the first movie because of what the ring does to him as the series goes on.

Also the depression and sense of hopelessness that was affecting Denathor.

@@pinkishhaven5158 I watch a handful of reactors and I never even thought about the group "mob mentality" influencing the reactions! It makes sense. Some of the reactions are really good but they do gloss over the more emotional parts. I remember being more scared of scenes with Frodo and the ring, as a kid, than I was with the big battle scenes, and it's probably because of the underlying concepts of addiction and depression which I couldn't fully understand at the time. I just knew it scared me and made me very sad. At least you could stab and run away from orcs and trolls! I forgot about the Normies reactions, but you're right!

She was even able to understand Denethor's feelings of hopelessness about the war. Something most don't understand from the movie alone, since there's no mention of his use of the palantir. Honestly, great emotional intelligence on Angelina's part.

*do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.

it's "I do *not* say do not weep, for not all tears are an evil" so crying is cool with him because they come from love and kinship, sometimes happiness

it is such a meaningfull thing to put in the end of the movie when you, the viewer, have been crying past 1-12 hours

That's something rather significant about Denethor's character that's left out of the films, the fact that Sauron was in fact corrupting him through a palantir held by Gondor.

He doesn't see hope...which is literally Aragorn's childhood name 😅

The moment Beren earns the name Camlost is, I think, my favourite piece of writing in literature. (See how cunningly I avoid the spoiler)

@@notverygeordie Ha, very well done! I'm slowly working my way through the Silmarillion for a second full read through, and it's soooo good.

just like ending world wars. we won, but the price we paid each time was greater. and what did we really win if we didn't learn from each prior time. at least in the stories it comes out well.

Eucatastrophe, summarized: "Why can't they have happy endings?! Why?!!" "Eagles?! Oh, thank God." Tolkien: Hehehe.

Beautifully said

Gandalf wouldn’t have known that Gollum was with Sam and Frodo. Gandalf is on one eagle and one is is for Frodo and one for Sam.

Watch it again. Gandalf's eagle picks Frodo up, the third eagle leaves empty handed.@@kylekybot2130

Sam followed Frodo to the Undying Lands 61 year later, but by that time Frodo was probably already dead. The lands do not make one immortal, but are meant to serve the needs of immortals. The Valar warned that mortals in that land would if anything dye faster, and be more aware of their mortality as even the mayflies of that realm live slower lives than Men do.

There is no canon evidence there Sam sees Frodo ever again. The undying lands for mortals is like hospice. Frodo goes there to finally be at peace and heal from the horrors of his burden before he dies.

Also, the first and only dwarf to go to the undying lands.

Gimli, son of Gloin, nephew of King Balin of Moria - the only being in Middle Earth with the sheer militant chutzpah to bear an axe overhead and chop down at the One Ring of Power.

​@@chuckshingledecker2216 Tolkien is ambiguous about how long a mortal would live if they were allowed into the undying lands, but since Frodo was a ring bearer (so was Sam), it can be assumed his life will not be as short as most Hobbits. By the time Sam arrives he'd be a little older than Bilbo was at the beginning, so they could cross paths for a bit without much of a stretch.

Yup much like during the cross filming of Frodo and Sam on the side of Mt. Doom where he gives the I can carry you speech. Just done so well even Peter Jackson cried while it was being shot. Absolutely powerful material.

Yes the J.R.R. Tolkien concept of "eucatastrophe".

Eomer and Gimli also had an "argument" who was the fairest woman, Galadriel or Arwen. Gimli eventually agreed that both of them are right, its just one prefers the morning (Galadriel) and the other prefers the evening (Arwen).

@@jomariano37 Oh yeah, I had forgotten that bit. How Gimli was willing to fight him to the death over the honor & beauty of Galadriel. How Eomer asked if he had his axe handy cause he had seen them both & would've said Galadriel was most fair if it weren't for Arwen. But still, that was a truly masterful piece of writing. He doesn't go into too much detail of why they are beautiful like the morning & evening. He leaves that up to the reader to come up with their own reasons & possibly come to their own conclusions of who is more beautiful depending on if they prefer the morning or evening. And it's really just a small part of his story. Like a single paragraph out of thousands. But it has stuck with me for several decades.

