The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a 2002 epic fantasy filmdirected by Peter Jackson based on thesecond volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is the second film in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and concluding with The Return of the King (2003). Sony VAIO PCG-3B1M Battery Continuing the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring, the film intercuts three storylines. Frodo and Sam continue their journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring, meeting and joined by Gollum, the ring's former owner. Aragorn,Legolas, and Gimli come to the war-torn nation of Rohan and are reunited with the resurrected Gandalf, before fighting at the Battle of Helm's Deep. Sony VAIO PCG-3C1T Battery Merry and Pippin escape capture, meet Treebeard the Ent, and help to plan an attack onIsengard. Meeting high critical acclaim, the film was an enormous box-office success, earning over $900 million worldwide and is currently the 19th highest-grossing film of all time (inflation-adjusted, it is the 60th most successful film in North America^[4]). Sony VAIO PCG-3D1M Battery The film won two Academy Awards. Gandalf the Grey gives his life in battle against the Balrog, giving the Fellowship of the Ring time to escape from theMines of Moria. Weeks later, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee continue their journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring and, with it, the Dark Lord Sauron. Sony VAIO PCG-3G2M Battery One night, they are attacked by Gollum, who possessed the Ring for centuries before losing it to Frodo's uncle Bilbo, and who now seeks to get it back. Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, but Frodo takes pity on him, understanding the burden of the Ring. Requiring a guide, Frodo persuades Gollum to lead them to Mordor. Sony VAIO PCG-5R1M Battery Sam, however, despises Gollum on sight and warns Frodo that the wily creature will betray them. In Rohan, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli pursue the Uruk-hai, who have taken Merry and Pippin prisoner. Meanwhile, KingThéoden of Rohan has been entranced by Gríma Wormtongue, who is secretly in the service of Saruman the White. Sony VAIO PCG-7141M Battery Incited by Saruman, Orcs and Wild Men of Dunland lay siege to the lands. Théoden's nephew Éomer accuses Gríma of being a spy; Gríma has him banished for undermining him. Éomer sets forth to the countryside to gather the remaining loyal men of the Rohirrim. Éomer's army later ambush and kill the Uruk-hai holding Merry and Pippin. Sony VAIO PCG-7143M Battery Merry and Pippin flee intoFangorn forest and meet Treebeard, the oldest of the Ents. Frodo, Sam and Gollum traverse the Dead Marshes, evading a Nazgûl. Upon reaching the Black Gate, they find it closed and guarded by Orcs. Gollum convinces the pair that attempting to enter the gate will lead to their capture, offering instead to lead them to an unguarded entrance. Sony VAIO PCG-7151M Battery After being informed by Éomer of his ambush against the Uruk-hai, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli find Merry and Pippin's trail. The trio are confronted by Gandalf, reborn as Gandalf the White after dying in battle with the Balrog. Gandalf joins with the trio as they journey to Edoras. Sony VAIO PCG-7154M Battery After arriving, they free Théoden from Gríma's spell, and tell the king about the death of his son Théodred. After mourning his son, Théoden decides to move his people to the stronghold Helm's Deep for safety. Fearing Helm's Deep will not survive, Gandalf leaves to find Éomer and his forces. Sony VAIO PCG-7162M Battery Gríma flees to Orthanc and informs Saruman of a weakness in the outer wall of Helm's Deep. Saruman dispatches his vast army to the stronghold. Meanwhile, Gollum struggles with his loyalty to Frodo and his consuming need for the Ring.Sony VAIO PCG-7181M Battery When Sam and Frodo are captured by Rangers of Ithilien, Frodo reveals Gollum's presence to spare his life; Gollum nevertheless feels betrayed, and begins plotting against his new "master". As Théoden's forces travel to Helm's Deep, they are attacked by Saruman'sWarg riders and Aragorn is thrown from a cliff and believed to be dead. Sony VAIO PCG-41112M Battery In Rivendell, Elrond convinces his daughterArwen to abandon her love for Aragorn and leave Middle-earth with her fellow Elves. Aragorn, meanwhile, feels conflicted about his love for Arwen and his growing feelings for Théoden's niece, Éowyn. Learning of Frodo's Ring, the Rangers' captain, Faramir, orders that it be sent to Gondor.Sony VAIO PCG-7153M Battery In Rohan, Aragorn washes up on a river bank and makes his way to Helm's deep. Theoden gathers every man possible to fight against Saruman's army of Uruk-hai. When night falls a battalion of elves arrive to re-enforce the men of Rohan. In Fangorn Forest, Merry, Pippin, Treebeard