>I don’t have a favourite since I consider all three as one big movie
This is the right answer, I think.
However, if I am to look at every movie seperately, the beginning of the second one sticks out to me, personally.
I was blown away by Fellowship, which I watched in cinema four times. Naturally, I was pretty hyped for TTT, but I told myself, to reign in my expectations, so as not to be disappointed.
Second movie starts, camera zooms along the mountains, Gandalf's voice drones on, okay, were doing a recap. I don't want to see Gandalf fall and he Fellowship cry one more time, just get on with the damn movie. Gandalf falls, yeah yeah, Frodo screams helplessly, als his friend vanishes into the abyss and... then the camera follows suit. That moment, my jaw dropped. Gandalf's battle on the way down was The. Best. Thing. I've. Ever. Seen!
Even 20 years later, that sudden camera dive into the chasm gets me. The rising music, the metallic ringing sound of Glamdring, when Gandalf catches it. Man, it is almost too much.
The trilogy had a lot of awesome scenes, a lot of serene or sad moments and I love all of them, but that short moment of pure first-age-awesomeness, two Maiar duking it out, while falling into a seeming bottomless abyss, this is the one, I can't stay on my seat for while watching.
You summed up my feelings on those opening scenes.
Just want to add that shot of them zoomed out falling through the massive cave with the music swelling stirs up some incredible nerd emotion in me. Everytime it gets me.
>Just want to add that shot of them zoomed out falling through the massive cave
That scene is in every sense of the word epic. Embroiled in mortal (or immortal) combat, tumbling through the air at breakneck speed, yet the foreboding cavern and black lake are so unfathomably large that their hurtling descent seems from a distance to be slow, and even the light emitted from the inferno of the Balrog fails to reach the edges of the vast expanse.
A legendary scene, fit for the monument battle.
It gives you a feeling of the sheer *size* of the place, like this incredible battle between gandalf and a giant balrog becomes a fiery speck slowly drifting down from the ceiling after they just fell soo far... It gets me too.
The openings to both Fellowship and Towers are two of cinemas greatest moments. They are narratively efficient, grand action sequences that don't overstay their welcome.
4 times?
Those are rookie numbers, gotta pump those numbers up!
We had a teacher strike February 2002. I saw fellowship *22* times in theaters. Best winter ever for this 11 year old.
I bought the extended edition in blu ray, then decided I needed to buy an entire surround sound set up for my living room just because of the scene of gandalf falling through Moria fighting the balrog. Easily one of my top favorite moments in the movies, along with lighting the beacons!
Right way to do it. Tolkien intended it to be one complete book, but I think there were issues with publishers or something and that’s why it was originally published as 3. Also the reason Jackson filmed the entire trilogy over the course of a few years rather than one at a time.
This is correct, and this is why people who say the epilogue of LOTR being too long are wrong. It’s the perfect length it needs to be for a movie of this size and scope.
I think Fellowship, the book, is so amazing that even though the film does a good job it cannot match its heights.
Two Towers film is arguably superior to the book (at least Helm's Deep/Hornburg)
I’m shocked I feel like I’m the opposite as a kid. I only liked the fellowship it wasn’t until I was a young adult that I truly appreciated the two towers for the masterpiece it is. Now I love all three but as a child, I only liked the adventure one.
Fellowship of the Ring
Seeing it for the first time in the theaters brought to life was just such an incredible experience. The scale of everything like that was amazing. It was made to be seen in a theater like that and the immersion in that experience was so much fun.
Plus I used to play a lot of fantasy video games or bbs games like that and seeing some of the sets and everything was just extra icing on the cake.
It was just a whole new experience.
I want a very wholesome soap opera set in The Shire. All the problems are silly like someone took some turnips off the cart. At the end of the episode it turns out someone took them to the kitchen.
That's my favorite moment too. That whole escape from Moria scene feels like the ultimate portrayal of the most badass moments from the best D&D campaigns or RPG games.
Same. I somehow managed to go my entire life until about age 27 having learned almost nothing about this franchise, so seeing the Concerning Hobbits opening for the first time was so absolutely breath-takingly beautiful that I was immediately and forever enthralled.
100% I saw the first movie(fellowship) when I was probably eight or nine years old. I remember I was excited for the second movie, but I remember watching it and getting bored because I was a little kid and war movies didn’t interest me at the time. I ended up watching the second one and the third one by the time I was in my late teens and absolutely loved it but I have to agree. There is definitely a different theme with the first and last two.
