That throwing weapon Aragorn used in Helm's Deep. It's overly heavy, hairy and moves around too much to get a good toss in.
@swaghauler83344 жыл бұрын
They were playing "pitch the midget!"
@scholagladiatoria4 жыл бұрын
I try not to discuss tossing openly on the channel.
@Mortablunt4 жыл бұрын
@@scholagladiatoria Yes, Matt "Penetation" "Butt" "Thrust" Easton blushes as tossing.
@muninrob4 жыл бұрын
And..... you can't tell the elves.....
@Peter_Wendt4 жыл бұрын
Aragorn has some upper body strength! That thing isn't light.
@OllihuAkbar4 жыл бұрын
Undead king riding a nazgûl? Hate to be a nerd but he's actually the nazgûl and the flying lizard is called a fell beast.
@bentrieschmann4 жыл бұрын
Was about to say the same thing.
@madao78654 жыл бұрын
Yes but do we have reason to assume that he isn't riding other nazgûl?
@armorfrogentertainment4 жыл бұрын
@@madao7865 giggity
@willek13354 жыл бұрын
@@madao7865 KappaPride
@rm2kking4 жыл бұрын
Madao those creatures aren’t given a proper name. They are just referred to as “fell beasts” as in dark/evil creatures. It is also true that this cost co fusion amongst cast and crew, to the point many of the actors also thought the beast itself is walled a Nazgûl. It’s mostly because the Witch King, who IS a Nazgûl, has a line just after he orders his beast to eat Theoden King, and he tell Eowen “do not stand between a Nazgûl and his prey”, which does make it seem as if he’s talking about his mount, when in reality he was just referring to himself in the third-person.
@tentringer40654 жыл бұрын
The arrowhead are that shape to comply with Elf and Safety regulations.
@scholagladiatoria4 жыл бұрын
Hmm, the elves DO sound British. This may be correct.
@ilejovcevski794 жыл бұрын
Good one! =))
@politedog49594 жыл бұрын
Are they OSHA approved?
@levifontaine81864 жыл бұрын
They're from California. They have local statutes on how effective weapons are legally allowed to be.
@t.c.bramblett6174 жыл бұрын
@@levifontaine8186 Damn Elves and their anti-assault arrow laws. Tree huggers
@borismuller864 жыл бұрын
Saruman: *“TO WAR!”* Matt: “Hold on. I’ve got a few questions about your weapon choices.”
@sergireig4 жыл бұрын
I've read this comment with Matt's voice
@Jandau854 жыл бұрын
Well, MAYBE if he had listened to Matt his army wouldn't have lost the battle of Helm's Deep...
@lavrentivs98914 жыл бұрын
@@Jandau85 Yepp, those pikes were completely useless against cavalry.
@lavrentivs98914 жыл бұрын
@Singha Mura A "good uruk" seems like a contradiction to me^^
@shawn0921824 жыл бұрын
Lavrentivs an uruk was good enough to give Merry medicine and saved both Merry and Pippen from the Mordor orc that tried to eat them.
@philipzahn4914 жыл бұрын
The witch king doesn't ride a nazgul, he *is* one.
@Mortablunt4 жыл бұрын
NYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUURRRRRRRRRRRRD!!
@christosvoskresye4 жыл бұрын
You don't want to mess with anything that rides a Nazgul.
@SuperTantePeter4 жыл бұрын
This comment deserves more upvotes. Get your facts straight Matt Easton Schola Gladiatoria!
@Peter_Wendt4 жыл бұрын
@@christosvoskresye What if it's another, sexier Nazgul?
@christosvoskresye4 жыл бұрын
@@Peter_Wendt Great Nazgul have little Nazgul upon their backs to bite 'em, And little Nazgul have lesser Nazgul, and so ad infinitum. And the great Nazgul themselves, in turn, have greater Nazgul to go on; While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on.
@Ogre-zr5zk4 жыл бұрын
Director: "The elves need leaf bladed arrow head. " Prop Dept. Apprentice: searches for 'Leaf bladed' and finds pics of leaf bladed Boar spears: "Wow it's like a giant arrow, I can just make mini ones."
@Ragnarok66644 жыл бұрын
Aye 😉👌🏻
@londiniumarmoury70374 жыл бұрын
"The spiteful elves created these arrows so that they do not kill their enemies, but instead wound them, so that the hateful elf can watch them suffer and bleed, being kept alive and taken to their disgusting tree gulags." Sincerely a Dwarf.
@commonpepe22704 жыл бұрын
sounds about right to me
@blackhornedmountainchicken37204 жыл бұрын
That doesn't make it any less silly though. So elves just want to inflict non life threatening injuries then? Oh ok, it must be so that the opponent can make there way home to heal up with nothing more than a scar (most likely) to be then reorganized, launch an attack rinse and repeat? Now that's just poor planning and just inviting unnecessary casualties on the side of the elves.
@BeingFireRetardant4 жыл бұрын
Matt says he's an accomplished archer... Yet says these arrowheads would only penetrate about an inch? Clearly he does not hunt whitetail in Michigan, where broadheads routinely rip the hearts and lungs out of thousands of deer per year. For bowhunters, this is completely normal, to use and arrow that opens up to two or more inches. Those elven arrowheads had a leading bodkin point, with two trailing broadspikes. Not exactly a bad design, enough to punch armor, much more effective on flesh. Notice all those stills showed them aiming at the faces? A headshot from that arrow would be 100% fatal. Any other hit would indeed penetrate, deeply, if not pass through entirely. Matt is just plain wrong on this. Also, if he has a bitch, why not bitch about how Frodo's Mithrail would never have stopped the ogre's stab wound, ever, in any way. He would have died of crushed lungs, broken ribs, and a shattered breastbone, at best...
@Lyulfr4 жыл бұрын
@@BeingFireRetardant But those were not broadheads, they were more like a mini boar spear head, with a guard to stop them from going in too far.
@BeingFireRetardant4 жыл бұрын
@@Lyulfr _____ I know. You're right, but it was a close parallel. There is a KZfaq channel called Tod's Workshop I think, he does all medieval archery stuff, arrowheads specifically. Back in the day they had a bunch of different styles and points for various purposes. Some looked just like the elven heads... But here we are, in the real world, debating what fantasy creatures might be armed with, trying to debate the tactics of creatures that didn't exist, when the entire shape of these arrowheads was a simple decision by a production supervisor assistant to the prop master, who said, "just make them like pointy leaves... and make a hundred of them." It was likely no more complex than that.
@benjaminlammertz644 жыл бұрын
To quote the actor who played the witchking: "Some people call it a mace, some people call it a morning star... i just called it a 'damn heavy'. 'Cause it was DAMN HEAVY."
@kaziglubey44554 жыл бұрын
And the dude who played him, Lawrence Makoare, is 6'4 and used to do road construction, he is a big dude. If HE thinks it was heavy, I don't think that I could lift it.
@Asbjoern1353 жыл бұрын
@@kaziglubey4455have you seen the clip of peter jackson swinging it around in 2 swings he wraps himself up and almost fall over
@s8theninjawarrior9163 жыл бұрын
@@Asbjoern135 I want the link lol
@Blokewood32 жыл бұрын
@@Asbjoern135 the one Jackson swings around was an earlier model, and when asked if it was big enough, Jackson said he thought it was 50% too small!
@giulyanoviniciussanssilva29472 жыл бұрын
Believe me Peter Jackson thinks he wasn't big enough.
@realUlfricStormcloak4 жыл бұрын
Theoden: SHIELD SHALL BE SPLINTERED! Shield: Nope.
@Evil_Peter4 жыл бұрын
The Witch King did splinter the shield that Eowyn held.
@GOAT-rl2uq4 жыл бұрын
SHIELDS SHALL BE CARRIED BUT NOT USED TO AVOID SPLINTERING
@Ragnarok66644 жыл бұрын
GOAT health & safety gone mad! 😂
@JainaSoloB3122 жыл бұрын
@@Evil_Peter Ohh you're right. Foreshadowing
@tva7263 Жыл бұрын
Oh but some were splintered when the horses were stepped on by the oliphants
@DerTypDa4 жыл бұрын
There's actually a bit about the Witchking's flail in some of the behind the scenes segments. Basically, any time the prop people delivered the flail, Peter Jackson would ask them to go back and make it bigger. That happened like four times in a row until it ended up at that silly size. During the actual filming they had people just out of frame holding up the flail head, because even the Witchking's actor simply couldn't lift it with one hand alone.
@kravcio4 жыл бұрын
The prop guy even said he was embarassed carrying such a silly weapon onto the set.
@The_Jimplication4 жыл бұрын
The fella that played the witch king of Angmar, said that when they filmed the fight with Eowyn that he dislocated his shoulder swinging the damned flail.
@vanuaturly4 жыл бұрын
Yeah the head weighed something like 30 pounds made of rubber.
@dynamicworlds14 жыл бұрын
kzfaq.info/get/bejne/kKd_Z9dpm52WmJc.html Link
@SibylleLeon4 жыл бұрын
Came here to say this... It's Peter Jackson being Peter Jackson, lol, and he wanted it ludicrously big. It's still silly, mind you, but intentionally silly.
4 жыл бұрын
Matt Easton : "Why not hold the shield in front of you?" Rohirrim : "DEATH!"
@NotoriusMaximus3 жыл бұрын
Shields will interfere with horses held in front. Held on the left arm will be obscured by body because it all filmed from the right side.
@GonzoTehGreat2 жыл бұрын
@@NotoriusMaximus There are literally images of shields strapped to saddles as they're charging... Also, some warriors (~10%) would be left handed.
@lightwalker222 Жыл бұрын
@@GonzoTehGreat Yeah but for a lot of history left handed people would be taught to write, fight, etc with their right hand anyway
@samuraijaco14 жыл бұрын
Fun fact: they designed the Witch King’s flail was designed as a joke, but apparently PJ liked it so much that they put it in the movie... I agree, though, I’ve never liked that fail.
@Peter_Wendt4 жыл бұрын
(Points at Aboc Stark) Feast upon his flesh.
@johannageisel53904 жыл бұрын
I like your Freudian typo there... :D
@cariboubearmalachy11744 жыл бұрын
The flail is so big it becomes obvious it will be cumbersome and slow to use, and therefore, easy to dodge.
@GonzoTehGreat4 жыл бұрын
With a weapon that large, he's obviously compensating for something...
@harrylangton32064 жыл бұрын
Jackson also asked for it to be made bigger and bigger until he got what we see today
@christophermanners15824 жыл бұрын
Yeah, that one line in _Return of the King_ confuses so many people. The Witch-King of Angmar isn't riding a Nazgûl, he _is_ a Nazgûl. The thing he rides is referred to as some kind of "fell beast".
@johnladuke64754 жыл бұрын
Must have also confused Tolkein when he describes the origins of the Nazgul as mounts for Ringwraiths in the actual books?
@nirfz4 жыл бұрын
@@johnladuke6475 sir, you are mistaken. Feel free to look it up again. (I did, just to make sure because i remember the winged creatures not having a name in the books.)
@zenhydra4 жыл бұрын
@@johnladuke6475 No
@darthplagueis134 жыл бұрын
Well.... Maybe he's riding Nazgûls in his free time....
@jemholland69644 жыл бұрын
@@johnladuke6475 Nazgul literally means ringwraith.
@dlatrexswords4 жыл бұрын
“Ditch the shields!” Things I never thought I’d hear Matt say. ;-)
@davidw66844 жыл бұрын
Well it all depends on the "context" does it not? Sorry I could not resist :)
@jamesfrankiewicz57684 жыл бұрын
And why are the shields hanging from the right-hand side of the horses? Left side for travel might make sense (just reach down with the offhand and lift), but the right side makes no sense.
@Ocker34 жыл бұрын
@@jamesfrankiewicz5768 unless the camera is mostly on the right side, and you want those expensive shields in the shot. Also, I imagine that learning to ride with a shield and reins in the left hand (it's a huge wind barrier) while waving a weapon in the right just took more time than they had.
@Axterix134 жыл бұрын
@@jamesfrankiewicz5768 Well, one could try to justify it as the shields being there for when they fight on foot, and that side being the side they dismount on. Though, of course, it would make more sense to dismount on the side without the big shield in the way.
@64standardtrickyness4 жыл бұрын
what about 1) strapping the shield to your forearm and using the weapons 2 handed like the macedonian phalanx 2) using it to close and ditching it at the last moment.
@malm62844 жыл бұрын
The context of the "Easterlings" is that they are marching to join Mordors army, not participate in an ongoing battle. They may just be transporting all of their gear and could switch weapon combination for a conflict, they should just wear the shields on their back tho.
@s.w.44094 жыл бұрын
They are seen wearing the same equipment in battle, at the siege of minas tirith.
@DG-jq7il4 жыл бұрын
My thoughts exactly, and while lined up for the siege, it could be they are doing the same until they actually engage.
@s.w.44094 жыл бұрын
@@DG-jq7il Well.. In the Movie they are seen inside minas tirith storming through the gate, with halberts and shields...
@1209HTF4 жыл бұрын
@@s.w.4409 Honest question, when? I can only remember orcs storming minas tirith.
@otwk4 жыл бұрын
@@1209HTF They're seen in the background for a very brief moment (maybe only in the Extended Edition, I'm not sure).
@timbonnell37354 жыл бұрын
They probably brought pikes just in case of an open attack on the plains as they marched towards Helms Deep. That's why the pikemen (pikeorcs?) were at the back of the pack once the siege started. Love your videos man. Much respect from Canada.
@philipzahn4914 жыл бұрын
Shouldn't dwarves carry pole weapons to make up for their short height?
@scholagladiatoria4 жыл бұрын
That is a whole video topic right there.
@ArkadiBolschek4 жыл бұрын
@@scholagladiatoria Well then, make it so! :D
@adrianfirewalker41834 жыл бұрын
Definitely
@Glimmlampe19824 жыл бұрын
Shad has a video on that ;) (Which I only partially agree with. I think short weapons combined with incredibly strong armor and especially helmets would make them even better. )
@pegzounet4 жыл бұрын
IIRC, skallagrim did one also
@marcusclaudius2664 жыл бұрын
Calling it the "original" trilogy in the wake of Christopher Tolkien's death is scaring me to think that they might be about to remake it. I don't think I could handle a Disney-fied remake of LOTR in the vein of Star Wars' new trilogy.
@andypanda49274 жыл бұрын
Disney! Did you know Bambi eats ground nesting baby birds? Apropos only as a metaphor for Disney 'faux remakes'.
@LuxisAlukard4 жыл бұрын
Well, you don't have to handle it. Just don't watch it And I think Amazon was planning to make a series, it was announced 2-3 years ago.
@ashwilliams6664 жыл бұрын
I hope the rigths are in good hands now
@mikeyteee954 жыл бұрын
To be fair, Christopher Tolkien had already stood down from being in charge of the Tolkien estate (the rights got sold to Amazon pretty much immediately after that). We'll see how that series goes... I'm still half-expecting Sauron to pop up as the next Marvel villain.
@butchjohnson97364 жыл бұрын
I assume he is talking about the Hobbit atrocities.
