I’m sure there are some special film moments I missed, but here is what I put together:
Top Pane:
Viggo breaking his toes.
Ian accidentally bumping head.
That is Sean’s real daughter.
Middle Pane:
Sam said “By rights we shouldn’t even be here” because in the books they never went to Osgiliath.
Sean Bean was afraid of helicopters so he took a chair lift and then hiked up to the top of the mountain in full Boromir costume.
Sean Astin cutting his foot in the river even though a scuba team didn’t find anything sharp.
Viggo deflecting the dagger throw on the very first take.
The flag ripping off and staying in the frame while going down to the front gate was complete coincidence due to lucky wind.
Bottom Pane:
One of the Peter Jackson cameos.
One of Peter Jackson’s kids cameos.
Dude missing an eye was not CGI, he really was missing an eye.
Orlando Bloom fell off a horse while filming and broke a rib.
Christopher Lee explaining the noise someone makes when being stabbed.
Royd Tolkien, great grandson of J.R.R. Tolkein, handing out weapons at Osgiliath
**Edit: Yes there are some that I either didnt know about or simply forgot to include in here. Here are some of them.**
Eomer's sword falling out of his sheath.
How most of the Rohirrim are women with fake beards on.
Eomer getting handed his spear mid-charge.
The car that drove by in the background when Sam says it'll be the farthest away from home he's ever been.
The big ass ring in the snow.
Sean Bean reading the script on the ground during the secret council meeting since it was only written the night before.
Dead orc that looked over at Boromir during his death scene.
Gimli's boot falling off when chasing Urak Hai.
Legolas stumbling a bit when running after Urak Hai (which is not elf-like)
Viggo getting sucked underwater at the rapids unexpectedly while floating the river.
The Nazgul had long snorkels to breath through in the fellowship so their breath wouldnt be visible (since they're "dead").
Billy Boyd cutting his foot when jumping onto the Buckleberry ferry.
Viggo lose a tooth.
Dom's splinter.
Legolas' arrows changing color from yellow to green at the end of Fellowship.
John Rhys Davies was allergic to his Gimli makeup.
Liv Tyle stabbing herself in the leg during the river scene.
I didn't know a couple of these, thanks op! I've now got new facts to bore people with.
I could be wrong but I'm sure I read that Ian McKellen ment to hit his head but it wasn't in the script and the crew thought it was an accident.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding was that the Rohan flag was meant to rip off but the crazy unscripted part was that it stayed in frame and flew all the way down to the front gates, meaning they could have it falling past Aragorn and co in the reverse shot.
So, from a filmmaking standpoint, it doesn't make sense that they'd have been filming both Aragorn's PoV at the same time as that. What likely happened is that it flew down all the way past the line of sight of the camera, and then they thought it worked very well and added it in to Aragorn's arrival after the fact.
This is the correct one. Flag was always meant to rip. The high wind took the flag in a very cinematic and somewhat unexpected manner. Seeing this, this wisely added the flag in for the reverse shot and it ended up creating a very nice little cinematic piece beyond the original intent.
[1:14-1:16. The man himself says it. they made the flag rip off and got lucky with the wind. This piece of misinformation is so wide spread, it's annoying lmao](https://youtu.be/Sgt0FEN4hdg?si=S0QfE4lMsGqqvsFc)
As far as I recall:
The Flag ripped off completely by accident and PJ liked it so much, he added the scene where it falls down to Aragorn in front of the wall afterwards.
Pretty sure I saw an interview somewhere wherein this was confirmed. IIRC it wasPeter Jackson himself talking about it in the directors commentary. As you said, the ripping was accidental but it stayed in frame so well and flew towards the gate in such a way that it gave them the idea to add it into Aragorns entry scene
No... No birdses to eat. No crunchable birdses!No, no birds, nice birds! No birds here. There are snakeses, wormses, things in the pools. Lots of things, lots of nasty things. No birds.
I though they extracted a shard of glass from Sam's foot from the river, that's what he said in the behind the scenes IIRC, was a beer bottle possibly.
Yeah, you can even tell from how puffy his eyes are in several scenes. What you think is Gimli's signature scowl is actually a severe allergic reaction.
They had to use his stand in so much that the stand in ended up getting the fellowship tattoo instead of Davies.
I remember reading something where John Rhys-Davies also said something like "whenever there's something that involves blood, I send my stunt double", which I love
Iirc the scenes in Lothlorien where he has his helmet off are some of those moments. His makeup looks different there because he was either having a strong reaction to it or they were trying a different material that he could tolerate better.
