The 10 Most Intense Moments In Lord Of The Rings, Ranked
Forget "Star Wars," forget "The Matrix," forget "The Godfather." Only one film franchise successfully delivers the goods from start to finish — Peter Jackson's magnificent "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's acclaimed novels, this staggering film series remains one of the most astonishing accomplishments in motion picture history thanks to its wondrous visuals, exciting battles, emotional story, and colorful characters.
Indeed, it boggles the mind to think "The Fellowship of the Ring" blasted into theaters over 20 years ago! The franchise went on to earn billions of dollars at the box office and a treasure trove of awards. "The Return of the King," the final entry released in December of 2003, won Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards, becoming the first fantasy film to take home such honors. Truly, this monumental event captured the world's imagination to an astonishing degree.
"The Lord of the Rings" also caused many moviegoers to hyperventilate due to the intense action on display. All three films in the franchise dip into some extremely dark territory riddled with violence, death, and last-second rescues. While there are dozens of sequences to choose from, I've compiled a list of the 10 most intense moments from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy that effectively caused (and continue to cause) me to sweat profusely. So gather around and prepare to be thrilled!
10. Gandalf's death
"The Lord of the Rings" starts with "The Fellowship of the Ring," which pushed the possibilities of fantasy storytelling to extraordinary new heights. This lavish production follows hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippen (Billy Boyd), who form a fellowship comprised of the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and men Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean), to journey to Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring.
Their travels take them through many a dangerous local, the most precarious being the Mines of Moria, presently home to thousands of Orcs. Our heroes square off with the foul-looking monsters and even defeat a cave troll before running for the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. En route, they awaken a monstrous fire beast known as the Balrog, which proceeds to chase them through the mines.
Eventually, Gandalf grows weary of the pursuit and faces the Balrog head-on, and the pair clash swords for a spell before Gandalf uses his magical staff to destroy the bridge, sending the monster back to the mountain depths. Unfortunately, the fire demon uses a mighty whip to pull Gandalf into the abyss, but only after the wizard cries out to his team: "Fly, you fools!" Frodo's cries echo throughout the mountain, attracting more Orcs and necessitating our heroes to flee as quickly as possible. Don't worry! Gandalf would eventually return in a different form later in the series (making this scene not quite as intense as the others on a rewatch), but this moment was intense enough to make us think he bit the big one for real.
9. Aragorn confronts the King of the Dead
A pivotal moment in the final chapter in the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Return of the King," sees Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli follow The Paths of the Dead in search of the King of the Dead (Paul Norell). Aragorn, packing Andúril ("the flame of the west"), and with Isildur's blood coursing through his veins, eventually stumbles upon his target.
"Who enters my domain," the King asks. "One who will have your allegiance," Aragorn replies. A ghost army appears and surrounds our heroes. Legolas lets loose an arrow that goes straight through the King's head. "The way is shut," the ghostly apparition says. "It was made by those who are dead, and the dead keep it. The way is shut. Now you must die!" The King raises his sword to strike down Aragorn, but our boy uses Anduril to block the attack. Shocked, the King steps back. "Fight for us," Aragorn pleads, "and I will hold your oaths fulfilled. What say ye?"
Peter Jackson wisely cuts away from the sequence, and we're left questioning Aragorn's fate until he arrives with the ghost army in tow for the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Even so, the Paths of the Dead sequence is utterly intense, dripping in horror and delicious drama — though with a fairly predictable outcome if we're being honest.
8. Arwen flees from the Ringwraiths
"The Fellowship of the Ring" does a great job slowly ratcheting the intensity during its first half. Frodo and Sam's quest initially seems simplistic: Head to Bree and await further instruction from Gandalf. Unfortunately, a group of nasty Ringwraiths hunts our heroic, young hobbits throughout their journey, eventually revealing themselves at Weathertop. The leader of the black-cloaked villains, known as the Witch-king, stabs Frodo but is summarily driven away by Aragorn before he can inflict more damage.
