Happy new year everyone! Here’s to a chaotic but AMAZING 2024 🎉

Every reaction I watch is always "everyone needs a sam" but never "everyone should be like sam" Because that is a lot tougher.

Bernard Hill came up with the line "No parent should have to bury their child." which he heard from a woman who he spoke to in Glasgow, when she told him about her daughter being killed in a terrorist attack on Northern Ireland.

Faramir actually belongs to a select group. Aside from Aragorn, he’s the only human we’ve seen who can resist the Ring.

I'll be the token "In the book" guy here: In the book, Faramir doesn't have nearly the mental battle that he does in the movie. He figures out they have the "One Ring" pretty quickly and basically goes, "Boromir tried to take it, didn't he? Yeah, that tracks. He was always more of a warrior than a scholar. Me? I know the old lore. I know what that thing is. I wouldn't pick it up if I found it on the side of the road. Here are some supplies, good luck." Makes for good drama to make things look like they may go bad and that Faramir may also succumb to the "weakness of men", but Faramir is meant to represent the ideal, wise and strong Man/leader of Gondor in contrast to both Boromir and his father. "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

“No parent should have to bury their child” i miss my daughter so much ❤

"There is good in this world, and its worth fighting for." I have this tattooed in elvish, in a circle, on my back. It was also my sister's favorite quote. I read it on her funeral. These movies will always be the most important piece of media in my life.

That shot of Theoden de-aging after being freed from Saruman's control is still one of my all-time favorite visual fx shot. It's just SO smooth.

Liala: "I'm just hoping that I do not cry in this movie" People that are fully aware of both the movie and Liala: "That's adorable..."

The original thought was that The Dead Marshes was going to be shot at a real swamp on the South Island of New Zealand but when they went for the location, they found that most of the moss were floating on the water surface. Director Peter Jackson (who wore shorts at the time) tried out how deep the water was and he sunk to his hip. This made him and the crew to instead build the swamp on a parking lot (which was used for outside The Gate of Moria, Osgiliath and The Court Yard of Minas Tirith in the next movie) using sandbags, cover them in different types of tusocks of grass and mosses and flooded it. The original location did get used as wideshots of The Dead Marshes, being filmed from a helicopter. The fires came out from gas tubes hidden underneath the surface and most of the corpses were silicone dummies made by Weta Workshop. The one that opens his eyes was a stunt guy who held his breath and between takes he breathed through a scuba mask in order to not drown.

Gollum is a digital character that Andy Serkis played mostly through motion capture in post production but he was present for the shooting for references, reactions, eye lines and interactions with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. As you often do with CGI characters driven by human performance, Andy was shot playing as Gollum, wearing a skin-colored gimp suit and hood, to get the correct eye lines and reactions for Elijah and Sean, then the next take was a empty take where Andy wasn't there and the hobbits pretended he was there, with Serkis reading dialouge behind the camera for the timing. Some of the reference takes were actually used for the movie, such as when Frodo and Sam fights Gollum at the beginning, as those had all the interactions that the mime passes didn't have. In those takes Andy was painted out of the shot and replaced by Gollum which acted according to Andy's movements, which is called roto-scoping (which have been used by Disney since Snow White where the animators traced the movements of filmed actors for the movements of the animated characters). Even if a lot of the shots were mo-capped, a lot of the shots were tweaked by CG animators animating as the mo-cap at the time wasn't sophisticated enough to do eye, mouth and finger movements. There were some shots that was completely stop motion CG animation that was either too difficult or too dangerous for Andy to do, such as Gollum climbing down the cliff at the start of the film or when Gollum was yanked back by the elven rope. Some shots weren't 100 % replicated from Andy's movements, such as when Gollum is fighting Sam. In the original plate, Andy wasn't climbing on to Sean Astin as he would easily fall over, and he was actually headbutting Astin as part of the choreography but since that didn't suit for Gollum's character, the animator for the scene took the photoage of Sean Astin recoiling from Andy's headbutt and used that for Gollum grabbing Sam's head and shakes it. To make Gollum look really dirty on his hands, feet, knees and elbows, director Peter Jackson (who was barefoot for most of The Lord of the Rings shoot) showed the soles of his feet which was quite dirty at the time. In order to give Gollum more realstic skin, prostetichs supervisor Geno Acevido showed the texturing guys how to air brush and one of the texturing guys taught him how to texture skin of CGI characters and creatures, though Acevido got several headaches as the guy was from Russia and accidently slipped into russian. Before Andy Serkis was cast, hundreds of sketches of Gollum were done by the Weta Workshop artists, including Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe, as well as dozens of marquettes were sculpted. Originally, Serkis was just going to be the voice of Gollum and Sméagol and another actor was going to portray Sméagol before he became Gollum but because of Serkis over-the-top acting including spitting and drooling (in fact the shot were Sméagol spits in disgust of Sam's cooking, it is actually Andy's own saliva, which was painstaking for the CG painters that had to paint Serkis out while still keeping the spit), Jackson decided to actually use Andy as both a reference and then cast him for Sméagol in hobbit form. This made Jackson and the post-production facility realize that the original CG Gollum (which was used for Fellowship of the RIng, as he was hidden much of the time) didn't look that much like Andy, so Gollum was redsigned to look more similiar to him. When Serkis saw the final design, he laughed and thought Gollum looked like a cross between his dad and his newborn baby. The redesign also meant that many shots that were already done of Gollum, had to be re-animated, which took them months to do originally.

