LORD OF THE RINGS: The Two Towers | First Time Watching | Movie Reaction | Commentary 

I was a single mum and read all the books to my boys, a chapter a night,.... There was hellish anticipation between the release of the movies! I loved every minute. Welcome to Middle Earth, you belong.

At 42:40, the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen was placed as an Appendix at the end of the book because Tolkien never could fit their romance into the main story in a way that he was happy with. In that tale, we learn that Aragorn spent his childhood from the age of 2 in Rivendell, where Elrond had come to love him as a son. Arwen had been living with her mother's kin in Lothlorien (she is Galadriel's granddaughter). So the two first met when Aragorn was 20 years old. It's a beautiful story, and I think Peter Jackson & Co.'s version works very well.

I’m enjoying your reactions. Interesting point-of-view on theatrical versus extended versions. Each version has its pros and cons. There are scenes I wish Jackson had added to the theatrical release, but there are also scenes that aren’t as necessary. (Before anybody fries me, I read the books in the early 70s and waited 30 years to get a “decent” movie. Jackson and his people blew “decent” out of the water.) One thing about Frodo’s unlikely sympathy for Smeagol/Gollum: Frodo is a decent person, but he is also feeling the effects of the ring. He needs to believe Smeagol can be saved because Frodo is terrified that he, himself, will fall. As for some of the tech, they had to create some of the tech, including advances in motion capture. Andy Serkis played Gollum with a mocap suit on. I still think he deserved a special category Oscar for best secondary character. Even after 20+ years, LOTR has some of the best CGI I’ve ever seen.

Frodo left before Boromir died defending Merry and Pippin.

Bernard Hill, who played Captain Smith in Titanic and King Théoden in Lord of the Rings sadly died on May 2024. He was 79

At 1:17:00, when Tolkien was a teen-ager, he attended a performance of Shakespeare's play "MacBeth," where Birnham Wood turned out to be a bunch of soldiers with tree branches stuck in their helmets. In disgust, he vowed to one day actually bring Birnham Wood to Dunsinane, and this is the result.

The three movies came out exactly one year apart, but they were all filmed simultaneously in New Zealand. The filming took about a year and a half.

They filmed all at the same time. It took 18 months. They released them 1 year apart. Christmas 2001,2002,2003

Legolas is the son of Thranduil, king of the Woodland Realm north of Rivendell. Arwen is the daughter of Elrond and Celebrian, who happens to have been Galadriel's daughter. That makes Arwen Galadriel's granddaughter. Different "tribes" of elves, if you will, but all elves. And believe it or not, Aragorn is distantly related to Arwen, in fact, they're first cousins many lives of men removed from each other (up or down a genealogy tree). Elrond's father was a mortal and his mother an elf. He and his twin brother Elros were given the choice of living as an elf or as a mortal. Elrond chose the elf-path, but Elros chose the mortal path. Aragorn is descended from him. Arwen is actually some two thousand years old.

At 8:30, the book works a bit differently, but in it Frodo warns Gollum, "You revealed yourself to me just now, foolishly. 'Give it back to Smeagol' you said. Do not say that again! Do not let that thought grow in you! You will never get it back. But the desire of it may betray you to a bitter end. You will never get it back. In the last need, Smeagol, I should put on the Precious, and the Precious mastered you long ago. If I, wearing it, were to command you, you would obey, even if it were to leap from a precipice or to cast yourself into the fire. And such would be my command. So have a care, Smeagol!"

At 56:50, in the book Faramir describes Boromir's rank: "Know, little strangers, that Boromir son of Denethor was High Warden of the White Tower and our Captain-General: sorely do we miss him."

At 50:00, Saruman was corrupted by his Palantir, his seeing stone. In the book, we don't see the Palantir at all until after this battle, and Gandalf works out what must have happened: "Further and further abroad he gazed, until he cast his gaze upon Barad-dur. Then he was caught!...Easy it is now to guess how quickly the roving eye of Saruman was trapped and held, and how ever since he has been persuaded from afar, and daunted when persuasion would not serve. The biter bit, the hawk under the eagle's foot, the spider in a steel web!"

The flag flying away and landing on the ground was meant to symbolize the sad state and decline of Rohan from its former glory.

At 25:00, Tolkien provides a detailed chronology of events as an Appendix following ROTK. In it we learn that Gandalf the Grey died in his fight with the Balrog, and his dead body lay on top of Celebdil from January 25 to February 14, when he was resurrected as Gandalf the White.

Theoden is uncle to Eomer and Eowyn. Theoden’s son was Theodred.

Rohan - the flag falling off the roof was accidental, but for symbolism tough to beat, so they kept that in the final cut (or so the rumor goes).

Return of the king won best picture at the Oscar’s-something fantasy rarely gets; let alone nominated.

