Culture news The most famous sentence from the Lord of the Rings trilogy is a mistake: the actor made a mistake
It has now been more than twenty years since Peter Jackson ended the adaptation of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Behind this triple achievement, there are many anecdotes, some more well known than others. However, did you know that one of the greatest lines in this trilogy is actually an error kept in editing by Peter Jackson? Yes, that’s not how JRR Tolkien wrote this sentence in the book!
A trilogy that has become partly cult thanks to its anecdotes… and its lines
There are many reasons why Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, The Lord of the Ringsbe so cult. The most obvious is that it is the brilliant adaptation of a major work of fantasy literature. However, there could be another, more amusing one which consists of saying that the numerous anecdotes surrounding the three films also contributed to his fame. Today, there are a plethora of them and some are particularly tasty : filming on a minefield, the privilege of meeting JRR Tolkien for one of the actors or ”'[againtheuniqueexchangeoffivewordsbetweentwocentralcharacters[encorel’uniqueéchangedecinqmotsentredeuxpersonnagescentraux
Moreover, speaking of replicas, this is also what allowed the trilogy to be so popular and anchored in pop culture. Since the release of the films, many spectators have memorized at least one phrase and cannot help but say it when the opportunity presents itself. However, if there is indeed one sentence more famous than the others within the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it is the one spoken by Gandalf to the immense and terrible Balrog who pursues the group to the bridge of Khazad-dûm (or Durin’s Bridge) in Moria. Well, know that the sentence spoken by actor Ian McKellen is not exactly what was written down.
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This mistake by Gandalf’s actor makes all the difference!
In his adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s books, Peter Jackson showed great meticulousness and immense respect for the author’s writings. In the case of the character Gandalf, his entire script in this final scene in the mines of Moria is a total transcription of the lines of dialogue present in the book. However, this was without counting on a small error from Ian McKellen, the interpreter of the illustrious magician, to deviate from this very clear trajectory. Facing the camera, Gandalf utters the famous “You shall not pass!” (You will not pass!)”, but these are not the terms used by the magician in the books.
So, unlike all of Gandalf’s other lines in this scene, there is indeed a difference between the books and the films. In this case, if Peter Jackson chose to keep this error, the words written in black and white in the book The Fellowship of the Ring are almost similar since the magician actually pronounces, “You cannot pass!” (You cannot pass!). Ultimately, it’s just a small blunder on the part of the actor! Either way, we can’t help but think that the revamped version seems much stronger in this form, and perhaps that’s why it has gained such a cult following.
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