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This article is about the films based on the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. For other uses of the phrase 'The Lord of the Rings', see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation).

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy comprises three live action films, directed by Peter Jackson and released by New Line Cinema. For the most part, they follow the storyline of the books (see J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings). However, there are some major deviations as detailed within the entry for each film.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy itself has become the most popular and highest grossing motion picture trilogy worldwide of all time, evidenced by its earning close to $3-billion (US), besting other notables such as the Star Wars trilogy.

Principal photography for all three films was conducted concurrently in New Zealand from October of 1999 through December of 2000, while post-production for each took place consecutively in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Extended versions of the films were post-produced in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Pick-up shoots were conducted annually from 2001 to 2004.

Production

The entire film project took over eight years from start to finish. Peter Jackson and his wife, Fran Walsh, began inquiries about the Lord of the Rings rights in 1995 and struck a deal with copyright holder Saul Zaentz and Miramax Films the following year. The trilogy began pre-production as a two-film deal similar to a few other projects. Then Miramax, citing budget concerns, decided to condense the project into one film, before selling it off altogether to New Line Cinema in 1998. Robert Shaye, head of New Line Cinema, immediately decided to expand the project to three films (with a budget of $270 million), as his studio had a history of not being able to get sequels made to some of its more successful movies.

Peter Jackson described the production as a defining period, in that he now divides his life into three chapters: before Lord of the Rings, during Lord of the Rings, and after Lord of the Rings. Fran Walsh described the production as "laying the track down in front of a moving train" (paraphrased). Production was complicated by the use of scale doubles and forced perspective on a level never seen before in the film industry. Most props, costumes, and some entire sets had to be made twice: once regular size and once 1.38 times bigger. (Even the raw materials, such as threads in costumes, had to be manufactured at two different sizes.) Filming was further complicated by the use of a highly detailed photo-realistic computer-generated image serving as a lead character in Gollum — only the second time this was ever done (the first being Jar Jar Binks of Star Wars).

Releases

Each successive film made more money at box offices worldwide than the last; the reverse of what normally happens to a film series. The success of the theatrical cuts brought about Extended Editions, with new editing, added special effects and music. These versions were originally released on DVD and VHS, but they have played at movie theaters. They were issued as follows:

  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, November 12 2002.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, November 18 2003.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King December 14 2004.

More than two hours' bonus footage has been added to the Trilogy which now makes the total over 11 hours of film. In August 2005 both versions were put together in a 'branching' version. http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/lord-of-the-rings6.html

Cast

Facts and figures

  • Amount of film shot during production: Over 6 million feet (over 1,800 kilometers)
  • Props made from scratch: 48,000
  • Props not made from scratch: 0
  • Background actors cast: 20,602
  • Costumes produced by the wardrobe department: 19,000
  • New Zealand cricket fans enlisted to create the Uruk-hai army's grunts: 10,000
  • Behind-the-scenes crew members: 2,400 at the height of production
  • Pairs of prosthetic Hobbit feet created: 1,600
  • Most real horses in one scene: 250
  • Computer special-effects artists employed: 180
  • Total number of special effects shots (Theatrical cut): 2730
  • Total number of special effects shots (Extended cut): 3420
  • Total speaking roles: 114
  • Locations in New Zealand used as backdrops: 100
  • Tailors, cobblers, designers, et al in the wardrobe department: 50
  • Actors trained to speak fictional dialects and languages: 30
  • Total years of development for all three films: 8
  • Combined running time of the series (extended DVD editions): 683 minutes (11 hours and 23 minutes)
  • Hours of behind-the-scenes footage shot for the DVD Appendices: 1,500
  • Combined worldwide box-office gross: US$2,916,544,743 eclipsing by far any other motion picture trilogy

Academy Awards

The three films were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards, of which they won 17.

  • The Fellowship of the Ring- Nominations: 13, Wins: 4
  • The Two Towers- Nominations: 6, Wins: 2
  • The Return of the King- Nominations: 11, Wins: 11

The Awards were as follows (a win is marked with a "W" A nomination is marked with a "N"):

Award Award Winners
The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King
Art Direction N N W
Cinematography W
Costume Design N W
Directing N W
Film Editing N N W
Makeup W W
Music (Original Score) W W
Music (Original Song) N "May It Be" W "Into the West"
Best Picture N N W
Sound Editing W
Sound Mixing N N W
Supporting Actor N Ian McKellen
Visual Effects W W W
Writing (Previously Produced or Published) N W

Is it a trilogy?

Because the films were shot together and then edited into three separate films released theatrically over a span of three successive years, a significant number of fans and critics have come to regard the trilogy as a single film. They argue that similar to the book which was written in the long form and then released separately into the three whole parts, the trilogy is one long 10-hour film. When Time placed the trilogy in its top 100 list it was done under a single heading. While this grouping into a single entity is debated it is not unusual as Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Decalogue was originally released as ten separate short films with intersecting themes and characters but now is regarded by majority critics as a single work. Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy is also grouped together quite often.

The character development, continuity, look and feel of all three films are regarded as seamless and consistent and that unlike other trilogies where sequels often stand apart, each entry is completely dependent on the earlier and successive entry and cannot exist on its own. This is one of the reasons why critics have regarded the Oscar sweep of the third film as a proxy award.

Trivia

  • Throughout the entire film trilogy, only seven people (most of them Hobbits) touch the One Ring (listed in chronological order): Sauron, Isildur, Deagol, Gollum, Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam.
  • In The Two Towers (film), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), is seen screaming in sorrow and rage, which was actually caused by him breaking several toes while kicking an Orc helmet. The shot had several previous takes until the producers decided to use the one seen in the final cut.

Notes

External links

Middle-earth films | Film trilogies | Films based on fantasy books | New Zealand films

טרילוגיית שר הטבעות | سيد الخواتم (سينما) | La Mastro de l' Ringoj (filmoj) | Taru sormusten herrasta -elokuvatrilogia | Le Seigneur des Anneaux (film) | Žiedų valdovas (filmas) | Władca Pierścieni (film) | த லோட் ஒவ் த ரிங்ஸ் (திரைப்படம்)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "The Lord of the Rings film trilogy".

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