The Lord of the Rings comprises three live action fantasy epic films; The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). For simplicity, the titles are often abbreviated to 'LotR', with 'FotR', 'TTT' and 'RotK' for each of the respective films.
Set in the fictional universe of Middle-earth, the three films follow the young Hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and a Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, and thus ensure the destruction of the Dark Lord Sauron. However, the Fellowship becomes broken, and Frodo continues the quest together with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile the Wizard Gandalf and Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, unite and rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in several battles cumulating in the War of the Ring. The Wizard Saruman is defeated, The Ring is destroyed, and Sauron and his forces are vanquished.
The movies were directed by Peter Jackson and released by New Line Cinema. The trilogy is based on the book The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and follows its general storyline, despite some deviations. Considered to be one of the biggest movie projects ever undertaken with an overall budget of $280 million, the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all three films done simultaneously and entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand.
The trilogy was a large financial success, with the films being the 12th, 7th and 2nd most successful of all time, respectively, unadjusted for inflation. The films were critically acclaimed, winning 17 Academy Awards in total, as well as wide praise for the cast and innovative practical and digital special effects. Each film in the trilogy also had Special Extended Editions (SEE), released a year after the theatrical release on DVD.
A three part prequel, The Hobbit was released in 2012-2014.
Episodes Alluded To[]
Segments Alluded To[]
- The Surreal Life
- Ent Murderer
- Ent Pleasurer
- Run, Forrest, Run
- Where is Mordor?
- Got An Eyelash
- Keebler Attacked
- The Ring Is Mine
- Gandalf Game Show
- Gandalf Kidney Stones
- Gandalf Crossing Guard
- J.R.R Tolkien, Jr., Jr.
- You Have My Sword
- Candy Crush Saga: The Movie
- Lord of the Curly Fries
- J.R.R. Tolkien's Office
- Sauron Ring Toss
- Family Feud: Ent Edition
Deleted Scenes[]
External links[]
- Official site of the films
- Old news regarding the making of the trilogy
- A huge gallery of images from the trilogy
- A fansite that tracked the series since its conception. Also includes the shooting schedule
- A brief timeline of production
- The Lord of the Rings film trilogy at the Arts & Faith Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films list
- What To Do With The Time That Is Given: Vocation in The Lord of the Rings Essay length review of the film cycle as compared with the original book on the theme of vocation, or calling. Originally published in The Mars Hill Review.
- The Nitpickers Guide to LOTR A look at the film deviations from the book.