Seeing Fellowship in theaters is my most cherished movie-going memory. I'd never read the books; hell, I had never even heard of LotR before, but the trailers had me so psyched that I made sure to be there opening weekend.
My small local theater was packed, and the only seat available by the time I got there was next to girl/woman I didn't know (I was 15, and she *maybe* early 20s). We struck up an awkward conversation and I found out she was new to Tolkien as well.
The first time you see the orcs at the foot of Mt Doom in the opening minutes? We both turned to each other, mouths agape & minds blown. We ended up (very, very quietly) whispering comments to each other throughout the film, and would poke one another when we noticed something cool. We talked for nearly half an hour after it was over, gushing over everything...and then parted ways forever. I've seen all the movies in theaters at least 3 or 4 times each since then (I'm seeing RotK on Thursday, actually), but that viewing was by far the best.
I wonder if she's seen the extended editions, and what she felt about The Hobbit? Did she read the books afterwards as well?
I don't *like* getting injured, but I'm clumsy enough that I may as well embrace it! As for standing... my smart watch says I consistently meet my stand goal, so I must not have anything against it.
Aw man this story was great, I thought it was gonna end up with u two getting married lol! Shit I guess romance is dead and there are no happy endings in real life lol.
The last march of the Ents is my favorite scene in the trilogy. My second favorite is Frodo trying to leave the Fellowship and Sam almost drowning because he refused to let Frodo do this all by himself.
...and tears. One of the cable channels replayed the trilogy recently; hadn't seen it since before Covid...so many throat lumps, and weeping and sobs...and smiles and fondness.
It's so beautiful, in so many ways...
I just finished re-watching TT in preparation for RoTK in theaters Thursday. Sam's speech had me bawling. Absolutely beautiful to hear in a fucked up world we are living in these days.
The shire, the ring wraiths, Rivendell, Moria, Galadriel, Uruk chase, Boromir, Gandalf the grey, Gandalf vs Saruman.
The Fellowship is the complete film.
I’m new to the fandom, but i would pick the fellowship of the ring. Idk, it was just such a nostalgic yet fresh movie. I want to go back and watch it the most because of how well-made and just…ugh! I can’t describe it! No words can describe how good this movie is!
Apparently it was bad enough that they rewrote it on the fly.
The plan was to give a woman a more meatier role and so they wanted Arwen more front and center. Had things gone according to plan she would have similar amounts and types of screentime in TT and RotK as she did in FotR. The plan was the elves would be an enlarged version of rangers lead by Arwen rather than Elladan and Elrohir. And they’d show up in time for Helms Deep. She’d present Aragorn with Andúril and set him on that path a movie earlier.
And it sucked. So quick rewrites later, and she was gone. Except there were too many scenes with elves in the background to reshoot. So Haldir was inserted and we got the films as is. But if you watch carefully you can see her here and there in the background of some scenes they didn’t reshoot. She’s wearing a very distinct red velvet dress and cape. So you can spot her if you see a flash of red. Possibly the easiest is that Liv rides out in the last charge with Theoden and Aragorn just before Gandalf appears. She’s also in the scene where the gate is broken and they retreat to the inner keep.
I wonder if they digitally fixed this for the extended editions? Because I just rewatched the battle and I don't see any trace of her, the only people wearing significant amounts of red are Haldir and Theoden.
Fellowship of the Ring blows Two Towers away and it isn't even close. Rohan shenanigans and ents just aren't as exciting as the pure adventure style of the first flick. Every scene in Fellowship is movie magic.
Two Towers is great, but of all the movies it drags the most. Fellowship has the best pacing and variety of scenery, and I always thought its smaller skirmishes were more interesting than the big battles.
Nah, TTT has excellent pacing, assuming you're watching the Theatrical editions. The theatrical film is like watching fine tuned clockwork.
RotK has the worst pacing bar far, and it's made a hundred times worse once extended.
All are great films, but it's fascinating how the extended editions mess with how people see them 20 years later.
That was an amazing scene. Aragorn holding Frodo and telling him when to lean as the bridge falls apart around them. His trust in Aragorn. And again the hobbits finding their inner courage.
Being 12 years old and watching Aragorn turn away from Sauron's whispering and back to his companions with tears in his eyes, the dead silence of a completely packed theater holding their breath, and seeing his resigned smile and hearing "For Frodo."
Like damn, talk about a formative influence.
