Gandalf is a Maiar, essentially an angel. He was sent to Middle Earth 3,000 years prior to act as a guide and observer. He's forbidden from using the full extent of his power.

@cenotemirror

3 жыл бұрын

Yup. You’ll note that whenever Gandalf does something flashy and very clearly supernatural or magical, he’s facing another being of supernatural power... the balrog, nazgul, etc. Vs just plain orcs, sword and staff. He is basically operating within very strict rules on when he can use his power and to what degree.

@danielcopeland3544

3 жыл бұрын

@@cenotemirror Though he does use some magic in the books which they left out of the movies. In the books the wolf attack comes before they enter Moria, and Gandalf is still with them as Gandalf the Grey, and he creates magical fire to fend them off. I felt they could have used a bit more of his magic at Minas Tirith rather than have him using his staff as a cudgel. (We don't see what he does in those scenes in the books mainly because our viewpoint character, Pippin, is elsewhere in the Citadel at the time.) We know that trolls can be turned to stone by sunlight, for example, that being a major reason why Sauron created a big smoke cover from Mt Doom to shelter his army from the sun. And we've seen Gandalf drive off Nazgul with sunbeams from his staff. I feel they could have put two and two together there and had Gandalf the White turn a few trolls to stone. He is, after all, "a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor," and Anor is the Sun-spirit.

@juhanisirkia3618

3 жыл бұрын

Maia, maiar is the plural form.

@TheBunnyodeath

2 жыл бұрын

damn thanks for the personal correction maiar. I mistakenly said valor. that's Sauroman type. been too long

@SharbtursGameCorner

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheBunnyodeath Saruman and Sauron are also Maia. Valar are like Archangels

I think we should all try to remember the underappreciated orc artisans who spent years lovingly crafting Grond, the most beautiful battering ram you've ever seen.

He's unhinged because he's been looking into a Palantir for decades, the same type of crystal ball thing that Pippin looked into. Sauron knows he has one and has been slowly and steadily showing him the massive armies he has at his command. Over decades, he has driven Denethor to despair and madness. Denethor was very similar to Boromir in his youth, but many years of seeing the hopeless situation he's facing in Mordor have driven him mad. Denethor just wanted to protect his people (similar to what Boromir said to Frodo just before he tried to take the ring - despair over at being unable to help protect Gondor), but again, he's long since fallen into despair and madness both.

@Blobby3822

3 жыл бұрын

Yep.

@L4sz10

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, but Sauron could never corrupt Denethor as he did with Saruman. Denethor's will was too strong. So he chose to break him slowly, but he could never submit Denethor to his will.

@thesurvivorofhathsin8486

3 жыл бұрын

There is also the back story of Denethor and his wife. Boromir reminded Denethor of himself. Unfortunately, Faramir reminded Denethor of his wife, who died giving birth to Faramir. So, every time he looked at Faramir, he was reminded of the wife he lost. That, on top of the slow breaking through the Palantir, and the death of the son that reminded him of himself and was a great Captain, piled all that sorrow, grief and depression on his back. By the time Gandalf got there, he was already hopelessly gone.

@Zenshu1

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, popped in here just to mention that this was a part of the book that was left out of the film so if you've never read the books you don't really know why denethor is so crazy

@blackeyedlily

2 жыл бұрын

@@Zenshu1 The changes made to his character and the lack of his backstory are my least favorite thing about the movie.

The movie underplayed Gondor. There is a scene in the book where armies from all over Gondor arrive at Minas Tirith. The movie makes it look like Minas Tirith has only a handful of soldiers.

@revylokesh1783

3 жыл бұрын

Yep. The lands south of the White Mountains are still populated by men of Gondor. Lossarnach, Ringlo Vale, Blackfoot Vale, Anfalas, Lamedon, Ethir, Pinnath Felon, and Dol Amroth. But all the troops sent from those regions were still less than 3000, so they didn't make much of a difference, compared to the Rohirrim.

@jayneharding6546

3 жыл бұрын

True. The book is fantastic!

@jean-paulaudette9246

3 жыл бұрын

'Forlong! Forlong the Fat! Good old Forlong!'

@mattnar3865

3 жыл бұрын

@@jayneharding6546 As much as I love the story of the books, there's just too much description going on, I have practically no concentration anymore, I can't get through even a few pages without losing interest. I'd love a trimmed version of it with like half of the descriptions being cut.

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

@@mattnar3865 I'm gonna say "The Silmarillion" is probably not for you, then. Like a lot of writers, there are definitely points where Tolkien might have benefitted from better editing. I started to flag around the last chunk of the third book, when the text started to become a lot more Biblical (lots of "and lo!" and the like).

