Dol Amroth in ROTK

[Urambo Tauro]

The Official TLOTR movie site has some features that have been on there for a long time. (And I'm not complaining) One of these features is desktops- among these desktops is one that has been there for a while and shows a bunch of banners. These banners show (you guessed it) white horses, a sun emblem, a white crown,... symbols many of us recognize. I wish I could post the picture I am talking about (albeit a smaller version as these are desktop images), but due to their terms of use policy, the best I can do is give you a link: The Lord of the Rings
When you get there, click on whatever resolution suits you for the "Banners" picture, and look at the center banner. I am sorry to say it is mostly obscured, but does that look like a white swan to you?
Prince Imrahil and Dol Amroth were not included in the finished film, but perhaps designs were still made before that descision was finalized. What do you think? Are there any other sources (photos, sketches, documentaries, etc.) that give us more Dol Amroth from the design process? And did any make it to the filming process before being cut?

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I can't actually see the swan, but you must have a keen eye

 

[BelDain]

I think that's a horse. A white horse head with flowing mane. The head of the banner has the Rohan patterns on it.

 

[aragil]

Geez!! The banners of Dol Amroth get almost as much word play in the books as the prince himself:

From the books:
And last and proudest, Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth, kinsman of the Lord, with gilded banners bearing his token of the Ship and the Silver Swan, and a company of knights in full harness riding grey horses
...
And even as Pippin stood at the Great Gate of the City and saw the Prince of Dol Amroth ride in with his banners, the King of Rohan came down out of the hills.
...
And from the walls an answering shout went up; for foremost on the field rode the swan-knights of Dol Amroth with their Prince and his blue banner at their head.
...
And in the morning the banner of Dol Amroth, a white ship like a swan upon blue water, floated from the Tower, and men looked up and wondered if the coming of the King had been but a dream.
...
Upon the one hill he stood with Gandalf, and there fair and desperate was raised the banner of the Tree and Stars. Upon the other hill hard by stood the banners of Rohan and Dol Amroth, White Horse and Silver Swan.

Considering their importance in the books, it would certainly be nice if some of the banners made it into the movie. They are very evocative of the idea of Dol Amroth- the nobility, the castly, and the ever-impressive charge of heavy cavalry.

I can't see enough of the banner on the LotR website to say what I'm looking at- certainly the symmetric white/silver things coming up on either side of the blue could be wings, but no guarantee there. While there is blue and silver/white on the banner, the 'field' seems to be brown rather than blue, as described in the above book quotes. Not that PJ necessarily does stuff exactly as per book quotes. Perhaps the most revealing thing would be to watch the RotK DVD and freeze frame around that shot (I believe it is from 'the Black Gate Opens'). Perhaps the banner is less occluded in some of the surrounding frames.

As for Imrahil, I have my suspicions about one of the apparent leaders in Minas Tirith. Just as Gothmog (lieutenant of Minas Morgul) made it in to the films without his name being mentioned, I think the Prince of Dol Amroth might have been there: read here.

 

[lossenandunewen]

galadriel also has a white swan boat

 

[Urambo Tauro]

That's right, she does. However, there is only one elf participating in Aragorn's "march on the Black Gate"- Legolas. Also, in the TTT movie, the elves at Helm's Deep bear Galadriel's banner- one which does not resemble a swan at all.
But what if this picture has to do with the Last Alliance's "March on the Black Gate"? I don't think it could because I see Rohan banners and spear-heads contemporary to the time of Aragorn II.
One of the things I had mentioned earlier was that this "desktop series" collection of pictures is quite old, used in the hype of the first movie. Many things changed before TROTK made its way into theaters. This leads me to believe that it became an abandoned concept. But this theory hinges on that banner bearing a white swan. Too bad it's mostly obscured.
If that banner does in fact represent Dol Amroth, that tells us that the idea went through PJ, through the design process, all the way to a complete prop. Is there any more evidence of Dol Amroth? The answer may lie in documentaries or commentaries in the TROTK Extended Edition.
I have heard the theory of that particular Gondorian possibly being Imrahil. I know exactly who you're talking about, "long has he foreseen this doom". Decipher did in fact produce a card for the trading card game featuring that character, naming him Imrahil. You can see a picture of this card here. I personally don't subscribe to the theory of this character being given the name Imrahil, however I can't prove against it. The Decipher cards have shown many things from the book that are not from the movie- (Golberry, Bombadil, Glorfindel, Ghan-Buri-Ghan, etc.).

 

[aragil]

Not only does he get the "long has he foreseen" speech, he is also the one who delivers the stricken Faramir to his father (as Imrahil did in the books).

I'm guessing the banner is shown in the final movie (RotK)- the time when Aragorn assaults the Black gates, not Isildur!

 

[Urambo Tauro]

Yes it's an old thread....

But I found it! (It only took me two years!) Thanks to a comment on this page, I was able to see that a swan-banner made it into the finished film! It looks nothing like the obscured banner in the link to the official site, though.

At the coronation, Aaragorn turns around and we get a wide shot of the whole crowd applauding. In this shot, about half-way down the right-hand side is a banner of a white swan on a blue background.

At Arwen-Undomiel.com, go to the gallery, click on "Screen Captures", "The Return of the King", then "The Return of the King". It should be the last picture on the first page there.