Entertainment
10 Best Western Movie Showdowns, Ranked
A Western movie doesn’t need to have a showdown to be good, but it often helps, right? It’s satisfying to have two (or more) characters at odds ultimately settle their differences through an impromptu or well-planned showdown, with it being inevitable that at least someone will perish by the time it’s over. It’s a reliable way to end almost any kind of movie (see Gladiator, The Last Duel, or just about anything directed by John Woo), and it’s particularly so for Westerns.
What follows is a rundown of the Western movies that have some of the best showdowns or duels in cinematic history, with such scenes usually – but not exclusively – taking place toward the end of each respective movie. There will therefore be some spoilers here, since showdowns are often climactic in nature, but plenty of these movies are fairly old, and also, a good many of the showdowns do end in the way you’d probably expect them to.
10
‘A Fistful of Dollars’ (1964)
You’re going to have to get used to seeing Sergio Leone films pop up in this ranking a fair bit, since he directed some of the best Westerns of all time, and pretty much all of them had at least one great showdown. With A Fistful of Dollars, said showdown was fairly simple, compared to what came later in Leone’s filmography, but it’s still great regardless.
Infamously, A Fistful of Dollars was an unofficial remake of Yojimbo, with both movies being about someone coming into a town and playing two warring factions within that town against each other. By the end of A Fistful of Dollars, the ruse is revealed, but by that point, Clint Eastwood’s character doesn’t run the risk of being properly outgunned (plenty of people have already been gunned down), and so he gets to finish things off himself, and in style.
9
‘Shane’ (1953)
Shane has proven to be an influential and enduring Western, being one of the better ones made in the 1950s, truth be told. The narrative here is also about as simple as the title, since Shane is about a mysterious gunfighter of that name who ends up serving as the protector of a family who are being pressured to move off from their farm, first with money, and later with intimidation.
It all naturally builds to a showdown in the way you’d expect, but the ambiguity after the showdown’s gone, well, down, and the bad guys are out of the picture, makes Shane’s ending feel a little more memorable. It’s definitely bittersweet, and depending on what you think is in store for the titular character’s future, it could be a little more sweet than bitter, or perhaps more bitter than sweet.
8
‘The Quick and the Dead’ (1995)
It might well be something akin to cheating to put The Quick and the Dead here, since the whole premise involves just a bunch of showdowns, effectively, but from another point of view, that makes it a necessary one to single out. The setting here is a town that’s hosting a quick draw competition, and various people show up to compete (some of them quirky and with their own dramatic backstories), and it doesn’t take long for the competition to become deadly.
People associate Sam Raimi mostly with the horror genre, or maybe the superhero one, thanks largely to his Spider-Man trilogy, but The Quick and the Dead also showed he had what it took to make a great Western, too. The cast here is also to die for, and speaking of dying, that’s what many of the characters played by said cast members do.
7
‘Tombstone’ (1993)
An overall beefy and largely exciting Western, Tombstone packs a lot of bombast, drama, and entertainment value into a single movie, probably being the definitive film about the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral. It’s partly about that, at least. Tombstone goes a little more epic in scope, having a narrative that continues beyond that particular showdown/battle.
It doesn’t go as sprawling as Wyatt Earp (1994), though, and that’s for the best, since that movie was a good deal messier and not as satisfying as Tombstone. Past the big gunfight, you’ve got some other tense one-on-one showdowns throughout Tombstone, so it’s a bit of a The Quick and the Dead situation, once more, since you’re spoiled for choice if you’re the kind of person who really likes watching Westerns mostly for such sequences.
6
‘Unforgiven’ (1992)
Since it’s very much a revisionist Western, you don’t get the typically dramatic or even cinematic showdown toward the end of Unforgiven, but you get something that still qualifies, since the protagonist does indeed confront the antagonist. It’s done in a realistic way, and it’s more focused on building tension than it is providing spectacle, since Unforgiven – for all its runtime – is pretty darn down-and-dirty, by Western movie standards.
Little Bill had it coming, and it’s a testament to how good Gene Hackman was in the role that you really feel catharsis when he’s finally gunned down… but not just catharsis, because the weight of the murder is still felt, and Little Bill, though awful, never felt cartoonishly evil. It’s hard to put into words why this finale is so good, and the fairly rambly last 130-ish words are testament to that, but if you’ve seen Unforgiven, you probably get it; you’ve seen the light and all.
