LotR3-RotK-Seq19

[alatar]

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

You never will get where you’re going
If you never get up on your feet
Come on, there’s a good tail wind blowing
A fast walking man is hard to beat

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If you want to change your direction
If your time of life is at hand
Well don’t be the rule be the exception
A good way to start is to stand

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If I want to change the reflection
I see in the mirror each morn
You mean that it's just my election
To vote for a chance to be reborn. - Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, 1970, Rankin/Bass


We see the Tower of Cirith Ungol in the distance, then take a helicopter-shot right up and into the window near where Frodo lies. Orcs in the background rummage through his belongings. Seemingly they’re not finding much of interest or use - clothing, a scabbard, a Betamax copy of “Forever Young”… One treasure is found - the mithril shirt. One orc tries to pinch it while another tries to steal from the thief. While the two argue, Frodo regains consciousness and finds that the One Ring is gone.

He seems to despair.

The orcs begin to fight, which their kind always do in the presence of mithril, and it turns ugly. Dropping down through a hole, the rat orc starts a fight in the next level down. Like dominoes, another orc falls over an edge and his crash starts yet another fight. If only an Eagle could have dropped a mithril coat atop the highest tower of Barad-dûr, the Free Folk would have had at least 50% less enemies with which to fight.

The fighting is funny as we watch orcs attack and kill other orcs using various improvised weapons.

Meanwhile, Sam makes his way to the Tower. He stops, listening, and I’m sure that the sounds of battle have him thinking of the plight of Mr. Frodo. He passes through the three-headed Watchers without struggle, which is interesting. Sam races through both courtyard and tower, not seeing a living soul (you know what I mean), and possibly becoming more anxious for it. He finally spots a living orc, and Sting sees it as well. Sam pumps himself up, and his shadow scares four orcs into retreat. When they see it’s only a hobbit, they attack, but Sam disposes of each with a dedication. Luckily Sam did not fight on the Pelennor Fields, or he might have run out of persons to dedicate the orcs to.

“<stab> And that’s for Folco…and you, you look like you’re for Ilberic! <chop>”

One orc gets away with the mithril shirt. Winner!

An orc approaches a struggling Frodo. It draws its blade, thinking to stab Frodo as a concession prize, but before its blade can bite hobbit flesh, Sting shoots through its chest, reminiscent of an Alien chest burster. Anyway, Sam uses a one-liner, proving that he now is an action hero. Frodo’s overjoyed to see his companion, and apologizes for dumping his faithful friend earlier.

By the by, the wound on Frodo’s left upper chest - was it there when we first see Frodo in Cirith Ungol?

Frodo begins ranting that it’s ‘game over’ as the Ring was taken, but Sam proves him wrong. Sam pulls the Ring from his pocketses - note that it wasn’t around his neck - and immediately the Ring calls to Frodo. After a weird moment where Sam hesitates, he returns the Ring to Frodo, who, upon placing it around his neck, immediately feels its weight, unlike Sam who’d been carrying it up all of those steps. Anyway, Sam takes the loss without comment and gets back to basics. He realizes that Frodo needs some new clothes, and in a moment we see what he’d found. Crossing a bridge, the two little orcs look out over the plain of Gorgoroth, seeing that it is strewn with enemy fires. Frodo is daunted by the task, as it seems that they will never get through unnoticed, no matter how well they are dressed. The Eye searchlight makes its appearance, I think that it’s just silly - not that I have a better idea in how to show the All Seeing Eye’s vigilance, but this is just too dumbed down.

They begin the journey one step forward at a time. Did I miss how they get passed the Watchers, or was that in the theatrical version and not here?

Back in Minas Tirith, Gandalf states that Frodo has passed beyond his sight. Good to see that the old Wizard is recovering some of his abilities. Aragorn knows that Sauron has not recovered the Ring, but Gandalf states that it is only a matter of time before he does so. He also says that Frodo is doomed to die as 10,000 orcs stand between him and Mount Doom.

Gandalf became a pessimist when?

Luckily Aragorn has a plan. Attack Mordor as a diversion so that Frodo has the time to complete the quest. Gimli makes a joke, laughing off the peril. Note that he disrespectfully sits in the Steward’s seat. Gandalf pooh-poohs the plan, knowing that it just won’t work. Aragorn, however, knows just what to do to get the maia to take the bait.

He looks into the palantir and taunts Lord Sauron with the Sword of Elendil and the blood of Isildur. Sauron counters with a vision of Arwen and the breaking of the Evenstar pendant. Is Sauron saying that he knows of Aragorn’s love, and will attack Arwen? Or that he will seek means to kill her? Or that she is dying/dead already?

Guess that we’ll find out later.

As the scene ends, we see Aragorn, followed by Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin and Merry ( ) heading East, riding across the mostly-cleared-of-the-scars-and-debris-of-war Pelennor Fields, off to battle the Dark Lord.

[Elladan and Elrohir]

Hey, what do you know! It's Gandalf the Black again! This guy hasn't been around in a while. I believe his first appearance came in FOTR, when he shot down Gimli's idea about going through Moria. Well, here he is again. This time, he attempts to shoot down 'Gorn's idea to march on the Black Gate. And once again, whose idea was that in the book? Elementary, my dear G.

I actually kind of like this change as it shows Aragorn's independence from Gandalf. Especially since we don't have G counseling 'Gorn not to use the palantir.

