History TearJerker / TheLordofTheRings

* At the end of RotK, as Elrond is just passing Arwen on to Aragorn, look at Hugo Weaving's eyes. It barely lasts a quarter of a second but it was enough to turn the triumphant feeling having watched the entire trilogy back to back to one of sadness and empathy.

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**** Oh good god -yes-! Faramir was always This Troper's favourite character, his love for his city and his people is just as strong as Boromir's, and yet his father never sees him for what he is. Then Denethor admits that he wished Faramir had died...having tried (and succeeded, mostly) to keep stony-faced throughout the beginning of the movie, that one sentence and Faramir's reaction just set it off.

* {{YourMileageMayVary}}, but the development of Merry and Eowyn's friendship in the films has always gotten me, especially "I'll look after you", Eowyn's reaction to thinking Merry's been squashed by an oliphaunt, and the fact that just after having slain the Witch King, she's trying to find him.

*** For this Troper, its this one line that Gandalf says, along with the accompanying orchestral version of "Into the West":
->"The gray rain-curtain of this world rolls aside and all turns to silver glass; and then you see it: white shores, and beyond, a far green country into a swift sunrise."
If that isn't a damned good description of whatever world waits beyond this one, then I don't know what is.
**** It's just sad that this scene is spoiled a bit for readers of the book, because it is, in the end, misinformation. The quote describes Frodo's experience of arriving in the West; but dead humans' and (presumably) hobbits' souls do not stay in this world, but leave it for a fate unknown.

* The "Gondor calls for aid" scene in the third movie was also very moving. I don't know why, but at that moment I remembered a famous quote from World War I -- "The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime". And there I was, one lifetime later, watching a movie where the lights were being lit again to give hope to an embattled world. (It's worth noting that Tolkien himself lost all but one of his friends during that The First World War, so the scene was especially poignant).

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* From the book, when the Hobbits return to the Shire to find [[spoiler:Saruman and his goons have trashed the place]].

* This troper was deeply moved by the very end of the book: "I'm back." The reader who is new to the story is not sure until the very end if Sam will survive his separation from Frodo, but when he returns he is recommitting himself to life in a changed world and the beginning of the Fourth Age - and with it, the loss of Lothlorien and diminishment of Elven magic. It is impossible not to relate their story to the universal story of soldiers returning from war, some irrevocably changed (Frodo) and some able to move forward (Sam).
** Holy Crap, I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. My father went to Iraq for 18 months when I was in high school, and when he came back... yeah, nothing is ever the same. Leave it to Tolkien to nail it.

* The scene where Gondor's cavalry marches to what we all know will be a losing battle in Osgiliath, where the citizens all toss flowers before their feet, and where one guard even receives a flower directly from hand-to-hand. That guard will always stand out to me.

* When the Men force Frodo to lure Smeagol to him so they can capture him in ''The Two Towers.'' It's terrible luck, because it invokes Gollum to come back and gleefully give Smeagol an "I told you so" regarding the lies he had told Smeagol about Frodo being corrupt. Gollm/Smeagol is so tormented, and Frodo's friendship was his one last hope.

* The ''TheLordOfTheRings'' movies are chock full of these moments, particularly the end where Frodo has to leave Sam behind to sail with Gandalf and the Elves to the Undying Lands, never to return. And then the song "Into the West" comes on. Damn you, Peter Jackson and Tolkien both.

*** This troper blames Howard Shore -- I can't even make it through that part of the soundtrack without tearing up.

*** I disagree. Sam was originally forced into the journey (at least in the film), and Gandalf's words were telling him to stay with Frodo, to not get lost and "lose" him. At the end of the movie he changes the line to "leave", which in my opinion really works because Sam just made the choice between staying with the others and leaving Frodo or going with him, and hence he didn't "leave" him.I think it is more poignant that way.

*** There's also Treebeard's line just before they march, which reminds us that the Ents are as much of a dying race as the elves (except they dont have the option of leaving Middle Earth), and they march to war well aware that should they fail, their species will be wiped out...and they go anyway.

** In addition to that, there's a BlinkAndyouMissItMoment in Return of the King where Gimli suggests going to request more aid from the Dwarves and Legolas informs him that they're very likely already fighting their own battles. The look on Gimli's face when he realizes the truthfulness of that statement and just how much different his home could appear when he returns says it all. It's also really the only time alluded in the entire films that the war is a going on on a much larger scale than just in Rohan and Gondor.