@adrianfirewalker41834 жыл бұрын
Re: Elven Arrowheads; they were shaped vaguely likr the Brooch Pins that Galadriel gave to the members of the Fellowship. Imho, the similarities were deliberately inclu,dad, or the Fellowship was surprised by a group of Elven rabbit hunters?
@hybrid_grizzly4 жыл бұрын
It's a design common to most elven weapons, Sting is the same shape, Glamdring is less pronounced but still bulges slightly in the middle
@KuLaydMahn4 жыл бұрын
Leaf-blades are a thing to my knowledge. I think both the Greeks and Celts used them sometimes. Ive mainly seen them on spears but I think it could work for a cut & thrust type weapon. But the problem with the elven arrows I think is the cross-guard shape at the base of the head. That would bring most of the arrows to a dead stop at about...what? An inch in? It's possible that the arrows weren't designed to be lethal. Maybe it was equivalent to a taser? Just enough to wound and impede the target so they could be captured alive.
@chestermc99544 жыл бұрын
@@KuLaydMahn Leaf-blades were definitely common in Greece, especially in spearheads. The Greek Xiphos which Frodo's sword Sting is based on has a leaf shaped blade.
@Yora214 жыл бұрын
@@KuLaydMahn The elves are shooting safety arrows.
@andrewking61784 жыл бұрын
@@Yora21 Exactly my thoughts! This was a police patrol with elven equivalent of rubber rounds. :D
@RJRobledo74 жыл бұрын
The One Ring for me, definitely. Completely unrealistic and historically inaccurate...
@MrUnreal91114 жыл бұрын
You can throw it like you would throw a pommel.
@kevinbrady60754 жыл бұрын
Das Rheingold
@somerando10734 жыл бұрын
@Conker Von Douchebag There was one historical cavalry that could, The Polish Hussars with their 18' kopia lances could beat pike head on.
@Peter_Wendt4 жыл бұрын
@Conker Von Douchebag Orcs fighting in the daytime. Even if they're Uruks, they're not at their best.
@christosvoskresye4 жыл бұрын
@@kevinbrady6075 Ring of Gyges
@peterclarke72404 жыл бұрын
The witchking's weapon was clearly impractical, despite being enormous. One might say it was an epic flail... I'll see myself out.
@needfoolthings4 жыл бұрын
Don't. Some people acknowledge a good pun when they see one.
@peterclarke72404 жыл бұрын
@@needfoolthings cheers, dude 😂
@billywong16114 жыл бұрын
Or he might be trying to compensate for something else, or the lack of dangling...
@rocketraccoon19763 жыл бұрын
@@billywong1611 That's what I was thinking. Dude's balls probably shriveled up thousands of years ago as he was transformed into a wraith. 😁
@chadh34413 жыл бұрын
Hah! Hell yes man, good puns are still appreciated! Glad you haven't changed it. Lol
@Amaritudine4 жыл бұрын
I might be wrong, but the Uruk-Hai pikes look like they're trying to evoke the silhouette of a rifle with a bayonet. Peter Jackson's fond of WWI imagery, and he was well aware that Tolkien's own military experience had influnced his writing. As for the Rohirrim and their shields: I can give them a pass on this one. They use shields whenever they're fighting on foot, so it makes sense for them to ride into battle prepared for all outcomes. Same goes for the Easterlings and their shield/halberd combination. We never actually see them trying to fight with both weapons at the same time - we only encounter them when they're on the march. They might simply be on their way to war prepared to fight either with halberds, OR with sword and shield, depending on the opposition they encounter. [Edit to add: according to other commenters, we DO in fact see Easterlings fighting at Minas Tirith with shields and halberds. My mistake, I guess I forgot that detail despite having watched the extended trilogy many times.]
@MonkeyJedi994 жыл бұрын
The vast majority of the riders in that scene are just New Zealanders who showed up with their own horses. Getting them costumes and riding in a formation was hard enough, never mind getting them skilled in riding with a shield in hand.
@Amaritudine4 жыл бұрын
@@MonkeyJedi99 Coincidentally, the majority of those riders are women wearing fake beards. There simply weren't enough men available who could ride well enough, and they needed a big crowd. Bernard Hill, Theoden's actor, deserves credit for his horsemanship in the Pelennor Fields scene, too. He's left-handed, but had to hold his sword in his right hand for the scene where he rides down the ranks, clinking his weapon against their spears. It was the lightweight aluminium prop sword, but still pretty impressive to have that level of control while making a lot of noise right in front of a line of skittish horses, and using his off-hand to boot.
@lavrentivs98914 жыл бұрын
It would have been interesting to see what scenes like these would have looked like if there was still professional cavalry units that could be employed for big films. (Similairly to how the Red Army was used for films like Waterloo or Royal Marines in Alexander)
@magnocain4 жыл бұрын
I think that I heard somewhere that the hook on the pikes was to assist in raising ladders during the siege. That would only justify like 10% of them, though.
@Jaguardragoon4 жыл бұрын
Magnocain yes I read that on the LOTR Visual guide that had writing and pics of all the weapons and armors from the movies.
@fendelphi4 жыл бұрын
The thing is, if they got attacked on route to the siege, their enemy(most likely Rohan riders) would have a hard time engaging massive blocks of pikes.
@CharlemagneIfrit4 жыл бұрын
Good luck climbing said ladder after you have it raised while carrying one of those.
@OceanHedgehog4 жыл бұрын
@@CharlemagneIfrit None of the Uruk Hai fighting within Helm's Deep used a pike in combat. It's obvious that they ditched them as soon as it was time to enter the fray.
@AnimalMotha3 жыл бұрын
@@fendelphi Even more to the point, the siege was definetly not what Saruman wanted. Check out this super detailed and in-depth series about the choices that led to the battle of Helms Deep: acoup.blog/2020/05/01/collections-the-battle-of-helms-deep-part-i-bargaining-for-goods-at-helms-gate/
@jordanreeseyre4 жыл бұрын
I'm fairly forgiving of distorting weapon sizes in film as there's usually a bit of wiggle room as to scale om film. The Witch kings flail is a perfect example. We almost never see it stationary in a wide shot so its actual size of the prop is pretty well concealed while still looking imposing on a 2D screen.
@jedidiahdavis71472 жыл бұрын
Peter Jackson told them to make the Witch King's flail bigger like three times before he was satisfied and would proceed. He wanted it outlandishly big for whatever reason
@PD-xj9rk2 жыл бұрын
I think the only thing that makes sense, so my head cannon, is that the Witchking just wasn't concerned about being beat. It was his favorite weapon and thought he was invincible.
@williammoore19174 жыл бұрын
@scholagladiatoria As to the Elven arrow heads, Every scene I can find where they aren't pointed at a hero(all clips here are pointed at "friendly" targets) the elves use normal arrow heads. I suspect your hunting/not really lethal arrowheads were on purpose. In those scenes the Elves were not attacking, but gently persuading the heroes. Legolas, from what I can make out the elves at helms deep, and the elves in the battle of the five armies all use normal arrow heads.
@kwanarchive4 жыл бұрын
So they carry multiple types of arrowheads at all times on the off chance they may need to use one type in a rare situation?
@taylor_green_94 жыл бұрын
@@kwanarchive To be fair, it sounds like something that elves would do
@gwennblei4 жыл бұрын
@@kwanarchive I might be wrong, but I think when they threaten the heros they're at home in their forests ? Maybe they just carry hunting heads around when they're not expecting battle ?
@bavarianpotato4 жыл бұрын
I thought the same thing as@@gwennblei. The only sensible explanation is that the elves were not expecting to fight but were out for hunting, and therefore had hunting heads in their quivers in that specific scene.
