The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay he wrote with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. 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 sequel to 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the film is the final instalment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It has 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, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, and Sean Bean. Continuing the plot of the previous film, Frodo and Sam follow Gollum towards Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, unaware of Gollum's intentions to betray the duo to take the Ring for himself, while Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and their allies join forces against Sauron and his legions from Mordor.
The Return of the King was financed and distributed by American studio New Line Cinema, but filmed and edited entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand, concurrently with the other two parts of the trilogy. It premiered on 1 December 2003 at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington and was then released on 17 December 2003 in the United States and 18 December 2003 in New Zealand. The film was acclaimed by critics and audiences, who considered it a landmark in filmmaking and the fantasy film genre, and a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, with praise for the visual effects, performances, action sequences, direction, screenplay, musical score, costume design, emotional depth, scope, and story. It grossed $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2003, the second-highest-grossing film of all time during its run, Jackson's highest-grossing film, and the highest-grossing film ever released by New Line Cinema.
Like the previous films in the trilogy, The Return of the King is widely recognised as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. The film received numerous accolades; at the 76th Academy Awards, it won all 11 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.
Plot
The hobbit Déagol discovers the One Ring in a river while fishing with his cousin Sméagol. The Ring immediately ensnares Sméagol's mind, and he kills his cousin for it. Corrupted physically and mentally, he retreats into caves below the Misty Mountains and becomes known as Gollum.
Centuries later, during the War of the Ring, Gandalf leads Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and King Théoden of Rohan to Isengard, where they reunite with Merry and Pippin. Gandalf retrieves Saruman's palantír, and the group returns to Edoras to celebrate their victory at Helm's Deep. Pippin looks into the palantír, seeing Sauron and a burning tree. Gandalf deduces that the enemy plans to attack Gondor's capital Minas Tirith; he rides there with Pippin to warn Gondor's corrupt steward, Denethor. On Gandalf's instruction, Pippin triggers the lighting of the beacons to call for help from Rohan.
Frodo, who carries the Ring, and Sam continue their journey towards Mordor, unaware that Gollum, now their guide, plans to betray them and take the Ring for himself. The trio witness the Witch-king of Angmar, lord of the nine Nazgûl, setting off towards Gondor with his army of Orcs. Gollum frames Sam for eating food supplies and desiring the Ring; Frodo is deceived and orders Sam to go home.
As Théoden gathers his army, Elrond tells Aragorn that Arwen is dying, having refused to leave Middle-earth. Elrond gives Aragorn Andúril, reforged from the shards of King Elendil's sword Narsil, and urges him to claim Gondor's throne, to which he is heir. Aragorn travels the Paths of the Dead with Legolas and Gimli and pledges to release the ghosts there from their curse should they come to Gondor's aid.
Gollum tricks Frodo into the giant spider Shelob's lair alone. Frodo narrowly escapes and confronts Gollum, who falls down a chasm after a scuffle. Shelob discovers, paralyses, and binds Frodo but is wounded and driven away by a returning Sam. Sam mourns Frodo's apparent death and takes the Ring to finish the quest himself, but then realises his mistake when Orcs take Frodo captive. He rescues Frodo within Mordor, and the two continue towards Mount Doom.
Denethor sends his younger son, Faramir, on a suicide charge. Faramir returns gravely wounded; believing him dead, Denethor falls into madness. Gandalf marshals the defenders, but the enormous Orc army breaks into the city. Denethor attempts to burn himself and Faramir on a pyre, but Pippin alerts Gandalf, and they rescue Faramir; Denethor, set ablaze, jumps to his death.
Théoden arrives and leads his army against the Orcs. Despite initial success in the ensuing battle, they are repulsed by the Oliphaunt-riding Haradrim, and the Witch-king of Angmar mortally wounds Théoden; his niece Éowyn, disguised in male clothing, slays the Witch-king with Merry's help, before Théoden dies in her arms. Aragorn arrives with his Army of the Dead, who overcome Sauron's forces. Their oath fulfilled, the Dead are released from their curse.
Aragorn marches on Mordor to distract Sauron from Frodo and Sam's journey to Mount Doom, drawing all remaining forces to confront him. Gollum, having survived his fall, pursues Frodo and Sam, but Sam holds him back as Frodo enters the mountain. Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and puts it on, but Gollum bites off his finger and reclaims the Ring, leading to a struggle before they tumble off the ledge. Sam saves Frodo while Gollum falls into the lava with the Ring, destroying it and Sauron forever. The lands of Mordor collapse, annihilating the Orc army. Frodo and Sam narrowly escape the erupting Mount Doom, before Gandalf and the eagles rescue them.
The surviving Fellowship members reunite in Minas Tirith. Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and marries Arwen; everyone bows to the hobbits. The hobbits return to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie Cotton. Four years later, Frodo, still suffering from trauma and a wound inflicted by the Witch-king, leaves Middle-earth for the Undying Lands with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the remaining Elves. He gives Sam the Red Book of Westmarch, detailing their adventures, bids farewell to Sam, Merry, and Pippin, and departs. A saddened Sam then returns home to his wife and two children.
Cast
Like the preceding films in the trilogy, The Return of the King has an ensemble cast, and some of the cast and their respective characters include:
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: A young hobbit who continues his quest to destroy the Ring, which continues to weaken and tempt him. 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. The first scenes in the film portray him in his former life as Sméagol as well as his deterioration into Gollum. 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. John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: A dwarf warrior and companion to Aragorn along with Legolas. Rhys-Davies also voices Treebeard: the ent leader. Orlando Bloom as Legolas: An elven prince of Mirkwood and skilled archer who aids Aragorn in his quest to reclaim the throne. 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. 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. In the extended cut of the film, she finds love with Faramir when they are both residing in the Houses of Healing. David Wenham as Faramir: A son of the Stewards of Gondor and head of the Gondorian Rangers defending Osgiliath, who seeks his father's love in vain. 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 Lady 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 Lord 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.
The Extended Edition has in addition:
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: An Istari wizard, formerly the head of the Istari Order and its White Council, who is now trapped by Treebeard until he is killed by his own servant, Gríma. Brad Dourif as Gríma Wormtongue: Saruman's sycophantic, treacherous servant, who is shot by Legolas after stabbing his own master. Bruce Spence as the Mouth of Sauron: Sauron's ambassador at the Black Gate.
There are cameos from Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Gino Acevedo, Rick Porras and Andrew Lesnie on the Corsair ship, although all of them but Jackson appear only in the Extended Edition. Jackson also has another unofficial cameo, as Sam's hand stepping into view when he confronts Shelob. Sean Astin's daughter played Sam and Rosie's older daughter Elanor in the last scene of the film; in the same scene, Sarah McLeod's daughter plays their younger son. Jackson's children also cameo as Gondorian extras, while Christian Rivers played a Gondorian soldier guarding the Beacon Pippin lights, and is later seen wounded. Royd Tolkien cameos as a Ranger in Osgiliath, while in the Extended Edition Howard Shore appears as a celebrating soldier at Edoras. Additionally, four of the designers of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game are featured as Rohirrim at the Pelennor. At the end of the film, during the closing credits, each cast member gets a sketched portrait morphed with the real photograph beside their name, which were sketched by Alan Lee, an idea suggested by Ian McKellen.
Comparison to the source material
As with all of Peter Jackson's film adaptions of The Lord of the Rings, many events, timelines, and geographic distances are compressed or simplified. Most major events from the books are included, though some are significantly altered. Some events and details seen in the film are not found in the books.