Sword Expert Reacts To The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

[@scholagladiatoria]

I had a lot of fun re-watching this and digging deep into the analysis. Great editing Jesse!

[@classicslover]

Helmets do not protect people from concussions. If you wrap a paint spray can in 5 feet of bubble wrap, the bead inside will STILL rattle. Same with your brain in a helmet. Even an armored helmet won't save you from a concussion. Helmets only protect against cosmetic injury. American Football players have helmets and a great many concussions. Hockey players have helmets and a great many concussions. Motorcycle riders have helmets and concussions. People can and have died from concussions.

[@neverlistentome]

Hard to apply real life standards of archery and swordsmanship to magical beings (elves)

[@classicslover]

@@neverlistentome Exactly. Questions of..."is it historically accurate" "were they using the wrong swords" etc make no sense. This is a FANTASY world. So the question of why was there no spurting blood when Aragorn cut off the arm of Lurtz or when he cut off the head of Lurtz boils down to: Who ever said Lurtz had blood? Seems to me they were made of some kind of mud.

[@LordInter]

the stunt man picked up a real knife, not a prop one, and threw it, he was really batting aside a real knife 😊

[@Supadrumma441]

Fun fact, when the Urak Hai actor threw that dagger at Aragorn, the skin prosthetic was blocking his vision and he accidentally threw the knife at Viggo Mortensen and he batted it aside and that is the take they used for the movie.

[@santiagopm88]

Not only was Merry and Pippin playfully wrestling Boromir adorable, it was brilliant because it humanized Boromir. He is also the one speaking up for the Hobbits as they struggle through the snow in the mountain pass. He at heart, wants to protect the vulnerable. Which makes his downfall all the more tragic because it is caused by that same desire to protect the vulnerable (ie save the people of Gondor using the Ring). They turn what could have been a flat, hateable character into a tragic one, and the audience genuinely grieves for him

[@ringofasho7721]

He was always my favorite

[@darklighter66]

Give them a moment for pity's sake!

[@hi-im-kerri]

@@darklighter66 Absolutely the best line read from Sean Bean ever.

[@AuspexAO]

A lot of people overlook the fact that Boromir is a much more natural leader of scared men (and Hobbits) at first than Aragorn. Aragorn probably learns quite a bit from watching him spar with the Hobbits and also in the way he sacrifices himself for them (despite being weak to the ring's influence). It is not often stated by fans, but Boromir's death is really when Aragorn starts on the path to kingship. We all like Aragorn and want to see him succeed, but what makes him great is that there's always this air of doubt around him that lasts up until the final movie. He's very human.

[@Buttnuttin]

Boromir is even more likable with the extended versions of Two Towers and Return of the King.

[@wackattackjack]

Narsil was made by Telchar, a dwarf in the first age. The only other known weapon made by him was Angrist, which was a dagger that was capable of carving through solid iron. Beren and luthien used it to cut one of the silmarils from Morgoths crown. So lore wise Narsil was the perfect weapon to cut the ring off!

[@Shinigasumi]

EXCELLENT point. Narsil was not just a normal sword; it was the sword of Numenorian Kings, forged by the greatest dwarven weaponsmith of the First Age and was made of the same stuff that was able to cleave Morgoth's very armor/crown. It's why Anduril being return, and now being a dwarven sword reforged by an elven smith (Elrond was a very capable elven smith, iirc), to the last of the Numenorian Kings' line. It's not a normal weapon, in the slightest.

[@josephwimerYoYoYo]

Great observation, the dwarfs and elves actually competed in magic weapon forging. Both of them being too proud to admit the others superiority. Narsil being broken and re-forged by an elven smith makes it a magical hybrid.

[@wackattackjack]

It could be said too that Sauron wasn’t just fearful of Aragorn because he could unite the men of the west, he was also scared of Anduril itself. The sword was maybe a factor in how an elf and a man together were able to defeat Sauron in the first place, considering Sauron was the most powerful Maiar and had the ring at the time.

[@nodiggity9472]

The Sword that keeps breaking.

[@thomasprislacjr.4063]

Yes, it basically was a lightsaber.

[@IAmGRX]

That batting of the thrown dagger was 100 percent real. It kind of got away from the guy playing the Uruk Hai and was off target. It went straight to Viggo Mortensen who grabbed his sword and batted it away in a purely reflexive defensive manner. Of course you have to keep THAT on screen!!! So yeah, that's fully authentic.

[@bacul165]

But do you know what happened when Viggo kicked the helmet ;)

[@gilgameshricardo3867]

​@@bacul165 🤫

[@bavariancarenthusiast2722]

@@bacul165 yeah this is legend! His shout of agony was real too - no acting - or extremely unplanned authentic acting ;)

[@Galhamon]

Listening to Peter Jackson talk about this in the Appendices is amazing, he just gushes about the whole exchange. Even remarking that there was no folly work for the dagger on sword hit and was in fact the actual sound of it happening.

[@Wien1938]

"Pain is temporary. Film is forever." Peter Jackson. ;)

[@Shinigasumi]

Only guy in Fellowship who used a shield was Boromir; and in the book he uses it in the final fight until it had too many arrows stuck in it to wield as a shield properly. This is what lead the Uruk Hai to simply sit back and shoot him with arrows, because of how dangerous he was (he had killed something like, 20 or 30 of them by that point, lol, by himself). Fellowship was an excellent movie.

[@adamuffoletto7869]

The fact that Aragorn had a dagger in the first place was 100% Viggo Mortenson being deeply in character all the time. He went to the prop designers and said, "Aragorn is a Ranger who lives in the wild and hunts for his dinner. He needs a dagger otherwise he'd be skinning rabbits with his sword."

