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Apr 11, 2014 · Bhootnath Returns is a political satire where the ghost (Amitabh Bachchan) takes on a corrupt and dishonest politician and changes the society by contesting the elections. Amitabh Bachchan has played the role of a ghost in the best possible manner.
- (6.4K)
- Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Nitesh Tiwari
- 2014-04-11
- Overview
- History
- Inspiration
- In adaptations
- References
""The Dead are following," said Legolas. "I see shapes of Men and of horses, and pale banners like shreds of cloud, and spears like winter-thickets on a misty night. The Dead are following."
"Yes, the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned," said Elladan."
—The Return of the King, "The Passing of the Grey Company"
The Dead Men of Dunharrow or Men of the Mountains, referred to in adaptations as the Army of the Dead, were Men of the White Mountains cursed to remain in Middle-earth by Isildur, after they abandoned their oath to aid him in the War of the Last Alliance. They haunted the caverns beneath the Dwimorberg, and the valley of Harrowdale that lay in its shadow, though they were said to appear in the valley only in times of trouble or death. They were led by the King of the Dead. Since the line of Isildur was thought in the late Third Age to have ended, no one could call upon the Dead Men of Dunharrow to aid them in their hours of need, as they would only answer to an Heir of Isildur.
"Over the land there lies a long shadow, westward-reaching wings of darkness. The Tower trembles; to the tomb of kings doom approaches. The Dead awaken; for the hour is come for the Oathbreakers: at the Stone of Erech, they shall stand again and hear there a horn in the hills ringing. Whose shall the horn be? Who shall call them from the grey twilight, the forgotten people? The heir of him to whom the oath they swore. From the North shall he come, need shall drive him: he shall pass the Door to the Paths of the Dead."
—Malbeth the Seer
They were once Men of the White Mountains, but at the founding of Gondor, they swore an oath to Isildur that they would fight for him. However, during the dark years, they had worshiped Sauron, and so when the time came and Isildur asked for their aid, they refused. And so Isildur cursed them, saying: "Thou shalt be the last king, and if the west prove mightier than thy Black Master, this curse I lay upon thee and thy folk; to rest never until your oath is fulfilled. For this war will last through years uncounted, and you shall be summoned once again ere the end." Therefore, they fled from the wrath of Isildur and dared not go forth to war for Sauron, and they hid in secret places in the mountains and had no dealings with other men. They slowly started to dwindle and the terror of the Sleepless Dead came about to all the places where they lingered. Malbeth the Seer prophesied that a day would come when need and haste would drive one of Isildur's heirs to take the Road under the Mountain, and that the Dead would answer to his call. The Prophecy came true when, in the War of the Ring, Isildur's Heir, Aragorn, called on the Dead Men. Summoning them to the Stone of Erech, Aragorn commanded them to fulfill their oath and be free. Aragorn led the Dead Men through Lamedon. As they went through the lands of Gondor, they found them deserted, since everyone who hadn't gone to war fled the approach of the dreaded King of the Dead. Even the Men of Umbar and Harad, who had been attacking the fords at Linhir above the mouth of the river Gilrain, stopped fighting and ran off in terror. The only person who had the courage to stay was Angbor, the Lord of Lamedon, and Aragorn told him to gather his men and follow the Grey Company to Pelargir. For four days and nights after Aragorn first summoned the dead to the Stone of Erech, they rode.
On the fifth day, they reached Pelargir, where the Corsair fleet of Umbar was assembled. Rumors of the Army of the Dead had already reached the city, but the Corsairs there turned at bay and laughed, seeing only Aragorn and his host of live Dúnedain warriors. Aragorn then called to the Army of the Dead to fight, and they emerged, driving the Corsairs away from their ships. Legolas, after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, later described the scene he witnessed to Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took: "Faint cries I heard, and dim horns blowing, and a murmur as of countless far voices: it was like the echo of some forgotten battle in the Dark Years long ago. Pale swords were drawn; but I know not whether their blades would still bite, for the Dead needed no longer any weapon but fear." Despite not needing weapons, the weapons of the Enemy could not harm them. Once the Haradrim and Corsairs were defeated, Aragorn had trumpets sounded and the Dead withdrew to the shore. As they had at last fulfilled their oath, Aragorn granted the Dead Men their freedom. The King of the Dead stepped forward, broke and discarded his spear; he bowed to Aragorn, and with his people vanished at last from the world.
Northern European folklore tells of 'the restless dead' as fell riders bursting upon unwary travellers in lonely places. Horses, knights, hounds are among the restless spirits in the "Wild Hunt". Hans Sachs' poem, "Das wütend Heer der kleinen Dieb" (1539) describes the furious host in gruesome detail, accompanied by ravens who plucked out the eyes of the roving dead: "there came one behind, who had been hanged the same day, had still his eyes and saw me."
It is an indication of Aragorn's heroic nature and lineage that he dares summon the dead to fulfill their oath in this manner, and a sign that the rightful king has indeed returned.[citation needed]
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
In the third film of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, the battle with the Corsairs occurrs off-screen (part of it is shown in the extended edition) and the Army of the Dead accompany Aragorn to Minas Tirith, replacing the Grey Company, to defeat Sauron's Orcs, after which Aragorn declares their curse lifted. Legolas correctly states that it was Isildur who cursed them, but incorrectly states that he was "the last king of Gondor". (Isildur was the last high king of Gondor and Arnor, after which the two kingdoms divided and would both eventually be left kingless until Aragorn took the throne.) - Elrond and Aragorn talking of the army of the dead. The dead army does not go to the Stone of Erech, but instead, Aragorn confronts them in front of what appears to be their city. The Dead appear as green and glowing, and are more reluctant to fulfill their oath; the King even swings at Aragorn with his sword. While the books make no mention of anything being able to harm the Dead, in the film, the King's own sword is contacted and blocked by Aragorn’s sword Andúril (Narsil reforged).
Video games
"For in our plans, the living cannot defend Minas Tirith without the fury of those long dead." —Gandalf
1.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. II: "The Passing of the Grey Company"
2.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. IX: "The Last Debate"
Army from Minas Morgul, attacking Minas Tirith supported by Easterlings and Haradrim. Defeated by reinforcements from Rohan plus Gondor's southern army, which sailed north using the corsairs own ships. An Army who's sole purpose was to block the road between Gondor and Rohan.
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Apr 9, 2014 · All about Movie: directors and actors, where to watch online, reviews and ratings, movie facts, trailers, stills, backstage. A ghost returns back from...
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Aug 24, 2020 · Inserted into The Return of the King, the specters come flying — quite literally — out of left field, mop up the hosts of Mordor lickety-split, and then vanish as quickly as they appeared,...
Mar 14, 2024 · The Oathbreakers, also known as the Dead Men of Dunharrow, were a Pre-Númenórean people, originally settling in the White Mountains who were cursed by Isildur to not find rest until they fulfilled their oath of allegiance to Isildur and to fight against Sauron .
Apr 26, 2023 · The Army of the Dead in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King may have caused some confusion concerning how Isildur's curse was able to turn the Men of the White Mountains into ghosts.
