Question: I have yet to read the book, but what are the Corsairs?
Chosen answer: The Corsairs of Umbar are a piratical group, originally of Gondorian origin, whose founder, Castamir, was ousted as ruler of that land (he usurped the throne and had a vicious and cruel reign lasting ten years) some 1500 years before the events of the film. Since that time, they've held a great hatred for Gondor, fighting against them as much as possible. As a trivia note, forty years prior to the films, the Corsair fleets were all but destroyed by a devastating Gondorian attack led by a man named Thorongil. Thorongil was, in fact, Aragorn - he used this alias during his early life and his service to the lords of both Gondor and Rohan (as mentioned in the extended Two Towers film).
Question: In the sequence when the beacons are being lit across Middle Earth, who is living at the top of the high snowy mountains to light those beacons and pass on the message?
Answer: Firstly, the beacons are only across the border between Rohan and Gondor, not across all of Middle-earth. Secondly, the few people living near each beacon are only there because that is their job, just like sentries along any other border.
Question: Does anyone know if there is a deleted scene (to be included on the Ext. DVD) involving the Mouth Of The Sauron fight at the Black Gate, which is featured in the book and video game.
Answer: Yes, there will be the Mouth of Sauron scene, (played by Bruce Spence, I believe), in the Extended DVD. They will be greeted by the Mouth of Sauron, and he will show the heroes Frodo's mithril shirt that was taken off by the Orcs at Cirith Ungol. He will tell them that Frodo is dead and the Ring is on its way to Sauron. Aragorn and the rest believe him, and the heroes thus have no hope and believe they will surely die in this last stand against Mordor's army. Aragorn says, "For Frodo" because of his sacrifice, not for 'buying time'.
Question: Why did the scourging of the Shire never take place in the film?
Chosen answer: The film was already quite long and the plot was complicated with many characters. Adding the Shire scourge would be nearly impossible to incorporate without completely bogging down the story and the pacing. It was implied in one scene as a shadowy premonition that this could happen to the Shire if Sauron wasn't defeated.
Chosen answer: It is unknown whether Shelob survived. In the film she is severely wounded and flees the battle, never to be mentioned again. The description in the book is identical, she is said to have never been heard from again after that moment.
Question: When the armies of Gondor and Rohan approached the black gate, why didn't the orcs who are in charge of opening the gate and watching it not fire at them?
Answer: They were probably ordered not to as it was a last suicidal attempt to challenge them and Sauron was amused by this. Therefore he sent the mouth of Sauron rather than attack them.
Question: How did Trebuchets work and how did the soldiers even move it for ammunition? They were pretty much firing something the size of a whole room.
Answer: Trebuchets are just elaborate catapults, but the additional rope at the end of the arm gives it extra leverage, and thus the ability to throw something extra far. As to maneuverability, that wasn't really a problem for the soldiers of Gondor, as they were fixed in place, solely to be used for defending the city when necessary.
Question: Tolkien has made it clear in his letters that sailing to the Undying Lands does not make a mortal immortal. But this is what I'm curious about: is it possible to give up immortality in the Undying Lands? For instance, if Arwen had remained immortal and sailed there, would she still be able to choose a mortal life? (Not that she would do that, I'm just using her as an example).
Question: When Aragorn confronts the King of the Dead with Anduril (the reforged sword), The King of the Dead says, "That *something* was broken!" I am almost sure he says, "Blade" (referring to the reforged sword), but the subtitles on my Region 4 disc say, "Line" (presumably referring to Aragorn's ancestry). What does he really say? Do the subtitles on discs of a different region say otherwise?
Chosen answer: The King of the Dead says, "That line was broken." Aragorn replies, "It has been remade." Their comments are referring to Aragorn's royal lineage that was believed to have died out. The reforged sword symboilizes Aragorn's return as king. There is a video clip of this scene on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfh9Ypgfp7Q.
Question: After Pippin touches the Palantir and he is lying on the ground, is he dead then brought to life by Gandalf? I was under the impression he was dead at first because he is lying with his eyes open then Gandalf closes his eyes with his hand. Why is he lying with his eyes open? Why does Gandalf put his hand over his eyes?
Question: Are there any places where I can find deleted scenes of this movie that never made it into the Theatrical or Extended releases?
Chosen answer: Sadly, there has been no release of scenes that did not feature on the extended or theatrical film. Some scenes that didn't make it into films can be glimpsed in the behind-the-scenes footage included with the DVDs or blu-ray.
Question: Why is Gollum surprised when Frodo reveals to him that he intends to destroy the Ring? Didn't he know that since he was leading Frodo and Sam to Mordor that that was their goal?
Chosen answer: Actually no, he didn't. He had no idea what they were planning to do in Mordor, and he didn't really care. Gollum is obsessed with one thing and one thing only, getting the ring back. He agrees to lead Frodo, partly because he's scared of the ring and is compelled to obey its current owner, but mostly because he's waiting for a chance to get it back. Maybe a sane person would have questioned Frodo's motives and realised his intention, but Gollum is hardly sane, is he?
Question: This question pertains to all the films, particularly the extended edition of this film. It might seem odd to ask, but how exactly does Saruman get on top of the Orthanc? We see him there in FOTR a couple times then in ROTK (extended). Also, in ROTK extended when Gandalf and co are talking to him, the Orthanc is a tall structure so how can they all hear each other so well?
Answer: For the first question, the most likely answer is there must have been some kind of staircase that lead up there although the exit wasn't clearly visible. Remember that grima wormtongue had no trouble getting up there in the extended edition. For the second question, since Saruman is a wizard, he is clearly able to project his voice down to them and have no trouble hearing them.
Chosen answer: Quite a lot of significance, yes. Okay, deep breath, here goes. Back before the First Age, there was a time referred to as "The Years of the Trees". At this time, before the sun and the moon, the domain of the Valar (local godlikes) was lit by the radiance of two revered and mystical trees. The elder tree, called Telperion, was known as the White Tree. Destroyed by Melkor, the first Dark Lord, shortly before the beginning of the First Age, its image was preserved by the Valar in a second tree, Galathilion, in the elven city of Tirion (and Telpirion's last flower was set in the sky, the light now known as the moon). Seedlings of Galathilion was the source of many trees throughout the kingdoms of men and elves. One of the most famous of these was the tree Nimloth that grew in the royal courts in the prosperous human kingdom of Numenor. Sauron's influence ultimately allowed him to take control of Numenor's government, and he had Nimloth burnt, seeing it as a link to the Valar, his enemies. However, Isildur saved one of the fruits of the tree and took it with him to Middle-Earth after the fall of Numenor. He planted it there, in the Gondorian citadel of Minas Ithil (later to fall to the Nazgul and become Minas Morgul). Seedlings from that tree was planted in Minas Tirith, and, since that time, a White Tree has always grown there. So the Gondorians see the tree as a link to their founders, to the fabled kingdom of Numenor and ultimately to the Valar themselves.
Tailkinker ★