An old interview from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King DVD extras has resurfaced – and it explains just how treacherous The Battle of the Black Gate actually was.
The Lord of the Rings movies were famously shot in New Zealand, which is green and mountainous and more or less perfect for J.R. Tolkien's fantastical world. The final major battle of the War of the Ring, seen in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, takes place at Mordor's Black Gate – which is anything but lush and green.
"For the Black Gates of Mordor location we needed an area that's a bit like a desert," director Peter Jackson explains. "This area of the desert is unfortunately where the New Zealand army do their live firing exercises." Two soldiers then appear to explain that the area in question is where bombs are dropped and demolitions are done.
In the interview, Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen humorously explain that an army officer came to set one morning to explain the difference between a rock and a bomb – and not to touch, kick, or activate the latter. Mortensen goes on to explain that this was kind of an impossible task given that a literal battle takes place in that sand, where those leftover bombs and fragments were embedded.
"We were filming right in the middle of it doing a battle scene," Bloom recalls. "Churning up the earth with all of us running around and jumping and down."
Because the army didn't want to be responsible for blowing anyone up, they would periodically remove bomb fragments throughout their shooting days. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
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