And there's good ol' Leggy, delivering the line that made him Captain Obvious: "A diversion."

And does it strike anyone as odd that Gandalf mentions 10,000 orcs now standing between Frodo and Mount Doom? That's as many as Saruman sent to Helm's Deep, but despite the conflicting reports of the filmmakers, we know that somewhere between 100,000 and 600,000 orcs came to Pelennor Fields. So doesn't 10,000 seem a bit low?

I too really would have loved to see Sam (and then Sam and Frodo) facing off against the Two Watchers. They look so cool, and you can tell from the way the shots are cut that there is some sort of encounter in there that didn't make it to even the extended version. We know from PJ and Co. that that sequence was filmed; maybe we'll see it in the Super Duper Deluxe Deluxe Ultra-High Def Mother of All Lord of the Rings Extra Extended Limited Edition.

The part where Sam is tempted by the Ring is awesome, perfectly acted by Sean Astin. Tolkien's description in the book of Sam's temptation, brilliantly achieved in a different setting, would look ridiculous on film; what they have is great.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Elladan and Elrohir

Hey, what do you know! It's Gandalf the Black again! This guy hasn't been around in a while. I believe his first appearance came in FOTR, when he shot down Gimli's idea about going through Moria. Well, here he is again. This time, he attempts to shoot down 'Gorn's idea to march on the Black Gate. And once again, whose idea was that in the book? Elementary, my dear G.

Maia, in a pinch, tend to stick together. Gandalf in the movies is always watching out for his brethren...unless they shoot him with a fireball.

I actually kind of like this change as it shows Aragorn's independence from Gandalf. Especially since we don't have G counseling 'Gorn not to use the palantir.

Yes, I know that for the audience we have to have Aragorn shine, and to do so, we have to dim all other lights. Still, it just kills me to see Gandalf so opposite his book-self.

And there's good ol' Leggy, delivering the line that made him Captain Obvious: "A diversion."

He's got one note to play in RotK. At least he's not Eomer.

And does it strike anyone as odd that Gandalf mentions 10,000 orcs now standing between Frodo and Mount Doom? That's as many as Saruman sent to Helm's Deep, but despite the conflicting reports of the filmmakers, we know that somewhere between 100,000 and 600,000 orcs came to Pelennor Fields. So doesn't 10,000 seem a bit low?

Glad that you mentioned it. The Battle of Minas Tirith surely decimated Sauron's forces, but you'd think that he'd be able to scratch up more than 10,000. Maybe Gandalf was just thinking of the Morannon Guard. In the next sequence we'll see more than a few orcs moving north to meet the coming threat. On the other hand, the way PJ played it, no forces came to reinforce Minas Tirith nor to replenish the numbers that were cut down. And so, for PJ, maybe Aragorn is attacking Sauron with 1000 or less. ???

Thanks for posting.

[Essex]

One of my faviourite bits of the book (and radio adaptation) is not shown here, but I was 90% sure it wouldn't be. When Sam can't find Frodo and sits down, almost in despair, and starts to sing 'In Western Lands beneath the Sun'. It always leaves a tear in my eye when I read (or here on CD) Sam singing this song.

I realise movie wise, in the midst of the all the fighting and us moving closer to the Climax of the movie we can't really stop for a song.

I love our 'Elivish Warrior' dispatching a few orcs with a splenndid nod to his old man and the Shire. The shot of his shadow standing there and frightening the orcs looks just like I imagined it from the books.

For the 'search light' as we have argued before, Alatar, show me a better way of showing Sauron scouring his lands for spies. I can't think of ANY other way so it works ok for me. Tolkien has the advantage of telling us what Sauron is doing. Without a narrator, Jackson does not have this ability.

I do get annoyed (gasp) by different characters taking on different roles. For example the reversal of Gandalf's role in the Debate (as mentioned above) - Stop giving all the credence to Aragorn. He's done a good enough job already!

But I don't mind Merry riding out with the Men of the West, only because of the splendid shot of Pippin and Merry charging a few seconds before the rest of the troops in a few scenes time.

I was dissapointed we didn't see more of the Houses of Healing, and Aragorn calling back Faramir, Eoywn and Merry. And we also miss one of my favourite lines when Eoywn tells Eomer to make Merry a knight of the Riddermark!

Everything seems to bring tears to my eyes when I get to this section of the book and further onwards. But the film does not do this for me. (Although it does partially make up for it in a later scene when I balled my eyes out like a baby when I first saw it at the Cinema!)

[Elfchick7]

Originally Posted by Elladan and Elrohir

And there's good ol' Leggy, delivering the line that made him Captain Obvious: "A diversion."

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I couldn't believe that line made it into the movies. I recall yelling "DUH!" from my seat in the theatre.

What really makes me laugh is that I have friend - Orly fans, of course - who try to convince me that he wasn't suddenly getting it he was explaining it for Gimli's benefit. (hehe as if that makes it better anyway)

So much for the "wise" prince of Mirkwood.

[alatar]

One wonders why we needed the 'cute guy' to state the obvious - was this to keep the audience members, who were dragged there by their boyfriends, 'in' the movie?

"Oh, then it's to be a distraction then. Huh. Good thing that that blonde-haired guy's there to keep me up to date...is this movie over yet?"