Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Movie Review 2003

Jackson's triumphant last chapter of the superb Tolkien trilogy brings the story to a satisfying close. After the climactic battle for Helm's Deep in "The Two Towers," Rohan's forces, along with most of the original members of the Fellowship, must come to the aid of Minas Tirith, the capital city of Gondor, and Sauron's next target. They also attempt to distract Sauron from Frodo and Sam, who encounter even worse hardships, including misplaced trust, deceit, and giant spiders, on their way to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring. Although the two main plots are very different in scope and dynamics, each is equally adept at maintaining depth and character development, while keeping the plot moving along. As with the first two installments, the photography is breathtaking.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 200 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Fantasy, Demons & Wizards, Magic, Road Trip, Big Battles, Books to Film: J.R.R. Tolkien, Killer Bugs and Slugs, Top Grossing Films of 2003, Top Grossing Films of 2004, Little People, A River Runs Through the Plot, Spiders

Screenplay

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens

Cast

Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Ian McKellen, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Liv Tyler, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, John Noble, Ian Holm, Sean Bean, Lawrence Makoare, Marton Csokas

Cinematography

Andrew Lesnie

Director

Peter Jackson

Music

Howard Shore

Other

Hammond Peek, Jamie Selkirk, Annie Collins, (Peter) Joe Bleakley, Phil Ivey, Simon Bright, Ngila Dickson, Richard Taylor, Grant Major

Producer

Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Wingnut Films, New Line Cinema

Awards

Oscars 2003: Adapt. Screenplay, Art Dir./Set Dec., Costume Des., Director (Jackson), Film, Film Editing, Makeup, Song ("Into the West"), Sound, Visual FX, Orig. Score; British Acad. 2003: Adapt. Screenplay, Cinematog., Film, Visual FX; Directors Guild 2003: Director (Jackson); Golden Globes 2004: Director (Jackson), Film--Drama, Song ("Into the West"), Orig. Score; L.A. Film Critics 2003: Director (Jackson); N.Y. Film Critics 2003: Film; Screen Actors Guild 2003: Cast.