[@notfeedynotlazy]

Can confirm. In the book, when they leave Rivendel and the narration describes the gear and weapons of each Fellowship member, the _very first_ thing is Aragorn being _specifically_ stated to carry "Andúril but no other weapon". Viggo Mortenson insisted that to be ignored _[EDIT: Or conveniently interpreted as "this knife is not a weapon but a tool"]_ for the reason you rightly mention.

[@WarriorVII]

@@notfeedynotlazy But that wouldn't even be an issue then because all Aragorn would have had at that point would be his sword and a small knife/dagger for hunting/skinning. So yes, his only weapon was his sword. It's not until Lothlorien that he is gifted the elven dagger from Celeborn, which is clearly more of a last resort weapon than a tool (though could no doubt serve both uses).

[@hellofromhokkaido690]

The little dagger built into his scabbard, yes. But the dagger in that scene was the gift from Galadriel (EDIT: Celeborn) though. Different daggers.

[@Shifty51991]

@@notfeedynotlazy knife/dagger isn't a weapon it's a tool....

[@notfeedynotlazy]

@@Shifty51991 Yeah, and guns don't kill people. Sorry for the sarcasm, but you realize you are actually reaching, right?

[@Bilskirnir3124]

Aragon killing armored enemies with only his sword is sort of a problem the films created for themselves. In the books Aragorn recieved Anduril during the Council of Elrond. Anduril was noted to pierce mail or plate and and hew helms with flashes of light.

[@MrCovi2955]

"...Batting the dagger aside with the sword, completely believable and valid" Well, given that it was an accident on set, and Viggo Mortensen, who had been training in HEMA to make sure he was immersed in the part, pulled it off in real time, unplanned, in the moment. Yeah pretty believable.

[@AFake_Human]

It was not an accident, he was always supposed to hit the dagger. However they did it in their first take.

[@dtice69]

@@AFake_Human it absolutely was an accident. The accident was that the stuntman playing Lurtz was supposed to intentionally miss (close) at which point Viggo would hit the dagger away and the audience would be none the wiser because of camera angles. Because of his makeup getting in the way of his vision, he accidentally threw it DIRECTLY at Viggo. Had Viggo missed, he would have had a dagger in his body.

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

@@dtice69 no it wasn't

[@Warland3r]

@@dtice69 daggers also hit with the pointy end when the plot requires them to

[@dtice69]

@@Warland3r daggers also hit with the pointy end when accidentally thrown into someone after intending to go by them.

[@Gawlakman]

The sword master who trained him said Viggo Mortensen was the best student he ever had.

[@robbob5302]

Kissing up to the star never hurts

[@kivimik]

@@robbob5302 Maybe, but if that sword master was Bob Anderson, that does command some respect.

[@Shifty51991]

@@robbob5302Bob Anderson doesn't need to kiss up to anyone bud lmfao

[@Maxbecks1]

Wow !

[@marioperez7292]

@@kivimik Bob Anderson also said that about every single actor he ever worked with. It was his signature promotional phrase. Maybe it was true one of the many times he said it, but, like the old boy who cried wolf, it’s hard to know 😬

[@papalaz4444244]

To be fair, the Numenorean swords the hobbits have are unlikely to break in training. They were made to fight wraiths, that's why Merry can stab the Witch King and really injure him. The Witch King hid those blades in the barrows with the barrow wights guarding them because the blades were a real danger to him. None of that is explained in the film, sadly LOL

[@lynnm6413]

Well they were daggers for the men and not swords…only the Hobbits can use them as such

[@papalaz4444244]

@@lynnm6413 thanks for 'explaining' that and finding a 'mistake' you could laboriously explain to all of us who knew that perferctly well.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

@@lynnm6413 Literally doesn't change the point

[@AlyssMa7rin]

@@lynnm6413 A Bastard Sword for me is a fuckin Greatsword for a child

[@lynnm6413]

@@AlyssMa7rin that was exactly my point, thank you for reiterating it!

[@TheQuota2001]

2:24 The arrow flying by Agent Smiths face in this clip will never get old! Christ that was close, his hair should get an acting credit for this scene

[@andrewhannam.]

Not surprising about Aragorn as Bob Anderson claimed that Mortensen was "the best swordsman I've ever trained".

[@evenstar1608]

The dedication and passion of the casts and crew were top notch.

[@You0nlyLiveonce]

He was made to be a warrior

[@jasethomas5198]

Viggo is awesome

[@FlynLatif]

And he filmed the Weathertop scene on his first day at work without ever having handled a sword before. At one point he got suspicions raised by local police because he was taking his sword everywhere with him off set, even grocery shopping, so that it would be a part of him.

[@cocodojo]

@@FlynLatif The man is an absolute legend. Still, it'd be kinda awkward explaining to the police that it's not a sword, rather a very shiny and pointy walking stick because he's got a spot of trouble walking due to a work related injury to the toes. 🤔

[@redshirt49]

Narsil is an enchanted weapon, imbued to be so sharp it can even cut magic and never lose its sharpness. Hence why Aragorn can use it against ghosts and why Isildur could use it to cut Sauron, who is by the way not a physical being but a spirit. His physical form is essentially an illusion, so the appearance of his armor is irrelevant. It was his magic that made him durable, not his armor. That's basically just for show.

[@Lordovundead666]

Narsil can actually cut through metal (it's a magic sword) that's why he could cut trough Saurons gauntlets

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

It's still sharp 3,000 years later.

