History Film / TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing

Young Shire hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle-earth during the Second Age with his armies of Orcs and seemingly died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Peregrin "Pippin" Took and Meriadock "Merry" Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who was sent there by Gandalf and helps them escape Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle-earth during the Second Age with his armies of Orcs and seemingly died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Peregrin "Pippin" Took and Meriadock "Merry" Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who was sent there by Gandalf and helps them escape Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle-earth during the Second Age with his armies of Orcs and seemingly died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who was sent there by Gandalf and helps them escape Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls.

The six later arrive at the elvish city of Rivendell, where they meet Gandalf, Gimli the dwarf, Boromir (son of the Ruling Steward of the human kingdom of Gondor) and Legolas the elf. They band together, forming the [[TitleDrop eponymous]] Fellowship of the Ring, as they prepare for a dangerous journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fiery mountain where it was once forged, and Sauron with it.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle-earth during the Second Age with his armies of Orcs and died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who was sent there by Gandalf and helps them escape Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle-earth during the Second Age and died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who helps them escaping Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls. The six later arrive at the elvish city of Rivendell, where they meet Gandalf, Gimli the dwarf, Boromir (son of the Ruling Steward of the human kingdom of Gondor) and Legolas the elf. They band together, forming the [[TitleDrop eponymous]] Fellowship of the Ring, as they prepare for a dangerous journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fiery mountain where it was once forged, and Sauron with it.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle Earth during the Second Age and died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who helps them escaping Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls. The six later arrive at the elvish city of Rivendell, where they meet Gandalf, Gimli the dwarf, Boromir (son of the Ruling Steward of the human kingdom of Gondor) and Legolas the elf. They band together, forming the [[TitleDrop eponymous]] Fellowship of the Ring, as they prepare for a dangerous journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fiery mountain where it was once forged, and Sauron with it.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle Earth during the Second Age and died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who helps them escaping Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls. The six later arrive at the elvish city of Rivendell, where they meet Gandalf, Gimli the dwarf, Boromir (son of the Ruling Steward of the human kingdom of Gondor) and Legolas the elf. They band together, forming the [[TitleDrop epnymous]] Fellowship of the Ring, as they prepare for a dangerous journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fiery mountain where it was once forged, and Sauron with it.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who once set out to conquer Middle Earth during the Second Age and died. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who helps them escaping Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls. The six later arrive at the elvish city of Rivendell, where they meet Gimli the dwarf, Boromir and Legolas the elf. They band together, forming the [[TitleDrop epnymous]] Fellowship of the Ring, as they prepare for a dangerous journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fiery mountain where it was once forged, and Sauron with it.

The first chapter of the ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' film trilogy, ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' was directed by Creator/PeterJackson and was released in December 2001.

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during the latter's 111th birthday and learns of its origins as the remnant of Sauron, the Dark Lord who died in the Second Age. Frodo and three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck, are tasked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to go to an inn. Once there, they meet a man named Strider or Aragorn, who helps them escaping Sauron's dreaded heralds, the Nazgûls. The six later arrive at the elvish city of Rivendell, where they meet Gimli the dwarf, Boromir and Legolas the elf. They band together, forming the [[TitleDrop epnymous]] Fellowship of the Ring, as they prepare for a dangerous journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fiery mountain where it was once forged.

The first film of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', '''The Fellowship of the Ring''' arrived to critical acclaim in December 2001. It was followed by ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' in 2002 and ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'' in 2003.

Frodo Baggins found the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo during his 111th birthday and learned of it's origins as the remnants of Sauron, the Dark Lord who died in the Second Age. Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck were tasked by Gandalf the Grey to go to the Prancing Pony to meet a Man named Strider or Aragorn. At Rivendell, the six met Gimli, Boromir and Legolas as they became the [[TitleDrop Fellowship of the Ring]] as they prepare a journey towards Mordor.

'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V75dMMIW2B4 Trailer #1]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aStYWD25fAQ Trailer #2]].

* CruelToBeKind: After their narrow escape from the Mines of Moria, most of the Fellowship is extremely distraught at the loss of Gandalf and stop just outside the exit to mourn. However, Aragorn orders Boromir to get them on their feet and continue the journey, answering protests of not giving them a moment by noting that by nightfall, the whole local area will be crawling with Orcs fully intent on killing them or worse, and the Fellowship must get to safety before dusk.

The first film of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', '''The Fellowship of the Ring''' arrived to critical acclaim in December 2001. It was followed by ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' in 2002 and ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''.

** The heartwarming and peaceful scenes of The Shire (especially in the Director's Cut), filled with laughter, friendship and happy children (what a warrior lays down his life to protect) is what makes us actually care whether or not Frodo and the Fellowship defeat the LordOfTheRings or not.

The first film of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', '''The Fellowship of the Ring''' arrived to critical acclaim.

* EarlyBirdCameo:
** Inverted. Rohan appears briefly in the first book, establishing that the nation will enter the plot in the second.

* HopeSpot:
** Probably the cruelest one in film history is when Gandalf sends Balrog off the bridge and begins turning back...only for the tips of its whip to catch Gandalf by the foot and leave him dangling off the side of the bridge.

* PragmaticAdaptation:
** The removal of [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Tom Bombadil]].
** Frodo not having the Ring for 17 years before Gandalf comes back -- here it's implied he only had it for a couple of months at the most.

* EvilSoundsDeep: The Uruk-Hai captain Lurtz also has a very deep voice, as do other orcs, when they're not...
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The (original) Dark Tower, Barad-dûr. It's actually depicted as under construction during the first film; the completed tower itself is first seen at the end of the film, from the Seat of Amon Hen; and revealed in the second film.

** Saruman shows the ability to levitate an enemy and toss him through the air, and to call down storms and avalanches from dozens if not hundreds of miles away, and Treebeard predicts that the Ents are probably doomed fighting against him. But during the actual battle, the Ents win easily and Saruman just watches angrily without using any magic.
*** In the books he actually kills one of the Ents with a jet of fire, making this an inversion of the ususal AdaptationDeviation tendency to add much more blatant magic use than was in the source material.

* ForTheEvulz: The ultimate reason why Sauron does all the things he does. All he cares about is having power over others, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood and the idea that his enemies don't never even occurs to him.]]
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The four main hobbits -- Pippin (choleric), Sam (melancholic), Frodo (leukine), and Merry (sanguine).
* FromBadToWorse: The odds keep getting stacked against the heroes and their allies no matter what glimmer of hope may shine. From the Skirmish at Amon Hen, to the Battle of Helm's Deep, to the Battle for Gondor, and ultimately the Battle at the Black Gate. Each new battle is much more hopeless than the last, and it is with that last one that everything hangs by a thread.

* HornsOfVillainy: The Balrog wasn't clearly described in the novels, but in ''Fellowship'' and ''The Two Towers'' it's given large ram-like horns, giving it a beast-like appearance.

* IAmNotLeftHanded: When Gandalf confronts Saruman while the latter is speaking through the possessed King Théoden, Saruman mocks him with the declaration "You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey!". At this, Gandalf casts off his grey outer cloak, revealing himself (to possessed!Théoden's shock) as Gandalf the White before successfully casting Saruman out of the king's mind.

* MeaningfulEcho: The tune from "Concerning Hobbits" (the piece that plays as the Shire is introduced) appears at the end of the first movie in "[[spoiler:The Breaking of the Fellowship]]".

* OpeningMonologue: Galadriel's now iconic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhjDnrw34QA opening monologue]] of the trilogy, describing the forging of the [[RingOfPower Rings Of Power]], the Battle of the Last Alliance, Sauron's downfall and the One Ring being lost and forgotten, basically laying the groundwork for the beginning of the main story. The page quote at the top is just part of it. She speaks some [[ConLang Elvish (Sindarin)]] at the beginning of the monologue.

** Creator/PeterJackson himself invoked this in his explanation as to his complete rewrite of the meetings of Faramir and Frodo's group: in the books, he lets them go free after learning of their quest and agreeing with it; in the film, he keeps them captive in order to take The Ring. Jackson said specifically this was because after the first book, the Ring's power to corrupt became an InformedAbility until it surfaced again at the tail-end of Return; in order to remind the viewer that it was basically evil incarnate, and keep with the rules Tolkien himself set, he had to have Faramir be tempted by the Ring.

** The long shot of Gandalf and the Balrog, still locked in combat, plummeting together down from the hole in the roof of an enormous underground cavern beneath Moria bears a strong resemblance to a shot in episode 24 of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' where Unit 01 and Unit 02, still locked in combat, plummet down through a hole in the roof into Terminal Dogma, an enormous underground cavern beneath NERV HQ.

* SternChase: The Nazgûl. [-"They will never stop hunting you."-] Also, the Three Hunters.
* StormingTheCastle: In ''Return of the King'', Sam storms the Tower of Cirith Ungol to free Frodo.
** Done earlier in ''The Two Towers'' the [[WhenTreesAttack Ents attack Isengard]] and absolutely obliterate the place.

* TemptingFate:
** "Is this it? Is this all you can conjure, Saruman?"
** "No one's coming to save you!” *Orc promptly gets speared by Rohirrim*

* ThisIsUnforgivable: Clearly the tone in Treebeard's voice when he [[LetsGetDangerous furiously exclaims]] "A ''wizard'' should know better!" - especially clear in the novels and other backstory as Saruman's (and Gandalf's) line of wizards are somewhat comparable to archangels sent to the world to watch over creation, and Saruman used to wander the forest on friendly terms with the Ents.

