Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a masterpiece that brought new generations of fans to Middle-earth. The movies are full of breathtaking vistas of New Zealand's beauty and detailed handcrafted sets. Combined with unforgettable music and outstanding acting, it is no wonder that this rendition of the most famous fantasy books earned so many awards.

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The series broke into mainstream culture in a way that no other high fantasy series had managed before. Some of the scenes featured throughout the trilogy have reached even higher fame to where avid fantasy fans and casual movie watchers alike can recognize them.

Updated May 23, 2024 by Matthew Weideman: The Lord of the Rings remains one of the most beloved fantasy stories, and audiences love returning to Middle-earth when they get the chance. With many exciting projects for the franchise coming up, like War of the Rohirrim and the recently announced Gollum movie, this list was expanded to include five more iconic scenes from Peter Jackson's trilogy.

1 Smeagol Banishes Gollum

Smeagol Yells At His Alter-Ego To Leave And Never Come Back

• Takes place in The Two Towers

Gollum was once a hobbit-like creature named Smeagol. After finding the One Ring, he fell under its corruption and ended up developing a second personality. This second personality was named Gollum after the awful coughing sound he often made. Gollum dominated the pair for most of the centuries that the creature spent in the caves of the Misty Mountains.

At the start of The Two Towers, Smeagol finally begins to make a comeback because Frodo is the first person to show genuine kindness and compassion towards him in hundreds of years. Smeagol eventually finds the strength to stand up to Gollum and banishes him so that Smeagol can be happy with his new master. The scene is cleverly shot by having the two personalities shown at different camera angles, and Andy Serkis' performance as Gollum/Smeagol is incredible.

2 The Battle Of Helm's Deep Begins

The Tension In The Atmosphere Is Palpable

• Takes place in The Two Towers

After Saruman's treachery was fully understood, King Theoden ordered Rohan's people to retreat to the fortress of Helm's Deep. While it was the nation's mightiest stronghold, it was also what Saruman was hoping would happen. The White Wizard unleashed his army of thousands of uruk-hai to the fortress, seeking to end Rohan in service to the Dark Lord Sauron.

Tensions grow between characters as they realize that they are trapped in the fortress, and will have to survive against an army that is better prepared, better equipped, and more numerous than them. The men and elves take their places on the walls of Helm's Deep and watch the evil army approach. Rain begins to fall as the battle for a nation begins.

3 A Ringwraith Searches For The Hobbits

The Stakes Are Raised For The Unarmed Hobbits

• Takes place in The Fellowship of the Ring

Shortly after leaving the Shire, Frodo and Sam run into Merry and Pippin. The four hobbits end up standing on a road when Frodo urges the group to hide. Moments later a Nazgul, or Ringwraith, shows up on horseback.

The hobbits crouch out of sight under a large root sticking out of the ground as the wraith stops to search for the Ring. The Ring nearly succeeds in getting Frodo to put it on, but Pippin throws a bag of mushrooms to distract the wraith before he gives in. Seeing the Nazgul inches away from the Ring is a suspenseful image so iconic that it was recreated from the animated movie.

4 Bilbo's Birthday Party

The Jollity Of Hobbits Is Shown Off

• Takes place in The Fellowship of the Ring

In contrast to much of the rest of the trilogy, the scenes showing the Shire and its small inhabitants are filled with joy and laughter. Hobbits, as Bilbo says, love good food, brewing ales, gardening, and sharing company with one another. Nowhere is that more apparent than Bilbo's 111th birthday party, to which nearly every hobbit in the Shire was invited.

The happiness in this scene shows off the character of the hobbits in addition to setting up the contrast to the struggle that will be faced for the rest of the trilogy. It is also the scene with Bilbo's unforgettable quote about how he likes less than half the hobbits half as much as they deserve. The audience and Frodo also get to see the One Ring's invisibility power, as Bilbo disappears mid-speech.

