The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (review)
By Claire Harvey
December 08, 2003

After seven years of speculation, the final secrets of the film version of Lord of the Rings can today be revealed.

The strict embargo signed in hobbit's blood by all journalists who have seen The Return of the King lifts this morning, ending the agony for fantasy nuts who have been digging for the details of director Peter Jackson's trilogy since he began work in 1996.

The good news is that this film, the third instalment in the trilogy, is staggeringly impressive. It does everything bigger, and most things better, than the first two movies.

It's worth seeing even if you hate fantasy-fiction, even if you got stuck on page five of The Hobbit, even if you thought Bilbo was an endangered chocolate marsupial.

The battles roar from the cinema speakers, medieval in their bloodlust, tightly paced and choreographed.

One thrilling war scene, where the Rohan cavalry gallops across Middle Earth, swords and shields glinting in the sunlight, is simply beautiful.

New Zealand's stunning mountain tops glow above the clouds in another scene, as a string of flaming beacons is lit across Middle Earth to call the forces of good to battle.

The performances of actors such as Sean Astin, playing the hobbit Samwise Gamgee, are so touching that even a cinema of hardened hacks was snuffling before the 200 minutes were up.

Australian stars shine in this film, including David Wenham as the ranger Faramir, and Miranda Otto, whose character Eowyn becomes an Orc-slaying action heroine.

The Australian contingent is led by veteran Adelaide theatre actor and producer John Noble, who hopes audiences do not simply loathe his character, the tortured villain Denethor, twisted by desire for the enchanted Ring.

"I worked my arse off to make him a real person," Noble said. "On screen (he) appears to be a fairly vile man, but I understand him totally. I felt every pain that that man felt."

There is romance, too; the bond between Liv Tyler's elf princess Arwen and the warrior Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, develops to make this film far more complete than the first two pictures.

Special effects creator Richard Taylor has crafted a world that looks astonishingly real.

One of the film's best shots is wizard Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, charging on horseback through the steep, narrow, cobbled streets of the fortified city Minas Tirith.

"He's been to the osteopath," Sir Ian said of Gandalf, who takes on the fight against evil with new energy.

On screen it looks like the producers must have actually constructed a city with the proportions of Dubrovnik, but in fact, when The Australian visited the Rings set in June, Minas Tirith was a polystyrene miniature about 3m high, being painted by two tousle-haired Kiwis in jeans.

It is cinematic alchemy; as if the film-makers have taken a few paddle-pop sticks and a disposable Esky and created the Death Star.

Of course there are flaws; some appallingly corny dialogue and the odd silly stunt.

But this movie is satisfying and great fun, and among the occasionally cheesy dialogue are some memorable lines.

"A day may come when the courage of men fails," warrior-king Aragorn tells his massed army as it prepares for an attack that seems impossible. "It is not this day. This day, we fight."

Stuff.com

Return Of The King a spectacular triumph

08 December 2003

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy of films is brought to a rousing end with The Return Of The King.

To quote Gandalf, after The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers the board is set and the pieces in motion. In just over three hours New Zealand director Peter Jackson ties up the loose ends of J R R Tolkien's fantasy classic in a sweeping, epic movie.

Where Return Of the King succeeds is by following in Tolkien's footsteps and telling the story of huge events through the perspective of the smallest participants - in this case, hobbits.

In the astonishing battle scene at the heart of the film Jackson frequently swerves from the grand view to that of Merry (Dominic Monaghan) or Pippin (Billy Boyd), hence heightening the effect of the crowd shots.

The first hour of Return Of The King sets the scene for the battle of Pelennor Fields.

Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith - a towering city, much of which was actually built for the film, with the remainder being filmed using a 1/72nd scale model - to witness the slow mental disintegration of its guardian Denethor, played with relish by Australian theatre veteran David Noble.

Gandalf is forced to take command of the city, a situation which allows McKellen the chance to bring a new dimension to a character he has played wonderfully well in each of the three films.