Just a note about all the times people have told Aragorn how they have no hope. Boromir telling him, "It is long since we had any hope." Eomer telling him, "Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope. It has left these lands." Theoden....etc. It's a subtle thing that only people who loved the books so much that they also pored over the Appendices would pick up on. Aragorn's birth name was Estel. Estel is the Elvish word for hope. Specifically, the type of deep, profound hope that gets people through dark times. They have a different word for the lighthearted sort of hope for casual, everyday plans. Also, the kid, Haleth son of Hama, that Aragorn encouraged while they were getting ready at Helm's Deep, "This is a good sword. There is always hope." That was played by Viggo Mortensen's real-life son. That son was the Lord of the Rings book fan who told his dad, "you've gotta take this role." So, yes, take note of him and praise him with great praise. 😋

The heartbreaking part about the future Elrond saw for his daughter Arwen was her actual future. After Aragorn died she wandered the forest in grief. Their love is beautiful and heartbreaking.

"Fell deeds await. Now for wrath! Now for ruin and the red dawn! *FORTH EROLINGAS!!!"* "No not alone. ROHIRRIM! *TO THE KING!!!"*

Also, when Aragorn kicks the helmet, he actually broke his toe, that's real pain in his voice! Fangorn/Treebeard is possibly one of the oldest beings in Middle Earth. He doesn't look it, but if roused to anger, he is utterly terrifying! Think of all the power an oak tree's roots used to crack concrete over centuries, but applied within seconds. That doesn't even cover the Huron's! Eru Ilúvatar is the supreme God and Creator of Tolkien's legendarium. We are talking a powerhouse that could make his son, Melkor/Morgoth sh*t himself in terror were He to become directly involved. His grandson, Sauron would be a blubbering puddle on the floor. It's believed Eru Ilúvatar directly intervened in Middle Earth only twice: The sinking of Númenor and causing Sméagol to trip. Sméagol is no longer alone in his head. Gollum, the personality that has developed over time in order to survive, is not going to give up and turn back into Sméagol. It will fight for dominance. Sam accidentally finds out about this conflict in Sméagol, he calls them Slinker and Stinker, and trusts neither. It's believed that Entwives went into the East, which is Sauron's domain and he had them killed because they refused to serve him. When Gandalf throws off his cloak, he reveals more than just his white clothes. Many of his Maiar abilities were stripped from him when he took on Human form. When Eru Ilúvatar returned him to life, those abilities were returned! Gandalf the White is the Herald of Eru Ilúvatar! Faramir was Gandalf's student. Denethor dislikes Gandalf, so he dislikes Faramir. There is a lot more to it than that. There is a Palantir in Minas Tirith and Denethor has been using it. Sauron has taken the one that was in Minas Ithil/Morgul and dominated it. Denethor sees only what Sauron lets him see and believes it. When the Elven archers arrive, Aragorn is literally the physical embodiment of that alliance! Here is something you won't believe and yet is true. For the battle at Helmsdeep scene, Peter Jackson ordered thousand extras. 250 turned up on the day. He had no choice. The 250 were put in Uru-Kai makeup and performed the scene. Spears banging on the ground, growling and so on. When it was finished, they went back to the make-up tent, took off the Uru-Kal and put on Elven Archer makeup. They stood on the wall and did that half of the scene. Here's the fun fact: The old man who fired his arrow accidentally, was real. So Peter Jackson had a bit of a laugh. He had that arrow hit the old man when he was in Uru-Kai makeup!