* AwardBaitSong: The films gave us two stellar TearJerker examples: "May It Be" and "In Dreams". "May it Be" was nominated for an for Oscar.

** Beregond (and his son's) role as Pippin's friend is [[CompositeCharacter given to Faramir]]. His role in defending Faramir from premature cremation is simply cut, so Pippin's dash for Gandalf is even more desperate and they only get there ''just'' as the pyre is about to be lit. Purportedly, [[http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Beregond_%28soldier_of_Gondor%29#Portrayal_in_Adaptations Ian Hughes']] character was meant to be Beregond, but the name was changed in post-production because the role had been so reduced. ([[AllThereInTheManual Not that you hear either name said onscreen.]])

* BadFuture: The Scouring of the Shire from the books is turned into this in the film adaptation. Frodo is invited to look into the Mirror of Galadriel. He is shown a vision of the Shire being destroyed, orcs slaughtering other hobbits, the four (Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam) [[MadeASlave chained and forced to walk]], being whipped by orcs. Galadriel tells Frodo that this is what will happen should he fail in his quest to destroy the Ring.

** The heartwarming and peaceful scenes of The Shire in ''Fellowship of the Ring'' (especially in the Director's Cut), filled with laughter, friendship and happy children (what a warrior lays down his life to protect) is what makes us actually care whether or not Frodo and the Fellowship defeat the LordOfTheRings or not.

** Prince Imrahil is omitted. His role in the book supporting Gandalf's defense of Minas Tirith and his support of Aragorn as King of Gondor are fairly important plot points, as he's the one that figures Aragorn can cure victims of the Nazgûl.

** Ghan-buri-Ghan and Elrond's sons Elladan and Elrohir are also absent. Quickbeam the Ent appears in the crowd shots, DemotedToExtra.

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade:
** Aragorn is more unsure about returning to the throne of Gondor, and must be convinced by Elrond to do so. His reason is his ancestor Isildur's failure to destroy the One Ring, and Aragorn fears this weakness has been passed down to him.

** Boromir in is described as having dark hair. For the movies they gave him light brown, bordering on blond.[[note]]In the books, Boromir looks a lot like Aragorn (they're related). The director probably felt that this would look confusing on film.[[/note]] Faramir's hair is not as dark, either. The vast majority of Men of Númenórean ancestry are said in the books to have dark hair and grey eyes.

!!These film provides examples of:

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Did this with a few characters. Arwen's role is expanded and she becomes an ActionGirl, Faramir becomes tempted by the ring and his ParentalFavoritism issues are more played up. Elrond is also made to be bitter and cynical, thinking humans are useless. Merry and Pippin were much more mature and responsible in the book; their carefree and comical escapades in the film had been decades earlier (stealing food)[[note]]Farmer Maggot is a kind, wise and very helpful character in the book.[[/note]] or not at all (the fireworks scene). Denethor also gets a bit of AdaptationalVillainy when he was simply GoodIsNotNice in the book.

* BeingWatched:
** Celeborn warns the Fellowship that they're being hunted by Orcs before leaving Lothlorien.

* BigNo: The films have a whole bunch of them, most of them reasonably done:

* ColorWash:
** Especially noticeable in day-for-night scenes. There's even a scene in ''Return of the King'' where Pippin is searching for Merry, that appears as a daylight scene in the theatrical version but was regraded to night for the extended version.
** An interesting example occurs with several shots used more than once (Green Dragon Inn exterior, Boromir's last stand, a certain close-up of Elrond) in different movies: frame-by-frame comparison shows exactly the same imagery with drastically different colors.

** As Sam and Frodo are left alone with Sméagol:
--->'''Sam:''' It's too quiet. There hasn't been sight nor sound of a bird for two days.
--->'''Gollum:''' No, no birdses to eat. No crunchable birdses!
** Another example: While on Weathertop, being chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo goes to sleep, only to wake up to the other hobbits cooking food.

* ConvectionSchmonvection:
** The lava pours out of Mount Doom within feet of Sam and Frodo at the end of the movie. Then [[spoiler: the eagles swoop down and pick them up]]. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by John Rhys-Davies in the DVD commentary.
---> '''John:''' There you have your old pyroclastic lava flow, not a good thing to be... err... in. Added to which there may be a little bit of sulfur there and not too much oxygen.
** When Gollum and The One Ring fall into the Crack of Doom, neither show any signs of burning even when Gollum gets completely submerged.
* ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind:
** When Merry and Pippin try to escape from the orc camp and are chased by Grishnakh, he has them at knifepoint and [[TemptingFate says nobody will save them now]] ... then the Rohirrim attack the camp and [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice one of them throws a spear into his back.]]
** Later on, Treebeard saves Merry and Pippin by stepping on an orc for them.
** When the Rohirrim are attacked by orcs on the way to Helm's Deep, Gimli gets pinned under the body of one of the Wargs, and another one creeps up on him. Aragorn then grabs a spear out of the ground and skewers it before it can attack.
** Sam also stabs an orc from behind with Sting when he rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol.
* CoolMask: The Witch-King spiky, crowned helmet, which immediately sets him apart from the other Nazgul.
%%* CoolOldGuy: Gandalf and Théoden.

* CreatorCameo: Creator/PeterJackson, as well as other high-ranking members of the production crew, [[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Cameo_appearances_in_Peter_Jackson%27s_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_and_The_Hobbit_film_trilogies make several appearances]] throughout the films:
** The prologue has cameos by senior prosthetics supervisor Gino Acevedo and prosthetics technicians Rich Mayberry and Xander Forterie as three of the seven Dwarf Lords who receive Rings of Power; concept artists John Howe and Alan Lee play two of the Nine Kings; Weta production worker Ben Britton and pre-viz storyboard shader Jason Secto play elves fighting in the Last Alliance.
** Artist Alan Lee and Production Designer Dan Hennah appear as old men being armed when Legolas and Aragorn argue at Helm's Deep. Peter Jackson appears again as a spear throwing Rohirrim at Helm's Deep.
** Jackson, Acevedo, Weta Workshop head Richard Taylor, director of photography Andrew Lesnie, and co-producer Rick Porras play the Corsairs of Umbar. [[DeathByCameo Jackson's Corsair is shot by Legolas, and the rest are killed by a cannonball.]]

* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: Ents vs. Isengard]]. [[spoiler: Army of the Dead vs. Forces of Sauron]], unlike the book, which describes it as a long day of battle.
* CurbStompCushion:
** While the Rohirrim's battle against the Haradrim outside Minas Tirith is nearly this, as the Mumakil the Haradrim ride are basically unstoppable juggernauts that impale, crush, and swat horsemen away with impunity, the Rohirrim give a good accounting of themselves, managing to bring down a number of Mumakil by taking advantage of their greater numbers and maneuverability, though it still takes the Army of the Dead to tip the scales in Middle-earth's favor.
** Nearly all of the battles of the soldiers of Gondor against the forces of Mordor. When the trolls break through the gate of Minas Tirith the soldiers manage to kill at least one troll and in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owzk91QqbEA this video]] you can see at least one soldier who spears down an Orc.
* CutApart: The first movie has closeups of sleeping hobbits mixed with Ringwraiths surrounding the beds. When the stabbing begins, we discover the beds are empty and the hobbits in another room.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The three movies seem to alternate between this and LighterAndSofter compared to the original book. They drop a couple of the more lighthearted scenes of the book (Tom Bombadil, for example) and focus more on the bloody battles (easier to do in a visual medium), while omitting some of the creepier book-scenes (such as the barrow wights) and adding a lot of comic relief.

* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: Haldir. (In the book, the elves don't even ''show up'' at Helm's Deep).]]
** Also [[spoiler:the Mouth of Sauron, whose fate is unknown in the books]].
* DeathGlare: The crowning one has to be the one Theoden gives Grima after being freed from Saruman. You can almost hear Grima [[PottyFailure piss himself]].

* DeathWail: Aragorn lets out one when he finds Merry and Pippin's elven belts on the Orc funeral pyre. In RealLife, it was because Creator/ViggoMortensen [[ThrowItIn had just broken his toe on the helmet he kicked]], [[EnforcedMethodActing but he went on with the scene]].
* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Defied. Saruman tries to use this trope as a trick when he offers Théoden and the Fellowship a peace council after the Ents corner him in Orthanc. Théoden calls bullshit on it.
* DespairGambit: Sauron and his minions do a lot of this, often with considerable subtlety. Perhaps the most overt example is at the beginning of the Battle of Pelennor Fields, when the orcs start the siege by catapulting the heads of Gondorian soldiers into the city.
* {{Determinator}}: Sam is Frodo's only companion to stay with him clear from the Shire to Mt. Doom, in spite of being turned away by Frodo twice, and in spite of Frodo and the others twice secretly conspiring with regards to the journey without Sam or the other hobbits. He also saves Frodo from an EldritchAbomination and Orcs, then carries him partway up Mt Doom on his own back. The only incentive he gets to do any of this is when Gandalf says, "Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee" once, right at the beginning.
* DeusExMachina: The eagles show up in the final battle to keep the ring wraiths at bay, and also to fly Frodo and Sam away from the erupting Mt Doom. This has led many a fan to wonder why none of the Fellowship flew on the eagles to Mordor in the first place.
%%** The Army of the Dead could also count for the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
* DevouredByTheHorde: The orc pack who take Merry and Pippin to Isengard are starving, and one of them attempts to eat the hobbits. Under strict orders to bring any hobbit back in one piece, the leader of the orc pack kills this orc instead, who is then devoured by his hungry comrades.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: During the siege of Helm's Deep, the Uruk-Hai use Saruman's newly-created explosives to blow up the wall in order to make a breach. However, they were caught off-guard by the blast almost as much as the defenders were. The Uruks near the grate are blown up along with the ones already on the wall and countless more are crushed beneath massive chunks of falling rubble that were blown sky high by the blast. After the dust settles, instead of immediately storming through the breach, they stand there staring at it, clearly not realizing that Saruman's new weapons would be ''that'' powerful. Of course, it's probably likely that Saruman just didn't bother to inform them of its destructive power because he didn't care, given that WeHaveReserves was in full effect for the Uruks.