Meanwhile, the forces of Rohan are gathering to ride to Gondor's aid. However, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) chooses to find Gondor aid in a different direction, trekking the Paths of the Dead to raise a ghostly force reminiscent of some of the effects in Jackson's previous film, The Frighteners.

When the three forces collide with the armies of Mordor, the tour de force of the three films is played out.

The Battle of Pelennor Fields completely dwarfs in scale and ambition the other major battles in The Lord Of The Rings, and like Saving Private Ryan before it will set a standard for conflict on celluloid few movies will match.

The initial siege of Minas Tirith is exciting enough, with huge boulders raining down on the city and smashing masonry and citizenry. However, once the cavalry of Rohan arrives the battle is turned.

The massed charge of the horse soldiers has almost as big an impact on the audience as it does on the orcs, with it feeling as if the onrushing army will burst out of the screen and into the audience.

Mordor has cavalry of its own though, and the arrival of its war elephants is a marvellous digital effect which - like much of the computer-generated trickery in the three films fits seamlessly alongside live action.

Gondor's triumph is much against the odds, which the film makes abundantly clear. It also doesn't shirk away from the terrors of war - which is where the hobbits' perspective of the battle is so effective.

While Pippin and Merry are coping with their fears, their fellow Shire-folk Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are marching into Mordor with only the tricky Gollum (Andy Serkis) for company.

Their story poses Jackson the same trouble as it posed Tolkien - how to weave it into events happening on the other side of Ephel Duath. An additional problem Jackson has is that much of Frodo and Sam's journey involved painful tramping, which doesn't make for gripping cinema.

While their journey to Mount Doom may feel truncated, Astin and Wood make up for it with outstanding performances which readily translate the agony of the march to Mordor. They are particularly outstanding during their duel with the giant spider Shelob - a truly terrifying creation set to become one of the classic movie monsters.

The final moments on the slopes of Mount Doom are well played out, bringing the trilogy to a suitably emotional finish.

As with the first two films, there will be moments Tolkien devotees will earnestly debate, with some sections of the books omitted or altered.

Many will regret Jackson's decision to omit the scouring of the Shire from the Return Of The King – although including it would have made for a film much longer than studio executives would have permitted.

The demise of Saruman (Christopher Lee) was also allegedly cut due to time constraints, but having been a central figure in the first two films it is unfortunate he shuffles off-stage unseen.

However, for having tackled the allegedly impossible task of bringing Middle Earth's many fantastic sights and citizens to life so successfully, most will forgive Jackson such decisions. It is now possible to view the three films as one movie, and the three combined are a spectacular triumph.

The devotion of cast and crew to Tolkien's work shines through, and through their dedication movie history has been made.

The initial siege of Minas Tirith is exciting enough, with huge boulders raining down on the city and smashing masonry and citizenry.

Given PJ's love for goriness, I wonder if we'll see the heads flung into the city.

Thanks for the stirring review!

TIME.com: Seven Holiday Treats -- Dec. 15, 2003

A R T S / M O V I E S
Seven Holiday Treats
Well, some are precious gifts; some are lumps of coal. A couple are epic in scope; others are microscopic. A few have their eyes on the Oscar prize; the rest will be happy to entertain you and siphon off your shopping budget between now and the New Year
By

Monday, Dec. 15, 2003
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen

Well, it's back. The film event of the millennium — three superb films re-creating J.R.R. Tolkien's epic series of novels — reaches its climax with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. For the third December in a row, the year is capped with a robust cinematic retelling of the war of Middle-earth, as the hobbit Frodo (Wood) and his fellowship of humans, elves, dwarfs and the wizard Gandalf (McKellen) surge into battle against the dark power of Mordor's Lord Sauron.

The king in the story is the hunky human warrior Aragorn (Mortensen). But Jackson is the true lord of these Rings. The New Zealand auteur spent seven years on the trilogy, collaborating on the scripts with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. He chose and directed this perfect cast, orchestrated the smashing visual effects — Tolkien's bestiary on the march in fantastical realms. In Return, the giant trolls, four-tusked elephants and flying, screeching serpents of Mordor will amaze adults and may startle small children. The spider monster Shelob, creeping up on Frodo and mummifying him in a silken straitjacket, offers a delicious horror-movie frisson.

