Battle of The Hornburg - Adaptations - Peter Jackson's "Battle of Helm's Deep"

Peter Jackson's "Battle of Helm's Deep"

The Battle of the Hornburg is also a key part of Peter Jackson's film adaptation, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

In the context of the film, it is referred to as the Battle of Helm's Deep, and like Bakshi, Jackson identifies "Helm's Deep" with the fortress itself. As Gríma says to Saruman:

In the movie, 10,000 of Saruman's Uruk-hai (with no orcs of other races, Dunlendings or wargs to accompany them) lay siege to the fortress, which is defended by around 300 Rohirrim (before the battle, Legolas states their strength to be "three hundred against ten thousand", but he may have meant at that time, as more were fleeing to the fortress). Soon after however, a large group of the Elves of Lórien join the defences. Elrond, at the prompting of Galadriel, sends the Elves under the command of Haldir of Lórien to reinforce the defence of the keep. During the battle, nearly all of the Elves are killed, including Haldir. The defenders suffer heavy losses, but hold out until dawn, when Gandalf arrives with 2,000 riders led by Éomer, who finally turn the tide of the battle and send Saruman's forces into retreat. In the Extended DVD version, the Huorns make an appearance, massacring the fleeing Uruk-hai after the battle, but were absent from the theatrical cut.

Peter Jackson gave himself a cameo appearance as one of the Rohirrim; he throws a javelin at the Uruks. Producer Barrie Osborne has a similar cameo, as a Rohirrim throwing a rock down on them.

The film contains many differences from Tolkien's work, and several of these differences concern the battle. These differences include:

• In an earlier scene, Gandalf suggests that the forces of Rohan should meet Saruman's army in the open field, an idea immediately rejected by Théoden. The opposite happens in the book: Théoden rides to reinforce Erkenbrand at the Fords of Isen; when it is learned that Erkenbrand was defeated and driven from the fords, Gandalf advises Théoden to divert his force to the Hornburg.

• Before and during the battle, Jackson shows women and children of Rohan being sheltered within the Deeps, overseen by Éowyn. Later, he shows all boys able to carry weapons arming for battle. Aragorn comforts a boy named Haleth son of Háma (already dead at this point in the movie, but who dies before the gates of the Hornburg in the book). In the text, the women and children of Edoras are sheltered at Dunharrow. However many of the folk from the Westfold had taken shelter in the Deeps after the defeat of Erkenbrand at the ford of Isen.

• In the novel, the Orcs are temporarily delayed at Helm's Dike, while in the movie they march unhindered until they reach the walls.

• In the novel, there are no other Elven archers besides Legolas present. Legolas merely wishes that they had a hundred archers of Mirkwood with them, and tells Gimli that his folk are busy with their own troubles. The Elves of Lothlórien and Mirkwood do withstand assaults by Sauron's armies; but these battles occur off stage. In his commentary on the Extended DVD version, Jackson said he wanted to show the sacrifice of the Elves in a visible fashion. Craig Parker, the actor who portrayed Haldir, suggested on his commentary his character was killed to show the consequences of battle as opposed to "boys running around hitting sticks together and wandering off at the end."

• The ambiguous "blasting-fire" of the novel is interpreted as bombs containing a form of black powder, detonated by an Uruk carrying a torch with a glittering white flame.

• Aragorn's parley is not featured. However, he and Gimli (whose height is used for comedic effect at the start of the battle) share a scene where they sneak through a side-door and he tosses the dwarf into a group of enemies who are battering down the doors to the keep.

• The portrayal of Rohirrim reinforcements and Gandalf at the end of the battle vary; in the novel they are infantry led by Erkenbrand (while Éomer had fought at the Hornburg alongside Aragorn), whereas in the film they are cavalry led by Éomer. While Tolkien wrote that the Orcs were already demoralized before Gandalf arrived, the film encounter is somewhat more dramatic with the Orcs forming up an organized sheltron against the charging Rohirrim horseman but at last minute the Orcs' line falters after they are dazzled by sunlight.

• At the end of the battle, Gimli wins the contest by 43 to Legolas' 42. Jackson inserts another comedy scene here, with Legolas shooting a dead Uruk and claiming a tie on the basis that it was moving, Gimli irately explains this is because his axe is embedded in the Uruk's nervous system. The result of the contest is only shown in the extended version of the movie.

• In the theatrical release, the elimination of the Orcs after Gandalf's charge is not seen. However, the Extended DVD Edition shows the Orcs fleeing into the "forest" of Huorns where they are promptly annihilated while the Rohirrim look on. In the novel, the Huorn's destruction of the Orcs is not realized until the next day.

• In the novel, Treebeard and the Ents and Huorns go to war immediately upon the conclusion of Entmoot. In the film, they decide that the war is not their concern and Treebeard offers Pippin and Merry a lift to the edge of Fangorn. Pippin tricks Treebeard into taking them south by Isengard where the Ent witnesses the mass clearing of trees by Saruman's forces, upon which Treebeard promptly calls the Ents and Huorns off to war.

In the original script of the film, Elrond and Arwen had gone to see Galadriel in person, and it was Arwen who led the Elves to fight alongside the Rohan defenders. Arwen's involvement was rejected after Jackson revised the portrayal of her character from a "warrior princess" to a role closer to that of the book, but the Elves remained part of the battle since Jackson liked the concept.