* DisneyDeath: Alongside Frodo's examples from the book that made it into the film, we also have Aragorn's plunge off of the cliff in ''The Two Towers'', alongside Gollum's 'death' right after going through Shelob's tunnel.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Alongside examples from the book, we also have a couple unique to the films, those being [[spoiler: Saruman's (uncut version only) and Denethor's deaths. Though it should be noted that unlike most versions of this trope, we actually see the [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice result]] of Saruman's fall]].
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Frodo and the Hobbits are the obvious examples, but Lady Galadriel also goes barefoot.
* TheDogBitesBack: Saruman really shouldn't have mistreated Wormtongue the way he did, as we see in ''Return of the King'' (at least in the extended edition).
* TheDogShotFirst: In the book, Gollum bites the Ring off Frodo's hand, leaves the hobbit writhing in pain, revels madly in his triumph, and falls into the Crack of Doom through his own fault. In the movie, Frodo, apparently still in the Ring's thrall, gets up and starts fighting Gollum for the Ring, knocking them both off the edge where Sam rescues Frodo. Creator/PeterJackson figured it was more satisfying for the audience to see Frodo actually take part in the Ring's destruction.
* DoorClosesEnding: Seen as Sam returns to his family and home, having just seen the last of the fellowship leaving.
* TheDragon: The Witch-King of Angmar to Sauron. Aided by the fact that his mount, a Fell Beast, actually looks kind of like a dragon.
* DreamIntro: At the beginning of ''The Two Towers'', Frodo has a dream that reminds us what happened to Gandalf at the end of Part 1, although in this case it continues into a sequence which he couldn't possibly have seen.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: The look we see in Frodo's eyes as he hangs over the edge, feeling all too tempted to give into despair. Thankfully, through Sam's loyalty and love, Frodo grabs his hand and subverts this trope.]]

* EagerRookie: Merry and Eowyn both want to join the battle of Minas Tirith but have to sneak in with the rest of the Rohirrim, since them joining the fight is met with disapproval from the others due to being a hobbit and a woman, respectively. Eowyn at least has some battle training.

** Inverted. Rohan appears briefly in the first book, establishing that the nation will enter the plot in the second. It's completely cut out of the film, with only one brief mention.
** The extended version of ''The Two Towers'' has a flashback to Boromir and Faramir's past, which serves to introduce Denethor before he becomes a major character in ''Return of the King''.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: A very heavy price is paid for their victory. Poor Frodo will never be the same.
* EliteMooks: The Uruk Hai.
* EndOfAnAge: [[spoiler: The destruction of the One Ring and the Second Defeat of Sauron marked the end of the Age of Elves and of magic in Middle-earth; the Third Age. In turn, it would give rise to the Fourth Age, which would become known as the Age of Men.]]
* EnemyCivilWar: The orcs of Mordor and Isengard do not play nicely together. In fact, Saruman is only allied with Mordor out of convenience; [[DragonWithAnAgenda he plans to betray Sauron once he gets the Ring and overthrow him.]]
* EngagementChallenge: Similarly to the book, Elrond is disapproving of Aragorn and Arwen's romance until Aragorn proves he's worthy of being King. The scene in the third movie when he arrives bearing Andúril was added to show that he had changed his mind and given them his blessing.
* EpicFlail: The Witch-King's weapon of choice.
* EpicMovie: Collectively and individually, averaging at about three hours each. And that's just the theatrical cuts. The extended edition of The Return of the King actually has a running-time of ''four'' hours, and that's without counting the end credits which are another 20 minutes themselves.

** Faramir is introduced after his men attack a troop of Haradrim, and he [[AlasPoorVillain shows empathy for one of the enemies that they killed.]] Unlike the WarIsGlorious mindset of most other characters, he then says [[WarIsHell "War will make corpses of us all."]]
** Wormtongue's introduction in Edoras shows that he is manipulative, creepy and nevertheless a little pathetic.

%%* EvilChancellor: Grí­ma Wormtongue.
* EvilGloating: See Fate Worse Than Death.
-->'''Saruman:''' Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman ... and the union of [[TitleDrop the two towers]]? Together, my Lord Sauron ... we shall rule this Middle-Earth!
%%* EvilIsHammy: Saruman, Gollum, and the Witch-King.
* EvilIsNotWellLit: Mordor is called the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Land of Shadow]] for a reason. Also, the inside of Orthanc is always dimly lit, and Minas Morgul is shown as being pitch-black save for a SicklyGreenGlow.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Saruman has a deep, booming voice. The Uruk-Hai captain Lurtz also has a very deep voice, as do other orcs, when they're not...
* EvilSoundsRaspy: A side effect of corruption by rings of power. Gollum speaks this way after possessing the One Ring for centuries, and the Ringwraiths rasp their few lines. Even Sauron himself has a somewhat raspy (if deeper) voice when he's heard onscreen.

* EvolutionaryRetCon: By the third entry, Creator/PeterJackson had decided he wasn't a fan of the "witch noses" on certain orcs in the previous films. As a result, none of ''Return of the King'''s orcs sported long, pointy noses.
** Possibly {{Justified}} in-universe in that most of the orcs we see in the first two films are from either Moria or Isengard, whereas those in ROTK are almost exclusively of Mordor stock. It's not inconceivable that there may be some regional variation in appearance.
* ExactWords: Legends goes that no man can kill the Witch-King. [[spoiler: Éowyn reveals she isn't one a moment before she stabs him in the head.]]
* FadeToWhite: Creator/PeterJackson enjoys doing this, ''especially'' at the end of the third film.
* FallenAngel: Sauron, Saruman and the Balrog of Moria.
* {{Fanfare}}: The fellowship theme, the Rohan theme at points, and the Gondor theme.
* FantasticLightSource: Gandalf's staff and Galadriel's phial that contains liquid starlight and helps Frodo and Sam escape Shelob's lair.
* FantasticRacism: A major theme of the books and movies is the heroes [[WeAreStrugglingTogether learning to overcome their differences.]] ElvesVsDwarves is the most prominent, although Elves and Men are shown having some grudges against each other too.

* FateWorseThanDeath:
** The heroes (and the unfamiliar reader) assume Frodo suffered such a fate. Subverted, somehow, as Aragorn deduced the messenger was lying.
---> '''Mouth of Sauron:''' [[ToThePain Who could have thought one so small could endure so much pain?]] [[AssInAmbassador And he did, Gandalf. He did.]]
---> '''Aragorn''': (smirks, strolls up to the Mouth of Sauron, and [[ShutUpHannibal cuts of his head]]) I do not believe it. ''I will not.''
** Averted with Saruman's DisneyVillainDeath. To shorten the film, the Scouring of the Shire had been deleted and he was made to die, but in Tolkien's eyes the original fate of the Wizard has been much worse: for a Maia, a minor god, and a powerful ruler able to sack a kingdom, to be reduced to begging through the countryside was a much greater humiliation.
* FinalSpeech: While both Boromir and Théoden had some last dying words in the book, they really spice it up in the films, especially with Boromir's last line to Aragorn: "My brother, my captain, my king".
* FireForgedFriends: Gimli and Legolas probably count as Trope Codifiers. They [[FantasticRacism openly hate each other]] at their first meeting (Gimli: "Never trust an elf!"), but by the end of ''Fellowship'' they are inseparable.

* FlashForward: Elrond warns Arwen what will happen if she stays in Middle-Earth and marries Aragorn, and there is a scene of Aragorn's funeral, after he has become king and has died of old age, while Arwen lives on in grief and loneliness.
* FoeTossingCharge:
** Sauron during the prologue, to get to Isildur.
** Theoden and Aragorn also do this at the climax of the Battle of the Hornburg, riding out of the gates and scattering the orcs on the bridge.

** Used in reverse in one shot from ''The Fellowship of the Ring'': While climbing Caradhras, Frodo falls and drops the Ring. There is a shot of the Ring lying in the snow in the foreground. The filmmakers used a larger model of the Ring in this shot to make it seem closer, while still in-focus.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** In an Extended-Version-only scene, Frodo and Sam see a group of Wood-Elves on their way to the Grey Havens while they're leaving the Shire. [[spoiler: The final film ends with Frodo going to the Grey Havens and leaving Middle-Earth with the rest of the elves]].
** Gollum's Song, sung by Emiliana Torrini and played over the credits of ''The Two Towers'', ends with 'You are lost, you can never go home.' While it's ambiguous who exactly this is directed towards, [[spoiler:by the end of the quest Frodo at least suffers a tragic case of YouCantGoHomeAgain.]]
** In ''Return of the King'', Gimli mentions how he wishes he could summon a legion of Dwarves to march on Gondor with the Rohirrim. However Legolas tells him, "Your kinsmen may have no need to ride to war. I fear war already marches on their own lands" which may be a reference to the Easterlings' siege on the Dwarven kingdom of Erebor and their allies that happens off-screen at the same time as the siege of Minas Tirith.