Viewers don't play this movie like a video game. They are seduced to live inside it. In one brilliant visualization, the hobbit Pippin (Billy Boyd) manages to light a bonfire at the top of Gondor to alert his distant comrades to a military victory. On a far hill, a second fire is lit, its flame echoed on farther mountaintops, on and on into the dawn. At last, it's wartime.

The Ring films, like Master and Commander, celebrate old-fashioned martial virtues: honor, duty, comradeship, sacrifice — soldiering on, under an immense, sapping burden. Though the trilogy percolates with bracing adventure, it is a testament to the long slog of any war. Pain streaks the faces of the film's stalwart warriors. They know the enormity of their foe and know that the child hobbit who bears the Ring is far from them — surely in peril, perhaps lost forever. At one point Aragorn asks Gandalf, "What does your heart tell you?" and in a little movie epiphany, the wizard's face briefly warms, brightens, and he says, "That Frodo is alive."

The boldly choreographed battles are really a diversion from the story's great drama: three little people — Frodo, his companion Sam (Sean Astin) and the ex-hobbit Gollum (Andy Serkis and a lot of CGI geniuses) on their way to Mount Doom with a mission to destroy the Ring. Cringing and crafty, Gollum is the rebellious servant, subverting Sam's selfless impulses, trying to twist allegiance of the pallid, ailing Frodo away from his friend. (So poignant are Gollum's turbid emotions, and so persuasively is this computer critter integrated with the live performers, that he deserves a special acting Oscar for Best ... Thing.) The devotion of Sam is inspiring. His plea to Frodo--"Don't go where I can't follow!"--makes him the film's real hero.

At 3 hr. 20 min., The Return of the King occasionally slows to a trot. There's a long middle passage where half a dozen characters in turn muse and fret at length. After the climax there's a plethora of meetings and farewells, most of them extended versions of the goodbyes in The Wizard of Oz. But Jackson is entitled. He surely felt that he and his companions of the Ring had waged their own hard, heroic battle and that sentimental adieus were earned.

They are, too. The second half of the film elevates all the story elements to Beethovenian crescendo. Here is an epic with literature's depth and opera's splendor — and one that could be achieved only in movies. What could be more terrific?

This: in some theaters, the Ring trilogy will be shown back to back to back. What a 9-hr. 17-min. trip — three huge installments, one supreme enthrallment. Ecstasy trumps exhaustion in the reliving of a great human quest, a cinematic triumph. --By Richard Corliss

How was the musical score in this movie? Hopefully it has an inspiring score and not some lame New Age type sound.

XtraMSN.com

Movie Reviews

Lord Of The Rings. - New Line

Return Of The King Review

08/12/2003 03:24 PM
Matt Bostwick

If Best Picture Oscars were awarded purely for the battle scenes, Peter Jackson's final instalment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Return of the King, would be a shoe-in.

But the fact that Oscar gongs are awarded on a slightly broader range of cinematic competencies than battle scene depiction shouldn't worry Jackson and his backers at New Line Cinema.

Audio and Video

Elijah Wood on filming Lord of the Rings - 08/12/2003 10:35 AM - Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) talks to New Zealand journalists about his role in the third and final instalment of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

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If ever a movie deserved to have members of the Academy break the mould (no fantasy film has ever been awarded Best Picture), this is it.

Regardless of what happens at the Oscars (although all agree it would be nice to see Jackson take home Best Director or Best Picture) this film will be remembered as one of the best ever, for so many reasons.

Firstly, it is quite possibly the most visually stunning piece of celluloid to ever hit a cinema screen. The Battle of Pelennor fields will simply dumbfound you. No kidding.

Audio and Video

Ian McKellen on filming LOTR - 08/12/2003 10:35 AM - Ian McKellen (Gandalf) talks to New Zealand journalists about the experience of filming "Lord of the Rings" for Peter Jackson - ann experience he says which went on far longer than he expected.

