Fight scenes

[BKnight]

What is your fav fighting scene from the trilogy and why?

I think I'll have a go...
From the Fellowship, my fav fighting scene is Aragorn vs Lurtz at the end. It has so much style and it's so well done... And the pulling through sword gig at the end worths all the money.

From the Two Towers...
The Siege of Helm's Deep, for sure, and more precisely the elven charge and the defense of the gate by a dwarf and a ranger.

From the Return of the King...
The rohirrim vs mumaks really moved me... I didn't know that such things could be made...

I can't really say that those are all my fav fighting scenes, because all the movies, all the fightings scenes are so very close to perfection...

[Dragoneyes]

As we're talking about fighting I'd like to state my dislike of Sam's rather extreme violence towards Gollum. He managed to restrain himself in the book, why couldn't he in the movie?

My favourite fight scene is at the end of the extended FotR when Merry and Pippin are throwing stones because throwing stones is a hobbit speciality and they used in the movie and it's wickedcool!

And it makes me very happy.

[ElberethVarda]

Hehe... Yes! My favorite fight is the Mines of Moria when Sam hits the orc on the head with a pan... Go Sam!!

[BKnight]

Yeah, that was indeed a good idea. A pan as a weapon suits a hobbit more than fine!!!
Now, don't get me wrong, but I was kinda hoping for more "male" replies, than "female" ones. Speaking of wich, I haven't seen too many guys, boys, chaps, lads around... Am I the only one?
Back to the topic, please (again) don't get me wrong, DragonEyes and Varda. Okay?

[ElberethVarda]

yeah, I think you are the only boy. But please don't make the mistake of thinking I have a crush or something on Sam... Ugh...

Were you hoping for conversation more along the lines of "In the Parth Galen scene, I though the Attack 2 Aragorn made, with a lunge, was very well pulled off" or stuff like that? Cause I can do that...

[BKnight]

Okay, let's give it a shot, Varda.
Do u know the bit when the horn of Gondor is heard, Legolas says "The horn of Gondor" and they begin runing towards the sound? Well, if u look closely as the image moves away from the battle and follows the uruk hai towards Boromir, in the far right u can see Aragorn first parrying a head cleave by an Uruk, then quickly turning the uruk blade down, thus leaving him clear for a head attack. The combo is so well done that they brought it in the video game, too. My favourite combo...

And there's another bit...
When a huge axed uruk-hai runs toward Merry and Pippin and Boromir comes to their aid. U can see that Boromir stops the axe with his hand, turns and use the axe's momentum to break the uruk's spine. Then turns again and throws his dagger in one Uruk throat.

First time when I saw Legolas killing an uruk-hai by piercing his eye with an unshot arrow I was mesmerized. I said :"Wow, this movie has it all!!!"

Your turn, Varda!

[Dragoneyes]

I absolutely love the shot near the end of the Followship when Legolas is going "Tra la la, I can kill everyone in the world with my handy bow" while Aragorn is trying (and failing) to strangle some Uruk. Then Legolas shoots the dude anyway and I laugh because it is funny.

[BKnight]

As " :-Xfunny " as u might find it, I think it really shows that the fellowship involved camaraderie, courage, caring for your mellon, even brotherhood. I know that scene very well.
And secondly, I don't remember them by heart now but I'm sure there are quite a few passages in the books where Tolkien praises the elven skill and perfectionism in the archery arts. Let's remember that we are talking about of a race that can shoot you in the dark only by hearing your breath. Legolas fighting style is finnessed, isn't it? I think it reflects his elven culture too.
Anyway, it's good that u liked the movie, Dragoneyes.

[Dragoneyes]

You can't deny it's funny though. Aragorns having such a hard time with this one bloke and then Legolas kills him with such amazing ease that not even a hair is out of place.

You could read all that comraderie and friendship from that scene and most certainly the superiority of the elven race but I like to go for the comedic value because you don't get much of that anywhere else.

Oh I'm blabbering and talking complete bollocks, ignore me.

[BKnight]

Hey,hey, hey, Dragoneyes! Ignore you? I can't do that. Although u saw the funny thing in that scene that doesn't make u a lesser Tolkien adept, am I right? And yes, if u think about it it's a wee bit funny. Sorry if I had upset u or seemed to teachy, okay?

[Caunedhiel]

The best fight scene was above all else Helms Deep. It was really rough for the actors and stunt people (they were not all men) and all their hard work really showed on screen. I mean they made t-shirts with the words Helms Deep on it with the "m" in Helms crossed out and above it theres an L.Viggo got his tooth chipped there and Bernard got stiches to his ear when smacked in the head with an orc blade. All the stuff they put up with is amazing and is shear awe worthy. You go actors and stunt people.

[Dragoneyes]

Hmm, I didn't like Helm's Deep so much, but I think that's mostly because I was expecting a smaller, more skirmishy type battle (ok, slightly bigger than a skirmish). It did only last a chapter but it went on and on and on and on and on (and deducted from valuble heroic hobbit time, but that's beside the point). It ended up being the climax of the movie and I really didn't expect that.

Actually, I find myself becoming less fond of the movies the more I think about them.

Except FotR, that one still has magic. The black riders seem so much more frightening up against hobbit farmers than when compared to large armies. I mean, yes they're riding horses, but they're against people who think scythes are the best weapon you can get, as opposed to rather large, heavy and generally quite formidable slingshots. Ok, I've gone off topic, but there aren't enough people around for me to stay on topic.

Mmm... *huggles FotR and sighs* the battles were so much more tense back then.

[Elentari]

the fact the the FotR battles were so much smaller makes them more intense because you can see each individual's reaction, so that's probably why FotR is still my favourite of the trilogy. Boromir's fight against the Orcs at the end of FotR was one of the most intense because it's mostly in slow motion. But I do like the Helm's deep battle scene and the way it was filmed. The RotK battles, however, are just too over the top for me.

| tari

[Caunedhiel]

"Valuble Hobbit Time?" Ok I agree that the hobbit parts in general are good, But I do not see how anyone can obsess about Elijah! My Gosh did you see his face? Sure his face is cute but he has this freaky patch of something growing on his chin.-back to subject- I think that the fight scenes are longer because they would have been longer in real life. I believe that PJ wanted it to feel more real that out of the book entirely.

[Dragoneyes]

I agree more would happen in the battle than was described in the book, so it's entirely possible it would be longer in real life. But then there's going too far. Were all those reaction shots of the women and children entirely neccesary? Did we need to get the fact that half of the people fighting were under the age of 15 rubbed in our faces quite so much? Heck, did we need to see and sob over swathes of Elves chopped down (even though they had centuries of battle experience)?

In my opinion, I think that battle was dragged on for far too long and then when I'm in for the long haul during RotK expecting the longest battle sequence in the history of ever, they pull out some dead green dudes who finish the battle in 10 seconds. C'est tres bizarre!

And why when I say "Valuble Hobbit Time" do you think I'm talking about Elijah? Because I wasn't.