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GANDALF V.O.
Hear you now a story of good against evil. An epic that has its beginning at
an ending and ends at a beginning. Listen as we speak of the fall of the
lord of darkness and the return of a king of light. Concern yourselves with
armies and wizards, phantoms and emporers, cloud capped towers and bloodied
fields of a reckless carnage. Consider no less than the cataclysmic
transformation of that ancient world of wonder and magic, to the world we
know now of man. What mighty Lord, you may ask, is hero enough to evoke such
cosmic metamorphosis. Why no lord at all, but the littlest of fellows; Frodo
the Hobbit and his faithful squire Samwise, who beginning at the ending, now
approach Rivendell the elvish home of Elrond; there to help celebrate the
129th birthday of Frodo’s aged kin Bilbo Baggins, renowned tormenter of
dragons.

BILBO
Bless my soul, you’re a match for Smaug himself .

GANDALF V.O
All of us, Frodo and Samwise, their Hobbit companions Merry and Pippin,
Elrond the Elflord, and I, Gandalf, wished Bilbo only the best. But as we
celebrated far into the elvish nght, we found it difficult to keep our aging
guest of honor awake.

MERRY
Nay pippin, not till Bilbo has cut it.

PIPPIN
Blast, what a time to fall asleep.

BILBO
Who’s asleep? Just resting my eyes. And remembering. There and Back Again,
and What Happened After.

FRODO
Remembering, sir?

BILBO
So many things. Old Smaug, dear Thorin, that terrible Gollum chap. The Ring
of invisibility–what’s become of my Ring, that Ring I gave you and you took
away?

FRODO
Oh yes, I’ve lost it Bilbo dear. I got rid of it, you know.

BILBO
Pity. I should have liked to see it again. But now how silly of me, that’s
what you went for wasn’t it? To get rid of it. But why destroy a thing of
such wondrous magic?

FRODO
It was an evil thing, sir.
BILBO
Nay, without its powers I could never have faced the worm Smaug.

FRODO
You unwittingly used its evil forces for good, dear uncle. Your innocence
protected you. But had you continued to wear it instead of keeping it above
your mantel as a trophy, its ever growing malignancy would have consumed
you. As it almost consumed Samwise and me, and the whole of Middle Earth.

BILBO
But this is all so confusing. So confusing.

MERRY
Will he never cut the cake?

PIPPIN
Patience, Merry, patience.

SAM
Me for a good smoke while we wait. What say Master?

FRODO
Good notion, Sam.

BILBO
Bless my soul. Frodo, you are missing a finger. You not only lost my Ring,
you lost the finger on which it rode? Frodo, you must explain.

GANDALF
We have brought with us someone who has written a ballad about the
adventures of Frodo. The minstrel of Gondor.

MINSTREL
Frodo of the nine fingers and the Ring of Doom.
It has its beginnings two ages past when Bilbo set forth to reclaim the
dwarves’ gold from the dragon Smaug. And while on his quest Bilbo stumbled
into a deep dank cave.

BILBO
Ah, this part I remember.

MINSTREL
When Bilbo found that shiny Ring
In Gollum’s cave of gloom,
He never thought that it would turn
Into a Ring of Doom.

The dragon Smaug, the spiders too
The goblins, the Elvenking;
They came to know the power of
The hobbit and his Ring.

Frodo of the nine fingers
And the Ring of Doom.
It started with a hobbit
In Gollum’s cave of gloom.

The power of the Ring it grew
And Gandalf sat in thought.
He knew that it must be destroyed
In fires where it was wrought.

For if in evil hands it fell
The earth would know its end.
No force of arms would win the day
No army could contend.

GANDALF
For evil fourished everywhere and lay on the land like a festering
malignancy. There was one hope, though. In a distant land, the noble
Aragorn, heir to the empty throne of Gondor, awaited with a small band to
return and become king. But he could not triumph until the Ring was
destroyed; so went the prophecy.
MINSTREL
Frodo of the nine fingers
And the Ring of Doom.
Accepted a heavy burden
For the fires to consume.

GANDALF
Frodo and his gallant companion Samwise had many brave adventures until
finally they reached the rocky border of Mordor, domain of the black lord
Sauron. There Frodo was captured and imprisoned in the tower of Sirith
Ungol. Samwise vowed to enter the orc infested tower alone to save him. And
the Ring of Doom was missing from around Frodo’s neck.

MINSTREL
Frodo of the nine fingers
And the Ring of Doom.
Why does he have nine fingers?
Where is the Ring of Doom?

GANDALF
One tiny hobbit against all the evil the world could muster. A sane being
would have given up. But Samwise burned with a magnificant madness, a
glowing obsession to surmount every obstacle to find Frodo, destroy the Ring
and and cleanse Middle Earth of its festering malignancy. He knew he would
try again, fail perhaps and try once more, a thousand thousand times if need
be, but he would not give up the quest.

Title screen

MINSTREL
It’s so easy not to try,
Let the world go drifting by.
If you never say hello
You won’t have to say goodbye.

It’s so easy not to try,
Never stay around to cry.
Move along when troubles come
Like a mindless butterfly.

For what good is it to love
When the loving always ends?
Travel on the road that’s straight
Not the one with hills and bends.

It’s so easy not to try,
Let the world go drifting by.
If you never say hello
You won’t have to say goodbye.

SAM
You cannot die Master Frodo, I’ll get to you somehow.

Sam finds the Ring on ground

SAM V.O
You, oh I can feel you throbbing with excitement. Ah, you know that gate is
to the land of Mordor and your dark lord Sauron. Now I must bear your
loathsome weight but I do it for he that lies in that accursed tower, Sirith
Ungol. My sweet Master Frodo. (Sam makes another discovery) And his Sting,
Master Frodo’s sword, and his hero’s cloak; lost them with the Ring while
doing battle, he did. They’re safe with me till I find you again, Master!
Oh, he can’t hear; half dead behind walls of stone. Serve me Sting ’til I
can return you. Here now what’s this. Oh, dank and foul smelling. But it may
be a way in. There now, I got through. So I finally crossed into Mordor. Oh,
orcs in the tower. Old Bilbo called them goblins. But whatever the name I
loath the vile creatures. Fighting among themselves? Oh I could get in they
wouldn’t notice me. The Ring holds me back? True, once the orcs saw me they
would forget their own arguments for the head of an enemy. Oh, it’s useless
to face such odds. Don’t take any chances. Destroy the thing yourself. I do
it for you Frodo! I must be Ringbearer now!