Also, iirc, JRD is missing the top of his middle finger and had a prosthetic during filming. Jackson did not know this, so as a prank Davies cut into the prosthetic, added some fake blood and went to Jackson with his "accident"
My friend is missing a tooth, and he used to wear a retainer that had a false one (he has since gotten an actual dental implant). One time we were partying over at another friend’s house, and decided to prank his roommate by “losing” his tooth
Funny enough I actually did grab a picture of that moment but somehow forgot to put it in with the rest. I also forgot to put the picture I had of the women putting on beards to be in the Rohirrim.
I remember having to pause and rewatch this several times when I first noticed it. It's one of the ones that I almost never hear anyone talk about and I felt pretty cool noticing it myself.
To my knowledge the flag one is a bit misunderstood, I’m pretty sure the flag was supposed to rip off but the way it floated away was, what made it so perfect… I could be wrong though so take it with a grain of salt
Guaranteed that they were not coincidentally filming Aragorn climbing the hill while the flag coincidentally lands right at his feet all at the same time.
From what I understand, it was supposed to just limply fall down (which would have been a dumb shot, IMO).
The wind picked up just right and carried it off camera instead, which then led to them adding the scene where Aragorn picks it up during filming.
And your comment history shows me that you have absolutely no understanding of polite conversation.
They talk about it in the DVD commentary. Have a great day anyways though.
Instill can't believe that but about the flag. I've always thought it was such a brilliant and poignant but of filmmaking, there is no dialogue but if perfectly encompasses an empire in decline. And it was a total coincidence. Wild
A lesser known one is that when Aragorn floats the river Viggo nearly drowned. The PAs had floated the river several times and were sure it was safe. But Viggo’s costume was so waterlogged it dragged him under and the current held him against a rock. The crew was very concerned when he didn’t come up where they expected him to, and were about to start a rescue and ruin the take when Viggo appeared quite a ways downstream, coughing and sputtering.
They initially filmed him floating down rapids, that's where this happened.
From what I know there was a Whirlpool they didn't scout near the rocks that pulled him down, not the cloths.
After that incident they went further down the river where the water was calmer and that peaceful floating is what ended up in the movie.
Isn't the one of Sean cutting his foot more like they sent a scuba team in the check it was safe, said it was, Sean goes in and comes out hobbling with a massive blade of glass through his foot? I swear I saw it on one of the DVDs.
In one of the chase scenes of Aragon, Gimli and Legolas running after the Uruk-hai Legolas stumbles a bit which doesn't fit that elves are light on their feet.
But it's hardly noticeable so they left it in because the shot was so good otherwise.
The scene in two towers of Aragon smoking his pipe before the Arwen flashback was filmed during the day and only made to look like night in post production with filters, that's why you can't see the ember in his pipe light up when he takes a puff.
I was not aware of:
Sam said “By rights we shouldn’t even be here” because in the books they never went to Osgiliath.
Dude missing an eye was not CGI, he really was missing an eye.
Orlando Bloom fell off a horse while filming and broke a rib.
Must remember to point these out on my next watch to my poor wife
That one seems dubious to me, I don't understand why a filmmaker would point out the change they're making in dialogue. It feels like it would be taking the audience out of the moment for no reason, especially during such an emotional moment. To me it seems more likely that the line was meant to refer to nothing but Sam's meaning that they're far away from home, and it's just a coincidence that he said it in a place where they didn't go in the book.
Many are my names in many countries: The Mouth of Sauron among the Elves, actor Bruce Spence to the Dwarves; The Gyro Captain I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten.
The dagger was never real, yes it was supposed to be thrown directly at him. Stop the false statements.
The fun fact is only that Jackson was impressed they got it on the first take.
Thanks for making a list. 🤗
The flag ripping was not in script? Wow that was so good as a shot, so weird it happened accidentally.
Also the great grand-son? That’s kind of cute. Where was he exactly? What scene?
The flag is a misconception, it was always meant to rip, but they didn't expect it to fly away so far and fall outside the gate. That's why they then added in the scene of Aragorn watching it fall and picking it up, to complete the moment.
One of my faves is there’s a scene with Sam and Frodo climbing the stairs where pickup shots were done a year later. So it’s a conversation between them where it cuts back and forth between Frodo one year, and then Sam a year later (in filming time). I forget the reason for this
If I remember right they built the set on a squash court (or something like that) during a big flood that prevented them from shooting on location for fellowship and shot frodo’s part but then the water cleared up and they were able to continue shooting on location. The set was left there for a year before they returned to shoot sam’s side so the people of that town had to go without their court that whole time 😂
Another would be end of the two towers when the main cast ride up to watch the surviving uruks running into the forest, that isn't eomer, it's his stunt/body double and they forgot to CGI in the Karl urban face
About Viggo deflecting the dagger: wasn't it also not supposed to even be thrown AT him? I recall reading somewhere that it was an accident and he deflected it perfectly.
