The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Reaction Part 1 

"He wasn't responding when getting stabbed" Oh, sweet summer child, did you not hear the story of Christopher Lee (Saruman) yet? He was a soldier (and later special forces) and spy in WW2, spoke multiple languages and there was a moment when Peter Jackson (Director) wanted Lee to act like being stabbed. The generic move would be to scream in pain, loud. But Lee just asked Jackson: "Do you know what sound a person being stabbed in the back makes? Because I do." (He later described it something like: There can't be a scream, because the air is exiting the lungs so there is nothing left so scream with) That was the moment Jackson went quiet and let Lee do his thing. Such a legend. 👌 Great reaction, can't wait for part 2! 😊

Your suspicion of Gandalf is hilarious 😂 Dumbledor must’ve really messed with your heads!

Fun fact: The face of the leader of the Orcs (Gothmog) is deliberately made to look like Harvey Weinstein. Peter Jackson was so pissed off and disgusted by Harvey Weinstein that he decided to make the bad guy look like him 😂

In the beginning sequence, the ring spent 3000 years without contact with anyone, so it was extremely power hungry. It was Sméagol’s birthday and the innocent desire for birthday presents was twisted by the super hungry ring almost instantly into the need for the ring. It drove Smeagol to kill his cousin for it, when Deagol refused to give it to him for his birthday. The ring then fed on the energy of the murder and on Smeagol, himself for 500 years. 💕🇨🇦

The mission is almost completely hopeless and Gandalf knows this. It’s like 99.99% doomed to fail. That’s why Gandalf be stressed AF.

In the books, Sauron attacked about every kingdom of dwarves, elves, and men at the same time. You would assume that Gondor was the main target, but you didn't know for sure. Even Gandalf wasn't sure. That's why Pippin looking in the Palantir was fortuitous because he saw a glimpse of Sauron's mind and plan that helped solidify Galndalf's strategy.

“Pippen you have a beautiful voice. I’m sorry for booing you” was so unexpected but so funny for some reason 😂

It can't be any more epic than the last one. All of us that have seen it already:👁️👁️

Eowyns dream is not foreshadwing... but a memory from the past: the fall of Numenor.

The thing about Frodo and Smeagol, is that Frodo needs to "know" that Smeagol can be fully redeemed. If Smeagol can be redeemed (after 500 years of bondage to the Ring) then Frodo can also resist the Ring's pernicious influence, and/or be also redeemed if he falls. This is why Frodo gives Smeagol so many chances.

Gandalf doesn’t know all that’s happening, he’s just wise and has great intuition. The entire reason hobbits are involved is that long ago Gandalf felt he had to get to know the hobbits when none of the other great people paid them any attention. He didn’t know why, he just had an intuition that he needed to ally with hobbits. Then Bilbo comes along and Gandalf has this intuition that he needed to involve Bilbo in an adventure - which led to the finding of the ring, and the eventual involvement of the 4 young hobbits in fighting Sauron.

Gandalf is the only wizard who accomplished his task to inspire the races of Middle Earth to defy Sauron. He knew the palantir was a dangerous tool so he took it from Pippin. Gandalf has insight but he does not see all ends.

The inspiration for Hobbits- During JRR Tolkien’s service in WW1, the there were enlisted assistants and butlers to the corps of combat messengers that Tolkien was assigned to. He described them as seemingly small and of little of note in the War, but in reality their commitment and noble character in the face of death and horror left a spiritual impression on him. Thus, the hobbits.

That look from Gandalf is "Pippin, for once in your life, please, for the love of God, DO. NOT. TOUCH."

Billy Boyd aka Pippin actually has a really lovely voice and is one hell of a singer.

Peter Jackson wanted Saruman to give a scream out in pain when he got stabbed but the actor Christopher Lee was a veteran or World War 2 and he asked Peter Jackson "Have you any idea what kind of noise happens when somebody’s stabbed in the back? Because I do." Christopher Lee later explained that basically when you get stabbed in the back like that all the air gets shoved out of your lungs and you can't make much of a sound.

They didn't say hobbits were forbidden from having the ring, just that it was a very, very unlikely and surprising thing to happen. Because in the grand scheme of things, hobbits are mostly inconsequential, just doing their own thing and not participating in the power struggles of the Big Folk. Middle-Earth history was mostly about men, dwarves and elves building great kingdoms and then the fall of said kingdoms, so it was really unexpected that the One Ring, basically the most important object that in and of itself could alter the course of history, would end up at a race known for their lack of ambition towards power.

Gandalf didn't want Pippen to look at the Palantir (crystal ball) because that was how Saruman communicated with Sauron. Gandalf questioned Sarumon's use of the ball before, because he said we don't know who else is watching. Well, after it was discovered that Sarumon had turned, it was pretty obvious who was watching...Sauron. It is a powerful crystal ball that can look into yourself, so if Pippen was to look into it, someone as powerful as Sauron would be able to get information from him. He gave Pippen the piercing look after he picked it up from the water because, I presume, he wanted Pippen to know that it is off limits. As someone has stated before, Gandalf knows something about the future, but not absolutes. He doesn't know which side will win. He also doesn't want to give so much information that everyone feels overwhelmed and hopeless. As he said, there never was really that much hope. But, he can't have them hopeless because if they fail the mission, the entire world falls into darkness. Gandalf is also not a "secret weapon" to be used like any other weapon. He is an angel-like figure whose purpose is to help and guide people. He can't win the war for them, he can only help them win the war for themselves.

I'm gonna provide a bit more context here as to what happened between Gandalf and Pippin regarding the palantir from the books. So, at that point in the books, after the battle of Isengard, when Merry and Pippin helped the ents overthrow Saruman, the two hobbits were, for the first time in the series, starting to realize that, even as tiny little hobbits, they could actually contribute and do things that made a difference in the fight against Sauron. Up to that point, they were feeling like they were just kind of along for the ride and not serving any real purpose within the Fellowship. But just when they were starting to believe in their own ability to affect change, Gandalf showed up with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Theoden, and Eomir...and they greeted them and gave them what felt like a pat on the back, and then started talking to treebeard about what to do about Saruman. And once again, the hobbits were being dismissed and brushed aside. So they were frustrated about that to begin with. When Pippin found the palantir and Gandalf immediately took it, Pippin was frustrated at Gandalf and feeling resentful because...again... he's being dismissive and keeping secrets. What is the thing he found? Why did Gandalf make him hand it over? Why wouldn’t he tell him what it was? Why was Gandalf always keeping secrets? Pippin found it, so didn’t he have a right to know? Pippin, remember, is 29, and hobbits come of age at 33. So he's essentially a teenager. Add all that to the natural curiosity of a Took (Tooks are a hobbit family with a reputation for going on adventures that other hobbits find distasteful), and the fact that the palantir gives off a temptation of its own, and that's what make Pippin go after it. It's not just "he's a fool." It's "he's a young boy who is curious and frustrated and tired of being overlooked and looked down on." As they rode together to Minas Tirith on Shadowfax, they had a conversation in which Pippin explained all that to Gandalf. Gandalf said that he kept the information from Pippin because he thought that, if he knew what the Palantir did, he would be more tempted to look into it. Which Gandalf didn’t want to happen because the main risk of using the seeing stones here is that Sauron might be looking back. But Pippin told him that, if he had known what would happen, he wouldn’t have gone near the thing. So Gandalf apologized for underestimating him. Pippin represents The Fool archetype. He does things that are impulsive and risky, and often have bad consequences. But...consider this...If Pippin hadn’t dropped the skeleton in the well, Gandalf might not have "fallen into shadow" with the Balrog, which means he might not have become Gandalf the White. And if he had not looked into the palantir, they might never have known that Minas Tirith was Sauron's next target and may not have arrived in time to save them. Granted, not every foolish thing Pippin did ended like that, but it happens enough that I would say that's his role in the story. Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading the dang essay I just wrote (sorry, Pippin is my favorite member of the fellowship, so I can ramble about him all day).

I can't find the timestamp, but I really loved when you said Frodo and Sam were equal in their efforts. Sam's heroics mean something because Frodo is worth saving.

Part of Saruman's magic was his voice. When he spoke he could influence people to agree with him and it could be hard to fight off the influence.

She was not dying because of her choice, she was dying because the dark from Mordror killing the light of her as a star.

Deagol (picked up the ring in the opening sequence) is Sméagol’s cousin. Supposedly close like Merry and Pippin who are also cousins.