5
‘For a Few Dollars More’ (1965)
Each movie in the Dollars trilogy is better than the last, and as such, it’s not too surprising that each one has a subsequently better showdown at its end. And A Fistful of Dollars was already mentioned a few places ago, so For a Few Dollars More overall improves what was already really good. There’s a more personal revenge story that eventually emerges as the central one in For a Few Dollars More, but it takes time for all the pieces to fall into place.
Once they do, you kind of know what’s coming showdown-wise, but that doesn’t make the vengeance-fueled duel any less satisfying to see play out. Clint Eastwood is great here, but Lee Van Cleef’s character is the one who has far more personal reasons to go after the main bad guy here, so even if you’re the biggest Eastwood fan in the world, it’s in no way a disappointment to see his character essentially mediate the final duel (and that music… Ennio Morricone pretty much never disappoints).
4
‘High Noon’ (1952)
Because of its structure, High Noon is more about the build-up to a showdown than it is about the showdown itself, with things very purposefully progressing toward noon (as the title suggests) in what’s pretty close to real time. There’s a sheriff who has to deal with the fact that a man he once imprisoned is heading to his town for revenge, and he spends much of the film trying to get help to defend himself.
He’s unsuccessful, and so has to pretty much go it alone, only getting a brief assist from his (usually) pacifist wife. It plays out in a way that feels very grounded for a film of its time, and that’s one reason why High Noon holds up so well, for a Western of its age, with the grittiness and intensity of the finale here feeling a little like the previously described one for Unforgiven.
3
‘The Mercenary’ (1968)
You could accuse The Mercenary of borrowing a little too much from the showdown in For a Few Dollars More, so putting it ahead of that one is potentially questionable, but also, too bad, because it’s here. And it’s awesome. One of the participants in the showdown, in this instance, is dressed as a clown, and the music used is arguably even better than the music used in For a Few Dollars More.
Here, you’ve got someone mediating a high-stakes – and inevitable – final duel, and the tension is all built so well through the way it’s edited, acted, and scored.
Well, no, that feels like too bold a claim. Ennio Morricone’s contributions to both showdowns are equally amazing, and so maybe it’s just the clown factor that gives The Mercenary the edge. You’ve got someone mediating a high-stakes – and inevitable – final duel, and the tension is all built so well through the way it’s edited, acted, and scored. Also, if you’re watching it and the music sounds familiar to you, that’s possibly because Quentin Tarantino repurposed it quite effectively in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, for the sequence where the Bride punches her way out of a coffin after being buried underground.
2
‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West does something kind of similar to For a Few Dollars More, with it slowly taking its time to showcase just why one character wants revenge on another, and then the final duel involving the pair of them clashing. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s more drawn out here, and that the music used is even better, but Once Upon a Time in the West probably does it all even better than For a Few Dollars More.
You’re really spoiled here, because the opening scene of Once Upon a Time in the West is also an all-timer, and is technically another showdown. There are quite a few set pieces sprinkled throughout this slow-paced (but never boring) movie, and each of them could technically qualify as a great shootout or showdown. But it’s the final one – between Frank and Harmonica – that stands as the greatest in the overall movie, and up there among the very best of all time, too.
1
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (1966)
The Mexican standoff to end all Mexican standoffs, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly expertly builds up to a massive three-way showdown between the three characters alluded to in the film’s title, and it’s immense. The first time you watch the movie, it’s one of the most suspenseful sequences you’ll ever experience, since it feels like there are so many ways a showdown of this kind can go, depending on who shoots first, and who each person chooses to target.
On a rewatch and in hindsight, it’s somewhat funny how suspenseful it is, since you learn that the game was rigged by “the Good,” and it was always going to a certain way, so long as “the Bad” didn’t shoot first. The showdown here works on both counts, as something undeniably thrilling initially and then darkly funny/silly if you revisit the film (but even then, it’s still easy to get swept up in – and blown away by – the editing, music, and flow of the sequence).
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Entertainment
‘The Office’ Meets ‘The Sopranos’ in Hulu’s Hidden Gem Returning for Season 2 on May 28
Hulu has numerous hit comedy shows, whether they’re originals like Only Murders in the Building or co-productions with FX like The Bear. A successful Hulu show is usually part of the awards conversations, and as the streamer anticipates the next major hit in Mindy Kaling‘s Not Suitable for Work, a different sleeper hit with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score is set to return in less than three weeks. The dramedy premiered in 2025, and while it did not reach the heights of shows like The Bear, it still drew enough viewership to warrant a second season, which premieres on May 28.