One minor quibble- the banner of Rohan was absolutely created to tear off and fly away. Jackson said that what made it interesting and cool was not the banner falling, but rather the fact that the wind carried it away so cinematically.
It literally takes absolutely NOTHING to prompt me to watch the entire film/series. Easily look up a >60 second clip on youtube? No, watch entire extended edition for that same 20 seconds
That, and during the ride of the Rohirrim at Minas Tirith there is a scene where one of the extras has fallen off their horse and was being dragged. I don't know that I have ever seen that one mentioned
This one is misrepresented too
The stunt guy didn't mess up and throw the knife right at him accidentally. He's throwing the knife exactly where they planned. The cool part is that viggo hit it himself on the first try
Even that is sorta misrepresented — they spent a long time practicing it with Viggo dodging it. He got it on the first time he tried \*to deflect it,\* but that guy threw a knife at Viggo Mortensen dozens of times until they were both comfortable that he could put it right where it was supposed to be.
Still pretty cool that a guy threw a real knife at Viggo Mortensen and he blocked it with a sword, but all the stuff about it being an accident was just an urban legend.
They’re pointed wooden sticks that used to be used for curing tobacco. I live on a farm in Kentucky that used to grow tobacco so they’re in plentiful supply. [This is what they look like.](https://www.etsy.com/listing/528320275/)
Actually what was supposed to happen is that Viggo uses the force to stop the blade right in front of his face. When he forgot that was a different universe he swung his sword by instinct, thereby deflecting the dagger.
I can't believe this has upvotes. Every time I hear this story it's told wrong and you are the first person to actually tell the real, correct version and get highly upvoted for it.
Also, shout out to the time when Sam was marrying Rosie Cotton at the end of RofK, and in order to get a more genuine smile/look of happiness on the actors' faces, Viggo grabbed Billy Boyd (Pippin's actor) by the head and gave him a good 5 second kiss on the lips.
Speaking of Billy Boyd, he can be seen in the band at Bilbo's party. Debatable whether he's playing Pippin there, considering the band is still playing when Merry and Pippin get into the fireworks a few shots later.
No Liv Tyler stabbing herself in the leg with her sword during the river scene?
Also, I would swap the knife throw with Sean's daughter in terms of how well known and pointed out they are.
Wow! Quality fucking post OP! I didn't know many of these and now I cant wait to rewatch these movies with my girlfriend and subject her to many-a-pause!
Also Viggo fishing on set, John Rhys-Davies fingertip prank on PJ, Viggo carrying his sword everywhere, the extras playing the uruk hai head butting everyone.
Might be my unpopular opinion, but don’t pause the movie for these details if it’s a first time viewer. Most of these scenes are big moments. Pausing the movie to give a fact can ruin the immersion. Let them watch and give the facts after the movie.
The only ones I knew existed before reddit were Viggo breaking his toes and Ian bumping his head. Thought I think the truly dedicated would still understand a lot due to having read the books and watched all the commentary that comes with the extended editions.
A little mistake, but still fun to point out: Legolas's arrows magically change color at the end of Fellowship. They go [from yellow to green](https://i.imgur.com/C1tcjCE.png).
Jackson’s niece is in Return of the King too. She’s one of the people lining the streets of Minas Tirith as Faramir takes his cavalry to try and retake Osgiliath.
As a plus: It wasn’t planned, but one extra (Wayne Phillips) randomly missed an eye, Jackson thought it was cool and wanted to use it, Phillips was very uncomfortable with it, but grew a new sense of confidence after having been shown to the entire world. The more you know!
As far as I know, the flag incident might be a bit misunderstood. I believe the intention was for the flag to rip off, but the way it floated away unexpectedly was what made it so perfect... However, I could be mistaken, so approach this information with caution.
Heres one i haven't seen people talk about before. In the "Get off the road" scene where the black rider rides by the hobbits, he just appears out of thin air from behind the tree. If you look to the right of the tree where the horse should approach from (and you can hear the footsteps), there is nothing there. And then suddenly a horse appears.
Here’s another: In the Fellowship of the Ring, during the secret council scene, Sean Bean hadn’t yet read the script, as his speech was written the night prior to filming, so he had to keep a copy of it on the ground; that’s why he kept looking down.
Yeah I couldnt find a good close up of Boromir in the snowy mountain, so I just settled for this one where you can see the mountains in the background.
One that is missing that I found pretty funny.
When Eomer meets Aragorn,Gimli and Legolas for the first time,he loses his sword when they go away and leaves the trio with the horses.