Chorus
The bearer of the Ring the wearer of the Ring
Stands on the very brink of fate.
Staring into eyes of darkness and despair
That rise and shrink with hate.

Sam walks along cliffs until he sees Mordor, begins to have visions of
grandeur and power, commanding armies, changing the world.

SAM
Oh I can feel you change as we draw near the furnaces where in the depths of
time you were shaped and formed, Mount Doom. I could claim you, Ring. I
would be Samwise the Strong!

Chorus
The bearer of the Ring the wearer of the Ring
He hears the voice compelling him
Filing him with thoughts that echo in his mind
It should be telling him
Beware the power is a power never known
Beware the power that was simple now has grown
Beware oh bearer of the Ring
The final power has yet to be shown

The bearer of the Ring the wearer of the Ring
through voices tempting to resist
must recall a quest to end this darkest age
that mortal death has tist
The bearer of the Ring the wearer of the Ring
Beware who wears the Ring.

Sam envisions himself the head of an army

SOLDIERS
Hail Samwise the Strong. Hail the Conquerer. Hail the war king, hero of the
age.

SAM
To the dark tower. To Barad Dur! I claim thee Barad Dur you are Sauron’s no
more.

SOLDIERS
Hail Samwise the Strong. The sun shines for thee alone.

SAM
And now I claim all of the vale of goragoroth. Now let this foul
desolation, this cursed plateau of the Dark Lord Sauron, this orc infested
desert of nameless horrors, let it blossom forth and live. Let it live for
Samwise the Strong.

SOLDIERS
Yay! Samwise the Strong.

SAM
Behold the garden of my delight. So shall I transform the world. All could
be mine, if I but claim thee, Ring. Noooooo!

Sam’s visions suddenly end, and he sees himself alone in Mordor

SAM
What brought me back? Plain hobbit sense. I know in my heart I’m not enough
to bear such a burden. One small garden of a free gardener is all my need
and due. My own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.

Sam seems himself at home in the Shire with wife and children in his garden.

MINSTREL
Less can be more and small can be beautiful.
Life isn’t all just big and wonderful.
What do I need when you get right down to it.
All my cares come from greed and its time that I knew it.
Things I can’t do without are the small things that life is all about.

Less can be more and small can be beautiful.
I don’t want it all just part of wonderful.
For what do I need when you get right down to it.
Just a garden and seed and the love to pursue it
Things I can’t do without are the small things that life is all about.

SAM
No, such a quest is not for me. Frodo lives and only he knows how to destroy
the Ring in the Cracks of Doom. Only he can find the fire. Oh dear Master
Frodo I will find you somehow.

GANDALF V.O
An ancient world of towered fortressed cities. Sirith Ungol, guarding the
entrance to the lands of Mordor. Barad Dur, palace of the dark lord Sauron
and now look you at yet another. Minas Tirith, chief city of Gondor, last
bastion of hope for the powers of light and good. From the battlement atop
the citadel like a mariner on a mountainous ship, one could look sheer down
upon the gate seven hundred feet below. And still this was not the top.
Behold the White Tower. And at the top the banner of the Stewards who govern
the city. Its silken arms embracing a domain more fitting for Gwahair lord
of the Eagles than those of whose emblem it bore. All this Minas Tirth was.
But now under siege this sparkling gem of Gondor had become dull and flawed
with the hell of war. The once lush fields of Pelannor, now a wasted
battleground upon which Sauron’s forces of evil celebrated their victories.
Far superior in number to the battle ravaged forces Gondor forces, they
mounted their monster oliphaunts to ride in the rocking armored towers to
their almost certain victory. And in the heavens, where no living thing dare
now venture, Sauron’s phantom lieutenants, the Nazgul, astride their devil
steeds scream battle cries of violent pillaging. High in the White Tower,
Lord Denethor, chief Steward of Gondor, his mind broken as the city crumbled
about him, had succumbed to an eerie fire of the brain and in his madness
ordered his own execution.

PIPPIN
You must stop him.

BEREGOND
His word is law.

PIPPIN
I’ll find Gandalf.

GANDALF
The hobbit Pippin, who had proved a most valuable assistant for me, rushed
to the battlement where I, Gandalf and the Gondor generals seached the
distance in vain for a sign of our rescuers. For we awaited Theoden, a
valuable ally, lord of the friendly nation of Rohan, for whom we had
dispatched Pippin’s hobbit friend little Merry to inform him of our perilous
condition and to beseech his aid. For we wondered. would he and armies come
to our rescue?

THEODEN
Forward to Minas Tirith.

MERRY
Aye, forward!

ROHAN SOLDIERS
Forward!

GANDALF
For only Theoden could save our city and make it safe for the return of
Aragorn. But we feared he would come too late.

Pippin tells Gandalf something

GANDALF
What? Denethor?

PIPPIN
He’s gone loony, I tell you.

GANDALF
Come quickly.

Gandalf and Pippin rush up to and inside the tower entrance and confront
Denethor

GANDALF
You cannot do this.

DENETHOR
Nay, nay, soon all shall be burned. The west has failed, it shall go up in a
great fire, and all shall be ended. Ash, ash and smoke blown away on the
wind.

GANDALF
All shall not be ended. Theoden’s forces are on their way.

DENETHOR
Hahaha. Pride and despair. Pride and despair. Dost thou think the eyes of
the white tower are blind? I have looked inside my palantir.

PIPPIN
What is that?

GANDALF
Palantir, the stuff of wizards. A crystal ball to see the future.