"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard" best music meme ever done

The pre production took place approximately 3 years before filming started. Filmed all 3 at once over a little over a year

Good catch most people miss. Bernard Hill as Théoden King of Rohan, played Edward Smith as the Captain of Titanic in that movie.

To see “Grima get his…..” - extended addition of ROTK.

Epic Lembas history for you - written by elven LoreMaster named Pengolodh. Lembas was made first by the Vala named Yavanna from special corn that grew in Aman, and Oromë gave it to the Elves for the purpose of the Great Journey. For this reason, it was an Elven custom that only women should make lembas; they were called Yavannildi who knew the secret of its recipe from Oromë. Also, the custom mandated that only an Elven Queen should keep and distribute the lembas; for this reason she was called also massánië or besain. - Only on rare occasions was it given to non-Elves, because it was believed that mortals who ate it would become weary of their mortality and would desire to live among the Elves. The corn was an enduring plant that needed but a little sunlight to ripen and could be sown at any season and then sprouted and grew swiftly. Yet it was harmed by north winds, while Morgoth dwelt there. The Eldar grew it in guarded lands and sunlit glades. The ears were harvested without scythe or sickle but each one was gathered by hand, and the white stalks were drawn from the earth and used to weave baskets in which the grain was stored. Melian, as the queen of Doriath, was one who held the recipe from Yavanna. By giving lembas to Beleg for Túrin, Melian showed him great favour because it had never before been given to Men and seldom was again. Later it was passed to Galadriel and other Elves. When ships had been sent forth, at the behest of Turgon, towards the West, its mariners carried a sealed wallet with waybread for their voyage. Voronwë, after surviving the wreck, shared it with Tuor throughout their journey to Gondolin. Dúnedain, inspired by the elves, made a similar kind of waybread (although it was not true lembas), that they carried on long journeys. So each of Isildur's soldiers on their way north from the War of the Last Alliance "carried in a sealed wallet on his belt a small phial of cordial and wafers of a waybread that would sustain life in him for many days". The Galadhrim had a large store of lembas in Lothlórien. Galadriel gave some of it to the Fellowship of the Ring upon their departure. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee subsisted on it through the majority of their journey from there into Mordor. The tradition of farming the Western Corn and the making of waybread was lost for ever in Middle-earth after the departure of Galadriel and the death of Arwen. One of the only places left where this untouched holy wheat can be grown is the groves within Lothlórien.

Legolas Greenleaf is the son of Thranduil king of the Woodland Realm in the Northern extent of Mirkwood, while Arwen is the daughter of Elrond Halfelven of Imladris, and also the granddaughter of Galadriel of Lothlorien. These are basically two completely divergent "tribes" of elves in Middle Earth. It is interesting to note that Arwen is related by blood to Luthien of the song that Aragorn sings to himself as Frodo and co. traverse the Midgewood Marshes in the early stages of Fellowship. In that story Luthien also falls in love to a mortal man Beren in like to that of Arwen falling in love with a mortal man Aragorn.

At 23:15, the Black Rider's new mount is called a "fell beast," although it's more a description than a name. LOTR doesn't have any dragons, although if you read The Hobbit or watch the Hobbit movies, you'll encounter Smaug, a truly terrifying dragon.

Jackson and the writers did not add scenes to the extended cut, they removed scenes from the theatrical cut. There were several times you had a question about some point in the story that had actually been covered in the directors cut. just saying… 😉

At 14:27 you say, "That's a different design." Very perceptive--in the book the Orcs belong to three different breeds: the small ones who have come from Moria to avenge their folk ("Why can't we have some meat?"), the middle-sized ones who want to take the Hobbits to Mordor ("Ooh, they look tasty!"), and the big ones, who are Saruman's Uruk-hai and are taking the Hobbits to Isengard ("We will deliver them!"). Each race has its own mutually-unintelligible language, so for communication they use the Common Speech or Westron, in a debased form. The conflicts among the three groups are sort of glossed over in the movie, but they are important in the book's version of the story. The folks at Weta Workshop got the memo, though, and produced three different Orc designs.

At 26:00, LOTR the book begins very slowly, but by this point in the tale, events are moving right along--if anything, the book now moves even faster (in some places) than the movie.

I myself am proud of my eldest brothers eldest son who was fortunate to have worked in make up and prosthetics. He also worked on the Hobbit and Rings of Power. 6:30 the logistics involved to adapt this epic story onto the big screen is just as epic, Return of the King winning 11 Oscars. Most (if not all) NZers are very proud of what Peter Jackson has achieved. Because there are actual locations, we (NZers) all know someone who worked on or assisted towards this project. Hobbiton is still the number one tourist attraction in New Zealand.

Loved your intro! You showed understanding and also presented a logical argument for your decisions and a willingness to experience the art in the order that the original fans were forced to. You showed intestinal fortitude and demonstrated a plan. Really really enjoyed all that.

