We've just passed into the realm of Gondor.
Minas Tirith.
City of kings.
Make way!
It's the tree.
Gandalf. Gandalf.
Yes, the White Tree of Gondor.
The tree of the king.
Lord Denethor, however, is not king.
He is a steward only, a caretaker of the throne.
Now listen carefully. Lord Denethor is Boromir's father.
To give him news of his beloved son's death would be most unwise.
And do not mention Frodo or the Ring.
And say nothing of Aragorn either.
In fact, it's better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took.
Hail Denethor, son of Ecthelion, lord and steward of Gondor.
I come with tidings in this dark hour, and with counsel.
Perhaps you come to explain this.
Perhaps you come to tell me why my son is dead.
Boromir died to save us...
...my kinsman and me.
-He fell defending us from many foes. -Pippin.
I offer you my service, such as it is...
...in payment of this debt.
This is my first command to you.
How did you escape and my son did not...
...so mighty a man as he was?.
The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow...
...and Boromir was pierced by many.
Get up.
My lord, there will be a time to grieve for Boromir...
...but it is not now.
War is coming.
The enemy is on your doorstep. As steward, you are charged...
...with the defense of this city. Where are Gondor's armies?.
You still have friends. You are not alone in this fight.
Send word to Th¨¦oden of Rohan. Light the beacons.
You think you are wise, Mithrandir.
Yet for all your subtleties, you have not wisdom.
Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind?.
I have seen more than you know.
Wiith your left hand you would use me as a shield against Mordor.
And with your right you'd seek to supplant me.
I knowwho rides with Th¨¦oden of Rohan.
Oh, yes. Word has reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn.
And I tell you now, I will not bow to this Ranger from the North...
... Iast of a ragged house long bereft of lordship.
Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the king, steward.
The rule of Gondor is mine and no other's.
Come.
All has turned to vain ambition.
He would even use his grief as a cloak.
A thousand years this city has stood.
Now, at the whim of a madman, it will fall.
And the White Tree, the tree of the king...
...will never bloom again.
-Why are they still guarding it?. -They guard it because they have hope.
A faint and fading hope that one day it will flower.
That a king will come and this city will be as it once was...
... before it fell into decay.
The old wisdom born out of the West was forsaken.
Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living...
...and counted the old names of their descent...
...dearer than the names of their sons.
Childless lords sat in aged halls, musing on heraldry...
...or in high, cold towers, asking questions of the stars.
And so the people of Gondor fell into ruin.
The line of kings failed.
The White Tree withered.
The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men.
Mordor.
Yes, there it lies.
This city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow.
A storm is coming.
This is not the weather of the world.
This is a device of Sauron's making.
A broil of fume he sends ahead of his host.
The Orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight...
...so he covers the face of the sun...
...to ease their passage along the road to war.
When the Shadow of Mordor reaches this city...
...it will begin.
Well...
... Minas Tirith...
...very impressive.
-So where are we off to next?. -Oh, it's too late for that, Peregrin.
There's no leaving this city.
Help must come to us.
It must be getting near teatime.
Leastways, it would be in decent places where there is still teatime.
We're not in decent places.
Mr. Frodo?.
What is it?.
It's just a feeling.
I don't think I'll be coming back.
Yes, you will. Of course you will.
That's just morbid thinking.
We're going there and back again...
...just like Mr. Bilbo.
You'll see.
I think these lands were once part of the kingdom of Gondor.
Long ago, when there was a king.
Mr. Frodo, look.
The king has got a crown again.
Come on, Hobbits! Mustn't stop now. This way.
So I imagine this is just a ceremonial position.
I mean, they don't actually expect me to do any fighting.
-Do they?. -You're in the service of the steward now.
You'll have to do as you're told, Peregrin Took.
Ridiculous Hobbit.
Guard of the Citadel.
Thank you.
There's no more stars.
Is it time?.
Yes.
It's so quiet.
It's the deep breath before the plunge.
