The REAL Eye of Sauron - Film vs CANON | Tolkien Explained

Today we are clearing up the issue of the Eye of Sauron! While the Peter Jackson films are incredible, the Eye of Sauron was portrayed in a way very differently from the books. Today, we're looking at what the Eye of Sauron means in Tolkien's canon.

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The Great Eye - Ralph Damiani
Sauron before Ar-Pharazon - Anke Eissmann
Sauron - WETA
Creating the One Ring - Shadow of War
Flag of Mordor - Tolkien
The Mirror of Galadriel - Alan Lee
The Eye of Sauron - John Howe
Sauron at Barad-dur - Shadow of War
Sauron - AnotherStrangerMe
Gollum, Frodo, & Sam - John Howe
The Dungeons of Barad-dur - Ralph Damiani
Minas Ithil - Shadow of War
The Doom of Men - Ralph Damiani
Gollum - Matthew Stewart
Sauron - Shadow of War
The Eye of Sauron - John Howe
Amon Hen - Ralph Damiani
Amon Hen - John Howe
Orcs debating - Turner Mohan
Moria Orc - John Howe
Flag of Mordor - Tolkien
Sauron & Army - WETA
Stalker - Skullb*st*rd
The Palantir - Olanda Fong-Surdenas
Sauron - Jerry Vanderstelt
Fingolfin Facing Morgoth - Tolman Cotton
Morgoth - CK Goksoy
Hurin in Angband - Matthew Stewart
Hurin on the seat of Morgoth - Matthew Stewart
The Words of Hurin and Morgoth - Alan Lee
Tuor Reaches Gondolin - Ted Nasmith
Hurin in Captivity - Peter Xavier Price
Sauron - Felix Englund
The Palantir - Tolman Cotton
Sauron - Kuliszu
Gorbag and Shagrat - Alan Lee
Orc - Elrodimus Flash
Uruk sword and shield - Elrodimus Flash
Uruk-hai - Anke Eissmann
Three Hunters - JG Jones
Strider - AnotherStrangerMe
Uruk Warrior and Orc Tracker - Alan Lee
Strider - Jerry Vanderstelt
Saruman of Many Colors - Tolman Cotton
Saruman and Palantir - Angus McBride
The Argonath - Ted Nasmith
Crowned Statue - Elrodimus Flash
The King at the Cross-roads - Darrell Sweet
In Mordor - John Howe
Mouth of Sauron - Elrodimus Flash
Eye of Sauron - Lord of the Rings book cover - JRR Tolkien
Minas Tirith - Ralph Damiani
Grond - Ralph Damiani
Minas Tirith - Aegeri
Fighting Orcs - Angus McBride
Gondorian Soldier - Teodor Victor Vacari
Sauron - Tom Romain
Breaking of Narsil - John Howe
Fall of Numenor - Alan Lee
Aragorn with Shard of Narsil - Matthew Stewart
Looking into the Stone - Kuliszu

#sauron #lordoftherings #tolkien

[NerdoftheRings]

What other misconceptions from the films would you like to see covered in their own videos?

[sidviscus]

Peter Jackson has actually said that one of the hardest things about the movies was trying to make Sauron work as a character, because he never talks and is almost never on screen, yet the audience has to be afraid of him. I never thought about how difficult that would be for a film maker, but they did it so well in the movie that you'd never think it was a struggle. Shows how well thought out the movies are.

[NotContinuum]

I never thought of the eye as Sauron himself. Instead, I thought of it as a projection of his power and will. I imagine him standing in his fortress using the eye to observe everything around him, like some sort of magical telescope linked to his mind.

[AddanYnCarn]

I love how Sauron isn't confronted directly in LOTR as we only see actions of his servants. I like this idea of the shadow upon the events that is fought constantly, but as in chess game.

[qfytidw]

One thing I liked about the Eye in the film is that it shows that Sauron can only pay attention to one thing at a time. So it explains why the plan to send an army to the Black Gate to distract him from the hobbits mission to Mount Doom made sense. It also has the great cinematic movement of Sauron suddenly realizing he's been out maneuverered, that the army at the gates is not led by a ringbearer and his enemies have taken the to him inconceivable decision to destroy the ring rather than using it against him. It shows that, as powerful as he is, he's not anywhere near as powerful as Eru Illuvatar. He literally has a 'Oh sh~' moment just before his destruction, something Tolkien actually mentions and frantically sends the Nazgul to try to stop the Ring's destruction.