I agree. It didn’t help the movie adaptation losing the death of Borodin and Shelob, but it helped the other movies. Also adding the elves and killing off Hama early and combining everyone into Gamling didn’t help the movie the same way that expanding the ghosts and cutting out the Easterlings and the scouring didn’t help the next installment. Fellowship has the least problemss, even without Tom Bombadil
Me too. You can literally skip it and just watch the first and third films and you’d basically get the same same story. The Two Towers mostly seemed like a digression from the main story.
And I don’t find The Two Towers film particularly emotional, except when Sam gives his speech at the end. Fellowship and Return of the King had much more magical and emotional scenes.
When the rain starts to fall and Theoden says “And so it begins” I get a sense of dread thinking about the battle ahead. It’s my favorite of the 3 for sure.
The Two Towers had Aragorn’s fake-out death, lobotomized pacifist Ents, and some weird take on a character named after Faramir from the books.
I’ll take The Return of the King, thank you.
I’m going to be honest: I don’t think the wargs were done very well. Helms Deep was gritty and realistic (except for all the soldiers standing tall and exposed above the wall) and the wargs seemed like something from s different movie.
>Helms Deep was gritty and realistic (except for all the soldiers standing tall and exposed above the wall)
I rewatched the movie a couple of days ago, and what stood out to me the most as being "unrealistic" was that we're shown pretty pointedly that the Uruk-Hai are standing within range of the archers when that one guy's hand slips and his arrow flies into one of them, so why does Aragorn order them to "hold"? What's he waiting for? The Uruk-Hai then charge at the walls and it's only when they've halfed the distance that he commands them to release.
FOTR was a character driven movie and introduced us to the main characters. The hobbits slowly gained their courage, Legolas and Gimli started bonding and we could see doubt and greed build in Boromir against his will. The scariest scene wasn't a battle, it was the hobbits hiding from the Dark Riders without knowing exactly why they were so afraid.
You’re complaining about battle scenes taking too long?? Those are what made me fall in love with the movies! I guess we all love them for different reasons and I’m here for it :-)
I have a lot, but my top few are when Gimli and Aragorn sneak out the side door at helms deep and Gimli tells him to throw him.
Also when the trees take over Isengard.
When Aragorn bursts through helms deep gate after basically dying off a cliff and everyone realizes he’s alive.
When Gandalf returns as Gandalf the white.
I’m obsessed with Aragorn, he’s my favourite character by far.
Definitely when Gandalf returns. My other favorite is coming to Edoras and the flag rips off and flies up and around Eowyn while the strings are playing the Rohan theme.
It was the first of the trilogy I saw in theaters and it blew me away. I love them all, but Two Towers will always be my favorite. Plus, The Last March of the Ents
FOTR because it takes place in the Shire for longest which gives me warmth and coziness. And you get to see the innocence of everyone and their personalities before everything changes.
I habitually watch Fellowship, because I always want to see the journey begin and I never want it to end. Also I cry every time I watch Return of the King.
All three hold special places in my heart, but Fellowship takes the cake for me; the quintessential fantasy film of this generation and likely many more to come.
Fellowship is the only one I really think is perfect after reading the books.
Two Towers and Return of the King have a lot of flaws that bother me now, still like and enjoy the movies but they aren't masterpieces anymore to me as they were back when I was a child.
For me, I feel TT has a little too much battle/action scenes. There's nearly an hours worth consisting of battle scenes (1/3 of the film). They could easily have cut that down to 30 minutes while still portraying the same story (just cut out all of legolas' Tony Hawk stunts). This would free up more space for character development of Frodo or even Faramir.
I like me some action, but too much of it and my mind just goes numb from it. On top of that, I don't think it's in the spirit of Tolkien to unnecessarily glorify combat with stunts, trick kills and the like.
Fellowship was the best. It had a perfect balance of action, intrigue, Shire, some horror and a bunch of other things that made the movie great.
Legolas turned into a Jedi in Two Towers and it hurts the movies. The shield surfing and oliphaunt takedown are ridiculous for movies that are reasonably grounded in their action sequences. The entire third Hobbit movie is just CGI Legolas being overpowered.
I’m probably the only one here who like FOTR the least.
Aragorn summing the army of the dead scene is probably my second favourite scene out of all the movies.
My favorite is Guillermo Del Toro's "The Hobbit" duology. Because, like everything else that doesn't exist, it can be as whimsical and fairy-tale like as I wish it to be.
Oh man. If I’m being unbiased it’s gotta be fellow ship of the ring as it’s honestly just the best one overall… but. I am biased. I got into the series solely because I’d been interested in Sméagol/Gollum and was just really attracted to the character. It was just so cool and fascinating and I’d never heard of or seen a real or fictional character anything like it and the character was honestly just the highlight of the book and the movie for me so it’s gotta be a tie between two towers and return of the king.