As for how quickly Smeagol was taken over by the Ring compared to Frodo, that's mainly down to motivation. Smeagol took the Ring for his own personal greed, and he committed murder to do it, and so it soon took him over completely. Frodo was given the Ring and took it unwillingly, and only accepted it so he could save the Shire from it. With such selfless motivation the Ring didn't have much to grip onto in his personality, and it worked very slowly on his mind.

@RayvenQ

3 жыл бұрын

That and the Ring was at the bottom of the river for 2500 years so probably really wanted to be found, amplifying its characteristics, Wheras with Bilbo and Frodo it was already found, so it made them want to keep it, presumably so it wouldn't be lost again and thus easier to be found by Sauron and the Ringwraiths.

@estelyen

3 жыл бұрын

Also, Sméagol already was a sort of shifty character and outsider before Déagol found the ring. Déagol was his only friend because the other Hobbits of his community were weirded out by him; he kept listening and spying on people and used the knowledge gained from that to his own gain and other's detriment. The ring was a perfect fit for him because of his personality and his habit of hiding in the dark.

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

Good points. I think it's also worth noting that Smeagol's people are described in the books as being very Hobbit-like, but not as actual Hobbits. Hobbits having a unique resistance to the Ring based on their inherent eschewing of power probably plays a role, as does the fact that Frodo, like Bilbo, seems to be a thoroughly-decent example, even amongst Hobbits.

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

@@RayvenQ Interesting thought, but I don't know if it follows. It's been mentioned previously that the Ring's will is growing stronger as Sauron does, which, combined with an apparent increase in power as it nears Sauron, is why Frodo's having such a hard time with the One. The Ring stayed lost for so long, I think, because, like Sauron, it was too weak to do much about it.

@Bek359

Жыл бұрын

@@michaelccozens IIRC Smeagol was a Stoor Hobbit, which are kind of like distant cousins of the Shire-dwelling Hobbits. The exact taxonomy isn't really important, the important part, thematically, is that the only important difference between Frodo and Smeagol as far as the Ring's concerned is that Smeagol was a shittier person than Frodo was, which gave the Ring more to latch on to in Smeagol's soul.

The"dragons" are called fell beasts. Cousins of dragons, but not quite.

@SpartanFox01

3 жыл бұрын

They were manufactured by mordor. Because all the dragons are pretty much gone at this point.

@JaapZeldenrust

3 жыл бұрын

And "fell" is just an archaic term that means "formidable and wicked". From dictionary.com: fell (adjective) fierce; ferocious; dreadful; savage. destructive; deadly. So it's not really a name at all. They're just terrible beasts.

@tosa2522

3 жыл бұрын

More like big bats

@Thundarr100

3 жыл бұрын

In D&D they would probably be classified as "wyverns". I wonder if Gary Gygax based wyverns on fell beasts, or if they were based on actual mythological creatures.

@JaapZeldenrust

3 жыл бұрын

@@Thundarr100 Wyverns predate J.R.R. Tolkien by a couple of centuries, though the rule that wyverns are bipedal and dragons have four legs was specific to the British Isles until D&D and popular fantasy made that a global thing.

The movies don't show it, but Denethor was driven mad with despair by Sauron through the one of the seeing stones. Book Denethor was a much better person, only driven mad at the end. He agreed to light the beacons for instance.

@Heru_Iluvatar

3 жыл бұрын

The film version probably thinks Sauron's already captured Frodo and reunited with the ring

@308719236

3 жыл бұрын

@@Heru_Iluvatar no Denethor became prideful in his rule of Gondor so sauron basically told him Aragorn is coming to take your throne and Sauron also showed him his bloodline ending and gondor burning.

@kenknowlton3085

3 жыл бұрын

It wouldn't have been hard to add this detail in the movie. Also he died on the pyre, not running a mile on fire to fall from the top of the city. No explanation why he was this way...

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

@@kenknowlton3085 People (and animals in general)on fire tend to run instinctively, which is why we have to teach them not to (stop, drop, and roll). As to the drop of a flaming figure from a massive cliff, who wouldn't want to include that shot?

@kenknowlton3085

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelccozens Because it is stupid and unrealistic...not to mention it's someone else's idea, not Tolkien's... 'Creative license' frequently degrades the story, not improve it. I love the trilogy, just things PJ did I don't like; taken to extremes in The Hobbit trilogy.

"Some walking, some fighting, some kinging." Perfect summation of the movie :)

34:38 Tolkien refers to them as "Fell beasts" Essentially you can think of them as flying dinosaurs.

