LotR3-RotK-Seq20

[alatar]

THE SPRING will come again, dear friends,
The swallow o’er the sea;
The bud will hang upon the bough,
The blossom on the tree;
And many a pleasant sound will rise to greet her on her way,
The voice of bird, and leaf, and stream, and warm winds in their play
Ah! sweet the airs that round her breathe! and bountiful is she,
She bringeth all the things that fresh, and sweet, and hopeful be;
She scatters promise on the earth with open hand and free,
But not for me, my friends,
But not for me!

- A Song of Farewell by Dora Greenwell


Éowyn, not dead, but not alive enough to ride East alongside her sidekick Merry (who, at least, looks a little worse for lying under an orc the better part of a day), stares out eastward as the Army of Aragorn rides towards Osgiliath. Faramir approaches from behind. Éowyn looks out upon the world and is blind to the light therein, but Faramir reassures her that light and warmth will return again to the world. It’s spring, and life and hope begin anew. It’s just too good the way that Faramir reaches down and takes the sword hand of this coarse shieldmaiden, and that the two clasp tightly. Much said in those short milliseconds. Éowyn looks upon Faramir, and he her, and she rests her head against him as the scene ends. This is why I watch the EE version; only wish that we had more time for the Houses of Healing scene.

Sam and Frodo nearly tumble down the path that they’ve taken to the road to (possibly) the fortress of Carach Angren. They see in the distance that all of those orcs, attending a concert, holding aloft Bic lighters, move off north, leaving the passage to Mount Doom free and clear of enemies. Interesting that none of those fires that we see in the distance were not immobile and could be moved so readily, as all of the other accoutrements of war that these soldiers have. Were they all just standing there? And is Gorgoroth paved like a big parking lot, allowing everyone to move en masse? No streams of torches showing the roads less traveled, no indication of formations?

Regardless, Sam’s little bit of luck doesn’t hold very long. A troop of orcs approaches, and Sam and Frodo are caught. Like in the books, the two hobbits try to hide along the side of the road like some poor foot-sore snuffling orcs. For a moment, it looks like they will go unnoticed, but then the orc troop leader stops. He whips them into line, but at least they aren’t noticed as ‘not orcs’ (how the leader and the rest of the troop are so blind is beyond me, as, at least in the books it was dark. No one notices their feet or the make of their packs or the smell of lembas/elves.). They march some ways towards a gate, as do many many more orcs.

“Don’t you know we’re at war!”

Also marching northward to the Black Gate is Frodo’s friends under the command of the Lords of the West…well, mostly Aragorn as Éomer, King of Rohan, doesn’t really count here.

Back in Mordor, it’s inspection time. Do orc captains use a black glove when conducting an inspection? “Not enough dust! That’s one demerit.” Frodo begins to feel faint, and he claims that it’s due to the weight of the Ring, and we see that it is physically getting heavier as the chain on which it hangs cuts into Frodo’s neck.

Uh-huh.

A pretty ugly orc picks our two hobbits out for a closer look, and Frodo, seeing their doom approaching, tells Sam to start a fight - which always works in the movies (i.e. “Food fight!"). No one hears the Shire accent in Sam’s words, and they continue to ‘struggle’ while the first orc leader appears. He whips them, is admonished by the Inspector, and while everyone else is looking away…poof! Sam and Frodo escape into a tent.

Mordorians are soo dumb. Orcs in general are very trustworthy and forthright, and they are never sneaky nor backstabbing, and that’s why Sam’s and Frodo’s escape is seemingly so easy as the orcs just aren’t looking for any deception.

No one sees our two hobbits running off in the distance - no cover of darkness, no elvish cloaks, just very convenient luck. They scramble off in the direction of Mount Doom. Note that, to me, this added scene didn’t add that much and could have been left out, as it was in the theatrical version. As bad as it is, however, at least it doesn’t descend into the pits of Angband as the Rankin/Bass version did.

“Can’t get song out of head!”

Pacifist slacker orcs..hmmph!

