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Originally Posted by CSteefel

But equally clearly, Tolkien wanted the humans (Eowyn and Merry specifically) to bring about the end of the Witch King, thus establishing their own heroic claims. It would not make for much of a story to have Gandalf simply deal with all of the enemies.

Even in the books, Gandalf is just there to keep the 'playing field' level. He never attacks the forces of Sauron, but simply defends. He shepherded Faramir and the wounded home, and drives away fear when the Nazgul appear. Gandalf faces down the Witch-King at the Gate, but does not attack him.

PJ, I think, as you say, wanted to make sure that humankind had its role, but he may have diminished the role of Gandalf too much in order to pump up Aragorn's.

So there is just the question of how Gandalf is able to drive off the Nazgul at Weathertop, and then again on the Pelennor Fields.

Note that in the movies Gandalf never sees the Nazgul until the Pelennor Fields (if memory serves). In Gondor Gandalf uses his magic spotlight, which, being so much like the Searchlight Eye of Sauron, drives the Nazgul from their prey. However, Gandalf cannot use this same ability later as (1) you can only use a spell once per day per AD&D rules or (2) he ran out of batteries.

My main problem is that the breaking of Gandalf's staff seems gratuitous, since Tolkien provided a perfectly good mechanism by which the final confrontation between the Witch King and Gandalf can be avoided in the interest of the dramatic tension of the story. That is, the Witch King is called away by the arrival of the Rohirrim, while Gandalf is called away by the threat to Faramir. In the book, the confrontation between the two is merely delayed in the minds of the Witch King and Gandalf, except that Theoden is killed in the interim (which Gandalf bemoans in the book, pointing out that he might have saved him, as he did Faramir earlier) and then Merry and Eowyn finally dispatch the Witch King, fulfilling the prophecy of Glorfindel some 1300-1400 years earlier.

Much agreed.