Our first time watching THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001 blind movie reaction! 

"Cult classic" implies a niche following, like napoleon dynamite or Scott Pilgrim. LOTR is not a cult classic, it's a modern classic with a huge following from critics and audiences alike

Lets get something straight right off the bat This isn’t a “cult classic” It’s a cinematic masterpiece

I notice this in a lot of reaction videos: for some reason many people seem to miss that until Gandalf returns and throws the ring into Frodo's fire, _they do not know it is the One Ring._ Gandalf was happy to leave it with Frodo because although his suspicions were aroused after Bilbo's behaviour (and he had wondered about the origin of it in the past), he didn't actually know anything until he discovered that test, and carried it out.

You know it's a good movie when you witness two people wondering "What, it's already over?"... after more than 3 hours 😊

Did you know that when Aragorn kicks the helmet… oh wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.

When Merrie and Pippin just stand there when Boromir is shot by the first two arrows, it is because they are in shock. Remember that Hobbits are not used to war and seeing friends getting killed in front of them.

Boromir's final heroic scene is cinematic gold and breaks me every time "I would have followed you, my brother... my captain... my king."

Growing up is understanding that boromir was a good person. Just with all the stress of protecting his people and the constant fighting that they do against the evil of Mordor it makes it understandable that the ring corrupts him so easily. NONE of the rest of the fellowship really had to deal with stuff like this before coming to rivendell. All boromir wanted to do was protect his people and in the end just before he dies he shows why he's a great man.

Gandalfs powers are not like Harry Potter everyday trinket magic. Think of it more like the divine powers of an angel sent to earth. It is used to fight other similar beings, not small skirmishes. In a regular fight he is stuck with the same tools as everyone else. There is also a matter of his location being exposed if he goes all wizard

Sam calls Frodo, "Mr Frodo" because back in the shire, Sam is Frodo's gardener. He calls him Mr out of respect for his employer

The reason no one went to help Gandalf was that everything you saw was a matter of seconds … the slowing of time in stressful situations a can make it seem much longer.

The password to gates of Moria was so easy because it was never meant to be a secret. It was created together by elves of Eregion and dwarfes of Moria as the closest route between two kingdoms. It was one of very few cases of friendship between elves and dwarfes. But by the time of War of the Ring, both of these kingdoms are destroyed, so nobody lives who remembers the password.

Boromir is perhaps the most genuine character. He perfectly embodies what it is to be human! He has both the strength, integrity and honor of men, but also their weakness and frailty. Boromir held such belief in the power of good over evil and the strength of the people of Middle Earth that he literally believed with enough willpower they could turn Sauron's work against him. He was absolutely convinced that with enough goodness and love and solidarity they could overcome the most fundamental evil of their world. The ring used those beliefs and used them to isolate Boromir from the fellowship because that's what it does. What other choice would you do when you're going up against an impossible enemy? He had the most to lose, and the Ring pounced on that. Boromir's home was literally the front line, while the others had homes that were still relatively safe at the beginning of the War of the Ring. He was also one of the only members of the Fellowship who had a reason to want the Ring. The ring is a curse. It wants to be found. The ring takes people's good attributes and uses them to twist them into something serving its own purposes. The ring literally could only corrupt Boromir the way it did because he was a fundamentally good and faithful person at heart. Galadriel said that the Ring would corrupt all of the Fellowship eventually, but it targeted Boromir first because it sensed his desperation. The ring already corrupted Gollum, Isildur, and Bilbo. In the film, it would have instantly corrupted Gandalf and Galadriel if they took that power. Yes, Boromir fell to its influence briefly, because the last threads of hope he had been grasping at since he was first drawn into the conflict against Mordor were slipping through his fingers. His country's survival was at stake, so it was only natural that he would use every resource at his disposal and do everything in his limited power that he could, and when that didn't work, even seek magical artifacts that he doesn't fully understand, just to give his people a fighting chance. Despite all that, people still don't understand him. They still call him evil, weak, or greedy. There is much more to his character that people miss in this film. He is one of the strongest members of the fellowship. This trilogy is legendary! I'm glad you two really enjoyed this!! More great things to come!