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Imagine thousands of Rohan horsemen galloping at pace into hordes of waiting Orcs. Imaging that you can see, hear and feel every bone-crushing moment of impact from a vantage point somewhere plum in the middle of it. Then imagine that it's just the beginning.

The giant elephant-like Mumakil, sweeping aside everything in their path with mammoth forklift tusks and crushing any leftovers with their enormous kauri trunk legs, are an absolute piece of Weta Digital genius. So too is the scene where Legolas attempts to bring one down, single-handed.

As amazing as the battle scenes are in Return of the King, it's the sheer depth of thoughtful film artistry that makes this movie so good. One question asked of all the actors at the pre-premiere media day was how Jackson manages to get such good performances from his cast.

Audio and Video

Jackson's Lord of the Rings challenge - 08/12/2003 10:35 AM - Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson tells Newstalk ZB's Katie Duncan that making the trilogy was every bit as difficult as everyone told him it would be.

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Most agreed it's because he's simply one of the finest directors around. He quietly expects and gets the most out of everyone he works with, and gives them the opportunity to extend themselves. One great example is the stirring pre-battle gee-up King Theoden of Rohan (Bernard Hill) gives the troops before the Battle of Pelennor fields. With lances outstretched, the king rides down the line of Rohan horsemen, sword held high, touching every spear as he gallops along.

Sounds simple, but it's one of the most memorable moments in the film, the last touching scene before the battle cry is sounded. And it was something Bernard Hill himself came up with, after seeing the spears lined up in a storage room at Weta and idly running his hand along them as he walked past. He mentioned using it to Jackson as a device to convey the king's connection with his warriors. Jackson promptly added it in.

Another triumph of Return of the King is the development of Gollum (Andy Serkis). The opening sequence, where we get a glimpse of Smeagol's transformation into the creature Gollum, is brilliant. Apparently a scene Jackson considered using in the second film, it works brilliantly to remind us of the power of the ring - and where the journey all started.

Jackson's directorial prowess is also evident in the way the many stories are laced together. As good as the battle scenes are, Jackson knows there's only so long a battle can hold an audience's attention. To keep us locked in, Jackson switches the action deftly between the battles and, for example, to see how Gollum, Frodo and Sam are faring (and fearing) on their weary trek to Mt Doom. It's this clever pacing between the awe-inspiring battle scenes and moments like the touching intimacy between the two Hobbits that will keep viewers glued, hour after hour.

Sir Ian McKellen has said he felt the actors' performances were slightly overlooked in appraisals of first two films in the trilogy. With many of the cast emerging from their shells for this one, that shouldn't be an issue now.

Amongst the characters who shine are Sam (Sean Astin), the loyal companion to Elijah Wood's Frodo. The relationship, which many suggest is based on Tolkien's experiences of the comradeship between British soldiers in WWI, is beautifully conveyed. The depth of feeling between the two is easy to see, thanks to the bucket-loads of Hobbit tears and misty eyes.

Gollum, as mentioned, continues to engross, and is now probably the best known CGI character in moviedom. That status is in no small way due to the sheer brilliance of actor Andy Serkis, who played Gollum for real in filming and was then used as the basis for the computer creation we see on screen.

Other stunning scenes to look for include the lighting of the beacons. Like a Middle Earth version of modern day broadcast transmission towers, the beacons come alight across an incredible landscape (our own Southern Alps) calling the fellowship to war.

All in all, Return of the King is nothing short of a masterpiece. If the end is long in the coming, it's because it's wrapping up three films, not one.

Together the three epics add up to the most amazing cinema adventure ever. Roll on Oscar night.

Watch the trailer on our Lord of the Rings site here.

The New Zealand Herald

Every stumbling step of the way, the audience is with Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) as they head towards Mt Doom.

The Return of the King: Jackson's crowning glory

08.12.2003
With its sense of spectacle and its dramatic depth, 'The Return of the King' confirms Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' as the greatest movie trilogy of all time, writes RUSSELL BAILLIE.