Let’s dive into Elrond & his daughter Arwen (& Aragorn by extension), therefore we must look at Elrond’s Twin Brother Elros, they both were half-elven brothers who can choose to be mortal or immortal because of their parents; (Eärendil & Elwing), both “half elven” made a great sacrifice and went to Valinor to ask for help against Morgoth(who was making everything worse than a living hellscape for 100s of generations) which lead to the greatest events in the early first and second age. Instead of being punished, the valar listened to them, that led to a great hosts of Valar and Maiar And Vanyar Elves went to Middle Earth that laid waste to Beleriand. After the War Of Wrath, the valar rewarded them for their sacrifices. They can choose to be elf or men, including their children. They chose immortally, but never return to Middle Earth because they thought that their twin sons had died. But they didnt die. Elrond chose to be immortal while his twin brother Elros chose to be mortal. He founded the Kingdom of Numenor. ✨✨✨✨✨ He lived in Numenor Island and blessed with a long life that include his descendants Those men who fought for the war were rewarded a long life but not their families or children. Only the family of Elrond can choose to be immortal or mortal in which Arwen did. Aragorn is the direct descendant of Elros, thats why he has a long life. The average lifespan of a Numenorean at their height was 500 years maximum! Now remember too that half elves are a common thing and whenever they did come together it was always significant !❤❤❤ Remember this is the SHORT version, there are so many moving parts that will make you want to dive into the books or the audio books or even do reaction videos to the famous lore videos by the biggest lore channels out there! When you’re done the trilogy try doing reaction videos just like Moviejoob did now with the lore recently as well as OmarioRPG. I recommend videos by GirlNextGondor and The Red Book, and Tolkien Untangled and especially Men Of The West. ✨✨✨✨✨ Many other cool ones I’ll recommend in the comments section of those reaction videos you do from Tolkiens Legendarium lore videos. They are super engaging. You’ll be in love. Nothing would have existed if Tolkiens works never hit the light of day as they were meant to stay private and sometimes be shared with his children and so on. No Game Of Thrones. No Skyrim. No ElderScrolls, No World Of Warcraft, no Dungeons&Dragons. None of it. Not even Star Wars. Not even Harry Potter! They took inspiration from his works which were souly to give back a forgotten history of the Anglo Saxons that had their culture & history destroyed as the larger empires were riding around them. His works reflect the Elder Edda(Norse) The Kalevala(Finnish) and the Welsh people from Wales as well as Irelands cultures of the Tuatha De Danaan as well! His languages are fully fleshed out too resembling Finnish & Welsh • By the way Elrond is around 6870-8000 years old & nearly a full Elf year (as they age very very differently to Men) is close to 144 man years(solar years for them). ❤️❤️❤️❤️ But if you want a more true age you must realize that he may be 8000 but in human years after the sun and moon were created from the flower from of the two trees of Valinor as well as one fruit from the other of the two trees; they experience the TIME and the way men experience it but their clock is different! They live as long as the world/Arda/Ëa does. Essentially. Which is why they are so in synch with the world around them and the nature responds to them ! Think of when Legolas walked ontop of all that snow on the Mountain of Caradhras!! They continue to endure as long ad the world itself does. (Arda) and speaking of age, Legolas is also 3000+years old by the time he becomes a member of The Fellowship Of The Ring! If you look back on the original trilogy movies: The fellowship had a 3000year old Elven PRINCE in their party. And a clandestine angelic being who was Gandalf originally known Olòrin to those such as Galadriel who knew him when she lived in Valinor, Elrond also knew would be one of the only others who’d know this save Círdan The Shipwright(one of the surviving eldest Elf in the world.). ❤️❤️❤️❤️ But even he was a few generations down from the original elvish peoples to awake to the stars) & kin to Thingol who also is a semi distant cousin to Legolas as Legolas’ grandfather was the close cousin to Thingol(same with Galadriel’s Husband Celeborn through his father, their capital within Lothlòrien was named after his father(Caras Galadhon) Galadhon being the name indicating that which belongs to the father. And a 87 year old Númenorean man named Aragorn!, a 335 year old Dwarven Prince named Gimli. And as a microcosm they resembled the coalition of all the races of middle earth uniting under one banner which is another reason it sort of metaphysically set into motion the world uniting at the macrocosm ! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Galadriel's Phial (gift to Frodo) is something really special. light & dark have a spiritual dimension in Tolkien. way back before the First Age Valinor was lit by two very special Trees that waxed & waned in opposition to each other. a master craftsman Elf named Fëanor fashioned three gems that captured their light, the Silmarils. (And it’s same power and light was drawn into it from the very firmament where it now stands amongst the stars as Eärendil himself (Elrond’s father stands watch over The Doors Of Night where Melkor still is held until fate holds him no longer.) Everyone who saw them was captivated by them, even the Melkor(Morgoth); the first Dark Lord. Wars were fought over them called the Kinstrife after Morgoth had the Trees destroyed the Silmarils were the only light from them left and he stole them as you may remember, they changed hands a few times & eventually one was left after one fell into the sea & another was lost in a pit of magma. a Half Elf named Eärendil (the first one! Who was Elrond’s father.) came into its possession & sailed it to Valinor as a gift to the Valar to ask for their help in defeating Morgoth, which they did. the Valar turned it into a star & hung it in the sky with Eärendil as its guardian. 💕💕💕💕 The fountain of Galadriel's Mirror is lit by light captured from the star Eärendil & her Phial has water from the fount. I've left out about 90% of the story but it's quite important & central to the story of Middle Earth. for her to give the Phial to Frodo is quite extraordinary. its light does burn & blind Shelob (that's the spider's name) but doesn't kill her outright. oh also, before he was put in the sky to guard the last Silmaril Earendil had two children, Elrond & his brother Elros the first King of Numenor. Tolkien's lore is deep & vast & the Silmarils are at the center of it. 💕💕💕💕 The Star of Eärendil is the light that shines in the horizon both in the morning and the evening. It consists in a boat raised by the Valar and led by Eärendil, who carries a shining Silmaril while watching the Doors of Night. The Door of Night was a portal in the distant Uttermost West that leads to heaven, and/or the Void. Eärendil's ship Vingilot was taken by the Valar from the rim of the world, passed through the Door and was lifted into the "oceans of heaven". PS: Eärendil is ELROND’s half Vanyar Elf half human father, that father was the son of the great Tuor of the great stories of The Children Of Húrin book!❤❤❤❤ Aragorn is a CLOSE descendant of a direct bloodline to Elros(Elrond’s Twin Brother) The title of half elven (Peredhel) was due to the combined history of Beren&Lúthien, his mother Elwing was the granddaughter of Lùthien! Eärendil was the husband of Elwing. The true half elf; son of the best elvish women ever who rescued hundreds from the highest of elvish kingdoms(Gondolin); her name is Idril & one of the best most powerful men around named Tuor. Who later on when they went to Valinor together through their own way lead to him choosing to be counted as One Of The Eldar for Idril. Eärendil did the same for Elwing. ❤

