Over ten thousand people already form an endless tide, let alone an army of a hundred thousand beastmen.
A dense, seemingly infinite horde of beastmen advanced toward Minas Tirith. The Nazgûl, mounted on black dragons, hovered above the battlefield as airborne knights, imposing an immense psychological pressure on the defenders of Minas Tirith.
This film, in terms of its grand scale, special effects, and the core spirit it conveys, is without question one of the most outstanding movies of its era.
Especially for movie fans, whether it was the beastmen launching a full assault on Minas Tirith and the human soldiers mounting a desperate defense, or the catapult battles and Nazgûl raids, every frame left them breathless.
Doug and Zoe kept their eyes locked on the giant screen, their hands unconsciously clenched into fists, too tense to relax.
Zoe even silently whispered, "Hold on... hold on until the Rohan reinforcements arrive."
Up front, Leonardo DiCaprio was already dumbfounded by the sheer magnitude of the scene: "Gilbert wasn't lying. Compared to The Return of the King, the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers was merely an appetizer."
Ridley Scott once again attended the premiere of The Return of the King. Witnessing such a grand spectacle, and comparing it to the scale of his own film Gladiator, he could only shake his head helplessly.
In the presence of The Return of the King, Gladiator felt like a petty brawl at the village gate.
However, Ridley Scott still believed that the Kingdom of Heaven, which he was currently preparing, might not surpass The Return of the King in scale, but could at least be worthy of comparison.
As for the fans, there's no need to even describe it once the Battle of Minas Tirith began, they never had a moment to catch their breath.
In New York, watching the beleaguered defenders of Minas Tirith, someone couldn't help but shout in a somewhat overdramatic tone, "Come on, Minas Tirith! Hold on!"
No one criticized that fan for being too melodramatic. Instead, everyone silently rooted for Minas Tirith.
From day to night, and from night into the moments before dawn, Minas Tirith's city gates could no longer hold and finally collapsed.
The beastmen army surged in, flooding the streets of Minas Tirith, engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat with the defenders.
Due to the inaction of the Steward of Gondor, Gandalf became the spiritual pillar of Minas Tirith. He dashed between the ramparts and through the streets, shouting with all his might:
"Fight! Fight to the end! Fight for survival…"
Though the defenders of Minas Tirith resisted valiantly, the sheer number of beastmen was overwhelming. They gradually became outnumbered and outmatched.
Soon, the first level of the city fell, and the soldiers retreated to the second tier.
The second level, too, was on the verge of collapse. The Nazgûl above created further chaos, keeping Gandalf occupied.
In Peter Jackson's version, Gandalf's power had been somewhat nerfed. In fact, in the original novel, the Nazgûl couldn't beat Gandalf one-on-one he nearly killed one of them.
But in Gilbert's version, Gandalf's power wasn't diminished. However, the Nazgûl didn't duel him one-on-one.
Instead, all nine Nazgûl ganged up on him in a wicked ambush, tying him down so he couldn't aid Minas Tirith's defenders.
At this point, Gilbert's film did not intercut with Frodo's storyline, showing only parts of Aragorn and King Théoden's arc.
Aragorn, along with Legolas and Gimli, journeyed to the Mountain of the Dead, encountering the cursed spirits of ancient traitors.
Though the negotiations weren't entirely smooth, in the end, the army of the dead agreed to follow Aragorn.
As Gondor faced a night of utter despair, Aragorn brought a new glimmer of hope.
Bingbing Li was completely immersed in the movie. Having worked on film sets for so long and speaking English daily, she had no trouble understanding a movie in full English.
And as for Shuchang, there was even less to worry about. Children her age absorb languages even faster.
But Shuchang had no time to fully comprehend the emotional layers of despair and hope, perseverance and courage, conveyed by the film.
She was entirely captivated by the massive battle scenes, unable to tear her eyes away.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King undeniably represented the pinnacle of Hollywood's filmmaking capabilities. Its technical prowess was so advanced it left filmmakers in other countries feeling hopeless.
These days, blockbuster visual effects alone were often enough to win over global audiences.
But what made The Return of the King truly terrifying was that, while achieving all these grand visuals, it also told a deeply moving, heroic tale.
At this point, the Battle of Minas Tirith had reached its most critical moment. The Steward of Gondor attempted to burn his own son alive, only to be stopped by Pippin.
Meanwhile, the beastmen had already stormed into the city, defenders were fighting to the death, unarmed civilians were being slaughtered, and Gandalf was still entangled by the nine Nazgûl.
The beastmen general gave his final order: "Storm the city. Kill them all. Leave no one alive…"
Every audience member in North America's advance screenings clenched their fists tightly. If Gondor fell, all hope for mankind would be lost.
"Hold on, Minas Tirith!" they silently cried in their hearts. "The last hope of humanity! The final stronghold!"
But just when all seemed lost, the sun rose in the east, breaking through the clouds and shattering the darkness before dawn.