The series is a workplace comedy like The Office, but no one is pushing paper here; they’re pushing hard drugs. It centers on an Indian family, the Dars, whose sons, Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj (Sagar Shaikh), inherit the business after the patriarch dies. However, they never knew what their father did, thinking he was another American success story with his deli chain. It turns out it was more of a Sopranos situation, as the delis were a front for a major drug organization. Two polar opposites, Mir and Raj find themselves entangled in the business under the guidance of their father’s sister, Lucky Auntie (Poorna Jagannathan).
In Deli Boys Season 2, Mir and Raj are facing a different kind of problem. They have the criminal lifestyle nailed, but like many drug dealers, they find themselves with a money problem — too much of it. This makes them targets of other criminals and the U.S. law enforcement apparatus. However, they might have a solution in Max Sugar (Fred Amisen), a seasoned casino owner who also launders money. Oh, and Lucky Auntie has a crush on him, which makes their situationship incredibly complicated. Meanwhile, Raj and Mir have different aspirations in the business, but they are not the only ones. Andrew Rannells appears this season as DA Andrew Chadwater, who hopes to build his mayoral career on a major drug bust. Bringing down the Dars would grant him a landslide victory.
Who Is Behind ‘Deli Boys?’
The series was created by Abdullah Saeed, with Michelle Nader serving as showrunner. Deli Boys was developed by Jenni Konner and Nora Silver. Ali, Shaikh, and Jagannathan lead a cast that also includes Alfie Fuller, Amit Rao, Brian George, and more. This season features new faces, including guest-star appearances by Kumail Nanjiani (Danyal), Lily Singh (Aisha), and Robin Thede (Dr. Iverson). Season 1 guest star and Queer Eye icon Tan France will also return as Zubair.
Watch the first season of Deli Boys on Hulu in the U.S. before the new season on May 28. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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March 6, 2025
- Network
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Hulu
- Writers
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Michelle Nader
Euphoria‘s long-awaited return has been met with major backlash due to numerous explicit — and controversial — scenes.
The HBO series, which premiered in 2019, has always been known to push boundaries while following teenager Rue’s (Zendaya) attempt to remain sober after struggling with addiction.
While the first two seasons were set in high school, Euphoria ultimately introduced a time jump, allowing season 3 to check in on the main characters as adults. But just because everyone got older didn’t mean they were making better decisions — with season 3 introducing topics such as drug smuggling, sexual assault and more dangerous situations.
Viewers, meanwhile, have blasted the show for pushing boundaries episode to episode with racy — and sometimes triggering — moments. Creator Sam Levinson has stood by his vision for the show despite possible offscreen criticism.
Euphoria fans have watched the cast change on and off screen since the series first debuted. Based on the Israeli series of the same name, Euphoria follows troubled high school student Rue (Zendaya) as she struggled to remain sober after rehab. The series also explores topics including mental illness, toxic relationships, sexuality and more. After […]
“We have a motto of: Evolve or die,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in April. “We wanted to make sure we were changing things up.”
He continued: “We’re seeing them out in the world, in the wider world, and allowing the actors to communicate emotionally through the performance as opposed to in the past, when we did it moreso through camera. We wanted to see them fending for themselves.”
Keep scrolling for a guide to every controversial season 3 scene that wasn’t received well:
The Drug Smuggling Scenes
In the season 3 premiere, Rue was reintroduced after a five-year time jump, which showed her new life as a drug mule. A scene minutes into the premiere depicted Rue and Faye (Chloe Cherry) using lube to swallow large quantities of balloons filled with drugs.
They then had to smuggle the balloons from Mexico to the United States without getting caught. Rue made it home just in time to poop out the balloons, but Faye had “an accident” and feces were seen running down her leg before a dog tried to lick some of it off.
Cassie’s OnlyFans Arc
Many viewers weren’t thrilled by Cassie’s entire arc being an attempt to find success on OnlyFans with sexual photoshoots. From topless photos to pretending to be a baby or a dog, Sydney Sweeney’s scenes verged too close to cringe for some. OnlyFans creators, meanwhile, weren’t thrilled with how their line of work was portrayed on screen.
The Nazi Memorabilia
While Faye’s love interest Wayne (Toby Wallace) wasn’t meant to be a good guy, the numerous Nazi flags and memorabilia featured in his scenes threw viewers off.
Anna Van Patten’s Introduction as Kitty
After joining the strip club as a new dancer, Euphoria pushed Kitty’s story line along by having Rue watch her have sex with multiple men in a graphic group sex scene. While Kitty agreed to the arrangement, she had to take ketamine beforehand and was visibly shaken up after the sexual encounter, which hinted at her being painfully penetrated with a champagne bottle as well.