DENETHOR
I have seen more than thou knowest, greyfool. Thy hope is but ignorance.
Even with the forces of Theoden there is no hope. Oh, go forth and fight.
Vanity. For a little space you may triumph on the field for a day, but
against the dark power that now rises there is no victory. To this dying
city only the first fingers of its hand have yet been stretched. All the
east is moving, and even now the wind of thy hope cheats thee and wafts up
an enemy fleet with black sails. Up the river Anduin they come. Even now the
river which leads to the edge of the Pelennor Fields. Hahahahaha

PIPPIN
A black fleet, a devil’s armada; do those palantir things ever lie?

GANDALF
Never.

DENETHOR
Haha the West has failed. It is time for all to depart this life who would
not be slaves. Servants, come hither.

GANDALF
So passes Denethor, son of Echthelion, and so pass also the days of Gondor.
For good or evil they have ended.

PIPPIN
You must take charge, Gandalf. You must lead our forces now until Aragorn
returns to claim the throne of Gondor.

GANDALF
If he returns.

PIPPIN
Gandalf you–

GANDALF
I saw the vision in the palantir; a dark fleet.

PIPPIN
Is there no hope?

GANDALF
None, unless the Ring be destroyed. But alas it is lost with its bearer
Frodo. All is gone.

Sam is at the tower of Cirith Ungol, looking up at the Watchers.

GANDALF V.O
I, Gandalf, was without hope. For I did not know that at that very moment,
at that other towered fortress, the future of all good in the world rested
upon the wits and the tiny shoulders of poor little Samwise, who still
undetected by the orcs within, approached the gates of the tower of Sirith
Ungol. But to get through those gates he would have to pass the two
watchers. And though carved from huge blocks of solid stone, some dreadful
spirit of evil vigilance abode in them. And they were aware.

SAM V.O
My imagination’s running away with me. They’re made of stone. What harm can
they do? Oo, don’t get too cocky Samwise, Orcs aren’t made of stone. And
they have ears. But where the blazes are they? I thought the tower was full
of them. Oh but they give me the shivers. Oh forget about them. Get past as
quick as I can.

Sam makes a run for the tower entrance and runs up against an unseen barrier
force and falls to the ground

SAM V.O
Bless my soul; like some invisible gate. Oh, that’s how the Watchers keep
guard, hey? Blast. How do I get through or climb over or under something I
can’t see? But how? Ouch, something’s burning me! What’s this? A phial. And
what magic is in it to glow so?

Sam holds up the glowing phial and the Watchers relent

SAM V.O
They’re opening up. Thank you, old boys. What bad manners you showed me
before. Handy this thing.

An alarm sounds

An alarm! Oh, that’s done it. I’m ready for you, tell your captain that a
great elf warrior has called with his elf blade! Yaaaaa!

Sam walks up the tower stairs and spies orcs lying around dead.

SAM V.O
They’re all dead. Why, the tower was crawling with them just a few hours
ago. Looks like they were fighting among themselves, but what for? Well
there’s a lot less of you to attack Minas Tirith, goodbye and good riddance.
The whole tower climbs backwards like. I’ll follow these lights. This must
be the entrance to the top tier. Now Frodo can’t be far away. Oh, an orc!
They’re not all dead.

ORC
Get ’em, hold ’em, boil em.

SAM V.O
There’s a sweet one for you.

ORC
Split ’em in two.

SAM V.O
Can’t let him have the Ring.

Sam holds the Ring and changes shape in the Orc’s eyes

ORC
No, no.

SAM
Now what the blazes made him do that? Come back here.

ORC
No, no.

SAM
Ah, the great elf warrior is loose. Stop. stop or I’ll skin you alive.

ORC
Mercy. Mercy.

SAM
I’ll think about it. I have some questions, filthy one.

ORC
Yes, I’ll tell you anything.

SAM
The Hobbit, Frodo, is he still alive?

ORC
If anything still lives here, he does

SAM
What happeend here, why all this carnage?

ORC
Our captains made battle and ordered us to fight also

SAM
What was in contest?

ORC
The Hobbit’s pretty coat, when he reveals its hiding place.

SAM
You killed each other for that blasted cloak? Well I have it, not Frodo.

ORC
You, you’re just a Hobbit.Give me the coat.

SAM
Get back.

ORC
No, No

Orc lunges at Sam who grabs the Ring, making himself look larger, and swings
Sting. Orc cries out and falls off stairs to his death. Sam continues on to
top tier of the tower.

SAM
This, this must be the top. Oh. Anything above? Yes, there is something.

Sam stares up at a trapdoor with a ladder leading up to it. Moaning is
heard from inside. Sam climbs ladder.

SAM
Frodo!.

Inside the tower an orc is standing over Frodo and whipping him.

SAM
Stop that, you pig.

Sam attacks orc, they do battle and the orc falls through the trapdoor.

ORC
Ahhhhhhh

FRODO
Ohhhh

SAM
Frodo. Dear master, oh Frodo! You live, you live, you live.

FRODO
Am I still dreaming?

SAM
No dream, master. It’s real. I’ve come.

FRODO
Sam, dear Sam. I feel like a child at rest when night fears are driven away
by some loved voice.

SAM
Come Mr Frodo. I still must get you out of this place. Please, dear master,
wake up.

FRODO
They hovered over me. Gloating, fingering their knives. The whips, their
claws, their eyes.

SAM
Don’t think about it. Let me help you to your feet.

FRODO
But, oh dear, the quest, the quest, has failed.

SAM
Failed? But no sir.

FRODO
Oh yes, the Ring is gone, dear Sam. And so even if we get out of here we
can’t escape. For evil is everywhere. And only elves can escape Middle
earth. They board the white ships at the Grey Havens and sail off, off to
the lands beyond.

The white swan ships of the elves sail off carrying Elrond, Gandalf, and
Frodo into the distance.

MINSTREL
The road goes ever on and on
To the lands beyond the sea.
On a white ship will I sail
Watching shadows part for me.