Boromir had his faults but he died a legend. The man had 3 arrows in him and the first thing he said was they took the little ones. RIP Boromir

The significance of Galadriel giving away her hair (to a dwarf of all things) can't be understated. Literally there have been wars fought in the past when her uncle asked for her hair, from a place of greed and lust, to forge an artifact, and she refused. Btw, that was Feänor, an elf that killed SEVERAL Balrogs. The importance of her giving away her hair several millenia later has a big ,meaning.

You are never late, nor early to watch this awesome trilogy. You have arrived precisely when you means to.

Tolkien created 17 (I think) languages for Middle Earth - including two separate Elf languages. He spent most of his life creating this mythology. His son compiled and published a series of 12 huge volumes of notes which includes an early rough draft of 'The Lord of the Rings'. There is another book I call the "old testament" called 'The Silmarillion', which he started while serving in WW I, and a couple of other books. He wrote the book 'The Hobbit' from bedtime stories he had created for his own kids.

The reason the fellowship splits up at the end is because Frodo decided to go to Mordor alone. Some members of the fellowship were already getting corrupted by the ring so he decided it was safer to leave the others behind.

It’s not a *cult* classic…..it just IS a CLASSIC, timeless in fact. It stands the test of time, and diving into the lore is what deepens the fans’ love for it.

28:17 the observation that moths are attracted to light is actually brilliant, especially for first time watchers, i’ve seen these movies a million times and i’d never stopped to consider that

In the book it took 17 years from Bilbo leaving The Shire to Gandalf finding out about the ring(including travel, looking & interrogate Gollum etc). Frodo kept the ring hidden in the envelope for that long, then left the Shire and ended up in Rivendell meeting Bilbo again. So its way more than a month for him to age and write his book but watching the movie its seems like it's.. instant.

one of my favorite movie quotes: “i wish none of this had happened. i wish the ring had never come to me” - “so do all he live to see such times. but that is not for them to decide. all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”

LoTR is timeless masterpiece, it has been 20+ years and I still got chills watching it even now.

Hi guys! I’m an original crew member from the trilogy, and I love to watch peoples reacts to them. I feel immensely proud to have been lucky enough to have worked on them, and the joy they’ve given to millions. I look forward to watching all 3 with you! Enjoy!!!! ❤ from NZ Edit: make sure you watch the extended versions!

The lord of the rings trilogy was nominated for 30 academy awards and won 17 total

I've always found it amazing that Tolkien wrote all these different beautiful languages for elves, dwarves, and even mordor and then wrote his stories around them

"They should follow the light" Me: "don't follow the lights"

As other have said, Tolkien was a Professor of Linguistics at Oxford. He created the Elvish language (among others) that is a recognized fully functioning language. There are several videos of him speaking Elvish on YT, and back when this story changed my life (1973), I purchased multiple records (vinyl) of Tolkien reading passages from the book and speaking parts in Elvish. I became a writer due to these books, and have an actual Tolkien autograph on my wall, that I must pass every day as I leave my bedroom. It is inspiration for me in my writing and in my life in general. The deeper one goes into Tolkien's writing, one realizes that Gandalf is not a mere wizard ... he is Maiar, an immortal spirit, much like an angel sent by God. It is not his mission to use his power to solve issues, but more to influence and guide those who can. The Silmarillion is a book published after J.R.R. Tolkien's death, that covers the creation by Illuvatar and establishes the higher characters who are above Sauron and Gandalf.

I loved that you picked up on the social hierarchy between Frodo and Sam. Sam is Frodo's gardener as his father was Bilbo's before him. Sam is the lowest ranking member of the Fellowship. Frodo is heir to Bilbo, quite rich, and he is related to the two ruling families of the shire: Tooks and Brandybucks. Merry is a Brandybuck, a noble in his own regard, and Pippin is a Took, son of the ruler of their part of the Shire.

Definitely not a cult classic. It’s main stream. The lord of the rings books are literally top 5 best selling books EVER😂 and these movies made $1 billion each

The actor playing Saruman is Sir Christopher Lee. A legit real life badass. Delving into his story is a fun rabbit hole. He was also a huge fan of the books and read them every year on his birthday. Also, he actually befriended Tolkien himself at a pub near the university Tolkien taught at. He wanted to play Gandalph, but ended up playing Saruman.