* ForgotToMindTheirHead: This was a hazard both in and out of universe when filming the trilogy:
** During the scene in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' where Gandalf visits Bilbo in his hobbit hole, Gandalf, stooping, accidentally backs into a chandelier (as part of the script). His actor Creator/IanMcKellen then promptly turns and accidentally smacks his head on the roof, [[ThrowItIn an (unscripted) accident so funny that they left it in]].
** In the gag reel for ''Fellowship'', this happens also to the crew. Everyone's sitting inside the hobbit hole listening to directions, then when the meeting ends they all stand up and hit their heads on the roof. Then everyone falls to the floor.

* FreezeFrameBonus: The extended palantir scene with Aragorn and Sauron very briefly shows Sauron holding the palantir in his armored form, implying that he has returned to a humanoid form.
%%* FriendsAllAlong: The first time we see Arwen.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
** During the Entish assault on Isengard, one of them catches fire. The Ent running around and then dousing himself in the overflowing Isen is hilarious if you notice it.
** As the Ents break the dam overlooking Isengard, there is an Ent in the foreground holding a struggling orc in his hand. When the Ent sees the dam breaking in the background, he casually throws the orc in the path of the torrent and walks away.
%%* GiantEyeOfDoom: [[SinisterSurveillance The Eye of Sauron.]]
* GiantSpider: Creator/PeterJackson [[AuthorPhobia applied his actual arachnophobia to full use]][[invoked]] to make Shelob as horrible as possible. Strangely, Shelob had a stinger in her belly, and a gaping mouth instead of actual spider fangs. {{Justified|Trope}} in that she is meant to be an EldritchAbomination.
* GiantWallOfWateryDoom:
** In both cases the water is only "doom" to evil forces, and is actually the ''salvation'' to the good ones.
** In ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' when Arwen [[ElementalMagic conjures up]] the Bruinen river against the Black Riders (invoking a MassOhCrap out of them, but they can't outrun it). For added awesomeness, the waves are horse-shaped.
** In ''The Two Towers'' when...
--->'''The Ents:''' Break the dam; release the river!
** Near Isengard at the end, flooding all foulness out of it.

* GodzillaThreshold: The reason Theoden recruits young boys as ChildSoldiers for the Battle of Helm's Deep; the Uruks plan to kill everyone and they need to up the solider count. To be fair, everyone involved in-universe (Theoden, the soldiers taking the children to the armory) was thoroughly unhappy with the situation.
* GollumMadeMeDoIt: More pronounced in the film than the book, where we're asked to take Gollum as more of a whole person.
* GondorCallsForAid: Denethor refused to light the signal fires due to a combination of bad blood between Gondor and Rohan, and due to a misguided notion that Gondor ''needed'' no aid (Denethor being under the influence of Sauron affected his decision making somewhat). [[SpannerInTheWorks Pippin]] manages to sneak into one of the towers and lights the fire himself. Théoden, when the subject was first broached by Aragorn, was bitter over Gondor not sending any help to ''Rohan'' during their devastating fight... when he actually gets the call, though, he personally leads TheCavalry.
* GoodLipsEvilJaws: The film has a lot of Orcs with no lips at all. They're humanoid, and besides just being ugly look fairly normal. They have rather human mouths, if unusually sharp teeth, but these [[{{Squick}} mouths are not covered by lips.]]
* GreatOffscreenWar: Not a typical example, as it takes place at the same time, rather than before, the main conflict--but in the extended edition of [=RotK=], there is a moment when Gimli says that he wishes he had Dwarf warriors beside him. Legolas replies that he fears the Dwarves are already at war; anyone who has read the appendices knows that ''both'' of their homelands (Erebor and Mirkwood, respectively) are indeed fighting Sauron's armies in the north. The Dwarves even lose their king in the conflict. The fighting around Gondor is a sideshow by comparison to the scale of the attacks on Erebor and Mirkwood.
* GreenAesop: The conflict between Isengard and the Ents.
-->'''Saruman''': "The old world will burn in the fires of industry. The forests will fall!"
* GrievousHarmWithABody: It's easy to miss and hard to see, but at one point when the Ents are fighting the forces of Isengard, one Ent is swinging an orc around and whacking other orcs with it.
* GroinAttack: Happens a couple of times to orcs during battles, particularly to an Uruk-Hai at Helm's Deep. Gimli hits him with an axe.
* HaveIMentionedIAmADwarfToday: Gimli does not deal with other people. It's always a dwarf dealing with an elf or a human. He almost completely refers to other people not by their name, but only by their race. He does refer to both Aragorn and Legolas by their names during their expedition to get the support of the Army of the Dead, but only once each.
* HeartbeatSoundtrack: Déagol's death in the third movie.
* HeDidntMakeIt: ''The Two Towers'' has a strange example because that scene was filmed before the script was totally ironed out: the director wasn't sure what actually did happen to Aragorn, so decided to keep the dialogue vague to save time.
-->'''Éowyn:''' Where is Lord Aragorn?\\
'''Gimli:''' He fell.
* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: Unless you are a Rider of Rohan, or an Elf soldier, or a Dwarf, or a soldier of Gondor. Interestingly, Éowyn wears a helmet properly like the Rohirrim (along with Merry, Éomer, and Théoden) but she needed a custom one made so that her face was still recognizable to the audience.
* TheHighQueen: Galadriel. In a case of MetaCasting, she is played by Creator/CateBlanchett, famous for portraying [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Elizabeth I]], a TropeCodifier of High Queendom.
* HilariousOuttakes: While Jackson and company are saving the gag reel for the high definition LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition, a few bloopers have surfaced. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkNWF_75dWM&feature=related Creator/SeanAstin just wants a close-up]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sauron's demise becomes a KarmicDeath when you realise it was his corruption and degradation of the innocent hobbits Sméagol and Frodo and their resulting conflict over the Ring in Mount Doom that causes it to fall into the fire.
* HollywoodDarkness:
** The night battles at Helm's Deep and Osgiliath are shown in a blue tint. Helms Deep occurs with rain during the bulk of the battle,meaning that the only light would have been lightning and scattered torches, but this isn't cited as nor provides any obvious difficulty. Osgiliath is a retreating battle in which both sides tried to ambush the other, no one has torches lit, but the orcs in the boats stay low, and the Gondorians took cover in the broken urban landscape
** The lair of Shelob is fairly well-lit despite being depicted in the book as pitch black, (we are told she "secretes" darkness), but here the audience has to see. Frodo does run right into a web he should have been able to clearly see, so apparently the lair is lit in our view, but not in his.

* HollywoodTactics:
** The Rohirrim defenders of Helm's Deep let the Orcs neatly form up outside the fortress without shooting - until one bowman prematurely does, which (only then) provokes the Orcs to charge.
** The Rohirrim cavalry charge at the conclusion of Helm's Deep - downhill, towards thousands of Uruk-Hai armed with pikes and spears ''pointed right at them'' is a textbook example. In real life, this would have skewered the horses and their riders like shish-kebab. But the Orcs, blinded by the sunlight (and perhaps Gandalf's magic) ridiculously start to raise their weapons when they could've just stuck their spears into the ground and pointed them straight forward at their attackers, and the Rohirrim cut them down.
** However, the next Rohirrim cavalry charge, head-on at the giant Oliphaunts while swatting at their legs, goes exactly as one would expect. However, this was due more to real-life considerations than artistic license. According to the DVD commentaries, going by the book - ''shooting the Oliphaunts in the eyes'' - was deemed too gruesome and reminiscent of animal cruelty toward real elephants to be filmed.
** ''The Return of the King'' includes an intentional example. Faramir is forced to make an unsupported cavalry charge across open ground against a fortified position. Also, said position is an urban environment with lots of rubble in the streets that would handily take away all of a horse's speed and maneuverability. This goes about as poorly as one can expect and was meant to display Denethor's failing sanity.
** In the battle before the gates of Mordor, the heavily outnumbered and surrounded Army of the West break ranks and charge into the enemy, whereas in the book they hold their formations on higher ground and let the enemy come to them. Also, in the film version they arrive on war horses but inexplicably dismount and attack on foot.

** Creator/PeterJackson shot one bit at Bilbo's birthday party in ''Fellowship of the Ring'' ("Proudfeet!") as an exact copy of a shot in Creator/RalphBakshi's animated ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLordOfTheRings Lord of the Rings]]''. Jackson even helpfully points this out in the commentary. A circle-round shot of the four hobbits at Weathertop is also lifted from the original, although the camera moves much faster and Aragorn is absent. Same goes for the four hobbits hiding under a root by the wayside with the Nazgûl leaning in above them.

* HomeSweetHome:
** [[spoiler:The Hobbits were naturally happy to be back home in the Shire after spending many long months away from it.]]
** [[spoiler:Subverted with Frodo, who just couldn't get over the psychological scars he had endured. Hence why he felt so out of place despite being back home.]]
** [[spoiler:Played straight with Sam as he walks back to his home and family after parting with Frodo at the Grey Havens, albeit bittersweetly.]]
* HookedUpAfterwards: Faramir and Éowyn, as the book chapter of them meeting and falling in love over time was cut, but restored in the extended edition.
* HopelessSuitor: Éowyn for Aragorn
* HopelessWar: The War of the Ring was very much this trope for the Free People of Middle-earth. Sauron's power and forces were growing stronger by the day, the odds of the Quest's success were becoming increasingly slim, and all the while the armies of Gondor and Rohan were struggling to bring their tactics up-to-par with that of the Enemy.