What I gets me is the point many miss about the 3 hunters (Aragon, Legolas & Gimili) chasing the orc band across Rohan. In the books Eomer is duly impressed with their feat. When Eomer & his troops meet up with them Aragon mentioned they had been chasing after the orcs for 45 leagues (135 miles or about 218km) ON FOOT. Hearing this, Eomer then named Aragon Wingfoot. This was too much of a scene for the film

Wonderful reaction to the best trilogy of movies ever! J.R.R. Tolkien was a lieutenant in the British Army during World War One, and the experiences in the war shaped a lot of his thoughts and directly influenced characters and scenes in the books. The brutal Battle of the Somme was one battlefield where he served. After some of the fiercest fighting storms came through inundating the fields and forests with water that stood inches deep, a foot or more in some places. He saw the corpses of young soldiers lying dead under the water, some horribly disfigured by the wounds that killed them but others looking as if they were only sleeping. This obviously shaped the journey through the mire and all the corpses there from this movie. Officers did, and may still, have a soldier who was their batsman, bodyguard, general helper and aide. These men were often loyal to the death to their officers. This relationship obviously shaped the relationship between Frodo and Sam. And like many of us you also think that everyone needs a Sam in their lives. But the other part of that is that we all need to be a Sam for others too. So many brilliant actors with so many brilliant performances in this movie, but Bernard Hill's turn as Theoden in this movie was stellar. He rose and became Theoden, so that we all felt that he knew exactly what Theoden was feeling and expressed it perfectly. His "No parent should ever have to bury their child." scene ripped my heart out. But that happened so many times in this trilogy, and I've known these stories since my childhood so I knew what would happen for the most part! One of the downsides of the trilogy of movies is that sometimes, even in extended editions, they couldn't give some characters their due. Denethor, father of Boromir and Faramir, gets short shrift here. He's just presented as Middle Earth's worst father, but in truth he had been driven mad by Sauron through a Palantir. The Palantiri, like the one Saruman has that he used to communicate with Sauron, were three stones basically created by the elves to be seeing stones, like crystal balls that the users could utilize to see what was happening in other places. But over the centuries since their creation they had been warped and corrupted by Sauron so that he could exert his will through them and corrupt or destroy the minds of the users. Even powerful Wizards like Saruman were not immune to this slow corruption of their minds, and mere mortals such as Denethor, who had a Palantir and tried to use it to spy on what was happening within Mordor so he could be prepared to defend Gondor, were easily driven mad by Sauron. This is why he's acting like a jackass in the movie. The Wizards are actually more like angels, sent by the gods to help men defeat the demonic evils that they faced. Since the people of Middle Earth needed to learn how to be strong for themselves, the Wizards were sent to only advise and give counsel so the free folk could win on their own. Gandalf the Grey is the one we see in the books and movies who stands true to his directives. Saruman the White, the wisest and strongest of them all in the beginning, was corrupted through the Palantir by Sauron and turned to evil. Radagast the Brown was in his own way corrupted by the natural world and abandoned his mission to live as a recluse in nature, hidden away from all the sentient peoples of the world but surrounded by animals. It is thought that Gandalf sent a message to Radagast for help through the moth in the first movie, and Radagast sent a giant eagle to rescue him from the top of Isengard. The other two Wizards, the Blue Wizards, are only said to have disappeared into the east soon after the Wizards arrived in Middle Earth, and what they did is unknown.