@johns1625

Жыл бұрын

With evil spirits forced into their bodies. This was Saurons main huge power in the first age. "Now Sauron was become a sorcerer of deadful power. Foul in wisdom, cruel in strength, master of spirits and of phantoms, twisting what he touched, misshaping what he ruled, Lord of Werewolves, his dominion was torment." - Roughly 8,500 years before the War of the Ring

Yes, Gondor is one of the major things I wish they'd done differently. Denethor in the book wasn't _nicer_ exactly, but he had more dignity. By the time Gandalf and Pippin arrive he's got everything prepared that he can; they ride past convoys of evacuating civilians on the way in. But Denethor has one of the seeing-stones, and he uses it to spy on Mordor, and like Saruman's seeing-stone it's been taken over by Sauron, and Sauron uses the connection to drive Denethor to despair by making Mordor look even stronger than it really is. (Seeing-stone lore gets a bit more involved than they could really have put in a movie. Suffice to say you can use them both like a real-time satellite surveillance system and like a telepathic Zoom call to one of the other seeing-stones. But if you have enough strength of will you can reach out through one seeing-stone and take hold of another one. You can't show it false visions but you can control where it's allowed to point at, so that the other person gets a misleading picture.)

The problem with the mountain they're headed for, is it's behind a wall of other, very high and impassable mountains. And the only way through those mountains are either the gate they passed up in the second movie, or the secret way that Gollum knows.

@1967picard

3 жыл бұрын

Or as Boromir said it:" One can not simply walk into Mordor." ;)

@WilliamMoses355

3 жыл бұрын

Theoretically, they could have walked around to the East, but with all that extra time in barren, hostile territory, they almost certainly would have been caught. They barely made it there as it was...

@larrote6467

2 жыл бұрын

regrardless: lack of imagination and probably experience as any hiker knows you don't just walk in a straight line towards the top

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

@@larrote6467 People don't know things they don't know. Hardly think that qualifies as a "lack of imagination".

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamMoses355 Plus they would have starved.

"That guy's a butthead" 😂...love it!

My son was terrified of the Orc leader, but loved the fighting and the story, so we renamed the leader as 'Part baked cake face' making him funny worked a treat! The Faramir scene where Pippin sings makes me cry every time... Great reaction

@damon6126

3 жыл бұрын

He has a great voice. If I'm not mistaken, they had him sing a song for The Hobbit trilogy.

Love John Noble but they really did Denethor dirty in the films. He's a much more complex character in the books.

@stevengentry9396

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, lots of empathy for those affected by the ring, but none for the guy trying to protect a country and corrupted by the lies and influence of Sauron through a palantir for all that time.

@emilyc9240

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, the movie was already long but just a shot in the background of the palantir would have helped me understand his character

@LyleAllbritton

2 жыл бұрын

They didn't just do him dirty. They made him disgusting in the scene where he is eating

"Walking towards the mountain" would definitely not work lol

Who is 'she'? You will see, oh yes, you will see!! Interestingly, Tolkien didn't like the title "Return Of The King" as it gave away the plot too much. His original title was "The War Of The Ring". He was overuled by the publisher.

@TorontoHobbit

3 жыл бұрын

Which proves that publishers don't really know anything about storytelling - all they care about is book sales. Implied happy endings are more profitable than possible world-ending tragedy.

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

@@TorontoHobbit I mean, pretty sure a good part of storytelling is knowing your audience, so it's a little hard to see how knowing how to appeal to that group isn't part of the art. Also, I don't think anyone reading the books really thought they were going to end with Sauron taking over the world. They're structured deliberately as fable, and fables, being morality tales, don't generally end with evil winning forever. They're kinda about telling you how *not* to let that happen.

@B-Dad

Жыл бұрын

I mean technically it doesn’t spoil the ending. Just because the king returns to Gondor doesn’t mean he wins. It was more about him coming back to Gondor than it ever was about him saving the day as king at the end of the day. And even then, victory was never his to win. He was fighting a battle but he could never win. Only Frodo, Sam, and Sméagol could win this war. And their victory was never a sure thing. War of the ring sounds too bland anyway. Like it doesn’t really say anything about the book itself. The War of the ring started long before this movie and none of the people battling even have the ring. Battle for Middle Earth might have been a better title but still hard to tell. Nothing sounds as right as the actual name because it’s what I’ve always known 😂😂👍🏾

This could have been called "Gandalf & Pippin Go to White Castle". Denethor is the steward of Gondor, just keeping the throne warm until the king returns but he doesn't want to give it up. As for his attitude he's been using a palantir (the crystal ball) to view what's occuring and Sauron only allowed him to see the bad things, warping his mind. Yes Pippin has screwed up a few times but he also incited the Ents to make war on Saruman and the orcs, he set the watch fire alight and saved Gandalf. He's okay.

@jean-paulaudette9246

3 жыл бұрын

Not to mention coming in clutch on Faramir's behalf.

@themetalpig7613

3 жыл бұрын

...and rescuing Merry.

