MovieChat Forums > The Return of the King (1980) Discussion > The Throne Room in Minas Tirith

The Throne Room in Minas Tirith

posted 2 years ago by MAGolding (1096)
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I wonder if anyone remembers what the throne room in Minas Tirith looks like in this film.

I am annoyed that the version in The Return of the King(2003) looked considerabley different than described in chapter 1, "Minas Tirith".

“Pippin looked into a great hall. It was lit by deep windows in the wide aisles at either side, beyond the rows of tall pillars that upheld the roof. Monoliths of black marble, they rose to great capitals carved in many strange figures of beasts and leaves; and far above in shadow the wide vaulting gleamed with dull gold, inset with flowing traceries of many colours. No hangings nor storied webs, nor any things of woven stuff or of wood, were to be seen in that long solemn hall; but between the pillars there stood a silent company of tall images graven in cold stone. Suddenly Pippin was reminded of the hewn rocks of Argonath, and awe fell on him, as he looked down that avenue of kings long dead. At the far end upon a dais of many steps was set a high throne under a canopy of marble shaped like a crowned helm; behind it was carved upon the wall and set with gems an image of a tree in flower. But the throne was empty. At the foot of the dais, upon the lowest step which was broad and deep, there was a stone chair, black and unadorned, and on it sat an old man gazing at his lap.”

I know enough about artitecture to understand architetural descriptions. And presumably the designers of the throne room in The Return of the King(2003) also could. So why did they deviate so much from the description?

There might be scenes in Minas Tirith in this movie which correspond to the scenes in the throne room in the book and in the Peter Jackson movie. If so, what does the throne room look like?

[–] Ace_Spade (9348) 2 years ago

It's been awhile since I've seen this film, but I don't recall there being a throne room of Minas Tirith scene. Of course, the movie is very rushed, so some things zip by with such speed that I might simply not be remembering it. If memory serves, it starts quite in medias res, with Pippin and Gandalf already on the battlements.

The Jackson films seem like they based some of their imagery off of established Middle Earth painters and artists like Alan Lee. Here's an image he did of Denethor on his sub-throne: https://www.theonering.com/galleries/professional-artists/the-return-of-the-king-art/denethor-son-of-ecthelion-alan-lee/

Looking at still shots from the '03 film, they're not that different. They also have the deep windows, rows of pillars (black marble, even), the statuary, and the image of the tree. There doesn't seem to be the gold or the "traceries of many colours", but it's also difficult to see the roof in the images I'm finding. There are the two thrones, as well, although the canopy like a crowned helm isn't there.

It's not a slavish copy to the text, but it seems to me to have captured the general feel of the throne room. What is it that's missing, to your thinking?

[–] MAGolding (1096) 2 years ago

The Alan Lee painting looks more like the description than the movie set does.

It has black(ish) colums, a ceiling with some type of vault (And the novel doesn't mention which type of vault it had), and the ceiling is yellow or gold colored.

The throne room in the movie doesn't have pillars or columns. It has piers, with rectangular cross sectionsre, which have engaged half column sattached to the sides. That is a major deviation from Alan Lee's painting and from the description.

Look at the photo of somone entering the hall in a movie scene from the Return of the KIng, 2003, included here:

https://middleeartharchitectures.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/the-kings-hall-minas-tirith/

It shows the piers with half columns attached. And it also shows the walls continuing high above the arches. There is space for windows or archways into second floor spaces in those walls, though I haven't found a picture which makes it clear whether they are windows tot he outside or archways into other interior spaces.

But the description says that the hall was lit by the windows in the high side aisles, and doesn't mention any other windows such as those that b might be above the aisles. And if there are second story rooms or a corridor above the aisles, they would have windows, and some of their light would pass into the throne hall. Tolkien's description implies that the side aisles are as tall as the central space, and that Pippin can see the golden color of the side aisle ceilings as well as in the central space. If the side ailes were as tall as the center, and the ceiling was supported by slender pillers instead by thicker piers, the side ailse ceilings would be visible and the gold color of the ceiling properly prominent in the color scheme.