"No parent should have to bury their child." I've done it twice, that is a pain that never ends.

There's no real reason to prefer one of these movies to the other, they are all part of the same whole. The book "trilogy" really isn't, it is just one single book published in three parts because of the length. In fact, the novel is actually divided into SIX books, two books per part. Tolkien tended to keep the narrative of the battles separate from the narrative of the ring's journey (for instance, book three follows Aragorn, while we don't see Frodo again until book four). Peter Jackson and his writers deserve a lot of credit for pulling Tolkien's threads together in a more cinematic fashion. Tolkien deserves credit because he was such a historian that his threads fit together. By contrast, George Lucas may have had some ideas beyond his first Star Wars movie, but no one could have anticipated that it would be the hit it became, which allowed him to make the sequels. It could have just ended with one movie. The narrative he came up with made it seem as if that was the plan all along. Many sequels are just "let's do it again" like Tugg Speedman's Scorched franchise.

Ian McKellen (Gandalf) doesn’t play dumbledore.. however he did start off in theater along side Patrick Stewart!!! Bernard Hill (King Theoden) is the captain in Titanic!! Worm tongue is Brad Douriff(voice of Chucky the doll)

The orc-draught that Ugluk (the Uruk-leader) pours into Merry is a mix of peach ice tea, glycerine and soda stream cola concentrate. Dominic Monaghan said that "It couldn't get any more sticky, like liquid glue.". The first take the vomit was acting but the second take it was for real as he felt how gross that stuff was.

Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Brett Beattie (Gimli's scale and stunt double) were all injured when they run through Rohan at the start. Mortensen broke his toes when he kicked the helmet at the pyre (his scream was real as he felt the pain of his toes and used it for the acting), Bloom fell off his horse during the Warg fight and cracked a couple of ribs, which prevented him from actually doing the horse stunt (because of the ribs, he only reached out for the horse, then he's morphed into a digital double which completed the stunt, he wasn't in the pickup shooting as he was filming Ned Kelly in 2002 and the people behind that movie forbade him from shaving his facial hair) and Beattie had dislocated his knee, so they had to run for miles and miles (in total) while having their injuries.

My little fun fact to throw your way. Treebeard and Gimli are the same actor, and in order to get the voice for Treebeard, he spoke through a weird wooden funnel to make his voice sound more bellowing and gruff. No digital editing at all!

This is the song Eowyn sang at Theodreds burial: Now dear Théodred lies in darkness, most loyal of fighters. The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior; nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup, nor good hawk swing through the hall, nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard. An evil death has set forth the noble warrior A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels of Meduseld That noble cousin, who always held me dear Now is held in darkness, enclosed. (Now in in the language of the Èitheod) Nú on théostrum licgeth Théodred se léofa hae letha holdost. ne sceal hearpan sweg wigend weccean; ne winfae't gylden guma sceal healdan, ne god hafoc geond sae' I swingan, ne se swifta mearh burhstede beatan. Bealocwealm hafad fréone frecan forth onsended giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende Add a reply...

First time ive seen a KZfaq reactor put their own ‘Extended Edition’ videos out. Very creative.

Excellent reaction! So glad you are doing the trilogy back to back without other stuff between them! Can't wait for Return of the King reaction!!

Happy you’ve shared this experience with us all. You’ve gained a new subscriber 👍🏻

Sam's line "By all rights we shouldn't be here! But we are." is a nod to the fact that in the book, Faramir doesn't take Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Osgiliath. It was invented for the movie to expand the story and giving a more satisfying climax (as the climax of Shelob would have clashed against Helm's Deep, and it didn't happen with the events of Helm's Deep, it happened during The Siege of Minas Tirith which happens in The Return of the King) and to give Faramir some growth and development (in the book Faramir says to the hobbits "I wouldn't have picked it (The Ring) up if it was laying by the wayside." which doesn't work for a movie).