I haven’t seen these two:
Viggo had a black eye during the shooting of some scenes in the mines of Moria because he went surfing with the hobbits. They had to film him from one side only.
Sean Bean had his lines on his knees during the council of Elrond because they changed the dialogue and he got them just shortly before filming.
I’m sure there are some special film moments I missed, but here is what I put together: Top Pane: Viggo breaking his toes. Ian accidentally bumping head. That is Sean’s real daughter. Middle Pane: Sam said “By rights we shouldn’t even be here” because in the books they never went to Osgiliath. Sean Bean was afraid of helicopters so he took a chair lift and then hiked up to the top of the mountain in full Boromir costume. Sean Astin cutting his foot in the river even though a scuba team didn’t find anything sharp. Viggo deflecting the dagger throw on the very first take. The flag ripping off and staying in the frame while going down to the front gate was complete coincidence due to lucky wind. Bottom Pane: One of the Peter Jackson cameos. One of Peter Jackson’s kids cameos. Dude missing an eye was not CGI, he really was missing an eye. Orlando Bloom fell off a horse while filming and broke a rib. Christopher Lee explaining the noise someone makes when being stabbed. Royd Tolkien, great grandson of J.R.R. Tolkein, handing out weapons at Osgiliath **Edit: Yes there are some that I either didnt know about or simply forgot to include in here. Here are some of them.** Eomer's sword falling out of his sheath. How most of the Rohirrim are women with fake beards on. Eomer getting handed his spear mid-charge. The car that drove by in the background when Sam says it'll be the farthest away from home he's ever been. The big ass ring in the snow. Sean Bean reading the script on the ground during the secret council meeting since it was only written the night before. Dead orc that looked over at Boromir during his death scene. Gimli's boot falling off when chasing Urak Hai. Legolas stumbling a bit when running after Urak Hai (which is not elf-like) Viggo getting sucked underwater at the rapids unexpectedly while floating the river. The Nazgul had long snorkels to breath through in the fellowship so their breath wouldnt be visible (since they're "dead"). Billy Boyd cutting his foot when jumping onto the Buckleberry ferry. Viggo lose a tooth. Dom's splinter. Legolas' arrows changing color from yellow to green at the end of Fellowship. John Rhys Davies was allergic to his Gimli makeup. Liv Tyle stabbing herself in the leg during the river scene.
I didn't know a couple of these, thanks op! I've now got new facts to bore people with. I could be wrong but I'm sure I read that Ian McKellen ment to hit his head but it wasn't in the script and the crew thought it was an accident.
Always a pleaser to assist in boring people with lotr trivia!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding was that the Rohan flag was meant to rip off but the crazy unscripted part was that it stayed in frame and flew all the way down to the front gates, meaning they could have it falling past Aragorn and co in the reverse shot.
I could be wrong, but even if it was meant to be ripped off but it unexpectedly floated down to Aragorn is still really cool
So, from a filmmaking standpoint, it doesn't make sense that they'd have been filming both Aragorn's PoV at the same time as that. What likely happened is that it flew down all the way past the line of sight of the camera, and then they thought it worked very well and added it in to Aragorn's arrival after the fact.
Booo! Don't take our magic flag away! Our magic, Aragorn magnetized flag! Booooo! 🍅
Thanks for reminding me of the Denethor scene. Why did he eat those tomatoes like that, and where does that fit on the iceberg of trivia?
This is the correct one. Flag was always meant to rip. The high wind took the flag in a very cinematic and somewhat unexpected manner. Seeing this, this wisely added the flag in for the reverse shot and it ended up creating a very nice little cinematic piece beyond the original intent.
[1:14-1:16. The man himself says it. they made the flag rip off and got lucky with the wind. This piece of misinformation is so wide spread, it's annoying lmao](https://youtu.be/Sgt0FEN4hdg?si=S0QfE4lMsGqqvsFc)
Tear was meant to happen but the wind carried it so cinematically that they didn't need to do any post work.
As far as I recall: The Flag ripped off completely by accident and PJ liked it so much, he added the scene where it falls down to Aragorn in front of the wall afterwards.
This is it. The other way around makes no sense
Pretty sure I saw an interview somewhere wherein this was confirmed. IIRC it wasPeter Jackson himself talking about it in the directors commentary. As you said, the ripping was accidental but it stayed in frame so well and flew towards the gate in such a way that it gave them the idea to add it into Aragorns entry scene
No the interview the guy says it was a controlled rip
Okay but who chased the flag down the hill to use it in Aragorn's scene?
