MovieChat Forums > The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Discussion > SPOILERS : Could someone survive from an...

SPOILERS : Could someone survive from any of those arrow wounds?

posted 8 years ago by BobStage
10 replies | jump to latest

Let's assume somehow that the orcs vanish after the first or second arrows hit Boromir. Was he doomed to die from the first shot or did he have a chance?

[–] Harold_of_Whoa 8 years ago

When you lead with SPOILERS and then continue to describe the event in the subject line you might want to just do away with the SPOILERS part.

[–] BobStage 8 years ago

I didn't name the victim in the subject matter. And heaven forbid that someone dies from arrow wounds in a movie like Lord of the Rings.

[–] otter 8 years ago

This came up when the film came out, and my answer hasn't changed - Boromir was hit in the lung, liver, and spleen or stomach. I suppose if someone had helicoptered him to a modern trauma center with the OR on alert, he might have had a chance of surviving.

Out there in the wilderness, no. He was dead and he knew it.

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!

[–] BobStage 8 years ago

So then any single one of those wounds was enough to kill him.

[–] Otaku-sempai 8 years ago

So then any single one of those wounds was enough to kill him.

Probably. If Boromir had only been struck the first time and left for dead, he might have conceivably survived with medical aid from Aragorn and Legolas, but even that seems very iffy. What is your fascination with this question?

"Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved." - T. Isabella

[–] BobStage 8 years ago

I was curious because my friend is a hunter up north and he was telling me about how unrealistic death by archery is depicted in film, since death by arrow actually takes a long time.

[–] magpie930 8 years ago

Did he see this scene though? Does he know how large those arrows were and how (conceivably) strong the Uruk-hai were - thus having more pull on the arrows than a normal human.

Here are a couple of screencaps you could show him.
http://www.framecaplib.com/lotrlib/html/episodes/images/fotr/fotr1518.htm
https://moodyb84.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/bean-death-1.jpg
https://doubtfulsea.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/boromirarrows14.jpg?w=529

and this is a site they might be interested in.
http://www.istad.org/cu/bows.html

She (an archer herself) remarks that the Uruk-hai arrows are "heavy as crossbow bolts."

Also, it would be interesting to attempt to gauge how much time lapsed between the final arrow Boromir took till Aragorn and Company found him.

[–] otter 8 years ago

Also, some orcs used poison arrows.

The fact is, a totally realistic death scene might have taken longer and been more unpleasant, but this was a family-friendly movie and they didn't want to show too much human blood or have the poor schmuck gasping as a lung collapsed. So say at least two of the arrows hit arteries, and he bled out quickly.

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!

[–] Cursedchild13 7 years ago

The first arrow had a good chance at killing him, the second it was a guarantee he'd die. They didn't have any good medical supplies for a wound like an arrow to the chest. They were out in the wild. Even if the first one didn't kill him quickly, he'd probably have died from infection.

If they were close by to Rivendell and he only got his once, there's a decent chance he could be saved. But out in the middle of nowhere with low supplies, he's a dead man.

[–] PreachCaleb 7 years ago

Yes. As Pippen said: "The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow, and Boromir was pierced by many."

Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead.