TheOneRing.net's The Lord of the Rings Observations List 

                                              by TORn's Discussion Board Members

Here lie the Geeky and Pragmatic Observation Lists for the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.  There is also a separate list called "There's Room For A Little More" containing tidbits on the music, calligraphy, costumes, injuries, more observations, gifts for the cast, cameos, homage, etc. 

Since December 2001, the members of TORn have been gathering details from all three films and their soundtracks that stand out to us as poignant, book-related, or simply outstanding in their uniqueness.  You'll get the idea as you scan through them.  Some of these observations may seem simplistic or obvious, but these are lists made by enthusiasts who find the minutest details fascinating!  They were started at a time of great excitement and discovery, so be prepared! 

I've also put together an abbreviated set of separate lists gleaned from each of the Geeky Lists that focus on the more fundamental or pragmatic observations for those who want to get to the meat of our insights, as well as a list of the lyrics to the films' songs.  There will soon be additional lists of the cast and crew, weapons and their inscriptions, and others.  Expect them when you see them!

The movie lists are in chronological order and are broken into sections or chapters (i.e. A Knife in the Dark, The Dead Marshes, The Pelennor Fields).  Items found in the extended editions are highlighted by ** markers.   

At the same time we were formulating these lists, our own Magpie was a member of another forum called RTME (Reading Tolkien's Middle-earth) and developed a list called "Foreshadowing and Echoing in the LOTR Movies."  Alas, that forum is no more, but Magpie saved many of their contributions which she has offered to us.  So, it's with great appreciation and support of a kindred forum that I've integrated their observations with our own precluded with the + symbol.

Now that time has passed since the completion of the films and the release of the extended dvds, it's fun to go back and revisit the excitement and discovery!  I encourage and welcome any contributions, suggestions or corrections.

Although it may be a frustration to some, I DO NOT include bloopers, mistakes, inconsistencies, continuity problems or negative/nitpicky items.  After the extraordinary work that went into these films, I don't want to address them.  That's for someone else to do.  These lists are constantly being re-edited or added to.  I will let you know of additions through the "News From Bree" link.

These lists are only meant to be for fun as an outlet for the excitement and passion shared by us all and not intended as a serious representation of TORn and its interpretation of the films.  They're a way of sharing and basking in the glow of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth through the eyes of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens.  Enjoy :) 

 

Your humble servant:  grammaboodawg

 NOTE: If items are missing that were once here, it may due to editing (combining with like-observations) or they were chosen for deletion when a closer look by others found the situation to be different, or they've been moved to the list "There's Room For A Little More". 

PLEASE look this over and feel free to give suggestions to add/edit/delete... and PLEASE post any observations you may have.  It's very possible for me to miss posts... so please feel free to let me know if there's anything you've offered that I may have missed.  It's easier for me to spot them if you post them on observation threads instead of within random posts.   *hangs head*  I don't have enough time to read everything on TORn… so I tend to lurk and skim for observations. 

 

If you decide to print these lists, I strongly suggest you cut and paste them into a word file and reset the margins/font.  They are very long and will eat your paper and ink!  Thanks everso!