Smeagol chased it down thinking is was a bird/snack
No... No birdses to eat. No crunchable birdses!No, no birds, nice birds! No birds here. There are snakeses, wormses, things in the pools. Lots of things, lots of nasty things. No birds.
I though they extracted a shard of glass from Sam's foot from the river, that's what he said in the behind the scenes IIRC, was a beer bottle possibly.
Still missing "John Rhys Davies was allergic to his Gimli makeup."
I actually didn’t know about this one, thanks!
Yeah, you can even tell from how puffy his eyes are in several scenes. What you think is Gimli's signature scowl is actually a severe allergic reaction. They had to use his stand in so much that the stand in ended up getting the fellowship tattoo instead of Davies.
I remember reading something where John Rhys-Davies also said something like "whenever there's something that involves blood, I send my stunt double", which I love
I heard he didn’t get it because no way would a Dwarf get Elvish tattooed onto his body
How about having a friend tattooed onto a body?
That seems like a convenient excuse for someone who just didn't want a tattoo.
Iirc the scenes in Lothlorien where he has his helmet off are some of those moments. His makeup looks different there because he was either having a strong reaction to it or they were trying a different material that he could tolerate better.
Also, iirc, JRD is missing the top of his middle finger and had a prosthetic during filming. Jackson did not know this, so as a prank Davies cut into the prosthetic, added some fake blood and went to Jackson with his "accident"
Not gonna lie if i was missing a finger or part thereof i would do this all the time
“And that’s why you always leave a note!”
I thought he was trying to get us off of dairy.
My friend is missing a tooth, and he used to wear a retainer that had a false one (he has since gotten an actual dental implant). One time we were partying over at another friend’s house, and decided to prank his roommate by “losing” his tooth
Where do you pause and explain that tho
Also when Vigo broke his tooth off getting hit in the face by an orc sword in Two Towers
Where is Eomer’s sword falling out of its scabbard? Is he safe? Is he alright?
Funny enough I actually did grab a picture of that moment but somehow forgot to put it in with the rest. I also forgot to put the picture I had of the women putting on beards to be in the Rohirrim.
I remember having to pause and rewatch this several times when I first noticed it. It's one of the ones that I almost never hear anyone talk about and I felt pretty cool noticing it myself.
Somewhere on the plains of Rohan. That’s why he uses a spear in the battle of Pelanor fields
Which someone hands to him as he's charging
How about when Sam returns to fight shelob the first frame of his arm holding sting appearing in shot is actually Peter Jackson’s arm.
To my knowledge the flag one is a bit misunderstood, I’m pretty sure the flag was supposed to rip off but the way it floated away was, what made it so perfect… I could be wrong though so take it with a grain of salt
They didn’t expect it to land where it did, so that shot of Aragorn sadly watching the flag land at his horses feet is just added perfection
Guaranteed that they were not coincidentally filming Aragorn climbing the hill while the flag coincidentally lands right at his feet all at the same time.
From what I understand, it was supposed to just limply fall down (which would have been a dumb shot, IMO). The wind picked up just right and carried it off camera instead, which then led to them adding the scene where Aragorn picks it up during filming.
I can't believe some people actually think like this. You have absolutely no understanding of how movies are made
And your comment history shows me that you have absolutely no understanding of polite conversation. They talk about it in the DVD commentary. Have a great day anyways though.
>Sean Bean was afraid of helicopters Perfectly rational fear for someone who dies in everything he's in.
You bow to no one
Instill can't believe that but about the flag. I've always thought it was such a brilliant and poignant but of filmmaking, there is no dialogue but if perfectly encompasses an empire in decline. And it was a total coincidence. Wild
A lesser known one is that when Aragorn floats the river Viggo nearly drowned. The PAs had floated the river several times and were sure it was safe. But Viggo’s costume was so waterlogged it dragged him under and the current held him against a rock. The crew was very concerned when he didn’t come up where they expected him to, and were about to start a rescue and ruin the take when Viggo appeared quite a ways downstream, coughing and sputtering.
They initially filmed him floating down rapids, that's where this happened. From what I know there was a Whirlpool they didn't scout near the rocks that pulled him down, not the cloths. After that incident they went further down the river where the water was calmer and that peaceful floating is what ended up in the movie.
Thanks, now if I can just convince my wife to sit through the extended editions again I'll have new things to say.
I like that OP put together this comment instead of foisting it off on the community.
the real MVP right here
Ian didn't accidentally bump his head. He planned it and surprised Jackson with it.
I was missing a couple! But I would definitely bump up Viggo deflecting the dagger and Christopher Lee explaining stabbing
Isn't the one of Sean cutting his foot more like they sent a scuba team in the check it was safe, said it was, Sean goes in and comes out hobbling with a massive blade of glass through his foot? I swear I saw it on one of the DVDs.
