Helms Deep vs the pelennor fields Battle

[Hunter Rider]

Two classic cinematic battles,which is your favourite ?
The poll will be open 3 days and the winner faces all other battles ever 1 at a time.......best make some suggestions and try to contain your excitement

 

[Sava]

the pelennor fields ..thats the one in the 3rd film right?

 

[Mee]

They're both great, but I like Helm's Deep best.

 

[Hunter Rider]

the pelennor fields ..thats the one in the 3rd film right?

Yep

 

[hitmanyr2k]

Both battles are great but Helm's deep had a bit too much comic relief going on with Gimli and Legolas. The Pelennor fields battle had much more tension.

 

[Immortalfire]

Helm's Deep...a battle in the rain, righteous

 

[Hunter Rider]

Helm's Deep...a battle in the rain, righteous

Helms Deep for me to,I think visually it was the more spectacular even though it was more contained,I also was more invested in Aragon taking his leader mantle,both are amazing though

 

[JackBauer]

nothing as cool as Gandalf and Eomer's army arriving at the nick of time.

 

[That-Guy]

Love 'em both, but Helm's Deep did the "impending dread build-up" better, plus it was the central focus of the movie, whereas one Pelannor Fields happened, there were other things going on all over the place.

 

[The Dark Defender]

Helms Deep is one of the best battles ever, but it's a midget next to a giant compared to Pellenor Fields.

There's nothing in Helm's Deep that compares to the charge of the Rohirrim, Eowyn stepping up to the plate against the Fell Beast and the Witch King, or Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli's appearance with the Army of the Dead at Pellenor Fields.

Pellenor Fields gave me everything I loved about Helms Deep and amplified it 10 fold.

 

[Erzengel]

Helm's Deep because their back is against the wall and yet they still fight.

This all leads back to my Spiderman 2, ESB, LOTR, Godfather 2 adding depth to their characters unlike some other recent sequels.

 

[ico]

Pelennor Fields by far. I was in awe watching it.

Plus I get shivers was the Rohan Army appear

 

[Pink Ranger]

Helm's Deep. It was dark, gritty, more realistic and relied less on CGI elements, and the battle itself had a better narrative flow to it.

 

[The Dark Defender]

Helms Deep had just as much CGI in it.

 

[PowersOfMind]

Helm's Deep. I think the desperation of so little against so many made it great. I like Pelenor Fields too but Helm's Deep was better.

 

[Erzengel]

I liked the Legolas/Gimli Rivalry.

 

[LostSon88]

Pelenor Fields all the way...Helm's Deep was great, but was nothing more than a teaser by comparison.

Still get goosebumps by the charge of the Rohirrim.

 

[The Dark Defender]

Helm's Deep. I think the desperation of so little against so many made it great. I like Pelenor Fields too but Helm's Deep was better.

In Helms Deep they were outnumbered by about 10,000.

It was around 200,000 at Pellenor Fields.

 

[The Dark Defender]

I liked the Legolas/Gimli Rivalry.

Me too, I enjoyed it quite a bit during both battles.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I like the nod to the Seven Samurai in Helms Deep as well as that great shot of Legolas sliding down the steps on a shield firing off arrows

 

[PowersOfMind]

Yes I know but I felt it more with Helm's Deep. It must be my Two Towers bias.

I love all three. I have the theater versions and the extended editions but I love Two Towers the most. Some middle movies in trilogies just do it for me.

 

[PowersOfMind]

I like the nod to the Seven Samurai in Helms Deep as well as that great shot of Legolas sliding down the steps on a shield firing off arrows

Yeah that is a great shot.

 

[LostSon88]

It was around 200,000 at Pellenor Fields.

Yup...at the camps, Theoden said something about "6,000 spears...less than half of what I'd hope."

6,000 vs. 200,000

(although this isn't counting the soldiers of Gondor)

 

[블라스]

Some people complain about Legolas Van Damme, but I thought those acrobatic/martial-artsy scenes by everyone's favorite elf were awesome

 

[DACrowe]

In the book, Pellinor Fields by a long shot.

On film though, I gotta' say Helm's Deep was much better. Helm's Deep never dragged and while not as epic (though 10,000 vs. 350 is epic) with fewer weapons and creatures, it was more intense.

During the whole of Helm's Deep I was on the edge of my seat. I still am. After years of rewatching it still is suspensful. The action is top notch and the desperation and hum an element played up makes for a cinematic knock-out punch. While Pellinor Fields in retrospect suffers from what Peter Jackson's good (but heavily flawed) King Kong remake did....excess and ego driven waste.

It is too big and too long. It starts out suspensful but it feels like less is at stake because we never connect with the people of Mina's Tirth. The plight of those in Helm's Deep is like a shot to the gut but we never get to really see the people of Mina's Tirth except when Faramir goes off to "die." That's it. And it is SO LONG. It just doesn't gel nearly as well.

When I first saw it, it was good but I felt it dragged and needed to wrap up. Sure it has its highlights, like the flying heads, Gandalf recalling Heaven, the banters of the heroes, Rohan's charge, etc. but the sum parts outweigh the whole which drags. In rewatch value it can become downright boring if not monotonous. It probably is the weakest point of ROTK but it makes up about half the movie (ROTK is still my favorite of the 3 by the way, barely surpassing FOTR though now, which is probably the best made of the 3 by a long shot).

In the end Pellinor Fields is exhausting but Helm's Deep is exhilerating.