“ | Saruman! | „ |
~ Lurtz stating who he serves. |
“ | Find the halflings! Find the halflings! | „ |
~ Lurtz's last words to his men. |
Lurtz is the secondary antagonist of the 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel trilogy The Lord of the Rings. He is the first Urak-Hai created by Saruman the White.
He was played by Lawrence Makoare, who also played the Witch-king of Angmar, Gothmog, Mr. Kil and Bolg.
Biography[]
When the Orcs of Isengard began working within the fortress, one of the things they did was oversee the construction of Saruman's army. Using "foul-craft" the fallen wizard aimed created a new breed of Orc which he would use to lead Sauron's campaign against the West. Lurtz was the first of these great orc-soldiers to be bred. As he emerged from his birthing sac, Lurtz's first act was to strangle the pitmaster who oversaw his rise, scaring the other goblins and intriguing Saruman.
Lurtz was then brought to Saruman's throne room in the Tower of Orthanc for an audience with the wizard. Saruman told him about the true nature of Lurtz's Orc predecessors before claiming that his "fighting Uruk-hai" are a "perfected" form. Anxious to test the warrior, Saruman asks Lurtz whom his allegiance lies with to which the Uruk-hai replies that it belongs to the fallen wizard. Pleased, Saruman put Lurtz in command of the Uruk-hai scouts, ordering him to capture the hobbits and bring them back to Isengard. Although initially outraged that he needed to return with the captives "alive and unspoiled", Lurtz quickly forgot this minor displeasure when Saruman told him that he was free to kill the others.
Armed with fearsome new weapons and with their face's painted with the Hand of Saruman, Lurtz and his lieutenant Uglúk led the Uruk-hai scouts out of Isengard in pursuit of the Fellowship. Running without rest, they first made their way to the Forest of Lorien, down the Anduin until finally they reached Amon Hen. There, the Uruk-Hai commander stages an ambush: whilst some of his Uruks engaged Aragorn the ranger, Legolas the elf, and Gimli the dwarf, other members of the unit, acting upon Lurtz's orders scoured the forest for the halflings.
Lurtz's troops eventually found two of the hobbits, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, whom they mistook for Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. Knowing what would happen if the enemy found the Ring, Merry and Pippin led the Uruk's away, allowing Frodo to get away unnoticed. Unaware of the Ringbearer's escape, the Uruk-hai chased after their quarry. Boromir of Gondor, came to Merry and Pippin's defence, slaying many of Saruman's vicious warriors. Cresting the ridge, Lurtz, upon seeing the human strike down several of his brethren, pulled a poisoned arrow from his quiver and shot him in the shoulder. Despite this injury, Boromir (who had previously scared Frodo) refused to give up and it took two more arrows, one in the stomach, the other in the ribcage to bring the mighty warrior down.
Weakened, Boromir fell to his knees, leaving the two hobbits unprotected. Merry and Pippin tried to fight back, but Saruman's soldiers simply grabbed them and carried them off. With their mission apparently complete, the surviving Uruk-hai began the long journey home, intent upon delivering their prize to their master. The sole exception was Lurtz, who approached Boromir slowly. Standing before the dying man, the Uruk-hai commander drew a final arrow from his quiver and prepared to shoot Boromir in the heart. Before Lurtz could act however, he was tackled from the side by Aragorn. Dropping his bow, Lurtz grabbed a sword and shield from one of his dead comrades and a new fight began.
Lurtz dominated the bout, his incredible ferocity and brutality rivalling Aragorn's skill and resourcefulness. Furious at being denied the kill, Lurtz shoved Aragorn back against one of the trees, before throwing his shield into the bark to pin him in place. Aragorn managed to escape before Lurtz could decapitate him, and tried to physically brawls with the Orc instead, before stabbing him in the leg with his knife. Lurtz, however, was too strong and Saruman's Uruk-hai were conditioned not to feel pain. After smacking Isildur's heir around a bit, Lurtz pulled the dagger out of his leg, licked the blood off and threw it at his enemy.
