Movies - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

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	Movies - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a film released on December 17 2003, directed by Peter Jackson, with a runtime of 200 minutes. It is the concluding part of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, following The Fellowship of the Ring
and The Two Towers
. It was adapted from the final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic literary fantasy, The Lord of the Rings
, by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson.

The world premiere was held in Wellington, New Zealand, on December 1 2003, and was attended by the director and many of the stars. It was estimated that over 100,000 people lined the streets.Further premieres took place in major cities around the world in the days leading up to the film's worldwide theatrical release.

Cast

Synopsis

While Frodo and Sam continue their journey to Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring, their companion, Gollum, secretly plans to take it for himself. Meanwhile, Sauron's dark forces mount an unprecedented attack, culminating in the massive Battle of the Pelennor Fields on the outskirts of Minas Tirith. The other surviving members of the Fellowship join forces with Rohan and Gondor to defeat them. However, Aragorn realises that their numbers are few by comparison with the might of Sauron, and he, Legolas and Gimli undertake a perilous expedition to enlist the aid of the King of the Dead and his spectral army.

Background

As confirmed in the feature on the Gollum character in the Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Andy Serkis appears in person in a flashback scene playing Sméagol before his degradation into Gollum. This scene was actually held over from the previous film because it was felt that it would have a greater emotional impact if audiences had already seen what the Ring's influence had done to Sméagol. In his final, emaciated form, Gollum is "played" in the movies by a CGI character whose movements are at times derived from a motion-capture suit worn by Serkis, and otherwise from footage of him interacting with the other actors that was digitally replaced.

The city of Minas Tirith, glimpsed briefly in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is now seen fully. The filmmakers took great care to base its design closely upon Tolkien's original description. Close-ups of the city are represented by sets and long shots by a large and highly-detailed model, often populated by CGI characters.

Other key events include the Siege of Gondor; the re-forging of the shards of Narsil into Aragorn's new sword, Andúril; Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas' journey through the Paths of the Dead; the epic Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and the charge of the mûmakil (everything being carefully choreographed in advance, a process Jackson describes as like planning a real battle); Merry and Éowyn's role in the defeat of the Lord of the Nazgûl; the destruction of the One Ring and the final fall of Sauron; Aragorn's assumption of the throne; and the departure of several of the heroes to the Undying Lands.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is unusual in that it is, to date, the only one whose separate instalments were written and then shot simultaneously. Not only did this help cut production costs, but also ensured that all three films were consistent in terms of story, acting, effects, and direction.

Deviations from the source material

This film contains major scenes that occurred in the middle portion of the novel The Lord of the Rings but were not included in the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. These include the moment when the monstrous Shelob
attacks Frodo and is wounded by Sam. In the book, Sam accompanies Frodo through the tunnel to encounter the giant arachnid, but the film depicts a different version of events.

A sequence that did not make it from the book into the film at all despite the hopes of many fans, was the "Scouring of the Shire", in which the hobbits return home at the end of their quest to find they have some fighting to do, owing to Saruman's takeover of the Shire. Jackson felt that it would tax the audience's patience to mount another battle scene after the critical conflict, the defeat of Sauron, had already been resolved.

In the book, the fall of Saruman takes place at the end of the scouring, but in the film's theatrical release Saruman is left trapped in the tower of Orthanc by the Ents. In the extended edition Saruman appears on the roof of Orthanc bearing a Palantír and taunts Gandalf and his company with hints of a darkness in the heart of Middle-earth which will destroy them. (This is apparently a reference to Denethor's madness.) Saruman is finally stabbed to death by Gríma Wormtongue (which in the book occurs at the end of the Scouring of the Shire) and Gríma is shot by Legolas (in the book he is shot by hobbit archers). Saruman falls from the tower and is impaled on a wooden stake projecting from a mill-wheel. (This is an homage to Lee's Dracula
movies: Peter Jackson wanted to be the last director to drive a stake through his heart.) The Palantír then falls into the water where it is found by Pippin. In the theatrical version there is no explanation as to how the Palantír fell into the water. In the book Gríma simply throws the Palantír at the company, not realising its value.

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