SAM
Don’t even think of passing on. The quest has not failed, master.

FRODO
You don’t understand, the orcs took everything. Everything.

SAM
Not everything. Look!

Sam holds out the Ring

FRODO
You’ve got it? You’ve got it here?

SAM
You must have lost it in the struggle. I found it.

FRODO
Samwise, you are a marvel.

SAM
I’ll keep it around my neck, for it’s too heavy for you to bear in your
condition.

FRODO
Give it to me! Give it to me at once, you can’t have it!

Sam takes off the Ring and hands it to Frodo.

SAM
All right Mr. Frodo here it is.

Chorus
Beware the power is a power never known.
Beware the power that was simple now has grown.
Beware.

FRODO
You filthy, slimy thief. I have the power now.

SAM
Oh master, no, oh don’t say such things, please don’t, it’s the Ring, the
Ring.

FRODO
Oh, Sam, what have I said? What have I done? Forgive me. I’ve forgotten its
malevalent trickery. I’m fine now, fine Sam. Forgive me. But I must carry
the burden to the end. It can’t be altered, you can’t come between me and
this Doom.

SAM
As you wish, master. I also have found Sting. Might I keep it with me a
little longer? See, I have the strenght to use it, and you with your wound
and all…

FRODO
Yes, yes of course, dear Sam.

SAM
And your cloak which I wear, in a pocket I found this. It has powers. It got
me past the Watchers. What is it?

FRODO
The phial of Gladriel. I can say no more.

SAM
But

FRODO
If I betray the trust and give the secret, its powers will die.

[Note from J.W: This is actually an inside joke. The writers for this movie
didn’t have the rights to material is Fellowship of the Ring, so if Frodo
can’t talk about how he got the phial for that reason!]

SAM
I understand.

FRODO
But now we must get out of here, quickly

Sam and frodo climb down from the tower.

SAM
I know the chain mail’s heavy for you, but we may need it. And I can’t leave
anything behind, so I’ll wear the Orc garb over my own.

FRODO
Well, don’t we make a fine matching pair? Now, off to Mount Doom. Hope
you’ve made inquiries about inns along the road.

SAM
Inns master?

FRODO
For food and drink. Only the best for two fine orcs.

SAM
There’s nothing, master. and you know it well, save for a few crumbs of cake
and drops of water left in my pack.

FRODO
Courage, Sam. That’s enough to start on.

SAM
The food we might manage, but the water’s going to be bad business.

FRODO
We’ll make it, but we’d best start or a whole lake of it won’t do us any
good.

SAM
Aye.

FRODO
No, I’m all right. It’s the mail, I’ll get used to it. Come.

Sam and Frodo stand before the Watchers.

FRODO
I’m going to faint, Sam. I don’t know what’s come over me.

SAM
It’s that invisible gate. Oh, there’s some devilry there. But I got through
once. Now for it,

Sam holds up the Phial of Galadriel, but the hobbits run into the barrier.

SAM
It’s still there. This is not working.

FRODO
They were expecting it. Their will is strong. It needs helping.

Frodo and Sam join hands, the barrier opens and the Watchers crumble to the
ground as the Hobbits run through.

SAM
We’ve broken the Watchers’ will!

FRODO
We’ve still a chance Samwise. There’s still a chance to destroy the Ring. A
black rider, the Nazgul!

SAM
Run Mr. Frodo! Not that way, there’s a drop. Follow me! Careful, Mr. Frodo.

FRODO
I can’t. Not another step.

SAM
We must keep going Master. The Nazgul is in charge of the tower now, a black
rider is not so easy to fool as the orcs.

FRODO
A moment, just give me a moment.

SAM
Begging your pardon sir, but there’s no time. Listen, as the foul flying
demon gives alarm to the whole vale of Goragoroth he’s rallying the dark
forces to defend the tower. Soon they’ll be upon us, now we’ve got to get
away and hide.

FRODO
Yes, of course, dear Sam.

SAM
Listen, we’d best get across the bridge, sir, while we’ve still time.

FRODO
If Sauron himself were to offer me a glass of water, I’d shake his hand.

SAM
Oh don’t say such things, it only makes it worse.

Sam falls down

FRODO
Sam!

SAM
Oh! A spot of dizziness there. Oh, sorry. Oh, tis a long time, Mr Frodo,
since I had a proper sleep.

FRODO
Come, Sam we shall support each other. It’s no good, Sam, I can’t manage the
weight of this mail shirt. It’s no use anyway , we shall never get through
by fighting.

SAM
We may have some to do. Oh, we won’t take on armies, but who knows what’s
down here in this canyon, slithering behind the rocks.

FRODO
No Sam, it must go.

SAM
What about that Gollum creature for instance? The Gollum isn’t dead and he’s
still after that Ring. Oh I’d hate to think of you with naught but a bit of
leather between you and a stab in the dark.

Frodo removes and drops the armor. The hobbits walk in the dark under the
moon.

FRODO
This hellish Mordor, first it sears you then it freezes you.

SAM
Oh Mr Frodo, maybe we could rest just a little, my eyes are, they’re closing
by themselves.

FRODO
Not here. I didn’t want to say anything, but there’s a black rider, a Nazgul
over us. I can feel it. We must keep moving.

SAM
Only a little more to climb out of the canyon. Then we’ll take a look and
see what the Vale of Goragoroth holds for us . I told you you’d see it Mr.
Frodo.

FRODO
And just look at it.

SAM
God help us.

FRODO
Behold, Goragoroth.

SAM
I don’t like the looks of things at all. Pretty hopeless, I call it.

FRODO
Yes, and these dark armies are not only of orcs; there are men too.

SAM
We can’t just cross all that open country crawling with enemies.

FRODO
Still Sam. we shall have to try.

The hobbits climb down a cliff face.

Chorus
It’s so easy not to try,
Let the world go drifting by.
If you never say hello
You won’t have to say goodbye.

FRODO
It’s no worse than I expected. I never hoped to get across. But I’ve got to
do the best I can.