** The first half of the battle for Pelennor Fields has the [[TheCavalry Rohirrim]] absolutely [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp]] the Orc legions. Just as Théoden proclaims that they'll drive them back and retake Minas Tirith, the [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Oliphaunts arrive]].

* IGaveMyWord: After Pelennor Fields, the army of the dead demand Aragorn release them, as he promised he would. Gimli points out they could still be useful, but Aragorn chooses to keep his promise.
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Sam to Frodo during ''The Two Towers''.
-->'''Samwise''': It's me. It's your Sam. Don't you know your Sam?
* ILied:
-->'''Frodo''': Sméagol promised!
-->'''Gollum''': Sméagol lied.
* ILikeThoseOdds:
-->'''Gimli''': Certainty of death, small chance of success... What are we waiting for?
* IconicSequelSong: While the motifs for Rohan and Minas Tirith are some of the most recognizable parts of the series' score, they first appear in ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King'' respectively.
* ImAHumanitarian:
** "You will taste '''''man-flesh!"'''''
** "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!"
* IMeantToDoThat: Gimli, when he falls off his horse in ''The Two Towers''.
-->'''Gimli:''' Nobody panic! It was deliberate. It was deliberate.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Saruman dies in the extended version of ''Return of the King'' by getting stabbed, falling off the tower of Isengard and onto a spiky wheel of a machine. For bonus symbolism points, the wheel then shifts because of his weight and turns until Saruman is on the bottom, hidden beneath the pool of water.
-->'''Treebeard''': The filth of Saruman is washing away.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Elvish archery in general; see for example the Elves in the prologue shooting Orcs off the slopes of Mount Doom at what looks like over a ''mile away''. And there's Legolas specifically, of course, who shoots Orcs in the head while shield-surfing.
* InertialImpalement: Subverted in The Two Towers: The Rohirrim cavalry charges down a steep incline where orc pikemen are massing. However, the sun rises just in time for them to be dazzled, and the charge completely breaks the line apart.
* InsaneTrollLogic: In ''The Two Towers'', there is the following exchange where it's used twice in a row:
-->'''Pippin''': If we go south, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect.
-->'''Treebeard''': That doesn't make sense to me, but then you are very small. Perhaps you're right.
* IntersceneDiegetic: While Pippin is singing for Denethor, the scene cuts to Faramir and his soldiers.
* InVinoVeritas: At the end of ''The Return of the King'', Sam avails himself of some liquid courage before going up to talk to Rosie, and after he leaves the table, we see some delightedly wide-eyed reaction shots of the other three hobbits. The next scene is Sam and Rosie's wedding.

** Shortly after Pippin swears allegiance to Steward Denethor, Gandalf reacts to the situation with derision ("Perigrin Took, [[SarcasmMode Guard of the Citadel]]..."). Later, during the battle in the city, Pippin then kills an Orc that was about to attack an unaware Gandalf. When Gandalf realizes what had just happened, he utters a far more sincere "Guard of the Citadel, indeed!"
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: Many times.
** Boromir's last words to Aragorn:

** Gimli and Legolas before the final battle, in their final lines of dialogue:
-->'''Gimli:''' I never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf.\\
'''Legolas:''' How about side by side with a friend?\\
'''Gimli:''' ...Aye, that I could do.

* LeaveNoSurvivors: In the films both Saruman and the Witch-King tell their minions to kill everyone in Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith, respectively.
* LeeroyJenkins: A number of Internet parodies compared this to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F0yUhLJUaY Aragorn's final charge]]. The Rohirrim at Pellenor Fields also experience this; Theoden's DeathSeeker attitude has gotten to them so much that they'll ''charge a line of Mumakil'' without hesitation.

** Galadriel's intense gaze reduces Boromir to tears in the first movie, most likely because he knows that ''she knows'' that he will eventually betray the Fellowship.

* ScaredOfWhatsBehindYou: In Moria Gimli thinks that the Fellowship is scaring off the orcs, naturally it's the Balrog that they're really reacting to.

!!These film provides example of:

!!These films provide example of:

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating:
** No one liked Sauron, as he was the embodiment of evil in Middle-earth. His underlings were not fond of him at all and served him far more out of fear than out of either respect or loyalty. Even the Nazgul were just puppets and extensions of his power. And Saruman thought of allegiance with him as nothing more than a convenience.
** Denethor clearly hit this by the time Mordor arrived at Minas Tirith. When Denethor finally snaps in the face of Mordor's army and orders his men to desert their posts, Gandalf whacks him unconscious with his staff, and then proceeds to take control of Minas Tirith's defense. No one stops Gandalf from doing this, and everyone immediately starts following Gandalf's orders.
* OneDimensionalThinking: The Nazgûl at the Fords of Bruinen in the first movie. Instead of just riding back into the forest, they ride downstream where the wave is certain to catch them... because the water has distorted all sense of direction for them (hence why they were reluctant to cross in the first place).
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: [[AnArmAndALeg Limbs]] and [[OffWithHisHead heads]] get lopped off frequently in this movie. Creator/ViggoMortensen actually went to the prop department and asked them to make him a prop whetstone he could use as part of his costume. He realized that if Aragorn would be killing so many orcs, he'd have to keep his blade sharp somehow. In the extended edition, there's even a scene of him sharpening his sword while resting in Lothlórien.
* AccentAdaptation: A multitude of accents from all over The British Isles are used with great effect throughout the trilogy to enhance characterization. The high-ranking characters (Gandalf, Saruman, Elrond, Galadriel etc) have RP (the Queen's English) accents, which lends them gravitas and enhances their position of authority. Bilbo and Frodo (arguably Hobbit gentry) also use RP, but it is less clipped and veers more towards an Estuary accent. Sam, Merry and most of the hobbit extras in films use a Somerset/rural accent, which befits their pastoral lifestyle and setting. The exception is Pippin, for whom Billy Boyd used his native Scottish accent. The Orcs have Creator/RayWinstone-esque theatrical Cockney/SE London accents to emphasize their loutishness. Gimli was given a Scottish accent to mirror what in the text was simply gruff speech. (By Creator/JohnRhysDavies, who was raised in England by Welsh parents).
* AcousticLicense: In ''The Two Towers'', when Saruman is addressing his army of ten thousand Uruk-hai, his voice appears to be [[AWizardDidIt magnified by magical means]]. However in the extended version of ''The Return of the King'' Saruman speaks to the protagonists from the top of Orthanc and no similar effect is used (online cartoon spoof site ''Sev Trek'' suggested that he was using his pointy wizard's hat as a megaphone).
* ActionBomb: In ''The Two Towers'', during the battle at Helm's Deep, the Uruk-hai placed a bomb in the drainage tunnel at Helm's Deep, with an Uruk with a torch blowing himself up to set it off.

** While ''The Two Towers'' has a very loud build-up with the arrival of Saruman's army at Helm's Deep, the extended edition cuts away from this bombastic action to focus on cowering civilians in the caves underneath, with the Uruks chanting in the distance. Theoden also delivers a monologue where he doubts whether the Rohirrim can win and wonders what will become of his kingdom.
** When the orcs are trying to break down a gate deep within Minas Tirith, Gandalf takes a few minutes to tell Pippin about the peaceful nature of the afterlife -- a ''Far Green Country.'' The music at this point transitions from fearsome to quietly spiritual.
** Frodo and Sam have many scenes that show ThePowerOfFriendship. Likewise, there are many flashback scenes that show [[OfficialCouple Aragorn and Arwen's]] romance.
* ActionGirl:
** Eowyn is the most prominent example. She's a shield maiden of Rohan, trained to fight in battle. She doesn't get to demonstrate it much in the second film - but she does successfully lead the people to safety, qualifying her for ActionSurvivor status. She more than earns her stripes in the third film.
** Arwen gets a moment in the limelight in the first film, taking Glorfindel's place as the rider who carries Frodo to Rivendell. She outruns the nine Nazgul and summons a flood to wash them away. WordOfGod has said that she was originally supposed to fight at Helm's Deep too.[[invoked]]
** There are also female warriors among the Easterling army. Women can be glimpsed in the army of elves that show up at Helm's Deep too.
* ActorAllusion: In the extended cut of the third movie, [[Creator/ChristopherLee Saruman]] is [[Film/HorrorOfDracula impaled on a spike that goes through his heart]] after falling to his death from Orthanc.
* ActOfTrueLove: The entirety of the trilogy is one of these for [[BattleButler Samwise]] [[UndyingLoyalty Gamgee]]. He followed [[TheNotLoveInterest Frodo]] into Mordor, being his keeper for the whole trip.

** Faramir is also an example. In the book he immediately recognizes the danger of the Ring, thereby becoming the ''only'' "normal" Human in the entire story who isn't tempted by the Ring. Of course, RuleOfDrama prevailed, so in the movie he follows in his brother's footsteps and tries to get the Ring to Gondor, due to massive angst over being the less-favored son. The scene of Denethor treating Faramir as TheUnfavorite also was added to justify this change.
** Denethor could apply as well: while his actions are more or less the same, the book actually gives him reason to despair in the end while the movie manages to keep it much more ambiguous.
* AdaptationalModesty: Frodo has lost his cloak and Mithril vest in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, leaving him [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]]. In the book the Orcs have stripped him completely naked. Which explains Sam's line about how "you can't go walking through Mordor in naught but your skin", which is quoted verbatim from the book.
* AdaptationExpansion: The fight between Gandalf and the Balrog is only mentioned in the book. Here, it's the opening scene of the second movie.