Aragorn then passes Frodo to his love interest Arwen (Liv Tyler), who makes for the elf land of Rivendell on horseback. En route, the Ringwraiths return and pursue the She-Elf in a thrilling and incredibly intense chase sequence. Editor John Gilbert cuts the scene to bits but never allows the action to overcome the characters or story. We just met Arwen, but the young warrior quickly draws our compassion thanks to deft casting, strong performances, and Peter Jackson's immaculate direction. It's hard not to stand up and cheer when she conjures a stream of magical river horses that push the Ringwraiths downriver, ending the incredible action on a magical beat.
7. Gandalf the White confronts Théoden
Gandalf makes a triumphant return in "The Two Towers," albeit in a more God-like form dubbed Gandalf the White. Indeed, our resurrected wizard is dressed head-to-toe in white garments, brandishes a white staff, and rides a white horse. He wasn't lying about the name.
At any rate, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli head to Rohan in search of an army to aid their quest to destroy Sauron. There, they find Théoden (Bernard Hill), the king of Rohan, slumped on his throne and flanked by the villainous Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif). Following a brief bit of action, Gandalf confronts the king with his staff, and an intense wizard vs. wizard battle commences. Théoden is under Saruman's spell, and the evil wizard's influence has nearly broken the poor old guy.
Luckily, Gandalf has enough juice to knock his former mentor from Théoden's body after an intense showdown.Théoden then morphs back into his natural state and drives Wormtongue off his land. "The Two Towers" is a knockout, but this bit always causes me to hold my breath until Gandalf lands the final blow.
6. Hobbits hide from the Ringwraiths
As Frodo and Sam set out on their journey, they bump into Merry and Pippen, who are currently dealing with a situation of their own. The rascally hobbits stole crops from Farmer Maggot and must quickly flee the scene before the unseen individual finds them. Frodo and Sam follow close behind, and the foursome eventually tumbles down a hill, where they happen upon some mushrooms.
Frodo gathers himself and suggests the group get off the road. Then, he hears a screeching sound and feels the forest close in around him. "Get off the road," he shouts. The four halflings duck under a nearby tree moments before a black rider on a massive steed appears. It's our first clear look at a Ringwraith, and it's terrifying, especially when the demonic monstrosity leans over the tree ledge and comes remarkably close to discovering our pint-sized heroes. Frodo feels an uncontrollable urge to slide the Ring on his finger; his eyes roll back into a trance.
Luckily, Sam chucks a bag in another direction and draws the Ringwraith's attention long enough for them to escape. Then comes the best part: Frodo, shocked by the Ring's power and finally comprehending the gravity of the situation, stares at the object in his hand as Howard Shore's music crescendos. Peter Jackson shoots the sequence like a horror film to squeeze as much intensity from the moment as possible, and it works to perfection.
5. Shelob chases Frodo
Near the end of their perilous adventure, Frodo and Sam split up due to Gollum's villainous manipulations. Now alone with his master, Gollum (Andy Serkis) leads Frodo into a dark cavern featuring plenty of gruesome imagery. Lifeless Orcs hang from the ceiling; dead creatures litter the rocky ground. Frodo ventures deeper and finds himself alone, surrounded by death and ghastly sounds. He pulls out the Star of Eärendil, given to him by Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) in "The Fellowship of the Ring," which illuminates the dark cave.
Sudden movement behind Frodo catches our attention. The young hobbit slowly turns and comes face to face with the great spider Shelob who instantly attacks. Frodo holds up the Star of Eärendil which keeps the eight-legged monster at bay, and then quickly scurries away. The ensuing chase is downright frightening.
At one point, Frodo gets stuck in a web while Gollum mocks him via an improvised song. Frodo uses his sword, Sting, to chop his way out of the dilemma just before Shelob moves in for the kill. Once outside, Gollum lunges at Frodo. The pair struggle for a spell and Gollum eventually disappears into a dark ravine. It's hard not to get worked up just remembering how this scene plays out!