The sword Gandalf wielded caused the Balrog’s primordial sword to burst into a rain of molten lava in an almost majestic way. It too belong to high elven king Turgon of the great hidden realm of Gondolin, surrounded by tallest mountains. Named Glamdring; meaning “Foe Hammer”. Gandalf broke the balrog’s unholy weapon. Epic right? His original staff broke when he let some of his true powers show to grant a miracle from his own life force. This is the same thing for how the elves do “magic” Galadriel herself tells Frodo and Sam that things elves do may seem like magic but they don’t really use such a word since they are one with the world, symbiotic with it if the world perished so would they. Just so you know; the balrog and Gandalf fought for 10 days straight. Then eldrich terrors(nameless things) assailed them both and they begrudgingly fought them off together and Gandalf resumed his chase of the balrog up the endless stairs of Dúrin’s Tower where they fought up at the top of ZirakZigil Gandalf was given the ring of fire (Narya) by one of the oldest remaining elves from the first clans to wake beneath the stars before the sun and moon ever existed; at the Cuiviènen river named Círdan. Its best attribute was it raises the spirits of those who wear it. Bolstering internal strength and so forth. He knew it would aid Gandalf in his quest from the Valar and Eru Îlluvatar (the one AllFather) themselves to bolster the spirits of the free peoples of middle earth and to sow seeds of hope within the hearts of Men, Elves and Dwarves alike.

The time between Bilbo’s birthday party until Frodo leaves Bag End is about 17 years in the book. But the time from when Frodo & Sam leave Bag End until the conclusion of the events involving the Ring is about 6-7 months in the book. FYI…

They filmed them all at the same time, back-to-back-to-back over about a year and a half. It’s really one long movie. The continuity is unmatched. It will probably never happen again.