* AdaptationalBadass: The Eagles. In the book the force that turns the tide in the final battle is an entire army; in the film it's just four of them.
* AdaptationalVillainy:
** The movie version of Denethor lacks most of the redeeming qualities that he has in the books, in which he is a GoodIsNotNice character who nevertheless was a capable leader until driven off the DespairEventHorizon.
** Although never a villain, Faramir was more hostile to the hobbits in the movie than he was in the books, and is tempted by the Ring, until Samwise tells him what the Ring did to Boromir.
* AdaptationDistillation:
** Many favored aspects of the books were taken up a notch, while much detail was glossed over. Most notably, the removal of the Tom Bombadil sequence, which doesn't really add anything incredibly significant to the narrative of the books.
** The final chapters of the books, the Scouring of the Shire, were removed entirely. Even if they were somewhat anti-climactic, they gave the book a darker vibe, one of Tolkien's recurrent themes. Specifically, they were meant to illustrate what war does to a beloved homeland.

** Boromir in ''Fellowship of the Ring'' is described as having dark hair. For the movies they gave him light brown, bordering on blond.[[note]]In the books, Boromir looks a lot like Aragorn (they're related). The director probably felt that this would look confusing on film.[[/note]] Faramir's hair is not as dark, either. The vast majority of Men of Númenórean ancestry are said in the books to have dark hair and grey eyes.

** While Frodo and Pippin are brunette, Merry and Sam are fairly blond, when in the books it specifically says that blond hobbits are a rarity.
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: The largely unexplained backstory leaves quite a few of these:
** Many who haven't read the books wonder why, if the ring was so evil, and Isildur wouldn't destroy it, Elrond didn't just grab it from him and destroy it himself, or even just push Isildur into the lava. In the books, no-one at that time is sure of exactly what the ring does, Elrond included; they have no idea that it's keeping Sauron alive. Isildur takes the ring as a memorial of their victory, and no-one really has any reason to oppose him doing so.
** The issue of Aragorn as heir to the throne of Gondor. If Boromir can recognise the heir of Isildur simply from the name 'Aragorn', then why isn't he king already? In the books, the issue is far more complicated; while Aragorn is the only surviving heir, he's only distantly related to the old Kings of Gondor, and he also comes from a line that had previously been excluded from the Gondorian succession. The movies explained this as Aragorn himself being reluctant to become king, for fear of falling to petty evil the same way his ancestor Isildur did.
** One issue that is routinely brought up as though it's a plot hole is "Why didn't the Fellowship just use the eagles and fly the One Ring to Mount Doom, then drop it in from the air?" There are a number of reasons in the books that explain why. The Eagles are forbidden by their creator from intervening directly in the War, so they won't shepherd the Ring themselves. They also would be just as likely to be tempted to take the Ring for themselves as any other sentient creature. The most obvious reason is that the whole point of the Fellowship is to avoid detection, and a flock of eagles would bring all of Sauron's forces down on their heads. For all these reasons, the Eagles are only free to arrive once the Ring is gone and Sauron is defeated. Another factor is that their power is greatly increased in the movies; while their arrival did turn the tide in the book it was the assembled armies of their entire race intervening (which had been established to be mustering much earlier), not just four guys.

* AdultFear:
** Although the hobbits aren't children, their small size and innocence invoke instincts of protectiveness similar to children, and the members of the Fellowship clearly think of them as their charges. Boromir's anguished "They took the little ones!" as he [[spoiler:is dying]] is particularly heartbreaking.
** In ''Two Towers'', Théoden was under a spell from Saruman for a long time and was unaware of his son dying until much later. He was freed from it in time for the funeral, though.
--->'''Théoden:''' No parent should have to bury their child.
** The beginning of ''Return of the King'' has Sméagol kill Déagol over the Ring. What if the friend you trusted most easily turned on you over one little trinket?
* AdvantageBall: Rather than worry about such things as [[HollywoodTactics tactical realism]], advantage in battle seems to be principally a matter of who makes the most [[BigEntrance badass entrance]], regardless of such matters as numbers and equipment. This is especially true of the Uruk-hai on Amon Hen.
* AgeCut: Averted in the ''Fellowship Of the Ring'' when Elrond talks to Gandalf about an incident thousands of years in the past. We cut to a shot of Elrond in the past and he looks exactly the same, since [[WeAreAsMayflies elves are immortal]].

* AllThereInTheManual: While not necessary to understand the movies, reading the books can provide valuable background information that just couldn't be fit into the films. In particular, the events of ''Literature/TheHobbit'' are recapped in less than a minute. If you haven't read it, quite a few of the little {{continuity nod}}s will go right over your head, and seeing an aging Bilbo leaving Middle-Earth won't be nearly as emotional.

* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: What Sauron and Saruman try to do to Minas Tirith and Helm's Deep, respectively. They do manage to lay siege to Osgiliath however.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: In the ''Fellowship of the Ring''. The goblins have the party surrounded in the mines of Moria -- until the Balrog makes its first appearance. They run for it. So does everyone else.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Orcs and Uruk-Hai.
* AndThisIsFor: Samwise Gamgee, the [[LetsGetDangerous normally]] non-threatening gardener, even did this, dedicating Orc kills: "That's for Frodo! And that's for the Shire! And that's for my old Gaffer!"

* AngelicBeauty: A rejected idea from the third film was to have Sauron (who is basically a FallenAngel only appearing as an EvilOverlord) appear in his fair form as Annatar to beguile Aragorn during the final battle at the gates of Mordor. This did result in some deleted footage, but was replaced with the Aragorn vs. Troll fight.
* AnnoyingArrows: Averted for the most part. Arrows are very, very lethal in the films and people from both sides go down after getting hit by one. Played with (for dramatic effect) when Boromir gets tagged with two in a row: he's visibly pained but still keeps fighting for a while uninhibited until the third one brings him to his knees and he's helpless to stop Merry and Pippin from being taken.[[note]]In the book, Boromir is depicted as immensely strong, so this is canon, but it takes a lot more than three arrows to even slow him down.[[/note]] Also, the Uruk-hai berserker with the bomb-igniting-torch at Helm's Deep keeps running unimpeded when Legolas shoots him two times.
* AntagonistTitle: Sauron is the Lord of the Rings. He is the one who created the Rings of Power, and the One Ring is trying to reunite with him throughout the books. It would be assumed that it is Frodo, which is even referenced when Pippin calls Frodo "Lord of the Ring," but Gandalf hushes him and tells him not to SpeakOfTheDevil.
* TheAppleFallsFar: When the hobbits almost tumble into a pit in Moria, Boromir drops a torch, which is followed by a long tracking shot of it falling into the abyss.
* ArcherArchetype: Legolas notably, and exaggerated somewhat from the books -- especially with the jumping on elephants and shooting point-blank.
* ArmorIsUseless: There are many instances of {{mook}}s and {{redshirt}}s dying from a single blow despite being encased in armor. Most notably, orc and goblins tend to wear particularly heavy-looking plate armor, yet often go down to a single swipe or arrow. Aragorn and Legolas also go without armor for a majority of the series, despite being some of the most capable fighters.
** Slightly justified where the elves (and Aragorn) are concerned: Legolas is heard to pass advice on the weaknesses of Uruk-hai armor to his fellow elves in Helms Deep, so they can AttackItsWeakPoint. When humans or orcs fire a volley, it tends to fell significantly less troops per arrow fired, though orcs get around this by [[MacrossMissileMassacre sheer numbers]].
** Aragorn might be wearing leather armor the rest of the time, it's a bit hard to tell. Not the best armor out there, but someone who calls himself a "Ranger" would prefer mobility over protection.
** And averted when [[spoiler: Frodo is speared]], only to reveal his [[{{Unobtanium}} Mithril]] [[BulletProofVest vest]] had protected him.
** Also averted when [[spoiler: Théoden is speared at Helms Deep]]. While he had to withdraw from the battle for the time being, he was seen back in the fight later.
* ArrowCam:
** ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' features another "point of view" arrow shot.
** ''Return of the King'' mounts its Arrow Cam behind a tumbling chunk of broken city masonry as it sails from its catapult and over the walls to fall among the massed orcs outside.
* AscendedExtra:
** Arwen was pretty much a background character in the book, and barely appeared or talked. In the film, while still mostly a SatelliteLoveInterest, she also has a badass moment saving Frodo from the Nazgûl (in the book it was a male elf called Glorfindel, and Frodo took that ride ''by himself!''), and her importance as a driving motivation for Aragorn is played up.
** Gothmog is a mix of this and CompositeCharacter, as he takes the role that several different Orc commanders had in the book, and becomes the joint-leader of the attack on Minas Tirith.

* AudibleSharpness: Any time a sword is pulled out of a leather scabbard, with a metal-on-metal sound effect. In the DVD audio commentaries they mention they originally wanted to do it realistically, but [[EnforcedTrope they put them in]] after [[RealityIsUnrealistic test audiences reacted badly]], as our subconscious is [[TheCoconutEffect trained on and used to]] the trope.
* AwardBaitSong: The films gave us three stellar TearJerker examples: "May It Be" and "In Dreams" from ''Fellowship of the Ring'' and "Into the West" from ''The Return of the King''. "May it Be" was nominated for an for Oscar, "Into the West" was nominated and won. "Gollum's Song" from ''The Two Towers'' averts the trope by being in a minor key, having a much darker tone, and being sung in a dissonant, shrill voice.
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: ''The Return of the King'' was about getting to this moment, since Aragorn was the rightful ruler all along. And in the end of the movie, the coronation gets a good five minutes and a reunion for Aragorn and Arwen, which makes it an almost perfect moment of crowning when the new king turns to the hobbits and says [[KneelBeforeFrodo "My friends, you bow to no one."]]
* BackToBackBadasses: In the film adaptation, during the battle of Helm's Deep, Aragorn and Gimli fought the Uruk-hai while the main gate is repaired.
* BadassArmy:
** The Elven army is implied to be one of these in the films given how disciplined and co-ordinated they are. Not because they're inherently ''better'', mind you, they've just had [[WeAreAsMayflies literally thousands of years of training and combat experience]].
** The Army of the Last Alliance seen in the prologue of The Fellowship. Justified in that they trained for years before marching on Mordor.
** The Uruk-hai army that attacks Helm's Deep definitely qualifies as a villainous version.

