LOTR bloopers: Gimli's hair request of Galadriel could have been WEIRD 

It worked perfectly just having Gimli say it instead and Legolas smiles to himself. Gimli only gets 2 serious moments in the trilogy but this one is one of the best overall thematically.

He puts it in a gem which is the most dwarf thing ever.

The gift of her hair is even more poetic if you've read the Silmarillion, Feanor (a super handsome, cool, popular and powerful elf lord) demanded of Galadriel a lock of her hair for an enchanted gem or something he was making, and she said No. But to Gimli, she gave what he asked, because Gimli is a fuckin boss.

The three hairs were significant. Feanor, the greatest elven craftsman in Valinor, the creator of the Silmarils that held the last ofvthe light of the two trees that were before the sun and moon (one of which is set as a star that Galadriel captured some of the light she gave to Frodo, it was sacred light which was why it burnt Shelob so badly, even though it was her grandmother that killed those trees), three times asked Galadriel for a hair, she refused each time as she saw his darkness where others didn't, and here a dwarf, whom had often had shakey relations with the elves, she deems worthy of the three hairs she denied Feanor when he humbly asks for but one. Even without the history, its still a beautiful moment. And I really do ramble on 😅

I love how they did it in the Extended Edition. Rhys-Davies performs that moment beautifully.

"hates elves" "asks pretty elf for hair*

Sad, because that is one of the keypoints where the misconception with generalized term for dwarves as uncivilized and unmannered is cleared by Gimli. In the book, Galadriel became fond of Gimli because of how straightforward yet so respectful and considerate Gimli talked to her especially when he asked Galadriel for a strand of hair. It was so gentleman of Gimli contrary to elves popular belief.

Love how the comment section just ignores the explanation of why they can't film it and goes to explain why She gave Gimli 3 strands of hair.😂😂😂

I'm just glad they mentioned it. It's a very sweet moment especially when you know why it's significant beyond elves and dwarves don't get along.

i think there's a lot of storytelling in movies that take the "show don't tell" doctrine to the disservice of storytelling. i think this is a great example when it's sometimes better to tell, not show.

That indeed is very visuually pleasing when reading the book, it would have very difficult to pull off without mking it seem awkward. It may sound like it wouldn't be hard to do so but bare in mind that many great directors and filmmakers have tried to translate scenes that would be sweet and wholesome only to come off as unnerving or even make a scary scene seem hilarious. Respect should be given to Peter, John and the team for highlighting this point and considering not to film said scene. Only a fool films whatever they like and ignores their colleagues.

People seem to be forgetting that he only asked because she requested he do so. Gimli on his own would have NEVER asked for it, only did so because he was commanded to.

It is one of the most significant moments in the book and the whole of Tolkiens books. The same request was denied thousands of years ago, which contributed significantly to a sequence of events which led, one way or another to 1000s of years of war, suffering, and death.

It was just such a cool moment because it’s the first we see gimli really warming up to the elves

It's an ancient practice that Tolkien was translating forward from the Anglo-Saxon legends that he built his early career studying. A man would ask for a favour from a lady who he wanted to champion, and a lock of hair was something simultaneously personal and precious but also inexpensive. It may be the sweetest scene in the entire trilogy because it communicates Gimli's change of heart to not only an acceptance of elves but a deep love that he wishes to express through action as a warrior. To call it weird is an enormous disservice to Tolkien himself.

What parts to leave out is one of the most important skills when going from book to film. Great example.

Also, I cried so much watching this again yesterday, the devotion to friends, the beaitiful landscapes, and the princess bride scene with vigo n liv

I always assumed be braided it into his beard

Didn't another elf ask her for her hair and she refused because she didn't trust him then giving it to gimli meant that the alliance between elfs and dwarfs still had hope

This was a scene from the extended version - i absolutely loved this when i saw it, and still do!

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel simply brought me to tears how beautiful she was.

Brush her hair with her hand and he wraps it around his ring finger. Very poetic.

She was asked for 3 strands of hair by her uncle Feanor 5000 years before Gimli did

Apparently after the events of the LOTR , gimli becomes leader of the cave dwarves ( I forget the name) and their archenstone possesses the three hairs within. So he put the hairs in his kingdoms main gem.

Gimli: I want that weapon that Sauron used to hit 50 guys with one swing

I think that the way it was made in the extended edition it was perfect, one of my favourite lotr scenes ever, just so enchanting.