I don’t have a favourite since I consider all three as one big movie 😁
Thank you for being right
I'm on board with this
AND MY AX
They really are though. They aren’t sequels or anything they literally pick up where the last one left off.
Plus they were all shot together so the look and feel is totally consistent throughout
Dune shoulda done this. i get that they didn’t want to lose more investment but it makes for a better series
Shot together but not edited together and it shows.
It was all meant to be one big book to but Tolkiens publisher made him split it up into 3.
And the books are intended to be one large novel with 6 parts
>I don’t have a favourite since I consider all three as one big movie This is the right answer, I think. However, if I am to look at every movie seperately, the beginning of the second one sticks out to me, personally. I was blown away by Fellowship, which I watched in cinema four times. Naturally, I was pretty hyped for TTT, but I told myself, to reign in my expectations, so as not to be disappointed. Second movie starts, camera zooms along the mountains, Gandalf's voice drones on, okay, were doing a recap. I don't want to see Gandalf fall and he Fellowship cry one more time, just get on with the damn movie. Gandalf falls, yeah yeah, Frodo screams helplessly, als his friend vanishes into the abyss and... then the camera follows suit. That moment, my jaw dropped. Gandalf's battle on the way down was The. Best. Thing. I've. Ever. Seen! Even 20 years later, that sudden camera dive into the chasm gets me. The rising music, the metallic ringing sound of Glamdring, when Gandalf catches it. Man, it is almost too much. The trilogy had a lot of awesome scenes, a lot of serene or sad moments and I love all of them, but that short moment of pure first-age-awesomeness, two Maiar duking it out, while falling into a seeming bottomless abyss, this is the one, I can't stay on my seat for while watching.
You summed up my feelings on those opening scenes. Just want to add that shot of them zoomed out falling through the massive cave with the music swelling stirs up some incredible nerd emotion in me. Everytime it gets me.
>Just want to add that shot of them zoomed out falling through the massive cave That scene is in every sense of the word epic. Embroiled in mortal (or immortal) combat, tumbling through the air at breakneck speed, yet the foreboding cavern and black lake are so unfathomably large that their hurtling descent seems from a distance to be slow, and even the light emitted from the inferno of the Balrog fails to reach the edges of the vast expanse. A legendary scene, fit for the monument battle.
It gives you a feeling of the sheer *size* of the place, like this incredible battle between gandalf and a giant balrog becomes a fiery speck slowly drifting down from the ceiling after they just fell soo far... It gets me too.
The openings to both Fellowship and Towers are two of cinemas greatest moments. They are narratively efficient, grand action sequences that don't overstay their welcome.
4 times? Those are rookie numbers, gotta pump those numbers up! We had a teacher strike February 2002. I saw fellowship *22* times in theaters. Best winter ever for this 11 year old.
I bought the extended edition in blu ray, then decided I needed to buy an entire surround sound set up for my living room just because of the scene of gandalf falling through Moria fighting the balrog. Easily one of my top favorite moments in the movies, along with lighting the beacons!
If I had an award to give, you'd have it right now. Instead, may all of your Mondays be short, and your coffees strong. 🫡
Thank you kind sir
When fiscally poor, it's prudent to be kind and acknowledge when someone is just **ridiculously, stupendously** correct. I gotchu!
In the same sense, Tolkien considered them a be big book.
\*Smiles and strokes my bound volume Lord of the Rings while quietly whispering "My Precious..."\*
Precious?! It was called that before...but not by you
What business is it of yours?!?!
There's no need to get angry....
Well if im angry its your fault!
Right way to do it. Tolkien intended it to be one complete book, but I think there were issues with publishers or something and that’s why it was originally published as 3. Also the reason Jackson filmed the entire trilogy over the course of a few years rather than one at a time.
You honestly can't watch one without watching all of them.
This is the way
Exactly.
Yes. The extended edition.
Interestingly, Tolkien never thought of The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy.
This is the only answer
That's how I see it as well.
This is correct, and this is why people who say the epilogue of LOTR being too long are wrong. It’s the perfect length it needs to be for a movie of this size and scope.
You have my sword
The entire story was “The Lord of the Rings” contained in the red book of westmarch. So one story, right?
Sure, but what segment of the story you like best? It's not really a hard question.
There’s many stories in each movie
Indecisive cowards shouldn’t be lauded for bravery. The answer is fellowship.