"Everything was ending on a high note" Boromir: 💀

Lots of the scenes you think are CGI are actually very well done miniature pieces that they then insert the actors in. Since most of the grand big things like those two statues are shot from a distance you can't really tell.

Most of Gandalf's magic is off-screen, because he's meant to act in the role of a counselor and guide. A few days before Frodo got stabbed, Gandalf encountered several of the Nazgul at that same ruined tower. The hobbits and Aragorn could see the flashes of fire all the way from where they were camping. He's the reason they didn't have to deal with all nine of them at once. When he's alone, facing the forces of darkness, that's when the gloves come off.

I can’t believe you guys laughed at how deep Frodo’s hand went into the water during the “I made a promise Mr. Frodo” speech. It was one of the MOST Touching moments of the movie! And it was something of an emotional climax 😂

Sam wasn’t actually that deep under the water at all, but the camera shot is supposed to represent how he felt in that moment

Christopher Lee who plays Saruman, the wizard, was probably the one in the entire cast and crew of the movie who knew the most about the story. He had read it every year for decades, and he actually had met Tolkien, the author, once. He is a legend in the movie (especially horror) industry. There are three 'Rings' movies, and there are also three movies about Bilbo Baggins and the ring, from the book 'The Hobbit'. Most people don't really like the Hobbit movies nearly as much.

Not to invalidate any of your symbolic analysis (because often, such analyses can exist in parallel as deeper layers), but Tolkien himself as a young man, before being an Oxford professor, served in World War I. Being English, he saw many young farm boys who had never traveled farther than a few miles from their homes, transported to far off battlefields to face nameless horrors. And even though these were totally outside of their experience up to that point, the sturdiness of their character allowed real heroism to emerge. Now consider as some have observed, how the map of Middle-earth, the primary continent of this world Arda, superimposes nicely with Europe and Asia, making The Shire somewhere around England's Midlands, a place filled with simple, country folk -- a people one might even view as the hobbits of Western Europe. Small people, in terms of wealth and power, who saw their sons go off to the Great War, and those who were blessed to return, came back very different people. So the hobbits were Tolkien's 'everyman' witnesses to these great events. Tolkien actually invented at least 15 languages, to greater or lesser degrees (some more fully developed than others), including two forms of Elvish (Quenya, language of Noldorin elves, the primary Elvish language at the end of the Third Age, during the events of The Lord of the Ring, and Sindarin, the mother tongue), Dwarvish _(Khuzdûl),_ Entish, etc. The Black Speech of Mordor was the original language of the inscription on the One Ring that Sauron forged, which Gandalf quoted in the Common Speech in Bag End (Bilbo's, then Frodo's, very tidy hobbit hole), then in actual Black Speech at the Council of Elrond in Rivendell. It was also this version that the Ring was murmuring as the various council attendees were arguing among themselves. Here is that inscription, in both languages (Black Speech of Mordor, and Common Speech represented here in English): _Ash nazg durbatulûk_ One ring to rule them all _Ash nazg gimbatul_ One ring to find them _Ash nazg thrakatulûk_ One ring to bring them all _Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!_ And in the darkness bind them! You'll note the root of the word that Aragorn used to describe the Nine, _Nazgûl_ (from Black Speech _nazg,_ "ring", and _gûl,_ "wraith, spirit"). You'll see bits and pieces here and there that likewise hang together, such as Arwen saying _Rochon ellint im_ ("I'm the faster rider"). _Rochon_ is a form of the word for Rohan (you'll meet these guys later, but basically a country known for their horsemanship). Tolkien's invented languages are so rich, and at this point there are people who study them, and converse in them, for fun. Good stuff!