(Herald rating: * * * * * )

We come to it at last, the great film of our time. The film which makes the heart leap, the tears flow, the adrenaline race like never before.

The film which makes you laugh out loud, cower in fear, feel dizzy with vertigo, and at the end - and be warned, it sure does takes its time to finish - feel exhausted, dazed and slightly thankful it's all over. At least, until those compulsory further viewings.

It's the one that makes you wonder: how did we get so hooked up in this imaginary world with its labyrinthine legends and its allusions to everything from The Bible to British history, its creatures great and small, its grand scheme of things.

Well, if memory serves, there were two films before this - in my book, one brilliant, one not quite so, in that order - and a certain hefty work of fiction before that.

So far as his history-making adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's book goes, Peter Jackson and his crew have saved the best and the boldest for last. And that's despite the final third of Tolkien's original work being where his story unravels.

Performance-wise, many of Jackson's cast - some of whom were previously sideline characters - shine like never before.

Among them Sean Astin as Frodo's companion Sam, whose character becomes something much more than the loyal simpleton of earlier episodes.

Likewise, Billy Boyd as Pippin gains in stature and sings a couple of songs while he's at it. Also outstanding is Bernard Hill as King Theoden, whose character has transformed from a wizened Lear to a heroic Henry V. He also delivers one of the great speeches to the troops ever committed to celluloid.

Some characters do fall by the wayside: Liv Tyler's Arwen becomes a passive near-sleeping beauty, while Eowyn (Miranda Otto), her rival for Aragorn's affections, gets to swing a very big sword.

There are more deeper, darker Shakespearean overtones to this, as Middle-earth politics, loyalties and blood ties become more complex.

That resonates especially in the sub-plot involving the Steward of Gondor, Denethor (John Noble) and Faramir (David Wenham), the son he wished were dead rather than his slain brother Boromir.

The Return of the King may be following several strands of story - part of the slight undoing of the previous film, The Two Towers - but here it interweaves them with deft precision, using what it needs from the previous books and pacing most of its long running time in exact swings of tension and release.

That's right from the opening sequence, in which we meet Smeagol in his pre-Gollum days and are reminded of the devastating power of the ring, as well as seeing a little more of where actor Andy Serkis ends and the magic of Weta Digital begins.

We are every stumbling step of the way with Frodo, Sam and Gollum as they head towards Mt Doom. We're also there, with the rest of the scattered fellowship, preparing for the showdown against the mounting might of Sauron.

"We come to it at last, the great battle of our time," says McKellen's Gandalf as he sees the forces mount on the vertiginous city of Minas Tirith. It is a great battle. It makes The Return of the King a great war movie - the thrill of the horse charge of the Rohan warriors, the chill caused by the devastating stomp of the elephant-like Mumakils as they counter-attack.

It takes a certain matinee idol elf to bring one down in an eye-popping action sequence. It's topped off with a priceless one-liner by his short mate Gimli.

The Battle of Pelennor fields also comes with troll-powered catapults, and pterodactyl-like beasts piloted by Nazgul led by the Witch-king Angmar, the baddest of the Lord of the Rings baddies yet, though he has some competition from Orc captain Gothmog whose visage seems a tribute to the Elephant Man.

Both are played by Lawrence Makoare who played orc Lurtz in the first film. If there's a prize for most makeup-tolerant actor, he deserves it.

If it's a great war movie, it's quite a horror film, too. First there's the Army of the Dead who are summoned by the man who would be king, Aragorn, for the final showdown. Some business to do with an old curse apparently, but they are a visually arresting bunch whose special effects hark back to Jackson's The Frighteners.

Then there's Shelob, the giant spider into whose lair Frodo is led by the treacherous Gollum. It could have gone all very B-movie at this point, but with the combination of creature and choreography, it's something more akin to Alien.

But there are visual moments that are arresting for their simple beauty, such as the lighting of the beacons - mountain-top bonfires which presumably used the Southern Alps as their backdrop and on screen look like a high-concept art piece.

