Special effects of The Lord of the Rings film series Later on, the scenes were merged using digital effects. Besides Weathertop, many of the other scenes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were shot in this way, first by filming the scenery or set miniatures, then the actors on a studio set, and merging the two together. An example of this is in the Mines of Moria, when the Fellowship was fighting the Cave-troll in Balin's Tomb, and again when the Fellowship is on the Khazad-Dum stairs and bridge. Gandalf has his own particular scene with computer graphics as he grapples with the Balrog as they fall to their
Themes of The Lord of the Rings foreshadowed that of Christ. The fall of Gandalf, who fell to save his companions, thus parallels the crucifixion of Christ to save the human race. One of the most obvious Christian themes in Tolkien's writings is the resurrection of Gandalf, who had to sacrifice everything—even his years of plans, efforts, and his very hopes that the Dark Lord might be defeated—in order to secure the safety of the Fellowship. Like Jesus who carried his cross for the sins of mankind, Frodo carried a burden of evil on behalf of the whole world. Frodo walks his "Via Dolorosa" to Mount Doom