[@thranduiloropherion7256]

Exactly. If the guy knew more of the history then it would explain some of his problems with bits of the film.

[@Jake-cm9jj]

Yeah several of his complaints don't take the supernatural elements in. Like when Aragorn hits Orcs on their armor and still kills them. He's a supernaturally strong person wielding magical blades most of the time.

[@thranduiloropherion7256]

@@Jake-cm9jj Also, aside from their helmets, the Uruk hai are wearing leather armour so a sword could penetrate it.

[@seanpoore2428]

But shouldn't saurons armor be of similar quality? It's SAURONS Armor after all.

[@benjaminjane93]

The advanced armor also sells the point that middle earth is in decline culturally speaking in the third age. Elrond says himself essentially that these conflicts are just a pale repeat of the war he and his kind fought against Morgoth. So the Noldori and men of Arnor are in rather advanced armor signifying that they are the last of the great old kingdoms. And then some thousand years later there has been little advancement in that area.

[@mindstalk]

However, in Tolkien's texts, pretty much all armor is mail, no matter the era. The only exceptions are Sam's dead Haradrim in "overlapping brazen plates", and whatever Eol's galvorn armor was.

[@8rynjar]

Depends on wich culture you mean. Men are thriving all over the place. If the armor is the bemchmark for culture, then we have also been in steady decline since the middle ages with tshirts now and whatnot

[@nathanaustin6901]

The battle in the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring is in the second age not the third.

[@benjaminjane93]

@@nathanaustin6901 So when you read the line 'The advanced armor also sells the point that middle earth is in decline culturally speaking in the third age' do you see the word 'advanced' and think it applies to the concept of 'cultural decline'? Or. Did you not notice that it was a juxtaposition?

[@alittlebitgone]

@@benjaminjane93 It's not, because the armour he was commenting on was from flashbacks to thousands of years before LotR.

[@GreywolfRaventhorne]

Matt Easton is one of my favorite youtubers. So glad you had him on your channel!

[@QuinchGaming]

Apparently John Rhys Davies (who played Gimli) couldn't see very well past his prosthetics & hated stunt practice so when you're saying "he's hitting with a heavy two headed axe" he actually WAS hitting the poor stunt guys....hard...with that (albeit a stunt blunted) Axe as he was essentially half blind and literally throwing his axe about like a mad dwarf!

[@joshuawiedenbeck6944]

He was allergic to the prosthetics so he couldn't see very well due to a combination of the prosthetics and his face reacting to them.

[@Rauraurauuuuu]

My man was using reckless attack the whole movie

[@konkwistador3121]

Well, Gimli gets boost to heavy attacks at level 10 not without reason.

[@horsemumbler1]

@@joshuawiedenbeck6944 It wasn't an allergy, as is commonly thought. As he explained recently in an interview: The problem was that every time those prosthetics are taken off, the layer of skin they were applied to comes off with them. The skin around the eyes is extremely thin, so after nit very long there just isn't any skin left, so he'd have to wait for his skin to grow back, then it would get ripped off again as soon as he had enough for the prosthetics to get applied to.

[@joshuawiedenbeck6944]

@@horsemumbler1 Well that sounds terrible.

[@sauronpwbr9283]

The fact that the fights in Fellowship of the Ring are so historically accurate in general is fantastic! Peter Jackson really nailed it...

[@def1ghi]

That small moment when Boromir grabs the Orc ax is awesome! Love your stuff.

[@jacobsampsonis7782]

Never really occurred to me until he just pointed it out

[@serenityvalley9409]

The fight between Aragorn and Uruk captain is hands down the coolest sword fight on screen. So well done and it's over in a matter of seconds which is crazy.

[@thranduiloropherion7256]

To be honest, he cant say they broke formation right away, because it is showing snapshots of a seven year siege. But he did compliment it quite a bit.

[@jacobsampsonis7782]

Exactly. It just cut away to a later time in the battle. This is all an intro scene that can't run too long. But still did a nice job

[@FunkMonk-zy5jq]

This same battle lasted for SEVEN YEARS?

[@Puma5]

@@FunkMonk-zy5jq No, the invasion of Mordor and subsequent siege of Barad-Dur by the armies of the Last Alliance lasted seven years in total. The battle depicted was at the very end in the last year, when Sauron finally showed himself at Mt Doom.

[@FunkMonk-zy5jq]

@@Puma5 that's fuckin' gnarly, bro

[@jimmybobby4824]

Lmao that’s not an excuse. Pitch battles weren’t fought like a mosh pit of 1v1 duels.

[@ianthegodking]

The sword was not mere steel, that sword was Narsil and was forged during the First Age by the Dwarven smith Telchar, the most renowned weaponsmith of Nogrod. Telchar was taught by Gamil Zirak himself (called "The Old") whose creations where so outstanding beautiful and powerful that they where part of the treasure of Elu Thingol the first Elven King. The magic embed in Narsil by the Dwarven smith Telchar was literally the ability to cut through any armor or flesh. Narsil reforged and renamed Andúril, the Flame of the West

[@nodiggity9472]

Valyrian steel.

[@pzza1097]

Next: mma fighter reacts to Dragon Ball Z.

[@ShinRai1090]

Naah... Under qualified 🤣

[@pzza1097]

@@ShinRai1090 sorry, reacts to yajirobe, yamcha, chaotzu, korin and chichi.

[@ShinRai1090]

@@pzza1097 then 👍🏻😝...

[@I9kieran94]

This comment hasn't had the credit it deserves 😂😂

[@ricodiaz7636]

Or Baki grappler

[@Freezer003]

Thumbnail: "It bothers me on so many levels!" Reality: "really quite well done. Magnificent!"

