| abstract | - The only scene that surpassed it is when Pippin tells Denethor the story and Denethor's reactions to his words.
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* And his ultimate acceptance of Aragorn's role in the whole business. "I would have followed you. My brother...my captain...my king."
* And of course... "They took the little ones!" It says something here about Boromir's development that when Aragorn reaches him, the only thing on his mind is not that he's riddled with arrows and about to die, but that the hobbits are in danger and he can't save them.
* My Year 5 teacher, in an attempt to win my fantasy-hating class over to LOTR, played us this scene. Every time he fell we yelled encouragement to try and get him up again, and by the time he died, even the hardest wannabe-gangster was crying, and I reckon I can chart my entry to geekdom at that point.
* Anyone whose read the books will know what's coming, but to actually see it in action is just heartwrenching. You see Lurtz walk down the slope, and raise his bow while Boromir is fighting, and then he jerks, an arrow protruding from his chest. He staggers, but he keeps on fighting. despite this horrible injury, he raises his weapon against the enemy again. Lurtz raises his bow and fires again, and the mighty warrior falls to his knees. He looks up at the horrified hobbits, panting in pain and exhaustion, and the realization that he's not going to survive hits him...and he stands up and keeps fighting. Then the third, inevitable arrow hits, and we know its coming so much that the movie doesn't even need to show it being fired. And Boromir falls.
* This editor tears up at one other Boromir scene... when he's sitting in Lothlorien, talking to Aragorn about Minas Tirith, and the love he feels for his city is both astoundingly clear and strong and heartbreaking, because if you've read the books, or seen the movie already, you know he's never going to see his beloved home again.
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* Funny how so many of the Tear Jerker moments in the films coincide with speeches taken straight from the books. Sean Bean's delivery was spot-on here; this troper, who didn't even care that much about Boromir in the books, teared up at that.
* Not to mention "Where Is [sic] The Horse And The Rider?"
* Particularly the shot of the little boy being handed an axe and having a far too large helmet placed on his head...it both made quite clear the true horror of war, and wrenched at the heart as you realized his likely fate well in advance, even if they never did show it. And the mother sobbing in protest while they pull her early-teenage-looking son away from her to be kitted out.
* just at the end of that shot: although the soldiers pull the teenager away to arm him, you can see one of the soldiers lay a hand on the boy's shoulder, as if to say: "It'll be all right, son. Be brave."
* Gandalf and Pippin's talk waiting for almost certain death during the siege of Minas Tirith did it for me. Gandalf was being very reassuring about how 'this is not the end' but seeing them calmly prepare themselves to facing death during the upcoming restart of the battle was extremely moving. Pippin is afraid to die and Gandalf reassures him that death is the next adventure.
* For this Troper, its this one line that Gandalf says, along with the accompanying orchestral version of "Into the West": "The gray rain-curtain of this world rolls aside and all turns to silver glass; and then you see it: white shores, and beyond, a far green country into a swift sunrise." If that isn't a damned good description of whatever world waits beyond this one, then I don't know what is.
* It's just sad that this scene is spoiled a bit for readers of the book, because it is, in the end, misinformation. The quote describes Frodo's experience of arriving in the West; but dead humans' and (presumably) hobbits' souls do not stay in this world, but leave it for a fate unknown.
* No it's not. Frodo, like Sam, as a bearer of the Ring, is sort-of an Eldar now; thus he passes into the West to Valinor along with Gandalf and the rest of the remaining Noldor.
* It was the look of absolute resignation on Pippin's face that reduced this troper to sobbing pitifully.
* How about when everyone bows down to the hobbits ("You bow to no one!") at the end of Return of the King? That's one of the most powerful moments in the trilogy.
* This troper, for one, was misty-eyed before but just started bawling at that point: the hobbits standing there shell-shocked, awkward and looking so young in their finery, as first the King, then an entire cityful of people kneel before them and do them honor.
* Denethor and Faramir, before Faramir rides off to try to retake Osgiliath. It's one thing to have favorites, but tell your son that you wish he were dead and the other were alive? And the way Faramir's voice breaks, and he goes off on basically a suicide mission, and his father still doesn't care?
* Not to mention the scene with Faramir's charge itself with Pippin singing on the soundtrack. Eerily beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking.
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* Oh good god -yes-! Faramir was always This Troper's favourite character, his love for his city and his people is just as strong as Boromir's, and yet his father never sees him for what he is. Then Denethor admits that he wished Faramir had died...having tried (and succeeded, mostly) to keep stony-faced throughout the beginning of the movie, that one sentence and Faramir's reaction just set it off.
* What really tops that whole scene off is that long shot of Gandalf at the end, sitting all by himself in the shadows, in one of the most understated Heroic BSODs.