"Unfortunately, the dark lord knows everything Pippin knows. Fortunately, Pippin don't know shit."

now you see how dangerous that ring is, how divisive it can be , pitting friends , families and countries against each other after just a glance at it . and it will never stop unless it's destroyed

Christopher Lee said he read LOTR every year. He lived to be 93

Tolkien was a Christian. Faith in gods providence meant a lot to him afaik. The confusing behavior of Gandalf is him believing in providence, greater force of good behind the scenes, a hand of god, but also the agency of whosoever small and insignificant creature as a hobbit that can make the most significant impact in the world. That is why Gandalf believes in a greater force and allows each fate to play out, so that in the end it fulfills gods plan, via the hands of a seemingly insignificant hobbit.

Aragorn should be your hero! Lol don’t feel embarrassed. Aragorn is the perfect representation of healthy strong masculinity. Humble, selfless, wary of too much power, understands his risk to be corrupted to the point where he turns down ultimate power in the ring, loyalty, able to show emotions and the love of another man as a brother (Boromir’s death) and is willing to show that vulnerability, respect, willingness fight to the death and sacrifice himself for those he loves, absolute humility, knows the importance of love, and leadership. Every man should strive to be Aragorn.

Nobody ever brings up the fact that sam has nevee once been tempted by the ring. Hes been with frodo from the beginning and his character has always remained strong.

Sophie was right about Smegal and his personality not really changing. In the book, he was described as a somewhat scheming rich boy who liked to manipulate possessions from other villagers.

No, he was not "too much." A man can express himself. He is the man! He is a hero!

The man who played Saruman “Christopher Lee” was in the SAS during World War II. During the filming of the death scene, Peter Jackson wanted him to act like he was getting stabbed in the back, and it was going to be very dramatic. Instead, Christopher Lee told him what actually happens when you stab a man in the back. He said it is as though someone steals the breath from your body…. Now that’s tough

Y’all were so cheery even before the movie started. You can tell you were stoked

Elrond and his brother Elendil we're Half-Elven. They had the option of being mortal or immortal, as did their descendants. The original gift to Man was to be mortal and pass on at death, but Morgoth, the Great Enemy, tainted the gift and filled Men with fear of death. Morgoth, formerly Melkor, was a much greater version of Sauron.

23:40 Peter Jackson made that orc having Harvey Weinstein in mind, check out the backstory lol

This woman probably set traps for Santa. "I don't trust him"

23:33 Fact: This orc was actually somewhat designed to resemble Harvey Weinstein because he wanted Pete to create only one movie for LOTR We love a Petty Pete who knew the monster he was

Gollum (Smeagol) had the ring for 500 years... Five. Hundred. Years. Frodo had it for 10 (ish) months. Perspective is everything.

"I don't think anything can top the Battle of Helm's Deep..." * Laughs in Ride of the Rohirrim *

I love that Sophie pointed out how crazy it was that the arrow punched through plate armor. Pretty sure they don't do that. Mail perhaps with the right head and enough power but plate? Not so much. Yet movies love the "plate armor is just for decoration" trope.

Gollum is really cunning. He's been careful to make sure that Frodo hasn't seen any of the things that Sam has, so to Frodo, Sam just looks paranoid. And as Sam appears to descend into paranoia, that drives a wedge between them. In the book though, it isn't like this, the tension between them is something they invented for the film. In the book both Frodo and Sam were both decent to him, but both were cautious. Sam wasn't rude to him and Frodo wasn't too trusting. Gollum couldn't separate them, which is why he had to lead them to Shelob. If he could get rid of Sam, then he would have been able to kill Frodo, it was only _together_ that they were too strong for him. The film doesn't make an awful lot of sense here.

You two are awesome 😊 So cool how into the story you are, you’re much better at remembering all the names / characters , places etc.. then I was

I think the biggest problem (though there aren't many) with these movies: no matter how incredibly detailed Peter Jackson was as he crafted the visual story, there are things (lore and character development) explained in the books that could not easily be translated to the screen, and it becomes easy to over-think motives (especially after watching Game of Thrones, lol)... (PS: the whole world was fighting, Tolkein wrote this after experiencing two world wars - in some ways thid is kind of a portrait of that time in our actual world)

I cant believe so many reactors havent heard of people literally sleeping with their eyes open....its not very common, at all , but its a thing....i only knew one person in my life who did it, an asian dude, back when were were young, in the college days, but id heard stories of ppl who did it before i actually saw it irl......that being said, its very rare, but it is a thing that a small percentage of ppl do.

How can anyone be suspicious of Gandalf. He was sent back by the gods because he proved himself in death. He was the only Maiar to properly fulfill his mission.

6:29 the way that Christopher lee, saruman acted when he got stabbed, is exactly the way people react in real life when they get stabbed. Director Peter Jackson tried explaining what saruman should do, but Christopher Lee was in world War II and he had seen people stabbed before.