@mungo71364 жыл бұрын
Checked battle of the Helms Deep. As Aragorn orders them to get ready to fire and just before the release of the volley, there are few moments where you can see the tips. They have this wings. As for the tips themselves - if properly thin and sharpened (and elf are supposed to be masters of the fine details - thus no contradiction here) they should go much deeper than Matt's 1 inch and cut the tissues even bone in the process. Armor? Eternal problem of the movies. Orks and Saruman's creations are brutes that seems to wear thick armor hardly to be penetrated by the man's power. Yet even human archers can kill them. So they wear useless movie-armor made of the wet (it is raining) toilet paper and it is of no issue for this arrowheads
@wolf29654 жыл бұрын
The real question is - did they make those arrowheads before or after the infamous incident where an actual dagger has accidentally been thrown at Viggo Mortensen who had to knock it out of the air with his sword?
@hardlyworking13513 жыл бұрын
Regarding the Rohan and their shields, i'd always thought that they were modelled more on the Anglo-Saxons at the time of the Battle of Hastings, where they rode to battle but dismounted to fight. In the books there is the battle of the Fords of Isen before Helms Deep (which is where Theodred dies) and in that battle they are said to have dismounted and fought on foot in a shield wall, i'd imagine that was their preferred style of combat. I think in popular culture they've become synonymous with being an 'all mounted' military culture, mostly because in the books and films they are always 'charging to the rescue' but i don't neccessarily think that was the original intention, while they do revere horses and they are part of their iconography etc. it isn't neccessarily the case that they are equivalent of something like the huns or mongols who's entire military was geared around mounted troops. That is borne out by their equipment, they wear particularly heavy armour for a culture based around mounted combat, round shields are hardly optimal (but they are explicitly stated as using round shields). That would go some way to explain why they carry heavy round shields rather than something like a Kite Shield
@PalleRasmussen3 жыл бұрын
The Rohirrim, and before them their Eotheod and Eothraim forefathers have a heavily cavalry based army. The Battle in North Ithilien, Ride of Eorl, Ride of Theoden, Eomer's force, and Aragon having ridden with them tells us so. Their banner also gives a hint. In UT we learn that they also have infantry, but not mounted infantry- they walked to battle.
@Metikoi4 жыл бұрын
Ironically, having handled a bunch of these props, the latex heads on the polearms actually make them lighter than the solid wood of the shields, those easterling ones in particular. (I guarded some weta buildings & weta decorates with props).
@JainaSoloB3122 жыл бұрын
That's so cool!
@dlatrexswords4 жыл бұрын
I believe you’ve already said this in a recent video but my main gripe is the lack of “arming sword” representation among the heroes in particular. Boromir’s sword for example is quite short in the blade next to all the long swords they are handing out, and yet the still put a two handed grip on it. Theoden was given a onehanded sword, which keeps it at least a little faithful to the migration era/Viking era type. But for almost everyone else, it seems that they don’t know how to do one handed sword choreography. I critique because I love.
@theswampus6704 жыл бұрын
Eowyn and Eromir also have onehanded swords, so do the hobbits but they're technically using short swords. Choreography with a one handed sword that isn't a Saber or Rapier type blade does seem to be rare, i would guess that its because they aren't sure what to do with the offhand and the general audience finds shields boring most of the time.
@dlatrexswords4 жыл бұрын
TheSwampus right, I mentioned the Theodin but I should have generalized to the Rohirrim culture since we do get those onehanded swords. You’re spot on talking about stage fighting.
@JanPospisilArt4 жыл бұрын
Faramir's sword is also a one handed one, as are all the Gondorian soldier swords.
@observationsfromthebunker96394 жыл бұрын
Using a Medieval-style sword with both hands is a modern theatrical & cinematic safety rule. Originally it was done at a time when people thought all Medieval swords were 10-pound steel bars, and the actors simulated the supposedly slow, powerful blows. these days though it's still 2 hands on the blade for the actors, so they have better control of the prop sword which blunt or not still weighs 2-3 lbs and can damage someone. Stopping production for a week or two for an injury is not permissible, so 2 hands for beginning action heroes!
@bluemountain41814 жыл бұрын
The way Gandalf uses his staff sometimes bothers me slightly. When he's using it for magic that's fine but sometimes he just hits an orc with it and the orc falls over dead. Hitting a fully armoured orc with a wooden staff is probably not going to do much damage. But then I guess maybe there is some magic at work that you can't see. Overall though LOTR has some of the best weapons, armour and battle tactics in Hollywood.
@axeltenveils68164 жыл бұрын
I mean, Gandalf is pretty fucking strong. He literally wrestled with the Balrog after it fell into the waters beneath Khazad Dum, when he described it as being slippery and strong as a snake. Though this is more of a book thing.
@ArkadiBolschek4 жыл бұрын
Gandalf's staff is +10 against orcs.
@armorfrogentertainment4 жыл бұрын
It's pretty clear that Wizard staves in Lord of the Rings don't exactly behave like regular objects, so the magical weapon doing something unrealistic gets a pass from me.
@butchjohnson97364 жыл бұрын
Think of it as a wooden light saber.
@Peter_Wendt4 жыл бұрын
Staff of smiting? Of course, those run out of charges.
@muriwatch4 жыл бұрын
Great video. Was hoping for the Uruk-Hai sword (the "broad-blade" thing with a "back claw" thingie)
@leon.benedict4 жыл бұрын
With the flail the intention was actually to make it as "ridiculous" as possible. Peter Jackson had the prop guys make bigger and bigger versions of it until even he said that it was comically large, but that of course doesn't make it any more useful were it a more realistic scenario.
@2dumd2live4 жыл бұрын
I've heard that they had somebody throw the flail head from off screen because it was too heavy to actually swing
@rolfs21654 жыл бұрын
But what did he (try to) achieve in the movie by making it so ridiculously big that the prop department looks like a bunch of dunces?
@leon.benedict4 жыл бұрын
@@rolfs2165 i guess it was a creative choice to make the witch king look otherworldy and strong, i don't remember which behind the scenes episode it was, but i recommend check them all out, it's well worth a watch.
@Jaguardragoon4 жыл бұрын
Should have kept it as a mace since both Morgoth and Sauron(depicted) used maces. Then they could be as big as they wanted lol
@Narelon4 жыл бұрын
I really like how when the Elves reforge Narsil into Anduril they change the size of the guard, grip etc. Narsil was made for someone much taller than Aragorn and they adjust it to work for him instead.
@matianakin Жыл бұрын
i cannot actually find a photo showing differences, safe the runes added. do you have such a comparison?
@BigWillyG10004 жыл бұрын
Those pike heads look like the model was things like the pikes used by the Irish rebels in 1798 where there were hooks and other things on them.
@Peter_Wendt4 жыл бұрын
I bet you could open a large can with those pike heads.
@paulflaherty85314 жыл бұрын
Most pole arm hooks usually have the hook made in the opposite direction to enable the user to pull back on the weapon and pull a rider off their mount. Not sure why one would want the hook pointing in the same direction as the spearhead since all it can do in that orientation is stop or impede penetration of the spearhead. If that was desired, a simple cross piece such as those used on boar spears would work better.
@mysticonthehill4 жыл бұрын
I believe those were lochaber axes, they were popular in Scotland and the Hebrides also
@Salty-Tanky-McTriggerdn4 жыл бұрын
@@paulflaherty8531 I read somewhere that the "in-universe" explanation for why the hooky-bit is on the pike is to help to push up ladders during the battle of Helms Deep
@revanofkorriban15054 жыл бұрын
I have read the same. It says so in a reference book about the armor and equipment used in the films.
