LOTR fans: What are your most thrilling moments?

“I am no man” and STAB!

I love me some woman power. And as far as I know, she was and always shall be the only being to slay a ring wraith.

I thought the kindness Frodo showed to Gollum in Mordor was quite moving.

In the movies,

When Aragorn throws open the doors of the inner walls to Helm’s Deep. Sets me heart a’flutter.
And, of course, when Gandalf throws off his grey robes, bathing the possessed Theoden in the glory of Gandalf the White. Rah!
And and, the March of the Trees.
And and and, Haldir’s death. And Boromir’s death. And pretty much any death.
And and and and, the temptation of Galadriel

In the books:
Gimli describing the caverns of Helm’s Deep to Legolas always brings a tear to my eye.
Theoden’s speech in Return of the King
The fall of the Witch King – totally underdone in the movie.
The Paths of the Dead.

I do genuinely enjoy the movies, but far too many to choose from. I must say however, I do love the thrill of the chase!.

When Frodo is stabbed by the giant spider. I thought there would be no hope left for the future of this main character.

The ending.

I could not wait to get out of the theater.

So many wonderful scenes but the chief one for me is Pippin singing to Denethor as the soldiers of Minas Tirith ride to battle in Osgiliath.

the MTV skit secretly put on the extended version…cracks me up… I think you have to play with scene selector on chapters 17 or 19…does anyone know how to do it?

The movies are good, but I think there are many more thrills in the book. The escape from wolves on the way to moria; the final scenes when saruman attacks the shire, the barrow wights, gandalf fighting the balrog, dying, coming back, the siege of gondor….many

Not “thrilling moments” so much as interesting asides. Hopefully.
Here and here.
I find them thrilling. For what it’s worth.

I love the LOTR movies so I really love this question.

When Sam chases after Frodo and nearly drowns. Then he tells Frodo that he isn’t going to leave him. Puts tears in my eyes every time.

At the end when Aragorn tells the 4 hobbits “You bow to no one”. Oh man, gets me every time!

The Hobbits hiding under the log from one of the riders.

Frodo’s and Gollem fighting in Mount Doom for the ring.

Aragon negotiating with the dead

These are mine:

the elves singing in the heart of Lothlorien
the elves’ arrival to help defend Helm’s Deep (that’s a big one)
Gandalf’s reappearance, all in white
the lighting of the beacons—the chain reaction across the mountain ridges
Legolas’s skate down the elephant’s trunk
the blossoming of the tree of kings in Minas Tirith

@downtide I cry every time I watch that scene. It’s just so powerful.

I kick myself that I was in NZ when it was being filmed, but I didn’t make more of an effort when they were calling for extras. I’d have been a great hobbit. In the extended version, they show more of the village. There is a second where a hobbit is leading a HUGE goat with big horns. The guy who played that hobbit called into a radio station after he was done working and told a story ‘out of school’. The goat butted him in the crotch. He had to be taken to a local ER and his scrotum stitched up. They had to sneak him in the back, undercover, because he was still in costume and it was all very secret-secret. He has a special souvenir from his work on the film.