Movie Moments: The Riders of Rohan break the lines of Mordor

                                        (here is the moment courtesy of psyduck131)

The moment when the riders of Rohan break the lines of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is close to being the best scene in the  entire LOTR trilogy. It also represents a decisive shift in the fortunes of the protagonists/heroes  who up until that point existed in a very despairing and desperate atmosphere. It also exorcised several demons and questioned the belief that the world of men in Middle Earth would fall. When the riders of Rohan break the lines of the very imposing Mordor army, that were ruthlessly besieging the city of Minas Tirith at that point, the great Battle of the Pelennor fields takes place. According to Tolkien lore the battle of the Pelennor fields was the greatest battle of the Third Age. The focus here is not on that particular battle but on the lines of Mordor being broken by the riders of Rohan and how it represented a decisive shift. It is also a quite stirring, dramatic moment and is a reflection of why the LOTR trilogy is a great series of films.

Why is this charge by the riders of Rohan or the Rohirrim, that breaks the lines of Mordor, so significant as  a movie moment? This moment actually challenged one of the main beliefs held throughout the trilogy that the world of men would fall. This was actually the major moment when this view point was challenged. The defeat of Saruman’s army at Helms Deep in The Two Towers was a precursor but it also depended a lot on riding out the storm and a lot of it depended on Gandalf. In this case men are taking charge of their own destiny. When the Rohirrim break the lines of Mordor, when compared with Helms Deep,  they are no longer the besieged but the aggressor. It is more significant than the dramatic moments at Helms Deep because although Saruman’s army was large it paled in comparison to the size of the army of Mordor that was besieging Minas Tirith. Although Gondor, where the city of Minas Tirith is located, is in a state of decay as exemplified by its weak de facto leader, Denethor the steward, it is still the major kingdom of men in Middle Earth. It was created by the race of numenoreans or those men that exhibit the highest qualities in Tolkien lore. It is from that race that Aragorn, the eventual returning king, was descended (how many people know that he was around 70 years old when he was crowned king?).  With all respect to Rohan they do not boast such a distinguished lineage.  In fact this is another reason that makes the ride special because Saruman, in The Two Towers,  labeled them as mere peasants or men from lowly stock. ‘Hey look at us now Saruman.’ It is still a lesser reason though and probably a superficial one when one considers the big picture.

The ‘doom of man’ is, therefore, challenged by this charge of the Rohirrim. From the beginning of the LOTR all one hears is that men are weak and easily corrupted as they grasp for power. So Aristotle was right when he said that man was a ‘political animal.’ The decline of man is more poignant because the elves are leaving Middle Earth and it is said, by Elrond,  that the dwarves only care about their treasure in the mountains. It is, therefore, hoped that the race of men would stake a claim by asserting their right to rule. They are called leaderless. They are considered leaderless because there is no leader that can unify the entire race. Once men remained divided they were considered easy pickings by their enemies.  One reflection of this division are those men that joined with Mordor and this basically meant that they sold their souls to Sauron the dark lord (I have a lot of issues with the semantics in the LOTR films and  books where white = purity and black=evil but that’s for another day). By the time we come to the film The Return of the King, Gothmog ,the chief lieutenant of the Mordor armies proclaims, after his forces overran one of the last lines of defense for Minas Tirith,  that the age of men is over and that ‘the time of the orc has come’.  This means that the shadow from Mordor will now be able to spread even further across Middle Earth.

The race of men, therefore, is considered in grave peril or on the verge of extinction. A theme that runs throughout. Gondor is not helped when their steward, Denethor, is also corrupted and so cannot inspire the people of the ailing city as the forces of Mordor approach. As ever Gandalf has to take up the slack and try to marshal the troops to put up some resistance instead of ‘fleeing for their lives’ as Denethor claimed the populace of Minas Tirith should do. It is clear, as the forces of Mordor begin their siege,  that  the city of Minas Tirith cannot hold out particularly after the main door is broken down. The orcs begin to swarm into the city in order to ‘kill all in their path’. The orcs are led by the Witch King of Angmar or the leader of the Nazgul or the wraiths who are Sauron’s chief servants. The witch king flying high on a hideous beast above the city is an intimidating prospect particularly with that screeching sound that he and the other wraiths like to emit and the imposing mask that he wears to distinguish himself from the rest.  Even before the battle the witch king  dismisses Gothmog’s concerns that Gandalf, the wizard will be a significant problem, because he claims that ‘I will break him.’ It is clear that the Witch king and Gothmog believe that they only have to worry about Gandalf, a wizard, because from their viewpoint the race of men are weak. This weakness was demonstrated when Denethor, the steward, foolishly or desperately, ordered his son Faramir to retake Osgiliath, the last line of defense which was now swarming with orcs. Faramir then  leads a puny cavalry charge that is completely decimated. A moment of madness that was reflective of weak leadership. This would only support the claim of the Witch king and Gothmog that men were weak and that the only concern would be Gandalf. Gandalf does not back down and  is always motivated to do his duty or to perform. Gandalf demonstrates throughout the entire trilogy that he has a very high work ethic. This eliminates a lot of his fear. As Denethor’s mind eventually crumbles Gandalf, predictably, takes charge of the armed forces in order to defend the city.  Despite his valiant efforts and those of the soldiers to stave off the  very large army of orcs the main door is still broken down by the huge hammer or battering ram called Grond. The orcs then come swarming in and the desperation and despair that is prevalent throughout these series of films is once again evident. It becomes even more serious as Denethor prepares to light a pyre in order to burn himself and Faramir- who he presumes to be dead following the puny and quixotic cavalry charge- alive. Pippin, the hobbit who is now a guard of the citadel, urgently seeks out Gandalf to stop Denethor from committing another act of lunacy. While on his way to stay Denethor’s madness Gandalf is confronted by the Witch King aboard his hideous flying steed. Gandalf tries to use his magic staff but it is shattered by the flaming sword of the witch king. Gandalf falls from his horse and as the Witch King prepares to deliver the telling blow saying ‘The world of men will fall’ the horns of Rohan sound amidst  the light of the rising sun. The way Tolkien describes it in the book is epic. The Witch King, obviously dumbfounded,  quickly takes his leave in order to alert his own forces.

The sounding of the horns announce the arrival of the Rohirrim and their 6, 000 strong cavalry force which includes one hobbit (Merry) and one female (Eowyn). Obviously when King Theoden and his forces gaze upon the large numbers of orcs it seems like another stroke of utter despair or hopelessness. Theoden, however, is having none of it this time. When we first met him in The Two Towers he was completely overwhelmed by hopelessness until Aragorn shook him up and reminded him of his duty to his people. The duty to lead them on past despair onto hope pastures or pastures of hope. Even if this is supposed to be the end you must die with dignity knowing you did your best. Theoden is now a believer in hope thanks to Aragorn, the future king of men, who assumed leadership in the battle at Helm’s Deep. Although Theoden knows the numbers are daunting he  is now aware that it is his task to inspire his men, one woman and a hobbit. No more sulking and dragging of the feet. Without the ability to inspire you cannot claim to be a  true leader only a formal one when it’s a assigned role. His desire to lead is made clear when he is assigning the various positions to be taken by his various commanders and he tells one fearful  commander,  Grimbold,  ‘Forth and fear no darkness.’ Eomer is to lead from the left flank, Gamling is to follow Theoden down the centre and Grimbold is to take his company right after he passes the  wall.  After assigning the various roles he turns to address the troops who are clearly still shaken by the size of the Mordor army.

‘Arise, arise riders of Theoden, spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered. A sword day, a red day ere the sun rises.’

As he says this riding,  along the front line, towards the left,  the camera backtracks to highlight the 6, 000 strong under the glare of the rising sun. The Rohirrim assume an attack position with spears directed at the orcs. The orcs understand the gesture and respond accordingly.  (As soon as Gothmog was aware of the Rohirrim he too had to motivate his troops,  that  were stunned by the arrival of the Rohirrim, in his own way: ‘Form ranks you maggots, form ranks; pikes in front, archers behind.’)After the Rohirrim assume an attack position,  with spears pointed towards the orcs,  Theoden then rides along the frontline with his sword lightly touching the outstretched spears on the front line as a more physical cheer me up or a high five. As he does this he loudly shouts resoundingly ‘Ride now, Ride now, Ride, Ride for ruin and the world’s ending.’ He then begins his famous rallying cry of ‘Death’ as he assumes his position in the centre. This cry of death is repeated twice and by the third time all 6, 000 repeat the cry in a very robust and resounding manner as the sun basks on their faces. They are now clearly inspired to fight to the death.  The music by Howard Shore also compliments this scene very well.  ‘Forth Eorlingas,’ shouts Theoden and so the charge begins with the horns once again sounding.

As they advance, down the small incline to the plane,  the orcs are still confident and Gothmog orders his archers to fire twice before telling them to fire at will. He tells them to fire at will because the first two volleys may have inflicted some damage but the Rohirrim keep advancing. This is dramatically played out as Merry screams ‘Death’ even though some of the riders are being shot down. This means that the men are now fully committed and they will not be deterred. This contrasts with the puny cavalry charge of Faramir, which was hopeless and quixotic, because the Rohirrim  have the numbers and they keep coming. Faramir’s puny force was taken out with one volley of arrows. As they continue to advance amidst the arrows and Theoden screaming ‘Charge’ the orcs are now dumbfounded as  the thundering    Rohirrim charge approaches the frontline. Those orcs/pikeme  on the front line with their small spears/pikes stand no chance as the Rohirrim break through. They keep going and there is even a shot of Grimbold, on the right pass the wall,  with his sword out urging his men on. The Grimbold who was told to go forth and fear no darkness. It is a powerful image. As they break through the  frontline of Mordor’s armies they keep advancing towards the centre with their intense battle cries,  with Gothmog, and the orcs around him,  stunned and  dumbfounded. Who would have thought that  men, who were said to be doomed, could rise up against the  large armies of Mordor with such gumption, such bravery. It is clear that a new chapter for the race of men was being written as the riders of Rohan, with their 6, 000 strong cavalry, broke the lines of Mordor. Aragorn would have been proud because he thought that 6, 000 would not have been enough to break the lines of Mordor. Theoden does die in the ensuing battle but he rightfully says to Eowyn, as he is about to pass on, that he can join his forefathers, that mighty company, and not feel ashamed.  The  world of men was not ready to fall without a fight.  The curse associated with the ‘doom of man’ had been lifted when the riders of Rohan broke the lines of Mordor on the Field of Pelennor. A truly great movie moment.