[@johnnysailtimbers7334]

Interesting thing about the Numenorean bows (them being the men in the beginning) was that they were actually famous for their steel bows and it was said that only the strongest of the Numenorean could wield them. Considering they averaged 2 meters in height that is kind of a small ballista 😅😅😅.

[@AlyssMa7rin]

Numenorean Hollowsteel Bows that fired some of the most skillfully crafted Arrows in Middle Earth Also, The Numenorean Steelforging being by itself a Magical art at that point in time, as most of those Troops probably came *from* Numenor before the Fall

[@Lorrdd]

Numenoreans themselves were not mere humans either.

[@thodan467]

@@Lorrdd they were Humans

[@wolfgangkranek376]

Obviously Tolkiens "arda" has less gravity then our earth. That's why arrows fly further, Dragons can fly and huge creatures like the Balrog (who also can fly?) and the flying thingies of the Nazgul do exist.

[@wolfgangkranek376]

@@thodan467 pimped up Humans

[@Ingolenuru]

Legolas is hundreds of years old and has been fighting for centuries. He has skills.

[@AlyssMa7rin]

Honestly my biggest Gripe about the bit with Sauron, was Peter deciding not to show Gil-Galad and Elendil duelling Sauron like in the Books

[@nathanaustin6901]

Agreed. That duel would have been epic! Also Sauron lost the duel (kinda since all three of the combatants die)

[@1Plebeian]

The burning of Gil-Galad part was considered too extreme for theater and regular dueling considered too tame. They captured the gist of Sauron's menace with a different approach.

[@createdforthemoment6740]

Epic, but it was the beginning of an era. They had to show alot of information to set up the movies without getting bogged down in the details. It does take an hour to get underway already, no need to set up an Elf king who's dead within 30 seconds too

[@groscaramelmou2583]

​​@@nathanaustin6901would have totally broke the dramatic tension. Gil galad and elendil werent introduced anywhere, so you would just have an elf commander and a man king defeating full power Sauron in a duel at thé begining of the first movie.. would have Taken A LOT of sauron's menace later. They made the right choice not showing it, my only regret IS that they cut Sauron killing Gil galad, since it would have justify him later advancing his hand in isildur's direction (to brun him in front of his army and erase their hopes in terror )instead of smashing himwith his club

[@Tom-sd2vi]

I love how these fantasy movies have some of the most believable medieval fighting in film history.

[@MrCiris989]

Fun fact: that part where he throws the dagger and he swipes it away, that was a accident. He was supposed to throw it, they were going to cut and swap it out not so dealy prop. It could have ended badly if his reflexes didn't kick in to block it.

[@brotherhogan6880]

Was basically about to comment this, such a brilliant scene either way

[@Chimera_Photography]

And then there’s the scene after Aragorn thinks the hobbits have been killed by the orcs, when he kicks the helmet and let’s out a cry of grief? Yeah, that was broken toes. Not toe, *toes* . Ow…

[@ForgeofAule]

It realistically wouldn't have done much damage because it would have been blunt

[@nickclark18]

​@@ForgeofAule let... me test that theory on YOU if your so sure

[@niall_sanderson]

@@ForgeofAule That knife wouldn't have embedded itself in Viggo's face, but it could have very easily broken his nose and/or given him a wicked concussion

[@FireflyFanatic3]

It's wonderful to see an expert examine and critique choies made in film while also acknowledging that sometimes those choices are deliberate and have purpose, and that there's a level of artistic lisence which film as an artform must have.

[@ryanwall1470]

The quality of their swords are on a whole other level though compared to real life

[@Tomsgate101]

Matt Easton is always a treat to listen to. Great watch!

[@evenstar1608]

The deflecting dagger is beautiful bec it is a true action, not on script.

[@adamduncan123456]

Viggo said it was all accidental and they put it in the final cut

[@Richard_Nickerson]

It actually was a planned stunt, but with the intention of it being faked. The throw was off, so it had to be done for real instead, as natural reflex. So, it IS in the script, but it was intended to be CGI or something instead.

[@Pippis78]

The scene with Boromir and the hobbits training/playing around serves another purpose very smartly. It gives a glimpse that hobbits aren't as helpless as they first seem. They genuinely took Boromir to the ground. The Tookish blood took over Merry(?) when he got hurt.

[@Decrepit_biker]

The Numenoreans were incredibly advanced compared to "lesser" men. For instance even after the fall they creates walls and stonework that could not be replicated by the time of the Lord of the rings. Also the batting aside of the dagger was kind of for real, the Lutz actor had actually misthrown the dagger and it was actually heading for Vigo. He actually swung and hit it and deflected the dagger. Obviously purely by chance!

[@thodan467]

same goes for dwarves and elves, the world was losing the old arts and lore

[@muenchhausenmusic]

Was gonna comment that, about the advanced Numenorean technology

[@anaussie213]

With the help of the dwarves Aragorn was able to restore some level of the numenorian stone craft for a time.

[@Mister_Mag00]

thye were also on average like 6'6, isildurs father was like 7 feet tall

[@geechyguy3441]

That bit about the dagger alone should be enough to unvalidate this guy

[@simon-pierrelussier2775]

I'm disappointed by how often the quality of the steel is overlooked in those sorts of analysis. The orc steel, being produced at industrial scale by unskilled workers. It was probably comparable to the worst steel produced in human history. And those are put in comparison to swords, some magical, by master smiths with literally centuries of experience.