and other Ents hold a council to decide on the role of the Ents in the war with Saruman. Sony VAIO PCG-71312M Battery The battle of Helm's Deep begins between the Uruk-Hai and Rohirrim with Aragorn and his companions. Explosives are used against the weakness in the wall, allowing the Orcs to breach the fortress. In Fangorn, Treebeard and the other Ents initially refuse to get involved in the war until Pippin shows them that Saruman has decimated the forest; Sony VAIO PCG-7144M Battery enraged, Treebeard commands the Ents to seek vengeance. Aragorn leads Théoden, Legolas and the remaining Rohirrim to attack the Uruk-hai army, allowing the Rohirrim's women and children to escape into the mountains. Gandalf appears, accompanied by Éomer and his men. The combined forces cause the Uruk-hai to flee into Fangorn, where the Ents and their Huorn allies attack them. Sony VAIO PCG-7191L Battery At Isengard, the Ents defeat the Uruk-hai and release the river dam, drowning the surviving Orc defenders, flooding Isengard, and stranding Saruman in his tower. In the East, Faramir has the Hobbits taken to Osgiliath. Faramir's forces are attacked by Orcs led by a Nazgûl. Sony VAIO PCG-3C1M Battery Frodo momentarily succumbs to the Ring's influence and attacks Sam, but comes to his senses when Sam tearfully reminds him of their friendship. The Nazgûl is defeated and flees. Faramir frees the Hobbits and sends them on their journey, joined by Gollum. Gandalf remarks that Sauron will seek retribution for Saruman's defeat, stating that hope now rests with Frodo and Sam. Sony VAIO PCG-3F1M Battery At that same moment, Gollum vows to reclaim the Ring, and plans to have "her" kill Frodo and Sam. In the Battle of Helm's Deep, Peter Jackson has a cameo appearance as one of the men on top of the gate, throwing a spear at the attacking Uruk-hai. Sony VAIO PCG-3H1M Battery His children and Elijah Wood's sister also cameo as young refugees in the caves behind the Hornburg, and Alan Lee and Dan Hennah also cameo as soldiers preparing for the battle. The son of a producer's friend, Hamish Duncan, appears as a reluctant young Rohirrim warrior. Daniel Falconer has a cameo as an Elvish archer at the battle. Sony VAIO PCG-3J1M Battery The screenwriters did not originally script The Two Towers as its own film: instead parts of it were the conclusion to The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of two planned films under Miramax.However, as the two films became a trilogy under New Line, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens shuffled their scripts. Sony VAIO PCG-8141M Battery The Two Towersis known as the most difficult of the Rings films to make, having neither a clear beginning nor end to focus the script.^[10] Nonetheless, they had a clear decision with making the Battle of Helm's Deep the climax, a decision affecting the whole story's moods and style. Sony VAIO PCG-8161M Battery The most notable difference between the book and the film is the structure. Tolkien's The Two Towers is split into two parts; one follows the war in Rohan, while the other focuses on the journey of Frodo and Sam. The film omits the opening of the book, the death of Boromir, which was used as a linear climax at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. Sony VAIO PCG-3C2M Battery Also, the film climaxes with the Battle of Helm's Deep, while the book ends with the Fellowship going to Isengard and Frodo's confrontation with Shelob, scenes which were left for the film adaptation of The Return of the King. This was done partly to fit more closely the timeline indicated by the book. Sony VAIO PCG-5N2M Battery One notable change in plotting is that in the film Théoden is literally possessed by Saruman, whereas in the book he is simply depressed and deluded by Wormtongue. Afterwards, in the film, Théoden is still unsure of what to do, and flees to Helm's Deep. In the book he rides out to war, only ending up besieged when he considers helping Erkenbrand. Sony VAIO PCG-5P1M Battery Erkenbrand does not exist in the films: his character is combined with Éomer as the Rohirrim general who arrives with Gandalf at the film's end. Éomer himself is present during the entire battle in the book. On the way to Helm's Deep, the refugees from Edoras are attacked by Wargs. Sony VAIO PCG-5S1M Battery The scene is possibly inspired by one in the book cut from The Fellowship of the Ringwhere it is the Fellowship who battle them. Here, a new subplot is created where Aragorn falls over a cliff, and is assumed to be dead; Jackson added it to create tension.This scene also resonates with a new subplot regarding Arwen, Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1M Battery where she decides to leave Middle-earth after losing hope in the long-term possibilities of her love. In the book, Arwen's role is primarily recorded in the Appendices, and she is never depicted as considering such an act. A larger change was originally planned: Arwen and Elrond would visit Galadriel, Sony VAIO PCG-7171M Battery and Arwen would accompany an army of Elves to Helm's Deep to fight alongside Aragorn. During shooting, the script changed, both from writers coming up with better ideas to portray the romance between Aragorn and Arwen, as well as poor fan reaction.The new scene of Arwen leaving for the West was created, and the conversation scene remains, Sony VAIO PCG-7186M Battery edited to be a flashback to a conversation between them in Rivendell, on the evening before the departure of the Fellowship.