Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

An article popped up today where Peter Jackson answered what his favorite scene in the LOTR trilogy was. Interestingly it was a scene that he didn't write or direct. It's the Gollum/Smeagol "debate" scene in TTT. Jackson said that was all Fran Walsh and Andy Serkis.

Anyway it just got me wondering about my own favorite scenes. Overall I think most of the scenes involving Serkis (both in LOTR and The Hobbit) are solid, but they wouldn't be my favorites.

I think my favorite is one that is actually invented. In the sense that it is a conversation that doesn't happen in the text, but one that plausibly could have occurred, in my opinion. It is Boromir's and Aragorn's somber conversation in Lothlorien, just 2 characters talking and Boromir opening up about Gondor's desperate situation. What was especially good is Boromir describing the White Tower of Ecthelion in the movie is taken from Pippin spotting the tower for the first time when he arrives in Minas Tirith:

Then Pippin cried aloud, for the Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost wall, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacle glittered as if it were wrought of crystals; and white banners broke and fluttered from the battlements in the morning breeze, and high and far he heard a clear ringing as of silver trumpets. (Return of the King: Minas Tirith)

Personally I think FOTR was the best made of all of them, even though TTT and ROTK contain a lot of visually stunning moments the some of the most emotional scenes, their pacing was always too rushed in my opinion. It's like they wanted to just "go, go, go" all the time and there was very little to no downtime to "digest" anything. Part of that is the medium, but I think even movies need those slower action moments just to give us a respite and time to process/take in the moment. I can't jump from fast action, to the next action sequence and then the next one.

Yes my favorite scene happens to just be 2 characters talking while they grieve for the loss of Gandalf and rest in Lothlorien. And Sean Bean portrays Boromir's restlessness and growing anxiety in Lothlorien that is in the books, but also opens up to Aragorn that, no, Gondor does need help.

So, what are your favorite scenes, from LOTR? The Hobbit? Any of the adaptations?

I kind of said this much already in my retrospective thread, which apparently will take me as long to write as the movies took to make, but my favorite scene is the party for Bilbo and the moments just preceding it (and following it) between Bilbo and Gandalf. The actors carry some otherwise stilted sounding dialogue, the moments are so human, and the portrayal of the Shire in general rings more true for me than most of the more "epic" stuff, especially to do with Elves and Mordor. I do agree too on the poor pacing of the later movies, and would add some of their supposed slow moments were butchered anyway (like the hobbits meeting what is apparently Old Man Willow in Fangorn).

I mean basically throw a Theoden speech out there and you've got gold. I think my favourite is the Horse and Rider speech at Helms Deep out of the two major speeches filmed.

After that would be the Pelennor speech he does.



The Hobbit... Not a fan of much there BUT

The look. (YOu know the one) When the doorbell rings just as he's about to tuck into his meal. Mostly because it is so relatable.

ALSO It's not in the books but it's quite a good scene is when Bilbo steps out to defend Thorin when Azog? Is about to have his head cut off. Mostly because it's very much a character growth scene for Bilbo and changes the relationship between the two of them even if it isn't canon it was a good scene and I feel it goes towards the food cheer and song. He is choosing to fight for a friend to defend what I would call would be the cheer and song part of life to him. (even if they aren't a good friend to them)

@KingODuckingham , yes I've been waiting for you to continue your retrospective movie thread. I considered hijacking it but wasn't going to until I've finished with the LOTR discussion. Too much going on, so you've got a few months yet.

@Fuin Elda I think you're right, incidentally, about the Bilbo-Azog-Thorin bit (if you're talking about the scene at the end of the first Hobbit movie, which is what I'm thinking of). The first movie really did almost have something, although it wasn't without faults of its own. I heard a fairly compelling argument once that part of the problem with the Hobbit movies generally stemmed from the decision to split them up into three, taking the emotional core of what should have been the entire story -- Thorin and Bilbo -- and putting it's resolution at the end of the first movie.

But yeah, every Theoden speech is PLATINUM.

While I have many, I'll just share the first one that came to mind after reading your question. Toward the end of Return of the King, when Aragorn delivers his line: "You bow for no one" and then bows instead to the four hobbits. As everyone starts kneeling and all we see rising above the heads of the others are these little hobbits... I cry every time like a sap.

@ArwenElessar That's honestly also a great scene 100% It's one of my favourite Aragorn big speech lines, possibly because it's short and powerful (a whole one sentence lol). The other speeches he has (the not this day speech) just feel like he's trying to pull a Theoden speech and not doing as good.

Hello @ArwenElessar, welcome to the Plaza. I recently watched all of them last weekend, and I think that scene Aragorn's "You bow to no one," is my favorite from Return of the King. Definitely a close contender for my favorite in all of them, but I have a strong Sean Bean-Boromir bias.

The scene with Wormtongue and Éowyn is BY FAR the best single scene in the whole movie trilogy. Let me explain why:

That soliloquy has two dialogue transpositions from two different characters in very different parts of the book.

Movie Wormtongue wrote:Oh, but you are alone. Who knows what you have spoken to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all your life seems to shrink, the walls of your bower closing in about you, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?

This is converted from something Gandalf said. When Aragorn is treating an unconscious Éowyn in the houses of healing after she stabbed the Witch King of Angmar in the face, Éomer is still a bit confused as to why Éowyn came down in secret with the army.

Gandalf explains:

Book Gandalf wrote:'My friend,' said Gandalf, 'you had horses, and deeds of arms, and the free fields; but she, born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man, whom she loved as a father, and watch him falling into a mean dishonoured dotage...

He speaks of the cunning rhetoric of Wormtongue, and its poisonous effect on others like Éowyn by crushing their spirits. Her love and duty is all that stopped her from giving voice to her despair...

Book Gandalf wrote:But who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?

Moving this quote to Wormtongue changed it's context to create a threat. It's a brilliant move that clearly indicates that the writers had a deep and thorough knowledge of the book. This could never have even occurred to them otherwise.

Movie Wormtongue wrote:So fair, yet so cold like a morning of pale Spring still clinging to Winter's chill.

This was from Aragorn's first impression of Éowyn. It was expressed as an internal monologue shortly after Théoden is freed from Saruman and Wormtongue's spell. She and Aragorn see each other for the first time, and they both have strong first impressions.

Book Aragorn wrote:Thus Aragorn for the first time in the full light of day beheld Eowyn, Lady of Rohan, and thought her fair, fair and cold, like a morning of pale spring that is not yet come to womanhood.

Moving that quote to Wormtongue and putting it right after the vague threat he just made gives a very... "abusive stalker boyfriend" vibe. He's using classic emotional manipulation tactics. First negging her then complimenting her. It's chillingly creepy, and very effective at illustrating exactly what their relationship is.

I don't know who was responsible for this script choice. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, maybe all three... Whoever made the choice to put those two lines together and give them to Wormtongue is an absolute genius!
And Brad Dourif's delivery is BREATHTAKINGLY good.
And Miranda Otto's expressions as he said it...
and the camerawork as it follows Dourif stalking around Otto...
and the costumes...
and the makeup...
and the sound...
and the set...

That's the kind of scene that single-handedly turns people into cinema nerds. I literally cannot find anything to complain about. It might actually be perfect.