[@kevinwells9751]

Given that we see them casting Uruk Hai blades out of molten iron they would have been laughably brittle, basically out there fighting with cast iron, so it really would have been worse than any actual sword steel anyone in history has ever used

[@edoardoprevelato6577]

Narsil is imbued with magic. The sword itself dates back to the first era. A couple of fingers covered by steel are basically butter to it

[@batteredwarrior]

But didn't stop Sauron breaking it with his foot. 🤣

[@edoardoprevelato6577]

@@batteredwarrior yes, but even after the time past between the Last Alliance and "present" LotR, which is about three millennia, the sword fragments retained their sharpness.

[@irEyERWO]

@@batteredwarrior Yes, but Sauron is a Maiar, still a bit stronger than men or elves

[@dark_rit]

Yeah Maiar were basically demigods in the Tolkien-verse IIRC. Not on the level of Ilúvatar, but still immensely powerful. Like if Sauron used his full power as a maiar no one could stop him except other divine beings. Same with Gandalf being a maia, it's just his mission was to guide, not win the war by himself, which he could do if he used his full power.

[@edoardoprevelato6577]

@@irEyERWO Sauron is indeed stronger than men, but he never was physically that great (unvaliant, Tolkien dubbed him), and then he traded off a lot of his power to make the ring. In his mind, the chance to take control of all races was worth it. He never expected humans and elves to team up, nor for Narsil to be effective against him.

[@alfred77]

You are forgetting that all the warriors featured in this clip are superhuman. It's elves and Numenoreans.

[@the_Brumeister]

In the book Isildur cuts the finger off after he, his dad Elendil, and high king Gil-galad work as a trio at felling Sauron. Much different combat styles would have been employed.

[@willmosse3684]

It actually makes sense to have the advanced armour in the battle at the beginning. In this world, the earlier age was more advanced, and technology and social organisation has been in decline for thousands of years by the time of the main story. That battle was 3,000 years earlier, when technology was in fact more advanced.

[@benjaminodonnell258]

As for the bows, there is a passage in the Book of Lost Tales (the one describing the Battle of the Gladden Fields where Isuldur died) that describes Numenorean warbows as being made of some secret metal process, giant and were thought of as immensely fearsome even by the elves...

[@cocodojo]

The bows were also hollow inside, which is kinda amazing feat for the time since these were essentially steel bows they're trying to bend to get almost as close to the ranges that the elves were capable of with their special wooden bows.

[@davidwright7193]

The power of a bow is limited by the strength of the archer. The material of the bow alters how much energy it stores and how efficient it is but the amount of energy is limited by the force of the draw and it’s distance. The draw length is limited to ~ 1m (a cloth yard is a kenning for arrow) and even war bows matched to the archer have draw weights topping out at 100kg giving a maximum energy of about 1kJ. The English longbow and the Mongol composite bows are about the theoretical best a bow can be

[@benjaminodonnell258]

@@davidwright7193 The Numenoreans at the end of the Second Age averaged over seven foot tall, they were literally superhumans. The men of Middle Earth kept trying to worship them as gods (and the "Black Numenoreans" let them).

[@bgonzales817]

The dagger deflection is definitely accurate cause viggo actually did it lol

[@aesir1ases64]

Great analysis, LOTR is an eternal masterpiece. Its incredible they matched a great storytelling with amazing aesthestics that please both casual fans or Tolkien and hardcore fans, but also pleased people that wanted more "realism" and those who wanted less. Very interesting balance and the prove how you can portray Tolkien's amazing work with some degree of fidelity but also changing and adapting much to a modern audience but still preserving the core themes. They have set the footprint for success to Amazon, but unfortunately it doesnt seem they got it.

[@GandharKulkarni2000]

1:00 the Men of that time had Numenorean technology. They would be extremely sophisticated

[@Classact18]

To be fair, the numenorean and Elvish bows have ranges of between 300-500m. They are also a lot taller than the average person in reality so they can wield a lot larger weapons.

[@ReasonAboveEverything]

In Tolkien's lore elves are shorter than men.

[@haywire3482]

@@ReasonAboveEverything While yes, the elves at Dagorlad would be, on average, shorter than their Dunedain (From Numenor) counterparts, it's worth remembering that those are Dunedain, and are a far cry from average men. The Nature of Middle Earth (p.195) typically puts elven men at a minimum of 6'6", which is very tall. Compared to Boromir, who was of High Numenorean Lineage at 6'4". Really, it comes down to whether we're talking Sindar, Noldor, Dunedain or more 'average' men.

[@thodan467]

@@ReasonAboveEverything show me

[@jvsjoranjvs]

@@ReasonAboveEverything numenorians are not average man.

[@tierz7677]

@@haywire3482 Exactly. True Numenorians in the Second Age were often over 7 feet tall. Practically giants compared to regular Men. Not to mention they were supposed to be far stronger than a regular Man. With that taken into account, along with the fact that they used bows made of hollow steel that no regular Man could wield, it's completely reasonable for them to be shooting at far greater ranges than historical longbowmen.

[@ninjaphobos]

The main canon reason that Aragorn uses the firebrand for offense and sword for defense against the wraiths on Weathertop is that he only has the shards of Narsil in the book. In the movies, he only puts his hand on the hilt of the sword in Bree when the Hobbits break in and he's hesitant to fight the wraiths in Bree, as well. It isn't revealed that he's carrying the shards until the fight on Weathertop. That would have made his fight scene even more badass (fighting off 5 wraiths with a firebrand and that 12-18 inch broken blade section), but Jackson didn't want Aragorn to be carrying around the shards because he wanted Aragorn's character arc to be going from hesitant, exiled leader to ascendant king. Book Aragorn and Movie Aragorn have substantially different personalities, although Jackson captured his motivation, goodness, and recognition of "mannish" weakness accurately.

