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(2003) Film Review |
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page was created on October 20, 2003
This page was last updated on
May 29, 2005
—Review
—Extended Edition
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—About the Cast
—About the Crew
—Spiritual Connections
—LOTR Coverage Index
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| CREDITS |
| Directed by Peter Jackson
Novel: Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson
Producers
Peter Jackson ... producer
Michael Lynne ... executive producer
Mark Ordesky ... executive producer
Barrie M. Osborne ... producer
Rick Porras ... co-producer
Robert Shaye ... executive producer
Fran Walsh¹ ... producer
Bob Weinstein ... executive producer
Harvey Weinstein ... executive producer
Cast - in credits order
Elijah Wood ... Frodo Baggins
Ian McKellen ... Gandalf the White
Viggo Mortensen ... Aragorn
Sean Astin ... Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee
Liv Tyler ... Arwen
Billy Boyd ... Peregrin 'Pippin' Took
Dominic Monaghan ... Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck
Orlando Bloom ... Legolas Greenleaf
John Rhys-Davies ... Gimli
Ian Holm ... Bilbo Baggins
Christopher Lee ... Saruman the White
Cate Blanchett ... Galadriel
Bernard Hill ... Théoden
Brad Dourif ... Gríma Wormtongue
Miranda Otto ... Éowyn
Marton Csokas ... Celeborn
Karl Urban ... Éomer
David Wenham ... Faramir
John Noble ... Denethor, Steward of Gondor
Other credited cast listed alphabetically
Alexandra Astin ... Elanor Gamgee
Sala Baker ... Sauron
Wi Kuki Kaa ... Ghan-buri-Ghan
Lawrence Makoare ... The Witch King
Sarah McLeod ... Rosie Cotton
Andy Serkis ... Gollum/Sméagol
Bruce Spence ... The Mouth of Sauron
Stephen Ure ... Gorbag
Hugo Weaving ... Elrond
Original Music by Howard Shore
Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie
Edited by Jamie Selkirk
Rated
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG |
| TRAILERS AND CLIPS |
| —Trailers |
| CD |
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Soundtrack Various Artists
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| BOOK |
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Part 3)
by J. R. R. Tolkien
THE GREATEST FANTASY EPIC OF OUR TIME
While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarmed out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggled deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron’s power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the accursed Ring of Power had to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way was impossibly hard, and Frodo was weakening. Weighed down by the compulsion of the Ring he began finally to despair. The
awesome conclusion of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, beloved by millions of readers around the world.
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| POSTER |
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The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Frodo
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The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Gollum
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The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Gandalf the White
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The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Arwen
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The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Legolas and Gimli
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 The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Aragorn
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 The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King -
Gollum
24 in. x 36 in.
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| SYNOPSIS |
Sauron's forces have laid siege to Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, in their efforts to eliminate the race of men. The once-great kingdom, watched over by a fading steward, has never been in more desperate need of its king. But can Aragorn (Mortensen) answer the call of his heritage and become what he was born to be? In no small measure, the fate of Middle-earth rests on his broad shoulders. With the final battle
joined and the legions of darkness gathering, Gandalf (McKellen) urgently tries to rally Gondor's broken army to action. He is aided by Rohan's King Theoden (Hill), who unites his warriors for history's biggest test. Yet even with their courage and passionate loyalty, the forces of men--with Eowyn (Otto) and Merry (Monaghan) hidden among them--are no match for the enemies swarming against Gondor. Still, in the face of great losses, they charge forward into the battle of their lifetimes,
tied together by their singular goal to keep Sauron distracted and give the Ring Bearer a chance to complete his quest. Their hopes rest with Frodo (Wood), a tiny but determined hobbit making a perilous trip across treacherous enemy lands to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The closer Frodo gets to his final destination, the heavier his burden becomes and the more he must rely on Samwise Gamgee (Astin). Gollum-and the Ring itself-will test Frodo's allegiances and, ultimately,
his humanity. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" concludes the epic story of these characters, their relationships and rivalries, and reveals how through courage, commitment and determination even the least of us can change the world.
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Symphonic. I can find no better single word to describe the design, execution and impact of The Return of the King. Conventional wisdom dictates that movie scripts be designed and function in much the same way as a short story; another apt comparison would be the musical form of the overture.