^[10] A conversation between Elrond and Galadriel in Lothlórien was edited to be a telepathic one.^[13] Nonetheless, one major change (already filmed) remained that could not be reverted: Sony VAIO PCG-81112M Battery the Elven warriors fighting at Helm's Deep, although Jackson and Boyens found this romantic and stirring and a reference to how, in the Appendices of The Return of the King, Galadriel and the Elves of Lothlórien, and Thranduil of Mirkwood were first attacked by an army out of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, and then later counter-attacked and assaulted the fortress itself.Sony VAIO PCG-31311M Battery Another change is the fact Treebeard does not immediately decide to go to war. This adds to the tension, and Boyens describes it as making Merry and Pippin "more than luggage".^[11] Here the Hobbits show Treebeard what Saruman has done to the forest, prompting his decision to act. Sony VAIO PCG-8152M Battery Another structural change is that the Hobbits meet Gandalf the White early on, explaining why the Hobbits do not react to his return when they meet him again following the destruction of Isengard. This was explained in the book by Gandalf arriving at Isengard in the middle of the night to talk to Treebeard. Sony VAIO PCG-31111M Battery The filmmakers' decision to leave Shelob for the third film meant that Faramir had to become an obstacle for Frodo and Sam.^[10] In the book, Faramir (like Aragorn) quickly recognizes the Ring as a danger and a temptation, and does not hesitate long before letting Frodo and Sam go. Sony VAIO PCG-61111M Battery In the film, Faramir first decides that the Ring shall go to Gondor and his father, as a way to prove Faramir's worth compared to his elder brother Boromir. In the film, Faramir takes Frodo, Sam and the Ring to the Battle of Osgiliath — they do not go there in the book. Jackson winks to readers with Sam's line, "By all rights we shouldn't even be here, but we are. Sony VAIO PCG-51112M Battery " After seeing how strongly the Ring affects Frodo during the Nazgûl attack, Faramir changes his mind and lets them go. These changes reshape the book's contrast between Faramir and Boromir, who in The Fellowship of the Ring attempted to take the Ring for himself. On the other hand (which can be seen only in the extended version of the film), Sony VAIO PCG-51211M Battery it is actually their father Denethor, who wants the ring and urges Boromir to get it, while Faramir only wants to prove that he also deserves his father's love. Boyens contends these plot changes were needed to keep the Ring menacing. Wenham commented on the DVD documentaries that he had not read the book prior to reading the script, Sony VAIO PCG-51212M Battery so the movie Faramir was the Faramir he knew. When he later read the book and noticed the major difference, he approached the writers about it, and they explained to him that if he did say "I wouldn't pick that thing up even if it lay by the wayside", it would basically strip the One Ring of all corruptive power.^[10] Sony VAIO PCG-41111M Battery The meaning of the title itself, 'The Two Towers', was changed. While Tolkien considered several possible sets of towers^[14] he eventually created a final cover illustration^[15] and wrote^[16] a note included at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring which identified them as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. Sony VAIO PCG-41111V Battery Jackson's movie names them as Orthanc and Barad-dûr, symbolic of an evil alliance out to destroy Men that forms the film's plot point. Jackson's film depicted Saruman openly presenting himself outright as a servant of Sauron, whereas this association was not explicitly stated in the novel Sony VAIO PCG-61412V Battery (and indeed analysis by Gandalf and Aragorn in the "The White Rider" chapter stated that there was a rivalry instead as Saruman was afraid of the prospect being at war with Sauron, if Rohan and Gondor fall). When Alan Lee joined the project in late 1997, Helm's Deep was the first structure he was tasked to design. Sony VAIO PCG-71112M Battery At 1:35 scale, it was one of the first miniatures built, and part of the 45 minute video that sold the project to New Line. It was primarily drawn from an illustration Lee had once done for the book, though fellow illustrator and designer John Howe suggested a curved wall. Sony VAIO PCG-81111V Battery Used in the film for longshots, Jackson also used this miniature to plan the battle with 40,000 toy soldiers.