Part of the reason the ring took smeagol & deagol down so fast is because it had been stuck at the bottom of a river for 2500 years & it had to make a move, so, in that moment, it was super powerful, like a parasite, it was hungry for a host....also, smeagol was just a horrible person/hobbit/river-folk hobbit, & easy to take down...he was weak

Smegal in rhe begining looks like the Real gollum because its the same actor. They actually put him in all scenes with a white suite and motion captured his face. The Autors acting to him ans he smoke all rhe lines

In shows and films arrows and swords go through plate armour easily to save screen time but in reality its virtually impossible. Knights used to knock each other out or break bones with bigger weapons, so Sophie was right about the arrows.

When you learn that Tolkien was a soldier in WW1 and fought in the Battle of the Somme, you can start to see how his experiences shaped and influence this story. The theme of LOTR is Hope in the face of Darkness and Despair.

Gandalf's suspicion of Merri is because he touch the orb. The orb can bond with the person touching it and the eye can link up and see what you see, and listen in on what you are hearing. It can possess you, use you as a spy.

In the book, there’s a Palantir (the orb) in Minas Tirith and Orthanc(Isengard). Denethor was a good stuart, but when Sauron returned, he corrupted all leaders of men through various means. Saruman and Denethor he corrupted through the orbs, because they were using them to observe the world and communicate. That’s also the reason for Denethor’s bad treatment of Faramir.

When Sauron launched his attack, he invested more power into the witch king of Angmar, that's why he came back more powerful than before... he experimented an upgrade, just like Gandalf.

I’m fairly certain Andy Serkis got inspiration for gollum’s mannerisms and voice from a character from an 80’s Disney movie character called Gurgi, from the film “The Black Cauldron”.

When Saruman was stabbed and he didn’t scream or overly react is actually a crazy story. Originally Peter Jackson had directed Christopher Lee (Saruman) to react with yelling or pain but Lee then explained to Jackson that when someone is actually stabbed it’s more of losing your breath…..and he knew this out of personal experience because he was in the special forces of the British army….meaning he at least saw someone be stabbed like this or had experienced it first hand. Jackson just was like “yup, we’ll go with your expertise” hahahaha

The thing with Gandalf is that he's like Dr Strange. He can see many outcomes depending on what's unfolding, but he doesn't know what is actually going to happen.

Arwin was supposed to go away for ever, that's what Aragon said to that lady. Aragon didn't know that Arwin will change her mind.

They said nothing was gonna beat the Battle of Helm's Deep... I was thinking: wait till you get to the Ride of the Rohirrim... 😂

Gandolf doesn't see/know the future. Gandolf is essentially an angel. He only knows as much as his memory offers him. He knows from the creation of the world, and where to find hope in the people's of middle earth.

Ya, I think you have it a bit backwards. Pip was notorious for being too curious, causing trouble, and being impulsive/immature. Gandalf isn't being sneaky, but knows this; I think Pip's behaviour is more suspicious, because he knows Gandalf will call him out again on the next mistep. Eowyn wanted to fight, it's not even that she was infatuated with Aragorn.

Deagol was Smeagol's cousin (Same family kin group) and his best friend, they grew up together and were as close as brothers...

The pig looking orc was based on harvey Weinstein

Fun fact, in the books, Saruman and Wormtongue were allowed to flee, and wound up taking over the Shire, for some reason, just to give the hobbits one last fight to have at the end of the books. I'll never really understand Legolas shooting Wormtongue for stabbing Saruman, but guess they just didn't want to pay the actor any more screentime cash. Denothor was also supposedly a good man, but like Saruman, he used one of the Crystal balls, to see the future of gondor, and was unknowingly corrupted by Sauron in the process to be a toxic parental control freak, which when Faramir was brought back near dead, he broke from the corruption, but was so broken at what he had done he wanted to die with what he thought was his last child's corpse. And I HATE how they had Gandalf be on the backfoot fighting the Witch king, in the book, Gandalf was actually the one to give the Witch King pause and flee gondor to deal with the Rohirrm, the difference in power between them is just that vast.

Pippin! Get off the phone with Sauron! Youre not supposed to be talking to him. Hey, what did you say? HEY! What did you say?

4:58 had me rollin hard HAHAHA "why you turning completely sidways" HAHAHAHAHAHA

Deagol and Smeagol were 1st cousins (and the best of friends).

