The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Action Adventure Fantasy

PG-13

Germany, New Zealand, United States

English

December 17, 2003

3hr 21min

Status: released

Trailer, Teaser & Videos

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Movie Details:

Based on	The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
Countries	New Zealand Germany United States
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Release dates	December 1, 2003 (Embassy Theatre) December 17, 2003 (United States) December 18, 2003 (New Zealand)
Running time	3hr 21min
Age rating	PG-13
Starring	Elijah Wood Ian McKellen Liv Tyler Viggo Mortensen Sean Astin Cate Blanchett John Rhys-Davies Bernard Hill Billy Boyd Dominic Monaghan Orlando Bloom Hugo Weaving
Directed by	Peter Jackson
Screenplay by	Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson
Produced by	Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh Peter Jackson
Cinematography by	Andrew Lesnie
Edited by	Jamie Selkirk
Music by	Howard Shore
Production Companies	New Line Cinema WingNut Films
Distributor	New Line Cinema

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Movie Cast & Characters:

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit who continues his quest to destroy the Ring, which continues to weaken and tempt him.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White, an Istari wizard who travels to aid the Men of Gondor, acting as a general at the Siege of Gondor.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, a Dúnedain ranger who must finally face his destiny as King of Gondor.
Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee, better known as Sam, Frodo’s loyal hobbit gardener and companion.
Andy Serkis as Sméagol / Gollum, a wretched and treacherous creature who was once one of the river-folk (an extinct race of hobbits) and now guides Frodo and Sam into Mordor while seeking the Ring.
Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took, better known as Pippin, a hobbit who looks into the palantír and later becomes an esquire of Gondor.
Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck, better known as Merry, a cousin of Frodo’s who becomes an esquire of Rohan.
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli, a dwarf warrior and companion to Aragorn along with Legolas.
Orlando Bloom as Legolas, an elven prince of Mirkwood and skilled archer who aids Aragorn in his quest to reclaim the throne.
Bernard Hill as Théoden, the King of Rohan who, after triumphing at Helm’s Deep, is preparing his troops for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Miranda Otto as Éowyn, Théoden’s niece, who wishes to prove herself in battle and has fallen in love with Aragorn, who does not return her love.
Karl Urban as Éomer, Éowyn’s brother, who serves as Chief Marshal of the Riders of Rohan and heir to his uncle’s throne.
Hugo Weaving as Elrond, The Lord of Rivendell who must convince Aragorn to take up the throne.
Liv Tyler as Arwen, Elrond’s daughter and Aragorn’s true love, who gives up her immortal life to be with Aragorn.
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, The Elven-Queen of Lothlórien who is aware the time of the elves is at an end.
John Noble as Denethor, the corrupt Steward of Gondor and father of Boromir and Faramir, whose grief over Boromir’s death and despair over Mordor’s superior numbers drive him into madness during the Siege of Gondor.
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins, Frodo’s elderly uncle, who has rapidly aged after giving away the Ring.
Sean Bean as Boromir, Faramir’s older brother and a fallen companion of Aragorn, who appears in a flashback of his death at the end of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring and in the extended cut when his father has a hallucination.
Marton Csokas as Celeborn the Wise, the Elven-King of Lothlórien.
Lawrence Makoare as the Witch-king of Angmar, the lord of the Nazgûl, who leads Mordor’s assault on Minas Tirith.
Makoare also plays Gothmog, an Orc commander, who is voiced by Craig Parker.
Thomas Robins as Déagol, Sméagol’s cousin, who is killed by Sméagol, when the former finds the One Ring in the river they are fishing in.

Storyline:

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.

About The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Movie:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a fantasy action adventure film directed by Peter Jackson and produced by New Line Cinema and WingNut Films. It is based on 1955’s The Return of the King, the third volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.

The film is the third installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and serves as the sequel to 2002’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving and others.

The Return of the King was filmed concurrently with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Principal photography for the trilogy took place from October 11, 1999, to December 22, 2000.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) had five hundred forty computer-generated effects. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) had seven hundred ninety-nine, and this movie had one thousand four hundred eighty-seven.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King premiered on December 1, 2003, at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington and was released on December 17, 2003, in the US and December 18, 2003, in New Zealand. It was acclaimed by critics and audiences as a landmark in filmmaking and the fantasy genre, receiving praise for its visual effects, performances, action sequences, direction, screenplay, musical score, costume design, emotional depth, scope, and story, and as a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

The film grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2003, the second-highest-grossing film of all time during its run, and the highest-grossing film ever released by New Line Cinema.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King earned $377 million in the United States and Canada and $763.7 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.141 billion in its initial release.

The film received numerous accolades; at the 76th Academy Awards, it won all eleven awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture, the first fantasy film to do so, and tying with 1959’s Ben-Hur and 1997’s Titanic as the movie with the most Academy Award wins. It also became the second film series whose entries have all won Best Visual Effects, after the original Star Wars trilogy.

It was the first fantasy film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also was the last movie for 14 years to win the Academy Award for Best Picture without being chosen as one of the top ten films of the year by the National Board of Review, until the release of The Shape of Water (2017) in 2017.