Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
[Gandalf and Pippin ride Shadowfax out of a forest and across a plain.]
Gandalf: "We have just passed into the realm of Gondor!"
[Shadowfax crests a hill and a large city appears, built into a mountain of white rock.]
Gandalf: "Minas Tirith, City of Kings."
[They ride through the city, up to the top.]
Gandalf: "Make way!"
[They dismount on the top level and walk across a courtyard.]
[Pippin sees a tree.]
Pippin: "It's the tree, Gandalf. Gandalf!"
Gandalf: "Yes, the White Tree of Gondor, the tree of the King. Lord Denethor however is not the king. He is a steward only. A caretaker of the throne."
[Gandalf prepares to enter the throne room of Gondor, but hesitates.]
Gandalf: "Listen carefully: Lord Denethor is Boromir's father. To give him news of his beloved son's death would be most unwise."
Gandalf: "And do not mention about Frodo or the Ring."
Gandalf: "And say nothing of Aragorn either."
[Gandalf again turns to enter, but stops and glances down at Pippin.]
Gandalf: "In fact, it's better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took."
[Gandalf slowly approaches Denethor, who sits on the Stewards' Throne, his face lowered.]
[Denethor holds the broken Horn of Gondor in his hands.]
Gandalf: "Hail, Denethor, son of Ecthelion, Lord and Steward of Gondor. I come with tidings in this dark hour… and with counsel."
[Denethor looks up, handling the broken horn.]
Denethor: "Perhaps you've come to explain this. Perhaps you've come to tell me why my son is dead."
[A flashback to the battle of Amon Hen is shown, when Boromir was killed by Uruk-hai.]
[Pippin walks in front of Gandalf to face Denethor.]
Pippin: "Boromir died to save us, my kinsmen and me. He fell defending us from many foes."
Gandalf: "Pippin!"
[Pippin kneels.]
Pippin: "I offer you my service, such as it is, in payment of this debt."
Denethor: "This is my first command to you: how did you escape and my son did not? So mighty a man as he was."
Pippin: "The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow, and Boromir was pierced by many."
Gandalf: "Get up!"
[Gandalf knocks the hobbit aside with his staff.]
Gandalf: "My lord, there will be a time to grieve for Boromir, but it is not now. War is coming. The enemy is on your doorstep! As Steward, you're charged with the defense of this city. Where are Gondor's armies?"
Gandalf: "You still have friends. You're not alone in this fight. Send word to Théoden of Rohan. Light the beacons."
Denethor: "You think you are wise, Mithrandir, yet for all your subtleties you have not wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Towers are blind? I have seen more than you know."
Denethor: "With your left hand you would use me as a shield against Mordor. And, with your right, you seek to supplant me!"
Denethor: "I know who rides with Théoden of Rohan. Oh, yes. Words have reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and I tell you now: I will not bow to this Ranger from the north. Last of a ragged house long bereft of Lordship!"
Gandalf: "Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the King, Steward!"
[Denethor rises.]
Denethor: "The whole rule of Gondor is mine! And no other's!"
Gandalf (to Pippin): "Come!"
[Gandalf and Pippin walk out of the throne room.]
Gandalf: "All has turned to vain ambition!"
Gandalf: "He would even use his grief as a cloak."
[The door creaks open to reveal the courtyard, its tree, and in the distance, Mordor.]
Gandalf: "A thousand years this city has stood. Now, at the whim of a madman it will fall. The White Tree, the tree of the king, will never bloom again."
Pippin: "Why are they still guarding it?"
Gandalf: "They guard it because they have hope.
A faint and fading hope that one day it will flower. A King will come,
and this city will be as it once was, before it fell into decay."
Gandalf: "The old wisdom bourne out of the west was forsaken. Kings made made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living, and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons."
Gandalf: "Childless lords sat in aged halls
musing on herladry, or in high cold towers asking questions of the stars.
And so the people of gondor fell into run.
The line of kings failed. The white tree whithered.
The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men."
[Pippin looks into Mordor.]
Pippin: "Mordor."
Gandalf: "Yes, there it lies. This city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow."
Pippin: "A storm is coming."
Gandalf: "This is not the weather of the world. This is the device of of Sauron's making. A broil of fumes he sends ahead of his host. The Orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight. So he covers the face of the sun to ease their passage along the road to war. When the shadow of Mordor reaches this city, it will begin."
Pippin: "Well… Minas Tirith. Very impressive. So where are we off to next?"
Gandalf: "Oh it's too late for that, Peregrin. There's no leaving this city. Help must come to us."