The part about the dead marshes includes Legolas’ Father; Thranduil, & grandfather Oropher, were to join the Last Alliance in from a different angle to achieve a certain war tactic but Oropher and others got waylayed by orcs & many corrupted men which lead to eventually Oropher dying there, this loss effected Legolas’s father so very deeply forevermore. The bond between he and his son is the same bond Thranduil has with Legolas. And the braid he wears is to honour his grandfather. I believe after his death braids became less common. A sort of respect thing I believe. ❤️❤️❤️ Both his father and Grandfather lived in Doriath(Elu Thingol’s domain[Elwë], which was heartbea of middle earth; Aside from Gondolin which held this mantle until it’s secret location was given up by a tortured elf who was the son of a very important mother who was the sister of the high king Turgon). All on a landmass called Beleriand that sunk under the sea after a set of disastrous events that lead to many greater outcomes much later on in the legendarium. ✨✨✨ This here is a whole set of stories of which also includes a quite a bit of Galadriel too but moreso other characters during this era. Of Beren And Lùthien comes to mind and Children Of Hurin!! You’ll fall in love even more after the third movie. Then you can enter into the lore videos like Moviejoob and OmarioRPG have done reaction videos too. Amazing stuff. One thing to add though is this scene resembles a lot from the other battle Tolkien was involved in called The Battle Of Somme. Look into it and tell me your thoughts. I’ll add something here though: that clan of elves really didn’t like being under the command of anyone else so they went ahead without the order and let’s just say it didn’t end well. That and they weren’t fond of the Ñoldor… huge history there as to why that is. That and the Sindar subgroup of these clans were a tiny bit more isolationist. But there are many amazing Sindar in the legendarium too Elrond and his two sons and daughter are connected to all of the main clans of men and elves through the union of his half elf father and full elf(quarter goddess) mother. Who essentially played a huge role in saving the world from the original dark lord Morgoth. Gained the Favour Of Valinor. Which subsequently lead to Numenor being a gift from the sea to the men who helped. Becoming blessed. Their land existing within the light of Valinor as it was situated closely to The Undying Lands. (The same ancestry Aragorn has that Èowyn spoke of while they were travelling to Helm’s Deep! (Elrond’s Twin Brother became the first king of Númenor. His name becoming Tar-Minyatur, and those faithful to Eru, the elves and the natural world all of this line carried Tar before their name! Ar for Aragorn is the word meaning Noble in his tongue called Adúnaic. That too is a fleshed out language Tolkien created too. Elvish languages also were placed into the official list of world languages too!

It's the original map drawn by Tolkien. It's usually glued to the back cover of every book.

I’m glad you’re going to eventually watch the extended editions. If the extended editions had been available rather than the theatrical versions, I would have chosen the extended editions. Hands-down. That said, I’m glad you’re going to watch the extended versions someday.

Gandalf (Olórin) is the same species of being as the Balrogs/Sauron before twisted by Melkor[Morgoth]. They are all Maiar (primordial spirits) created by Eru’s Thought (extensions of Eru Îlluvatar himself whilst they had their own free will & individuality. He essentially got the chance to experience and study other parts of himself through this.) among the other Ainur before the Years of the Lamps roughly 9,000+ years before arriving in Middle-earth; In Valinor he was known as Olórin.(Remember though he formally existed before the world existed and his form becoming Gandalf hadn’t happened yet. He was sent to Middle-earth in human form around the year 1000 of the Third Age. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ So his many forms had different ages in length of existing. He’s very cool right! Could he get any cooler!? 😎❤️ Another thing is when he arrived in middle earth he was disguised as an elf & lived among them whilst they were unknowing & he became to be known as Mithrandir to the Quendi/Eldar❤️ He could have very well dwelled with the elves far earlier just do to his curiosity & simple desire to explore and be around the firstborn (TheElves) Gandalf The Grey/White Estimated at 15,000 years old (following his quote "300 lives of men, I have walked this earth"), It says that Gandalf was the wisest of the Maiar besides Melian herself. There were a lot of Maiar that were considered really great and powerful. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ However, there is a much longer answer. Like Sauron(former name is Mairon) & the other Istari (the order sent around the same time & of which he was appointed leader but he being who he is & a student of the Vala by the name Nienna & Lorien(Irmo). Gandalf was one of the Maiar, an angelic spirit created by Eru at the beginning of time and therefor one of the many Ainur who sang the world into being & Eru just helped their creation take shape and basically stated “behold YOUR creation” & basically what happens in that world goes sort of preordained as by that song eons ago so really only the ages after Dagor Dagorath will truly be an age that isn’t full of strife; sadness; and longing. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Also. These lamps are what were before even the two trees. These were Giant mountains but also like light houses but housing a great power but it may have also been where two special Maia lived that helped in the creation in the sun and moon after Melkor With eldrich terror Ungoliant killed the trees, so yea “Arien” is the Maia who basically exists with the sun and her brother and or lover of sorts is the one who wanders with and guides the moon. Of which that other Maia was “Tillion” Galadriel herself not only witnessed this but as a student of Aulë and the other Valar she obviously had involvement in helping create the hallowed objects that housed the final flower of the silver tree Telperion that was the father of the moon and the mother of the sun was Laurëlin the golden tree and prior to the sun and moon they too used to wax and wane!

Saruman didn’t “fall” he thought he could play the double agent. He thought he could pretend to be Sauron’s ally, get the ring, destroy it, and return to Valinor as a hero. But instead he got played by Sauron.