@themetalpig7613

3 жыл бұрын

...and getting Gandalf high. 😉

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

Did Pippin screw up? I mean, he did, but in doing so he gave Sauron reason to believe that *he* was the Ring-bearer halfling that Sauron had detected, not Frodo. And since Pippen was in Rohan, he gave Sauron more basis for assuming the Ring was going to Gondor to be used as a weapon against Mordor, which is all Sauron could imagine using power for anyway (ie personal gain). This lead to part of the clearing-out of troops from Mordor that eased Frodo and Sam's undetected travel into and through that country, a clearing-out which was completed with Aragorn's gambit at the Black Gate. So Pippin screwed up, but the war might have been lost if he hadn't. Very "Endgame" vibes.

@michaelccozens

2 жыл бұрын

To be fair to Denethor, the line of Gondor's Kings has been broken for so long that nobody thinks they're returning, and haven't for a very long time. So it's a bit more understandable, though not forgivable, that he broke his oath as Steward and started to see himself and his dynasty as the true Kings. It also helps explain why he and Boromir are so reluctant to even consider Aragorn's claim to the throne; this is just some guy out of the wilderness, asserting a right to be King based on ancestry from hundreds, if not thousands, of years previous. As dynastic models were set up in part to allow rulers to spend their lives being prepped for the role by their forebears, handing it over to some noob from the woods, especially in time of imminent destruction, seems a spectacularly bad idea, to the extent that one might be forgiven for seeing Sauron's hand being possibly behind the situation.

Walking toward a mountain because you can see it doesn't mean you shouldn't use a guide. Terrain can shift wildly as you get closer since you cant see the obstacles from a distance.

@jm329

3 жыл бұрын

Plus you don’t know where the orcs are.

Denethor is unhinged because of what the movie left out: He has his own Pilantir, and he used it, which drew him to spy on Mordor, and Sauron caught him and tormented him with visions of death and despair, and with his favourite son Boromir dead, he has just completely lost the plot.

I met Sean Astin at a comic con in Roanoke VA. He was really nice. Everyone had him sign pops of his well known roles while I had him sign a Shazam pop because he voiced him in one of the animated DC movies. He was surprised because no one ever had him sign one and he didn't even know they made Shazam pops. So before he left I went to the vendor where I bought it ans got their last Shazam pop to give to him. He loved it and said he'd put it beside his others.

I had captions turned on for the video, and when Gandalf greets Denethor son of Ecthelion (the Steward of Gondor), the captions said "hail dinosaur, son of excelion...".

@WilliamMoses355

3 жыл бұрын

I got, "Well this is a thing I've heard of, and I'll fill you on the ground when it's war still not." ?!?! Must be his accent, I guess.

@HeatherAllen

2 жыл бұрын

It gave "pass of Cirith Ungol" as "passive kitties".

I'm way too late to the party to have commented on the first film...Fellowship...but I remember seeing it in the Cinema on opening night with my sisters. Main thing I remember...clear as a bell to this day is when Gandalf fell...a little girl in the row in front of us literally yelled "Nooooo!!"...lol, it was adorable but she was right. Absolute classic films.

Ghost A: Did you just destroy our home chasing those guys away? Ghost King: Yep... Ghost A: And where will we be from now on? You remember that we are cursed to be here forever, right? Ghost King: Oops...totally forgot that. Let's try to make a deal with them real quick...

Tolkien fought in WW1, the suicidal charge 24:18 is "going over the top"

‘I am Denathor, I need TP for my bunghole’ ‘Hail, Denethor, son of Ecthelion, Lord and Steward of Gondor. I come with tidings in this dark hour… and with counsel.’ ‘Are you threatening me’?

Sauron makes mockeries of living things. Orcs are mockeries of Elves; Trolls are mockeries of Ents; Those flying 'dragon things' are Fell Beasts, mockeries of Eagles.

@kikebautista2110

3 жыл бұрын

Not Sauron but Morgoth (Melkor). Sauron was is right hand.

@steveross2649

3 жыл бұрын

@@kikebautista2110 Sauron learned from and replaced Melkor and wrought his own travesties during the 2nd and 3rd Ages. Technically Melkor committed the original acts and Sauron continued them, so both are guilty.

20:17 In the books, Denethor has one of the Palantiri: the same seeing stone that Pipin touched and Sauron used to see into his mind. He was doing his own psychological battle/battle of wills with Sauron using the stone. The result being that Denethor went a little crazy from mental exhaustion. But in all fairness, he did not become corrupted by the stone as Saruman did.

@Muck006

Жыл бұрын

It isnt "the same stone" ... because Pippin touches the one which Saruman had. Denethor had his own one. Denethor became corrupted in a different way, because he too CRAVED POWER (i.e. the ring ... which is why he sent Boromir to the council of Elrond).

"What a bunghole..." 😆 love it. Also, you both make me want to become a Cowboy...a Yorkshire Cowboy...I think that'd be a first...