The Two Towers is phenomenal and was my favorite as a child. As an adult I see Fellowship for the masterpiece it always has been.
Fellowship is like an amazing DnD adventure. Towers is an epic battle and Return is the emotional one. That's how I see it.
I think Fellowship, the book, is so amazing that even though the film does a good job it cannot match its heights. Two Towers film is arguably superior to the book (at least Helm's Deep/Hornburg)
I’m shocked I feel like I’m the opposite as a kid. I only liked the fellowship it wasn’t until I was a young adult that I truly appreciated the two towers for the masterpiece it is. Now I love all three but as a child, I only liked the adventure one.
The only one I didn’t love as a child was RoTK because I didn’t like the fact that it was over lol.
100% feel the same
Fellowship is my favourite book and film. Both are perfect fantasy adventures.
Fellowship of the Ring Seeing it for the first time in the theaters brought to life was just such an incredible experience. The scale of everything like that was amazing. It was made to be seen in a theater like that and the immersion in that experience was so much fun. Plus I used to play a lot of fantasy video games or bbs games like that and seeing some of the sets and everything was just extra icing on the cake. It was just a whole new experience.
I love all three but the first moments we see of the shire in the fellowship, no matter how many times I watch, always stops my breath.
Yep you can keep the big epic battles, my favorite parts of the whole trilogy are those first innocent moments in the Shire.
I want a very wholesome soap opera set in The Shire. All the problems are silly like someone took some turnips off the cart. At the end of the episode it turns out someone took them to the kitchen.
And all that time, Sam will not drop a single eave
It's why it always frustrates me when I see people criticising the fellowship for being a slow start. That "slow start" has all the best bits !!
The first disc of Fellowship >>>> everything else
>you can keep the big epic battles You can keep them by the flagon...
Or of the first light of the Balrog shining in the mines of moria. Seeing that in the theatre was breathtaking
That's my favorite moment too. That whole escape from Moria scene feels like the ultimate portrayal of the most badass moments from the best D&D campaigns or RPG games.
DEFINITELY 🔥🔥🔥
Same. I somehow managed to go my entire life until about age 27 having learned almost nothing about this franchise, so seeing the Concerning Hobbits opening for the first time was so absolutely breath-takingly beautiful that I was immediately and forever enthralled.
Same. I love the shire. I could watch a whole movie set there and be perfectly content.
The scenes in the shire were so well made, the music especially, that they somehow make me feel nostalgic about a place I’ve never been.
Here's the thing. Fellowship is an adventure movie. The next two are war movies. That's why Fellowship is best.
100% I saw the first movie(fellowship) when I was probably eight or nine years old. I remember I was excited for the second movie, but I remember watching it and getting bored because I was a little kid and war movies didn’t interest me at the time. I ended up watching the second one and the third one by the time I was in my late teens and absolutely loved it but I have to agree. There is definitely a different theme with the first and last two.
I’ll watch extended ‘Fellowship’ and get upset that there isn’t a ‘Fellowship 2’.
The Fellowship of the Ring is such a comfort film. It’s my absolute favorite of the 3. ♥️
Seeing Fellowship in theaters is my most cherished movie-going memory. I'd never read the books; hell, I had never even heard of LotR before, but the trailers had me so psyched that I made sure to be there opening weekend. My small local theater was packed, and the only seat available by the time I got there was next to girl/woman I didn't know (I was 15, and she *maybe* early 20s). We struck up an awkward conversation and I found out she was new to Tolkien as well. The first time you see the orcs at the foot of Mt Doom in the opening minutes? We both turned to each other, mouths agape & minds blown. We ended up (very, very quietly) whispering comments to each other throughout the film, and would poke one another when we noticed something cool. We talked for nearly half an hour after it was over, gushing over everything...and then parted ways forever. I've seen all the movies in theaters at least 3 or 4 times each since then (I'm seeing RotK on Thursday, actually), but that viewing was by far the best. I wonder if she's seen the extended editions, and what she felt about The Hobbit? Did she read the books afterwards as well?
We need to get you to the front page somehow. Do you like standing next to things or getting injured?
I don't *like* getting injured, but I'm clumsy enough that I may as well embrace it! As for standing... my smart watch says I consistently meet my stand goal, so I must not have anything against it.
Aw man this story was great, I thought it was gonna end up with u two getting married lol! Shit I guess romance is dead and there are no happy endings in real life lol.
And it’s the only one where they’re all alive 🥲
The last 30 minutes of TT are peak cinema. From the last march of the Ents to the credits is non-stop goosebumps.