Whew, Roomies! Bhad Bhabie wasted no time clapping back after trolls accused her of changing her appearance over the years to look Black. She dropped a series of messages on social media after resurfaced photos compared her teenage looks to her current appearance.
RELATED: Bhad Bhabie Shares Message Setting The Record STRAIGHT On Her Recent Surgeries & Weight Gain Amid Her Cancer Treatment
Bhad Bhabie Addresses Criticism About Changing Her Appearance
In a series of now-deleted posts, Bhad Bhabie addressed criticism about her looks after photos started circulating comparing her teenage appearance to how she looks now in her 20s. The rapper said she was tired of people expecting her to still look the same as she did back then, now that she’s grown. She said she matured and explained that her red ponytail era came from her management at the time. Still, she kept it real and said she only got a little lip filler over the years and went outside to get some vitamin D.
“Y’all weird. All I did was grow up, change my hair color, sit in the sun instead of spending all day inside and get a syringe of lip filler like who the f**k else didn’t???” Bhabie wrote.
Bhad Bhabie Shuts Down Claims About Wanting To Look Different
Bhabie’s clap back didn’t stop there. She made it clear that she never altered her appearance to try to look like another race. She admitted that she’s tired of folks accusing her of trying to look Black when that was never the case. Bhabie said she thinks people constantly categorize things by race and assume certain looks or styles belong to one culture.
“I never a day in my life said I wanted to be any other race but the race that I am. She continued, “It is a mental illness to think you can magically know what someone else wants for themselves especially when they’ve never said that and they have denied it but you keep forcing it on them and that is sick.”
Here’s What Bhad Bhabie Previously Said About Her Surgeries & New Look
As TSR previously reported, Bhabie addressed changes in her appearance after an Instagram user said they were confused about why folks think she got a BBL. Bhabie peeped the comment and set the record straight about her recent procedures. She told the IG user she actually gained weight and had doctors fill her hips dips. She also made it clear she didn’t go into surgery without a derriere, she already had the same body type she has now, she just made a few adjustments.
“@sgt1stclassgrover this is false. I’ve been rich since 13. I had to get a** shots bc I didn’t have enough weight for a bbl. I got my a** shots removed then I had medication to gain weight and got lipo and fat transfer . I grew my a** myself I only had my hip dips filled and some added to the side profile area for side projection. I already posted the pictures of me before surgery. I didn’t go into surgery with a flat a**. My abdominal muscle detached from the rapid weight gain and since I had a baby I gained more around my midsection then i usually do when I gain weight naturally. The muscle issue was causing me to look pregnant so I had to get that fixed as well as the hernia on my belly button that had been there since I had Kali. I didn’t go into surgery with a muffin top and a flat a**. I already had the same body type that I do now that explains why my legs match my a**. I just made a few adjustments to please myself. That’s all,” she wrote.
RELATED: Hol’ Up! Social Media Continues To Speculate Whether Bhad Bhabie Underwent Surgery Amid Her Apparent Weight Gain (PHOTOS)
What Do You Think Roomies?
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Catch up with Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress, and more of your favorite stars of ‘iCarly.’
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
John Hughes redefined the teen comedy from the sex romps of Porky’s to the more grounded and realistic Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club. In 1985, during the middle of this run, he also wrote and directed Weird Science, a film that was pure wish fulfillment.
There’s still a high school, and a pair of social outcasts, but there’s also an absolute smokeshow of a computer program with the ability to alter reality, designed from the smallest piece of code to be the perfect woman. Not only was it a hit, but a decade later, the USA Network took the premise and ran with it to make Weird Science, the series, which ran for a mind-boggling 5 seasons and 88 episodes.
She Blinded Me With Science
Both the film and the series center on high school slackers Gary (Brat Packer Anthony Michael Hall in the original and John Mallory Asher in the series) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith in the film, Michael Manasseri in the series), trying to cut every corner possible thanks to Lisa, the artificial woman who, for all intents and purposes, operates like a Genie. The basic episode has one of the two making a wish, turning the school into a party school complete with pizza in class, becoming rock stars, time-traveling to deal with a bully, or turning Wyatt’s brother into an infant.
There’s nothing deep about Weird Science. It’s lighthearted, campy fun, and if you’re wondering why this managed to stay on the air for five seasons, it’s because they somehow found the perfect replacement for the movie’s Kelly LeBrock: Vanessa Angel. No one cares about Wyatt and Gary. Weird Science is all about the stacked brunette front and center in every piece of promotional material, every commercial, and every episode. Angel’s take on Lisa was a little goofier than LeBrock’s, but at the end of the day, she was usually the one who ended up solving the problem.