SAM
I think we can make it to the next boulder, Master; no one is about.

FRODO
Blasted moonlight. Traveling by night’s almost as bad as by day.

SAM
Come now, sir, I’ll help.

FRODO
Got to rest.

SAM
If you please sir, me too. Just, just a few minutes.

Hobbits fall asleep. Daylight comes, a line of orcs comes marching, singing
disco

Chorus
Where there’s a whip there’s a way
Where’s there’s a whip there’s a way.
Where there’s a whip,
We don’t wanna go to war today,
There’s a way,
Where’s there’s a whip,
But the Lord of the lash says nay nay nay.
There’s a way.
We’re gonna march all day, all day all day.
For where there’s a whip, theres a way.
Where there’s a whip, there’s a way.
Where there’s a whip There’s a way.
Where there’s a whip There’s a way.
Left, right, left, right, left.
Where’s there’s a whip, there’s a way.
Left, right.
The crack on the back says we’re gonna march
Says were gonna march all day all night
And more.
For we are the slaves of the dark lord’s lore
Left right, left right, left right.
Where there’s a whip there’s a way.
Where there’s a whip there’s a way.
Where there’s a whip,
We don’t wanna go to war today.
There’s a way,
Where’s there’s a whip,
But the Lord of the lash says nay nay nay
There’s a way
We’re gonna march all day all day all day
Where there’s a whip there’s a way.
Left right, left right left right left right
Left right Left right, left right, left right,
Left right, left right, left right.

SAM
Mr Frodo.

FRODO
Huh? What is it?

SAM
Oh now we’ve gone and done it. Slept right through till daylight, we’ve only
this fool rock between us and them armies.

FRODO
Look out!

ORC
What have we here. Two deserters? Up with you, get in line.

FRODO
We’re in luck, he thinks we’re orcs.

SAM
Luck? Good sir, we’re gonna be marching with the whole blinking army back to
Sirith Ungol where we started from.

ORC
Come on, you slugs. Move it! Move it!

Chorus
Where there’s a whip,
We don’t wanna go to war today
There’s a way,
Where there’s a whip,
We’re gonna march all day, all da,y all day.
Where there’s a whip there’s a way.

FRODO
I can’t, I can’t continue.

SAM
I’d rather be singing a good old hobbit song myself. Well, at least they
gave us provisions for our packs. Though orc food is enough to turn a rodent
sick.

FRODO
Samwise, we have got to break ranks.

SAM
Not while old whipper there is watching. Don’t worry, Master, the
opportunity will come.

MAN
Hold!

ORC
What you mean hold?

MAN
I have a battalion of men to move across your road.

ORC
Well I’ve got a battalion of orcs to move cross yours.

MAN
You wait. Men come before orcs. Get back.

SAM
(To Frodo) I think this is it. You stay right here, sir. (To the Orc
captain) You going stand for that sir?

ORC
Hm? Get back in line.

SAM
You mean you’re gonna let a pack of filthy man creatures go before us?

ORC
Uh… well, uh,

SAM
And you call yourself an orc?

ORC
You’re right!

SAM
Kill ’em, bone ’em, cut ’em to bits!

ORC
Smash ’em, bash ’em, skin ’em alive!.

Men and Orcs fight, and Sam and Frodo slip away.

FRODO
Not an inch, not an inch further can I move.

SAM
Come, Mr. Frodo, one more crawl, and then you can lie still. A bit further
this way, sir.

FRODO
No use, going to die, can’t see a thing.

Frodo falls down a hole and appears dead

SAM
Mr. Frodo! Oh don’t die, Mr Frodo. Oh, you can’t die. Please Master! Oh, if
any power of good can hear us in this accursed land, give us help. Help us.

At Minas Tirith, the siege rages on.

GANDALF V.O
Power of good? Indeed; was there none left in all Middle earth with strength
to aid our dying cause? For at that moment the forces of darkness made ready
to break the main gate with a mighty battering ram which they have named
Grond. Long had it been forging in the dark smithies of Mordor; and on it
spells of ruin.

ORCS
Grond, Grond, Grond, Grond.

PIPPIN
The gate will never stand up to that thing.

GANDALF
Like the arm of the devil himself. When the gates break I shall be there to
greet it. Have my steed Shadowfax made ready. Farewell, Pippin.

PIPPEN
I go with you, sir.

GANDALF
Then we leave this life together. Come, little one. On, Shadowfax!

A new force arrives at the gate

GANDALF V.O
The Lord of the Nazgul, Sauron’s second in command, a creature of the
supernatural. And so no living man could hinder him, or bring him harm in
any way. He was invulnerable.

Nazgul flies down and stands at the gate, directing the bearers of Grond in
a foreign tongue, three times he speaks, three times Grond swings. The gate
breaks. Gondorian soldiers flee, Gandalf mounted on Shadowfax stands alone
before the gate facing the Nazgul Lord.

GANDALF
You cannot enter here. Go back to the abyss prepared for you. Go back. Fall
to the nothingness that awaits you and your master. Go.

NAZGUL LORD
Hahaha. Old fool, this is my hour. Do you not know death when you see it?
Die now and curse in vain.

A rooster crows

GANDALF V.O.
And as from some courtyard of the city, a cock crowed., recking nothing of
wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the
shadows of death was coming with the dawn. For as if in answer there came in
answer far away another note. Horns, horns, horns, o’er the fields of
Pelennor, they echoed from the distance; great horns of the north wildly
blowing. Theoden and the rescuing armies of Rohan had come at last.

Theoden and his army come riding down the hill triumphantly. Nazgul Lord
rides away.

THEODEN
Ride now, ride now, ride now to Gondor!

GANDALF V.O.
Victory was slipping from the grasp of evil even as he stretched out his
hand to sieze it. And the strength of goodness began to be felt once more
throughout the lands. Had a prayer been answered?

Frodo wakes up.

FRODO
Water, give me water!