[marinusvonzilio]

Actually, the movies initially intended to portray Sauron in his physical form. The Eye was supposed to be more of a magical instrument *used* by Sauron, a sort of visual representation of his all-seeing will, rather than his actual form. In the Return of the King when Aragorn confronts Sauron using the Palantir, you can actually see for a brief moment Sauron in his physical form on the other side, holding his own Palantir.

The movies even intended to have a physical showdown between Aragorn and Sauron during the Battle of the Black Gate - that is why that troll that Aragorn was fighting in the end runs away back towards Mordor after Frodo claims the Ring while the rest of the orcs just stand still, motionless after Sauron's will abandoned them as he was concentrating solely on getting to the Ring before it was too late. That was originally supposed to be Sauron himself, come to fight Aragorn personally. In the end, though, Jackson decided against it and Sauron's model was replaced with a random troll (but since they already rendered the scene the part where he runs back towards Mount Doom was kept, so now you have one single troll running frantically through his own lines while the rest of the Mordor army just stands still).

[DirtyDan]

Just like the Balrog being huge and having wings in the movie, there's some things that just work better on screen and I don't think anyone could say the shots of Bara-dur with the huge eye on top weren't awesome. I also have come to appreciate the differences between the books and the movies, because I can like both of them, and have something to look forward to.

[orangexlightning]

I've always liked the idea of Sauron having a physical form, but the flaming eye atop the tower still being a thing that Sauron used to watch over the world, perhaps as an effect of Sauron twisting and warping the palantir with dark magic to intimidate his foes, so they'd know when he was watching them.

[Monkeyboy]

I love your impersonations of Morgoth, Gandalf and Smaug. Very entertaining!

[autarchprinceps]

To be fair, Sauron in physical form wielding a palantir is shown behind the eye when Aragorn contacts him.

[Anthooyant]

I like how Frodo kind of mirrors Sauron, in that they are both left with only nine fingers after lossing the One Ring.

[tbx]

Back in the day and rereading and rewatching recently, I think the Eye is one of the best things Jackson captured of the books --- he changes so many character's motivations, but I think he nails how to present the lidless eye, the searching, scanning, scouring eye.

[SatanicBeard]

I always liked that Peter Jackson went for such an over exaggerated and physical manifestation of “The Eye.” For a movie, it just helped to have that physical representation of the big bad for anyone that hadn’t read the books. Otherwise, once Saruman was out of the picture, you only really had the Witch King as a noticeable “baddie.”

[JohnnoRoskam]

Your way of storytelling is absolute masterpiece! Keep up your incredible work man

[JohnnnyJohn]

Even before I knew all the lore and canon from the books, I always saw the eye as a projection of Sauron's vision. I always believed he had a physical form in the tower. Never crossed my mind that he was the eye alone.

[gwog]

I always assumed the film flaming eye was supposed to be in addition to his physical form. Or like an extension of his powers to survey the land and his minions. Like a crazy evil version of a periscope lol

[jorgedornelas]

I always understood that the "eye of Sauron" was whenever his thoughts, his gaze upon something like he was meditating in that place/people and that alone brought darkness to them

[thanosandnobill]

At the Return of the King when Aragorn takes the Palantir to challenge Sauron we can see him in his physical form holding his own Palantir.

[Tar-Elenion]

"Sauron should be thought of as very terrible. The form that he took was that of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic. In his earlier incarnation he was able to veil his power (as Gandalf did) and could appear as a commanding figure of great strength of body and supremely royal demeanour and countenance."
Letter 246

[RoquenoLiraIluvatarva]

I think we're all forgetting a very important scene from Desolation of Smaug, which shows how the physical, armoured Sauron in an aura of fire looks like the black pupil of a flaming eye. With this genius scene (when he fights Gandalf in Dol Goldur) Peter Jackson's team recontextualixed the entire LotR trilogy, and fixed one of the most-maligned departures from the books.

They then go further, showing that the image of the Eye is also the eye of Sauron's physical form itself, a recursive, eternal loop. It is both physical and metaphor, literal and symbolic. There need not be a distinction in this world.
Sauron is (or at least was) a cosmic being of incomprehensible power. We shouldn't expect to fully understand exactly what he is, and ultimately it's not important to the story.
Still very fun to ponder though!