From Runner-Up To The Reason Everyone Watched
Vanessa Angel found the most success in her career on Weird Science bringing Lisa to life. Taking over for Kelly LeBrock’s iconic portrayal should have been a recipe for disaster, but it worked. Angel’s career in Hollywood was filled with missed opportunities for major roles, first as the original Xena to Lucy Lawless, losing out due to a horribly timed illness, then as the second choice for Seven of Nine behind Jeri Ryan, and finally, as Anise/Freya on Stargate SG-1 when the producers wanted a sexy new female cast member to catch the Seven of Nine wave. Turns out, they already had Amanda Tapping, and her role was cut after only three appearances.
Weird Science was obviously aimed at a young audience with plotlines that would feel at home a decade later on a Disney Channel original. You can only imagine the fun that the writer’s room had trying to come up with the most insane plotlines possible. The combination of a hot woman and two (or more) inept guys has been the foundation for countless comedies over the decades. Turning the woman into a wish-granting computer program didn’t alter the formula in the slightest. It worked for I Dream Of Jeannie in the 60s, it worked for Weird Science in the 90s, and if Hollywood ever makes another sitcom, it’ll work again.
Weird Science is streaming for free on The Roku Channel.
What could make a stacked cast list including Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Guy Pearce sound even more attractive? The inclusion of the master of epics, of course. This is exactly what audiences will soon receive as the nearly-90-year-old Hollywood icon Ridley Scott’s next big project, The Dog Stars. However, audiences were once meant to have already indulged in the great man’s next sci-fi adventure, with the film officially moving from its original March 27, 2026, release date to August 28, 2026. Thankfully, this gives the movie a greater chance at big blockbuster success, as well as a more Academy-friendly release schedule.
With this next project being a return to sci-fi, Scott will be hoping to shake off a difficult recent run of underwhelming projects. From House of Gucci to the disappointing historical epic Napoleon, it’s fair to suggest that Scott is out of form. This is no better illustrated than in his long-awaited legacy sequel Gladiator II, as audiences were invited back into the Colosseum for another blockbuster battle, 24 years after the Best Picture-winning original. However, despite an early glowing response from screenings, Gladiator II was met with a mixed response upon full debut, leading many to quickly drop the film from their Oscars predictions.
This is despite the movie having an impressive central cast, albeit one that lacked original star Russell Crowe, who won Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance. This cast included the likes of Paul Mescal as Lucius, Pedro Pascal as General Marcus Acacius, Denzel Washington in a scene-stealing performance as Macrinus, Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, and Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla. At the time of writing, Gladiator II has bounced back from its disappointing critical performance in 2024 by becoming one of the ten most-streamed movies on Netflix in the world.
Was ‘Gladiator II’ a Box Office Hit?
Just like its performance with critics, Gladiator II also underwhelmed at the box office, despite pushes for the film to be paired with Wicked for a Barbenheimer-esque double-bill. Against a frankly eye-watering $250 million production budget, this swords-and-sandals legacy sequel could only return a $460 million haul, split between $172 million in domestic revenue and a further $288 million from overseas markets.
Gladiator II is a global streaming hit on Netflix. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for the latest streaming stories.
- Release Date
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November 22, 2024
- Runtime
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148 minutes
- Writers
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David Scarpa, Peter Craig, David Franzoni
Every movie has stories and fun facts about their makings, but none has a community as devoted and engaged as The Lord of the Rings. Fans of Peter Jackson‘s film trilogy often go to incredible lengths to learn new things about them and tell everyone about it, resulting in some of those facts and trivia often becoming fandom jokes and memes, or even going viral.
Considering how all three installments were filmed back-to-back over several years, there is no shortage of great behind-the-scenes factoids about The Lord of the Rings trilogy, from the most inconsequential ones to actual injuries and even life-or-death situations. Here’s a list of the most incredible of such facts for next time you’re watching the movies and want to flex some Middle-earth knowledge — I mean, who wouldn’t, right?
10
Ian McKellen Bumps His Head on the Ceiling in Bag End
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’
Starting off small, when Gandalf (Ian McKellen) first visits Bilbo (Ian Holm) in Bag End in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the wizard bumps his head on the chandelier and the ceiling. According to legend, that bump was unscripted, and McKellen really knocked his head on the wood by accident, as the Bad End set was made to proportion for Hobbit characters, and he was bigger than everything around him.