* Even though anyone with the least bit of Genre Savvy should know that Frodo will Get Better after getting stung by Shelob, Samwise doesn't, and his plea for Frodo not to 'go where I can't follow', not least of which because it sums up the very best of Sam and Frodo's relationship so succinctly.
* Théoden and Gandalf standing outside Théodred's grave.
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* the next line, when he looks straight at Gandalf and says, very quietly, "No parent should have to bury their child."
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* The thing that made this Troper sob was the song in the extended version - in Old English, sang by Eowyn in a voice at the verge of breaking down.
* I lost my little sister. She was treated at St. Jude Children's Hospital. Their big saying, from the founder, Danny Thomas, is "No child should die in the dawn of their life." The line in the movies is so similar, and... everything, my whole damn family starts sobbing, or at the very least tears up.
* At the time Tolkien composed his first draft, his three sons served in England's fight against the Nazis. Given his own experience in the First World War, Tolkien knew the odds.
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* Oh, now you've gone and done it... I can't see the screen.
* However, the "no parent should have to bury their child" line was added by Bernard Hill. He heard it from a woman who had lost a child, and felt that he had to add it. Damn good actors.
* A number of lines that weren't in the books were in full keeping with the spirit of them and flowed just fine for this "the books are the Bible" troper -- who felt that line was one of them.
* That line didn't faze this troper the first time he saw the movie in theaters, then he lost his brother who was Théodred's age at the time.
* For this troper, the Tear Jerker moment comes during the sacking of Rohan, when Eothain and Freyda are hoisted onto the horse by their emotional mother, and sent to Edoras to raise the alarm. Tears flow freely again when the three are reunited at Helm's Deep.
* The worst part of it is that Freyda doesn't understand what's going on, and can only protest that "Papa said Eothain is not to ride Garulf! He is too big for him!" And then you remember that Papa is probably lying face-down in a ditch somewhere with half a dozen arrows sticking out of him... Or that Eothain does understand what is happening and is near tears. Hell, everything that happens to Rohan in TTT counts as a Tearjerker for this troper.
* This troper wept at the scene in the Extended Edition where Éomer catches sight of Éowyn (who wasn't even meant to be in the battle) lying apparently dead on the Pelennor Fields, and this proud, poised warrior throws away his sword, drops everything and runs to cradle his little sister's body, howling with raw grief. It's even worse when you remember that this was the last thing he expected to see--not only was she not meant to be in the battle, but he thought she was safe and in Rohan.
* And similarly, when Pippin finds Merry's cloak on the battlefield and realizes that he was in the battle is a tearjerking moment. Especially in the extended edition when several hours are shown to have passed before he finally finds him.
* It is a Tear Jerker for somewhat different reasons, but the Houses of Healing scene with the gorgeous, haunting song sung by Liv Tyler where Éowyn gets up in the middle of the night and walks to her window and then catches Faramir looking at her as if he's just seen an angel...
* And also the scene where Éowyn is standing alone staring desolately into the East and Faramir walks up to her to give her some meaningful words of encouragement while still looking at her like she's the most amazing thing he's ever seen. Then she contently leans into him and they clasp hands. Awwww. Also counts as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
* This troper was very pleased to find out those scenes made it it into the Extended Edition, because "The Houses of Healing" is probably his favourite chapter from the books. It's a tiny moment of peace and happiness for Eowyn and Faramir, after both of them have lost so much, in what may be the last days either of them spend alive. Also, there's no page-long descriptions of cliffs.
* The parting of Merry and Pippin in the third film brings a tear to my eye. In particular when Merry gives Gandalf a look as if "can we please get this over with?" and Pippin cries out his friend's name. Not to mention the way Dominic Monaghan's voice utterly breaks on the "I don't know what's going to happen anymore" line as he steps away.
* The beautiful speech that Elrond gives to his daughter in The Two Towers gets to this troper every time. The soundtrack and Hugo Weaving's perfect delivery are just... bawww.
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* It's even worse if you've read the books. Then you'd know that every word Elrond says is true, that she will spend her time with Aragorn, bear a son and at least two daughters, and then her husband will voluntarily lay down his life. Arwen returns to Lothlorien, where she used to live with her mother and grandmother, and finds it completely empty, abandoned and silent, all her people having returned to Valinor, lies down on the grass of Cerin Amroth and effectively dies of a broken heart. Her true tragedy is that she knew this would happen when she gave up immortality for her husband, and for love, she chose a path that guaranteed widowhood and isolation from her people, culture and family forever until the end of the world.
* "Your fingers might remember their former strength better, if they were to grasp your sword." Or something similar. The moment when Théoden takes his sword brought tears to my eyes, much thanks to Éowyn's tears and the amazing Rohan theme (IMHO the best piece of music in the entire trilogy score) rising to its climax.