@joshritz7067

3 жыл бұрын

I've had friends give me grief, asking when was the last time I was in a rodeo. My answer: Doc Holliday was a dentist.

When Sarumon/Christopher Lee was stabbed, in the initial shooting he told the director "that's not the sound people make when you stab them in the back. I know, because I've made men make that sound." He fought beside Ian Flemming in WWII in a special ops group that would eventually become the foundation for the infamous SAS. His adventures in killing Nazis with Ian Flemming went on to inspire the original James Bond concept. :D Christopher Lee is awesome, and before he passed away he would be a guest singer for the Symphonic Metal band Rhapsody, be featured in several of their music videos, and eventually go on to make a Power Metal band of his own all in his elder years. What a fucking gem of a human being.

I never noticed your cowboy hat is also headphones! mind blown man!

@Axess-sv8nq

3 жыл бұрын

Hat-Phones 😏😏😏😁

John Noble's performance was awesome, one of the best in the trilogy.

Gondor > Rohan. Gondor looks so dilapidated because it has been fighting a holding action against Sauron for decades at this point. Minas Tirith isn't even Gondor's traditional capital, Osgiliath, the ruined city Faramir was defending used to be the capital and Minas Morgul, the Witch King's city used to be the sister city to Minas Tirith. Gondor has bled itself dry defending most of Middle-Earth from the bulk of Sauron's forces which is why Boromir was so desperate in the fellowship of the ring.

@cursedkei66

2 жыл бұрын

@FatalPies They had that chance long ago and blew it with their incessant infighting and obsession with the jewels. They needed the Numenoreans to save them; I don't think numbers would have helped the Elves.

I love how Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff by saying, "Your staff is broken". Not "May your staff break", not "Your staff shall break", just present tense, as if it already happened, as if it couldn't be any other way.

Alternate name for your channel: "You, Me, and the Movie Makes Three." Just thought of that. God, I'm clever!

elves, partially, live in the same "dimension" as where Frodo goes when he puts the ring on..where the Nazgul live.. (that's why Frodo saw Eomer shine so brightly.. he saw her "spirit side" so to speak... so Legolas can see the ghost even when they are not revealed to humans..because he can tap into an inkling of that dimension where they reside. The actor portraying Gimli was constantly covered in extensive makeup and prosthetics... stuff he was allergic to..so all those faces he makes are both extremely exagerated under the makeup, but also caused him quite a lot of discomfort and pain. (you actually probably have seen his real face in Indiana jones and the last crusade..where he played Sallah

@roystoyscomics1361

3 жыл бұрын

I think you meant when Frodo saw Arwen the elvish daughter of Elrond from Rivendell. Eomer is the Marshall of the Mark in Rohan and nephew of King Theoden.

@dehro

3 жыл бұрын

@@roystoyscomics1361 lol . Yeah .i blame that blunder on sleep deprivation. I shouldn't write late at night

@Muck006

Жыл бұрын

Does no one know the name of John Rhys-Davies anymore? Did none of you ever watch SHOGUN?

@dehro

Жыл бұрын

@@Muck006 yes, but if I'd said his name I'd still have had to explain who he was, because of the prosthetics, if nothing else

Tolkien never named the flying creatures, although he did refer to them as fell ('savage', 'cruel') beasts. If you want to distinguish them from dragons, you can call them wyverns, which were typically depicted with two legs (as opposed to a dragon's four).

"One does not simply walk into Mordor" hunny :)

20:25...the one thing the producers of LOTR get wrong is how they portray Denethor. In the films he's shown as a terrible leader and a bad father. In the books he's actually a good man who is crushed under the weight of defending his people and his city. He uses a palantir to try to gain an advantage against Sauron but the Dark Lord uses it in return to show him (wrongly) that there is no hope. This false knowledge is what leads him to act the way he does. Unfortunately Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh excise this stuff from the films so Denethor just comes across as a dick. 😔

In the books they talk about Smeagol before he finds the ring. He was already showing signs of sociopathy.one of the reasons the ring corrupted so easily. Didn't need to twist his morals.

Smeagol loved fish, raw and wriggling .. he basically invented sushi

@Muck006

Жыл бұрын

No he didnt ... no rice, no leaves.

This is my favorite out the three lotr films, there are many scenes that I knew would get you, including 14:22 of this huge beacon suddenly launching into the sky

34:15 That's no mere technicality. Trebuchets (specifically, counterweight trebuchets, the type we see being used in Minas Tirith) are _far_ more powerful than earlier types of catapults like the ones the Orc army is using (which I think are... onagers (?); correct me if I'm wrong). Of course, I'm not sure the filmmakers really had a good idea of the difference; they said the catapults they built pretty much didn't work (i.e. they didn't propel anything more than a few feet), so they had to fake it in post.