[@josharnold4090]

This was a fun watch! It's great to see analysis of one of my favourite movies that is balanced; this was clearly not made simply to be critical and nitpicky, but it was also not made just to praise everything the filmmakers did. Many of the historically accurate details you pointed out simply go to show how much research was done before the filming!

[@DM-rp9ik]

So much of what he says is wrong because he has no idea what he's actually looking at

[@maryfolles1168]

just came here to support Matt big ups

[@jolt06]

The Hobbits did not expect to fight and have no weapons to begin with.

[@alexanderzack3720]

alright.... you convinced me..... it´s time to watch lord of the rings again. and that scene where viggo hits the dagger was real and unplanned, making it even more special in my opinion. something the actor really did and was not cgi or scripted or camera tricked or anything like that

[@AnnekeOosterink]

When watching elves fight, you have to remember that Legolas is well over 2000 years old (depending on who you ask) and he's basically a baby, he's one of the youngest elves. Most of the elves are thousands of years old and have spent that time training, working on their skills or being in active combat. Legolas has centuries of experience using his bow and arrows. He's always going to be better than any human ever. Apart from all elves being way way way more experienced than any human could ever hope to achieve, they have more advantages. Elves have much better senses, so their hearing and sight are much better, and their weapons are much better. Both because the craftsman who made them has millennia of experience making the weapons, and because elvish (and dwarvish too) weapons are kind of magic. So things like, "a regular arrow would probably break, and you'd have to be very lucky to ever be able to do that move if it doesn't break" don't really apply here.

[@ChrisSmith-tr4lg]

I'm with you up until the last sentence: an arrow is just a stick with a pointy end. Admittedly the pointy bit might be better because it's elvish, but the elves having better sticks as well seems a bit much...

[@LiamDerWandrer]

@@ChrisSmith-tr4lg Living, magical wood and mithril arrows both are facts. Magic against breaking and for hitting true are facts as well. At least in Arda and according to Toliken. So yes, they DO in fact "have better sticks"...

[@ViolinGirl613]

The sword of the king of Gondor, Anduril, is magical, forged by the same dwarf in the first age who made the dagger that cut the silmaril on Morgoth's crown, and is possibly made out of mithril.

[@KrushKrills]

Keep in mind Isildur & Elendil are from a race of supermen (the numenoreans), and are the 2 strongest alive of that race, plus the sword is magical.. same with the range & lethality of the elves or mens bows..

[@InSanic13]

Right, but surely Sauron's gauntlets would be just as magical, if not even more so? It works well for a dramatic movie scene, but definitely makes more sense in the book when Sauron's body was already dead (or at least close to it, depending on the interpretation).

[@AlyssMa7rin]

@@InSanic13 That's why the book version works better, with him being defeated by the most powerful man alive at that time, and one of the most powerful Elves to have ever lived.

[@dacianastilean-styles3895]

don't forget anarion, (though he makes no appearance in the film)

[@thodan467]

they are from the Line of Melian, they are descendants of a Maiar

[@shmekelfreckles8157]

@@InSanic13 well, the sword was made by the same guy who made a dagger used to cut silmarils out of Melkor’s crown and even was able to graze Melkor himself. And Melkor is much stronger than Sauron, a step higher in celestial beings hierarchy. And by the time of the final battle Sauron is not even in his true form, he’s just a shambling scarecrow powered by the One Ring.

[@paulvmarks]

The steel bows of the Numenoreans are supposed to have a very great range, as do the bows of the elves - so these are not really medieval weapons, they are fantasy weapons. But that should be made clear in the film - for example bows of the men of the West should be made to look as if they are steel. But then the Numenoreans were also supposed to be much taller than than ordinary men, and orcs are supposed to be shorter than men - so the battle would look rather odd if shown that way (the Numenoreans would be fighting orcs who were barely half their height).

[@nodiggity9472]

Crossbows had steel/iron wings, but for a bow, you'd need sprung steel, and Yew is better and far more practical.

[@DM-rp9ik]

You could, but that would make a really bad film trying to basically explain these are super human men shooting super advanced bows and that's why they are hitting targets on cliffs all in a 7 minute intro

[@Karras353]

It’s fair to expect much of LotR to make sense in a historical context, since it clearly draws a lot of inspiration from history. But it’s equally important when assessing this to be aware of the more fantastical elements of the material. Or just the material in general. The hobbits were not supposed to be heavily armed. They were not warriors and the fellowship (that formed a little later) was explicitly not a war party. Though it was kind of silly just how lethal they could be with a frying pan or a thrown rock. Aragorn was likely not trying to stab the wring wraiths. Most swords could not hurt them and the consequences for successfully stabbing one (even with a weapon that was effective) were quite serious. Admittedly some aspects were less well explained in the movies though.

[@TorianTammas]

Hobits have no reach as they are small, so they are dead whenever they meet anyone taller who can fight. But hey it is fantasy where nothing has to make sense.

[@beauxhargrove7722]

Keep in mind as you point out the problems of the weaknesses of steel that in Middle Earth, most of these swords were fortified with magic. Aragorn's sword, for example, is supposed to appear to be flaming according to the book.

[@poria1990]

22:33 fun fact...and it is a known one. the stunt actor for Lurtz in this scene could not see very well and was supposed to throw the knife over Viggo's head but ended up throwing it directly into his face and viggo legit deflected a blow that could have killed him.

