First Time Watching LORD OF THE RINGS: The Two Towers | Movie Reaction | Part 1/2

I said “movie” 5+ times in my intro 😂 clearly too much coffee…

Here is the translation for Eowyn's Lament. Tolkien was a lover of languages and was the kind of professor would openly recite Old Saxon poetry in class. "An evil death has set forth the noble warrior A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels of Meduseld That noble cousin, who always held me dear Now is held in darkness enclosed."

Aragorn's ring is the Ring of Barahir, one of the oldest relics of Men, dating back to the First Age of Middle-earth. If you read The Silmarillion, Tolkien's "Bible" of Middle-earth, you will read about Barahir and his son Beren, and Beren's love of Luthien (Aragorn sings about Beren and Luthien in a brief scene in FOTR). So the Ring of Barahir is more than 6000 years old, and is one of the chief relics of the Dunedain. Tolkien spent his entire adult life creating Middle-earth and its history; there is so much that Peter Jackson & Co. just didn't have time or space to include in their movies!

There is 100% necessary scene that they for some reason left out of the theater version of the movie. It is a flashback with Boromir, Faramir (his brother) and their dad. It provides a ton of context to what is seen in the next movie and also explains Boromir's motives during the first movie

I imagine somebody else has explained this, but if they haven't: Gandalf is a Maia - an Angel essentially - as are all of the five wizards (Saruman included). Their mission is to counteract Sauron (also a Maia -rogue Angel), but not directly, only by guiding others. They arrive in Middle Earth after the original defeat of Sauron depicted in the Prologue. This is why he is 'sent back' again after defeating the Balrog: he isn't really mortal.

Tolkien took part in the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest of the First World War. The Dead Marshes were partly inspired by his experiences there, the dead and the dying lying in the mud. It's a pretty good rule in these movies if you do not see a body, the character is not dead

Imagine walking past a pond and seeing that. Tolkien did. He was an officer on the western front and bodies were every where, in shellholes, in the trenches, everywhere.

True story: Viggo Mortensen bought one of the "Shadowfaxe" horses and gave it to Liv Tyler's stunt double horsey lady - the horse was being sold at auction and the bidding went above what she could afford so Viggo stepped in and bought it for her because he knew how much the horse meant to her (and no doubt vice versa).

Thing I recently learned about the movie Edoras, is that it was all taken down after the production. Permission was granted for it by New Zealand to be on that land, but after shooting, it all had to be removed.

"..but do not trust to hope..." interestingly, Aragorn's name given him by the Elves to hide from Sauron growing up was Estel, which means Hope :) so in reality, they were trusting to hope by following Aragorn's leadership.

I definitely recommend the extended versions of these. There are much more of my favorite Gimli parts in the extended lol especially also the deleted scenes are a must see.

"No parent should have to bury their child." Back before the 1950s and 1960s, that happened so much. One can see so many baby graves up till then.

Oh I loved it when you mimicked Treebeard!!! ❤❤❤

love how early she caught on to HOPE being the core message of this film. She was saying it from the beginning, and obviously Aragorns quote at Helm's Deep brings it full circle!

It was not a dream. Gandalf whoopin the Balrog's azz all the way down that shaft is one of the most badass scenes in cinema history.

Great reaction as usual Liala! Bernard Hill is so brilliant as King Theoden. He plays all aspects of this role so well. In a cast of absolutely stellar actors doing their absolute stellar best his portrayal of the possessed, then renewed, then devastated by his son's death all in relatively quick succession is masterful. That "No parent should have to bury their child" cuts me to the quick every time. 😞 I always have to wait til part two hits before I can watch part one. I have to watch it all in a row. 😀

I love this reaction. I recently went through several other reactions by different people and was underwhelmed. You, Liala, have washed that bitter taste away. You are watching the story, becoming emotionally involved in the characters, and are making intelligent comments. Keep up the good work!

“I am Saruman as he should have been.” Apologies for the geek in me but a little bit of LoTR nerd lore here. Gandalf and Saruman are Istari, divine beings (aka angels) who were sent to Middle Earth to fight evil. There are 5 total including Radagast the Brown who you only see in the Hobbit, and 2 Blues who just kind of disappear into the east. Their color is more of a designation, with the White being the “leader.” When Saruman (with a mind of metal and wheels) is corrupted and Gandalf dies, Gandalf is sent back by “god” to continue the mission and also promoted to the rank of “White wizard” taking Saruman’s place. As the Gray wizard his role was more being a messenger and inspiration to encourage the hearts of men. You’ll notice once he comes back he’s much more businesslike and more of a battle-mage. Again my apologies, love the LoTR and as us nerds do, we love our deep lore.

Soooo, did you know that when Aragorn kicked the helmet, the actor broke his toe? They kept the actual scene in the film as it was such a realistic scream and perfomance. It's a fact that every LOTR watcher is obligated to know and every LOTR fan is obligated to report LOL

Ahhh we all have to acknowledge that Sam is such a treasure. Exceptional friend he is. Love your content!