Next we see Sam and Frodo crossing the desolation of Mordor. The rocky ground is shrouded in mists or vapors, of what origin we don’t know. The next shot, from a low camera angle as if we were hidden, lying on the ground, is a welcome change. The two struggle to gain ground towards Mount Doom, weighted down by the orc gear (and for Frodo, the One Ring) and thwarted by the terrain, which seems almost volcanic. Frodo founders, and Sam decides that they should lighten their burdens by casting aside anything that’s not needed for the end of the road. A little gem included by PJ is seeing Sam’s weskit being thrown into the crevasse, and we really don’t know how well it wore… Later, Sam sits shivering, not able to rest perhaps due to the cold (did they pitch the elven cloak(s) as well?), and as he looks up, he sees a star between the parting clouds. Its light shines down upon him briefly, but it’s enough to lift his spirit. Hope remains in Sam; Frodo seems caught up in his own world, and we don’t know if he sees anything but the burning Ring of Fire in his mind. Nice scene, but I’d prefer to see the moment of hope after seeing the two in more despair.

The earth rumbles; Mount Doom isn’t quiet, and the Eye searches, restless. All is not well in Mordor. Sam and Frodo, for now, remain hidden from Sauron’s sight.

Frodo struggles to slake his thirst, but there's not even a drop of brackish oily water left in the skin. Sam, of course, still has water, and he gives it freely to Frodo. They realize that there's no water left, and Sam admits that there is to no 'and back again' on this journey.

The Lords of the West reach the Morannon, the Black Gate of Mordor. Nice how the Gondorians are now so regimented.

Frodo wards off some invisible foe, and then walks right into the lightbeam emitted from the Eye (visible even to Sam). Ugh. Not sure what is worse, seeing Frodo caught in the Searchlight that is Sauron or his subsequent wilting and falling. To me it's corny.

Luckily for the West, Frodo falls behind a rock, and so the Eye that sees all forgets that the One Ring born by a hobbit is within its realm. Must be those guys outside his gate that has him so distracted.

[alatar]

Added a few lines to the initial post as I skipped over a few minutes of the film.

[Essex]

Originally Posted by alatar

It’s just too good the way that Faramir reaches down and takes the sword hand of this coarse shieldmaiden, and that the two clasp tightly. Much said in those short milliseconds....only wish that we had more time for the Houses of Healing scene..

I agree. There's not enough time taken on the houses of the healing, and neither earlier for Aragorn healing our 3 heroes.

A troop of orcs approaches, and Sam and Frodo are caught. Like in the books, the two hobbits try to hide along the side of the road like some poor foot-sore snuffling orcs. For a moment, it looks like they will go unnoticed, but then the orc troop leader stops. He whips them into line, but at least they aren’t noticed as ‘not orcs’ (how the leader and the rest of the troop are so blind is beyond me, as, at least in the books it was dark.

I always thought they would not show this scene when the films were being made as I just couldn't see how it would work without looking really silly. But it does work (just) for me. But it's a pity we didn't have the scene before this (the tracker and the orc arguing about 'Number One' being done in). I really like this but in the book, as it shows the importance of Merry and Eoywn's action in killing the WK. Without this, Frodo and Sam would have almost definately been caught.

PS It looked pretty dark in the film to me as the Orcs approach. I admit not pitch black, but pretty gloomy!

“Don’t you know we’re at war!”

I love that line, along with 'Inspection!' - a few captain obvious lines as a lot of people here seem to think that only poor old Orlando Bloom states.

Back in Mordor, it’s inspection time.....A pretty ugly orc picks our two hobbits out for a closer look

- I still wonder exactly what he caught? was it the Ring on the chain, or that they aren;t orcs? Or what. anyone any ideas what caught his eye? (he couldn't have smelt anything of course!)

No one sees our two hobbits running off in the distance - no cover of darkness, no elvish cloaks, just very convenient luck.

or just not looking that way.

“Can’t get song out of head!”

Where there's a whip there's a way. Why didn't that get a nomination for Best Song at the Oscars? But not as good as "Bilbo, my lad, Ho Ho my lad" from the Hobbit which is a literary Masterpiece.

Next we see Sam and Frodo crossing the desolation of Mordor. The rocky ground is shrouded in mists or vapors, of what origin we don’t know.

These scenes look SO BLEAK to me. Exactly what they should be. Really good filming.

A little gem included by PJ is seeing Sam’s weskit being thrown into the crevasse

I love the way the discarded things hit the camera full on. Imax 3d here we come!

as he looks up, he sees a star between the parting clouds.

I was so glad this was put into the EE. It brought a tear to my eye, a beacon of hope amongst the bleak landscape we have been subjected to other the last few minutes. A really powerful scene from the book put across well.