My crowd was excruciatingly well-behaved. So well-behaved that it was in fact me who started the cheering or clapping at certain points. The one that immediately springs to mind is Gandalf bopping Denethor with his staff and countermanding his order to desert posts. But there were others. I think everyone was too rapt to actually cheer out loud.

edited because close-italics tag is not the same as close whitefont.

A few of the moments my crowd cheered at:

The lighting of the bonfires

Theoden saying "Rohan will answer!"

Gandalf whacking Denethor

Sam showing up with the light of Elendil at Shelob's cave

Eowyn cutting off the head of the winged lamprey of doom

"I am no man!"

The arrival of the army of green ectoplasmic zombie pirate warriors

Legolas taking out the Oliphaunt

Pippin rescuing Faramir

Sam slicing through the Orc at the top of the tower where Frodo is held captive

"I can't carry it for you. But I can carry you!"

Gimli's line that is now my tagline

Aragorn's speech outside the Black Gate

The final destruction of the Ring (of course)

Everyone bowing down to the hobbits

The Arwen/Aragorn kiss

Sam and Rosie's wedding

I bet there was more, too. My audience kicked ass.

The lighting of the beacons was the coolest thing EVER. I'm so in love with that sequence.

As much as I am "enh" about Arwen (I've always maintained that whenever she appears onscreen, the pace immediately goes into imperceptible slo-mo, "Ohhh looook therrrre's Aaaarrrwwennnn", until she's offscreen again) boy did look sort of lonesome all by himself after getting the shiny hat from Gandalf. I was actually glad to see her show up .

Pippin/Billy Boyd is GOD. That's no spoiler. He just is. My Legolas/Bloom stuff is still intact and sacrosanct, so don't even be looking at him, but Astin and Boyd acted their fucking socks off.

I have more images (though fewer lines) floating in my head from this one -- even after the first viewing. I slapped the soundtrack into the CD player on the drive home (which goes past the Neiman Marcus with the RotK window dressing), and found myself still leaking tears.

My main crypoints (there were so many the first time round):

* Everything Pippin does -- his "forgive me" request of Gandalf after being revived post-Palantir -- his inability to get what Merry was telling him about them being separated -- his fear he expressed to Gandalf -- his inability to shut up, resulting in him swearing fealty to Denethor -- his glee at surreptitiously lighting the signal fire, and his being startled by being on top of a pyre -- his wanting to not be expected to fight -- his disappointment when Gandalf sends him back inside "They called us out to fight" -- his upset at Faramir's treatment both before and after the failed retaking of Osgiliath -- his lament -- his stare at his sword after he defends Gandalf -- his ash-stained face as Gandalf tells him about death -- him finding Merry and promising to take care of him (oh, lovely responsibility reversal) -- him charging out in front of the Black Gates -- him running screaming for Gandalf to save Faramir -- him saving Faramir -- his glee at seeing Frodo alive again -- his pleased nod at re-entering the Shire -- his dislocation in The Green Dragon -- his tabletop dance -- his bawling at Frodo's departure -- his little smile when Gondor bows to him.

Everything. I kid you not. Also, I cried when:

* The chain of signal lights fired up

* Eowyn talked obliquely or explicitly about wanting to fight

* Merry did many things, starting from being responsible towards Pippin, going right through putting on the helmet and stabbing Angmar

* Eowyn started slashing doublehanded, taking down the Oliphaunt

* Eowyn killing Angmar

* Theoden's death conversation with Eowyn

Probably other places too.

On rewatch, most of the first bullet, and the Eowyn bits still got me, but with less volume.

Oh fuck, ita. Your list of Pippin cry points just got me started bawling again, and it's been a week and a half since I've seen it.

Well, all this whitefont is killing me, and I doubt I'll have time to re-read things until much later because of hoiday frenzyness. Oh well, 5 hrs, 9 minutes until I get to join in the fun.

I have to see this. I'm reading the whitefont and tearing up from just that.

My brother is coming into town this weekend and I have no idea if he'll want to see it. I think he might. I know Mom does. Maybe I can suggest going to RoTK as a family thing.

me too, all of ita's post.

For FotR, it amused me that the eldest of the four hobbit actors played the youngest and buffooniest. But Boyd's subtlety in TTT began to impress me, and he just absolutely blew me away in RotK. I said earlier, and I stick to it, that every minute he's onscreen he pulls my eye.

And his singing voice. Gah. Stupid tears.

I knew I liked the hobbits, and I knew I'd like them more after RotK, but I had no idea what PJ and Billy had in store for me.