1:05:40 When Galadriël grants Gimli three hairs, you must know she is basically the Queen of all High Elves (Legolas is "only" a Wood Elf). Feanor, one of the greatest elves, and most amazing crafters of the world had made a similar request of the golden lady thousands of years earlier. Feanor was so inspired by Galadriel’s grace and beauty, that he wished to use strands of her hair in the making of his three Silmarils, the most precious gems ever created in Middle Earth. He begged her three times for a single strand of her hair, but even though she was young and inexperienced at this point, she looked into his soul and saw that his intentions were not fair and benevolent, but were driven by greed and a desire to possess something more precious than the other elves of the time. She, therefore, refused his request, causing much wrath and anguish, and he was forced to find other precious substances to infuse into his gems. It is incredible then, that Galadriel would give this gift to Gimli. Her husband Celeborn is the only other being in all of her many long years who has been able to so much as touch the golden strands of hair on her head, let alone pluck them out and keep them. So when she allows this incredible rarity to Gimli, she essentially gives him the three hairs that Feanor demanded of her, because she has looked into his soul and found that he has a good heart and that he desires them for nothing more than to treasure the beautiful days he spent in her lands. Here, she finds a dwarf who is worthy of ending the hundreds of years-long rivalry between their races, who proves that a dwarf can be loyal and brave, and all of the amazing qualities that Gimli shows, despite so many of his people simply being greedy and power-hungry. It is also thought that many of the elves of Middle Earth know about Galadriel’s altercation with Feanor, and that at this moment, Legolas sees what an incredible honor the she-elf has given his companion, and realizes that he can finally trust him and put aside their differences. This is the start of their life-long friendship, and a strengthening of the fellowship that will survive many dangerous times ahead together, all thanks to Galadriel’s three golden hairs. Alice Rose Dodds

This guy is a genius writing names down, NOBODY has ever got them on the first watch

At 37:03 Gabriella says, "because of the scar that he has he seems to be like, uh, more binded..." An interesting observation. In the book, later on in the Mines of Moria, Tolkien says, "Though he had been healed in Rivendell of the knife-stroke, that grim wound had not been without effect. His senses were sharper and more aware of things that could not be seen. One sign of change that he soon had noticed was that he could see more in the dark than any of his companions, save perhaps Gandalf."

The surprise at the end was priceless - then imagine if you now had to wait for 1 full year, before being able to see the second movie, and then again 1 full year before watching the final movie, that´s how it was for us old people😉 who watched them, when they were released in the theater.

Firstly, props to you both for tackling such a long fantasy movie with an open mind. What is interesting to me is that ‘applicability’ was so important to Professor Tolkien and seeing you taking an older story and still find meaning in it that is still relevant today is such a joy to watch. Thank you.

Man! That was one of the best commentary/analysis I've listened to in a while! Tolkien was a genius mind. The world he created is a masterclass in world building. He created languages(with various dialects!). He created a complete geography and map. He created various species and inhabitants. He created a multitude of cultures. I especially liked when you talked about the music of life that inhabits us all. Tolkien created a whole religion for Middle-Earth. In his creation myths, the Great God Erú Illuvatar created life through music.

“I wonder what it’s like to stare into someone’s eyes in their last moments. Do you see anything leave it?” - having been in this situation twice now, I can say yes. You try to remain calm and composed, serene really, to bring them comfort and then they just fade away. Something ineffable vanishes in that moment, whether you call it soil, consciousness etc. but there is a very clear shift and a sense of absence so much that you realise the body before you, though it may hold their likeness, isn’t really them. I wish I could say I hope you never have to endure it, but in truth it is the price we pay for love & in its own unique way is a privilege many do not get.

Hey Gabriella and Caleb. You should know that 😢Tolkien was a master linguist. He created many fictional languages, long before he wrote LOTR. ------ He had no way to properly use them, so he thought the best way to bring the. Alive was in a story. First the ,"Hobbit" story. Then with the LOTR epic saga.

It feels like they're constantly trying to outsmart this movie "Where's the archer guy, why doesn't he shoot the big boss?" Because he's not nearby maybe?!

it was BOROMIR who told Frodo not to carry the weight of the dead. Don't go attributing one of his nicer moments to Aragorn dammit.