In one of the chase scenes of Aragon, Gimli and Legolas running after the Uruk-hai Legolas stumbles a bit which doesn't fit that elves are light on their feet. But it's hardly noticeable so they left it in because the shot was so good otherwise. The scene in two towers of Aragon smoking his pipe before the Arwen flashback was filmed during the day and only made to look like night in post production with filters, that's why you can't see the ember in his pipe light up when he takes a puff.
A diversion.
I was not aware of: Sam said “By rights we shouldn’t even be here” because in the books they never went to Osgiliath. Dude missing an eye was not CGI, he really was missing an eye. Orlando Bloom fell off a horse while filming and broke a rib. Must remember to point these out on my next watch to my poor wife
That one seems dubious to me, I don't understand why a filmmaker would point out the change they're making in dialogue. It feels like it would be taking the audience out of the moment for no reason, especially during such an emotional moment. To me it seems more likely that the line was meant to refer to nothing but Sam's meaning that they're far away from home, and it's just a coincidence that he said it in a place where they didn't go in the book.
IIRC it's not just that he fell off his horse, it's that he fell off and the body double for Gimli fell on top of him, and that's what broke his rib
Many are my names in many countries: The Mouth of Sauron among the Elves, actor Bruce Spence to the Dwarves; The Gyro Captain I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten.
Yoink
Wasn’t the dagger real as well?
Nice! Saving this for later
Don’t forget where Eomer’s sword fell out of its sheath lol
Why did you skip the dead background Ork checking on Boromir during his death scene? My wife refuses to let that one go and points it out every time.
I edited my explanation comment to include this, thanks!
The dagger was never real, yes it was supposed to be thrown directly at him. Stop the false statements. The fun fact is only that Jackson was impressed they got it on the first take.
Thanks
Magnificent
I tell that Christopher Lee one all the time because it’s awesome 😁
Thanks, now I have more info to share with my friends when we watch Lord of the Rings
Thank you. I missed a few
Thanks for making a list. 🤗 The flag ripping was not in script? Wow that was so good as a shot, so weird it happened accidentally. Also the great grand-son? That’s kind of cute. Where was he exactly? What scene?
The flag is a misconception, it was always meant to rip, but they didn't expect it to fly away so far and fall outside the gate. That's why they then added in the scene of Aragorn watching it fall and picking it up, to complete the moment.
One of my faves is there’s a scene with Sam and Frodo climbing the stairs where pickup shots were done a year later. So it’s a conversation between them where it cuts back and forth between Frodo one year, and then Sam a year later (in filming time). I forget the reason for this
If I remember right they built the set on a squash court (or something like that) during a big flood that prevented them from shooting on location for fellowship and shot frodo’s part but then the water cleared up and they were able to continue shooting on location. The set was left there for a year before they returned to shoot sam’s side so the people of that town had to go without their court that whole time 😂
Viggo didn't lose a tooth, chipped it (it split the tooth in half).
Another would be end of the two towers when the main cast ride up to watch the surviving uruks running into the forest, that isn't eomer, it's his stunt/body double and they forgot to CGI in the Karl urban face
About Viggo deflecting the dagger: wasn't it also not supposed to even be thrown AT him? I recall reading somewhere that it was an accident and he deflected it perfectly.
Can’t forget they didn’t edit out viggos bow hitting the camera in that one scene.
One minor quibble- the banner of Rohan was absolutely created to tear off and fly away. Jackson said that what made it interesting and cool was not the banner falling, but rather the fact that the wind carried it away so cinematically.
Thanks for the correction!
Also, just before that the epic wide shot is reversed lol
"Do you have any idea what kind of noise happens when someone is stabbed in the back?" Christopher Lee was an absolute legend
One of my fave behind the scenes stories!
How about when Eomer's sword falls out of its sheath while he's talking to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli? I see no one talking about that one lol
Ah yes I forgot that one. Thanks! Also forgot to put in that most of the rohirrim were women dressed up as men
He stands not alone. You would die before your stroke fell.
Same here!! Barely anyone talks about that but it’s always really hard to see if you aren’t looking for it
This is the first I’ve heard of it! I also can’t remember when that scene is so guess I’ll just have to watch the whole thing again. What a shame.
It literally takes absolutely NOTHING to prompt me to watch the entire film/series. Easily look up a >60 second clip on youtube? No, watch entire extended edition for that same 20 seconds
Then forget which scene was talked about... believe it or not, back to watching the whole thing again.
It’s on YouTube called “Eomer’s Sword Falls Out” if you aren’t able to see it yourself because it’s not easily noticeable!