In the past Feanor had asked for a strand of Galadriel's hair three times and each time she denied him, because he wanted it as a sign of his own power to use it in the making of an enchanted item to aggrandize himself. Gimli wanted it only as a remembrance of his personal meeting and enchantment of Galadriel. So she gave him three strands.

It would have been cool to see one or two locks of her hair braided into his beard for the reminder of the trilogy.

Knowing how good of an actress cate Blanchett is she could’ve definitely made this moment so ethereal and magical. In my eyes it seemed that they could have pulled it off.

A reminder that John Rhys-Davis was in the original TV series of "Shogun" back in the early 1980s as the Portuguese captain.

I actually really love the moment between Gimly and Legolas on the boat, when Gimly tells him she gave him three. It's a sweet bonding moment that is brief but so beautifully acted by both that I absolutely get the intention. It gives me the feels every time. F**king love these films.

Someone didn't read the silmarilion

A strand of three is literally a braided section of your hair. If you’re Irish or have Viking lineage then you would get this. It’s something the women would do for the warriors they loved was braid a small section of hair to act as a sort of lucky bracelet for them to wear on their travels and in the battle field

I think in the book legolas comments on this and they talk about it too

I think they did it beautiful in the movies. Especially since he's telling Legolas the elf about it. 😊

This was one of my favorite part of the book. Loved that it was added to the extended version.

I think there is also some context missing for those today that would have been recognized during Tolkien's time. Before photographs became easy to create, people would take the hair of loved ones including when they died and turn it into jewelry or decor similar to photographs, but more personal. There are some people who turned the hair from members of the family into embroidery and would add to it with each generation. Sometimes, men would receive braided locks of their wife's hair as part of a ring or a token of love. Sometimes, the hair from promised lovers would be braided together and shared between the two people. Add in children's hair to the braided lock or ring to the husband who went away for a while or to war. The closest we often think of to any of that is the locket with a lock of hair in it. The jewelry locket has a long and loving history.

I love these behind the scenes LOTR videos

Yes I can see how awkard it would have been but very hilarious how he explained it 😂😂😂😂

3 guitar strings already broken handed over like golden arrows and he holds them like a baby while the elves look in awe at her gift 😁

I understand that some sacrifices had to be made to preserve the structural integrity of the films, I just wish Tom Bombadil’s house didn’t have to be one of those sacrifices.

I think another reason it works so well is you can see the excitement in his eyes and the giddiness in his voice when he says "she gave me three!"

He just wasnt thinking creatively enough. Galadriel reached for head. Cut to: Gimli is looking down. Galadriels hand comes into frame. The camera focuses from Gimli to her hand. Cut to: galadriel smiles Boom. Easy. You dont have to show her even plucking her hair

I think this movie is one of the best book to movies ever made. I was absolutely obsessed with LOTR movies when they came out. And I have to say they have aged so beautifully.

"Too cumbersome" what a word!

My favorite part of the book . Its beautifully written .

This problem is exactly why Tolkien never liked any adaptions of his books that he saw in his own lifetime and thought that film was literally “hostile” to true fantasy which in his eyes meant the experience of being completely lost in another world without any even shred of suspension of disbelief, something he believed was only possible in literature because when you’re watching a movie or play you will never truly believe that a man in a costume is an elf or dwarf but when reading a book you don’t have any limitation from the constraints of what can be achieved in reality hampering your imagination and thus you can get truly lost in another world

At least they got the classic 80s skateboarding movie style shield surfing scene spot on, just like in the book.

I think they did it well. Gimli and Galadriel’s dynamic is awesome in the book, how she won him over by using the dwarven names and defending him from her husband, then he will fight any who smack talk her.

50 years before between bilbo passing off the ring to frodo and gandalf figuring out what it is and confronting frodo

It’s in the extended edition and it’s beautiful

You know, this channel is honestly a delight, most RU-vid Shorts try to toxicly and lazily sensationalize with their narration, you really just use it to set up the clip in a nice, relaxed way Way to go, thank you for that 👍

The significance of Galadriel giving Gimli three strands of her hair is that when her uncle, Faenor, the most powerful elf in Valinor (the everlasting Home of the elves) and creator of the Silmarils, requested one strand, she refused 3 times. He wanted them for their material value, whereas Gimli wanted them for their spiritual value.