As in the book, it does take a while to find its ending, even without including episodes such as the scouring of the Shire, which were discarded by Jackson and his co-writers.

If it takes a while to wrap up, then again it is the ending to what is effectively one very big movie. It should be allowed a few curtain calls.

If it takes its time to roll the end credits, for much of the film it is beyond exhilarating and certainly the best of the three, effectively elevating the series into the greatest trilogy in cinema history.

Peter Jackson started off filming a legend. Now he is one.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

Cast: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Sir Ian McKellen, Bernard Hill, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Liv Tyler, Miranda Otto

Director: Peter Jackson

Rating: M (violence and fantasy horror)

Running time: 202 mins

Screening: Cinemas everywhere from December 18

Herald Feature: Lord of the Rings

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202 minutes! Wow.

"You know my friend, some of us are offended when our Lord's name is taken in vain."

Oops, sorry! Sometimes it seems like nothing else will do, but I need to remember that I may be bothering others. I grew up (many years ago by now) in a house where the whole family swore pretty regularly, I have a feeling that the habit has been handed down more than a couple generations. It drove my wife crazy for the first 20 or so years of marriage, now I seem to be much less likely to talk that way, for whatever reason. Unexpectedly perhaps, my parents were quite religious.

Yes, they really did pull out all the stops in the LOTR project, didn't they. It's gratifying, and plays a large part in its success, IMO.

Gosh ;-) I hope they do bring out a massive DVD!

Thanks for all the links / info.

I join others here at FR & around the world awaiting the next installment.

bttt

I haven't heard it yet.

But word has it that it's on par with Shore's score for the first two movies.

It's available for sale now:

Return of the King Soundtrack

the soundtract is excellent. I just got mine from Amazon.com...

Times Online

December 04, 2003

A three-ring-circus

With Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson has rewritten the cinematic rules, says James Christopher

NOTHING travels quite so fast down the bush telegraph as the word “sensation”.

The final instalment of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy landed at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, and it has apparently exceeded every expectation. It needed to. During the schematic sprawl of The Two Towers, much of Tolkien’s magic seem to wither before the eyes. The ambition and pulsing horror of Jackson’s opening salvos in The Fellowship of the Ring were diluted by complicated wars, bedraggled cameos and splintered story lines. There was little visceral satisfaction, but critics and fans alike have clung to the story like Gollum.

The annual gaps between the films have been a frustrating and unusual wait. The imminent sense of closure is a strange, and curiously communal, phenomenon.

The whiff of success 12,000 miles away has reignited that sense of national anticipation. Stony US critics and Academy Award members who were privileged enough to see previews of The Return of the King in advance of the 2004 Oscars have jammed internet sites with schoolboy raves. British critics will judge when the first prints of the film arrive in London next week. In rugby parlance, the climax has the dramatic potential of Jonny Wilkinson’s dropped goal in the last minute of the World Cup final. The difference is that one is mere sporting history; the other hardcore fantasy.

If Jackson’s last reel is the success that it is predicted, and primed, to be, it is destined to become only the second film, after Titanic, to crack the $1 billion dollar mark at the box office. It’s an extraordinary conclusion to perhaps the greatest gamble a Hollywood studio has yet made. Jackson’s greatest hits include Bad Taste, a feature about space invaders who turn humans into hamburgers; a drug-addled spoof of the Muppets (Meet the Feebles); and a zombie flesh-eating masterpiece called Braindead. New Line, a minnow of a company which pushed Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh into making all three films at the risk of putting themselves out of business for ever, cannot be faulted for what on paper must have seemed an insane investment — particularly when the costs escalated to a queasy $310 million.

Sequels are as common, and illuminating, as muck. Film trilogies are rare unicorns. The Lord of the Rings is, without a shred of doubt, the greatest organic three-part cinema epic made. Apart from George Lucas with the Star Wars films, no director has dared shoot back-to-back blockbusters using the same cast to relate a single story to such uniform and powerful effect.