SAM
Oh, Master, oh thank heavens. Here, now not too much now. No, not all at
once.

FRODO
He’s weakening. I feel it. Sauron is weakening. But he is still in command.
His arm is long and it wields great power.

Frodo tries to get up

SAM
No, Master you must rest.

FRODO
I must destroy the Ring. I’ve more of a chance now. But there’s still such a
long way to go.

SAM
That’s tomorrow, Mr. Frodo. Tomorrow.

MINSTREL OF GONDOR
Leave tomorrow till it comes.
Sleep will ease your mind.
With the dawn you’ll find, problems realign
A different way than yesterday.

Leave tomorrow till it comes.
Time is moving fast.
Don’t go pushing past, the ending of the day
Were meant to last till yesterday.
Tangled dreams unfold
And webs may disappear.
Stories are retold,
And cloudy thoughts will clear.

Leave tomorrow till it comes.
Sleep will ease your mind.
With the dawn you’ll find, problems realign
A different way than yesterday.
Than yesterday.

GANDALF V.O.
As the battle raged anew on the fields of Pelennor, the carnage continuing
endlessly through the days and nights, the real victory still lay in the
hands of Frodo and Samwise, and the terrible weight they bore closer and
closer to the destruction that was our only hope. And finally, almost dead,
without fully realizing that they’d reached the roots of the accursed Mount
Doom.

FRODO
Come Sam, dear Sam, for the rest of the way we shall crawl.

GANDALF V.O.
And so foot by foot like small grey insects they crept up the slope ever
closer to that which lay inside the mountain. The fire and the Cracks of
Doom.

Chorus
Doom, the Cracks of Doom,
The chambers of fire, the fires of Doom.

GANDALF V.O.
Who causes the minutes to fall dead, adding up to no passing hour, bringing
no change from day to night, as the unseen sun fails to filter into the
everpresent shadows? Who is this Dark Lord who turns starless nights into
sunless days? How does his piercing eye see through the everpresent
darkness, seeing all and nothing? The restless eye in his dark tower,
wearing a veil of protective shadow that is woven from fear. And yet he
fears too. In the security of his protected realm he fears the winds of the
world are turning against him, tearing aside his veils and troubling him
with tidings of bold spies that have passed through his fences.

Chorus
Doom, the Cracks of Doom,
The chambers of fire, the fires of Doom.

SAM
Did you see, when the clouds parted?

FRODO
Yes.

SAM
He’s spotted us. It’s all up, or will soon be. This is the end of ends.

FRODO
No, still have a chance.

SAM
Bless you, sir, for your bravery. Give me the strength! I ask you give me
the strength to try once more!

GOLLUM
Gollum, gollum, gollum, gollum, gollum, gollum. Wicked master.

SAM
God help us!

FRODO
Gollum!

GOLLUM
Wicked master cheats us. Gollum. He musn’t go that way. He musn’t hurt
precious.

FRODO
Away, you scum.

SAM
What do you want of us?

GOLLUM
Give it to Gollum, yes, give it to us. Give it, give it, give it to us. My
Precious, my Ring soon it will be mine, all mine. Precious, oh my precious.
Precious. Precious,. precious is mine, mine, mine!

SAM
You foul reeking scum, I’ll kill you. Oh, I can’t stike. I may hit Mr.
Frodo.

FRODO
Let me get hold of the Ring.

Chorus
The Bearer of the Ring, the Wearer of the Ring
Stands on the very brink of fate.
Staring into eyes of darkness and despair
That rise and shrink with hate.

FRODO
Begone and trouble me no more. If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast
yourself into the fire of Doom.

SAM
Look out, he’ll spring again. Quick master, no time to lose. Go on. I’ll
deal with him. Go on.

Frodo leaves for the cracks of doom

SAM
(To Gollum) Now I can deal with you.

GOLLUM
Don’t kill us, don’t hurt us. Let us live. Please, let us live just a little
longer, please… gollum, gollum, gollum, gollum. Lost. Lost. We are Lost.
And when precious goes, we’ll die, yes, all of us will die into the dust.
Die into the dust.

SAM
How can I kill such a pitiful and cringing abomination? I have come to know
the strain of bearing the Ring for even a little while. But this miserable
creature enslaved to it for years? Oh curse you, you stinking thing. Be
off! I don’t trust you, not as far as I could kick you. Be off! Or I shall
hurt you with nasty cruel steel, yes!

Gollum runs off.

SAM
Now, to find Mr. Frodo again. And here it is, Sammath Naur, doorway to the
gut of the mountain, and to Hell itself for all I know. Yuck, dark, hot,
it’s reeking. Frodo? Master! There’s no choice. I have to go in.

GANDALF V.O.
At the battle of the Pelennor Fields, the tide had turned, with the arrival
of Theoden and the armies of Rohan.

PIPPIN
Hail, proud Merry

MERRY
Hail, Pippin!

MERRY
Bless you for a sure eye, old friend. How good to see you.

PIPPEN
Bless you for bringing Theoden and his army. You’ve won the day for us!

GANDALF V.O.
And in the midst of Theoden’s glory, his golden shield was dimmed. The new
morning was blotted from the sky, and the dark fell upon him.

THEODEN
Fear no darkness, Snowmane. No, Snowmane, no!

Snowmane throws Theoden to the ground.

GANDALF V.O.
And the dark force had claimed our savior, Lord of Rohan.

MERRY
Lord Theoden. Nay! Oh, my dear master. Oh, the horror!.

PIPPEN
No, my friend, he is gone. You can do nothing.

MERRY
Hear me, hear me, oh darkness! I will avenge my lord.

GANDALF V.O.
And what event at just that moment called evil to enlist such power. Nothing
here, surely. But in the bowels of Mount Doom.

SAM
Master? Mr. Frodo? Master, where are you?

FRODO
Behold, the Crack of Doom.

SAM
Master!

FRODO
Hold! Get back.

SAM
Master, it is me, Samwise. And if that be the Crack of Doom at last, do what
you’ve come all this distance to do. Now.

