10 Greatest Cliffhangers In Movie Franchise History

4. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

"Mordor. I hope the others find a safer road. I don't suppose we'll ever see them again..."

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug may have have ended like a TV show, but it was the first The Lord Of The Rings film that took the top spot for the series' best cinematic cliffhanger; the fellowship have been attacked by Saruman's Uruk-Hai and Boromir has been slain; Merry and Pippin have been kidnapped; Frodo and Sam have crossed the river without their companions and now faced the perilous journey to Mordor alone. Oh, and Gandalf died in Moria fighting the Balrog. The stakes were certainly high by the time the credits rolled on The Fellowship Of The Ring. Everything the film had been building on had been torn apart, with the titular fellowship only surviving as a group for half a film. Those who had read the books knew there was much to come with the journey in Rohan and the arrival of Smeagol, but even then the anticipation was huge. For those who hadn't, the death of two major characters would have been a shocking, tragic development, while no one could have imagined how two hobbits would make it into Sauron's realm and survive.