4. Sméagol kills Déagol
"The Return of the King" is one of my all-time favorite films. I saw this colossal masterpiece at least a dozen times in theaters and vividly recall audience reactions on opening night. Most notably during the first scene when we meet happy-go-lucky Sméagol before he turns into the miserable Gollum. He and his cousin Déagol (Thomas Robbins) are fishing on a beautiful river on a glorious afternoon. Déagol gets a tug on his fishing pole and tumbles overboard. Peter Jackson cuts to a silly underwater shot of the Stoor-hobbit underwater, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Then, Déagol's eyes lock on the One Ring at the river's bottom. Immediately drawn to its power, he reaches down, plucks the object from its resting place, and returns to the surface. Sméagol likewise spots the powerful object, and the two friends immediately engage in a violent struggle, ultimately leading to Déagol's death. To further intensify the moment, Jackson pumps the soundtrack with rhythmic electronic beats that quicken until Sméagol accomplishes his dark deed. Seemingly oblivious to his actions, Sméagol slips the Ring on his finger and vanishes. We then get a creepy montage of Sméagol transforming into Gollum, which ends with the creature staring into the camera and whispering, "My preciousssss." Silence. No one in the packed theater spoke, so caught up they were in the intense prologue, which ranks as one of the all-time great cinematic openings.
3. Orc blows up Helm's Deep
"The Two Towers" culminates with one of the most astonishing battle sequences ever put on film. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli team with King Théoden to stop Saruman's (Christopher Lee) advancing army of Uruk-hai. Elves from Rivendell also arrive to provide support.
The Uruk-hai gather outside the fortress and try to intimidate their foes by smashing their spears and stomping their feet. Storm clouds gather; before long, rain blankets both armies. One of Théoden's men accidentally fires an arrow that kills an Uruk-hai, and the battle commences. The bad guys use ladders to ascend the mighty walls of Helm's Deep, but volleys of arrows thwart their attack. "Is this it?" Théoden smirks. "Is this all you can conjure Saruman?"
Unexpectedly, an Uruk-hai emerges from the mass carrying a torch. He cuts through his fellow monsters en route to an opening in one of the fortress' walls packed with explosive powder. Aragorn and Legolas try to take him out but can't land the killing blow, and the bad guy leaps into the opening, and the wall explodes gloriously. The concussive force knocks Aragorn to the ground and creates a hole large enough for the advancing troops to enter. Now the fun really begins. While the entirety of the Battle of Helms Deep is enough to make the viewer chew their fingernails down to the nub, this moment always leaves me dripping with sweat.
2. Aragorn vs. Lurtz
The finale to "The Fellowship of the Ring" may not boast the extravagant special effects or spectacle of its sequels, but that doesn't make the action on display any less exciting. Following a series of confrontations, Uruk-hai scouts ambush our Fellowship. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli do their best to hold them off long enough for Frodo to escape but are quickly overwhelmed. Boromir steps in to help but goes down when three massive arrows plunge into his chest. Lurtz, the Uruk-hai army commander, slowly approaches with bow in hand and readies the final kill shot.
Suddenly, Aragorn intervenes by leaping on the massive Uruk-hai, and the two engage in an extreme game of hand-to-hand combat. Our hero takes a beating and is pinned to a tree at one point but manages to hold his own. Aragorn makes a final charge, plunges his sword into the villain's stomach, and, with a mighty swipe, lops off Lurtz's head. The furious fight lasts less than a minute, which is a good thing because any longer and audience members may have passed out from holding their breaths for too long.
1. Frodo at Mount Doom
Easily the most intense moment out of the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy arrives in "The Return of the King" when Frodo and Sam finally arrive at Mount Doom. The pair contend with Gollum but eventually make their way inside the volcano to destroy the One Ring. Frodo need only toss the powerful object into the lava below but instead turns to Sam and declares, "The Ring is mine!" Our hero slips the Ring on his finger and disappears, leaving Sam to shout, "No!"
Everything happens at once. The Great Eye of Sauron suddenly feels the Ring's power and turns his gaze towards Mount Doom; the Ringwraiths, busy battling Aragorn's forces, obey their master and follow suit. Sam tries to stop Frodo but gets clubbed in the head by Gollum. The slippery creature then leaps onto Frodo, bites off the young hobbit's finger, and holds the Ring up in triumph. He finally reclaimed his prize. Frodo, bleeding and entirely out of his mind due to the Ring's influence, takes a final swipe at Gollum, and the two topple over the ledge.
Gollum plunges into the lava below, along with the Ring, while Frodo clings to the side of the cliff. Sam leans down to help his friend. "Don't you let go," he screams. Eventually, Frodo reaches up and grabs Sam's hand, and the two escape the precarious situation and engage in eagle-riding fun. Phew. What a way to end the journey, fellas!