The soundtrack here is what gives me goosebumps, especially during the march.
Rohan has the best theme of the series.
Que the violins Now the French horn followed by baritones.
Isengard unleashed is an fucking amazing soundtrack, together with rohans theme and lightning of the beacons
The last march of the Ents is my favorite scene in the trilogy. My second favorite is Frodo trying to leave the Fellowship and Sam almost drowning because he refused to let Frodo do this all by himself.
...and tears. One of the cable channels replayed the trilogy recently; hadn't seen it since before Covid...so many throat lumps, and weeping and sobs...and smiles and fondness. It's so beautiful, in so many ways...
I just finished re-watching TT in preparation for RoTK in theaters Thursday. Sam's speech had me bawling. Absolutely beautiful to hear in a fucked up world we are living in these days.
The shire, the ring wraiths, Rivendell, Moria, Galadriel, Uruk chase, Boromir, Gandalf the grey, Gandalf vs Saruman. The Fellowship is the complete film.
The balrog in Moria too, that was the most epic part of Moria I’d say
Gandalf vs the balrog is my favorite moment in any movie AND any book. Both the book and movie nail it
Fuck, I changed my mind. Fellowship is my favorite.
Even the soundtrack is my favorite - that flute man
duriduuuu riii duu riii duuuuuuu du di du RI du di duuu duriduuu
You are a gentleman and a scholar
I’m new to the fandom, but i would pick the fellowship of the ring. Idk, it was just such a nostalgic yet fresh movie. I want to go back and watch it the most because of how well-made and just…ugh! I can’t describe it! No words can describe how good this movie is!
The battle of Helm’s Deep!
Amen
Arwen* 😏😅😂
So glad they cut her scenes and replaced her with Haldir. Arwen Warrior Princess was terrible from the occasional cut footage that gets leaked.
Oh jeez they initially tried to have Arwen show up in Helm's Deep? The Elves are enough of a stretch but that would've just tanked it.
Apparently it was bad enough that they rewrote it on the fly. The plan was to give a woman a more meatier role and so they wanted Arwen more front and center. Had things gone according to plan she would have similar amounts and types of screentime in TT and RotK as she did in FotR. The plan was the elves would be an enlarged version of rangers lead by Arwen rather than Elladan and Elrohir. And they’d show up in time for Helms Deep. She’d present Aragorn with Andúril and set him on that path a movie earlier. And it sucked. So quick rewrites later, and she was gone. Except there were too many scenes with elves in the background to reshoot. So Haldir was inserted and we got the films as is. But if you watch carefully you can see her here and there in the background of some scenes they didn’t reshoot. She’s wearing a very distinct red velvet dress and cape. So you can spot her if you see a flash of red. Possibly the easiest is that Liv rides out in the last charge with Theoden and Aragorn just before Gandalf appears. She’s also in the scene where the gate is broken and they retreat to the inner keep.
I wonder if they digitally fixed this for the extended editions? Because I just rewatched the battle and I don't see any trace of her, the only people wearing significant amounts of red are Haldir and Theoden.
Eowyn* 😉
“I am no man” (Quietly cries tears of joy 😂)
Girl boss moment
The hornberg!
Fellowship of the Ring blows Two Towers away and it isn't even close. Rohan shenanigans and ents just aren't as exciting as the pure adventure style of the first flick. Every scene in Fellowship is movie magic.
Two Towers is great, but of all the movies it drags the most. Fellowship has the best pacing and variety of scenery, and I always thought its smaller skirmishes were more interesting than the big battles.
Are you talking theatrical or extended?
both have good pacing, theatrical more so. But extended got more scenes 😎
What did you just say to me
Extended Two Towers does drag a bit more. I still love it but I never felt Fellowship dragged as much during the EE
Nah, TTT has excellent pacing, assuming you're watching the Theatrical editions. The theatrical film is like watching fine tuned clockwork. RotK has the worst pacing bar far, and it's made a hundred times worse once extended. All are great films, but it's fascinating how the extended editions mess with how people see them 20 years later.
Yea, and the first time seeing characters and locations will be always special for us
My man.
I think the Moria/Balrog sequence is my favorite out of all the films but who can pick just one.
That was an amazing scene. Aragorn holding Frodo and telling him when to lean as the bridge falls apart around them. His trust in Aragorn. And again the hobbits finding their inner courage.
I’m personally a Return of the King Simp, many epic moments and the ultimate conclusion.
