LOTR Fan Discusses the Distance Between Barad Dur to Mount Doom, Receives Amused Responses in Lord of the Rings Thread

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Apr 12, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Calling all Dwarves, Elves, Men, Wizards, Orcs…

Has your week been going by at the pace of a turtle? For me it has. I get up, eat breakfast (kidding, who even does that), drink coffee (there, much more believable), go to work, watch the clock, drive home, watch LOTR, go to sleep. Rinse, repeat. Lord of the Rings has been my favorite trilogy for quite some time now. The allure of Middle Earth, a realm where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, isn't just a story… it's a journey into the depths of Tolkien's enchanting world. His meticulous attention to detail, from the sprawling landscapes to the intricate cultures of Elves, Dwarves, and Men, is outstanding.

My love for LOTR stems from its ability to transport me to a world where words are more than just symbols on a page; they're windows into a realm of wonder and magic, where anything is possible. Basically, I wish I were living in Middle Earth.

Alright, let's get down to business. One LOTR fan asked Reddit if they noticed that Barad Dur in The Two Towers seems to be quite far from Mount Doom, while in Return of the King, they seem to almost be standing next to each other. The responses were absolutely hilarious. Check it out, and then, check out this Dungeons and Dragons player who wasn't happy with the DM's campaign due to her character's performance in combat.

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    Barad Dur distance to Mount Doom.
    via u/Gamer0607
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    Cheezburger Image 9908671488
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    Cheezburger Image 9908667904
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    Has anyone noticed that in TTT, Barad-Dur seems to be quite far from Mount Doom, while in ROTK, they almost seem to be standing next to each other? Not a nitpick, just small observation I noticed while rewatching the trilogy.
    via u/Gamer0607
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    DIAMOND DOC Joe Pessanha - 3 days ago Aragorn 24mm 60mm Let me introduce you to: Perspective and Field of View 2.5k Reply Share
    via u/JoePessanha
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    Ultimum_Reddit 3 days ago Thank god for the red circles, almost missed what you meant 1.1k Reply Share Drewbeede 3 days ago I'm sorry I don't see it. Maybe you could circle the red circles so I can identify them? 297 Reply Share
    via u/Ultimum_Reddit, u/Drewbeede
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    Khutuck 3 days ago Drewbeede 10m I'm sorry I don't see it. Maybe you could circle the red circles so I can identify them? Here you go. 675 Reply Share Vote Infamous_Meet_108 3 days ago This clears everything up thank you 149 Reply Share
    via u/Khutuck, u/Infamous_Meet_108
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    e-wing 3 days ago
    via u/e-wing
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    Could just be chalked up to perspective, like these photos. Note the difference here isn't how far or close the photographer is to the subjects, but the focal length. The top one has a long focal length, which has the effect of compressing the foreground and background and making them look closer together, while the bottom one has a short/wide-angle focal length, which can make the foreground and background look more distant. 119 Reply Share Pyotr09. 2 days ago Not sure what to look at in these
    via u/e-wing, u/pyotr09
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    chapPilot 3 days ago Maybe Sauron could grow legs and arms in the tower and pilot it like a mecha and that was supposed to be his big secret weapon in the War but the Ring was destroyed and he was defeated before he had the opportunity of using it. 134 Reply Share MidshipAgate9. 3 days ago I think I remember that in The Silmarillion. Tower Suit Gundams 73 Reply Share
    via u/chapPilot, u/MidshipAgate9
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    TemporaryShirt3937. 3 days ago I agree. Barad-dur seemed much more intimidating in TTT. In Rotk it looked like a simple little tower right next to the Hugh mountain giving the perspective that the mountain is more important than sauron tower. That always got me somehow upset 33 Reply Share Video-Comfortable 3 days ago Excuse me the mountain isn't called Hugh it's called Mount Doom get it right you goofball 37 Reply Share
    via u/TemporaryShirt3937, u/Video-Comfortable
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    life_m2000 3 days ago . It's just different perspective shots. It's movie making magic. 6 Reply Share life_m2000 3 days ago Also the shot from TTT is to show you the viewer the distance. The fellowship are still traveling and even when the get to Mordor it's still a huge distance in to the heart of Mordor to Mount Doom. The second shot from TRK is to show just how huge and imposing Mount Doom is. We know Barad-dur is huge in itself but it's nothing compared to Mount Doom. So those would be the r
    via u/life_m2000
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    SiibillamLaw 3 days ago Looks more like a trick of perspective to me. Also in the two towers picture, it looks like the mountain starts much higher up in the frame, giving it a very distant look, but the lava flows further down. It's closer in that shot than I think it appears 11 Reply Share linkgold01 3 days ago It's always bothered me that in maps of middle earth the tower is on the far side of Mt Doom from where Frodo and Sam walk from but in the movie they venture pretty close to it. 10 Repl
    via u/SiibillamLaw, u/linkgold01
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    sayitaintpete 3 days ago I took a picture of the moon and it looks really far away! 3♡ Reply Share Gamer0607 OP. 3 days ago For sure further than the moon TTT's theatrical poster. 4 Reply Share
    via u/sayitaintpete, u/Gamer0607
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    pixelblue1 3 days ago My guess is they're meant to be 20miles apart or so, based on visibility. For example living in Vancouver I could see parts of Mt. Baker in Washington about 40- 50miles away on a clear day, but it was rather hazy. 3 Reply Share Gamer0607 OP · 3 days ago Well, don't be too hazy, master pixelblue1. 1 Reply Share
    via u/Gamer0607, u/pixelblue1
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    SharkiBee 3 days ago I was actually just thinking about that recently and then I saw this post. Coincidence I THINK NOT
    via u/SharkiBee
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    RoboterausFleisch 3 days ago When Frodo climbs Mount Doom, there is a moment when the "clouds" covering the tower are whirled away and he can see Sauron through an opening. So I always had the feeling that the mountain and the tower must be quite close to each other. 1 Reply Share
    via u/RoboterausFleisch
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    tmntfever 2 days ago Remember that scene when Frodo looks down the road right before a Nazgûl comes? And he says "get off the road!"? That effect on the road is called a Dolly Zoom, which exercises the key principle you're trying to understand. It's playing with focal length and observer distance. The idea is to increase/decrease the focal length, while simultaneously moving towards/away from the foreground object, such that the foreground object's size remains constant. 1 Reply Share
    via u/tmntfever

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mordor hobbits ROTK fantasy peter jackson journey Lord of the Rings Frodo Baggins ttt mount doom tolkien barad dur lotr films Gondor lotr trilogy adventure Reddit
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