I don't want to be in a battle...
... but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse.
Is there any hope, Gandalf, for Frodo and Sam?.
There never was much hope.
Just a fool's hope.
Our enemy is ready.
His full strength's gathered.
Not only Orcs, but Men as well.
Legions of Haradrim from the south...
...mercenaries from the coast.
All will answer Mordor"s call.
Come on.
This will be the end of Gondor as we know it.
Here the hammer stroke will fall hardest.
If the river is taken, if the garrison at Osgiliath falls...
...the last defense of this city will be gone.
But we have the White Wiizard. That's got to count for something.
Gandalf?.
Sauron has yet to reveal his deadliest servant...
...the one who will lead Mordor"s armies in war.
The one they say no living man can kill.
The Wiitch King of Angmar.
You've met him before.
He stabbed Frodo on Weathertop.
He is the lord of the Nazg¨±l...
...the greatest of the Nine.
Minas Morgul is his lair.
The Dead City.
Very nasty place. Full of enemies.
Quick. Quick.
They will see. They will see.
Come away. Come away. Look, we have found it.
The way into Mordor.
The secret stair.
Climb.
-No, Mr. Frodo! -Not that way!
-What's it doing?. -No.
-They're calling me. -No.
Hide! Hide!
I can feel his blade.
We come to it at last.
The great battle of our time.
Come away, Hobbits. We climb. We must climb.
The board is set.
The pieces are moving.
Up, up, up the stairs we go.
And then it's into the tunnel.
Hey, what's in this tunnel?.
You listen to me, and you listen good and proper.
Anything happens to him, you have me to answer to.
One sniff something's not right...
...one hair stands up on the back of my head, it's over.
No more slinker. No more stinker.
You're gone. Got it?.
I'm watching you.
What was that about?.
Nothing. Just clearing something up.
Peregrin Took, my lad, there is a task now to be done.
Another opportunity for one of the Shire-folk to prove their great worth.
You must not fail me.
It's been very quiet across the river.
The Orcs are lying low.
The garrison may have moved out.
We've sent scouts to Cair Andros.
If the Orcs attack from the north, we'll have some warning.
Quiet.
We need 1 0 more.
Kill him!
They're not coming from the north.
To the river. Quick. Quick. Go. Come on.
Faster.
Draw swords.
Hold! Hold them!
What?.
Amon Din.
The beacon. The beacon of Amon Din is lit.
Hope is kindled.
The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit!
Gondor calls for aid.
And Rohan will answer.
Muster the Rohirrim.
Assemble the army at Dunharrow.
As many men as can be found. You have two days.
On the third, we ride for Gondor and war.
-Forward. -Very good, sir.
-Gamling. -My lord.
Make haste across the Riddermark.
Summon every able-bodied man to Dunharrow.
I will.
-Will you ride with us?. -Just to the encampment.
It's tradition for the women of the court to farewell the men.
The men have found their captain.
They will follow you into battle, even to death.
You have given us hope.
Excuse me.
I have a sword.
Please accept it.
I offer you my service, Th¨¦oden King.
And gladly I accept it.
You shall be Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan.
Horse-Men.
I wish I could muster a legion of Dwarves, fully armed and filthy.
Your kinsmen may have no need to ride to war.
I fear war already marches on their own lands.
So it is before the walls of Minas Tirith...
...the doom of our time will be decided.
Now is the hour. Riders of Rohan, oaths you have taken.
Now, fulfill them all. To lord and land!
Faramir!
We can't hold them. The city is lost.
Tell the men to break cover. We ride for Minas Tirith.
Nazg¨±l.
Take cover!
Nazg¨±l!
Fall back. Fall back to Minas Tirith!
Fall back!
-Retreat! Retreat! -Run for your lives!
The age of Men is over.
The time of the Orc has come.
-Keep going. -It's the Nazg¨±l.
Take cover, my lord!
It's coming!
-It's Mithrandir. -The White Rider!