No, you're wrong. The reason a majority of us insist on you seeing the extended versions is because we've also read the books and know, after seeing the theatrical release of the films, that the extended versions offer a better understanding of the filmed material. Just be honest about not wanting to sit through the longer extended versions of the film. It's okay. 🙂

I want to say that i agree with you, when it comes to watching the movie for the first time, that the theatrical version is always the way to go. People often forget, that the reason why they fell in love with the cinematic adaption of Lotr back in the early 2000s in the first place, was because they saw the theatrical version duh. I think the pacing is perfect, every scene, every dialog fits perfect. In the extended version the pacing is slightly off, and it effects the next scene and the next scene and so on. Light Spoiler: (doesnt spoil story/ only extended version related) Certain scenes with a certain gondorian man and a certain shieldmaiden seem unecessary and out of place in the extended edition of the 3rd movie. Love the reaction!!!

At 36:05, I think Eowyn has discovered here for the first time in her life that someone is taking her seriously.

Great reaction! So excited for you to see the third one. Yes each movie is better than the previous, and then each extended version is also increasingly better, which is hard to imagine, but they are and that's why these movies have stood the test of time. The symbolisms, and heroic characters and their attributes and how they all grow together is relatable to anyone who has a good heart and cares for good to win over evil.

Bernard Hill played Theoden, who passed away two weeks ago R. I . P. now in the halls of his ancestors.

The extended versions best reflect my love of and the meaning the books held for me before the movies came out. They Peter Jackson’s take on the Tolkiens work captures the soul of the books, in many ways putting on film what I imagined middle earth to look and feel like. I don’t know what its like to only see this work as a “movie” and that is why I would recommend reacting to the extended versions. Enjoy watching theatrical, extended, listening to the audio version, reading the books and viewing behind the scenes for the full experience! 😂 For a good movie experience I suggest, sitting back and let the story unfold. All needed to get the point of the story is there.

Aragorn grew up in Rivendell. The scene where Aragorn tries to return the necklace always makes me amazed at the attention to detail in these films. If you think back to the look on Arwen's face as the Fellowship left Rivendell, knowing now that this conversation had already taken place, you'll see what I mean. Legolas comes from Mirkwood (formerly Greenwood the Great). He is a woodland elf of the line of Elves that stayed in Middle Earth when many crossed the sea to Valinor and lived among the pantheon of demi-gods. Arwen, Galadriel, et al. are of the Elves who left Middle Earth, then returned. So kin from their very beginnings, but waaaay back, but not close kin at all.

At 44:00, much of the middle part of this movie was invented by the screen-writers. Peter Jackson is said to have based the action on "Zulu," a movie he much admired, where a small band of British soldiers face an enormous army of Zulu warriors. Here, the Rohirrim are facing Wargs, which are imagined as a sort of cross between a hyena and a grizzly bear. In the book, the Wargs are intelligent werewolves. In FOTR, as the Company turns defeated from trying to cross the Pass of Caradhras, they are attacked at night by a pack of Wargs; Gandalf defeats them by setting a hilltop on fire. In the book, this is why the Company decides to go through the Mines of Moria.

Ok can’t wait for the next one. Love it so much

Great reaction and I get you point on theatrical versions but you have to watch the extended version of return it’s the only one that actually changes the movie please take that into consideration

The Uruks are from Isengard, the orcs are from Mordor. The Uruk were supposed to hand the Hobbits over but Sauraman had already decided he was going to betray Sauron. That was the argument. At least I think that’s correct.

The extended editions are simply a superior viewing experience on many levels. Unlike many extended edits of films, LotR didn't add bloat- the extended editions are simply the completed films.

At 17:00, each Orc wore foam latex prosthetics that took several hours each day to apply. The suits were good for about a week's wearing before they had to be discarded. The pile of dead Orcs is a pile of discarded Orc-suits. Waste not, want not...

When Frodo seems to be petting the Ring, the Ring is "Grooming" Frodo. Dragons are MUCH bigger.

The extended cuts are a better represention of Tolkien's story because even with the extended edition, parts of the story are left out. The theatrical editions are out there because of the bean counters and their fear the audience wouldn't be able to sit and pay attention for even the cut down version's run time, and therefore their investors wouldn't make their money back.

Bernard Hill played King Theoden. He died a few weeks ago.

In the case of this trilogy, I would humbly suggest that watching the Extended Versions first, if for no other reason than many plot points are a lot clearer, then watch the theatrical versions for a better understanding of what was cut out for the theatrical releases, and perhaps why. (Yeah, I know, you are already done viewing the full series as of the date this was uploaded.)

Dude. I can’t believe you talked over Sam’s speech at the end!! PLEASE don’t do that in the next movie. There are some amazing scenes dialogues coming and we want to relive those with you. PLEASE.

Some of the best humor is "gallows humor"! Ive been known to dabble, myself;)

Also, this is an adaptation of the books, compressed for cinema. Don't let people confuse you by conflating book and movie. The duration of this trilogy is approximately 5 years, 13 months of that from shire to shire.