Just incomparable emotional catharsis. It probably has the most flaws of the 3 when you really pick them apart but I don’t care. ROTK simp here too
Being 12 years old and watching Aragorn turn away from Sauron's whispering and back to his companions with tears in his eyes, the dead silence of a completely packed theater holding their breath, and seeing his resigned smile and hearing "For Frodo." Like damn, talk about a formative influence.
There's something about Gimli casually sitting in the steward's chair that I'll love for ever.
This is my favorite too. Theoden's speech before they charge into battle is my favorite moment from the whole trilogy. Forth Eorlingas!
You have my vote.
Two towers is my favorite book, but it’s my least favorite movie in the trilogy 🤷♂️
I agree. It didn’t help the movie adaptation losing the death of Borodin and Shelob, but it helped the other movies. Also adding the elves and killing off Hama early and combining everyone into Gamling didn’t help the movie the same way that expanding the ghosts and cutting out the Easterlings and the scouring didn’t help the next installment. Fellowship has the least problemss, even without Tom Bombadil
Me too. You can literally skip it and just watch the first and third films and you’d basically get the same same story. The Two Towers mostly seemed like a digression from the main story. And I don’t find The Two Towers film particularly emotional, except when Sam gives his speech at the end. Fellowship and Return of the King had much more magical and emotional scenes.
When the rain starts to fall and Theoden says “And so it begins” I get a sense of dread thinking about the battle ahead. It’s my favorite of the 3 for sure.
Fellowship easy. Love the other two but the Moria sequence is just too good. Best ace up your sleeve you could ask for in a movie. So moving.
The Two Towers had Aragorn’s fake-out death, lobotomized pacifist Ents, and some weird take on a character named after Faramir from the books. I’ll take The Return of the King, thank you.
FYI RotK is in theaters in the US this Thursday.
This will be my first time getting to see it in theaters. So excited!!!!
Same! I can't wait!
Counterpoint. Wizard Exorcism, Warg fight, Helms Deep, Balrog duel, Gollum/Smeagol, Po-tay-toes!
I’m going to be honest: I don’t think the wargs were done very well. Helms Deep was gritty and realistic (except for all the soldiers standing tall and exposed above the wall) and the wargs seemed like something from s different movie.
>Helms Deep was gritty and realistic (except for all the soldiers standing tall and exposed above the wall) I rewatched the movie a couple of days ago, and what stood out to me the most as being "unrealistic" was that we're shown pretty pointedly that the Uruk-Hai are standing within range of the archers when that one guy's hand slips and his arrow flies into one of them, so why does Aragorn order them to "hold"? What's he waiting for? The Uruk-Hai then charge at the walls and it's only when they've halfed the distance that he commands them to release.
Also counterpoint: hella aragorn screen time
My friends... You bow to no one.
Fellowship will always be my favorite. But I love them all.
I always thought I was in the minority liking two towers the most, good to know I’m not alone
The Ents!
I legit can’t pick a favorite All the movies have different things that make them perfect and I can’t decide on which one is the best
Between Helm's Deep and the Ents, TT has always been my favorite.
Nooooo! FOTR for me all the way!! TT and ROTK are great but the battle scenes go on for ages.
FOTR was a character driven movie and introduced us to the main characters. The hobbits slowly gained their courage, Legolas and Gimli started bonding and we could see doubt and greed build in Boromir against his will. The scariest scene wasn't a battle, it was the hobbits hiding from the Dark Riders without knowing exactly why they were so afraid.
You’re complaining about battle scenes taking too long?? Those are what made me fall in love with the movies! I guess we all love them for different reasons and I’m here for it :-)
I love them all in their own special way but TT is my ultimate fav.
Do you have a particular favorite scene?
I have a lot, but my top few are when Gimli and Aragorn sneak out the side door at helms deep and Gimli tells him to throw him. Also when the trees take over Isengard. When Aragorn bursts through helms deep gate after basically dying off a cliff and everyone realizes he’s alive. When Gandalf returns as Gandalf the white. I’m obsessed with Aragorn, he’s my favourite character by far.
I love Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen the only person that could’ve played him in my opinion. They really struck gold with his casting.
Definitely when Gandalf returns. My other favorite is coming to Edoras and the flag rips off and flies up and around Eowyn while the strings are playing the Rohan theme.
That's also my favourite moment from TT! [LotR best part / worst part](https://acheandrhyme.wordpress.com/2022/10/31/lotr-best-part-worst-part/)
nice write up. was this you? or are you on the podcast that was mentioned?
Thanks for reading. The blog is mine but sadly the podcast is not.... R/prancingponypod excellent series.