*** And his ultimate acceptance of Aragorn's role in the whole business. "I would have followed you. My brother...my captain...my king." Waaaaaaa...
*** And of course... "''They took the little ones''!"
*** My Year 5 teacher, in an attempt to win my fantasy-hating class over to LOTR, played us this scene. Every time he fell we yelled encouragement to try and get him up again, and by the time he died, even the hardest wannabe-gangster was crying, and I reckon I can chart my entry to geekdom at that point.
*** This editor tears up at one other Boromir Scene... when he's sitting in Lothlorien, talking to Aragorn about Minas Tirith, and the love he feels for his city is both astoundingly clear and strong and heartbreaking, because if you've read the books, or seen the movie already, you know he's never going to see his beloved home again.
**** Funny how so many of the TearJerker moments in the films coincide with speeches taken straight from the books. Sean Bean's delivery was spot-on here; this troper, who didn't even care that much about Boromir in the books, teared up at that.
** Not to mention "Where Is [sic] The Horse And The Rider?"
*** Particularly the shot of the little boy being handed an axe and having a far too large helmet placed on his head...it both made quite clear the true horror of war, and wrenched at the heart as you realized his likely fate well in advance, even if they never did show it. And the mother sobbing in protest while they pull her early-teenage-looking son away from her to be kitted out.

*** This troper, for one, was misty-eyed before but just started bawling at that point: the hobbits standing there shell-shocked, awkward and looking so young in their finery, as first the King, then an ''entire cityful of people'' kneel before them and do them honor.

*** For me it was the next line, when he looks straight at Gandalf and says, very quietly, "No parent should have to bury their child."
**** I lost my little sister. She was treated at St. Jude Children's Hospital. Their big saying, from the founder, Danny Thomas, is "No child should die in the dawn of their life." The line in the movies is so similar, and... everything, my whole damn family starts sobbing, or at the very least tears up.
*** At the time Tolkien composed his first draft, his three sons served in England's fight against the Nazis. Given his own experience in the First World War, Tolkien knew the odds.

***** oh now you've gone and done it... I can't see the screen.
*** However, the "no parent should have to bury their child" line was added by Bernard Hill. He heard it from a woman who had lost a child, and felt that he had to add it. Damn good actors.
**** A number of lines that weren't in the books were in full keeping with the spirit of them and flowed just fine for this "the books are the Bible" troper -- who felt that line was one of them.
*** That line didn't faze this troper the first time he saw the movie in theaters, then he lost his brother who was Theodred's age aat the time.

** If we're talking depressing music you can't forget Gollum's Song.
** Even though she knew it was coming, this troper lost it at Gandalf's self-sacrifice and the survivors' reactions afterwards. Probably the only BigNo that really works. And even if the scene wouldn't have affected you, the heartrending vocal solo would rip tears from your ''cold dead corpse'' (because that's what you ''are'' if the scene doesn't affect you).
*** It was that look on Frodo's face like that of a lost little child that got me the most.
** [[{{Filby}} This editor]] held together until "I can't carry it for you, Mister Frodo -- ''but I can carry you!''" Cue the waterworks.
*** Yeah, this troper couldn't hold it in either. Sean Astin did an awesome job all throughout the movies, though -- seriously, Sam gets possibly the most [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome moments]], and nearly all of the last movie's made this troper break down.
*** At that moment, Sean Astin is no longer acting. He has become a complete physical embodiment of Samwise Gamgee. That blood, sweat, and tears? It's gotta be none other than the real deal. It is physically impossible to not cry at that moment.

** The "Gondor calls for aid" scene in the third movie was also very moving for this troper. I don't know why, but at that moment I remembered a famous quote from World War I -- "The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime". And there I was, one lifetime later, watching a movie where the lights were being lit again to give hope to an embattled world. (It's worth noting that Tolkien himself lost all but one of his friends during that The First World War, so the scene was especially poignant).

*** Gandalf riding up to and through Minas Tirith did it for this troper. Yes, it's just filler material...but Shore's gorgeous music sweeping along at full tilt while the screen fills with images of this incredible, massive city built into the mountain...beautiful.
** "For Frodo."
*** Could I get an amen?
*** Thirded!
** This troper shed tears (and still does) when he watched the cavalry charge at the Battle of Helm's Deep. It was just perfect.
*** This troper is unaffected by Helm's Deep, but becomes misty-eyed when the Rohirrim join the battle at Pelennor Fields.
**** This troper can't even ''think'' about Theoden's speech.

---->'''Théoden:''' "I go to my fathers . . . in whose mighty company I shall not now feel ashamed. Éowyn . . ."
** And if you weren't crying yet, you will be once Sam says "...there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for."
** "I made a promise Mr Frodo, a promise! ''Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee...'' and I don't mean to." To Howard Shore's heartwarmingly pure "Concerning Hobbits" muscial theme. You really have to be heartless if you didn't cry when Frodo and Sam then hug.
*** This troper damn near lost it and bawled his eyes out at that scene - in front of a room full of his classmates, during one particular class period late in the school term where we were watching the ''Fellowship...'' to pass away the time. It's the remarkable message of sacrifice and undying friendship being expressed by Samwise, who has to know all-to-well, in his little Hobbit heart, that by going with Frodo into Mordor he's almost certainly sealing his own doom. Yet he gladly chooses to walk that dark path with Frodo, even if it means his end. Now THAT's unconditional love.

