The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Fran Walsh (screenplay)

Stars:

Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen

Top Rated Movies #7 | Won 11 Oscars. Another 198 wins & 124 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noel Appleby	...	Everard Proudfoot
Ali Astin	...	Elanor Gamgee (as Alexandra Astin)
Sean Astin	...	Sam
David Aston	...	Gondorian Soldier 3
John Bach	...	Madril
Sean Bean	...	Boromir
Cate Blanchett	...	Galadriel
Orlando Bloom	...	Legolas
Billy Boyd	...	Pippin
Sadwyn Brophy	...	Eldarion
Alistair Browning	...	Damrod
Marton Csokas	...	Celeborn
Richard Edge	...	Gondorian Soldier 1
Jason Fitch	...	Uruk 2
Bernard Hill	...	Theoden

Storyline

The final confrontation between the forces of good and evil fighting for control of the future of Middle-earth. Frodo and Sam reach Mordor in their quest to destroy the One Ring, while Aragorn leads the forces of good against Sauron's evil army at the stone city of Minas Tirith.

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Plot Keywords:

epic | orc | hobbit | ring | battle | 

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Taglines:

This Christmas the journey ends.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and frightening images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director of photography Andrew Lesnie caught most of his shots during the intense battle on the Pelennor Fields by putting on polo armor and wading into the thick of the action.

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Goofs

After Frodo tells him to go home and he starts crying, the next close-up of Sam shows where his real and fake ear meet-right above the curl of hair.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Deagol: Smeagol, I've got one! I've got a fish, Smeag. Smeagol!
Smeagol: Pull it in. Go on. Go on. Go on. Pull it in.

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Crazy Credits

Peter Jackson's and Fran Walsh's children are listed in the credits as 'Cute Gondor children'. In the Fellowship of the Ring, they were 'Cute Hobbit children' and in The Two Towers, they were 'Cute Rohan children'.

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Alternate Versions

In the theatrical version, there was a lengthy delay between when Frodo is with the eagles after being picked up, and when he's in bed, when there's nothing but darkness. A large number of people in the theaters thought that was the end of the movie, and some started to get up. This has been removed in the original DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinematic Excrement: Birdemic: Five Year Anniversary Special (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Green Dragon
Music by David Donaldson, David Long, Steve Roche (as Stephen Roche), and Janet Roddick
Lyrics by Philippa Boyens
Performed by Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan
Courtesy of Mana Music

User Reviews

This movie has marked my childhood!

It is the best movie I can remember I've watched while I was a kid!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Country:

New Zealand USA

Language:

English Quenya Old English Sindarin

Release Date:

17 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Return of the King

Filming Locations:

Dry Creek Quarry, Wellington, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$94,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$72,629,713, 21 December 2003

Gross USA:

$377,845,905

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,142,623,460

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, WingNut Films, The Saul Zaentz Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

201 min 263 min (Blu-Ray Extended Edition) 254 min (Special DVD Extended Edition) 192 min (DVD Widescreen Edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1