FRODO
I have come, but I do not choose to do now, what I have come to do.

Chorus
The bearer of the Ring, the wearer of the Ring,
He hears the a voice compelling him,
Filling him with thoughts that echo in his mind,
They should be telling him.

SAM
No, Mr. Frodo. Don’t let the Ring claim you!

Chorus
Beware, the power is a power never known,
Beware, the power that was simple now has grown.
Beware, O Bearer of the Ring.
The final power has yet to be shown.

FRODO
Get back! I am not the Ring’s, the Ring is mine. Look!

Frodo puts on Ring, turns invisible.

SAM
Master, no,. no, please, Nooo.

Nazgul Lord returns.

GANDALF V.O.
He had come again, bringing ruin, turning hope to despair and victory to
death.

Nazgul Lord lands before Theoden’s body. A Rohan soldier rides up to face
him.

SOLDIER
Begone foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion. Leave the dead in peace.

NAZGUL LORD
Come not between the Nazgul and his prey, or he will slay thee in turn.

SOLDIER
Do what you will, I will hinder it if I may.

NAZGUL LORD
Hinder me? Thou fool. Dost thou not know the prophecy? No living man may
hinder me.

SOLDIER
But, no living man am I.You look upon a woman. Eowyn am I. You stand between
me and my lord and kin. Begone. For living or dark undead, I will smite you
if you touch him.

PIPPIN
A woman? Eowyn?

MERRY
‘Tis Lord Theoden’s niece! She wanted to ride with us but he forbade. Ha,
she disguised as a knight and she came hither.

PIPPIN
Foul, putrid wind. How does she bear the stench of it?

MERRY
Strong she is and brave, I must to her aid.

Nazgul steed charges Eowyn, she cuts off its head. Nazgul and Eowyn cross
swords, she falls and Nazgul Lord stands over her. Merry comes running with
drawn sword, strikes at and distracts the lord of the Ringwraiths.

MERRY
Nooo!

NAZGUL LORD
Ahhhh

Eowyn rises and strikes the Nazgul dead. He disappears.

MERRY
It’s empty.

EOWYN
Uncle, I have avenged thee!

GANDALF V.O.
Theoden was born from the field with honor. And we wondered if, when our own
lord King Aragorn returned, would his fate be the same. With the death of
the Nazgul Lord, Sauron’s forces lost heart and began a retreat of a dismal
dissaray. And then, as though our triumph were but a child’s toy, a game
with which Sauron was playing and taunting us, the tide of battle suddenly
changed. For from the wretched forces of evil, a new cry of hope went up.
The Black Fleet! That which I had dreaded, had happened, for if enemy laden
ships had come from this direction it meant that the black forces had
already conquered Ithilien and Lebennin, lands we thought safely ours. The
tide had turned still one more time, and this time against us. But behold!
As the flagship’s standard broke the wind, it displayed the sign no lord had
borne for years, and which only one lord could bear. Aragorn, he who would
be our king, had returned!
And the hosts of Mordor were siezed with bewilderment. And they fled. That
night we held council.
While Aragorn had the enemy on the run, he decided to pursue them, into
Mordor across the Gorogoroth plateau, and to the very bastian of Sauron
himself, the dark tower of Barad Dur.

ARAGORN
The shortest way would be through the pass at Sirith Ungol, but that is
narrow and dangerous to move and army through.

GANDALF V.O.
And so he decided to march along the mountains north, and then west to the
haunted pass of Sirith Gorgor, and the untold legions of the Black Lord.

ARAGORN
Why so glum, wizard? Does the mere thought of Sauron’s black forces
overwhelm your spirits?

GANDALF
This war is without final hope. Victory cannot be achieved without force of
arms. Whether you sit here to endure siege after siege, or march out to be
overwhelmed. You have only a choice of evils.

ARAGORN
Then if the choice be mine, I choose to march.

GANDALF V.O.
And for days and nights, march we did. And my spirit was leadened.

Chorus
Win the battle, lose the war.
Choice of evils lies before your feet.
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

GANDALF V.O.
And finally, the pass. Guarded by the Towers of the Teeth, and inside the
orcs made song to match my spirit.

Chorus
If you win, then you will lose.
Choice of evils, yours to choose
Retreat, Retreat Retreat, Retreat.

You are standing in the eye of the storm.
Move an inch, and you’ll be dead.
You are standing underneath, the towers of the teeth.
And the eye blazes red.

Win the battle, lose the war.
Choice of evils lie before your feet.
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

ARAGORN
Silence! Come forth! The King of Gondor demands the black lord to come
forth, atone for his evils, and depart then forever. Come forth!

The gates open, Mouth of Sauron seated on a horse comes forth.

MOUTH OF SAURON
I am the Mouth of Sauron

ARAGORN
His emissary, you mean, for you be no wraith, but made from flesh and blood
beneath that mask and those robes. Even as I.

MOUTH OF SAURON
Is there anyone in this grout with authority to treat with me? Not thou,
Aragorn, it needs more to make a king than a rabble such as this.

ARAGORN
We shall see.

MOUTH OF SAURON
Be warned, you are hopelessly outnumbered here.

ARAGORN
Our decision is made. Begone! We did not come here to waste words in
treating with the likes of you. One of Sauron’s slaves. Begone! We will meet
your armies.

MOUTH OF SAURON
Hahahahaha

Mouth of Sauron turns and rides through the gates.

Chorus
You are standing in the eye of the storm.
Move an inch, and you’ll be dead.
You are standing underneath, the towers of the teeth.
And the eye blazes red….

GANDALF V.O.
As I faced my own almost certain death, I wondered, has he the Ring? Has
Sauron really got the Ring? Where is the Ring? Had I but known that deep in
the bowels of Mount Doom, Samwise had been searching these many days for his
master until he himself had reached the core, the fiery forge itself.

SAM
And this at last is it. The end of Frodo’s quest. But instead of his
triumph, it ends with his madness. What’s that? Gollum? Here? Fighting with
something that is not there? Mr. Frodo! Invisible!