5 The Last March Of The Ents

Nature Overtakes The Industrious Saruman

• Takes place in The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is full of inspirational speeches and emotional moments. The ents had remained neutral throughout the conflict between good and evil, stating that nobody was on their side. Pippin, however, had plans to push them into attacking Isengard, which would ultimately help save all of Middle-earth.

Treebeard, upon seeing part of his forest laid to waste by Saruman, roared out in anguish to summon his fellow ents. He gives a rousing speech declaring his intention to fight one last time before leading his people to destroy all of Saruman's forces.

6 Sam Fights Shelob

The Giant Spider Is Defeated

• Takes place in The Return of the King

While climbing the treacherous Winding Stair carved into the cliffs of Mordor, Gollum tricked Frodo into forcing Sam to turn around and leave him. Neither of the hobbits knew that at the top of the cliff was a giant spider named Shelob's lair. After struggling against the great beast, Frodo was eventually overpowered, and Shelob wrapped him in webbing to be eaten later.

Sam, having discovered Gollum's plot, had turned around and climbed up the stairs alone. Armed with the Phial of Galadriel and the sword Sting, Sam confronted the great beast in a harrowing battle. While the spider was not killed, Sam did manage to stab out one of her eyes and wound her enough that she retreated into her labyrinth of tunnels.

7 The War Of The Last Alliance

A Grand Telling Of The One Ring's History

• Takes place in The Fellowship of the Ring

Audiences need to be at least somewhat familiar with thousands of years of mythical history to truly grasp the importance of Frodo's quest to destroy the One Ring, and the opening scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring tell the story in an epic way. Galadriel narrates the Ring's creation as the audience gets glimpses of characters that are revered by the main cast of the films.

At the end of the sequence, the men of Númenor ally with the elves of Middle-Earth to confront Sauron in the land of Mordor. The battle could easily serve as a climactic action sequence, and so seeing the huge armies clash within the first minutes of the opening film truly sets the tone for the trilogy.

8 Rohirrim Charge At Helm's Deep

Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat

• Takes place in The Two Towers

The Battle At Helm's Deep is one of the greatest fantasy battles to appear on the big screen. Rohan's mightiest fortress had never been breached before, so it was a natural choice for Theoden to trust in it to keep his people safe from Saruman's army.

There was no way for him to know that the white wizard had concocted gunpowder bombs in addition to the perfected orcs that served as his foot soldiers. With the outer wall reduced to rubble, the forces of Rohan were forced to retreat to the innermost keep. Just as defeat looked inevitable, the sunlight covered the valley, revealing Gandalf, Eomer, and 2,000 fresh riders. Their triumphant charge down the hill blinded and killed the remaining Uruk-hai and won the day.

9 "That Still Only Counts As One"

Legolas Shows Off His Skills, And Gimli Reminds Him Of The Rules

• Takes place in The Return of the King

Sauron's armies appeared at the Battle of Pelennor Fields outside the walls of Minas Tirith in several waves. The first wave was the army of orcs with siege towers and battering rams. The second, showing up just as the Rohirrim wiped out the orcs, were men from the East riding giant elephant-like beasts called mumakil.

Platforms with archers rested on the rampaging beasts' backs, wreaking havoc on Rohan's line of cavalry. Legolas, seeing the opportunity to take one out, climbs on top of a mumakil and cuts the ropes holding the platforms steady. After killing the remaining riders, he shoots the beast in the head and slides off its trunk only to be met with Gimli's famous quip, "That still only counts as one!"

10 The Council Of Elrond

A Key Turning Point For The Quest

• Takes place in The Fellowship of the Ring

When the Council of Elrond began in Rivendell, Frodo was convinced that his part in the Ring's story was over. He had only originally agreed to meet Gandalf with it in Bree and had gone significantly further by getting to Rivendell with help from his fellow hobbits and Aragorn.