And just as most stories are short in comparison to J.R.R. Tolkien's epic, so are most movies mere overtures in comparison to Peter Jackson's unprecedented cinematic achievement. A running time of three-plus hours certainly allows a design reminiscent of a symphony's multiple, distinct movements—even, as in this case, the many "false" endings for which symphonies are often criticized.
Other classic films of the past, of course, have also felt symphonic—Amadeus, Apocalypse Now!, Lawrence of Arabia, even Saving Private Ryan. What distinguishes Jackson's magnum opus, however, is that the tempo of his cinematic symphony's final movement is largo—very slow. Proportionately, Jackson spends nearly as much time on his denouement—the "wrapping up" of the story—as does Tolkien. And Jackson's daring pace, perfectly in harmony with the spirit of Tolkien, pays off in a terribly satisfying and haunting experience.
It's well that audiences have a chance to catch their collective breath. Sequences of The Return of the King stack up as some of the most visceral entertainment ever conceived—too intense, I would imagine, even for many teenagers. The sequence in the Morgul Vale, for instance, had me literally cowering in my seat, even as Frodo himself cowered from the cry of the Witch King. I would never have anticipated that the Black Breath could be so effectively evoked through film.
And the battle of the Pelennor fully conveys the scale and horrific cost of genocidal conflict. I was convinced that this truly was a battle to determine the fate of men—a "war to end all wars." The elephant-like Mumakil may have been overdone, and the purists—like myself—will chafe at Jackson's treatment of the Black Ships; but the stand which Eowyn takes at her fallen King's side, facing down the Witch King of Angmar astride his winged steed, is a moment that makes Jackson's rocky road to Minas Tirith worth whatever anguish it might have brought.
Still, Jackson knows that the heart of this story is not cities, dark riders or vast armies. It's the hobbits, and the struggles they face in playing their own small parts in the War of the Ring. Early on, Frodo and Sam discuss their dwindling food supplies—which Jackson craftily utilizes to illustrate how the Ring's power can cause Frodo to doubt even his trusty gardener—and Sam still anticipates "the journey home."
Similarly, Merry and Pippin look forward to the day they can relax "back at the Green Dragon after a hard day's work." So it's a shock to Sam and Frodo—and dismaying to the audience—when they realize they aren't going to need food for the return trip. It's saddening, when Pippin and Merry are separated, to hear Pippin ask, "We'll see each other soon, won't we? Won't we?" Merry can only reply, "I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen." And honestly, because Jackson has been brave enough to tweak plot points ever since the hobbits left the Shire, we feel like we don't know what's going to happen, either.
So we are left to work through the hobbits' despair with them, feeling, like Pippin, that "we have no song for great halls and evil times." All we have is what Gandalf calls "a fool's hope," as dire times drive men to fell deeds. "Go now," one character says as the darkness surrounds him, "and die in what way seems best to you."
But in keeping with Tolkien's vision—with his belief that his art could "rekindle an old light" in the darkness of this world's anguish—the foolishness of hope triumphs over the despair at the ends of pragmatic wisdom. Frodo may well poignantly ask, "How do you pick up the threads of an old life?" And he may justifiably debunk the subtitle of Bilbo's story: "There and Back Again." But that's still not the end of the tale.
"The ships have come to carry you home," Annie Lennox sings over the closing credits. How will we feel when that day comes for ourselves? Will we feel like Peter Jackson expressed in interviews a few weeks ago, that our story has ultimately been depressing—that whatever triumph we have experienced is but a temporary respite from the "long defeat"? Or, as screenwriters Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh anticipate, will we find freedom and release?
As they worked on the final phase of this film, Jackson, Boyens and Walsh watched a young man be taken from this world by cancer. Was that the end of his story? Tolkien believed in a life after death, a "place called 'heaven' where the good here unfinished is completed." So do Boyens and Walsh, in a way. "The journey doesn't end here," their Gandalf says. Death is "just another path, one that we all must take. As the gray rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and turns to silver glass, then you'll see it. White shores; and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise."
And a languid conclusion to a satisfying symphony.
About the Book
—The Return of the King, Book V
—The Return of the King, Book VI
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Review by GREG WRIGHT 
