The Hobbit Trilogy

[ThorinsNemesis]

More interesting stuff from the BOTFA Appendices :
Dol Guldur was, in movie lore, an old Gondorian fortress that was built as a guard-post along the Anduin (something like the Argonath), maybe during the end of the Second or the beginning of the Third Age. However, it was apparently abandoned (probably due to the Great Plague) and taken over by something very evil (you know what ) a few centuries before the Hobbit, at which time it was repurposed and iron chains and spikes were added to the stone ruins to keep it all together from falling apart; also, sometime before it was reoccupied, the northern part of the Hill (opposite the bridge) took off, probably due to an earthquake, leaving the underground levels/pits of the fortress viewable (Dol Guldur is even referenced as having the overal look of a broken tooth because  of this), this can be seen during the wide shot of the fortress in the Extended Edition.
Also, the Appendices have digital maps of both Dol Guldur and the city of Dale, as well as some additional drawings by Alan Lee of Gondorian buildings in Dol Guldur; there is also a drawing of Thranduil's wife, who was probably a Sindarin Elf like him.
All these images you can find in my gallery on ModDB (there are about 12 images) here:
http://www.moddb.com/members/thorinsnemesis/images
There was also some additional info about the palantir - it was a relic from the  earlier script when the movies were just two, and it was intended to be the Ithil stone that either Sauron had stolen from the then-abandoned Minas Ithil, or when he revived the Nazgul they took Minas Ithil and brought him the palantir. Then, years after he was banished, when some of the Nazgul came to reclaim Dol Guldur the Ithil stone was transported to Barad-dur. In the movies the palantir would have been used to better establish the telephatic communication Sauron and Smaug had (and that's how Smaug knew about the 'Oakensheld' name and about the Dwarves' plan), and of course show the vision of Smaug leading the Orc armies. They really  should  have kept that  in, as it fixes one of the big plot holes in the Hobbit.
Also, there was at one point the intention that  Ori would give  Bilbo his portrait (the one old Bilbo holds in AUJ when he says 'I'm not the same hobbit I once was...') during Bilbo's parting with the  Dwarves, and Gloin and Nori would secretly tell Bilbo about the chest in the Trollshaws, but I don't know if these scenes were filmed.
And, the scene where Bilbo finds the treasure chest in the Trollshaws was filmed, you can actually see a shot of it during  the screenshot slideshow at the end of the Appendices Part 12.
However, I wasn't able to find a particular thing: I learned from the One Ring Forums that somewhere PJ mentioned the closure to the Morgul Blade subplot - Gandalf had been carrying it when he went to Dol Guldur, and they shot a  scene where, after Gandalf was defeated by Sauron in DOS, there was a 'frisking' scene before he was caged in, in which they found and took the Morgul Blade from him....
It's interesting how many nice scenes were filmed or planned but never included. The Hobbit is already a great trilogy (the  best movies imho ) those scenes could have made the movies even more interesting.

[LordDainIronfoot]

Interesting new INfo but i kinda do not like the idea of Dol GUldur being originalyl Gondorian Fortress!

We have too much GOndorian Fortress taken by evil with time,it's like only OGndor Builds Fortress all over Middle Earth And Sauron and his minions can't build shit

[Gandalf The Gray]

i   thought Dol GUldur was an elven fortress ???

[LordDainIronfoot]

In the Movie Lore it is said to be Gondorian my.friend! :-)

[ThorinsNemesis]

Well I like the idea of Dol Guldur being Gondorian, as John Howe and Alan Lee thought smartly about this.
For example, do you think that no one would suspect Sauron's return if a mysterious dark fortress was just built in the south of Mirkwood? At least Galadriel would have noticed it  . At least to me the idea of Sauron hiding and not being discovered in an abandoned Numenorian fortress sounds more possible; but everyone has an opinion, of course  .
And, I think that the design of the ruined Dol Guldur looks amazing on film and very unique because of the strong triangular influence in the fortress (triangles are everywhere, as you can see on the maps I posted on ModDB  ); if Dol Guldur was built by Sauron and his minions it would look more like Barad Dur, which wouldn't be very unique  .
And, if you think there is too much Gondorian buildings with Dol Guldur added, Alan Lee also adds that the Gondorians had colonized the southwestern shores of the Sea of Rhun where they even built a Seeing Seat  . But, since I really like the architecture and overall culture of Gondor, I don't mind seeing its influence throughout Middle-earth  .

[LordDainIronfoot]

The fortress wasn't just build by Sauron when he returned as Necromancer,it was the Capital of Greenwood the Great under Oropher ,Thranduil's father! So it was basically Elven and I really don't like the idea about Gondor,you see Minas Morgul was originally Gondorian as well as Isengard ,its too much to count Dol Guldur too ,it's like only Gondor build fortress and whenever they want to and then abandon then for the evil or someone else to use just like that! :-)

[Fine]

I don't think Dol Guldur is of gondorian origin, since the hill of Amon Lanc was once home to the Elves of the Woodland Realm ruled by Oropher, as Dáin correctly pointed out. So if there were any existing ruins there when Sauron first took dominion of Dol Guldur around 1000 TA they would have been of elven origin.