The Wizards are in fact angelic beings, known as Maiar, sent by the Valar (Gods) to Middle Earth, in the guise of old wise men, to advise the peoples in their struggles against Sauron. Sauron & the Balrog were once Maiar too, albeit fallen angels. Saruman was the head of the order & although good, was extremely arrogant. In the lore Saruman was researching The One Ring. His arrogance & his thirst for knowledge made him more susceptible to its effects, merely by researching its lore. He also thought he could outwit Sauron. While pretending to find The Ring for Sauron, his real intent was to keep it for himself & overthrow The Dark Lord. Another bit of info to correct a misconception, though the lead up to Frodo leaving the shire was many years longer in the book, the actual quest took 13 months. One last thing I end up telling reactors: the winged creatures ridden by the Nazgul are not Dragons. Though not formerly named by Tolkien in the book, the creatures are referred to s "Fell Beasts."

The extended version answers most of your questions.

Maps? I printed my own. An invaluable piece of art, available on several sites also an extremely helpful way of keeping geography straight. BTW there's a wealth of information on many very valuable LOTR fandom websites. Until you finish watching all three movies be careful because of spoilers but they're a great resource for those who are interested.

Map of Middle-Earth? I have one on the wall behind me right now.

One thing to know about Haldir (the elf leader): Elves bodies can be killed, but their souls cannot. They are truly immortal.

Faramir's battle is in Osgiliath, the city in the river that was once the capitol of Gondor. The country east where they met Frodo and Sam is Ithilien. East of Ithilien is 'the dead city' which was once a fortress of Gondor, but fell to Sauron and is occupied by the Nazgul. Minas Tirith, the fortress west of the River, is now the Capitol, but Gondor still extends south and also west into the mountains behind Minas Tirith. BTW, Tolkien did not want the 'third' book named 'Return of the King'. It was a stupid thing for the publishers, George Allen and Unwin, to insist upon.

Missed this when it dropped. Hurricane Beryl, ya know. Here late, but here for it! They filmed all three concurrently. They were released at the rate of one per year., beginning in 2001. Frodo and Sam can't find a way down from the Emyn Muil. All they're seeing is straight dropoffs. Saruman is in the tower of Orthanc in Isengard. Sauron is in the tower of Barad Dur, hundreds of miles South and East. Saruman was very slowly seduced, partly through using the Palantir (seeing stone). Sauron had taken one long before (from Osgiliath) and was able to control what Saruman saw and brainwash him. Of course, if Saruman had not desired power over others, he wouldn't have fallen victim to the seduction.

Andy Serkis was there with them

The majority of the filming for all three movies happened at the same time, and they were released one year apart during the holiday season.

In the story, they are only gone about half a year or so from the Shire, for the two towers time period.

1:40 i like your decision on that and I'm all here for it! I think too that the extended edidion is even better, knowing what is extended and what is not. After watching both I'm sure all will agree that the extended IS in fact better. Nontheless you get more out of it watching the theatrical cut first and then the extended cut

My answer to your intro. If I haven't seen the movies and I were to choose which version to see first, I'd choose the extended editions. For me, it's not worth to see the theatrical ones and it goes for other movies too not just LOTR. But that's just me since I'm into the full experience every time. Just an FYI, I did see the theatrical versions first and when I learned about the extended ones, I never looked back 😁

Yes, I have a map of Middle Earth. In fact, I have maps of Middle Earth through the Three Ages.

That wasn't a dragon the Black Rider was riding. Tolkien does not give it a name beyond "a fell beast."

this is kinda nice, i haven't seen the theatrical version since...they came out in theaters originally. i've seen the extended probably 100 times by now lol

Legolas is from a different Elven line. Arwen and Aragorn are actually distant cousins! Elrond's (Half-Elven) brother Elros choose to become mortal thousands of years ago and he became the first King of the Human Kingdom of Numenor. He is Aragorn's distant ancestor. Elrond is Aragorn's great, great, great, great...Uncle!

I’m a huge Lotr fan who watches the extended version often and I actually think that the theatrical versions are much better to introduce people to the LOTR universe, especially for ppl who are not big fantasy fans. The extended versions are a little daunting due to their length/extra information, they also have pacing issues due to the extra scenes(mainly in the 3rd).

At 47:00, Legolas and Arwen are unrelated.

Unpopular take: watching the theatrical version 1st is a Must because there's a reason the director removed certain scenes. They are the dead leaves that were culled by the gardener. Unnecessary.

Telling a hobbit to 'go home' is the worst line in the movie. Its like telling someone in Atlanta to go to their home in Chicago. (Except that the land is full of wolves, orcs, robbers and Eru knows what)

All three films were filmed in a relatively short period early on in the process. The (limited) CGI had then to be added, especially Gollum, and choices from all the material available. The films were released at 1 year intervals. Imagine the agony of waiting that long!!