* BadassLongcoat:
** Aragorn wears a dark-green "ranger coat" throughout most of the series. Unfortunately, he sheds it when he becomes king.
** On that note, the other Dúnedain rangers, who only appear in storyboarded scenes and the trading card game, wore longcoats, as well.
* BadFuture: The Scouring of the Shire from the books is turned into this in the film adaptation. In ''Fellowship'' Frodo is invited to look into the Mirror of Galadriel. He is shown a vision of the Shire being destroyed, orcs slaughtering other hobbits, the four (Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam) [[MadeASlave chained and forced to walk]], being whipped by orcs. Galadriel tells Frodo that this is what will happen should he fail in his quest to destroy the Ring.
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork:
** In the extended cut of ''Return of the King'', what to do with [[spoiler: Saruman]] is a bit of a problem for Théoden and the Fellowship. He resists coming quietly to be questioned until Grima backstabs him after being kicked around one too many times.
** As explained in TheDogShotFirst below, the sudden presence of [[spoiler:Gollum]] at Mount Doom means that Sam doesn't have to [[spoiler:fight or even kill Frodo to complete the quest and destroy the Ring after Frodo succumbs to the Ring's temptation and refuses to destroy it himself]], since someone is already handling the fight for him.
* BadassNormal: Both Éomer and Éowyn. It must run in the family.
** Sam. Oh Sam. An ordinary guy who wants nothing more than to take care of his garden back in Hobbiton, Sam goes on to save Frodo countless times, take out quite a few orcs, and [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu drive off Shelob by himself]] with nothing more than a CoolSword and a magical flashlight.
* BalefulPolymorph: Humorously subverted when Sam eavesdrops on Gandalf and Frodo's conversation about the One Ring in Bilbo's former house. Samwise begs Gandalf not to use his magic to turn him into something "unnatural". Then the scene cuts to a shot of Gandalf walking with a horse and telling Sam to keep up, only for Sam to run along after them.[[note]]A familiar Peter Jackson gag for those who remember what happened to the "bloody fool" psychiatrist in ''Film/HeavenlyCreatures''.[[/note]]
* BatmanGambit: While Treebeard is taking him and Merry home, Pippin tells him to take them past Saruman's tower, claiming that [[InsaneTrollLogic the closer they are to danger, the further they are from harm]]. However, it's all a ruse to get Treebeard to see the devastation that Saruman wreaked upon the forest, which drives the Ents to attack Isengard.
* BattleButler: Sam.
-->'''Faramir''': Are you his bodyguard?
-->'''Sam''': His ''gardener''.
* BattleChant: In ''Return Of The King'', just before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Théoden gives his "arise, arise, riders of Théoden". The entire army begins then chanting "Death" over and over (even Merry chants it).
* BattleCry: Due to the martial nature of the series, there are a few examples:
** the Rohirrim : "FORTH, EORLINGAS!"
** Aragorn's cry of "ELENDIL!"
** And Théoden's "DEATH!"
** An amusing example: when Boromir is teaching Merry and Pippin how to sword fight, they charge him shouting "For the Shire!"
** And the biggest one during their LastStand, "For Frodo!"
* BattleInTheRain: The Battle of the Peak (when Gandalf fights the Balrog on top of the Misty Mountains). Gandalf uses the thunderstorm to his advantage by [[ImprovisedLightningRod letting a bolt of lightning strike his sword]], which he then stabs into the Balrog's chest, killing it.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished:
** Frodo is badly stabbed on Weathertop, and later loses a finger, Boromir catches several arrows in his chest, Aragorn spends the whole trilogy bloody, bruised and scraped. Practically all of the cast is harassed by either the Watcher in the Water or a cave troll. But all pretty boy Legolas gets over the course of the trilogy is a bruise and a little smudge of dirt. Éowyn made it through almost the entire Battle of the Pelennor Fields unscathed, with nary a cut or bruise... until the Witch-King smashes her shield (and shield-arm) with his gigantic flail.
** Théoden also gets a spear in the shoulder during the battle of Helm's Deep. He's not badly injured, due to his armor, but he has to switch his sword to his other hand for a bit.
** During the "Flight to the Ford" scene, Arwen gets a small cut on her cheek from a branch (due to being on a high-speed horse run), but is otherwise unharmed.
* BehindTheBlack:
** In ''The Two Towers'', Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli stop their run after Aragorn senses something. The Three Hunters run behind a rock and miss, by a matter of ''inches'', being trampled by a huge contingent of horses and riders that are coming over the hill. Why the particularly perceptive Legolas or Aragorn couldn't see or hear the riders coming from a mile off is left unexplained, but [[RuleOfCool the scene is played purely for effect.]] In the books, the hunters did in fact spot the riders coming from a long way off and had plenty of time to prepare themselves.
** Sam in ''The Two Towers'' steps into the Dead Marshes before realizing he's walking into a bog that stretches as far as the eye can see.
** Gimli in ''The Fellowship Of The Ring'' claims he has "eyes like a hawk" but doesn't notice the squadron of elves with their arrows pointed at him.

** Frodo notices that Gollum is stalking the Fellowship when he catches a glimpse of him in Moria. Gandalf replies that he's known about it for days.

** The Eye of Sauron, which is instantly drawn to anyone who puts on the Ring.
* BigBad: Sauron. His malevolence is retained because all his power was in the ring. He would be able to regain physical form if he retrieved the ring, and nearly every problem they deal with is connected to his power. [[note]]The only enemy not directly connected to Sauron is the Balrog of Moria, which is a primordial enemy of a similar class of being to both Sauron and Gandalf.[[/note]]
* BigBadassBattleSequence: [[OnceAnEpisode At least one per movie.]]
** In ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', the battle between the Last Alliance and Mordor in the prologue certainly counts. The Battle at Amon Hen is much smaller in scale, pitting the Fellowship against a small army of Uruk-hai, but it's still an extremely impressive action sequence.
** In ''The Two Towers'', Helm's Deep fills out this role quite nicely. We also see a bit of the fighting in Osgiliath near the end of the film, as well as an ambush of the Rohirrim refugess by a pack of orc raiders and [[spoiler: the ents' destruction of Isengard]].
** In ''Return of the King'' you have the siege of Minas Tirith, the Pelennor fields, and the Black Gate. We also get to see more of the Battle of Osgiliath, ending with [[spoiler: the forces of Gondor being utterly routed]].
* BigDamnHeroes: As in the books, it happens at Helm's Deep and twice at Pelennor Fields, though a little varied. Unique to the films are two scenes in FOTR:
** When Frodo is stabbed at Weathertop, the Ringwraith reaches out, likely to grab the Ring. Cue Aragorn literally jumping in, wielding torch and sword. He fights the five of them off, [[KillItWithFire setting most of them on fire.]]
** At Amon Hen, Merry and Pippin are surrounded by Uruk-hai; one runs in and seems to be ready to decapitate them (even though his orders say to bring them alive and unspoiled), when Boromir jumps right in between them and kills the Uruk.
** There's also a scene in The Two Towers when Merry and Pippin have been abducted and Pippin was about to be eaten by an orc when they were unintentionally rescued by the Riders of Rohan. They are saved again by Treebeard stomping on the orc a little later.
* BigEater: All the Hobbits, but especially Pippin.
* BigGood: Gandalf foremost, as he is the most powerful individual among the heroes. Galadriel and Elrond also come close due to being the most prominent Elven.