They handled the sounds perfectly in these movies

In the books at least. For the movies, the timeline has been shortened quite considerably. Though they also don't really have anything to mark the passage of time, so conceivably an analyst could fit the book timeline to how/when moments are depicted in the movies.

This is absolutely my breakpoint, too. And the confusion as they look around, the humility. Those four farmers averted Armageddon and were perfectly happy to continue unnoticed.

Bilbo is somewhat lucky too that he never ventured near Mordor where the corrupting power of the ring is more palpable

It is my profound belief that a special place in the otherworld, where the souls of mortal men go after they die, fulfilling the mysterious purposes of Eru Illuvatar the Flame Imperishable, has been set aside just for Gollum, the stoor once known as Smeagol - the most unique being to ever life.

⁠@@lpsp442 Maybe in death Sméagol’s soul was somewhat redeemed by Illuvatar. Even though he never intended to destroy the ring and his desire to get it back was purely for self-serving reasons, him intervening to get it back from Frodo when it finally took ahold of him nonetheless allowed the stakes of the battle to tip in the favor of Sauron’s enemies and lead to his downfall. From questioning the characters’ actions in why they even spare his life to the unnecessary troubles and complications he intentionally causes, he served the greatest purpose in allowing the quest to be fulfilled.

@@jedinaut1615 Illuvatar is a being whose compassion *and* reason are both supreme. Gollum's good traits and bad traits individually, nevermind in tandem, are the sort of thing even a supreme god would find reason to examine.

This made me choke up oh my god

I can't remember if it's in the appendices or another book but I'm sure it mentions that many years later after Sam's kids have grown up and moved on and rosy passing away also that he was able to take one of the last boats leaving middle earth because of being a ringbearer and was able to be reunited with his best friend frodo for his remaining years, been many years since I read it so fine details are hazy lol

...there and back again...

@@christopherpage2622 This is the appendices. And it doesnt say Sam gets to board a boat and go West, it simply says that he leaves home one day, in a Westward direction, and was never seen again. It is assumed that he builds a raft or something, and finds his own way by the grace of Eru, since none of the Elves remained by then to bring him.

@@christopherpage2622 yeah its in the appendices, Merry and Pippin pass on the titles of Thain of the Shire and head of the Tooks to their kids and go and retire in Gondor and Sam takes the last boat to the west to visit Frodo.

Same here. But I experienced it during the release years and those were the years I hit puberty. Lol. I have no idea who I'd be today without LoTR. lol I don't even know if the Me who didn't know this story would even like it 20 years later. 😂😂

The best part of these reactors seeing a movie we love for the first time, is getting an echo of what that was like for us.

Now all Ange's gotta do is not watch The Hobbit

@@pabloc8808 Indeed. The Hobbit has a lot of problems due to studio interference, but it's still enjoyable.

Dude, it’s like required watching for being a decent human being.

The gentlest kiss on Boromir's head as he lays him to rest 😭

Litteraly the best representation of masculinity ever, the warriors are badass and can kill without a second thought but they are not afraid to show their emotions, and they (mostly) all respect women. Gimli gently crying at the end always gets me :')

Forreal it's like he was so far gone beyond the point of return mentally and didn't wanna be saved by his servants

Pretty tough to replicate the magic of talent and timing that went into this trilogy. I don't think it is a case of " they don't make them like this anymore"

I don't think it's gonna happen. There are few books that have this much importance for modern literature that could attract a team as dedicated as the crew that worked on LotR. You have to keep in mind that the main cast and the production crew basically spent 2-3 years on New Zealand, away from family and friends, all in an effort to make one of the most significant pieces of literature of the last century into a movie. With the way the film industry is going (more focus on optics, less focus on substance, less "risky" productions, appealing to as broad an audience as possible), these kinds of productions will not happen anytime soon.

@@rgoodwyn yup, it was a series of movies made at the right time, with the right people, and with a certain love for the original material. The technology within filmmaking (CGI and all that) were just new enough (and good enough) to capture what Tolkien wrote all those years ago. The excellent casting, music, prop/clothes designs and directing were all done in the perfect way to tell the story of LOTR. An anomaly if anything, considering that there were talks of only making two movies and the first casting choices and so on. Nothing will ever top LOTR, imo.

Hollywood try and Hollywood fail

This was one of the last great classical stories produced by Hollywood.