There is some controversy about this, however. Peter Jackson confirmed it as an accident in The Fellowship of the Ring DVD extras, saying that McKellen hit his head and stayed in character. Later, McKellen claimed he actually planned the bump before shooting, believing it would add an element of fun to the scene. Regardless of who you believe, that bump must’ve hurt.
9
Hugo Weaving Dubs Isildur’s Only Line in the Trilogy
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’
Played by Harry Sinclair, Isildur has only one line in the trilogy: “No.” That’s in a flashback scene, when Elrond (Hugo Weaving) is telling him to destroy the One Ring and “cast it into the fire.” Unfortunately, Peter Jackson didn’t like how Sinclair’s own voice sounded, and had Weaving dub over it later. So, in that scene, Weaving is voicing two characters: himself as Elrond and Isildur.
Funnily enough, Jackson cast Sinclair as Isildur because Sinclair was the most “corrupt-looking” person he knew, but later claimed Sinclair’s voice didn’t sound “corrupt enough” for that scene. Indeed, Sinclair’s voice isn’t as deep as Weaving’s and anyone barely even notices, so, in the end, it was for the best.
8
A Background Elf Became an Actual Character Thanks to the Fans
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’
During the Council of Elrond scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, there’s an unnamed Elf played by Bret McKenzie sitting beside Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen). When Frodo (Elijah Wood) stands up to say he will take the One Ring to Mordor, everyone stares at him, including this Elf, who’s at the far right of the frame. Thanks to his good looks, he quickly became a meme among the fans, and even got his own name: Figwit.
Everything about Figwit is funny and unexpected because of his behind-the-scenes story. His name is the acronym for “Frodo is great… Who is THAT?”, the reaction of the fan who first spotted him. She even made him a website, and the buzz grew enough to draw Peter Jackson’s own attention, who then called McKenzie back for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and then for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, only, this time, with actual lines.
7
Viggo Mortensen Deflects a Real Knife Filming a Fight Scene
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’
At the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn fights the Uruk-hai Lurtz (Lawrence Makoare). When he stabs the monster to no effect, Lurtz simply grabs the dagger and throws it back at Aragorn, who deflects it with his sword just in time. That was a real throw, and Viggo Mortensen really deflected it himself. Aragorn later finds it within himself to defeat Lurtz, despite the monster’s overwhelming strength and resistance.
Legend has it that the stuntman playing Lurtz at that moment couldn’t see properly and threw the knife at full force, with Mortensen deflecting it out of sheer reflex. In the DVD commentary, Peter Jackson praised Mortensen, who “did it first take.” Years later, however, other accounts surfaced, claiming that the moment was actually rehearsed. Be that as it may, it was a real knife and a real throw, making Mortensen a real badass.
6
Viggo Mortensen Broke His Toe by Kicking an Orc’s Head
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’
This one has been shared so much, it’s arguably among the most famous behind-the-scenes facts ever. In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Aragorn, Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) track Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) to an Orc camp at the border of Fangorn Forest. Frustrated, Aragorn kicks an Orc’s decapitated head and lets out a scream. That scream was real, as Viggo Mortensen actually broke two toes kicking the prop.
That wasn’t the only injury on set, though. Bloom and Brett Beattie, Gimli’s scale stunt, had a cracked rib and a dislocated rib, respectively, after falling from a horse. All three actors were injured when filming the epic running scenes, with Peter Jackson calling them “real troopers” in the DVD extras. They’d power through the shoot and then go back to limping and groaning as soon as Jackson yelled “cut.”
5
The Massive Uruk-Hai Chant Was Recorded Live at a Stadium
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’
When Saruman (Christopher Lee) riles up his Uruk-hai army to send them to battle at Helm’s Deep, the response is loud, as the thousands-strong force chants back to him in Black Speech. In reality, that chant was recorded live at a cricket stadium with Peter Jackson himself directing the crowd. The sounds were then adjusted in the studio to properly fit into the scene, as they didn’t want to use a single chant and simply multiply it.
The whole thing was recorded during halftime of a New Zealand-England match in Wellington in February 2002. The home team was winning by halftime, so, when Jackson showed up to direct the crowd, they were already in pretty good spirits, and he didn’t have much trouble. He got them to chant, stomp their feet, and beat their chests, and all those sounds were used.