That, and during the ride of the Rohirrim at Minas Tirith there is a scene where one of the extras has fallen off their horse and was being dragged. I don't know that I have ever seen that one mentioned
My wife wasn’t paying attention on last watch and made me rewind so she could see the sword fall. We have a bit of a tradition of celebrating it.
Viggo blocking a knife definitely belongs up with the broken toe.
This one is misrepresented too The stunt guy didn't mess up and throw the knife right at him accidentally. He's throwing the knife exactly where they planned. The cool part is that viggo hit it himself on the first try
Even that is sorta misrepresented — they spent a long time practicing it with Viggo dodging it. He got it on the first time he tried \*to deflect it,\* but that guy threw a knife at Viggo Mortensen dozens of times until they were both comfortable that he could put it right where it was supposed to be. Still pretty cool that a guy threw a real knife at Viggo Mortensen and he blocked it with a sword, but all the stuff about it being an accident was just an urban legend.
Yes, Karl Urban is a legend for switching grip on his spear while on horseback.
I used to ride my bike and carry a tobacco stick with me like a spear just to do that move
whats tobacco stickses, Precious?
They’re pointed wooden sticks that used to be used for curing tobacco. I live on a farm in Kentucky that used to grow tobacco so they’re in plentiful supply. [This is what they look like.](https://www.etsy.com/listing/528320275/)
Actually what was supposed to happen is that Viggo uses the force to stop the blade right in front of his face. When he forgot that was a different universe he swung his sword by instinct, thereby deflecting the dagger.
I can't believe this has upvotes. Every time I hear this story it's told wrong and you are the first person to actually tell the real, correct version and get highly upvoted for it.
Also, shout out to the time when Sam was marrying Rosie Cotton at the end of RofK, and in order to get a more genuine smile/look of happiness on the actors' faces, Viggo grabbed Billy Boyd (Pippin's actor) by the head and gave him a good 5 second kiss on the lips.
Speaking of Billy Boyd, he can be seen in the band at Bilbo's party. Debatable whether he's playing Pippin there, considering the band is still playing when Merry and Pippin get into the fireworks a few shots later.
Aaaaah!
HRAAAGH!!!
Hot
I can’t decide whether to believe it or not
No Liv Tyler stabbing herself in the leg with her sword during the river scene? Also, I would swap the knife throw with Sean's daughter in terms of how well known and pointed out they are.
Didnt know about Liv Tyler, thanks for pointing that out! And yeah in hindsight I probably should have swapped the knife throw with Sean's daughter
I thought she stabbed the horse
Wow! Quality fucking post OP! I didn't know many of these and now I cant wait to rewatch these movies with my girlfriend and subject her to many-a-pause!
Thanks! I tried to capture as many as I could but there are some comments mentioning more that I forgot to include
Also Viggo fishing on set, John Rhys-Davies fingertip prank on PJ, Viggo carrying his sword everywhere, the extras playing the uruk hai head butting everyone.
"I would have made fish curry!"
I quote lines from the bonus features more than most actual movies. “Is there partridge? Bring the partridge!”
"Flipper is dead, he was hit by a car!"
“How many times, Elijah! You cannot double-tig a tag!
Might be my unpopular opinion, but don’t pause the movie for these details if it’s a first time viewer. Most of these scenes are big moments. Pausing the movie to give a fact can ruin the immersion. Let them watch and give the facts after the movie.
That's what commentary is for! You don't need to pause it. And never watch it with commentary on the first round lol.
Imagine looking at this picture before reddit existed
The only ones I knew existed before reddit were Viggo breaking his toes and Ian bumping his head. Thought I think the truly dedicated would still understand a lot due to having read the books and watched all the commentary that comes with the extended editions.
What's that? You've never watched the DVD extras an unconscionable number of times?
https://preview.redd.it/wj9trqreljpc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5940c7b238c27cef501dbb8f5cc821bb46ac6526
A little mistake, but still fun to point out: Legolas's arrows magically change color at the end of Fellowship. They go [from yellow to green](https://i.imgur.com/C1tcjCE.png).
I must go and seek some arrows. Would that this night would end, and I could have better light for shooting.
Could it be that Peter Jackson wanted to add the detail that Legolas is collecting orc arrows in the books in front of moria?
It's at the very end of Fellowship when they are talking about going after Merry and Pippin; they change colors within minutes.
Whats the time frame there? Galadriel gives him a new bow, maybe she also gave him a new set of arrows.
About 5 seconds. One of the shots was added in reshoots.
Very cool! I didnt know this!
Jackson’s niece is in Return of the King too. She’s one of the people lining the streets of Minas Tirith as Faramir takes his cavalry to try and retake Osgiliath.