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It became clear to Frodo that the leaders of the races gathered in Rivendell would never be able to agree on who to trust with the Ring itself, however, and so he volunteered to bear it further. Frodo's impactful decision, along with many well-remembered lines uttered by the soon-to-be Fellowship members, immortalized this scene for fans.

11 The Fellowship Walking Montage

The Movie's Anthem Plays As The Fellowship Embarks

• Takes place in The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings is as much about the journey as it is about the eventual destination. No other scene captures this more than when the Fellowship leaves from Rivendell and marches across the Misty Mountains.

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With an iconic and triumphant score, the Fellowship is shown walking up mountains, along the ridges of giant ravines, and past old ruins. The sheer scale and beauty of Middle-earth are on full display here, and the audience gets a sense of how epic the Fellowship's journey will be if the protagonists have to travel all the way to Mordor.

12 Aragorn's Speech At The Black Gate

The Final Battle Requires An Epic Rallying Speech

• Takes place in The Return of the King

In the wake of Sauron's defeat at Minas Tirith, the thousands of orcs under his control remained in Mordor. This seemed like good news to the battle's survivors, but their only hope of ever defeating Sauron for good lay in the chance that Frodo could get the Ring to Mount Doom. Therefore, goading Sauron into mobilizing his army away from Mordor was the only hope for Middle-earth's survival.

With such grim stakes, the small army of surviving men from Gondor and Rohan stood hopelessly outnumbered against the orcs at the Black Gate. Aragorn, ever the great leader, rides out front and delivers an inspirational speech to rally the men to fight in this very last battle. Gondor's new King relates to the soldiers and spurs them on to fight for the fate of everyone they love, ending his speech with a quiet "For Frodo" before leading the charge himself.

13 Aragorn's Coronation

Emotional Catharsis For The Main Characters

• Takes place in The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a notoriously long series, with the Ring finally being destroyed around twelve hours after the opening lines of the first movie. However, with so many different characters and story arcs to wrap up, the Ring's destruction is still not the end of the journey.

The audience gets to witness Aragorn's coronation ceremony, in which he officially becomes Gondor's king and finally reunites with Arwen, the love of his life. Aragorn then makes his way to where the four hobbits stand, who bow at him like they are his subjects. With crescendoing emotional music, Aragorn recognizes the merit of his former companions with a soft declaration - "My friends, you bow to no one" and instead bows down to them. The hobbits stand in awe as hundreds of people recognize their heroism and great deeds.

14 Rohirrim Charge At Pelennor Fields

A Triumphant & Hopeful Charge For The People Of Middle-Earth

• Takes place in The Return of the King

Gondor's army steadily lost ground once the battle for Minas Tirith began. Trolls pushed siege towers to the walls, and the gates were breached with a massive battering ram called Grond. Like in Helm's Deep, the day seemed all but lost until the riders of Rohan appeared on the horizon.

King Theoden shouted orders to his generals and then gave a rousing speech to the assembled army. The speech grows into a chant, shouted in unison by all seven thousand horsemen. The final shout of "Death!" is accompanied by war horns and majestic trumpets as their horses crash into the back flank of the orc army spread across the fields of Pelennor.

15 Bridge Of Khazad-Dum

A Devastating Moment That Shook The Fellowship

• Takes place in The Fellowship of the Ring

The Balrog is a demon left on Middle-earth after the fall of Sauron's master, Morgoth. Gandalf knew that the Fellowship was not equipped to fight such a foe after journeying through Moria and urged his companions to flee.

The bridge leaving Moria from the eastern side was only wide enough to allow an army to pass through in a single file as a defensive measure. Gandalf chose this choke point to stand his ground against the Balrog. After using magic to endure the demon's fiery blows, Gandalf uttered the famous line "You shall not pass!" and struck the bridge with his staff to destroy it. The courage and power displayed by Gandalf elevated this scene to a level above the rest of the trilogy. Though it initially seemed like a victorious moment, Gandalf was quickly dragged into the depths with the Balrog, leaving the Fellowship to think he was gone for good.

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