4
The Riders of Rohan Are Mostly Played by Women
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’
Éowyn (Miranda Otto) is among the best characters in the trilogy, but she isn’t the only woman fighting for Rohan — at least not behind the scenes. Whenever the Riders of Rohan appear, there are more women than men among them. That’s because production required many expert riders who could bring their own horses, and most of them were women. “There are some very good woman riders in New Zealand, and it’d be silly not to take advantage of them,” said Viggo Mortensen.
During filming, each of these women had to wear fake beards and messy long hair matching J.R.R. Tolkien‘s description of the Riders. You simply cannot tell that most of the Rohirrim are women, and the horse-charging scenes in The Two Towers and The Return of the King are so iconic, it actually elevates Éowyn’s own story when you learn about it.
3
Aragorn Trained in Sword Fighting With Darth Vader
All trilogy
By the end of production, Viggo Mortensen had become a competent swordsman, given all his work as Aragorn. That’s all because Mortensen trained for the role with Bob Anderson, a British Olympic fencer and sword master in many Hollywood productions, including playing Darth Vader in the fighting scenes of the original Star Wars. So, you could say that, in a way, Aragorn actually trained with Darth Vader.
Their training quickly paid off. Mortensen was cast after filming had already begun, and his very first scene was the fight against the Nazgûl at the Weathertop in The Fellowship of the Ring. While Anderson didn’t do the fighting choreography, his training did allow Mortensen to translate it into actual combat movements, making it feel much more realistic.
2
The Last Movie Wrapped Filming After Winning the Oscar
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’
On February 29, 2004, The Return of the King made its legendary clean sweep of the Oscars, winning all 11 of the categories it was nominated for. Days later, Peter Jackson was back filming more footage for the extended edition, comprising skull and tunnel shots for the Paths of the Dead sequence, as he still wasn’t satisfied. In the DVD commentary, he joked about it, saying: “It’s nice to win an Oscar before you’ve even finished the film.”
The third movie wasn’t the only one to be properly finished like that, however. Principal photography for the whole trilogy took place between October 1999 and December 2000, but Jackson went back to shoot more footage for each film after its release. Boromir’s (Sean Bean) flashback scenes in The Two Towers, for example, were shot after production had wrapped on that movie’s theatrical version. A true labor of love.
1
Peter Jackson Has Cameos in All Three Movies
All trilogy
One of the most treasured traditions in The Lord of the Rings is to spot director Peter Jackson’s cameos in the films. He shows up as background characters or minor ones in every movie of the franchise. In The Fellowship of the Ring, he plays Albert Dreary, a carrot-munching individual in Bree. In The Two Towers, he plays a soldier of Rohan who throws a spear at the Uruk-hai in the battle of Helm’s Deep. Finally, in The Return of the King, he plays a Corsair of the Umbar who gets shot by Legolas as a warning.
It’s such a fun tradition, Jackson repeated the dose in The Hobbit, where he plays a Dwarf fleeing Erebor in An Unexpected Journey, Albert Dreary Sr. munching a carrot in Bree in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and appears as Bilbo’s (Martin Freeman) father, Bungo Baggins, on a portrait in Bag End in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Here’s hoping he’ll even have a cameo in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, too.
Entertainment
“Saturday Night Live” recap: Host Matt Damon returns as Brett Kavanaugh alongside Aziz Ansari's Kash Patel
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“The Odyssey” star returns to Studio 8H to host for his third time.
With a trio of major titles dominating the domestic box office chart this weekend, there was room for an underdog to deliver much-needed counter-programming. Two sequels, The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Mortal Kombat II, fought a tight race for the number one spot this weekend, courting entirely different demographics. The Devil Wears Prada 2 saw a negligible second-weekend drop after exceeding expectations in its first weekend. The film’s cumulative domestic haul is now on the verge of passing the $150 million mark. Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat II came in slightly short of pre-release projections, grossing around $40 million in its debut frame. Holdover hits such as Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, on the other hand, both dropped out of the top five list.
This left room for another new release, The Sheep Detectives, to sneak into the top five behind the Michael Jackson biopic and fellow new release Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard & Soft. Michael grossed around $35 million in its third weekend and took its running domestic haul to nearly $240 million. Eilish’s concert film, which she co-directed with James Cameron, took the number five spot with around $8 million after receiving excellent reviews. The Sheep Detectives, on the other hand, opened to critical acclaim as well.
