[oncebitten]

The scene in LOTR Two Towers where King Theoden mourns his dead son at the burial mounds.

[GOP_Party_Animal]

The scene in LOTR Two Towers where King Theoden mourns his dead son at the burial mounds.

Yep - that's tough. Or when a dying Theoden tries to comfort Eowyn on the battlefield.

[ken in texas]

My first thought was LOTR Return of the King, when Aragorn, now King, walks to the Hobbits. After they bow, he said "My Friends, you bow to no one", and he kneels before them.

Too many others to list.

[katana]

I was going to say the scene near the end of “Return of the King” where everyone at Gondor bows to four little Hobbits. It conveyed one of Tolkien’s underlying themes, the smallest and most common at the pinnacle of valor and honor, and for some reason it always affects me more than any scene in any of the three films.

[Castlebar]

I thought the "Where is the Horse and the Rider?" scene - with King Theoden - was one of the most powerful I have ever seen.

Juxtaposing the King, realizing that his weakness and dithering in the face of the growing enemy had brought his people to the brink of extinction - with the images of 12 and 13 year old boys stoically picking up weapons and armor as they prepare to be exterminated.

"How did it come to this?"