• Wednesday, December 17, 2003

• Country:

  USA

• Language:

  English

• Runtime:

  201 min

2003

The War of the Ring reaches its climax as the dark lord Sauron sets his sights on Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor. The members of the fellowship in Rohan are warned of the impending attack when Pippin cannot resist looking into Saruman's palantir and is briefly contacted by the dark lord.

King Theoden is too proud to send his men to help without being asked, so Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith to see that this request is sent. They meet opposition there from Denethor, steward of the city and father of Faramir and the late Boromir. Denethor's family has acted as temporary guardians of Gondor for centuries until a member of the true line of kings returns. This member is none other than Aragorn, who must overcome his own self-doubt before he can take on the role he was destined to fulfill.

Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam continue to carry the One Ring towards Mordor, guided by Gollum. What they don't know is that Gollum is leading them into a trap so that he can reclaim the Ring for himself. Though Sam suspects his deceit, Frodo is starting to be corrupted by the Ring's power and the mistrust of Sam this causes is fully exploited by Gollum.

The only way good can prevail in this contest is if the Ring is destroyed, an event that is becoming harder every minute for Frodo to achieve. The fate of every living creature in Middle Earth will be decided once and for all as the Quest of the Ringbearer reaches its climax.

Goofs

• Continuity: In the scene of Theoden's death, a black line appears and disappears between shots on the right side of Eowyn's forehead, over her eyebrow.
• Continuity: When Sam and Frodo are climbing Mt. Doom, Sam's sword switches from his left side to his right. Later when Sam draws his sword, it is back on his left side.
• Continuity: At the Black Gates, although we see all the main characters on horseback to start with, when the battle actually starts *all* the horses have disappeared.
• Continuity: When Sam is holding Frodo on his lap during the climb up Mt. Doom, the wound on Frodo's face has moved from his right cheek to his left. The footage for the entire scene has been flipped.
• Continuity: The position of Smeagol's hands around Deagol's throat changes noticeably between cuts.
• Continuity: When Frodo and Sam are bewildered as the orc army marches out from the fortress by the bottom of the secret stair, they are lit from the bridge's direction by red and orange fiery colors. In the reverse shots of the bridge and the fortress, there is no orange light in the shot at all, only the ghostly green lighting.
• Continuity: When the orc and the Uruk-Hai fight over the mithril shirt in the tower, there is a short shot where the normally long-haired orc is bald.
• Continuity: When Gandalf and Pippin are in Minas Tirith, and Gandalf is outside he starts coughing on his pipe smoke. On this wide shot, Pippin is tucked into bed. Then, in the next shot, he is up standing by his bed looking at his new Gondorian armor. He then gets Gandalf some water from the pitcher.

Trivias

• Then 26-year-old Stuart Townsend was set to play Aragorn, but was let go after the six weeks of training and rehearsal and one day into filming because director Peter Jackson felt the character should be played by someone older. He was replaced by forty-one year old Viggo Mortensen
• Shelob's shriek is the combination of several elements, including the sounds of a plastic alien toy, steam hisses (inspired by an incident where an alligator hissed at Peter Jackson's daughter), and the shriek of a Tasmanian Devil.
• 100,000 people lined the streets of Wellington for the world premiere. That's roughly a quarter of the city's population.
• While John Gilbert was editing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and Michael Horton was editing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Jamie Selkirk was cutting the final chapter. From the start, Peter Jackson wanted his longtime associate Selkirk on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) as he knew Selkirk would stay focused on the climax of the entire saga.
• After the premiere in Wellington, the city held a party that went on till dawn, funded by the City Council to the tune of $400,000, with street performers, outdoor screenings, an introduction from the Prime Minister and a giant mock-up of a Nazgul flying over the Embassy Theatre.

Awards

1. Oscar
   Event: Academy Awards, USA
   Result: Won
   Category: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
   Recipient(s): Grant Major
2. ASCAP Award
   Event: ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
   Result: Won
   Category: Top Box Office Films
   Recipient(s): Howard Shore