Here’s How Much ‘The Sheep Detectives’ Grossed at the Box Office
The mystery comedy, starring Hugh Jackman alongside several A-listers, grossed around $15 million domestically this weekend. Directed by Kyle Balda, the movie didn’t come cheap. It cost a reported $80 million to produce, which means that it needs to hit the $200 million mark worldwide to break even. By comparison, the most recent Paddington movie grossed nearly $200 million worldwide after opening with $12 million domestically. Amazon, however, hasn’t positioned The Sheep Detectives as a big-screen experience, at least not to the same degree as Project Hail Mary. But positive reviews could draw fence-sitters to theaters. The movie now holds a “Certified Fresh” 93% critics’ score and a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The aggregator website’s consensus reads, “Drolly funny and sweet as a lamb, The Sheep Detectives is a delightful family entertainment that bundles disarmingly profound themes in a cozy package.” Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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May 8, 2026
- Runtime
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109 Minutes
- Director
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Kyle Balda
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We love boutiques, too, but nothing says ‘luxe’ like Parisian-style clothing. The dresses are a different level of chic, featuring billowy fabrics, delicate prints and loose yet tailored silhouettes. We found 17 Parisian-looking summer dresses that deliver French girl ease with an elevated finish, so you can skip the boutique and look like you stepped off Rue Saint-Honoré.
These mini, midi and maxi wonders make you appear effortlessly put together, whether you’re grabbing coffee or attending your niece’s wedding. And unlike boutique pieces, these classy dresses on Amazon (yes, you read that right) lean mega sophisticated, meaning you’ll look rich while you stun. Scroll on!
17 Parisian-Style Summer Dresses Secretly on Amazon
1. Our Favorite: Flutter cap sleeves and a defined belted waist make this button-front midi feel like a custom-made piece. The midi length skims past the knee for a polished silhouette.
2. Zimmermann Style: Designer-looking dresses usually require a designer budget, but this printed midi delivers an elevated Zimmermann vibe for $37. It reads expensive from across the room.
3. Secretly Smoothing: Clingy minis show every line, but this textured dress uses multi-dimensional fabric to camouflage your entire midsection.
4. Crisp Shirtdress: A structured collar, thick waistband and clean button placket give this burgundy shirtdress a genuinely tailored appeal. The deep red is even classier than black.
5. Linen-Blend: With cotton and linen blend fabric, this striped midi breathes like pure linen but wrinkles far less. The stripes channel that quintessential French Riviera energy.
The Upper East Side is looking more and more like a scene from Bridgerton. Rich women who used to live in linen are swapping their go-tos for clothes with puffy sleeves, ditsy florals and breezy cotton. And if you ask Us, the English countryside dress look is everywhere from school pickup lines to lunch spots […]
6. Drama Queen: Short puff sleeves and oversized floral blooms turn this button-front shift dress into a statement piece. The exaggerated florals do all the styling work for you.
7. Wedding Guest: Slip into this pink floral dress for a garden wedding ceremony with nude heels and a sparkly clutch. The delicate print photographs well from every angle.
8. Classy Act: A babydoll design and flowy silhouette leave room to move without sacrificing shape. As a bonus, this solid-color number even has pockets.
9. Elevated Tee: This striped T-shirt dress feels like pajamas, but looks like you tried. Honestly, you’ll wear it for school pickups, errands and casual lunches with friends.
10. Farmers’ Market: Maxi dresses can drown a frame, but this tie-waist striped option creates definition right where you want it.
11. Simple Stunner: A stand collar elevates this red mini dress from basic to luxe. Elbow-length sleeves and an A-line shape keep things flattering.
12. Wardrobe MVP: Wear it open to the pool, belted to brunch or buttoned up for dinner. This ruffle-sleeve maxi earns its place in any summer rotation.
13. Picnic Party: Gingham print gives this flouncy maxi dress a vintage feel. We love that it can be worn as an off-the-shoulder dress, too!
14. Pretty Patchwork: When solid feels boring, this patchwork-style dress makes you the center of attention. The tiers create movement with every step.
15. Country Club: Loose summer dresses can look frumpy, but this sleek collared mini reads sporty and polished. It’s the dress equivalent of a tucked-in polo.
16. Butter Yellow: Yellow is the color of the season, and this butter-hued midi flatters instead of overwhelms. The square neck highlights the collarbone beautifully.
17. Vacation Mode: Some vacation dresses look out of place back home, however this belted shirtdress works in a real city, too. The 100% cotton fabric keeps it breathable.
Striped clothing pieces are everywhere in the Hamptons, and for good reason. Not only are these items nautical and luxe, but they’re also incredibly flattering, making you appear longer and leaner without even trying. Rich moms wear stripes nonstop while picking up the kids from school, meeting the girls for brunch and beyond — and […]
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