[@NealBromfield]

6:24 in the books sauron dies fighting Elendil and Gil-galad but they die in the proces and so Isidur picks up his father's broken sword and cuts the ring off saurons dead finger

[@chronolynx360]

And then isildur took the ring from sauron ands runs away like coward !🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 "My precious!"

[@kickerwhitelion7626]

To be fair Aragorn had 7 decades of training while the Uruk Hai are newborns so probably much worse with a sword.

[@aS-df8zj]

Great comment, dude

[@nikolibolokov4521]

Yeh he mentioned that

[@felixdzerjinsky5244]

24:44 All sword cuts by executioners were done horizontally with the subject standing, kneeling or sitting in a chair. Cutting with the subject's head on a block would run the very real risk of damaging or breaking the sword. Block cuts were all made with an axe.

[@leftyfourguns]

All the actors' sword stunts and training in the LotR movies were handled by the legendary Bob Anderson. Apparently he said Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) was one of his finest students.

[@paulperano9236]

The principal sword-smith at Weta is an old friend of mine. He knows his business and has a fairly comprehensive and well read library on weapons and armour at his home. Along with the several weapon/combat trainers from around the world there was a lot of effort put in to making the equipment and techniques ... reasonably believable. However Peter J was not in the business of making a combat documentary. Consequently artistic licence was used where it enhanced the scene with out making it look too ridiculous.

[@klodm.2064]

Tolkin played up the craftsmanship of elves and dwarves to be essentially magical, even though he doesn't use the word. It is completely expected from elven arrows to be able to do what Legolas did, from elven or dwarven blades to be able to cut through steel, etc. Even getting magically pulled out of a body if that's what the situation demands.

[@anaussie213]

Yeah also a highly skilled elf warrior like Legolas knowing the exact spot with the exact angle and pressure with the right timing to take out an enemy like that with the arrow is believable as well. Hard for a human sure but not for an elf.

[@dark_rit]

Yeah a human would have a hard time learning that in their lifetime, but Legolas in fellowship is over a thousand years old so he's had some practice.

[@chrisherne6454]

In the source material, Isildur doesn’t get Sauron’s ring with a lucky strike as shown. The battle is won, although his father the king is slain, and Isildur cuts the ring from Sauron’s hand as a victor.

[@ultimagameboy]

A note about the armour in the beginning scene; these were like the 2nd Age Numenorians who sailed to Middle-Earth from Numenor, and were basically the most enlightened and advanced race of Men to ever have existed over the course of history in Tolkien's world. They came the closest to Elves in their mastery of arts and crafts - such as armour and weapons, which could explain somewhat as to why their armour seems so advanced compared to the average or what would be expected in the rest of the setting at that time.

[@BanjoSick]

It’s actually super inccutate. There is no plate mail in Middle Earth. Everybody is wearing chain mail. Tolkien didn’t want it in because it came to England via Normans, who Tolkien hated. He never dully accepted the defeat of the Anglo Saxons at Hastings.

[@urseliusurgel4365]

The only mention of plate armour, other than helmets, in the entire LOTR book is when Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth uses a polished vambrace to find that someone is breathing and therefore not dead. Also Sauron's use of a mace fits with his former boss, Morgoth (the original Satan figure in Tolkien's oeuvre) using his mace 'Grond' - 'Hammer of the Underworld' when fighting the elf Fingolfin (the name Grond is also used for the battering ram used to break the gates of Minas Tirith).

[@fuferito]

What's often lost regarding these beginning scenes is that they are a narration by Galadriel of what happened thousands of years before, so the participants and the fighting will be described in very broad strokes, as these scenes accurately are. And, in such a brilliant way too.

[@loicovis426]

Thank you a lot for the video! Great work!

[@spiritwarrior84]

one problem about comparing fantasy weapons with real world weapons is Fantasy weapons and armor are made of FANTASY metals and magic. Especially weapons and armor of light against weapons and armor of darkness. Can't really say how things in a fantasy world is supposed to work with real life things. XD

[@vladline1882]

Definitely and it could be enchanted

[@cugelchannel4733]

The Numenorean exiles in that battle scene fighting in Mordor were the height of technology ever in Tolkien's universe. Like the Island of Atlantis, they sank into the sea, but the men in that scene were the exiled survivors, so their technology was much higher than in Aragorn's time, 3,000 years later. The Numenoreans had STEEL longbows that seem to have been more like modern bows and they were famous archers according to Tolkien capable of firing many arrows accurately per minute. Isildur's sword in that scene is this famous magic sword that could cut through about anything. The sword was forged during the First Age by the famed Dwarven-smith Telchar of Nogrod so it's about 3,500-4,000 years old at the time of that battle. Obviously a 4,000 year old sword would be entirely corroded. Since this one is still in perfect shape it shows it's powerfully magical. So, chopping through steel gauntlets is entirely plausible IF you have a magic sword! The thing is basically almost a light-saber.

[@jhhh888]

Hands down the best movie ever made. Thanks for making me love it even more!

[@thevaleyard4501]

What’s crazy is Vigo actually batted that dagger to the side. The orc actor was supposed to Throw the dagger beside him but accidentally threw it at him.

[@fordcinco]

jewelers react to the rings in the Lord of the rings.

[@Inv1cto]

xD imagine...

[@elementzero3379]

I'll always tune in for Matt Easton. 👍🏻

[@naufal8454]

Next: Sword expert react to dwarf throwing

[@cosbusta]

Wouldn't that be a dwarf expert?

[@aenorist2431]

6:30 Except this is Narsil, a magical sword, which allows for the handwaving (and handcutting) that a normal sword would not.