Funny Gandolf says "the people of Rohan will need you" to Aragorn you say "hope" Aragorn was known as Estel by the elves when Young, Estel means hope in elvish

I remember from the extra features that Gimli's costume weighted nearly 30 kg., meaning that John-Rhys Davies did not have to pretend running out of breath.

8:00 So refreshing to hear someone say "Strider." Thank you

I'm probably not the first to say this, but the voice of Treebeard was supplied by the same actor who plays Gimli - John Rhys-Davis, who, by the way, is one of the tallest members of the cast standing at 6'1". Pretty tall for a dwarf!

Wow i just realized, watching the scene... I've got on my LOTR t-shirt with Sam's speech on it. Cool coincidence.

Sometimes when people adapt scripts they come up with wrong ideas (the movie Faramir is a joke), but they also come up with great ideas. Like including an outfit of elven archers at Helm's Deep. In the books the Elves did not show up and helped, but it was a great idea to change that and give a nod to the history and some great emotional pay-off both when they arrive and when Haldir dies.

Aragorn revealed he is 87 years old.

I love the little details in these movies. Like how throughout this movie Saruman's face and robes become dirtier and dirtier loosing their whiteness. Where as in the 3rd movie Gandalf's robes stay bleached white.

I almost spoiled with a comment to FOTR by explaining the ringwraiths avoiding water. They're undead but the horses weren't. Now Sauron upgraded their rides.

Don't forget the big rule of movie watching, nobody is dead until you see a body.

Someone else has probably already mentioned this, but just in case not - Gandalf coming back makes more sense if you know things from the books. Namely, the fact that Gandalf is a Maiar, effectively a type of angelic spirit sent to middle earth to guide people. Saruman is one too, as are Sauron and the Balrog (though Sauron and the Balrog turned to evil long ago, and Saruman obviously did so in the immediate prior to the story beginning). All of Gandalf's order of wizards are Maiar sent to Middle Earth to counteract Sauron, but Gandalf is the only one who really manages to stay on mission over the millenia, and so he is the only one to eventually be able to return to the Undying Lands (basically the afterlife and also home of the Valar (gods) and Maiar (Angels).

Happy New Year Liala! Great Reaction!

Eru Iluvatar trolling everyone in middle earth like a 10 year old playing the Sims. Love it..

Another fun time watching this movie with you.

It's interesting but the scenes with Faramir and his father really affect me. And I had a good relationship with my father, so that is not the issue, but I think because I did I can only imagine the pain of a father treating his son that way.

Eowyn seems to be a great person to most. But she was, in fact, suicidal. She had lost hope. Her wish to fight only came from her hope of a death in freedom. She also feared to be remembered badly. Thats why she had chosen battle as her death, instead of killing herself. She had lost her parents, her brother was banished, her uncle was with his remaining warriors to face a superior enemy and certain death, her cousin was slain in a skirmish. She feared to be enslaved. She saw no victory for her people and only death or slavery. That is why she wanted to fight. Because living seemed not worth it. A sad charakter.

"I'm hoping I don't cry in this video." Narrator: She cried.

Having seen LOTR countless times its always a treat to see it through someone else's eyes. Great reaction and looking forward to watching The Return Of The King reaction.👏🏾

I like it when people say things and I reply to the video "just wait, it's coming". I have read the book twice, saw a cartoon film many years ago and have watched the trilogy at least twice a year, yeah, nothing else to do. There is a lot missing from the book as they could not put it all in the films, they could've made another couple of films if they had put it all in.

I really love your reactions. I have to say however that when you see the size of Saruman's Army your comment (as are many others BTW) "That's not fair", you have to understand battles and war are not sport, and Tolkien as a veteran of WWI well knew, and they are never meant to be "fair". Good rule to remember in the world we live in. God bless and seriously, be of good cheer, keep the faith no matter what, and have a happy new year always whatever it brings, just like Sam in LOTR.

beautiful reaction

And the connection of Viggo and the horses were REAL. To a point he actually kept the Chestnut and the Bay horses as well as the white one Arwen rides. I dont think that scene would have been that perfectly done and touching if that wasnt the case. ❤

thanks for reaction

I actually like the first movie best, because the hobbits are so cute and they did such a great job recreating the Shire. I also love the incredibly beautiful art and architecture of Rivendell. I read the books at age 16 and have reread them regularly since, and I also liked the first book best.

