The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring‘s archery scenes get put under the microscope by an archery expert, and they’re a mixed bag in terms of realism. Serving as an adaptation of the beloved books by author J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson’s first entry in his Lord of the Rings trilogy was released in 2001. The film features a chaotic and action-packed final battle, with Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Lurtz, the Uruk-hai leader, putting their bows and arrows to good use.
In a recent video for Insider, archery expert Jim Kent analyzes the archery featured during The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring‘s ending battle, finding some mistakes.
While Legolas’ use of a back quiver passes muster, there are some style choices made in the scene that aren’t quite accurate. Check out Kent’s full comment below:
“If I use a quiver, I tend to use a back quiver. It gives you a nice low profile. When you’re in the woods, you tend to want to keep a fairly slim profile, so a back quiver is quite useful.
“Arrows do make a noise when you shoot them, but they don’t quite make a noise like you expect them to. Unless you use something called a flu-flu, which is an arrow with really big feathers on the end. The noise that they make is so satisfying.
“He’s got this weird grip on the string. He’s got the arrow on the left side of the bow, I think, and he’s holding the string like that, which isn’t what you do. If you really wanted to hold the string upside down, you’d need the arrow on the right side of the bow. I imagine that’s more of an aesthetic thing than anything.
“You can hear, as he draws up, you can hear the bow creaking. Now, this is a trope. Bows don’t creak. If your bow’s creaking when you come up to full draw, it’s probably going to explode on you. But the archery is a little bit all over the shop. I’m going to six [out of 10]. I’m going to get some hate in the comments for that one, but I love Lord of the Rings, so don’t come for me.”
Do Fellowship Of The Ring’s Archery Mistakes Matter?
As Kent alludes to, all the archery mistakes featured in The Fellowship of the Ring‘s ending battle are done in the name of style and characterization. Legolos’ arrows make an exaggerated sound as they fly through the air because it makes the act of shooting arrows more cinematic and, frankly, cooler. Lurtz’ incorrect grip on the bow helps distinguish him as a character and the creaking adds a level of anticipation and dread to the moment before he shoots Boromir (Sean Bean).
Ultimately, Lord of the Rings‘ archery mistakes are probably only going to be noticed by viewers who are really into archery. The three movies probably also feature mistakes related to horses, sword fighting, and castle sieges that only experts would clock. In terms of the big picture, then, these types of mistakes are fairly inconsequential unless they take large swathes of viewers out of the film and the story it’s trying to tell.
With his The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson brings Tolkien’s Middle-earth to life, but he adds his own flourishes throughout to make the world and its inhabitants truly come alive. Small stylistic decisions, which include arrow sounds, are little details that may go unnoticed in the moment, but they’re ultimately all a part of what makes The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and its sequels some of the most beloved fantasy movies of all time.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is the first film in Peter Jackson’s critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movie follows Frodo Baggins (Elijah Woods) as he is tasked with destroying the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom after he inherits the ring.
- Release Date
- December 19, 2001
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Cast
- Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Liv Tyler , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Orlando Bloom , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Sean Bean , Ian Holm , Andy Serkis
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 178 Minutes
- Genres
- Action , Fantasy , Adventure
- Writers
- Fran Walsh , Philippa Boyens , Peter Jackson
- Budget
- $93 Million
- Studio(s)
- New Line Cinema , Wingnut Films
- Distributor(s)
- New Line Cinema
- Sequel(s)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- prequel(s)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Franchise(s)
- The Lord of the Rings
