A recent YouTube video by Insider gathered experts on various aspects of historical combat to discuss the realism of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. They covered topics such as Lurtz’s unusual archery form, the Rohirrim’s strategy at the Battle of Helm’s Deep, the siege engines deployed at Minas Tirith, and the techniques used to reforge the shards of Narsil into Andúril. For the most part, these experts commended the films, acknowledging that the majority of the trilogy’s historical inaccuracies were included for the sake of heightening the cinematic spectacle.
The most glowing reviews came from Toby Capwell, the Curator of Arms and Armor for an English museum known as the Wallace Collection. He analyzed the prologue of the first film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, specifically the scene in which the Dark Lord Sauron entered the battlefield. Capwell pointed out the strong basis that the film’s version of Sauron had in historical weapons and armor. As well as making history buffs happy, this realism added to Sauron’s terrifying presence. Capwell also noted some key ways in which Sauron’s equipment differed from that of real-world warriors, contributing to the fantasy aesthetic of Middle-earth.
Sauron Was a Terror to Behold During the War of the Last Alliance
- Sauron’s helmet was meant to be reminiscent of a horse’s skull.
- Sauron was portrayed in the prologue by Sala Baker, who also played some Orcs throughout the trilogy.
- Wētā Workshop’s original design for the Witch-king of Angmar had a helmet that looked much more like Sauron’s, but it was changed to avoid confusing audiences.
Capwell began by praising the quality of Sauron’s armor: «That is metal. Nothing else looks like metal but metal in closeup. All that decoration is etched into the steel with acid. This is film armor as good as it gets.» Behind-the-scenes footage from The Fellowship of the Ring proves that Capwell’s assessment was correct. Wētā Workshop’s creative supervisor, Richard Taylor, explained that the Sauron’s armor was made of real steel and that the decorations were «etched using sulfuric and hydrochloric acid to eat the surface of the metal.»
Capwell went on to discuss the seeming inspirations behind Sauron’s armor, stating that it resembled German Gothic plate armor from the 15th century. He did not speculate why Wētā Workshop would use this particular armor as a basis for Sauron’s, but the reason was likely to emphasize his power, as Gothic armor is generally considered to be the epitome of historical armor. It contrasted Sauron’s enemies in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, who wore combinations of lighter plate armor, chainmail, leather, and fabric. They were still well-protected, but Sauron looked like a walking tank in comparison. He seemed invincible, which he practically was; Isildur was only able to defeat him with a lucky sword swing that severed the One Ring from the Dark Lord’s hand.
Sauron's Weapon and Armor Reflected His Personality
Capwell ended this section of the Insider video by inspecting Sauron’s mace. He pointed out that it was much larger than its historical counterparts, which were usually just «a foot or a bit more long» with heads that were «quite small.» Of course, Sauron was roughly twice the size of an ordinary person, but even in comparison to his body proportions, the mace was oversized. Capwell admitted, «Massive always reads well on screen, especially when you have a Dark Lord of Mordor.» As an immortal Maia spirit, Sauron possessed many superhuman abilities, including the strength needed to lift such an incredibly heavy weapon, so even this divergence from reality was not immersion-breaking.
J. R. R. Tolkien’s writings never specified what weapon — if any — Sauron used during the War of the Last Alliance. Wētā Workshop chose to give him a mace since it was the weapon canonically wielded by his master, the Dark Lord Morgoth. The brutality of a mace was also in keeping with Sauron’s goal of striking fear into his enemies. He wanted to make a show of his overwhelming might by launching soldiers across the battlefield with every swing of his weapon. This ties into Capwell’s final point; he concluded that what matters most about a film’s weapons and armor is how well they «bring its characters and its themes across,» which The Lord of the Rings trilogy did brilliantly. Capwell gave the scene a perfect 10/10 score. The realism of Sauron’s equipment is one of many examples of the meticulous attention to detail that Wētā Workshop paid to The Lord of the Rings‘ props.
Summary
The Lord of the Rings is a long-running fantasy franchise created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The core series consists of four primary books: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and The Return of the King, all of which have been adapted into films. The Lord of the Rings core franchise centers around Frodo Baggins, a living being known as a hobbit, and a group of heroes from the various kingdoms such as the kingdom of man, the kingdom of dwarves, and the kingdom of elves. Together with the great wizard Gandalf, the group will embark on a perilous quest across Middle Earth to take The One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it, before it can corrupt anyone and return to the hands of the evil entity known as Sauron, hellbent on conquering all of Middle Earth. The original novel/prequel films, The Hobbit, stars Frodo’s uncle Bilbo Baggins as he embarks on a quest from the comfort of his home and seeks the treasure of a dragon known as Smaug. Bilbo stumbles upon The One Ring on his quest, and finds himself amidst a great war. The most recent media for the franchise is the currently airing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, airing exclusively on Prime Video.
