During the holiday season of 2018, this author will be revisiting all of Middle Earth. Starting with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and going all the way through The Return of the King, it is going to be 18 hours of Tolkien goodness. When was the last time you all watched the original The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Still, to date, Peter Jackson’s masterpiece has yet to be touched in quality among the epic fantasy genre. One of the greatest parts of the trilogy is the design of Middle Earth. Peter Jackson transformed his picturesque home country of New Zealand into his magical backdrop. To this day, it is possible to travel to Kiwi country and visit Hobbiton. Rarely do movies catch the imagination of the audience so powerfully that they yearn for the settings to be real. Here are the top ten Lord of the Rings settings we would all love to visit.
The Shire
How much fun does the Shire look? Its greenery, the music, the dancing, and all if the food; it all just sets a positive mood. When The Fellowship of the Ring opens, Gandalf has arrived for Bilbo’s birthday. It is a joyous occasion that really underlines what happy-go-lucky creatures Hobbits are. So when Frodo, Sam, Merry, & Pippin leave and run into danger, it makes it all the more poignant. The rest of the trilogy is ultra-serious, violent, and dark. It was nice of Peter Jackson to ease us into that.
Rivendell
Rivendell is a city if the elves, and it is the one place that Frodo is safe in all of Middle Earth. Once Arwen successfully gets Frodo across the Ford of Brunien, the house of Elrond and the medicine of the elves saves Frodo’s live from the Morgul blade wound. The architecture, the calming music, the waterfalls; it is truly the most gorgeous of all of the Lord of the Rings settings.
Minas Tirith
The white city. The main citadel of Gondor. Minas Tirith is a Lord of the Rings setting that comes into play during the Battle of Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King. We do get a glimpse of the city early on in the trilogy as Gandalf has arrived to research Bilbo’s ring. Osgiliath is the port city that is crumbling, overrun, and caused Faramir’s banishment. It is a depressing and horrible omen. However, the beautifully spiraling, epically constructed monolith of Minas Tirith shines like a beacon of hope as the world of Men fight for their lives.
Fangorn Forest
Early on in The Two Towers, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are in pursuit of the orc pack that has taken Merry and Pippin. With the help of Eomer and the Riders of Rohan, Merry and Pippin escape. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli discover the slaughtered remains of the orcs and they realize the hobbits escaped into Fangorn Forest. The look of horror and disbelief on their face says it all. Fangorn is a twisted nightmare of roots, branches, webs, and darkness. It is as if Dr. Seuss was hanging out with the Brothers Grimm and having a REALLY bad day. The forest is where Merry and Pippin encounter Treebeard and the ents, leading to their reunification with Gandalf. If you had the courage, it would be a grotesquely beautiful Lord of the Rings setting to visit.
Edoras
Edoras is the manor atop the hill and the surrounding city where King Theoden presides over the kingdom of Rohan. Admittedly, a lot of the cinematic appeal of Rohan comes through James Horner’s spectacular Rohan theme. However, it is unique among the Lord of the Rings settings because it is warmer and more “real”, being full of beautiful wooden structures and sculptures.
Lothlorien
Lothlorien is The second city of elves that Frodo encounters in The Fellowship of the Ring. The fellowship stumbles upon it while strolling through the Golden Wood. Gimli speaks so loud that Haldir exclaims that they could have shot him in the dark. Unlike Rivendell, Lothlorien has a melancholy beauty and the fellowship’s interactions with Lady Galadriel are unnerving and frightening. Still, it is a pivotal Lord of the Rings setting for the plot and is more dreamlike than any other place in Middle Earth.
Moria
Dwarves are not well represented in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. Other than a few other unnamed dwarves at the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli is their only ambassador. However, we get quite the backstory about dwarves through the design and majesty of Moria. Gandalf did not want to venture through the Mines of Moria but agreed to it. It was a decision that would end in tragedy when he faces off against the Balrog. Though, there is no denying that the dwarven race is full of skilled miners, stoneworkers, and architects. Moria is vast, epic, and gorgeous. It is just shame that Gimli’s brethren were slaughtered by the invading goblins, orcs, and trolls.
The Argonath
If there is one place in all of Middle Earth that accentuates the magic and scale of what Peter Jackson achieved, it has to be the Argonath. After the remaining fellowship leaves the hospitality of the Lothlorien elves, they all take small boats down the Anduin. It is comprised of two gargantuan stone sculptures of Isildur and Anarion. The Pillars of the Kings, as it is also called, denotes the northern border of Gondor. When the fellowship lays their eyes on the incredible monoliths, they are in complete awe, just as the audience is.
The Black Gates of Mordor
Visiting the Black Gates of Mordor may result in instant death, but that doesn’t mean that they are not an amazing achievement of design. Say what you will about Sauron, Saruman, and their armies, but they were pretty incredible engineers. However, to be there when Aragorn utters For Frodo and leads the final assault would be amazing. The gates’ spectacular destruction after the toppling of Barad-dur is spectacular.
Helm’s Deep
The Battle of Helm’s Deep has been called the greatest, most epic battle scene in the history of cinema. It is very hard to argue against that assessment. As Sarumon’s White-Hand army encroaches on Rohan, Theoden orders his subjects to Helms Deep. It is an enormous keep that has not been breached in generations. Theoden realizes that the keep is Rohan’s best chance at survival. However, it is not just a big castle. It is an elaborate city built into a mountain. It has the causeway, the keep, and the enormous wall. When the battle begins in true Henry V fashion, this titan among Lord of the Rings settings erupts into chaos. For the rest of the film, we are dazzled by the design as well as the battle action.