There are a lot of details they unfortunately don’t have time to explain in the movie but a couple key things are: 1. Gandalf knew ahead of time that bilbo had a strange ring but it had been over 3,000 years since the ring was last officially seen, so it would have been wild for anyone to figure out that’s what bilbo had. 2. The wizards aren’t human type people trained in magic but actually low-ish level angels or minor gods sent to guide the free peoples of middle earth by this universes “God”

I love that you guys wrote notes for this. As a long time fan of Lord of the Rings it makes me so happy when people go into it and try to understand and remember all the little details so they can get the full experience. Good job you guys! ❤

Caleb, hearing you both talk about how in your past this movie (and others) was considered "too nerdy" to be able to watch and enjoy without ramifications to your social circles really resonates with me - just from the other side of the fence. I grew up in the 80's and 90's being a nerd, the geeky kid, unpopular, etc because I read LOTR, played D&D, played Magic the Gathering, etc. But I had good friends who loved these things with me, and we were our own community of nerds and geeks. Now, in my early 40's, watching a whole myriad of reactors of all ages discovering for themselves how epic, how inspiring, these films (this genre, even) CAN be I admit my initial thoughts were more bitter than they should have been. I wondered why the cool kids who belittled me then are now adults who think it's awesome now - I reflected on my anger, and realized those same people also spoke with regret of not moving past their own biases sooner to enjoy these films then. It helped ME realize some of the biases I had been carrying internally a long time and work to move past them. I welcome these "renaissance nerds" and want them to feel welcome as they grow to love what I've loved for all my life. Welcome to you both, so glad you made it! 😃🍻🤗

...about the "drowning" of Sam...you have to understand that movies are not just literal depictions of events and time. You must allow the medium to take liberties in order to convey emotions and a characters state of mind. Sam's submersion under water was filmed metaphorically to show the "depth" of his commitment and sacrifice he was willing to go through in order to keep his promise to Gandalf and protect Frodo. When the scene cuts from Frodo clasping Sam's hand to pulling him out of the water, the film "snaps" back from its metaphor story telling. Things like this are found throughout the movie.

More than 40 years as a paramedic, and I've been attending intimately with more dying people than I could reliably remember. With many of them, I could watch monitors and know when the gross life processes died. Mostly, they just stopped. In one case, I was talking to the man in the ambulance, and I saw the EKG go flat while he was still talking. Strange moment, talking for a few seconds after his heart stopped. Another told me she was going to die, and then she did. The visible injuries were not so great to suggest pending death, but it turned out that the brain was dying from effects of a basal skull fracture. There's really no sense of anything leaving. But there is a change, because all the subtle tiny movements and the tone of living muscles goes away, leaving a stillness.

Me and a group of eight of my friends ditched school each year for each of the LotR movies to see them on the first showing, first day, and waited in line. No regrets. Way before the movies came out I became friends with my best friend over the world Tolkien created. He was there in our group of nine.

There are actually six total films in the LotR canon. There’s also the “Hobbit” trilogy, which is a prequel and tells Bilbo’s backstory. Granted, the “Hobbit” films are weaker efforts (for too many reasons to explain right now), but if you want to continue your Middle-Earth journey after this trilogy, they’re still enjoyable and worth watching.

You should really read the books. Best trilogy of all time. Also, watch the extended versions of the rest.

These are my absolute favourite movies, I'm so excited to see your reaction to the trilogy

i nearly drown 21 years ago in a swimming pool i was the only one in the pool and that camera shot is exactly how it feels the surface may only be a foot away it feels like miles when you need to breathe and when your near the end, out of strength to fight the stillness, silence and serenity of the moment is unreal then 3 giant splashes from above as 3 men jumped in to pull me out

There were 3, 7, and 9 rings. However, in the books, the rings the elves had were not made by Sauron. They were made in secret so they were not currupted by the Ring of Power.

I dont know that i would classify LoTR as a cult classic lol a classic, definitely ❤ im so looking forward to your reactions! You guys are awesome ^_^

The languages were invented by Tolkien. He invented several languages during his lifetime. He loved languages and he was a professor of language and literature. There are 2 Elvish languages. The every-day-language is called Sindarin. It is inspired mainly by Welsh. The old Elven language (like Elf Latin) is called Quenya. It is inspired mainly by Finnish, Latin and Greek.