* When the Mouth of Sauron tells them Frodo is dead. The look on Pippin's face when he holds Frodo's mithril vest, and Gandalf comforting him. Aragorn's whacking off the head of the Mouth of Sauron is highly cathartic.
* An example of Howard Shore's music pulling at them heart strings, just the scene when the fellowship enter the halls of Moria and Shore's music swells. You'll tear up at the beauty of an ancient land lost.
* This troper started to tear up the minute they got into Moria, knowing what was about to happen, again when Gandalf read the Book of Mazarbul and turned into a complete soggy mess when the Balrog appeared. Even though I have had the books practically memorized since I was a teenager (more years ago than I care to remember) and knew he would be back, oh shit, oh shit.
* The death of Haldir and the Lothlórien Guard. Though he was only a minor character seeing his last moments alive, looking in half shock at the dead bodies of his men gave some real insight into his thoughts. He knew he had led these men directly to their deaths, with their race fading and dying out he had taken a considerable number of them directly into a meat grinder to help their allies. And as none were seen hiding in Helms Deep at the end, the film suggests they were all butchered.
* "Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!"
* "HAIL!"
* The death of Haldir was a tear-jerking moment, but seeing the anguished expression on Aragorn, who then rushed over and cradled Haldir... that made this troper shed more tears!
* The scene with Frodo and Sam following the destruction of the Ring. First, you have Frodo realizing that his burden is gone ("It's gone... It's done."), then, while trapped on a rock in a sea of lava, Frodo recalls the Shire again, which makes Sam think of Rosie Cotton ("If ever I was to marry someone... It would've been her... It would've been her."). Because let's face it, where else in the trilogy does Sam get the chance to be selfish (and justifiably, too)? And then, to cap it all off, Frodo's delivery of the line, "I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee... here at the end of all things."
* And this troper always tears up when Frodo and Sam see that solitary star through the clouds while on the slopes of Mount Doom.
* For me it's the goddamn music again! It's so hopeful and happy and for a second there you might think they're going to die with such happy music playing *tear*
* Elrond's face at Aragorn's coronation, as he watches Arwen go to her mortal love. He's so torn between joy that all is well and Arwen is with someone she loves and grief that she has chosen mortality that it tore this troper up inside.
* For this troper the first Tear Jerker of the trilogy is actually when Frodo is attacked by the cave troll in Moria. The looks on the faces of his friends afterward, and then how they all keep fighting harder just because of what happened, are bad enough, but the way that Aragorn (who was wounded) crawls to Frodo and then whispers "Oh, no..." just had her in tears.
* When the Men force Frodo to lure Smeagol to him so they can capture him in The Two Towers. It's terrible luck, because it invokes Gollum to come back and gleefully give Smeagol an "I told you so" regarding the lies he had told Smeagol about Frodo being corrupt. Gollm/Smeagol is so tormented, and Frodo's friendship was his one last hope.
* To me, the great Gollum-related Tear Jerker is when he falls into the fires of Mount Doom, blisfully unaware that he's falling, clutching his "Precious" to the very end... and the last thing he sees is the Ring, still quite fine, abandoning and betraying him for the very last time.
* The scene where Gondor's cavalry marches to what we all know will be a losing battle in Osgiliath, where the citizens all toss flowers before their feet, and where one guard even receives a flower directly from hand-to-hand. That guard will always stand out to me.
* At the end of RotK, as Elrond is just passing Arwen on to Aragorn, look at Hugo Weaving's eyes. It barely lasts a quarter of a second but it was enough to turn the triumphant feeling having watched the entire trilogy back to back to one of sadness and empathy.
* When Frodo angrily tells Sam to go home.
* The Hobbits saying good-bye at Grey Havens.
* Another one that's in the Appendices: The crew had become acquainted with a teenage filmmaker who had a lot of talent - unfortunately he also had terminal cancer. They encouraged him to keep making movies as long as he could, even allowing the use of their high-tech equipment as much as he wanted. During this time they were writing "Into The West" and became inspired by his struggle; after he died the song was played for the first time at his funeral and they included his story and movies in the DVDs.
* "DEATH!!!"
* Your Mileage May Vary, but the development of Merry and Eowyn's friendship in the films has always gotten me, especially "I'll look after you", Eowyn's reaction to thinking Merry's been squashed by an oliphaunt, and the fact that just after having slain the Witch King, she's trying to find him.
* "Courage, Merry. Courage for our friends."
* Wormtongue shedding a tear as Saruman addresses his 10,000 Uruk-Hai, realizing that his actions may have doomed his race to genocide.
* This Troper was moved by Wormtongue's tear, but thought it was rather his utter overwhelmed awe at the massive army Saruman had amassed. (Note that his dialogue just before the reveal was that there was "no such army" as could take Helm's Deep.)