** The moment when Frodo and Sam are talking about the tales people will tell of them in the future. Frodo's line- "What about Sam? I want to hear about Sam. Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam."- gets this editor every time.
** This troper is astounded that The Last March of the Ents hasn't been mentioned yet. Is he the only one who tears up when he sees the Ents march to avenge their fallen tree-friends? It sounds ridiculous when you type it, but when you see it...
*** This troper agrees, especially when you realize that by this point ''everyone'' had joined the fight. It wasn't just about Rohan anymore -- it was for the whole world. The somber music also adds to the mood.
**** In addition to that, there's a BlinkAndyouMissItMoment in Return of the King where Gimli suggests going to request more aid from the Dwarves and Legolas informs him that they're very likely already fighting their own battles. The look on Gimli's face when he realizes the truthfulness of that statement and just how much different his home could appear when he returns says it all. It's also really the only time alluded in the entire films that the war is a going on on a much larger scale than just in Rohan and Gondor.
*** This troper agrees as well. Though he finds it as much BadAss as a TearJerker.
*** It's the music that does it. Howard Shore has struck again!
*** This troper was particularly saddened by Treebeard's line just before they march, which reminds us that the Ents are as much of a dying race as the elves (except they dont have the option of leaving Middle Earth), and they march to war well aware that should they fail, their species will be wiped out...and they go anyway.

** This troper has always found Boromir's Last Stand to be one of the most poignant and tear jerking scenes in the entire trilogy. Made all the better by the fact that as you watch it, it becomes very clear that he knows he won't survive...and in the face of seemingly endless orcs, still refuses to stay down. The only scene that surpassed it is when Pippin tells Denethor the story and Denethor's reactions to his words.

****** Funny how so many of the TearJerker moments in the films coincide with speeches taken straight from the books. Sean Bean's delivery was spot-on here; this troper, who didn't even care that much about Boromir in the books, teared up at that.
*** And who can forget the looks on Merry and Pippin's faces when Boromir is shot... And then their desperate charge.
*** And of course... "''They took the little ones''!"

*** Particularly the shot of the little boy being handed an axe and having a far too large helmet placed on his head...it both made quite clear the true horror of war, and wrenched at the heart as you realized his likely fate well in advance, even if they never did show it.
*** And the mother sobbing in protest while they pull her early-teenage-looking son away from her to be kitted out.
**** This remains the first scene in any movie that actually made me cry
** Gandalf and Pippin's talk waiting for almost certain death during the siege of Minas Tirith did it for me. Gandalf was being very reassuring about how 'this is not the end' but seeing them calmly prepare themselves to facing death during the upcoming restart of the battle was extremely moving.
*** Ditto. Pippin is afraid to die and Gandalf reassures him that death is the next adventure. This troper couldn't hold back the tears.

** Umm, how about when everyone bows down to the hobbits ("You bow to no one!") at the end of ''Return of the King''? That's one of the most powerful moments in the trilogy.

*** Agreed. If this doesn't cause you to undergo eyeball-irrigation, you'd have to be a Vulcan.
**** No eyeball-irrigation, but this troper had the biggest grin of her life on her face at that moment.
** Denethor and Faramir, before Faramir rides off to try to retake Osgiliath. It's one thing to have favorites, but ''tell your son'' that you wish he were dead and the other were alive? And the way Faramir's voice breaks, and he goes off on basically a suicide mission, and his father ''still'' doesn't care?
*** Not to mention the scene with Faramir's charge itself with Pippin singing on the soundtrack. Eerily beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking.
**** Oh good god -yes-! Faramir was always This Troper's favourite character, his love for his city and his people is just as strong as Boromir's, and yet his father never sees him for what he is. Then Denethor admits that he wished Faramir had died...having tried (and succeeded, mostly) to keep stony-faced throughout the beginning of the movie, that one sentence and Faramir's reaction just set it off. I used an entire box of tissues, godsdammit!

*** oh yeah. The first time I saw that, I was still in my "book is good, movie is evil" stage, and I was ''still'' totally heartwrenched. Now that I actually don't mind the movies, it makes me want to cry every time. Curse you, Sean Astin!
** [[ParcaKnight This humble contributor]] often finds something in his eye when Théoden and Gandalf are standing outside Theodred's grave.