Aragorn managed to deflect the knife with his sword however, and the pair re-engaged in an intense swordfight. Finally, after several parried, Aragorn managed to sever Lurtz's right arm, before stabbing him in the stomach, thinking it would kill him. Once again, however, Lurtz demonstrated his incredible resilience. Grabbing the blade with his remaining hand, he pulled deeper into his stomach, dragging Aragorn closer to his face in a final attempt to kill him with his bare teeth. Aragorn, would not give him that chance. Wrenching the blade free, he swung his sword at Lurtz's neck, decapitating him, whereupon the Uruk-hai Commander dropped to the ground, finally dead.
Legacy[]
Despite his death, Lurtz's actions had a profound impact upon the events that followed. Aside from killing Boromir, his actions divided the Fellowship of the Ring. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli left to rescue the captured Merry and Pippin, whilst Frodo and Sam set off for Mordor on their own. The seven companions, along with the reborn Gandalf, would not be reunited until after Sauron's ulttimate defeat.
Uglúk took command of the surviving Uruk-hai, managing to escape with Merry and Pippin. The group made it to Fangorn Forest, where they were ambushed and slain by Eomer of Rohan and his riders. Fleeing into the forest, the hobbits were saved by Treebeard and the Ents, who eventually rose up and overthrew Saruman. This event was a key turning point in the war and, ultimately, the beginning of the end for Sauron.
However, not all of the outcomes were positive. Lurtz's murder of Boromir drove his father, Denethor II of Gondor, completely insane. Overcome with grief at the death of his favoured son, Denethor neglected the defences of Minas Tirith, which barely managed to survive an attack from Sauron's army. Pushed beyond redemption, Denethor would eventually kill himself, which later allowed Aragorn to take the throne as the King of Gondor, ushering in an age of peace.
Personality[]
Lurtz was a violent and sadistic creature that was almost animalistic and feral, not speaking much aside from roars and growls and being very sadistic. Despite this, he was a very skilled fighter and completely loyal to Saruman and Sauron.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Strength: Lurtz could easily grab and throw down Aragorn with his bare hands as well as throw Aragorn into a tree just by shoving his sword.
- Pain Immunity: According to Saruman, Uruk-hai did not feel pain which was shown when Lurtz was unfazed by being stabbed in the stomach by a dagger.
- Skilled Fighter: Lurtz was easily a match in combat for the very experienced Aragorn.
- Expert Archer: Lurtz was able to strike Boromir with three arrows even whilst the human was ducking and dodging Uruk-hai.
Arsenal[]
- Sword: Lurtz wielded the signature flat and long broadswords of the Uruk-hai as his primary weapon.
- Shield: Lurtz carried a large grey shield to block enemy attacks.
- Enemy Trapping: Lurtz could throw his shield so that he could trap an enemy by the throat using the base.
- Bow: Lurtz used a bow to kill Boromir.
- Fists: Even without his weapons, Lurtz easily overwhelmed Aragorn with brute force.
- Dagger: Lurtz tried to kill Aragorn with his own dagger but it was deflected.
Victims[]
- Orc Pitmaster - Strangled to death.
- Boromir (posthumously) - Shot with three arrows.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Despite being a major antagonist in the film, Lurtz did not appear in the books. In The Fellowship of the Rings novel, the Uruk-hai who ambushed the Fellowship were led by Uglúk who killed Boromir and left before Aragorn reached him. Uglúk survived until The Two Towers where Eomer kills him. However, Peter Jackson wanted a final ultimate enemy to be killed by Aragorn as vengeance for Boromir at the conclusion to the film.
- The final fight between Lurtz and Aragorn contains one of the most famous "Throw it in" tropes. During the final fight, Lurtz was supposed to miss Aragorn when he threw the knife. However, Lawrence Makoare could not see properly due to his makeup and misjudged the angle, thus throwing the blade (which was heavy and sharp) at Viggo Mortensen for real. Aragorn expertly hitting the knife away, was in fact Mortensen narrowly deflecting what could have potentially been a fatal injury.
- It has also been stated that for the same reasons (i.e. the makeup), Makoare actually did punch Mortensen during the fight.