Chorus
Frodo of the nine fingers
And the Ring of doom.
Why does he have nine fingers?

Gollum bites at the Ring, , Frodo cries out,

SAM
Mr. Frodo!

Frodo, now visible, writhes on the ground in pain clutching his hand. Gollum
stands holding the Ring triumphantly.

Chorus
Where is the Ring of doom?

GOLLUM
Ah! Precious Precious Oh! My precious. Oh, my precious

SAM
Oh, my master, your poor hand, oh my master.

FRODO
‘Tis better this way. ‘Tis better than that madness. Look!

GOLLUM
Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine, My My Ring! Ahhhhh My Precious!

Gollum tumbles off the edge down into the fire.

FRODO
Gollum has completed our quest. The Ring is destroyed in the fires where it
was wrought. At last, the Ring exists no more.

SAM
She’s erupting. Quick master, back through these cracks. Run! Run!

At the gates of Mordor….

ARAGORN
All Mordor has been destroyed. How?

GANDALF
How? There is but one answer. The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his quest. The
realm of Sauron is ended.

ARAGORN
And with him us. For the great cannot tell good from evil, my friend.

GANDALF
Nay, look, see! The Lord of the Eagles and his legions! Our armies are
saved.

Meanwhile, at Mount Doom…

FRODO
It’s no use, the lava will have us! I’m glad you’re with me, here at the end
of all things, Sam.

SAM
And you with me, master. But I don’t want to give up yet. It’s not like me
somehow, if you understand.

FRODO
Maybe not, Sam, but it’s like things are in the world. Hopes fail, an end
comes. There is no escape. Die well, Samwise.

Eagles come out of the air, one of them carrying Gandalf, and they pick up
Sam and Frodo and carry them away.

GANDALF V.O.
Yes, once again as he had so many times in the past, Gwahir, the magnificent
Lord of the Eagles, had come to our rescue. The mighty warbirds returned us
to Minas Tirith, where months later, our dead buried, our wounded healed,
the fields of Pelennor green with springtime, the city cleansed and rebuilt,
the standard of King Aragorn was raised finally to the top of the White
Tower. And down below the restored Great Gate swung open, and King Aragorn
officially took possession of his capital city. Behold, the return of the
King!

Aragorn and his party travel down the main road to the front door of the
castle amidst cheering crowds and little children and young girl throwing
flowers.

Chorus
The end of the Ring, the return of the king
A new age has come to the land
The end of the Ring, the return of the king
He shall rule with a true healing hand

The quest is done, the battle won
And all that lost in the winning
Oft hope is born
When all’s forlorn
And there’s a new beginning

He who had the courage not to fail
The bearer of the Ring we hail
Praise him, praise him
Praise him with great praise
Praise him with great praise

The end of the Ring, the return of the king,
A new age has come to the land.
The end of the Ring, the return of the king.
He shall rule with a true healing hand.

In Rivendell, the group has gathered around the minstrel.

MINSTREL
Frodo, of the nine fingers and the Ring of doom!

GANDALF
And now we all know, But alas, look.

Bilbo is asleep

ALL
(Forced laughter)

BILBO
Just, just resting my eyes.

FRODO
Sweet Bilbo, you will return with us tomorrow to Hobbiton, where you rest
your eyes as much as you wish.

BIBLO
Return? Nay. On the morrow, I depart with Elrond and Gandalf.

FRODO
Depart?

BILBO
From the Grey Havens on the white ships.

FRODO
What means this?

GANDALF
We are old. Our job is done. The third age of Middle-earth is over. As we
pass on to the lands beyond the sea, the new age of man begins.

FRODO
I shall miss you. But I thought only elves departed thus.. How can Bilbo
join you?

ELROND
Bilbo has served us well. There is always room for a friend.

FRODO
Have I served thee well?

GANDALF
Need you ask such a question?

FRODO
I have grown weary of this world. The weight of the Ring all these years has
worn me far beyond my age. I would, if it pleases you, set sail with you on
the morrow.

GANDALF
Good friend, savior of all we hold precious. Of course thou might join us.

SAM
Mr. Frodo, we cannot be parted. But, must I go too?

FRODO
Nay, dear Sam. You are still young in spirit. You and Merry and Pippin. A
good life awaits you back in the Shire with plump Hobbit wives, good hobbit
meal, long liesurely smokings of good hobbit pipes, and laps filled with
bouncing hobbit babies. Now, you must keep the book of the hobbits up to
date.

SAM
I-I will. The orcs and trolls are gone to dust, the elves are slowly
departing, dwarves have disappeared into their misty mountains, and their
have been no dragons for ages.

BILBO
Right.

GANDALF
What troubles you Sam?

SAM
Will there be no room for hobbits in this new age of man?

GANDALF
I think so. Of us all, hobbits are the closest to men, the most human. And
one day they will be as men are. Look you. Frodo is a bit larger than Bilbo,
just as you are larger than Frodo. And younger still than you, and larger
are Merry and Pippin. And if you keep the book of the hobbits as Frodo asks,
ages from now when your stories are still told, there will be those humans
who might well wonder: Is there hobbit in me? Is there?

Elrond, Frodo, and Gandalf and Bilbo are on a white ship sailing out to sea
with Merry, Pippin and Sam waving goodbye from the shore.

MINSTREL
Roads go ever on and on
To the land beyond the sea.
On a white ship will I sail,
Watching shadows part for me.

Leaving Havens grey with rain,
Now that years have slipped away,
Leaving friends with gentle pain,
As they start another day.

Roads I traveled I must leave
For I’ve turned the final bend.
Weep not empty tears but grieve
As the road comes to an end.

It’s so easy not to try
Let the world go drifting by.
If you never say hello
You won’t have to say goodbye.

GANDALF V.O.
And lo, as foretold the epic of the return of the king ends at the beginning
of the new age of man.

MINSTREL
If you never say hello
You won’t have to say goodbye.

THE END… or the beginning… or something