@Salty-Tanky-McTriggerdn4 жыл бұрын
3:15 I read somewhere that the "in-universe" explanation for why the hooky-bit is on the pike is to help to push up ladders during the battle of Helms Deep. I thing they also wrote that the reason why so many was brought to the battle was enable the uruks to stab the defenders on topp of the wall from the ground (yeah, that is pretty silly xD)
@revanofkorriban15054 жыл бұрын
They didn't mention using pikes to stab the defenders on the walls in the book I read, which I presume you read as well. I think the book was called something like "weapons and warfare in Middle Earth" or something.
@mittag63264 жыл бұрын
There a video about the process of making Witch Kings flail. Initially it was very realistic, reasonable. And then Peter Jackson said "I want it bigger!". So the crew made bigger, more elaborate version. And then he looked at it and said again "bigger". And then again... Even after seeing the final version he wanted it bigger, but they talked him out of it xD
@Mode-Selektor4 жыл бұрын
Leaving the shields off altogether would have still caused some issues. In scenes before and after the "Ride of the Rohirrim," they are shown with shields while on foot. If they didn't have shields on their horses, people might question what happened to the shields? Magic pockets? Like you said though- probably didn't hold them for safety.
@Robert3994 жыл бұрын
How historically accurate is the Balrog's whip?
@jackzera73564 жыл бұрын
Its just a whip, nothing special on it. Pretty sure it is accurate. Now, the way Balrog uses it isnt. xD
@jacobstaten23663 жыл бұрын
Whips in general are not very good weapons. They're torture devices.
@chadh34413 жыл бұрын
You might want to check on the steel whips used in India from back in the day." Useless" would be an extremely flawed perspective have when facing an enemy equipped and trained with this unreal weapon. I for one was astounded and mesmerized by it. I think it takes at least 2 years of training before you are even allowed to begin wielding the real thing, considering it's just as dangerous to the wielder as it is for the intended target. One main advantage is to be able to keep a set distance from an opponent by creating a wall of metal death between you. Swinging the whip in an "x" pattern guarantees horrible or fatal injuries immediately. Couple the sounds which it emits with the visual, and you have a weapon that scares the living shit out of any human being! Awesome weapon for sure.!
@remlenomis4 жыл бұрын
1) The curved blades of the elves. I know the prop department wanted to distinguish the different cultures, and they did a pretty good job; but for Tolkien, a Northern-European Catholic and veteran of the Great War, curved blades signify the East -from the Balkans (identified by Tolkien as Mordor) eastward - and are exclusively used by orcs and Easterlings. 2) The ridiculously large standard-issue fantasy axes of the dwarves. 3) The swords that Aragorn (and every other character in fantasy films) throws (you can't). 4) The 30lb bows held at full draw as if they were muskets (Aragorn: 'fire!') by the elves, rather than the Lothlorien 'war bow' Tolkien describes Legolas using as a indicator of his strength, and the use of two arrows on the same string, another trope of fantasy films (again, you can't). 5) And even though it's not a weapon, the ridiculous (and totally ineffectual) plate armour worn by the elves and Gondorians, while Tolkien always describes his good characters 'clad in mail'. Tolkien's historical framework for arms and armour in the Lord of the Rings was the dark ages, not late Medieval Europe.
@awesomespuds4 жыл бұрын
Great video again, Matt. I remember the parrying daggers used by the Nazgul had crossguards sloping toward the arm rather than sloping upward.
@Schwarzvogel14 жыл бұрын
Stabbing a Nazgul with a regular weapon is *not* a good idea... look at what happened to poor Merry after he stabbed the Witch King in the calf--his arm was paralysed. Since the Nazgul can't be killed with normal weapons and hitting them with your own weapons results in the destruction of your blade and paralysis for you, it makes some sense that the guards on their parrying daggers would be shaped like that. This isn't to say that the Nazgul particularly enjoy getting hit with sharp or blunt objects, but they don't exactly have the same concerns about keeping their flesh intact and their internal organs inside as mortal warriors would.
@FreyasArts4 жыл бұрын
The design of the witch kings weapon is entirely Peter Jackson's idea. The prop team made several weapons and each time he said to make it bigger xD
@joergwoelke14554 жыл бұрын
The elvens arrow head looks exactly like a tiny "Saufeder" :-D
@jayd894 жыл бұрын
Hey Man! Great Video as always! But here's a quick thought process that came to my mind about the ELF Arrow Heads. They fact that they were designed so as to impede penetration might actually have been an objective. Considering that the Elfs shown in the scene are more of a defensive nature, their objective might have been not to kill anyone who trespasses, but to Maim them and capture them for further interrogation. In such a circumstance, the non-lethal arrow heads would have been perfect for the task viz. "Not to kill but capture your Target ALIVE". I know its a fetched idea and you are the expert here. But this is my understanding of these arrowheads' purpose.
@robertmanson59223 жыл бұрын
For the uruk hai pikes, the head design ties into why they were at helms deep seige, the hooks were used to push up the seige ladders
@behrangkhosravi31574 жыл бұрын
Matt Easton says "by and large" a few times, immediately reminds me of Lindybeige.
@garethtudor8364 жыл бұрын
There's a good reason that the shields carried by the Rohirrim are historically accurate representations of early mediaeval shields. The creation of the Horselords of Rohan was influenced by Mercia. Tolkien used historical Mercian names for the nobility, and Meduseld itself harkens to the meadhall culture of early mediaeval England
@effigytormented4 жыл бұрын
I got an unskippable 6 minute ad about toilets and then another 5 minute ad about soap. You're lucky I love you Matt.
@alextrill58294 жыл бұрын
"Pike blocks aren't terribly useful in sieges..." EXCUSE ME! I have destroyed countless buildings with my spearmen and pikemen in Age of Empires! Pikes work just fine! On a serious note - what do you think of those long-handled elven swords, like what they use in opening battle?
@nickpalazzo65854 жыл бұрын
Those bothered me for years until I came across the panabas of the Phillipines. They're quite similar.
@ImNtDead4 жыл бұрын
I always thought the long-handled elven swords reminded me of a Chinese podao, the horse chopping sword.
@frozenthunderbolt14 жыл бұрын
Some Samurai carried a long sword with an extra long handle a bit like this - falling somewhere between the sword and polearm category. At least they tended to use decent armor with it though, unlike the elves.
@chrisbingley4 жыл бұрын
If they had made them just a little longer they could be a spord, or a swear.
@ImNtDead4 жыл бұрын
@@frozenthunderbolt1 I believe you're thinking of the Nagamaki. A weapon where the handle length is often equal to the length of the blade.
@gregorstamejcic23554 жыл бұрын
Well of course roharrim had to wear their shields as shown in the film, otherwise they could have taken an arrow to the knee!
@darthplagueis134 жыл бұрын
Do you think they actually have two, one on each side of the horse to protect both legs?
@lavrentivs98914 жыл бұрын
@@darthplagueis13 Or they're really riding side saddles =P
@sheikranl39494 жыл бұрын
What are Roharrim? I only know Rohirrim
@KageRyuu64 жыл бұрын
The pike head was designed to look like a can opener to make them seem more imposing if I remember correctly. But yeah, not optimal.
@Legendary_Sid3 жыл бұрын
In response to the two handed easterling halberds and shield part, Shad just made a great video explaining how you can use two handed weapons and pole weapons with big shields, based on historical artwork, by having a strap round the neck and a corner strap. Great video for those interested.
@saldiven20094 жыл бұрын
I had noticed those arrowheads, too. It's like the elves wanted arrows that didn't penetrate deeply. Like, they're going for non-lethal wounding.