To be specific Smeagol killed his cousin Deagol. Also that explains why when he was talking to himself last movie he said he was a murderer.

Gandalf the Gray was 'familiar' with Pippen and his antics but only recently had they caused serious problems. While Gandalf the White seems to have kept certain knowledge, he didn't even know his name. Using this I figure when he looks at Pippen he is remembering the past somewhat and if nothing else takes a stricter tone when dealing with him.

In book Saruman lived and had his own small story at the end of the book.

Just to tack on, without going down the bottomless rabbit-hole of Tolkien lore, Aragorn's ancestors lived in an island kingdom called Numenor many centuries before these movies take place. Without going into detail, the God of this world became unhappy with the direction Numenor was going, and destroyed it with a huge wave. By the time this happened, Elendil and his son, Isildur (you met them in the intro to the first movie) had left Numenor. So sorry, that's probably much too much for non-Tolkien-devotees, and much too over-simplified for all you lore-masters out there...

The thing with Gandalf and how he seems to be holding back information and not doing more to help, is because his hands are kind of tied as to how much he can help the races of Middle Earth. He can only aid them and offer so much help

Christopher Lee what's part of the British special forces, and so he knew what it sounded like when a person got stabbed, hence the way he performed it on the screen.

I really don't get your complaints. You don't seem to like that the first part of the movie is just build up, but like, we need to establish the stakes and build the tension. Its called rising action and that's just how movies _work._ 🤷‍♀ We're reaching the end of the war, so yeah, there's going to be a lot of moving parts and storylines that are going to be building up to the climax. As far as Gandalf and Pippin: the crystal ball thing (the Palantir) is an incredibly dangerous magical object. There are several of them, and they're all linked together (we see Saruman using it to communicate with Sauron in the previous movie so we already know its connected to Mordor). Pippin, being nosy and curious as always, wants to mess with it and Gandalf obviously doesn't want that because its - again - super dangerous. I'm not sure why y'all still think Gandalf is being suspicious here lol. Pippin unknowingly opens that line of communication and its pure luck that Sauron isn't able to get any info out of him. Instead, Pippin manages to see a little bit of Sauron's plan (the burning tree shows that he plans to attack Minas Tirith) and Gandalf uses that knowledge to go there because now he knows Minas Tirith is going to be the site of the battle. Gandalf isn't just predicting the future the way you guys seem to think he is. He _knows_ things by being wise and experienced and being intelligent enough to make educated guesses on things that will happen. But he's not always right. He's been doing this shit for thousands of years and _his entire life_ has been spent building up to this war. He's finally seeing the outcome of all his work so I'm sure you can imagine he's got a lot on his mind. That, plus the fact that he's not human (he's more of an angel than anything) is probably why he talks the way he does. They never said it was forbidden for a hobbit to have the ring. In a lot of ways, a hobbit is the _ideal_ person to carry it. The ring corrupts anyone who holds it, and it does so by playing off your desires. Hobbits are simple, peaceful, humble creatures so there's very little IN them for the ring to tempt them with. Remember how content and happy Frodo was in the very beginning? The fact that the ring still worms its way into his head over time just shows how evil and powerful it really is. I feel like y'all don't have the patience for these movies, and honestly? That's fine. They're not for everyone. Hopefully the second half is better for you.

Aragorn was looking at Eowyn for a while, that maybe he could love her because he thought he'd never see Arwen again. However, when Elrond came to see him, Aragorn learned that "Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the Ring," meaning she didn't leave for Valinor and stayed behind. So, he basically didn't go ahead with wooing Eowyn.

Why are you so suspicious of Gandalf? His intro to Hobbiton should be evidence enough of his goodness. Fireworks for the children and everything.

Sméagol and Deagol were cousins I believe. And in case you were wondering, the reason affected them so fast compared to Frodo is it brings out there already inherent evil. So Frodo was already a super good guy. I don’t know if it’s ever said it because it’s been a while since I read the books, but I feel the reason it worked so quickly on Sméagol and Deagle is because it laid dormant for so long before it was found. But that’s just my own personal theory. And the reason Gollum/Smeagol looks the way he does, is because he had the Ring for 500 years. and Frodo only had it for like less than a year, think about that

I always say I have a hard time with how they portray Sam and Frodo here. In the books they never second guessed each other and were never pitted against each other. Frodo was on board with Sam's distrust, recognizing Gollum was as twisted a soul as he was and that it was a fine line between Gollum's trust and Gollum trying to get the ring back. He always knew to take Gollum with a grain of salt even when he had compassion for Gollum and treated him nicely. Sam and Frodo were always on the same team and that's why Gollum had to take them to Shelob so she would separate them. Sam and Frodo even knew they were most likely going into a trap, but they had no option. I wish the movie had kept this and not added friction where it didn't belong or make sense. It could have still had a lot of tension.

