10 Amazing Behind The Scenes Stories From The Lord Of The Rings
2. The Black Gate Scene Was Filmed On A Live Artillery Range
The final showdown between the forces of good and evil, came when the remaining Men of the West marched on the Black Gate of Mordor, only to be hopelessly surrounded in a hostile land. Eager to film as much on location as possible, Peter Jackson had been desperately looking for an arid and baron plain to act as the outskirts of Mordor.
Eventually, his location scouts found a place that looked perfect, but it just so happened to be a stretch of land used by the New Zealand army to fire off live rounds... Eager to add a sense of authentic danger to the scene, Jackson insisted they use the area. The army cordoned off a section of ground, deemed safe enough to use, which prompted Viggo Mortenson to enquire if that meant they'd cleared that area of any potential live ordnance. The response was less than comforting. The army officer explained that the cordoned off section, merely contained slightly fewer unexploded bombs...
Between each take, the army would come in and clear away any unearthed shrapnel or potentially dangerous material, that had been churned up by all the battling extras. Those looks of concern on the actors faces, really were real then...