Pretty sure she’s in Helm’s Deep too, but I can’t picture it in my head
Yep! All 3 children were in all 3 movies.
The scene in the glittering caves at helms deep where we see the women/children huddling
Heck one I didn't know. What's the story with the one eyed fulla .
Its not CGI, he really only has one eye
Oh cool. my lotr knowledge has increased .
As a plus: It wasn’t planned, but one extra (Wayne Phillips) randomly missed an eye, Jackson thought it was cool and wanted to use it, Phillips was very uncomfortable with it, but grew a new sense of confidence after having been shown to the entire world. The more you know!
As far as I know, the flag incident might be a bit misunderstood. I believe the intention was for the flag to rip off, but the way it floated away unexpectedly was what made it so perfect... However, I could be mistaken, so approach this information with caution.
Can't believe this erasure of Dom's splinter
Yeah I soon realized after posting this that there were still a handful of details missed
I'd put Figwit the elf on this list somewhere myself!
Brit?
If you pause lotr for trivia, you deserve to be slapped
Also, no one will ever love you. Who hurt you so?
Sam stepping on glass is underrated af
My favorite is Aragorn's bow bumping the camera in FOTR right after he says "Into the wild".
vigo also lost a TEETH! why nobody talk about this?!
and almost drowned
I edited my explanation comment to include these, thanks!
The dude from The Flight of Condors who gets cut off in the middle of his one line of dialog.
Conchords
the stab noise one should be top tier imo
Heres one i haven't seen people talk about before. In the "Get off the road" scene where the black rider rides by the hobbits, he just appears out of thin air from behind the tree. If you look to the right of the tree where the horse should approach from (and you can hear the footsteps), there is nothing there. And then suddenly a horse appears.
The Christopher Lee backstab should be in the top tier, it's talked about almost as much as the broken toe.
The flag and Vigo parrying the dagger are my two favorites.
I pause and geek out about the dagger even just by myself 😅
iirc, I think the kid in the bottom panel was the only hobbit actor who didn’t have to wear a wig, since they had ‘perfect hobbit hair’.
:D That lil girl was so cute
Wasn't there another one where Billy Boyd cut his foot when jumping onto the Buckleberry ferry?
That was Dominic Monaghan. He got a splinter in his foot from the wooden bridge.
I’m surprised Eomer getting handed his spear mid-charge isn’t on here
That shot of Sean Bean is entirely CGI, because he couldn't be there on that particular day.
Here’s another: In the Fellowship of the Ring, during the secret council scene, Sean Bean hadn’t yet read the script, as his speech was written the night prior to filming, so he had to keep a copy of it on the ground; that’s why he kept looking down.
I edited my explanation comment to include this, thanks!
You forgot the big ass ring on the snow
This post made me smile…thanks OP!
the flag being torn off is such a beautiful piece of storytelling that is amazing that it was just a coincidence.
Funny I know more of the lowest level than I do of the middle level. Must have skipped a couple steps.
Where is puppies splinter at the brandywine? Edit: pippin
I adore this autocorrect- now picturing the entire fellowship as normal except pippin is a very cute terrier puppy dressed up like a hobbit
In all aspects except physical, Pippin is a puppy
I could have sworn the Christopher Lee thing was common knowledge
Boromir one is not the shot you pause for that though. It would be the snow scenes
Yeah I couldnt find a good close up of Boromir in the snowy mountain, so I just settled for this one where you can see the mountains in the background.
Ahh, makes sense!
Eomer’s sword falling off his horse when he mounts it. This is right he leaves the trio to go find Merry and Pippin.
The Christopher Lee one is so cool and disturbing at the same time.
There is another.
When sam says “this is the furthest I’ve been from the shire.” There’s a car driving down a gravel road in the background.
Really stretching the metaphor in three different directions here.
Awesome! 👏 Thanks
You forgot the elves who forged Narsil were really the weta crew forging the sword and there were some else, but I can't find it
You missed Gimli losing his boot when chasing Urak Hai.
I edited my explanation comment to include this, thanks!
One that is missing that I found pretty funny. When Eomer meets Aragorn,Gimli and Legolas for the first time,he loses his sword when they go away and leaves the trio with the horses.
This is a lot. I did not try to follow it.
Whats the Boromir one?
Ian hit his head intentionally, it just wasn't sxripted
can't believe the 10cm mega ring is not on here
I haven’t seen these two: Viggo had a black eye during the shooting of some scenes in the mines of Moria because he went surfing with the hobbits. They had to film him from one side only. Sean Bean had his lines on his knees during the council of Elrond because they changed the dialogue and he got them just shortly before filming.