@enjoythestruggle4 жыл бұрын
7:48 How annoyed were you by the guy whose mail fell over his eyes while charging? :D
@Antykill_4 жыл бұрын
As for the elven arrowheads bit, I'm pretty sure those arrowheads might've been meant to only capture the fellowship if they fought back rather than severely wound them, Galadriel wouldn't have sent out a group armed to kill the fellowship simply because she knew who they were and why they were there.
@tyleralberty4993 Жыл бұрын
They might be used to prevent overpenetration as well. Elven bows are scary strong.
@CaptainFSU4 жыл бұрын
Boromir is the only person in Middle-Earth who has learned that shields are not for decoration.
@Destiny19982214 жыл бұрын
yet he didnt have it in the movies when needed. On the other hand, in the books he was using his shield too in his last battle
@benburns95054 жыл бұрын
Legolas uses bodkin arrow heads. The ones you refered to were most likely hunting arrows designed to make animals bleed out. They were a group of wood elves after all
@hrotha4 жыл бұрын
The counterpoint that the Witch-King has super human strength would be a lot more compelling if we didn't clearly see the flail being ridiculously slow and cumbersome in the movie itself.
@scholagladiatoria4 жыл бұрын
Absolutely - he obviously struggles to wield it and would have been far more effective with a lighter one.
@e.zponder75264 жыл бұрын
I would have loved it if Eowynn had just stood there slightly out of range and let him tire himself out to he has to sit down for a minute, panting and quietly swearing.
@Joe___R4 жыл бұрын
I hadn't paid attention to the elf's arrow heads, they are truly atrocious. If the arrow heads were the same shape except having the protrusions just under the blade were thin and sharpened then it would be a valid design similar to a modern expanding hunting broadhead just in the open position. I doubt any larger movie will ever be made that uses historical arms that actually get all the weapons and tactics correct. There is not enough of an incentive/demand for movie companies to go through the trouble to make sure they are doing everything correct.
@mrhalfwit9724 жыл бұрын
The elves that are seen with those arrowheads aren't the ones they usually use, those guys we see are scouts who walk around the outer parts of lorien to keep a watch in case of an invasion, the arrows are only for intimidating and not much else.
@MrChickennugget3604 жыл бұрын
@@mrhalfwit972 having arrow heads just for "intimidating" is silly.
@mrhalfwit9724 жыл бұрын
@@MrChickennugget360 its manly for men and scouts who wander too far, sorta of a "no turn back or you get shot. and even if the arrows don't get far it'll hurt like bitch, and most of their shots are aimed at the neck and other blood vital points.
@druinheal8904 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the Elven arrowheads mention. That bothered me too! But then I’m an archery instructor. My big question with the Witch King’s flail is where did he stow that on his flying mount? How did we not see it sooner?
@jakubfabisiak98104 жыл бұрын
Another movie-related video, and once again - i'm repeating my request to talk about the monastery fight in Three Musketeers (1973, with Michael York), and also your opinion on Born for the Saber (you can find it on vimeo).
@dace484 жыл бұрын
On point 4 and shields, as well as just hanging from the horse a lot of them are clearly right handed (or holding a weapon in their right hand at least) and have the shield on the right too - so maybe the reason why they don't use them is because someone put them on the wrong side of the horse so they can't reach with their left hand. 10:30 Elf archery - The Elf on the right has the arrow on his thumb, as usually seen in Eastern "thumb draw" styles but the Elf on the left has it on his knuckles as with Western European Mediterranean draws. In this shot it's understandable as they are basically extras so would have had basically no training but there is a similar shot in the Hobbit movies with Legolas and Tauriel. In fact Tauriel holds her bow differently in practically every shot demonstrating how little care was taken with those movies compared to the first Trilogy.
@scholagladiatoria4 жыл бұрын
Good observations!
@markfergerson21454 жыл бұрын
Your point about the shields being on the wrong side of the horse also jumped out at me while watching the film. What the hell were they thinking? Even if a rider decided to use it he'd either have to dismount to untie it or lean over awkwardly exposing his left side.
@javieri31544 жыл бұрын
@@scholagladiatoria,I thought that maybe they want the shields in case they need to dismount and fight by foot, and we all know how important is use shields in battle . They were going to a sige situation, so a fight inside the walls could be also expected. You know, if something we have learnt in this channel is that "you should always carry a shield and helmet" :) Un saludo
@MrChickennugget3604 жыл бұрын
the reason is as he stated. most likely the extras riding the horses were not able to ride the horses and hold the shields at the same time.
@samuelbarker43334 жыл бұрын
Please do a video on the “weapon crimes” of the hobbit films. Also it bothers me that the hobbits and dwarfs don’t make better use of pole weapons, spears etc.
@darthplagueis134 жыл бұрын
Well, the argument regarding the dwarfes is probably that they are used to fighting underground caves battles (whereas Hobbits are used to simply not fighting at all) where there might just not be the space to use polearms. But then again, I think they ended up using pikes in the third hobbit movie...
@Marveryn4 жыл бұрын
biggest crime for me. and its You got to be kidden me moment in the film. Was watching the dwarf form a lovely shield wall and for some stupid reason elves have to ruin it be jumping over it and it slow mo so it look impressive. Elves are archer stay behind the freaking wall where you can do some good. Heck with the dwarf height you don't need to shoot over them. direct fire.
@xthebumpx4 жыл бұрын
@@Marveryn I don't know about the hobbit movies because I haven't (and probably never will) seen any beyond the first, but in the books elves were associated at least as much with spears as with archery.
@jonathanhammens77034 жыл бұрын
Just a comment on the arrows; you're completely correct about the design and how they'd work. I'd only point out that in the scene you showed them, they're being used to capture trespassers... they may be the border patrol's equivalent of 'less than lethal' ammunition... just a thought
@danalden11124 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the insightful criticisms. Coincidentally you had a screen shot of my least favorite lotr weapon with the commentary regarding rohirram shields: a Dane axe. On horseback. Held with one hand. Good for one swing, eh?
@nathanexplosion7434 жыл бұрын
Dan Alden that guys face also gets covered by his mail coif lol
@Kairos0x4 жыл бұрын
While I mostly love the design, the elven swords in LOTR not having any sort of crossguard always really bothered me.
@rollingthunder10434 жыл бұрын
Japanese Katanas have a ... very very small guard (though they technically still have one). They just designed their combat style around not relying on a large guard, and I assume the Elves did the same. I personally wouldn't use a sword without a decent sized guard, but it's a valid strategy
@Matt_The_Hugenot4 жыл бұрын
When was the last time anyone saw a movie character clean their armour, let alone dry or grease it? Rust is never a thing in films. Incidentally the smell of rancid fat coming from pre industrial armies must have been overpowering.
@AlanGChenery4 жыл бұрын
Matthew Doye.. Seen not so much. But a few films reference cleaning armour. Usually just a throw away line to a squire. :p Actually I did see a film a few years ago in which someone was cleaning a maille shirt (the good old sack of sand method). Can't think what it was though.
@rodofiron1004 жыл бұрын
Did they put it in GOT? I know it's in the books several places but can remember if it made it to the show.
@Matt_The_Hugenot4 жыл бұрын
@@rodofiron100 Cleaning is often in books, I don't remember seeing it in GoT, mostly because I didn't watch much of it (I know, heresy!).
@leonardomarquesbellini4 жыл бұрын
They mostly used vegetal oil and rich folks likely imported some mineral oil feom the East.
@TSotP3 жыл бұрын
Now that you point out the arrow heads, I can't help but totally agree. They are like mini winged spears. Which were specifically winged so they wouldn't go too far into a target (but conveniently, more like a foot, rather than an inch)
@narrowgroundentertainment3 жыл бұрын
"Don't forget your shield." 5 minutes later: "Obviously I wasn't clear enough. Don't forget to USE your shield."