The entire green beam of energy shooting into the sky from Minas Morgul. Is simply a spell. Not all magic is meniscal like in HP. To summon darkness to cover a battlefield so your soldiers (Who fear the light) can walk unhindered takes huge amount of magic.

Someone probably already wrote this but I always write it when I rewatch it lol, The actor playing Sméagol looked sooooo good the last couple times he changed… mannn if they used that look the whole time would’ve been cooool!

16:22 / 24:49 Sophie is one of the ONLY reactors to acknowledge that even Denethor was well-intentioned at one time, while simultaneously acknowledging how far he had fallen! Most reactors never even give him any credit - which is understandable, given how he's depicted in the films. But the crumbs of his character as seen in the books are there, and Sophie picks them up!

her suspesion on gandalf is staggering

37:20 god forbid he shows enthusiasm

Elron is different from other elves. If you read up on Elron’s past you’ll know why. For now Elron’s posterity have a choice to stay immortal like all elves or to join mortality. They would be like Aragon where he is mortal but live longer than your average mortal.

:) been really fun watching along with you both.

Lord of the Rings World is like the devil himself (Sauron) who is the Dark Lord of Middle Earth, was present itself in our world. It's that kind of dynamic, and were straight up evil itself was so clearly evident, there is no middle ground.....battle between good and evil.

Remember too, Aragorn said Arwen was sailing West to the Undying Lands. For all Eowyn knew at the time, Aragorn was available. I mean for all he knew he was available (at the time). He just wasn't ready.

In the 8x2 episode of Game of Thrones, Podrik sang Jenny of Oldstones before the battle at Winterfell. This was a mirror of Pippin singing Edge of Night before the battle of Minith Tirith in The Return of the King. The creators of GoT are big LoTR fans.

Gandalf is one of the Maiar…Basically he’s an angel sent to help men. He has great power but he chooses to use persuasion and advice to aid people. His body is mortal and can be killed but his essence or spirit is eternal.

Great reactions!! Can't wait for part 2!!!

Gandalf existed to facilitate plans in motion Nothing was ever guaranteed

In the books Frodo never sends Sam away either.

When Pippin is singing, the meal that is being eaten shows part of the family problems for Boromir and Faramir. historically speaking the plate is made from lead, and tomatoes were thought to be poisonous. The tomatoes would leech the lead into the food, so the steward was constantly being poisoned.

Love this journey. Can’t wait for the final part.

16:29 Gondor has been fending off Sauron, steadily losing territory, for *a millennium* under the Stewards. They may be "lesser" than the House of Anarion, but that's not exactly a low bar. The Kings of Gondor were badass motherfuckers, so it's no wonder the Stewards wouldn't just accept anyone with a certain bloodline as King. Gandalf is really not being fair to the House of Húrin, Denethor's family, here (but he's super stressed out, so kinda understandable). Denethor is the way he is because he's been fighting a losing battle since he was old enough to know what war is, and he hates every second of it. His bitterness is entirely understandable, really. This really just highlights how strong Faramir is to witness the same almost complete devastation and still hold on to hope.

Kudos to Sir Christopher Lee, a Legendary Man, a true Renaissance Man. There's almost nothing this giant among men didn't do! ''Saruman'', ''Rasputin'', ''Dracula'', ''Scaramanga'', opera singer, secret agent, symphonic metal performer, just an incredible man!

I hated Denethor until I read the books. You actually get a better understanding of what he had gone through and how much he helped & sacrificed for Gondor.

19:06 You have no idea just how loud this, and the Witch Kings scream were in the Cinema. You really, really had to be there.

You did see the witch king before, he was the one who stabbed frodo on weathertop in the first movie.

In the scene where the character Grima stabs Saruman the director, Peter Jackson wanted Saruman to scream out. However, the actor Christopher Lee, who was a soldier & actually fought in WWII, told Director Jackson that screaming out is not what actually happens when someone is stabbed in the back 😶. Christopher Lee (Saruman) refused to do it to make it that much more realistic.

Sophie: "Smeagol, Smeagol. You piece of.. HMMM!"