Some perspective is needed. Let’s not forget that prequels such as The Phantom Menace are rolling in 22-odd years later. Coppola’s Godfather trilogy took 20 years to make, with the result that the individual segments are as compatible as chalk and cheese. The French art-house Trilogy by Lucas Belvaux, currently playing in cinemas around the country, is a generic trick that pales by comparison.

The Matrix is essentially a cartoon, and is mapped out as such. It’s a glorious biblical interpretation of a sci-fi dystopia, and it threatened to be the trilogy by which all others must be measured. It failed at the second fence. Film ingenuity supplanted, then smothered, any signs of organic growth.

Jackson’s triumph is that he uses realism like scaffolding. His trilogy couldn’t exist without relationships and enmities capable of withstanding a pair of size 12 boots. Making all three films at once using home-grown New Zealand nous reduced the costs radically. It also put his dreams in the hands of some terrific actors. The actors paid him back in spades.

The bewitching luck of Jackson’s strategy has not escaped Hollywood. Whether anyone dare follow him is another question.

Trilogies are as old as Greek tragedy, but the concept of film trilogies is utterly daunting. Jackson has exploded many myths about the subject in the seven years it has taken him to deliver. Directors such as Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) are taking cues from the wisdom of three-film shoots. But the physical and emotional cost has yet to be recognised.

Mark Ordesky, the chief operating officer of New Line, was recently asked about the possibility of shooting The Hobbit. He was spookily enthusiastic. It would be an insult if Jackson were not asked to direct it, but I seriously wonder whether he has any juice left.

Three years of post-production on the Rings trilogy was apparently harder than the shoot itself. The 42-year-old looks like the bearded Owl of Greyfriars, aged 63¾. One fears for his mental health. Perhaps a crop of Oscars will provide some creative Viagra.

Three years ago I predicted that The Lord of the Rings trilogy would be crowned as one of the seven wonders of the cinematic world. I doubt I’ll be asked to eat my words.

This isn't a review, but rather a pretty meaty interview with PJ.... wortha read.

News for Dec. 09, 2003

IGN Interviews Peter Jackson
12/09/03, 7:07 am EST - Pippin_Took

IGN has a great new interview with PJ, in which he discusses premieres, Extended Editions, carrots, and King Kong, as well as setting the record straight on the whole Saruman/Christopher Lee thing. [More]

That was indeed a great interview. Here's an interesting snippet:

Q: What's the definitive version of these films?

JACKSON: The theatrical versions are the definitive versions. I regard the extended cuts as being a novelty for the fans that really want to see the extra material.

Here is my belief: The Extended DVD versions will become the definitive versions and will be remembered as the beginning of the realization that a DVD is not just a high-tech way of capturing a film but a new medium with rules of its own.

What you said.

From Killer Movie Reviews:

"Not to beat around the bush, this film is soul-stirring perfection. At 210 minutes, there is not a wasted frame of film. From the smallest moment of quiet conversation to epic battle sequences full of sweeping vistas black with ravaging hordes of Orcs and worse, we are swept into this mythical world with an emotional immediacy that is as compelling as it is enthralling. A broken heart resonates with the same thunderclap of dragon?s wings. In this, the darkest of the films, the characters grow as each fulfills his or her destiny so that they, as well as the story itself, achieve a kind of closure. Bittersweet, though it may be."

"LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING is fabulous in every sense. With its companion films in the trilogy, it?s in a category of its own that is so far above the usual cinematic entertainment in scope and execution, that any attempt at comparisons is an exercise in futility."

From MusicOMH.com:

"The Battle for Helm's Deep is over. The Battle for Middle Earth is about to begin."

Sauron's forces have attacked Gondor's capital of Minas Tirith in his final siege against mankind. Watched over by a fading steward, Denethor (John Noble), the once great kingdom has never been in more desperate need of its king. But will Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) find the strength to become what he was born to be and ascend to meet his destiny?