@nauziraf4 жыл бұрын
Those are actualy elven cops, hunting perps with their "non lethal" arrows
@mikegallant8114 жыл бұрын
If technology were more modern in middle earth.....elven tasers?
@beageler4 жыл бұрын
So, how many countries where policemen carry only blank cartridges do you know?
@Sutorenja4 жыл бұрын
the hooks were there to assist with putting up ladders. allegedly.
@justinwilliams96314 жыл бұрын
The Uruk Hai swords. Completely forgoing the utility of a point and then sticking that spike on the reverse. AH HA that's the key they aren't really swords they're can openers without a point to prevent nasty accidents. I hear that Mordor's health and inhuman safety bureau is top notch!
@blackhornedmountainchicken37204 жыл бұрын
Thank you ! Finally someone else points out those stupid arrow heads! My friends would always give me odd looks when I'd start to ramble on the ineffectiveness of elven arrow heads. Some people just aren't as detail oriented I suppose.
@mrremoveyoureyes19244 жыл бұрын
When it comes to the Easterling halberds, I understand, using both a halberd and a shield would be ridiculous. However these soldiers were not in combat, they were traveling. It is likely that they had a halberd, as well as a sword shield combination. These were used for different purposes. Think that a Macedonian pikeman would have both a pike, as well as a sword and shield. As we see with the two Easterlings who break off from the formation, they use their halberds with two hands, implying that that is how they were trained to use the weapon.
@lancemannly4 жыл бұрын
Seems rather unreasonable to make them march over hundreds of miles holding center grip shields in their hands When the Romans marched and werent expecting combat they carried their shields on their backs
@beageler4 жыл бұрын
And why are they wearing their armor if they didn't intend to fight?
@kirohaas31934 жыл бұрын
And here I thought the Elf swords at Helm's Deep would make the list, or the Uruk-Hai swords.
@ConsumeYourSoul6194 жыл бұрын
Kiro Haas urukhai swords are perfect. They are perfectly suited for their fighting style. Wild hacking. And the hook at the end would be practical for punching armor or possible snagging cloaks of passing riders.
@beageler4 жыл бұрын
@@ConsumeYourSoul619 Too heavy for a short handle, spike has several problems (not able to put it in a sheath, only usable on a backswing, etc.) and casted. Very bad.
@beageler3 жыл бұрын
@George Dunn There is about as much difference as there can be. The hook on a bill is for hooking into armor and controlling the enemy that way, for instance pulling riders off their horse. Punching through heavy armor is another use. The first use is nonsensical with a sword, especially one with a short handle and weight distribution for slashing. The second is also not really a thing for the sword, since it is better to have an axial spike, not a radial one. That's why swords have a point, why there are almost no hooked swords (If you want to bring up axes and hammers: those don't have short handles and better weight distribution, making a radial spike way better than here).
@beageler3 жыл бұрын
@George Dunn back
@ruthrouse4 жыл бұрын
I never noticed the arrowheads before but as soon as you put those stills up I was in total agreement with you. I’m also looking forward to your armour vid
@BeKindToBirds4 жыл бұрын
The thing you missed about the pikes is that they were equipped with them and marched. They were expecting to fight cavalry on the open field, that is what the wormtongue was meant to drive the Rohan to. The retreat and forced march to helms deep was unexpected. A secondary point you forget is that the Pike's are meant to break under the weight of the charge and inflict long suffering wounds. Fear and marching over the crying dead was how they cause the enemy to retreat so they can cut them down. The urak hai were supremely equipped to fight the Rohan ...as they expected to meet them. A last ditch defense on the open field before their towns and villages where they hoped to inspire fear and retreat so they could do what orcs do
@Silen7Force4 жыл бұрын
It seems 5 Uruk's Pikeman and 4 elven archer disliked the video ! I found the Uruk Hai's blade weird to use with a shield aswell, it must be terrible at piercing and i can't imagine the weight and balance of these, i think when Andrew klaven talked about 10lbs sword, this was it, Uruk Hai swords maybe !? Also the Witchking's sword looks like it will snap in 2, this thing must have a rat tang... Maybe that's why it's covered by Darksword Armory. (trolling)
@mikesummers-smith40914 жыл бұрын
I was hoping for more double entendres. The way that the Witch-King used that flail as an offhand weapon struck me as pretty silly too. That, and the fact that his mount was a dead spit for the Jabberwock. A thing that struck me many years ago was that most of the characters in Tolkien have no visible means of support and can go for days without eating.
@Schwarzvogel14 жыл бұрын
I'm sure you have noticed that no one in Star Wars ever needs to use the toilet, either--the Millennium Falcon doesn't have latrines, as far as we can tell.
@Pikepaw Жыл бұрын
As others have commented about the Witch King’s flail, the prop guys originally made it smaller but Peter Jackson wanted bigger. Apparently they finally just made a version that was so huge and over the top they were SURE Jackson would go “too big”. Instead that is the version we got on screen. Allegedly Jackson later said he thought it could have been even bigger. Cinematically I think it works very well even if it in reality the weapon is utterly impractical. Sort of the equivalent of why big action stars use bigger pistols like the Desert Eagle, which is not the most practical weapon for a cop or a soldier for shootouts…but it looks really good and impressive on screen.
@Picard5784 жыл бұрын
Fun fact: Witch King wanted to be a farmer, but Sauron said no. So he designed his flail to do a farming work. Also, as pointed out before, Nazgul are the Nine Riders. The beast he rides is often called a Fell Beast, though I'm not sure whether that is actual name.
@01Sangahyando4 жыл бұрын
Good video, though one thing that bothers me a bit is the usage of the word "original" in the title, given that - unlike Star Wars - these movies are adaptations of a book trilogy. Incidentally, most of the bad tactics and questionable weapon designs occurring in the movies are absent from Tolkien's original novels.
@Papierflugzeug954 жыл бұрын
Because a book doesn't have to bother with these things in the first place.
@jarrakul4 жыл бұрын
Not to mention that there are several older LotR movies. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_in_film
@01Sangahyando4 жыл бұрын
@@Papierflugzeug95 Actually, no. Some of the weapons in the LotR books are described in sufficient detail and more importantly, the tactical moves (e.g. battle formations) are also described. The movie adaptations (all of them, not just PJ's) just opted for Hollywood Tactics instead. Most of the props in PJ's adaptations are good, but it's evident he didn't know anything about tactics or physics, or just didn't care.
@steel588364 жыл бұрын
The "Plate Armor" was not in the books at all, Tolkien opted for everyone (that wasnt the main cast) to wear chainmail
@joemagill40414 жыл бұрын
Cant believe thattpudisnt mention the single biggest weapon failure in the whole trilogy... the Uruk-hai make their swords by casting...
@xthebumpx4 жыл бұрын
Apparently bronze age swords were cast in molds rather than forged, so it could be a call back to cruder methods. It's probably just PJ attempting to invoke industrialization though.
@moosemooseson21994 жыл бұрын
Well they had to get alot of swords fast and i guess it's faster for them to cast the swords instead of forging them
@aaronweers86974 жыл бұрын
There was a book called lotr weapons and warfare that takes a deep dive into the weapons. In it, it says that the uruk-hai were all armed with pikes because they expected to be attacked by riders on their way to helms deep. It also talks about the pike head being designed so that the pikemen could help in pushing up the ladders.
@craigjohnson23014 жыл бұрын
I read about the lack of use of shields years ago from someone who rode horses for the films. They basically just asked random New Zealand horse owners if they wanted to be in the films and naturally a lot of them said yes. Most of them though found it difficult to be riding in formation with the armour, weapons, shields and reins (a lot were just casual horse riders) so it was decided they wouldn’t have the shield strapped to their arms to make it easier and allowing the riders to focus on using the weapons while safely controlling their horses. Fun fact: a lot of the horse riders were women with moustaches stuck on (they literally did just ask random horse owners) and you can see them in one of the behind the scenes dvd’s.