Are we at a movie theater ? No, we are not so watch the whole friggin' movie! The so called extended editions are the complete films, the theatrical "cuts" are just that. Films that have been cut down to fit the theaters schedule.

I'd say Smeagol/Gollum saved THE RING, not Frodo, in the Dead Marshes. Hama, the door warden of King Theoden, is so overlooked. His face shows that he heartily dislikes Grima. He holds back his men from attacking Gandalf and company too. Another thing almost always overlooked is the amazing horse (or horses) that plays the part of Shadowfax. He's ridden bareback and without bridle (sort of) and yet does things that are difficult to train a horse to do. (Just my horse crazy rant.)

Your reaction at 24:27 . Yeah, you belong in Middle Earth. I'm glad you're enjoying the movies. I think the reason why so many people urge you to watch the extended versions is, at least the way i see it, it's because we had to wait a WHOLE YEAR! to get an extended version. So we're anxious for you to enjoy what we had to wait so long for. But I kinda agree with you, enjoy the theatrical versions, then do the extended. Also that way, when you watch the extended, you I'm sure you'll pick up that you might've missed the first time around. It's a journey! The Hobbit is just fun. I truly enjoyed Prime's Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. The story of the creation of the Rings. Takes place in the 2nd Age. Thousands and thousands of years before Frodo and Bilbo. And it is visually stunning! The shots of the Dwarven underground kingdom are incredible! Anyway, enjoy the rest of your journey in Middle Earth. May the good will of Elves, Men & Dwarves be with you... Namárië

Now if you just asked me on the street I do not insist you have to watch the extended edition - that’s not what I saw in the theaters in 2001 to 2003. HOWEVER, different story if you’re a YT reactor. Literally every one here keeps telling you guys to watch the extended versions. If you have followers recommending movies everyone is clear you need the extended editions. There’s no way you don’t get that message good and hard. Yet some like you inexplicably ignore all that & come up with some lame excuse just to save yourself a half hour. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I don’t know, makes no sense.

We all could use a friend like Sam.

I would watch an extended version rewatch of you, especially for you to talk about HOW MUCH GOT CUT

When he said he’s watching the theatrical version,I bounced. Fans are helping you so you could understand it better. We watched the theatrical version when it was released because it was the only choice we had. You have that option to choose the better one. It’s like going to a grocery store and found your favorite product on sale for a buy one get one free deal, but you chose to take just one out of principle. 🙄 Go figure.

I watched the Bakshi animated film in the theatres when I was a kid ( 4 times) Then I had to read the books of course because the film is only half the story. I was absolutely enchanted, maybe because of the amazing worldbuilding, I also appreciated the words he up. Later I had audio dramatizations in English and German which I listened to a lot. So the films came relativrly late in the game. So I love Frodo a lot more than most people who saw the films first. ( Except Elijah Wood fan girls of course.)

King Theoden is Eomer and Eowyn's uncle, not their father.

Oh that aint a dragon, dragons in this world are far, far more terrifying. Those are closer to dinosaur birds that don't really have proper name in the movies. They're called "black wings" in the books if I recall right.

1:07 Please let me stop you right there. I've watched the extended edition first, and let me tell you that I adored it from the very beginning. Then when I watched the theatrical cut later, I could see how much *less* I liked those. While I can concede some scenes being cut, there were absolutely crucial moments that didn't make it as well. Boromir for example is greatly simplified - and in a way vilified - in the theatrical cut. I can understand not wanting to watch something as long as the extended edition. If that's your choice, it's perfectly fine, the theatrical cut is already a masterpiece. But when people tell you that the extended version is better, please don't chalk it up to the superfans' overenthusiasm, because in this case it's more of an objective truth.

When Aragorn is showing the young man the value of his sword, Haleth introduces himself as "Haleth son of Hama". Hama was the guard at the gate of Edoras who asks the Company to disarm before entering to meet with Théoden, and who is the first one killed by the Warg (some sort of hyena/wolf cross) rider when Théoden's people are attacked on the road to Helm's Deep. In the book he is killed defending the Hornburg. For further, lookup "Helms Deep in "Tolkien Gateway" The largest Lord of the Rings encyclopedia.

I have the map. its from the book: the two towers

different "tribes" of elves, legolas from further south if i remember correctly. been awhile seen ive read the books.

You will find out during the Hobbit

I suggest you get some tissues for Part 3 ;)

Don’t neglect the books!

nope. saw the extended first. and they have important scenes not included in theatrical.

its one film, split into 3 parts.

This dude gets an instant downvote for trying to “outsmart” the LOTR community. What a clown 🤡

No, it has nothing to do with the fact that we saw the theatrical versions beforehand. There are actually no "extended" editions, there are only horribly mutilated theatrical versions in which very important scenes are missing.