Considering the drinking game... If I'm not mistaken Elves have one of the strongest alcoholic beverages of the middle earth... So those beers are for Legolas like you would wash barrel with big amount of water and give him to drink. :D

If he told me to go home, I'd remind him we're on the side of a damn mountain and far too deep into this trip. I'll stay 10 feet behind thanks. Though tbh, I woulda kicked Gollum off the side of the cliff in my sleep long before that.

It's not that elves have especially good ability to tolerate alcohol, it's that Legolas comes from a family of brewers making insanely alcoholic beverages. Human beers are just very weak in comparison to what he's used to. There's benefits to having an immortal liver.

You forget, they're not just trying to get to the mountain, they are trying to go through a specific path that Smeagol/Gollum knows about that leads into Mordor.

Another awesome reaction vid. Can't wait for the second part.❤️

Upon reflection, after my first time watching this movie, and reinforced when I later watched other editions, my gut reaction about the ghost army, was after Aragorn offerred them the choice, the skulls that came hurtling, then rolling, then cascading forth were the votes of the ghosts who were voting "let us end this, let us take up our oath and honor it." I've never seen or heard it elsewhere, but as its presented, especially in this edition, it seems to fit. But I'm probably off my rocker on this one. Trebuchet vs. Catapult To reinforce the "technicalities" catapults were commonly used as siege weapons on offense and defense, trebuchet, by their counterweight design were limited on their launch mass by their counterweight, and would be more effective as a counter seige weapon, which as we see large segments of fallen city rubble hurled out of the city... My conclusion would be Gondor was using trebuchet whilst the orcs were using catapults. (Unless you want to carry a 1-3 ton counterweight with you enroute to assemble a trebuchet to attack a city, catapults can largely be built on site using ropes, chains and locally harvested lumber... much easier to pack for an army on the move.

Sméagol (or Trahald), was at first a Stoor, one of the three early Hobbit-types.

Gandalf and Galadriel want the ring in the hands of a hobbit because they are generally guileless and passive. Through them the ring has only little potential because they do not have magic like the other people and are not as powerhungry as the tall folks. Smeagol however was willing to kill his best friend to get the ring, so it took control of him instantly.

@Muck006

Жыл бұрын

Gandalf and Galadriel also each have one of the three rings of the elves.

@PrimeCircuit

Жыл бұрын

@@Muck006 Yes, although these are not the ones Sauron gave them. The Elves replaced them with their own so they won't be controlled. This unfortunately was never explained in the movie.

I prefer Gondor because Minas Tirith is so majestic. My eyes fell out when I first saw the white city. It stayed impressive ever since.. Yes, the steward is a butthead and I hate him but I like the armor of Gondor. But Rohan is also very cool.

John Rhys-Davies, who plays Gimli & voiced the Ent, is one of my favorite actors. Cf Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sliders, ...

@Muck006

Жыл бұрын

Shogun!

The Beginning of the End. Wooo!

FYI There was always something rotten deep down in Smeagol, which is why the ring had such a strong hold on him so quickly.

I love the yellow glasses guy. those kind of people save the world.

At around 20:30 you ask why Denathor was so unhinged. In the book, Denathor has access to another one of the seeing stones, and has become convinced by Sauron, that Gondor was already lost. Essentially propaganda.

Who dwells in the mountain? An army of cursed folk.

Saruman just demonstrated that it isn’t the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop… and the four foot spear through your chest

Smeagol was a Stoor hobbit. In the other works of Tolkien, the world in ancient days used to be flat, with easy access to the West. The "gods" / "god" being(s) after certain events turned it round, allowing only the elves access that had the ability to travel on the former flat access (into the sky). The nazgul flyers are wyverns.

@AngelusBrady

2 жыл бұрын

The Nazgul fliers are not wyverns. They are only referred to as Fellbeasts.

Great Reaction - Video!👍🏻👍🏻 I'm curious watching Part 2!😌

on Denethor: he had another of the Palantiri which had long been turned to connect to Sauron's Stone in Mordor, poisoning his mind.

Hmm the scene of Gandalf hitting Denethor with his staff hehe and also the drinking game hehe

Yea Gondor was nearly on its last legs by this time. They’ve been keeping Mordor in check but they’ve been on the back foot for centuries.

The beasts that the Nazgul ride are just called "winged fell beasts". Roughly 8,500 years before this Sauron's main power apart from deception was he was able to torment spirits to turn them evil with all consuming rage, and then force those spirits into beasts, such as wargs and werewolves. "Now Sauron was become a sorcerer of deadful power. Foul in wisdom, cruel in strength, master of spirits and of phantoms, twisting what he touched, misshaping what he ruled, Lord of Werewolves, his dominion was torment."