** When Faramir discovers that Frodo possesses the One Ring and contemplates delivering it to his father, Frodo has one and immediately retreats from Faramir, much to Faramir's surprise.
** Eomer gets in a good one when he finds [[spoiler: Eowyn's body]] on the battlefield.
** Right at the climax of the third film, [[spoiler: when Frodo succumbs to the lure of the One Ring while standing on the edge of the Crack of Doom.]] It's actually two smaller "no"s, then followed by what might be the biggest "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" ever heard [[spoiler:as Frodo puts on the Ring, alerting Sauron to his presence.]]
** Yet another in the third film is Legolas in the final battle [[spoiler:When Aragorn's about to be killed by a troll]]. It's definitely in the extended cut and the [[TrailersAlwaysLie trailers]] at least.
* BigShadowLittleCreature: Sam, a hobbit, tries to scare a squad of Orc warriors this way. Unlike in the book, it doesn't really work. Also unlike the book, he kills them all easily.
* BittersweetEnding: Quite possibly the best example of this trope in high fantasy, along with its overlapping with EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: After much hardship, sacrifice, and perseverance at ever-surmounting odds, the One Ring is destroyed, Sauron vanquished, and a whole new era of peace and happiness is ushered in. The Fellowship is reunited, Aragorn is made King of Gondor, and the four Hobbits return home as revered heroes. However, the War of the Ring brought much devastation to Middle-earth that will take years to rebuild and countless lives were lost in all the conflict. The time of magic, the Elves, and the Maiar in Middle-earth ceases as Men begin to rule. But the biggest toll is seen in poor Frodo as he has been both physically and emotionally scarred by the Quest. He could never go back to living a life of peace and innocence in the Shire. Thus, he accepts the Valar's invitation to sail into the West, much to the heartbreak of his best friends Sam, Merry, and Pippin.]]
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: For the most part, though [[spoiler:Boromir and Frodo are otherwise good guys who succumb to the evil temptation of the Ring without meaning to]]. Aside from that, though, pretty much everyone besides Gollum is either clear-cut good (if they oppose the forces of Mordor and Isengard) or evil (the leaders and armies of Mordor and Isengard) and [[spoiler:even Gollum falls squarely into the "evil" category at the end of ''The Two Towers'' and stays there in ''The Return of the King'']].
* BlackKnight: Sauron from the intro of the ''Fellowship of the Ring'' opening wears a huge suit of armor, roars monstrously, and swings a gigantic mace everywhere, sending scores of soldiers flying with each blow. He is modeled after his former master Morgoth from ''Silmarillion'', and the books ([[AllThereInTheManual or at least the appendix]]) did mention him taking part in this particular battle personally, so at least it's fairly justified.
** The Witch-King fulfills this trope in both the books and the movie.
* BlackSpeech:
** Sauron and the Ring-wraiths use it.
** Gandalf uses it to dramatic effect in Imladris, complete with EmpathicEnvironment. It also appears to cause elves such as Elrond and Legolas physical pain, as both wince at its usage.
* BladeOnAStick: Elf King Gil-Galad's spear in the prologue of Fellowship of the Ring, and the Chinese style polearms carried by Haldir's Elves at the Battle of Helm's Deep.
* BlindedByTheLight: The Uruk-Hai at the end of the battle of Helm's Deep are blinded by the rising sun when Gandalf and his army of Rohirrim come charging towards them.

* BloodlessCarnage: Downplayed. There is quite a lot of gore if you watch closely, but the [[BlackBlood gushing blood]] is almost indistinguishable from the grime and filth the orcs are covered in.
* BodyCountCompetition: Gimli and Legolas have one in the battles of Heml's Deep and Minas Tirith. Even after Legolas takes down the war beast, Gimli says it still only counts as one.
* {{Bookends}}: Several examples in The Two Towers (which may seem odd as it's the middle film):
** Near the start of the film, Frodo attacks Gollum with Sting held in his left hand and holds the tip to his throat. Near the end, he does the same to [[spoiler: Sam]], except with Sting in his right hand.
** Faramir's arc starts with Denethor mockingly asking if Faramir wants to attend the Council of Elrond to "show his quality". At the end, Sam earnestly tells him that he has shown his quality.
** The trilogy as a whole begins and ends in Hobbiton. Additionally, it starts with Bilbo beginning work on his book ''There And Back Again'' and ends with Frodo writing the final lines of the sequel. ''The Lord Of The Rings''
* BottomlessMagazines: Nobody ever runs out of arrows despite firing dozens of them and never being shown replenishing their quivers or picking the arrows out of the bodies.

** Aragorn uses both bow and sword in the first movie, but he usually uses the bow only to open battle, staying in melee once it opens.
** Legolas is more flexible, switching between his bow and his knives when appropriate. Elves in general are capable of both archery and swordplay.
** Faramir's rangers from Ithilien used bows and swords and were lightly armoured, but the mainline Gondorian archers are depicted in plate armour, though it may have been a lighter style.
** The Uruk-hai captain (Lurtz) at the end of the first film also employs a bow/sword combo.
* BoxedSet
* BraveScot: Gimli may be from Middle-Earth, but he comes across as this with his thick Scottish accent, red hair and habit of calling everyone "laddie".
* BreachingTheWall: In ''The Two Towers'', the first part of the battle at Helm's Deep has Rohan's army easily keeping Saruman's Uruk-hais at bay. Unfortunately, no one's aware Saruman has found out the fortress wall can be destroyed by placing a bomb on a sewage drain nearby. [[StuffBlowingUp Guess what happens a few minutes later]]...
* BreakingSpeech: Elrond gives one to Arwen about how if she marries Aragorn, she will live to see him and their child die. This is an unusual example because he does it out of love.
* BrickJoke: Nobody tosses a Dwarf, but then Gimli later has to get tossed in order to fight the orcs across a gap.
** A blink-and-you'll-miss-it example: early in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' the four Hobbits stop for "second breakfast," but Aragorn pushes them on. Pippin complains, so a couple of apples come flying out of the bushes from Aragorn's general direction. One hits Pippin in the head, and he looks up at the sky in confusion. Much later, just after the Ents have trashed Isengard in ''The Two Towers'', Pippin mentions that he's hungry, then sees some apples floating in the water. He grabs one, then looks up in the same manner.
* BringHimToMe: Saruman wants the ring bearer brought to him alive and ''unspoiled''.
* BrokenAesop: Narrowly averted in that Creator/PeterJackson originally wanted simultaneous physical battles between Aragorn and Sauron (in the flesh) and between Frodo and Gollum, with Frodo ''[[MoralDissonance pushing Gollum into the fire]]''. He also [[DesignatedVillain reverses Frodo and Sam's pity for Gollum]], removing a couple key lines of dialogue, and implies the ''Ring'' was deluding Frodo into feeling that way. Fortunately, this AlternateCharacterInterpretation was mostly cut out, even from the extended edition, outside of the odd lembas escapade.

* ButtDialingMordor: Pippin tries to use the Palantir and unintentionally ends up getting face time with Sauron himself.
* ButterflyOfTransformation: The white moth that brings giant eagles to the rescue when Gandalf is imprisoned at Orthanc, and again when the Gondor army is at the gates of Mordor. (Only appears in the Jackson films, not the book).
* ButtMonkey: Gimli in ''The Two Towers'' and ''Return of the King'', with a few small moments of it in ''Fellowship''.
-->NOT THE BEARD!!!!!
* CallThatAFormation: While lip service is paid to forming battle-lines, the battles quickly devolve into total chaos.
* CannotCrossRunningWater: Arwen uses an invocation to Ulmo to raise the waters of Rivendell and prevent the Ringwraiths from crossing the ford. (Compare the book, where the waters rise due to a boundary spell set by Elrond).
* CaptainObvious: Legolas, who tells the audience what a diversion is. The writers joke about it on the commentary.
* CatapultNightmare: Aragorn had one of these in ''Return of the King. In fairness, he pulls a knife in the same motion, and has probably trained himself to do this every time he's suddenly awoken.
* CavalierConsumption: Denethor appears to be more interested in eating his chicken and tomatoes than he is in Faramir's safety.
* TheCavalry:
** Minas Tirith is about to be overwhelmed by an enormous horde of Orcs—and then the Rohirrim appear at the top of the hill, blowing their horns.
** The same happens at Helm's Deep, with Gandalf and Éomer's ''éored''.
* CavalryOfTheDead: In the book, they're ghosts who accompany Aragorn to prove his kingship, inspire fear and awe, and ensure only stone cold badasses are brave enough to fight alongside him and help defeat the Corsairs of Umbar. In the film, they ''are'' the cavalry.
%%* CCGImportanceDissonance
* ChekhovsGun:
** The small glass vial containing the Light of Eärendil, given to Frodo by Galadriel in the first film. [[ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest It comes in handy]] in the third film, when [[spoiler: Frodo is lost in Shelob's lair]]. The elven rope given to Sam also comes in handy, though it's only given a bit of relevance in the extended edition. Given the length of time between the release of the film in theaters, this turned into a bit of a BrickJoke.
** In the book ''all items'' received by the Fellowship in Lothlórien fit this trope (most notably the Elven cloaks and brooches). She even gives Sam a [[ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest box of dirt]]. The movie keeps most of them with the exception of Boromir's belt (in the book it served to help Faramir realize that he indeed saw his dead brother and not just a vision).
** In the beginning of the second film, Saruman instructs his {{mook}}s to dam the river. At the end of the film, the Ents break the dam, dramatically destroying Saruman's army and ElaborateUndergroundBase in the ensuing flood.
** If counting where Bilbo and Frodo's sword, Sting, received its name in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' [[spoiler: killing the giant spiders of Mirkwood as they attacked the ensnared dwarves]], it's perhaps one of these or a BrickJoke that Samwise uses Sting to defeat Shelob.
* ChildSoldiers: There is a scene in ''The Two Towers'' where the soldiers suit up to defend Helm's Deep and we see a number of people being armed are ''very'' young boys needed to up their soldier count. Mercifully, we're never shown the kids doing any actually combat besides throwing stones at the besiegers from the wall.
-->'''Gimli:''' Some of these men have seen too many winters.
-->'''Legolas:''' Or too few.
* ChromaticArrangement: All merchandise, including the special edition [=DVDs=], was colour-coded by film. ''Fellowship'' was green, ''Two Towers'' was red, and ''Return of the King'' was blue. Irritatingly, the Complete Recordings soundtracks had a different order: ''Fellowship'' was red, ''Towers'' blue, ''King'' green. These colours were made to match those of the limited edition soundtracks released at the same time as the films, which were designed before the films were even released. So in a way the Complete Recordings show the original colour concepts, then they went and changed them for the extended edition [=DVDs=].
* ClimbSlipHangClimb: When Frodo and Sam are following Gollum to Shelob's lair. Aragorn does it as well when the staircase is collapsing in Moria.
* CollapsingLair: Barad-dûr, when Sauron is finally defeated. See KeystoneArmy.