"The Shadow Of Despair"

"The Shadow of Despair"

2023

In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Behold! The Witch-king's moment of (near) triumph!

A notoriously, and unnecessarily, controversial scene. A lot of people don't like to see Gandalf the White being trounced by the Lord of the Nazgûl. Yet the reason why I say unnecessarily controversial is because we know from the texts that the Witch-king was vastly grown in strength at this point, and that Gandalf himself wasn't sure wether he could beat him. Thematically this represents a point of near defeat, where all the defences of Minas Tirith have been broken, and with the commander of the city, a character that in so many ways represents hope, about to fall to the enemy captain, a character that is the embodiment of despair. It therefore makes the subsequent arrival of the Rohirrim that much more powerful. So, and the detractors will have to forgive me, this scene works however you want to put it, and by rights should have been included in the theatrical release.

It's always a treat for me to see two opposing heavyweights of any fantasy story meet in battle. Granted, this was more of a brief clash than a battle; and the Witch-king isn't really the Big-bad from Lord of the Rings. But given that Sauron never comes forth from his tower, this is as good as we get; his second in command, there to enforce his Master's power and will on the battlefield. Gandalf and the Witch-king are also my two favorite LotR characters (and my favorites of any work of fiction, ever) so of course this scene was always going to be a favorite of mine.

"Saruman's Downfall"

2023

There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman's hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf's feet.

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", by J.R.R. Tolkien

There are a lot of scenes in the Extended Edition of Return of the King that by rights should have been included in the theatrical release; Saruman's final fate ranks among the top of those. And I know this may be a controversial take, but I much prefer him being killed in this scene, fresh after his defeat by the Ents and at Helm's Deep, than at the very anticlimactic Scouring of the Shire business in the books. 

"Smaug the Golden"

2023

This December marked 10 years since Desolation of Smaug was released; 10 years since the greatest dragon to be ever put to screen first delighted our senses. Whatever may be said about the Hobbit Trilogy, Smaug was and will forever be its crowning achievement.

"The Return of the King"

2023

Thus came Aragorn son of Arathorn, Elessar, Isildur's heir, out of the Path's of the Dead, borne upon a wind from the Sea to the Kingdom of Gondor...

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", by J.R.R. Tolkien

2021 was the year of Fellowship of the Ring. 2022 was the year of Two Towers. And 2023 was the year of Return of the King. The final installment of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and not only my favorite of the three, but also my favorite film of all time. It features some of the most amazing, cathartic, emotional scenes of the whole saga, the grandest battle ever put to screen (Helm's Deep who?), and also my favorite villain (arguably also my favorite character) of the whole of Tolkien's legendarium in all his terrifying majesty. Happily Return of the King is also not only the most awarded of the three films, but one of the most awarded films in history ever. I well remember watching that Oscar ceremony as a kid and how surreal it was to have the presenters open the envelope and read aloud "Lord of the Rings" again and again. T'was a good night. 

"The Ride of the Rohirrim"

2023

And straightaway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains. 

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Not much that I can say about this scene that hasn't been said already. One of the most powerful, enduring moments of hope not just in Lord of the Rings, but in the whole of cinema history, made all the more so by the fact that it's not coming from a magical, supernatural source, but from Men showing up for other Men. An epic, beautiful, cathartic scene.

I remember seeing the film for the first time, I was so immersed in this battle I had quite forgotten that help was on its way. The horns blew, and I didn't know what that meant; the silhouettes appeared in the horizon, and I still didn't know what was going on. Only when the iconic, beautiful Rohan soundtrack started to slowly roll in, I finally realized what was happening, and felt my heart swelling to twice its size. It still does to this day. 

"Fresh"

2023