I deeply dislike how they chose to go make Denethor in this compared to the book. Feels too comic book.

@FinrodFelagund5

3 жыл бұрын

That's nothing compared to what they did to Faramir's character.

@richardscales9560

3 жыл бұрын

@@FinrodFelagund5 agree

The light shooting up from Minas Morgul is the Great Signal - to alert all of Sauron's allies.

At about 3:30 you observed that the ring quickly took hold of Smeagol. That event happened only about 500 years after the battle where Sauron was defeated and Isuldur took, and then lost the Ring, so it likely had a much stronger influence back then. By the time Bilbo, and then Frodo obtained the Ring, another 2500 years had passed.

@AngelusBrady

2 жыл бұрын

That doesn't really work because Sauron lost much of his power when he lost the Ring. He had been slowly regaining it since then but was hidden. As Saruman said, Sauron had regained much of his former strength by the time Frodo got the Ring. Smeagol was also already a bit of a deliquent when he was still a Hobbit. The Ring made it worse. There's also a contrast in how they got the Ring. Smeagol decided to murder his cousin in order to get it because he was entranced by its beauty. Frodo was gifted the Ring from his uncle when Bilbo decided to retire with the Elves. He took the Ring with the intention of destroying it to save the world.

Her reactions are priceless, I really hope you guys are making bank.

In the books, Denathor was driven mad by using a seeing stone. Sauron filled him with so much despair whenever he used the stone. But still was always a bit of a dipshit to Faramir.

Realms of Men include Gondor and Rohan obviously as well as (but properly not limited to) Umbar, Rhun, Variag, Dale, Dunland, Druadain and the Dunedain all of which as far as I am aware have their own lands, Gondor is also the coolest in my opinion, they have a bit of a hard time within the adaption to film from the books unfortunately.

"What a bunghole" Beavis & Butt-Head feelings

Loving the trebuchet/catapult explanation

Can you imagine being the poor bugger having to stay on one of those mountain tops ready to light the fire just in case.seeing as I live in Cornwall I'm a country mouse so I'd want to live in rohan.

@jean-paulaudette9246

3 жыл бұрын

Meh, Gondor for me..In Rohan it's too hard to get Chinese food at 2 AM.

Everyone wants a friend like Sam, but is there anyone that wants to *be* like him? For someone else?

Those dragon like things are called Wyverns. They're smaller than dragons, only has two legs, and doesn't breath fire.

sorry, but the fact that you can see something on the horizon does not mean you can simply walk to it in a straight line... doesnt even work in cities and far less out in the wild.. and for sure not when you try to get to mordor which is surrounded by mountains

Tolkien did not name the creature but based on different chapters of the books they were called by different names. The Fell beasts, hell-hawks, and Nazgûl-birds, were names used to describe the flying creatures on which the Nazgûl rode after being unhorsed at the Ford of Bruinen. When asked about the nature of the "steed of the Witch-king", Tolkien replied that the fell beast was not intended to be pterodactylic, but hesitantly acknowledges that it resembles a pterosaur and may have been a survivor of older geological eras.

@r.e.tucker3223

5 ай бұрын

I would choose Rohan if Rivendell isn't among the choices.

People can sometimes sleep with their eyes partly open. I have, although admittedly my pupils were still covered by my eyelids. They couldn't have got over the mountains into Mordor without Gollum showing them the stairs. That's why they couldn't just walk towards the volcano. 16:30 Must be one of the most boring jobs in the world, sit on top of a mountain in case someone on the next mountain lights a beacon fire. 18:15 Technically not dragons, these are fell-beasts, dragons are bigger and inteliigent.

Sméagol and Deagol are part of the “River people “ sort of distantly related to Hobbits.

Agree! The score is perfect.

Interesting side note on Gandalf's powers. I've seen other people mention this, so i'll briefly echo here, he's not allowed to challenge Sauron directly with his power. They're both basically angels, and the last time that happened they sank a continent. He's there to inspire and guide, not to actually win the war for the people. But also, when we see him do things, like the one or two times we see him throw a fire ball, that is by far the least of his power. The magic of the wizards isn't like harry potter or something. There's no magic spells, incantations etc. It's the power to rewrite reality itself. That's why when he's fighting the Balrog he isn't summoning lightning or throwing fire or anything, he's redefining the universe. "You shall not pass." That wasn't an idle statement. he was making it true basically by the power of God himself. Gandalf is probably the strongest wizard to ever exist in fiction, because his power isn't over the elements, or some unseen force, it's the power change the fundamental truth of existence itself. And he's not even close to being one of the strongest who can do that.

Working from memory here, but when Gandalf and the other Istari (wizards) were sent into Middle Earth, they were expressly forbidden to fight Sauron and his minions power to power, because of the wholesale destruction that would cause. Gandalf and the others were to use counsel and guidance to help men build kingdoms and fight for themselves, so the use of his powers is limited and occasional, rather than letting loose with everything he had.