@LS-sp5hr4 жыл бұрын
Every time I see a picture of the Witch King's flail, my mind always jumps to photoshop because of how ridiculous it looks, I just can't believe it at first glance. Especially since everything else looks really good. Only someone like Matt could describe a sharp steel arrowhead stuck 1 to 2 inches into your body or face as "fairly unpleasant" :) Will you ever make something similar to this for the Hobbit trilogy?
@andypanda49274 жыл бұрын
Well! He is English, I think. They are famed for 'understatement ISTR.
@KuLaydMahn4 жыл бұрын
Does he do hour-long videos?
@PobortzaPl4 жыл бұрын
There were 2 Witch King's flails, both of them too big: - the one from promo photos, that made the guy playing WK said it's fucking too big - the one from actual movie that due to overlong chain was also unwieldy.
@Schwarzvogel14 жыл бұрын
A steel arrowhead stuck 1 to 2 inches in your body _is_ unpleasant, but it would not be fatal in most cases and it possibly may not be enough to even keep you from killing your opponent. Dying of infection long after the battle would be a much bigger concern. There's good reason why in this modern era, the FBI specifies that bullets must be able to penetrate at least 12" in order to be considered effective for law enforcement use, even though most people don't have their vital organs 12" deep inside their body.
@dashsocur4 жыл бұрын
While I agree with all of these (especially the flail), I think the explanation for the lack of shield usage by the MOUNTED Rohirrim (emphasis intentional) is actually a safety reason. To put it simply, they used about 200 volunteer horse enthusiasts (providing their own horses) to film the particular scene in question and only had 2 days to do it. (Keep in mind that all of this was new to both riders and horses). It was dangerous enough to get all of those riders to safely charge in a group, it would have presumably been even worse to then impair their control of their horse by making them hold something else in their rein hand with hardly any time to practice it. I agree it would have been awesome to see them behaving more authentically like historical cavalry but I think this is the (admittedly sensible) reason why that particular decision was made.
@AICW4 жыл бұрын
He did acknowledge the real-life safety concern was the most likely reason in the video and still thinks it would have been better off to just not have the shields exist in the first place.
@harithomas19114 жыл бұрын
Originally, weta, the people who made the arms and armour among many other things, designed the witch King's flail to be usable, it was Peter Jackson who wanted it larger and just 'more imposing'. He had great fun waving it about in the behind the scenes footage
@natethornnstuff17833 жыл бұрын
There's footage of Peter Jackson and the film crew essentially laughing about how ridiculous the Witch Kings flail is 😂 its great!
@beardedbjorn55204 жыл бұрын
You can’t criticise LOTR, it’s flawless! That’s heresy! How dare you! It’s treason then. Dew it. I am the senate. Now there are two of them. Have you ever heard the tragedy of..... what was I doing again?
@vedymin14 жыл бұрын
They fly now !!! Ugh...now i feel dirty...and ready to puke :P
@paleposter4 жыл бұрын
*vague lightsaber noises*
@beardedbjorn55204 жыл бұрын
@@vedymin1 LOL
@danielbretall22364 жыл бұрын
....Darth Plagueis....?
@bigredwolf64 жыл бұрын
We meet again Skywalker... what’s that? Your powers have doubled since we last met? A pity. Two times zero is still zero.
@MadNumForce4 жыл бұрын
When you read the comment section, you realize how much the original LOTR movie trilogy is well made: even the most nitpicky people struggle to find weapon designs to rant about.
@beageler4 жыл бұрын
You wrote that comment to a video where 5 things were criticized...
@olafolafsson27554 жыл бұрын
The Witch King originally had a way smaller flail - Peter Jackson just wanted it to be massive for the cinema and let the flail grow a few times until he was satisfied - watch the making of :)
@dominicomalley32374 жыл бұрын
The elven arrowheads he shows are specifically used by the galadhrim, and they're shaped like mallorn leaves. If you read the design notes for the props they wanted all the material culture of the galadhrim to be derived from that tree as it is unique/sacred to lothlorien. That's why their armour is shaped like leaves also, and their mallorn bows have vine details on them too
@Tobias50364 жыл бұрын
I've always loved Anduril from the movies. They movie version is almost exactly as i pictured the sword when i read the books the first time.
@VegetaLF74 жыл бұрын
As beautiful as Anduril was, I'm honestly more a fan of Aragorn' Ranger sword, the first one he uses with the dagger attached to the scabbard.
@Tobias50364 жыл бұрын
@@VegetaLF7 Totally, It has the rough utilitarian look of a well traveled rangers weapon.
@nadaqueteinteressa13564 жыл бұрын
What about elven shields and swords shown in the beginning of the first film?
@scholagladiatoria4 жыл бұрын
I don't really have a problem with them, though I did consider them.
@Robert3994 жыл бұрын
The shields are essentially teardrop shields aren't they (although the cutouts are pretty random).
@danielbretall22364 жыл бұрын
@@Robert399 almost like the renaissance era German dueling shields.... just not used the same way.
@Flamethrower19424 жыл бұрын
Agree with the shields thing,most annoying thing is Boromir carries that shield every scene except the one where he decides to mug frodo for the ring and then gets filled with arrows ........
@observationsfromthebunker96394 жыл бұрын
That detail was actually text-compliant. When Boromir made his play for the Ring he didn't have his shield with him, and he wasn't described as having it when Aragorn found him later.
@saltypork1014 жыл бұрын
In defense of sub-optimal equipment for war: Neither the Men of Rhun nor the Elves of Lorien were expecting a martial engagement. The Men of Rhun were marching towards an allied nation for a muster, so it makes sense for them to carry multiple configurations of weaponry from home that they're used to fighting with, so that they can be deployed flexibly when they actually march to war. The Elves were on patrol around their homeland, with no known active armies nearby. Their most menacing threat would likely be spy-critters like Saruman's army of Crebain. As you noted, the arrows depicted in that scene would have been the perfect weapons to deal with such an enemy. This interpretation, while generous, gets extra awesome points for emphasizing the elves' keen eyes, as no ordinary archer could spot such cunning little foes reliably enough to meaningfully impact the Enemy's intelligence gathering.
@alexandersarchives96154 жыл бұрын
Nobody: Witch king of Angbar: “yeah, I like to fight with a car engine attached to a chain.”
@darthplagueis134 жыл бұрын
Holy... What car do you drive?
@danielbretall22364 жыл бұрын
Pretty much, you have to think, if that thing is iron or steel, it would have to be well north of five or six hundred pounds. In reality, Eowyn was lucky to get away with just a broken arm and not instantly lethal blunt force trauma to the whole body, like getting hit by a lorry/truck.
@Harbinger3594 жыл бұрын
Wow, I'm surprised Gimli's giant axe didn't make the list!
@joshuahawke13714 жыл бұрын
From the Lord of the Rings: Arms and Armies book, the reason why the likes are shaped that way is to help push the ladders up onto the wall
@AleksiJoensuu Жыл бұрын
Floppiness seconded! We use heavily padded pikes with a PVC or bamboo shaft in re-enactment fights and boy are they floppy. And heavy. :D The weight and the floppiness makes them extremely hard to use, as not only are you thrusting with something heavy you also have to constantly correct for the pikes flopping around. Add to that that the pikes are usually the first to make contact, have to work throughout the encounter, and are the first to be "headhunted" by opposing archers, javelin throwers and other pikemen. Pike wielders are absolutely trashed after even short encounters.