Peter Jackson used to make smaller horror films before making Lord of the Rings. That's why there's such a horror twist to many elements in these movies. I think they fit. Even the books were more "darkness and death with a glimmer of light and hope" than straight up fun adventuring.

The nazgul that was sniffing after them is named Khamul the Easterling. All the nine have their own powers and weaknesses though the Witch King holds the greater power. Khamul has the greatest ability of the lesser nine to sense the ring but he is also the most hindered when in daylight. Had it been dark he would have found them under the root with no issue.

Gandalf was conserving his powers to light the way for three days. Dude was not charging but spending that whole time. That was why he was out of breath while running from belrog. There is a ton of back story to this trilogy.

Context for the Wizards: The Wizards are immortal spirits called Maia, who were sent to Middle Earth thousands of years ago and took the forms of Men. They were sent to keep an eye on Sauron (also a Maia) and to guide people in resisting him (Emphasis on “guide” since they’re so powerful they aren’t allowed to use their full power for risk of doing more harm that good)

“That’s the eye of Sauron I think” literally exactly what they call it.

Lord of the Rings might be the single greatest cinematic achievement of all time.

The cool thing about tolkien and lotr is the the more you look into it the more there is to find... the man spent his whole life creating this world and his son christopher spent the majority of his life putting all his father notes and ideas into order so he could share it with us

1:05:41 Legolas smiles here when Gimli tells him his gift. Because Legolas is an elf and knows elven history. Thousands of years ago, Galadriels half uncle Feanor asked her for a single strand of her hair. But Galadriel senses the malice in Feanor’s heart and refused. In response (sorta) Feanor crafter the three Silmarils, clear jewels that he infused with the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before they were destroyed. The Silmarils are extremely sacred to the Elved, but also the cause of hundreds of years of war and bloodshed and suffering for them. And they resulted in the three Kinslayings of the Elves, that’s elf on elf violence and a BIG no no. So then thousands of years later Gimli asks Galadriel for the same gift Feanor had asked her for. But this time she perceives no malice in Gimli, and so not only does she gift him his request, she gives him three, one for each Silmaril. Gimli would keep these strands and later infuse them into jewels and place them above the entrance to his domain in the Glittering Caves.

So the hair thing is a nod to Fëanor asking Galadriel for a string of her hair three times, she denied it every time. Gimli asked once, she gave three.

You asked if Legolas is immortal. Yes. He's an elf.

Fellowship coming out of the cinema fried my mind I was 20 years old and played D&D in my teens epic experience and a top 10 film evermade

This film has blood, it's just that orc blood is black not red. If you check sword blades during a fight you will see they are covered in black orc blood. Human blood, as you would expect, is still red.

When these movies came out we had to wait a whole year to see the 2nd and 3rd one a year after that. You are able to just stream it and watch it all now. Big difference waiting that long to the speed of todays videos.

Excited for you guys! LOTR is considered one of the best trilogies of all time. The original books, written in 1955, literally created the fantasy genre.

am i gonna watch the 2 hours reaction? Yes i Will.

I imagine when Caleb first saw Gabriella was similar to when we first see Arwen appear in the movie, touched with elvin glowing light and blessed with the beauty of the Gods. What a lucky man.

I like that philosophical talk after the movie.

Elvish is absolutely a language, when Tolkien wrote his masterpiece, he not only created an entire world, he created an origins story for this world stretching over millennias, he also created full functional languages, maps who evolve over time, a mythology...etc to do that he studied cartography, topography, languages...etc

Please watch the extended versions next if it's not to much of a hassle for you guys Edit: I'm sorry I was talking out my ass, I can't differentiate the versions now

LOTR Is 1 of the best movie Trilogy EVER

So, the films handled Boromir a bit different to the books, but the main thing to know is that Boromir isn't untrustworthy. He is one of the few proven, professional warriors at the Council of Rivendell who has been fighting Sauron all of his life. In a sense, he's one of the most trustworthy on paper. Even in the movies, Aragorn (as well as Gandalf, Legolas and Boromir) would have been nervous at seeing someone other than Frodo pick up the Ring, because the point about the Ring is that it corrupts people and makes them really struggle to let go of it. It wasn't that they didn't trust Boromir particularly, but that none of them trust anyone with the Ring. Aragorn feels that especially so because his own ancestor fell prey to its temptation.