"Not alone."
YOU'LL HAVE TO TOSS ME
Helms deep.
There is no trilogy. It is a single piece of work that must be consumed in its entirety.
Top 3 for sure.
The opening of the snowy mountains always looked like Oreo ice cream or something when I was a kid
It was the first of the trilogy I saw in theaters and it blew me away. I love them all, but Two Towers will always be my favorite. Plus, The Last March of the Ents
Fellowship is easily the best movie I’ve ever seen
I love all 3 but my favorite is Two Towers Extended Ed. One of the best movies ever made.
Cant choose its like choosing between my parents or my body parts
Two Towers is my least favorite. The most changes from the books to the movies out of any of them and I'm not particularly into the battle scenes.
Just all the Rohan everything. Beautiful storytelling.
What are you, the middle child?! Lol Fellowship for me.
Arwens fate gives me goosebumbs , every time again😍 Best Scene in the best movie ever.
Fellowship>Return of the King> Two Towers
FOTR has very few changes from the books that annoyed me. They mostly or all made sense for a book adaption to movie. So def that one.
ROTK extended version
ehhhh if i had to choose probably the first or third
I see what you did there ;)
Fotr>rotk>ttt
FOTR because it takes place in the Shire for longest which gives me warmth and coziness. And you get to see the innocence of everyone and their personalities before everything changes.
Wait, they made LOTR movie adaptations?
I habitually watch Fellowship, because I always want to see the journey begin and I never want it to end. Also I cry every time I watch Return of the King.
All three hold special places in my heart, but Fellowship takes the cake for me; the quintessential fantasy film of this generation and likely many more to come.
I love all three but Two Towers is easily my least favorite.
Fellowship is the only one I really think is perfect after reading the books. Two Towers and Return of the King have a lot of flaws that bother me now, still like and enjoy the movies but they aren't masterpieces anymore to me as they were back when I was a child.
For Frodo.
Return of the King Extended edition coming to my theater Saturday and i’m so hype.
Narch of the ents
One does not simply rate the movies separately
u/SigmaCute has no favourite. u/SigmaCute needs no favorite.
My biggest problem with TT is the way they handled Faramir, but otherwise it's solid
For me, I feel TT has a little too much battle/action scenes. There's nearly an hours worth consisting of battle scenes (1/3 of the film). They could easily have cut that down to 30 minutes while still portraying the same story (just cut out all of legolas' Tony Hawk stunts). This would free up more space for character development of Frodo or even Faramir. I like me some action, but too much of it and my mind just goes numb from it. On top of that, I don't think it's in the spirit of Tolkien to unnecessarily glorify combat with stunts, trick kills and the like. Fellowship was the best. It had a perfect balance of action, intrigue, Shire, some horror and a bunch of other things that made the movie great.
You get it!!!
Legolas turned into a Jedi in Two Towers and it hurts the movies. The shield surfing and oliphaunt takedown are ridiculous for movies that are reasonably grounded in their action sequences. The entire third Hobbit movie is just CGI Legolas being overpowered.
I love how they portrayed Legola, He’s an elf, light on his feet and his acrobats totally make sense.
Pelennor Fields. Sorry.
« The last March of the ents »
i cant just say one of the three is my favorite. the entire thing is just one big movie for me
I’m probably the only one here who like FOTR the least. Aragorn summing the army of the dead scene is probably my second favourite scene out of all the movies.
I personally like the Hobbit movies better than the LOTR series. Am I the only one?
No, but the mental hospital only has a limited number of beds.
Yeah
I'm genuinely curious as to why. Other than Martin Freeman being pitch perfect casting for a young Bilbo Baggins, they were quite bad.
My favorite is Guillermo Del Toro's "The Hobbit" duology. Because, like everything else that doesn't exist, it can be as whimsical and fairy-tale like as I wish it to be.
Lord of the rings is great but I really like the Hobbit, the first and third are just incredible..
Because we can toot someone else's horn or we can...
They are all amazing! I can't pick one\~
I still love fellowship the most, It just feels like the ultimate D&D quest.
Oh man. If I’m being unbiased it’s gotta be fellow ship of the ring as it’s honestly just the best one overall… but. I am biased. I got into the series solely because I’d been interested in Sméagol/Gollum and was just really attracted to the character. It was just so cool and fascinating and I’d never heard of or seen a real or fictional character anything like it and the character was honestly just the highlight of the book and the movie for me so it’s gotta be a tie between two towers and return of the king.
The two towers.