My favorite trilogy and films! PS you look like a Sindar elf lol! Happy new year! :D

Whoever your editor is they are quite skilled. You show scenes that no other reactors do and which in my estimation are very important to the story's mastery & coherency. They chose a good face for the channel in you. You are both beautiful, emotional & passionate and able to make reasonable & relevant comments. More importantly, it is fun to watch these films with you. Best of luck to you all.

Happy New Year dear lady. I am so liking your reactions. The third film will bring all manor of tears. There are many causes of tears. You'll see. Be safe.

It's important to remember that the wizards are not human. They are incarnated in the form of old men (because they are meant to give advice and encouragement, not command or overawe) but that isn't what they are.

Andy Serkis deserves so much more credit than he gets. Physically doing everything you see Smeagol do on screen is amazing. I was a little lost in the first film, and didn't fully appreciate it yet. But when my bassist showed me this, it all came together, and I fell in love for ever. And it only gets better.

My personal favorite LotR movie.

Love this movie. Shadowfax is the coolest name for a Horse Lord ever!

35:49 Ah, double potatoes, "roasties" AND mashed. I like the cut of your jib.

Очень хорошо провёл время , спасибо тебе , ты очень милая❤✌

Honestly, what really bothered me all these years is Sam and all his gear. How did he get all these pots? I mean, at the end of TFOTR we saw him running into a lake without having any of them. And at the very start of Two Towers he's like master chef.

It's good to reflect that Éowyn is 24 when she meets Aragorn and he is 87, even if he looks to be in his mid forty's that's a pretty significant age difference in human terms, besides being betrothed to Arwen. Arwen is actually 2700 and her grandmother Galadriel Is Over 8000 Years Old. Elves age very differently than humans and time effects them differently. Also Elves only marry once in their long lives and usually have few heirs.

So happy to see you on this greatest trilogy, maybe of all time.

In my opinion, part 2 was the best of the three. 😊

What did the Uruk-hai give Merry? 10W30 motor oil!

7:40 Buckfast

Helms Deep might have held out a bit longer if whoever designed and built it has had more than two brain cell's to run together.

Happy New Year ❤

Who better to play Grima Wormtongue than Charles Lee Ray himself...

Happy New Year🎉

Happy New Year Liala, let's rock through 2024, outstanding new video, you're so beautiful and cool, much love 💖🎉🥂

😊😊

I am GROOOOT!!

glad to see your reaction. hope you enjoy the final film!

performative

Unfortunately they will not find the entwives. Suron exterminated them and burnt their gardens that lay north of Mordor to ash in the second age. Not a single one escaped him and now the once most beautiful place in middle earth is just a dead 100 miles long dessert where nothing has grown for over 3000 years.

Everyone wants a Sam in there life. Instead, we should all strive to be a Sam. The world would be a much better place if we did.

ALREADY - OK

UMM EXCUSE ME MISS BUT YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS BEING THIS STUNNING😍😍 Happy new years gorgeous girl, see you in Scotland once I'm back? 💖✨

This is my favourite opening to any film. Love the reaction.

Literal glow-up !

A Re-Up 🙏U❣

What are "roasties"?

Sam said: every orc in Mordor is going to hear this racket! Good thing they weren’t in Mordor yet. Nowhere near it.

Awesome reaction of my favorite The Lord Of The Rings movie!!!!😊😊😊😊

❤

Yes, you nailed it. “Everyone needs a Sam.”

Liala you are gorgeous ❤❤❤

Repost?

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Great reaction you will cry in the last movie Happy New Year

Really? No one is talking about Viggos toe?

You are so cute🤩. Sam is my favorit character. "Samvais the brave"

Didnt you watch these already..?

The ring isn't getting physically heavy,it's getting heavier on his spirit

Yeah! "Piece Awff! 🤓

She looks so mixed. Is she half black and white 😀

Oh lawd is this a blind watch and pls get the books

The Hobbit when?