"Mr. Frodo" reflects the class system that Tolkien experienced first-hand through school and into the trenches of WWI, where a "batman" would take care of the upper-class officer who often couldn't do much more for himself than tie his shoes, since he had been literally waited on hand and foot all his life. In that context, Sam, even though addressed by his first name, would never dream of treating Mr. Frodo as an equal.

People have drowned in a few inches of water before, so a 4 foot tall hobbit, who can’t swim, drowning in 10’ of water is entirely reasonable. Because you spent so long talking about him only being a few feet underwater, you completely missed one of the most touching character moments of the trilogy.

Welcome to Middle-earth, kids! You are embarking on a journey that not only have so many of us taken before, but now we get to share the wonder with you. You can already see all the lore-drops that others have been sharing with you - and there's so many little stories that are woven into the main story. One thing that no Tolkien fan can resist is sharing their love and the lore with new friends. You are going into not just a simple movie experience; you are witnessing an epic legendary adventure. And to see you taking notes along the way is such a nice touch to see! Get ready for the ride of your life!

People no longer remember a time when superheroes, medieval high fantasy, and sorcery were a nerdy taboo. Kids used to get beat up for talking about dragons and gold and orcs and wands and Captain America. Good point in mentioning this at the front end.

I'm sure someone has already commented this but the Argonath (the big statues along the river) weren't actually cgi like you guessed. They actually built statues, which are about 7ft tall and used miniatures to film the scene! Most of the stuff in these movies that would be done with cgi today is practical

Christopher Lee who played Sauruman. Was obsessed with the LOTR books and read them every year for 30 years. ------- So director Peter Jackson consulted with him several times about character portrayals and movie adaptation points.

Re Gandalf’s power, though the movie doesn’t tell this, the lore makes clear that his mission is to provide wisdom, leadership, inspiration in the fight against Sauron. He’s essentially banned from using supernatural powers that he may possess in his role. When he does a bit, he’s basically cheating. Wizard = wise man. Tolkien’s creation is far more mature and subtle than a Hogwarts or D&D wand-waving sorcerer.

Yeah, its my first time watching one of your reactions and i have to say you guys have a great dynamic! Not only do you work well together, but you both have a unique perspective that is interesting to listen to. Cant wait to check out the rest with yall

You guys GET IT. Loved all your commentary as you were discovering every moment.

Damn, back in highschool, the jocks and the nerds would unite in their love for LoTR. You had some weird friends

It was not weed. It was tobacco. It’s pretty clear from the books that it’s tobacco and Tolkien himself was a prolific pipe smoker. Peter Jackson just throws in a couple jokes that makes it sound like weed.

I normally don’t stick around for the recap/notes discussion after, but you guys had me from the get go. So interesting to hear your thoughts and you brought up some things I never thought of, having seen these movies more than 50 times in the last 20 years 🥰

You do not wanna see into someone's eyes when they leave. I was at my father death bed holding his hand and then in the last moments i had my hand on his chest to feel his heart stop beating while looking him in the eyes as they close. It's the most painful thing i have ever experienced, there is no pain that can beat that i think other then if i have to do the same with my mother. That memory will haunt me for the rest of my life, i have never felt more weak and helpless ever

Ive been enjoying alot of LOTR reactions in youtube and never really been one to comment on videos, but i just wanted to say that your post reaction talk and how deep you went in to the thematichs etc really makes you different and i truly appriciate it. English is not my first language so im afraid i cannot truly express how much i appriciate your format. It is clear that you guys do not only watch the film and react what you see on the screen, but you go deeper and you both have such a good insight of what you interpret the message of the movie to be. Cant wait to watch the rest of the series and then delve deeper into your stuff. You have earned a new sub :)

The actor, Viggo, for the strider character is a real time horse rider and swords fightsman..

Great summary , one that I haven't heard before watching many 'reactions' to these movies . So I'm subscribed !

"good on Sam" is the mantra through all three movies.

I LOVE that you guys no absolutely nothing about the franchise but are very open to it, it makes the reactions so much more real and fun to watch! Thank you for watching lol!