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The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring. Aragorn struggles to fulfill his legacy as he leads his outnumbered followers against the growing power of the Dark Lord Sauron, so that the Ring-bearer may complete his quest.
"An epic success and a history-making production that finishes with a masterfully entertaining final installment." David Hunter, The Hollywood Reporter
"...concludes the Lord of the Rings trilogy with a burst of smoky grandeur." J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
"Visually one of the most amazing achievements ever captured on film." Jeffrey Lyons, WNBC
"...Jackson's masterwork is passionate and literate, detailed and expansive, and it's conceived with a risk-taking flair..." Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"It rises, all on its own, to the realm of masterwork." Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
"...one of the most ambitious and magnificent undertakings in the 90-year history of the feature film." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"...pops your eyes, excites your senses and brings you in as close as a whisper for scenes of startling emotion." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
THE RETURN OF THE KING, the third and final film in Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, finds Middle-earth on the cusp of great change. Weary hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) venture further into the dark realm of Mordor, guided by the increasingly desperate Gollum (Andy Serkis), the two-faced former owner of the Ring that Frodo must destroy in the fires of Mount Doom. Meanwhile Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) contend with the deranged ruler Denethor (John Noble) at the once-mighty city of Minas Tirith, as Merry (Dominic Monaghan) joins Éowyn (Miranda Otto) and the Riders of Rohan to hold back the forces of Sauron. Amidst the chaos, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) must rise to his destiny, aided by Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) in assembling allies for a massive battle that will decide the fate of Middle-earth.With RETURN, Jackson brings J.R.R. Tolkien's world-renowned tale to a stunning conclusion. As with THE TWO TOWERS, the director deftly weaves various storylines together in one remarkable scene after another. Spectacular visuals complement Jackson's sharp focus on the characters and their emotional battles. While the special effects help to create huge battles and frightening creatures on a previously unseen scale, they never outshine the excellent ensemble of actors who bring the heart of the story home. A truly astounding work of filmmaking, THE RETURN OF THE KING skillfully concludes one of the greatest trilogies in cinema history.
| Features | 6 Original Documentaries Covering Adapting The Book Into A Screenplay, Designing Middle-Earth, A Visit To The Weta Workshop, Costume Design & More! | | 7 Original Documentaries Covering The Filming Of The Return Of The King, The Visual Effects, Editing, Music & Sound, & A Touching Tribute As The Cast Bids A Fond Farewell To Middle-Earth & The Characters They Played | | Audio: English DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound, DD-EX 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital Stereo | | Four Feature-Length Commentaries By The Director And Writers, The Cast, The Production & Design Teams, With Over 40 Participants Including Peter Jackson, Fran Walsk, Philippa Boyens, Barrie M. Osborne, Richard Taylor, Howard Shore, Jim Rygel, & Cast Including Elijah Wood, Ian Mckellen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Whenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, With Smeagol & Gollum | | Galleries With Audio Commentaries - Includes An Archive Of Over 2,000 Images! | | Gallery Of Production Photos | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Two Interactive Maps: Middle-Earth Atlas & New Zealand As Middle-Earth |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: New Line |
| Release Date: 11/13/2007 |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: N11130 | | UPC: 00794043111303 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (2004) | | | British Academy Awards, Barrie M. Osborne, et. al., Best Film | | | Golden Globe, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Best Motion Picture - Drama | | | MTV Award, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Best Movie | | | Oscar, Christopher Boyes, et. al., Best Achievement in Sound Mixing | | | Oscar, Grant Major, et. al., Best Art Direction-Set Decoration | | | Oscar, Ngila Dickson, Richard Taylor, Best Costume Design | | | Oscar, Peter Jackson, Best Director | | | Oscar, Richard Taylor, Peter King, Best Makeup | | | Oscar, Jamie Selkirk, Best Editing | | | Oscar, Howard Shore, Best Music, Original Score | | | Oscar, Annie Lennox, et. al., Best Music, Original Song | | | Oscar, Barrie M. Osborne, et. al., Best Picture | | | Oscar, Jim Rygiel, et. al., Best Visual Effects | | | Oscar, Fran Walsh, et. al., Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay | | | Screen Actors Guild, Elijah Wood, et. al., Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...Peter Jackson has created the mack daddy of all movie fantasies, and RETURN OF THE KING brings the film version of Tolkien's trilogy to a combustibly exciting close..." 12/25/2003 p.116Entertainment Weekly
"...The conclusion of Peter Jackson's masterwork is passionate and literate, detailed and expansive..." 12/19/2003 p.51 New York Times
"[K]ING is a meticulous and prodigious vision made by a director who was not hamstrung by heavy use of computer special-effects imagery." 12/16/2003 p.E1 Los Angeles Times
"As a model for how to bring substance, authenticity and insight to the biggest of adventure yarns, this trilogy will not soon, if ever, find its equal." 12/16/2003 p.C1 USA Today
"[T]he third film propels the work into the stratosphere of classic movies. Key characters are enhanced, new civilizations visited and battles fought more intensely, even as feelings and motivations are plumbed more deeply and movingly." 12/19/2003 p.7E Chicago Sun-Times
"RETURN OF THE KING dispatches its characters to their destinies with a grand and eloquent confidence. This is the best of the three..." 12/17/2003 p.74 ReelViews 10 of 10
One could be forgiven for initially approaching The Return of the King with a little trepidation. As good as the first two films, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, are...movie history is littered with occasions when trilogy conclusions have crashed and burned. Return of the Jedi. Godfather III. The Matrix Revolutions. And so on... Yet, with The Return of the King, Jackson has done more than just bucked the trend. Not only is this motion picture an entirely worthy conclusion to the landmark trilogy, but it's better than its predecessors. Somehow, Jackson has managed to synthesize what worked in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, while siphoning off the less successful elements. The result is amazing. Taken as a whole, there is nothing out there today that can come close to comparing to The Lord of the Rings...The Lord of the Rings will go down in cinematic lore as a milestone. It has legitimatized fantasy like no other production and has shown that it is possible for studio executives to realize huge gains when taking huge risks...History will show the importance of The Lord of the Rings. The present illustrates its broad appeal and undeniable critical and commercial success. - James Berardinelli
Reel.com 10 of 10
It's official: director Peter Jackson has pulled off the cinematic equivalent of a miracle with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the last and indisputably best film in his epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy. This sweeping and marvelously entertaining adventure is the work of a prodigiously gifted filmmaker operating at the very top of his creative powers. There are moments of truly jaw-dropping spectacle in LOTR: The Return of the King, but the film's astonishing visuals never overwhelm the characters or the densely plotted narrative. A beautifully sustained model of escapist filmmaking with nary a dull patch in sight, LOTR: The Return of the King towers over the other Yuletide releases vying for Oscar consideration...Although LOTR: The Return of the King is a technical marvel, it is the film's literate screenplay and finely developed characters that elevate LOTR: The Return of the King above other fantasy films...As the voice of the tortured Gollum, Andy Serkis (24 Hour Party People) nearly steals the movie. Astin (Rudy) makes for a brave and steadfast sidekick to Wood, and Mortensen cuts a properly heroic figure as the man who would be king. - Tim Knight
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