In the book Galadriel says “Hair, the little guy wants my hair, ok… a bit weird, but I did toss you a blank check so that’s on me, here you go, shit I grabbed three, well it’s your lucky day there Sniffy. May our two peoples join together and have a laugh at your expense over this bit o lore. Now get in the canoe”

Gifting hair sounds romantic until you see someone gifting hair. I'd certainly be underwhelmed and weirded out if I received a lock of hair.

Had they changed the line to “a lock of your hair” it could have worked. And then had her gracefully cut a lock of hair. Especially if afterwards Gimli maybe braided the lock into his own hair or his beard.

The biggest difference is learning that on Bilbo's 111th birthday, Mary & spippin were supposed to be 12 & in return of the king, they're 29 not even adults by hobbit standard which is granted at age 33, Frodo's age when Bilbo left.

Another case of deviation that I think was 100% the right move is in how the reforging of Narsil was handled. In the books, it's reforged and renamed and Aragorn takes it up as they leave Rivendell. And over the course of things, the legend of the sword is emphasized as Aragorn uses it as a badge of office essentially, and it's still immediately recognized by those who see it. In the movies they didn't really have the time to set it up that way, so the reforging was saved for when the sword was most needed, allowing for the biggest climactic payoff. Which ironically made the name, "Anduril, Flame of the West, forged from the shards of Narsil" stick better in my mind.

Also what is missed by many who read the book or watch the films is the significance of Galadriel gifting him the 3 hairs and you have to do a deeper dive into the lore to find that answer.

ask for a single hair and she gives a full lock

Make them glowy strings of hair. 3 lines of light is easy, and tells you instantly why it's a big deal.

They made the right call. *I'm certain Tolkien would have agreed.

It could have also been translated as a lock of hair, but that still may have shown more as romantic than adoration

I think there’s a secondary reason why they didn’t include this moment in the films. While the generations that would have recognized the gift of a hair (or three hairs) as a romantic gesture might well have still been alive when the films were being released, and may have gone to see them, the writers/director/producers more than likely predicted that the majority of the audience would be individuals from the generations when such gestures - and especially the request for such a gesture - was weird to the point of being kind of creepy. I don’t personally see it this way, but I know many people my age probably would unless given an explanation of the tradition behind it. Of course, they still had to include some mention of the gift in the films, or else both Gimli and Galadriel’s characters might be diminished, but not actually having the visual of the gesture - beyond being more practical and less fussy - in turn diminished the “ick” that many audience members may have felt.

"I would have one hair from your..." Why did bro pause so long! 😱

I luv the fact that a Dwarf who’s people revere facial hair would ask for pure golden strands! But yeah, would be pretty weird to film!

Not to mention having to explain feanor's three rejections by galadriel

Iirc, in the book Gimli carefully coiled the hairs onto a nice handkerchief and gently folded it up to put in his breast pocket for safekeeping, but I could be wrong, my step-dad still has my 50th anniversary one volume edition of the books.

in the silmarillion, basically a f*** boy wanted galadriel and demanded 3 hairs to make some gems that were gonna be magical and pretty. she says no, drama unfolds... but GIMLI, a dwarf known for their greed simply asks for ONE hair as proof of how amazing she is, and she gives him 3. showing how much she values HIM and and his character, versus the last guy trying to get her hair. and their races have hated each other for AWHILE so her generosity and his awe of her is that much more poetic.

I disagree. They portrayed it just as I expected. The same as any asking for the something they have to go fetch it. She would go pull the hairs out and prepare them in a way to store them. Makes perfect sense to me

That's because in the books. Her hair is no regular hair. It shines the light of the two trees.

Bah. This is what extreme close-ups are for.

Omg!! This scene was perfect 👏 straight from the book 📚 i adored it soo

Meantime, people with long, thick hair know that she just had to brush her hair with her hand and she would have got 10 hairs.

Just have her literally wave her hand and fingers through her hair close up shot no face play a harp plucking down a wave of notes rapidly Wave her hand close up over two dark brown leather gloves and key light the light blonde hair thats left behind which will easily shine and show on film. Or gimli finds a random white elven bead and she inhumanly accurately and fast braids the 3 hairs with only her fingers holding one end and quickly with no effort strings the bead in another wave and holds it with one finger to gimli so now you dont even have to seen the hair as long as you see the bead the audience knows the hair is there. Or she could lick her finger and take her finger and thumb in a pinch and twist the hair and pull down in one stroke kindof binding the hair to run in through the bead. Kindof like how a mother licks her hand to fix her sons messy hair and then does seemingly impossible classically feminine tasks that takes insane dexterity and eyesight. A lot symbolism there If you had made it a light gold bead and a few more hairs a braid is a weave all intertwined like their lives carrying the ring. Each one that dies a hair strand turns up broken, or departed from the task of bearing the ring, but the weave stays together where it can. Until finally there are only 2 strands left and gimli watches and wonders but its never said. It would only take 2 seconds of film to glance down and clutch the bead. Gimli could show it as a necklace or a bracelet over his gauntlet or the head of the axe or in his beard or just hanging from his belt like a charm.