[@phj223]

About the lack of blood spray after limbs and heads were lopped off, it was a requirement for the movies to get a PG-13 rating. :)

[@goodcorwin627]

gotta love the ratings logic.

[@MrDhen88]

Fun fact vigo actually blocked that dagger and it wasn’t a rubber prop, he also lost a tooth fighting on the stairs, and in the second film he broke his toe after kicking the small helmet and his scream of Agony was genuine. Hell of an actor

[@swaghauler8334]

Regarding Narsil cutting Saron's fingers off... that was the magic aspect of the sword. Narsil was made from the same metal as Angrist, the dagger that cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, so it was essentially a "vorpal sword" that can cleave through almost anything. The fact that Sauron broke the sword showed his true power. Morgoth's powers were demonstrated by Angrist breaking when Beren tried to cut a second Silmaril from Morgoth's crown.

[@Neion8]

So you think Sauron wouldn't have magical armour too? The guy who made a ring more powerful than Celebrimbor which is so durable even Narsil/Anduril couldn't scratch it, would skimp so heavily on his armour as to allow his gauntleted fingers to get cut through like butter by a sword he knows exists?

[@Martin-e2x5c]

Wonderfully entertaining analysis - thanks!

[@AverageAwesomeDude]

A lot of the equipment or technicalities are hand waved away by the sort of magic that exists in middle earth. For the most part the magic we see, especially the sort of elf magic a lot of characters benefit from, is that they make things better versions of themselves, like swords that cut through metal or never lose their edges, or arrows that never break and you will always find after the battle, even smaller things like rope that doesn’t unknot unless you want it too.

[@carlcramer9269]

A>t 27:05 Gimli throws a hand axe at an orc. I never noticed that before. Certainly a useful additional tool for a dwarf that is neither ranged nor particularly fast on his feet.

[@seanpoore2428]

Also as far as arrows and orcs is concerned (this applies to stormtrooper armor vs blasters as well) just because we see someone get shot and go down does not at all mean that they're dead. Wounds Are a thing. A marine taking a bullet in the kevlar vest is likely to get hurt and go down even if they don't die

[@Dack.howaboutyou]

Also, in all the (admittedly probably not cannon) Star Wars RPG books, Stormtrooper armor gave very little protection against energy weapons; plenty against physical attacks... but not energy attacks after they stopped using the Mandalorian metal when someone came up with a weapon that could zap that material causing it to basically explode violently en-masse... shame too cause it works brilliantly against almost all damage... except that one weapon.

[@joey_ramone_96]

and to be fair, the "one shot fall" has been in the movie industry for decades, in old western movies the minor characters would all die from a single shot, and main characters would only get wounded from the same single shot

[@jamesdominguez7685]

My favourite detail about the Aragorn/Lurtz fight is that after Viggo smacked the dagger aside with his sword, they went to reset for the next take and found the dagger embedded in a tree. Viggo hit it HARD.

[@gallifreyarchives4434]

Now you have to do the other two movies.

[@charlesjenkins2090]

Its amazing they actually thought to make the Witch King left handed to differentiate him as "more evil" than the others.

[@douglaspintor]

to know that the best trilogy of all time is also accurate from the combat standpoint just make me love these movies even more

[@akcretan3914]

looking for historical accuracy in lotr fighting scenes is like looking for gollum in a 15th century painting

[@ryanangeli5897]

Aragorn batting away the dagger was completely real. The actor playing Lurtz couldn’t really see out of his prosthetics. He was supposed to throw the dagger slightly off to the side but threw it directly at Viggo, who did ACTUALLY deflect it. Happy accident!

[@Pyro-et9vs]

7:30 to be fair, the fellowship was aiming more for travelling than combat. Not to mention having a big, bulky shield would be impractical for the tiny hobbits when the focus is on getting to point a to point b as quickly as possible. Plus, hobbits, while courageous, are not known for their fighting habits, so fighting is seen as a last resort for their species.

[@Aki-kh2qe-StreetKidZZZ]

23:20 the actor legit did that himself and what's best is that that dagger, it was real, they confused the fake one with real one and he legit did the deflection. Aragon's actor actually legit learned swordsmanship for the role

[@batteredwarrior]

Well, he learned screen combat, which isn't genuine swordsmanship.

[@arnieandrews]

Isildur's sword is not a regular steel sword and is suggested to have magical properties so not unreasonable to suggest it can cut the gauntlets even when broken

[@sanaanimeluva]

Something you missed when you doubted some of what he did is that aragorn can do a lot more than a standard human because he isn't a human. Numerians look human but are basically like 50% better at everything than normal humans

[@marcmartino8518]

They are humans lol.

[@Senovitj]

23:20 Viggo Mortensen actually had to bat the knife to the side as the actor playing Lurtz really threw it at him.

[@TheStillWalkin]

From a history perspective: how bad is an arrow to the knee? Asking for a friend

[@TheArthoron]

In the books, Gil Galad and Elendil beat Sauron and they all fell. Isuldir cut the ring from Sauron's finger after he was "dead". That nonsense was Peter Jackson's "creative license".

[@emmanuelwolfmusic410]

really enjoyed this one, 👌

[@stege9979]

Much appreciating your expertise Sir!

[@ramdhanisingh2103]

*You must react to the entire trilogy!*

[@kaycampbell364]

Yes I’d buy that dvd

[@mandrake925]

The armor seems advanced to what you thought? Its literally brought up multiple times the numenor was advanced and had advanced armor. The elves also. The dwarfs masters of making weapons as well.