* Actually, the extended edition scene featuring Saruman and Wormtongue's death also seems to support the former; that Wormtongue still remembers that he was once "a man of Rohan" and is tormented by the fact that he sold Rohan out.
* At the Battle of Helm's Deep, when, at the most desperate moment, Gandalf and Eomer and his men sweep down the hillside, pure white light streaming from Gandalf's staff. We've just watched the motley defenders of Helm's Deep ground down to hopeless despair by the seemingly invincible Uruk-hai, and those beams of light, the accompanying music, and the startled, fearful expressions on the Uruk-hai's faces -- the poignance of the moment, the almost gentle lift after a seeming eternity of grinding down, always breaks me down.
* ONE line from Pippin always gets me. "The strongest man may be slain by one arrow. Boromir was pierced by many."
* Bilbo's tearful apology to Frodo for having given him the ring, just before the fellowship set off from Rivendell.
* I distinctly remember the first time I saw Rot K in theaters. A huge Tolkien fan, I'd enjoyed the previous two films, but had been nervous about Rot K after Two Towers made me feel "meh" - not bad, just not as overwhelmingly awesome as Fot R. I cried three times in the theater: first, when the Rohirrim came charging down the hill into the army of Mordor ("it's so... beautiful... and heroic!"); second, when Barad-Dur collapsed and Sauron imploded (I knew it was coming, but I still cried for joy because "they did it!"); third, at the Grey Havens (I'd recently graduated high school and gone to college hundreds of miles from home, and the hobbits reminded me of my friends back home - especially Sam).
* Further, I still cry at the Grey Havens, and usually during the credits with "Into the West." I commented on the relevant paragraph in the Book section, but something about the phrasing always makes me look forward to what comes after, and the last image of Frodo evokes the words before "Into the West" begins. The effect is further reinforced by Annie Lennox's vocals and Howard Shore's instrumentals. Mr. Shore is a fucking genius.
* This Troper agrees with all the former examples (god, this trilogy is one big Tear Jerker!) but would like to add one scene, or at least her interpretation of it. It's Rivendell, circa Fellowship of the Ring. Sam talks about wanting to go home, and Frodo realizes: sure, why not? After all, he got the Ring to Rivendell like he was supposed to. His job is done, so what's to stop him from leaving? (...Meanwhile, Gandalf pleads with Elrond to not burden Frodo with the Ring, knowing what it would most likely do to his young friend.) Then cue the Council meeting. It's a complete disaster. Nobody can agree on anything, Boromir wants the Ring for himself, Gimli won't work with elves, and everyone is arguing... hell, even Gandalf is yelling. The Ring is spreading chaos and malcontent. Then Frodo, visibly overwhelmed, stands up and says, "I'll do it"... and at first nobody hears him, but then Gandalf does and just closes his eyes...
* Followed of course by the Fellowships' pledges, with one brave Hobbit uniting all these disagreeing minds.
* Arwen's flash of prophecy in Return of the King as she sees Aragorn holding a little boy, wearing the Evenstar, and realizes what it means. She rides hell for leather back to Rivendell, and storms up to her father:
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* That scene, indeed, is a comfort against Elrond's dire prediction for Arwen: thought Aragorn will pass away, he will always be alive in his son's eyes.
* Bilbo after the ring is destroyed. It's heartbreaking to see someone who used to be so feisty and child-like suddenly become so old and fragile. His conversation with Frodo in the cart- his confusion and the fact that he needs to be rugged up carefully to keep warm.
* And at the Grey Havens, one last glimpse of the old adventurous spirited Bilbo- the gleam in his eyes and the eager tone when he says "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure."
* "The fires of Isengard will spread. And the woods of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn. And- and all that was once green and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin."
* This troper has cried quite a bit during these movies, both tears of... well, as a reaction to something completely amazing and tears of sadness. The death of Boromir is the first, then the battle of Helm's Deep and Haldir's death (Damn you, Peter Jackson! He wasn't supposed to die!), Faramir's memory of the taking of Osgiliath, when Gandalf tells Pippin that death is not the end, the charge of the Rohirrim at Pelennor Fields (this is one of those crying because it's so amazing moments), and then the end when Frodo sails for Valinor. Not to mention, this troper was also reduced to tears by the last disk of the Appendices.
* The ending at Grey Havens. Full stop. If You've somehow gotten through this trilogy without shedding a tear, prepare for full on weeping. The scene really brings home the franchise: We're followed these characters in the good times and the bad, seen Them suffer loss and heartbreak, and struggle on when They could have given up many times over. And now it is at an end. If it doesn't bring You to tears, ask Your doctor to see if Your heart has turned to ice.
* This troper would like to say that since he was giving so many Manly Tears during the movies that just reading this page brings tears to his eyes.
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