Some of the most memorable images from the Academy Award winning film "The Return of the King," involve the magnificent city of Minas Tirith. Shots of Gandalf riding Shadowfax up and around the ringed walls of the city while the score and viewer's heart swell combined with scenes of the fell beasts of the Nazgul swooping down to attack the towers and war machines of the mighty fortress city give the feeling of grandeur and scale that helped Weta Workshop and Peter Jackson's film win awards for monumental visual effects and left audiences breathless.
By the time of the War of the Ring, chronicled in "The Lord of the Rings," the mighty kingdom of Gondor was a shadow of its former self. Once (along with some help from the Elves) able to contend with the full might of the Dark Lord Sauron and his terrible armies, the realm lost its succession of kings and receded slowly. Under the care of the stewards, caring for the realm until the return of the royal line, the diminished kingdom gave ground until the still-mighty city of Minas Tirith was all that stood between Sauron's vast armies and the rest of Middle-earth during the stewardship of Denethor, father of Boromir and Faramir.
In the time before the stewards ruled Gondor, before Prince Isildur cut the One Ring from the hand of its maker, the kingdom was much bigger than just the last stronghold being defended in 'Rings'. Minas Tirith (then called Minas Anor or the 'Tower of the Sun') was a sister city to Minas Morgûl then called Minas Ithil or the 'Tower of the Rising Moon'. Together they were the sun and moon while Osgiliath which sat between them, was a thriving city called the 'Citadel of the Stars'. The three cities, while in full glory, were the glorious result of the success of the line of kings and the people they governed.
Minas Ithil (Morgûl) even served as the seat for the king of the expansive Gondorian Empire before the Witch-king and his fellow Nazgul captured it for Mordor. Situated in the west edge of the Mountains of Shadow, the city was white like Minas Tirith and was of exceptional and equal beauty until marred by the servants of the Dark Lord. This city is also featured in some monumental scenes in the film such as when Sam, Frodo and Gollum watch the armies of the Witch-king emerge and ride forth to lay siege to its ancient sister city Minas Tirith.
United or opposed, in war or in peace, the two great cities of the Kingdom of Gondor built by the line of Middle-earth's greatest kings are forever intricately tied together. When Sideshow Weta Collectibles created the Minas Tirith Environment for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Platinum Series Special Extended Edition Collector's Gift Set it was obvious that fans would want to have the sister city of Minas Morgûl. The two pieces, crafted by the artists who worked on the film, combine to create bookends perfect for home library or DVD collections. The Minas Morgûl environment will be available only to the purchasers of the ROTK EE Collector's DVD Gift Set. This spectacuar piece is sure to be a highly sought after collectible as it is limited to only 8,500 pieces world wide.
With this third film in the extended edition trilogy, Sideshow Weta Collectibles is also sending out a special thanks to collectors who have supported the New Line home DVD gift sets and the special companion pieces. We could have shown our appreciation with a 'thank you' on our website or a message in our newsletter, we think we found something collectors will appreciate a bit more. To show our gratitude for years of support we will also include a ¼ scale replica of the Crown of King Elessar for the very low cost of . . . absolutely FREE! No really! To obtain this item which is valued at $40 we require only that you agree to pay for shipping of Elessar's crown when you buy the Morgûl environment. Collectors are responsible for applicable taxes and any tariffs, customs and duties for those living outside of the US. The crown even symbolically joins the two environments together under the crown that capped the Return of the King. If you aren't getting the message: THANK YOU LOYAL CUSTOMERS!!!
Collectors who join together Minas Tirith and Minas Morgûl on a book shelf or in a DVD library will reunite the two great cities of Gondor as they were until about 1,000 years before the adventures of Bilbo Baggins began. By that time the diminished kingdom of Gondor had dwindled enough that when the servants of Sauron captured the city for the second time (the first time starting the war depicted in the movie prolog), it could no longer be contested. Men had grown too weak to oppose Sauron's most powerful agents, the Nazgúl, from having a staging post in the eastern reaches of the kingdom.
Contrast that to 2,000 years before when Prince Isildur ruled from the same city. He planted the white tree there to honor his brother after his royal family survived the sinking of the great Isle of Numenor, re-establishing the kingdom of Men in Middle-earth. Isildur himself lived and ruled in Minas Ithil (Morgul) while his father ruled the north and his brother co-ruled the south from Minas Anor (Tirith). Raising a city in the vales of the Mountains of Shadow was thought safe because it was assumed Sauron had been destroyed along with Numenor.
Minas Ithil was the first stronghold to fall when Sauron's forces crossed the same route Sam and Frodo followed through Shelob's lair and surprised the city, pillaging it, burning the white tree and forcing Isildur to flee. But back then when the city was attacked men were not content to let it stay in the hands of the Dark Lord. With his father and brother and the still potent strength of the Elves, Isildur attacked Sauron in his stronghold, destroying the Dark Lord's physical body but not his essence, as seen in the prolog of "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. The city of Minas Ithil was restored to the kingdom but neither Isildur nor any other king ever used it as his seat again. Isildur, as the ranking survivor of the war, became king of both the north and the south, all the while holding the corrupting One Ring. Despite the urging of Elrond and others to destroy the ring, Isildur kept it as a family heirloom, thus dooming the race of kings. When he was ambushed by Orcs and killed, not only was the ring lost but the decline of Men had begun.
While the evil of Sauron slept, the former city remained mainly an outpost of Gondor and about 2,000 years after Isildur's victory it was attacked again by the Nazgúl. After two years it fell to Sauron's forces permanently and was renamed Minas Morgûl meaning the Tower of Sorcery. Minas Anor was also re-titled to the more familiar movie name Minas Tirith which means the Tower of Guard. Minas Morgûl was held for a thousand years giving the Dark Lord's servant the Witch-king a place on the west side of his mountains to strike Osgiliath and Gondor when his strength was sufficient as told in the 'Rings'. According to Alan Lee who designed the city for the movie, the design team capped the white walls with rusted iron to mar the beauty of the city like teeth capped with cruel metal while the eerie green glow of the city was a result of the long habitation of the city by evil forces. They wanted to portray something beautiful that had been marred by evil's long use.
As seen on the big screen, the Witch-king led his armies from the former city of kings, overran Osgiliath and put Minas Tirith under siege from the Pelennor fields where he was killed by Éowyn. With the death of the chief servant of Sauron, the city was completely liberated by Aragorn's military victory and Frodo's and Gollum's destructions of the ruling ring - Sauron's greatest weapon.
Place your Pre-Order Today for the Minas Morgûl Polystone Environment
Release Date: Mid Jan 2005
Price: $75 [Place your Pre-Order]
© MMIV New Line Productions, Inc. TM Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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