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Film: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Director: Peter Jackson
Country: New Zealand
Released: December 2003
Runtime: 201 minutes
Genre: Fantasy
Studio: New Line Cinema
Influenced: Guillermo del Toro, David Yates, James Cameron, Peter Weir, J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay
Ever since it developed as an art form in the early 20th century, cinema has long been reliant on successful adaptations of contemporary novels – from D.W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919) to Robert Mulligan's To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) and Coppola's The Godfather trilogy (1972-90) – but when it comes to classic and more epic works of literature, the failure rate is much higher. Dante's The Divine Comedy has been notoriously difficult to adapt for the screen, while modern adaptations of Homer or Virgil, such as Wolfgang Petersen's Troy (2005), have been nothing but pale imitations of the originals. Other failures include Gone With The Wind (1939), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959), The Three Musketeers (1973), Sense & Sensibility (1995), Beowulf (2007) and Les Misérables (2012). There has been the odd exception, such as Sergei Bondarchuk's War & Peace (1966-67), but this had to be broken down into four parts to do justice to the original text, and it was still nowhere close to the majesty of Tolstoy's novel.
In this context, Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's much-loved high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings is nothing short of a marvel. Jackson's trilogy mirrors the three-volume nature of the novel and the final instalment, The Return of the King, which follows The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002), is widely considered to be the finest of the three. The entire project, including all three films, was shot simultaneously in New Zealand over an 18-month period, a bold and unprecedented move in filmmaking history, allowing for a cohesive and consistent vision throughout the trilogy. The Return of the King continues the journey of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) as they approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, while the forces of good (Free Peoples) gather to confront the dark lord Sauron in a final battle for Middle-earth. As the city of Gondor faces a siege by the forces of Mordor, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) embraces his destiny as the rightful king.
The film's production faced numerous challenges, including adverse weather conditions in New Zealand and the complexity of shooting three films simultaneously. The screenplay, written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Jackson, underwent continual revisions during shooting to ensure fidelity to Tolkien's intricate and rich source material, while also making necessary adjustments for the purposes of cinematic storytelling. One of the pioneering innovations of the trilogy is the use of motion-capture technology for Gollum (voiced and acted by Andy Serkis), blending CGI with Serkis' physical performance to create an unforgettable cinematic character. Jackson's seamless integration of practical effects, miniatures and CGI set new standards for the industry, notably in the depiction of the various massive battle scenes, such as the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where the forces of Gondor and Rohan unite at Minas Tirith against the armies of Mordor. Other memorable scenes include the culmination of Frodo's journey at Mount Doom and Aragorn's coronation as King of Gondor.
The Return of the King received widespread critical acclaim and won 11 Academy Awards, tying the record for the most Oscar wins for a single film with Titanic (1997) and William Wyler's tedious, overblown historical epic Ben-Hur (1959). The awards included Best Picture, Best Director for Jackson and Best Adapted Screenplay, the latter some deserved recognition for the work of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. The film's success at the Oscars also marked a historic achievement for the fantasy genre, which had not traditionally been recognised in major award categories. As well as incredible visual effects, costume design and art direction, the film also benefited from a stirring score by Howard Shore, but for me one of the major reasons for the trilogy's success is the quality of the cast. Our image now of these various legendary characters, from the Riders of Rohan such as King Théoden (Bernard Hill) and Éomer (Karl Urban), as well as dwarves – notably Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) – elves such as Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Arwen (Liv Tyler) and Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), and wizards such as Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Radagast (Sylvester McCoy), will forever be associated with these actors.
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