10. “You will suffer me!”
9. “Hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship…but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down. But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, men of the west!*
Aragorn is such a stud, he can ride back and forth on his horse in front of an army with the sword Andúril in his hand.I could never do that.
8. “No, Sam. I can’t recall the taste of food…nor the sound of water nor the touch of grass. I’m naked in the dark, with nothing. No veil between me and the ring of fire. I can see him with my waking eyes!”
I want to scoop up and comfort Frodo when he’s lying on Mount Doom, parched, starving, and unable to take another step. When I’m really tired and don’t want to get out of bed, sometimes I shrivel into a hobbit ball and say “I’m naked in the dark, with nothing…” to Marlboro Man.He doesn’t really get it.
7. “You saw there was a child! You saw my son!”
Oh, how I love Liv Tyler’s indignation when she delivers this line. She’s so beautiful and emotional in this move.Her lips are works of art.
6. “Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?”
Gimli is jolly and funny and this small dose of humor is a nice break before he and his friends head out to draw out Sauron’s armies and empty his lands.Humor’s always good in those situations.
5. “For Frodo.”
The Eye of Sauron has just attempted to lure in Aragorn, and when Aragorn turns around and looks, eyes watery and red, at his friends, one almost fears that Sauron has succeeded. But Aragorn is too studly for that, and dedicates the coming battle to Frodo.Even if you don’t know that they’re going to win the coming battle, that moment somehow makes you feel like everything’s going to be okay.
4. “The ring is mine.”
This is the closest Frodo gets to completely succumbing to the Ring, and it’s haunting and gripping. Elijah Wood’s expressions in this scene are incredible. I rewind and pause. Repeatedly.3. “Come on Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you. But I can carry you!”
When Samwise Gamgee flings Frodo over his shoulder and pushes his way up the mountain, it’s more apparent than ever: he would lay down his life for his friend. This line touches the place deep inside of all of us–a place that knows that we can’t do it all ourselves without the love and support of others.I believe it also touches on a few Christian themes involving bearing one another’s burdens…but we’ll cover that in another post, man.
2. “I am no man.”
This is Eowyn’s response to the Witch King’s “You fool. No man can kill me. Die now.”Heh. She sure showed that lame-o, didn’t she?
And women everywhere stood up and cheered!
1. “My friends. You bow to no one.”
For me, this is the most rewindable scene in the entire trilogy. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are about to bow to the newly crowned King, but he stops them and delivers the above line. The King bows to the hobbits instead, and the entire kingdom follows suit. The hobbits stand there and look around, surprised by this unexpected turn…and clearly a little unsure about being in such a lofty position.Volumes could be written about this single scene: humility and exaltation, strength and faith conquering evil, the “last shall be first”…the themes are never-ending.
I have to go now. I feel a good cleansing cry coming on.