You take off the glove and coil it around to make a lock to put in a leather pouch as a keepsake

This movie series did a great job in honoring the books but, still adjusting things for the new medium.

but they had to go with "YOU GET A KNIFE! YOU GET A KNIFE!" didn't they? and for the hair they could've just given them like they've given everything else. 3 hair in sliver of shiny glass, or a locket, glowing with own light as gimli simply bows with greatfulness. there in 10 second i could solve this "problem"

Also remember Gimli did this because he fell in love with Galadriel on first sight, and was ready to divorce Faramir's head from his shoulders because he preferred Eowyn (mostly jokingly ofcourse)

I don't know if Gimli even mentioned to her that the beauty of a (certain) elf can even surpass the Simarils.

You film her hands like a character and her hair as the backdrop its that simple. Literally all you see is hands and hair like a loreal commercial or even get a hair commercial person if you wanted. Static on the hair the hand waves through from right to left. Immediately cut to the same speed hand from left to right over gimlis hands but with 3 blonde hairs left behind over contrast of dark gloves. Play 1 long harp chord to symbolize the beginning and end of the wave. With extreme grace.

This is the type of change I can understand and make allowance for. Unfortunately, some of the other changes were much less justified, especially as they got farther along in the story.

I feel like for the movie they could have interpreted 3 hairs as multiple hairs instead. Ghimli asks for 1 hair and instead just receives multiple hairs that can be seen by the camera

In the mind who ever loves fantasy we would have loved for them to put everything in movie from the book. We understand and it would have been awesome sauce to 👀

In the book, she asks what he would do with it.

He’s awesome

She could have pulled the three hairs in private, braided them, then put them in a small box to hand to him.

Miranda ( in her Tolkien Tuesdays) explains the significance of Galadriel gifting 3 of her hairs so well...

A lock of hair is used quite a bit in myth

its a shame they weren't able to give more exposition behind that gift. Bu they did it so well it doesnt really matter.

"I meant the carpet hair, not the drape hair."

I met him once. He is one of the nicest gentlemen I've had the privilege of meeting.

I just recently watched all the extended editions with my friends who haven't read the books. They were joking that Gimli is a creep and I tried to explain that it comes off as a sweet moment in the book especially because Gimli had been so prejudiced against elves but apparently now im a creep too. 😐

And now i will never be able to read fellowship again without thinking about this

It's one of those moments where cgi would've helped tremendously, she pulls it stylishly and the hairs' golden hue shines brightly

One hair from.... Your head. He put that gap in there on purpose i just know it.

What perhaps too could’ve worked was if he was gifted a small patch of hair, perhaps a small braid, to be put in his helmet as a display of bright but humble bravery

This scene wouldn't be that hard, she doesn't have to pluck them, you just do close ups of her pulling out some fancy scissors and cutting the strands, and gimli could put them in a pouch, all you'd need to see the hairs is good lighting, or hell, use a different material that has better light reflection

Visual giving of hair was never the problem the problem was that context was never given in the movie it ended up just being weird

Sure I understand why they did that. What I do not understand is why Jackson felt that Tolkien’s heroes were “too good” and had to change the personalities and motivations of those characters. Or why he spent so much time making monsters and war scenes while cutting out really important parts of the story. Elves at Helms Deep?? Frodo acting like a jerk to Sam instead of showing the mental torment that he went through but stayed loyal to both Sam and the cause up until Mt Doom. Cutting out important characters in the story and making up his own story instead. There is so much stuff in those movies that is Jackson rather than Tolkien. He cut out over 15 years of the book. Frodo was 50 years old not 18. He had turned 33 at Bilbo’s birthday party. Having a drunken party the day after they had experienced thousands of their soldiers and civilians being slaughtered by wild men and Orcs and making Gimli look like a drunken fool. Thousands of skulls pouring down during the path of the dead. Ridiculous. Jackson started out with monster movies and that is what he turned those movies into. Sure they look great and for people who never read they seem fine but if you’re looking for Tolkien…read the books.