**** Oh, Iluvatar, don't even ''mention'' that if you want me to remain composed.

**** So he did.

*** However, the "no parent should have to bury their child" line was added by Bernard Hill. He heard it from a woman who had lost a child, and felt that he had to add it. This troper is about to cry in the library, just remembering it. Damn good actors.

** This troper wept at the scene in the Extended Edition where Éomer catches sight of Éowyn (who wasn't even meant to be in the battle) lying apparently dead on the Pelennor Fields, and this proud, poised warrior throws away his sword, drops everything and ''runs'' to cradle his little sister's body, howling with raw grief.
*** It's even worse when you remember that this was the last thing he wanted to see--not only was she not meant to be in the battle, but he thought she was safe and in Rohan.

** It is a TearJerker for somewhat different reasons, but the Houses of Healing scene with the gorgeous, haunting song sung by Liv Tyler where Éowyn gets up in the middle of the night and walks to her window and then catches Faramir looking at her as if he's just seen an angel...
*** And also the scene where Éowyn is standing alone staring desolately into the East and Faramir walks up to her to give her some meaningful words of encouragement while still looking at her like she's the most amazing thing he's ever seen. Then she contently leans into him and they clasp hands. Awwww. Also counts as a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.
** The parting of Merry and Pippin in the third film brings a tear to my eye. In particular when Merry gives Gandalf a look as if "can we please get this over with?" and Pippin cries out his friend's name.
*** Not to mention the way Dominic Monaghan's voice utterly ''breaks'' on the "I don't know what's going to happen anymore" line as he steps away.

*** Though I agree with all of the tearjerker moments thus far mentioned, this one stands out in this troper's mind because my wife couldn't understand why this scene moved me as much as it did; she concluded it must be a guy thing.
**** I'm a girl, and I do get it-- though instead of going full waterworks, I go misty-eyed and let out a cheer for the awesomeness that is Théoden King.

* The scene with Frodo and Sam following the destruction of the Ring. First, you have Frodo realizing that his burden is gone ("It's gone... It's done."), then, while trapped on a rock in a sea of lava, Frodo recalls the Shire again, which makes Sam think of Rosie Cotton ("If ever I was to marry someone... It would've been her... It would've been her."). The last bit in particular always causes tears to flow profusely from me, because let's face it, where else in the trilogy does Sam get the chance to be selfish (and justifiably, too)? And then, to cap it all off, Frodo's delivery of the line, "I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee... here at the end of all things."

* When the Men force Frodo to lure Smeagol to him so they can capture him in ''The Two Towers.'' It's terrible luck, because it invokes Gollum to come back and gleefully give Smeagol an "I told you so" regarding the lies he had told Smeagol about Frodo being corrupt. It's sad for this troper because Gollm/Smeagol is so tormented, and Frodo's friendship was his one last hope.

* When the Men force Frodo to lure Smeagol to him so they can capture him in ''The Two Towers.'' It's terrible luck, because it invokes Gollum to come back and gleefully give Smeagol an "I told you so" regarding the lies he had told Smeagol about Frodo being corrupt. It's sad for this troper because Gollm/Smeagol is so tormented, and Frodo's friendship was his one last hope.
* Theoden's mourning of his son and stating, "No parent should have to bury his child." When I first saw that in theaters it didn't do much, but after I lost my brother...

* When the Men force Frodo to lure Smeagol to him so they can capture him in ''The Two Towers.'' It's terrible luck, because it invokes Gollum to come back and gleefully give Smeagol an "I told you so" regarding the lies he had told Smeagol about Frodo being corrupt. It's sad for this troper because Gollm/Smeagol is so tormented, and Frodo's friendship was his one last hope.

* For [[Absynthe_ this troper]] the first TearJerker of the trilogy is actually when Frodo is attacked by the cave troll in Moria. The looks on the faces of his friends afterward, and then how they all keep fighting harder just because of what happened, are bad enough, but the way that Aragorn (who was wounded) ''crawls'' to Frodo and then whispers "Oh, no..." just had her in tears.

* "Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!"

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!"

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!"

* For [[{{Absynthe_}} this troper]] the first TearJerker of the trilogy is actually when Frodo is attacked by the cave troll in Moria. The looks on the faces of his friends afterward, and then how they all keep fighting harder just because of what happened, are bad enough, but the way that Aragorn (who was wounded) ''crawls'' to Frodo and then whispers "Oh, no..." just had her in tears.

* For [[Absynthe_ this troper]] the first TearJerker of the trilogy is actually when Frodo is attacked by the cave troll in Moria. The looks on the faces of his friends afterward, and then how they all keep fighting harder just because of what happened, are bad enough, but the way that Aragorn (who was wounded) ''crawls'' to Frodo and then whispers "Oh, no..." just had her in tears.