The Dragons are called Fell Beasts.

Just head towards the big eye mountain! You don't need a guide (I feel that but headed "west" became cannibals without a guide... blazing trails can be rowdy ;)

They don’t mention it in the movies but denethor (Faramirs farther) was one of the strongest people to stand against Sauron. He couldn’t be tempted by the ring. However he was driven mad by looking into a palantir and was shown visions of how sauron would destroy everything. The palantie became like a drug and by the time the movie starts he is a shell of his former self. Which is also why he’s so pessimistic and tells everyone to abandon their posts. On top of that his son just died so he’s filled with despair

21:13 Witch King: i will break him Ivan Drago: don't steal my line

Fun reaction as always from you and Mrs Movies, and the dragons are actually fell beasts but can also be called hell hawks or Nazgul birds there's no real name for them and Tolkien himself never really gave a name but he did say the one the Witch King of Angmar rides is loosely based on a pterosaur, and I think I'd rather live in Rohan as I've spent my entire life living and working in the countryside so its where I feel most at home, and looking forward to part 2 and especially when Mrs Movies finds out who she is that will be a fun watch.

“The trees defeated the tower guy”.

"Fell Beast", not Dragons.

The dragon like things that the Nazgul ride on are called fell beasts, Important cuz the actual dragons in this universe are insane.

Andy Circus needs all the Oscars.

@Muck006

Жыл бұрын

He also needs to be called Andy Serkis ...

Regarding Rohan marching to war and how long it would take. In ancient times it could take months to Martial an army. This was because most armies were disbanded after the wars in which they served. It was cheaper to have everyone go back home than to pay them to be in your army for months on end just in case an enemy attacked.

I think the Orcs were using onagers (not to be confused with the wild donkey) not trebuchets. I think they are similar to ballistas or mangonels.

@jean-paulaudette9246

3 жыл бұрын

I thought Ballistae were just fancy, crossbow-like giant spear throwers.

@Thebrainymonkey

3 жыл бұрын

@@jean-paulaudette9246 yeah they are, but like onagers, they work by using torsion. I didn’t really explain myself properly there did I?

@jean-paulaudette9246

3 жыл бұрын

@@Thebrainymonkey Well, I guess I wasn't sure what criteria you were using, either propulsion methods or siege-engines in general. I regretted not mentioning that we saw orcs using ballistae to good effect, during the siege of Helm's Deep, with those grapnel-hooks. Also, I have to thank you for mentioning onagers/wild asses. They're my favorite, just because the name tickles me so.

@Thebrainymonkey

3 жыл бұрын

@@jean-paulaudette9246 I’m old, I do forget that this is the internet and you have to be completely accurate in what you type unless you want it ripped to shreds. I shouldn’t be writing this given that I’ve just woken up.

@jean-paulaudette9246

3 жыл бұрын

@@Thebrainymonkey I apologize! My intent was not to 'rip to shreds,' rather to add comment, to help their algoithm ratings, and perhaps inspire conversation (which would do the same, but much better and more satisfyingly).

Hey guys! 10:45 ''The Life of the Eldar is leaving you'' means Arwen is dying. Elves can die from sorrow. 34:32 its called Fellbeast. You will see real dragon on hobbit series :) I would prefer to live in Dol Amroth. That city in western Gondor. We dont see other cities in Gondor. Only Osgiliath and Minas Tirith.

I think those Dragon things they were using her called wyverns

Smeagol was "something not so different from a hobbit once", but not exactly a hobbit-hobbit.

@Cydonius1

3 жыл бұрын

a hobbit's ancestor

@RayvenQ

3 жыл бұрын

No, he was a Hobbit, a Stoor Hobbit, The other Hobbits had Fallohide and Harfoot Hobbit ancestry

You really don't get a sense of the Witch King of Angmar's power and skill, plus cunning. For the entire time Sauron was in hiding, the Witch King had destroyed the entire Kingdom of Arnor, hunting down and killing the Dúnedain, and gathered forces to attack and harass the people's of Middle Earth. For a long long time he was feared and continually won battles. He even gave the battering ram The Wolf's Head, magical properties.

Great! I was just thinking about when you would upload this, and now here we are. I’ve been really enjoying this.

@YouMeTheMovies

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoy it!

Pippin is the true hero of the entire series... If he had knocked the corpse down the well in moria, they would not have woken the Bolrog, Gandalf wouldn't have died killing him, So he would not have ascended to white wizard, So he couldn't free Theodin from Saurumon, Which allowed them to survive helms deep battle... And on and on and on.

Gandalf actually isn't allowed to use any powers directly against Sauron. Nor is he allowed to openly challenge Sauron.