Pull!
Mithrandir.
They broke through our defenses.
They've taken the bridge and the west bank.
-Battalions of Orcs are crossing the river. -lt is as the Lord Denethor predicted.
-Long has he foreseen this doom. -Foreseen and done nothing.
Faramir?.
This is not the first Halfling to have crossed your path.
No.
You've seen Frodo and Sam?.
-Where?. When?. -ln lthilien.
Not two days ago.
Gandalf, they're taking the road to the Morgul Vale.
And then the pass of Cirith Ungol.
What does that mean?.
-What's wrong?. -Faramir, tell me everything.
Tell me all you know.
This is how you would serve your city?.
You would risk its utter ruin?.
I did what I judged to be right.
What you judged to be right.
You sent the Ring of Power into Mordor in the hands of a witless Halfling.
It should have been brought back to the Citadel to be kept safe.
Hidden.
Dark and deep in the vaults...
... not to be used.
Unless at the uttermost end of need.
I would not use the Ring.
Not if Minas Tirith were falling in ruin and I alone could save her.
Ever you desire to appear lordly and gracious...
...as a king of old.
Boromir would have remembered his father's need.
He would have brought me a kingly gift.
Boromir would not have brought the Ring.
He would have stretched out his hand to this thing and taken it. He would've fallen.
-You know nothing of this matter! -He would have kept it for his own.
And when he returned...
...you would not have known your son.
Boromir was loyal to me!
Not some wizard's pupil!
Father?.
My son.
Leave me.
Careful, master. Careful.
Very far to fall.
Very dangerous are the stairs.
Come, master.
Come to Sm¨¦agol.
Mr. Frodo.
Get back, you!
Don't touch him!
Why does he hates poor Sm¨¦agol?.
What has Sm¨¦agol ever done to him?.
Master?.
Master carries heavy burden.
Sm¨¦agol knows. Heavy, heavy burden.
Fat one cannot know.
Sm¨¦agol look after master.
He wants it.
He needs it. Sm¨¦agol sees it in his eye.
Very soon he will ask you for it. You will see.
The fat one will take it from you.
Send forth all legions.
Do not stop the attack until the city is taken.
Slay them all.
-What of the wizard?. -I will break him.
Where are Th¨¦oden's riders?.
Will Rohan's army come?.
Mithrandir.
Courage is the best defense that you have now.
What were you thinking, Peregrin Took?.
What service can a Hobbit offer such a great lord of Men?.
It was well-done.
A generous deed should not be checked with cold counsel.
You are to join the tower guard.
I didn't think they would find any livery that would fit me.
Once belonged to a young boy of the city.
A very foolish one...
...who wasted many hours slaying dragons instead of attending to his studies.
-This was yours?. -Yes, it was mine.
My father had it made for me.
Well...
... I'm taller than you were then.
Though I'm not likely to grow anymore, except sideways.
Never fitted me either.
Boromir was always the soldier.
They were so alike, he and my father.
Proud.
Stubborn even.
But strong.
I think you have strength of a different kind.
And one day your father will see it.
Here do I swear fealty and service to Gondor...
... in peace or war...
...in living or dying...
...from....
From this hour henceforth...
... until my lord release me...
...or death take me.
And I shall not forget it...
...nor fail to reward that which is given.
Fealty with love.
Valour with honour.
Disloyalty with vengeance.
I do not think we should so lightly abandon the outer defenses...
...defenses that your brother long held intact.
-What would you have me do?. -I will not yield...
...the river in Pelennor unfought.
Osgiliath must be retaken.
My lord, Osgiliath is overrun.
Much must be risked in war.
Is there a captain here who still has the courage to do his lord's will?.
You wish now that our places had been exchanged...
...that I had died and Boromir had lived.
Yes.
I wish that.
Since you were robbed of Boromir...
... I will do what I can in his stead.
If I should return, think better of me, Father.
That will depend on the manner of your return.