[Walküre]

Dáin, it's not that Gondor abandoned those places, it's because this realm has always been quite overburdened with serious challenges and threats to its very existence 

Minas Ithil was violently attacked and had its nature horribly twisted by Magic; Orthanc was gently left to Saruman's care.

I don't know why, but I always feel very empathetic to Gondor's struggles 

[LordDainIronfoot]

I don't think Dol Guldur is of gondorian origin, since the hill of Amon Lanc was once home to the Elves of the Woodland Realm ruled by Oropher, as Dáin correctly pointed out. So if there were any existing ruins there when Sauron first took dominion of Dol Guldur around 1000 TA they would have been of elven origin.

It is absolutely not!It is just Movie Lore of PJ and WETA! :-)

Walkure my.friend I am well aware of that! But still it is too much to give Gondorian heritage of every Fortress out there! :-) That's all I mean,and DG is definitely not a good choice tobe said as Gondorian origin!

[Walküre]

Walkure my.friend I am well aware of that! But still it is too much to give Gondorian heritage of every Fortress out there! :-) That's all I mean,and DG is definitely not a good choice tobe said as Gondorian origin!

I didn't take part in the Dol Guldur debate.
I was just defending a bit Gondor's pride 

[LordDainIronfoot]

Gondor has not pride,Gondor doesn't need pride! 

Joke aside,Gondor has more than enough to be proud,being the strongest Kingdom of Men and Heirs if Numenor and being one of the Greatest Military especially after Arnor declining! :-)
They are amazing enough Kingdom without false and forced claiming over things which aren't theirs

[ThorinsNemesis]

Well, technically the Numenorian realms (Arnor and Gondor) didn't have every main city and fortress in Middle-earth, only Annuminas, Fornost, Weathertop, Minas Tirith, Osgiliath, Minas Ithil, Orthanc, Harlond, Pelargir, Dol Amroth, and Dol Guldur (in movie lore). I realise the Gondorian bastions are already a lot even without Dol Guldur, but the Numenoreans were a very powerful race after all, and having so much influence on Middle-earth is normal imo.
And, as I said, if Dol Guldur was built by evil forces instead, wouldn't people wonder: lol, that fortress looks quite evil, so how come no one suspects an evil entity inhabits it? 

[FG15]

I wouldn't call Harlond a fortress or city, it was only a harbour. And you have forgotten Helms Deep, which was also built by them. Furthermore, I would consider Tharabad as a main city, too.

Also, I don't really get, why the men should build a fortress at Dol Guldur. That doesn't make any sense for me. The fortress is completly inside a forest and there are nowhere nearby any cities or other important places for the Men of Gondor. Besides the fact, that Argonarth being the northern border of Gondor wouldn't make any sense at all.

Being an elven fortress as in the book would make so much more sense (except the design used in the movie).

For me it is the same with Mount Gundabad in the movie, it doesn't look dwarvish at all.

[LordDainIronfoot]

It was ruined and abounded before Sauron took refuge there and considering it was formerly Elven Capital it is enough rather than just giving it to Gondor! :-)

Well you basically listed all major Fortress Cities in West with exception of tue Dwarven ones  So you get why I think it is too much to give DG too :-)

P.S. Completely agree with FG15 ,is saw his post now!I think the same! :-)

[ThorinsNemesis]

In the books I think that, when Amon Lanc was the capital of Oropher's realm, I always imagined that they didn't build their halls on top of the hill, maybe they made underground halls like the ones Thranduil moved to? Then, when they left their home under Amon Lanc, and the fortress was built atop it, the underground halls were probably used as pits or something like that; at least that's how I imagined Dol Guldur. 
Dol Guldur may be inside a forest, but it's really huge, and the intention probably was that you could see the Anduin and the Argonath from there (actually I think PJ and John Howe mentioned Dol Guldur as rather being a watch-post that served as a place where the Gondorians had sight of the lands, and if they saw something alarming like an army of the enemy, they would send a signal to the fortresses down the river (maybe in a way like the beacons?)). And also, we don't know when Dol Guldur was built and abandoned in the movies, so we might assume that Argonath was still the northern border before Dol Guldur was built and after it was abandoned (probably some time early during the Great Plague).
An Elven fortress might have been a good choice as well, but since the Sindar and Silvan Elves weren't exactly known for building large fortresses overground (instead choosing the underground caves and small forest settlements) I can't imagine what Dol Guldur would look like if it was Elvish.

About Mount Gundabad, I may be wrong, but I think in the books Mount Gundabad was never a large and important Dwarven fortress like Moria or Erebor, instead it was smaller and I think the Dwarves held meetings there but didn't turn much attention to its architecture or defence like they did with Erebor and Moria. If you mean the red Iron spikes atop the Mountain in the movies, Philippa Boyens talked that when the Orcs took over the fortress they built the iron stuff as their own symbol of power over it; and if you look closely when the gate opens and Bolg's army goes out, you can see withered Dwarven angular marks around the gate, and the inside of the fortress was undoubtedly Dwarvish. It's just that either the Dwarves didn't build anything big on the outside, or the Orcs destroyed it and replaced it with iron.