As Gandalf (Ian McKellan), with Pippin (Billy Boyd) in tow, desperately tries to move the broken forces of Gondor to act, Théoden (Bernard Hill) unites the warriors of Rohan to join in the fight. Even in their courage and passionate loyalty, the forces of men - with Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) hidden among them - are no matches against the swarming legions of enemies raining down on the kingdom.

Despite great losses, The Fellowship charges forward in the greatest battle of their lifetime, united in their singular goal to keep Sauron distracted and give Frodo (Elijah Wood) a chance to complete his quest. Travelling across the treacherous enemy lands of Mordor, Frodo must rely increasingly on Sam (Sean Astin) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) as The Ring continues to test his allegiance and, ultimately, his humanity. The Fellowship's journey is coming to an end.

Let's face facts, folks - there has never been a third chapter to a movie trilogy that has fully delivered or satisfied the way it should have. Return of the Jedi was a good but soulless end to the original Star Wars trilogy, full of wooden acting, an overwhelming sense of trilogy déjà vu and Ewoks. Godfather Part III, also decent, was completely unnecessary, nowhere near as good as the first two and starred Sofia Coppola. The less said about the third parts of the Matrix, Alien and Back To The Future franchises, the better.

Eventually, someone had to break the curse, and it has finally happened. It brings me great pleasure to tell you, though it should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the first two films, that Peter Jackson's third and final entry in the Lord of the Rings saga, The Return of the King, is the film to break said nuisance.

This is a vital, exhilarating concluding chapter that successfully entertains and more than stands on its own merits. The New Zealand director has pulled out all the stops to deliver a bigger, darker, more emotionally resonant motion picture experience that is more satisfying than any fantasy film or second sequel that has come before it. And yes, that includes The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.

Despite shooting all three films at the same time and doing a hell of a job on parts one and two, Jackson's work here is his finest hour, more accomplished and assured than ever. Trials and personal dramas that each of the characters endure in their journeys are given as much attention as the massive battle sequences, in particular the breathtaking Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Sharing writing duties once more with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the director does a fantastic job adapting Tolkien's final book of the series from page to screen. The trio faithfully capture and translate the late author's eye for detail, small character idiosyncrasies and themes of friendship, temptation, loyalty and bravery that will please both hardcore fans of Tolkien's books and fans of the films.

I stated last year that his trio deserved at least an Oscar nomination for their work on adapting The Two Towers (didn't happen). By taking the slimmest of the three novels and turning it into the richest of films, they deserve not only an Oscar nomination, but quite possibly the award as well.

The large, returning ensemble cast also displays a higher level of acting quality. All have become comfortable, but not complacent, in his or her character. There isn't a bad performance to be had (John Noble makes a fine addition to the cast as Denethor, the jerk of Middle Earth), with the trio of Sean Astin, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis being this chapter's true standouts.

Wood does a fine job handling Frodo's physical and mental struggles with his task, Serkis is once again wonderfully evil as Gollum and Astin's heartfelt turn as Sam reveals his character to be the true hero of the saga. If there is one minor quibble, it is this - I missed seeing Christopher Lee's Saurman, whose scenes have been cut and saved for the Extended Edition due in 2004.

On a technical level, this is about as good as it gets. From Howard Shore's majestic score to Andrew Lesnie's rich cinematography to Weta Workshop's eye-popping visual effects, including the terrifying giant spider Shelob and an army of 200,000 orcs waging war on Minas Tirith, the movie dazzles the eye as much as it does the mind and heart.

Looking back to a little over two years ago, I remember that I wasn't looking forward to these films. Hollywood seemed to be stuck in a rut - while the price tag on films kept going up, the level of quality went in the opposite direction. After the horrible summer movie season of 2001, I had become so jaded with mega-hyped blockbuster wannabe's that I was convinced this series would just be more of the same - all style, zero substance.

How wonderful it was to be wrong. While the overall quality of big-budget American cinema continues to slide into the sewer, Peter Jackson and his cast and crew of thousands have shown me that quality commercial cinema such as this, the most fully satisfying cinematic trilogy made to date in the history of cinema, is still capable of existing.

- Shawn Fitzgerald