With this ray of hope-filled light, King Théoden appeared, riding high on horseback atop the eastern highlands of Pelennor Fields, with the valiant Riders of Rohan at his back.
Hope had arrived...
"Won't they be afraid, seeing such a massive beastman army?"
The camera gave a sweeping shot of the vast beastman army outside Minas Tirith's walls so densely packed it could trigger a fear of crowds.
Minas Tirith itself was engulfed in smoke and fire. Had the Riders of Rohan arrived a moment later, the city might have already fallen.
Noel looked at the terrifying horde and couldn't help but worry for the knights of Rohan.
Do they have the courage to charge at the beastmen?
Of course they do. King Théoden gazed resolutely at the vast enemy forming up in the distance.
He began issuing final pre-battle orders and rallying cries:
"Éomer, take your men and attack from the left flank."
"Prepare to move out…"
Hooves thundered. King Théoden continued marching forward: "Gambling, follow the royal banner and charge through the center. Grimbold, once we breach the wall, strike from the right."
Even such simple pre-battle orders stirred the hearts of all viewers and reignited hope within them.
Even Kenneth Turan, the long-time harsh critic of Gilbert, had to admit: this scene was simply too soul-stirring.
Of course, he still had to criticize it after all, that's what he's paid to do.
"Advance! Fear not the darkness. Rise, Riders of Théoden!" King Théoden shouted from the front lines.
"Raise your spears! Pierce the enemy's shields! Charge forward! Swing your swords and fight to the end until the sun rises again…"
The knights raised their spears. Princess Éowyn of Rohan and Merry were among them. Both showed traces of fear, yet at this moment they still raised their spears and swords resolutely.
King Théoden passed by the front line, letting his sword clash against their spears, showing them that their king stood with them, that there was no need for fear.
Noel felt that this scene would stay with him for the rest of his life. It was simply amazing profoundly moving.
If he could travel to Middle-earth, he would gladly die alongside King Théoden on the battlefield.
"Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle ride to ruin and the world's ending Death…"
With King Théoden's rallying cry, the morale of Rohan's riders surged: "Death…"
That shout of "Death" carried boundless strength, elevating emotions to their peak and leaping from the silver screen into the hearts of the audience.
Someone echoed the call, and soon, at the premiere, moviegoers shouted in unison with King Théoden on the big screen: "Death…"
Even the Hollywood celebrities seated in the front rows abandoned their poise and joined in the emotional frenzy.
This wasn't an isolated moment across the United States, theaters resounded with thunderous cries.
It was as if the viewers themselves had become Rohan's riders, charging alongside King Théoden.
No one blamed them those who managed to get premiere tickets were mostly diehard fans.
At this moment, no one voiced objections. Everyone was swept up in the passion, involuntarily shouting "Death!"
The sun shone down on Rohan's cavalry formation. As King Théoden raised his sword: "Charge, sons of Éorl…"
Rohan's horns sounded. The cavalry gradually picked up speed. Sunlight gleamed off their armor as if it were gilded, as if blessed by divine power.
Who wouldn't be thrilled by such a blood-stirring charge?
"This is the most breathtaking, most rousing film in history!" Zoey clutched Doug's arm, exclaiming excitedly, "This is the most exhilarating scene I've ever watched in a movie."
"Yes, exactly!" Doug responded.
The Riders of Rohan were unstoppable, charging into the ranks of the orc army.
What once seemed like an invincible force of orcs now crumbled before the riders.
It turned out that the orcs could feel fear too they weren't unbeatable.
But relying on Rohan's cavalry alone wasn't enough to fully defeat the orc army especially with the Nazgûl overhead.
At that critical moment, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli arrived accompanied by an elven army led by Princess Arwen.
In Peter Jackson's version, this battle didn't feature Arwen she only appeared at the end.
But due to Arwen's popularity, Gilbert had
actually filmed this scene early on and included it in the final cut.
Soon after, the Army of the Dead also joined in, launching a final assault against the orcs.
At this point, it was Legolas and Arwen's time to shine.
Even though Orlando Bloom was embroiled in a scandal involving a love triangle, fans still adored him especially his legions of female followers.
If Legolas was there to captivate female fans, then Arwen's role was to attract male fans.
So just like in the previous installment, every time Legolas drew his bow with flair, the female fans would shout how handsome he was.
And whenever Arwen glided gracefully among the orcs, cutting them down, the male fans erupted into cheers.
The Battle of Minas Tirith came to an end.
King Théoden fell on the battlefield. Éowyn, though a woman, slew the Witch-king.
Merry and Pippin, the inseparable duo, reunited. Legolas and Gimli compared orc kill counts.
And Aragorn embraced Arwen on the blood-soaked battlefield, their love forged in hardship.
Logically, with this battle concluded, The Return of the King should have been wrapping up.
All that remained was to close Frodo's storyline the film had already gone on for nearly two hours.
Yet none of the fans had seen enough. It simply wasn't enough. It was too amazing.
If possible, they wished the story of The Lord of the Rings would never end.
....
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