My favorite part of all The Lord of the Rings(book) is
SPOILER (haven’t learned to do the box thingy yet)
at the end of The Two Towers when Sam believes Frodo is dead and just wants to lie down next to his beloved master and die himself. And somehow he makes himself take up the ring. He does not think there is any way he can succeed. He does not believe he is any way capable of this task.
The incredible courage of Samwise Gamgee in the face of grief, despair, hopelessness and terror brings tears to my eyes as I type this. God I love Sam. I always secretly believe that he is the true hero of the book. I really hope the movie gets this part right.
I also liked the scene with the Elves walking through the Shire woods to the Grey Havens. The accompanying soundtrack was at once sad and a little creepy. Peter Jackson’s portrayal of Elves was considerably different than what I had imagined beforehand, but I liked it all the more for that.
He broke his toes kicking the helmet, aparently. Hence the scream and collapse. Looked dam cool tho’.
As already mentioned, one of my favourite movie bits is Ian McCallum’s face, right after Frodo says ‘I will take the ring’. Brilliant, brilliant acting. You see how old and troubled Gandalf really is, how dangerous this quest really is and how much he cares and fears for Frodo. Amazing.
Favourite book moments; in RotK, when Pippin realises the Rohirrim have come. Every single time I read the book (which is two or three times a year since I was about nine) I have to put it down and run around, or drum my feet or something.
Also when Eomer, believing both Theoden and Eowyn to be dead, rallies the Rohirrim: ‘Ride! Ride to death and the world’s ending’. Powerful, shivers-down-the-spine stuff. Actually the ‘battle’ chapters - The Seige of Gondor, the Ride of the Rohirrim and the Battle of Pellanor Fields have always been my favourites. The Grey hevens always makes me cry - I’ll be interested to see how it happens in the movie…
Good idea to have a favourites thread instead of the ususal PJ bashing that is so common. I’m not saying that it’s unwarranted, but it’s definitely too much.
Since my favourite part of the books is Lothlórien (a long-lasting crush on Galadriel notwithstanding) I would have to say that my favourite moment of the film was when I realised that the Extended Version boasted 10 more minutes of Lórien scenes.
If I were to mention one particular moment it would have to be the scene where Gimli asks the White Lady for a look of her hair. Or rather, works up the courage to do so. Cate Blanchett’s reaction is perfect. Just perfect.
Other than that the Gandalf/Balrog scene is excellent, as was mentioned. It’s the kind of “greatest hit” scene you can show your mates when they wonder about the quality of the film. Someone mentioned the aftermath, and I agree that it’s masterfully done, the suppression of the cries to the background of the music is extremely powerful. Very impressive, indeed.
I know I’ve already posted here, but I must have been tired because I forgot to add my favorite TTT movie moment: When Merry tells Pippin “…there won’t be a Shire” [if Saruman & Sauron aren’t opposed]. best moment for M & P, I thought.
Oh - & I agree with the poster who noted the moment in ROTK book when the Rohirrim finally arrive. Wow.
I have no doubt that this will be my favorite moment in the upcoming movie. In fact the first time I saw the flying beasties the Nazgul were on in TTT my first thought wasI can’t wait to watch Eowyn decapitate that thing with one blow!
The prologue. They go over it in the book, but I couldn’t quite imagine what Sauron exactly looked like. Actually seeing him, towering over everybody else (how tall was he? eight, ten feet???) was great. And all the soldiers just standing there in front of him, not even trying to fight him (because of the ring I guess) and each swing of that mace of his sent about a dozen guys flying.
The chase in the mines of Moria, with the Dwarven choir/chanting in the background- terrific atmosphere!
When the Balrog roared, the inside of his mouth looked like a blast furnace. I thought it looked incredible. When I read about the Balrog in the book I was visualizing a gigantic flaming dog-like creature, but the movie gave me an image far greater than my imagination could have come up with.
As mentioned before, the “I will take the ring” scene. The look on Gandalf’s face. But one scene I haven’t seen mentioned is Sam’s line about how the Shire folks will never believe believe about the oliphaunts. He’s so childishly excited, but I think neither he nor Frodo believe that anyone in the Shire will ever see them again.
Smeagol and Gollum’s argument. Through the movie, I came to really pity Gollums, and hope for his redemption. Andy Sirkis did a great job.
I like how much Gandalf really loved the Shire and the Shire-folk. Although he was mostly Bilbo’s friend, you could tell that he really loved it all.
I have to mention: When they first get to Helm’s deep, and there’s a statue of Helm Hammerhand out front. For some reason that moved me. Something about how This is the Place–we can make a stand here…
Funny, I always interpreted Gandalf’s look there as sort of relief that Frodo volunteered. He knows that Frodo, a hobbit, is the perfect ringbearer, but the responsibility couldn’t be forced upon him. So when Frodo says “I’ll take the Ring,” Gandalf is relieved and grateful for Frodo’s offer, while also apprehensive about his safety. In other words, I saw it kind of the opposite of what you said. I see his expression as - I was really hoping you would take this on, but I was afraid you wouldn’t.
From Return of the King[spoiler]. . . the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had heard a mortal man achieve before:
Arise, arise, riders of Theoden!
Fell deeds await: Fire and slaughter!
Spear shall be shaken, and shield splintered,
a sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now, Ride to Gondor!
With that he seized a great horn from Guthlaf, his banner bearer, and blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straight away all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain, and the thunder in the mountains.
*Ride now, ride now, ride to Gondor!*[/spoiler]After that, it gets even better.
Gandalf, in Bilbo’s hobbit-hole, standing up too suddenly and bumping his head on the ceiling. A little, little character moment to remind us that while Gandalf is powerful beyond comprehension, he’s not omnisicient.
Gandalf, in Bilbo’s house, about to pick up the Ring and having a half-second vision of the Eye of Sauron. He realizes what a horrible mistake he nearly made. and fashions a little envelope out of a piece of Bilbo’s stationery, so he can pick it up safely.
The gatekeeper of the town of Bree, who, seeing no one through the peephole of the gate, moves down to a hobbit-height peephole and sees Frodo & Co.
I think the scene in Fellowship (movie), in the mountains when Boromir picks up the ring after Frodo stumbles in the snow.
The piercing blue sky . . . the blinding white snow backdrop . . . the gleaming ring . . . Boromir’s craggy features and thoughtful expression . . . I think this is an iconic scene.
Also, the scene where they emerge into daylight after escaping from Moria. The grief on everyone’s faces at Gandalf’s apparent fall . . . and especially how even though the brightness is a contrast after the darkness of Moria, the colors of the landscape seem to be leached of warmth–I’d bet that the color contrast was digitally altered in this scene for artistic effect.
Dittos on the Gollum/Sméagol monologue. This scene illuminated the character for me in a way that I didn’t get in the book . . . and that’s quite an achievement for PJ.
In the Two Towers, I was really touched by how the young boys were expected to defend Helms Deep. I remember the part about the boy, about 12 years of age, being handed a weapon, and his mother crying in the background. That, to me, is the greatest scene of TT.
