I choose the Dagor Bragollach as well. After reading so much about it i really would like to have seen it. From a very large distance!! Preferably from the back of some giant eagle.

There's actually TWO threads, sorta, 'cos I kinda threadjacked the one Grep started on the disappearing menus into the Battle of the Eleven Battles. I also chose the Dagor Bragollach (repeatedly) for the reasons Val stated, and as I said in the other thread, I find it curious Gandalf vs. the Balrog is currently first despite all our efforts and the fact Glorfindel vs. the Balrog (which clearly presaged it; I sometimes think that encounter and the Battle of the Pelennor exist primarily because Tolkien knew he couldn't give the Fall of Gondolin and the second Balrog encounter the time it deserved.) IIRC, the Balrog was beaten by Glorfindel, too though, but grabbed his pretty, pretty Elven hair as he went over the edge. So, how is it Gandalf vs. the Balrog is in the lead, despite no one in ANY of the (now THREE) threads has stuck up for it?

Answer : because Gandalf vs the Balrog (or whatever it was supposed to be) were in the movies. Figures, doesn't it?

Considering the movie influences, it was kinda a surprise that Beren & L’thien won the lovelies couple poll over Arwen & Aragorn, the watered down version of B & L.

I finally chose 'Fingofin vs Morgoth' as I like the poem and I've seen the battle of Gandalf vs the Balrog so many times, in both my mind's eye and on film, that there is nothing I have missed. I assume Glorfindal and the Balrog would have been similar. I don't consider battlefield melee between armies as spectator sport: too much carnage (read guts and blood) for my stomach to handle and the battle might not go in the way I wanted causing me to be swept up in it.

Consider what happened in the U.S Civil War at the end of the 'First Battle of Bull Run' (First Manassus), which the Union troops lost to the Confederates:That's not for me, I'd rather watch a one-on-one from the stands with peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and maybe a brew or two.

The poll is which of these fights would you like to view from a distance, not which would you like to see, no matter the distance from which it was beheld. I would like to see all of the fights, for the most part close or far, even participate in some of them. However, when it comes to Tulkas vs. Morgoth, I would rather not even be within a hundred miles. I'd probably try and be on a really tall mountain 150 miles away and watch with a super powerful telescope, or enchanted eyes, or a crystal ball, (preferably the enchanted eyes). I mean, come on, these two are both Vala! Two Vala fighting each other can cause terrible damage, but when the two are Tulkas and Morgoth, bitter enemies, world beware and hang on to your seats cause you're in for a bumpy ride!
That's why I voted Tulkas vs. Morgoth.

OK, seriously, this time, I picked the Siege of Minas Tirith for its splendour and glory. The film captured it quite well, I think. The vastness of the armies, and the coming of dawn, along with the Armies of the Dead sweeping in later on, are all very impressive scenes.

Not to mention, in the movies the outer walls of Minas Tirith get destroyed by catapults, whilst in the books they're indestructable, as they're made of the same material as the tower of Orthanc.

That's why, instead, Sauron's army catapulted the heads of their victims over the walls, as a means of psychological, chemical and biological warfare.

Furthermore, Gandalf's life needed not to be saved by Pippin; nor did Pippin need to use tricks in order to light the b(e)acons of Gondor; nor did Gandalf beat up Denethor and stood there watching while Denethor cast himself off the walls, like a fantasy version of the (sub?)Human Torch.

And how is it that ’owyn is able to cut a M’mak's heels, when not even a regular bullet is able to penetrate the skin of a modern-day elephant? Did she use a welding torch, instead of a sword?


Well, you gotta hand it to Rolleyes : Sam w’s extremely annoying.

Yeh, we have a couple of such threads too. Surprisingly though, there are no similar Legolas & Gimli and Gorbag & Shagrat threads.

There's another case in point: porcupines are great for infantry who have to face cavalry at an angle of the latters choosing, but, once again, Peter Jackson didn't have them set up that way, and you don't just snap your fingers and have them fall into place. I believe that particular formation was known as early as Phillip of Macedon, but don't quote me. Certainly it was known as early as The Fires of Heaven (though my introduction in fiction was Robert Adams' Horseclans novels.) In truth, Sauron had no reason to expect the timely arrival of Rohans heavy cavalry; it should've been charge, wheel, repeat ad nauseum ad corpum. Until the Orcs were ground to a fine paste.

Which is pretty much the way I remember it in the books until the Witch-king shows up to stem the onslaught. But don't get me started; if a sortie was to be launched from sally points at Helms Deep THAT should have been on horseback, too, but I don't recall it that way in the film. Oddly enough I was just rereading Swords of the Horseclans a few days ago, and treated to the question of how useful elephants are in an assault (answer: just fine, until you set the bridge on fire. ;-p) So I guess what I'm saying is, yeah, a hedgehog would have been just fine, except the Orcs in the film weren't in position for it and had neither time nor room to execute the manouvers necessary to form one. They were caught with their pants down, and that should have been that.

No, it are some of the worst movies I've ever seen. My favourite movies are The Godfather series, Dune and National Lampoon's War on Terror.

I am quite knowledged on the subject myself,(I hope it doesn't sound like I'm being boastful) and I'm only 15, so age doesn't have everything to do with it.
At the Battle of Pelennor Plains, when the Rohirrim came over the hill on the horizon(in the movie), they waited at the top for a moment before thundering downhill, giving the Orcs a little time before they hit. That might not have been enough time, but then again, it might have. The only way to know for sure would be to test it. And if any of you know at least five hundred people, and half as many horses, who would be willing to perform the experiment, please tell me the results.(laughing) Only joking.
Well, when the Rohirrim charged, the Orcs were packed tightly together in close formation, and when they crashed together, you see the Riders of Rohan riding through the orcs, mowing them down like grass as they passed through the spread out orcs. The only way that could have happened was if the orcs had formed into a loose formation, which was both impractical and impossible. Impractical because it would have caused major casulties on the orcs part while inflicting very little damage to the Riders as far as numbers goes. Impossible because it would have taken a while for at least a thousand orcs to get spread out, much longer than they had.

Actually, I did enjoy the movies and continued to suspend my incredability immediately after catching each and every one of PJ's military blunders, so as to maintain that enjoyment.

Yey, there goes yet another award.

I too, enjoyed the movies greatly. It was only upon watching them the second time that I really noticed PJ's military blunders.
Cloveress, I see you still don't know how to do the fancy letters. If you go back into the "Introduce Yourself" thread, look in the one I did, and check my reply.