^[17] As a pivotal part of the story, Helm's Deep was built at Dry Creek Quarry with the Gate, a ramp, and a wall with a removable section and the tower on a second level. Sony VAIO PCG-81111V Battery Most importantly, there was the 1:4 scale miniature of Helm's Deep that ran 50 feet wide. It was used for forced perspective shots,^[18] as well as the major explosion sequence.^[17] The film explores the armies of Middle-earth. John Howe was the basic designer of the forces of evil. Sony VAIO PCG-81212M Battery The Uruk-hai were the first army approved by Jackson, and Howe also designed a special crossbow for the characters, one without the redundancy of opening to reload, the realization of a 15th century manuscript. Also created were 100 Elven suits of armour, with emphasis on Autumnal colours due to the theme of Elves leaving Middle-earth. Sony VAIO PCG-81212V Battery 250 suits were made for the Rohirrim. The Rohan designs were based on Germanic and Anglo-Saxon patterns. Most of the weapons were designed by John Howe, and forged by Peter Lyon. Each sword took 3–6 days to make.^[19] The Rohirrim's capital of Edoras took six months to build on Mount Sunday, Sony VAIO PCG-51111M Battery with thatched roofs, but that was simply the exterior: the buildings doubled as offices and lunch halls. The army created a road to the location, whilst the interior was filmed at Stone Street Studios with tapestries designed by Lee, and Théoden's wooden throne partly created by his daughter. Sony VAIO VPCS13X9E/B battery Hill endured heavy make-up for the possession scene where his skin was pulled back and released for increased wrinkles. Dourif shaved off his eyebrows and put potato flakes as dandruff in his hair for unnerving effect. The film also provides a look at Mordor and Gondor, in terms of Frodo and Sam's story. Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B battery Barad-dûr is seen fully in a tracking shot, a design which Howe called a mockery of Gothic Cathedrals. He and Lee fully created the Black Gate (though a typo in the script made the miniature into two) ^[17] and Osgiliath, the ruined city reflecting London during the Blitz or Berlin in 1945. Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B battery The set on a backlot was based around a bridge and reused some of Moria. The Two Towers shared principal photography with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King between 11 October 1999 to 22 December 2000. Scenes in Rohan were shot early on, and Viggo Mortensen, Sony VAIO VPCF13M8E/B battery Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies' scale double Brett Beattie sustained many injuries. Mortensen broke two toes when he kicked an Orc helmet upon finding the remains of the Uruk-hai and believing Merry and Pippin to be dead; this take is the one in the finished film. Bloom fell off his horse and cracked three ribs, whilst Beattie dislocated his knee. Sony VAIO VPCF13Z0E/B battery The three spent two days of pain for the running sequence with these injuries, leading Jackson to jokingly refer to them as "The Walking Wounded."^[20] Afterwards, they went on for three months filming the Battle of Helm's Deep. John Mahaffie handled most of the night shoots. Sony VAIO VPCM13M1E/L battery Mortensen got his tooth chipped during the nightshoots, and Bernard Hill also got his ear slashed.^[20] Nonetheless, the 700 extras had fun, insulting each other in Māori^[21] and improvising scenes, such as the Uruk-hai stamping their spears before the battle begins. Sony VAIO VPCM13M1E/W battery They did get annoyed by the craftsmanship of the Art Department: the Gates were too reinforced for the Battering Ram scene.^[18] Mortensen greatly respected the stunt team, and head butting them became a sign of respect.^[21] Wood and Astin were joined by Serkis on 13 April 2000. Sony VAIO VPCF22M1E battery For The Two Towers, Weta Digital doubled their staffof 260.In total, they would produce 73 minutes of digital effects with 799 shots.The film would feature their first challenge in creating a battle scene, as well as creating two digital characters who needed to act rather than be a set piece, unlike the previous film's Cave Troll and Balrog. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H battery Weta began animating Gollum in late 1998 to convince New Line they could achieve the effect. Andy Serkis"played" Gollum by providing his voice and movements on set, as well as performing within the motion capture suit later on. His scenes were filmed twice, with and without him. Sony VAIO VPCF13M0E/B battery Originally Gollum was set to solely be a CG character, but Jackson was so impressed by Andy Serkis' audition tape that they used him on set as well.Gollum's CG model was also redesigned during 2001 when Serkis was cast as Sméagol, Gollum's former self, so as to give the impression Andy Serkis as Sméagol transforms into the CG Gollum. Sony VAIO VPCYB2M1E battery The original model can still be glimpsed briefly in the first film. Over Christmas 2001, the crew proceeded to reanimate all the previous shots accordingly within two months. Another problem was that the crew realized that the cast performed better in the versions of the film with Serkis. Sony VAIO VPCYB3V1E battery In the end, the CG Gollum was rotoscoped and animated on top of these scenes. They fully animated some shots such as him crawling upside down. Serkis' motion capture animated the body while animators did the head. Gino Acevedo supervised realistic skin tones, which took four hours per frame to render.^[25] Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E battery While the novel alludes to a division within his mind, the film depicts him as literally having a split personality. The two personas — the childlike Smeágol and the evil Gollum — are established during a scene in which they argue over remaining loyal to Frodo. Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B battery The two personalities talk to each other, as established by contrasting camera angles and by Serkis altering his voice and physicality for each persona. Treebeard took between 28 and 48 hours per frame to render.^[23] For scenes where he interacts with Merry and Pippin, a 14-foot-tall puppet was built on a wheel. Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B battery Weta took urethane moulds of tree bark and applied them to the sculpt of Treebeard to create his wooden skin. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd sat on bicycle seats concealed into Treebeard's hands to avoid discomfort and were left alone on set sitting in the puppet's hands during breaks. The puppet was shot againstbluescreen. Sony VAIO VPCYB3V1E/R Battery The musical score for The Two Towers was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore, who also composed the music for the other two films in the trilogy. While the scores for its predecessor and sequel won the Oscar for Best Score, the soundtrack for The Two Towers was not nominated. Sony VAIO VPCF23P1E Battery (Initially there was confusion over the score's eligibility due to a new rule applying to sequels, but the Academy did declare it eligible.^[26])The funeral song Éowyn sings during her cousin Théodred's entombment in the Extended Edition is styled to be a traditional song of the Rohirrim, and has lyrics in their language, Rohirric (represented by Old English). Sony VAIO VPCF23N1E Battery The song does not appear in the book, and the tune is a variation upon a theme of the rímur Icelandicfolk tradition; it can be heard as part of track 7 in the 1999 recording of a musical version of the Edda by Sequentia.^[27] The soundtrack was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery The soundtrack has a picture of Peter Jackson (barefoot), the composer, and two producers crossing Abbey Road, referencing the Beatles album of the same name. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epicfantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jacksonthat is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/G battery It is the concluding film inThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy, following The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002). As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth, Gandalf the Wizard, and Théoden King of Rohan rally their forces to help defend Gondor's capital Minas Tirith from the looming threat. Sony VAIO VPCF24M1E battery Aragorn finally claims the throne of Gondor and summons an army of ghosts to help him defeat Sauron. Ultimately, even with full strength of arms, they realise they cannot win; so it comes down to the Hobbits, Frodo and Sam, to bear the burden of the Ring and deal with the treachery of Gollum. Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery After a long journey they finally arrive in the dangerous lands of Mordor, seeking to destroy theOne Ring in the place it was created, the volcanic fires of Mount Doom. Released on 17 December 2003, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King received rave reviewsand became one of the greatest critical and box-office successes of all time, Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E Battery being only the second film to gross $1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film from New Line Cinema, as well as the biggest financial success for Time Warner in general, until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 surpassed The Return of the King's final gross in 2011. Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Battery Notably, it won all eleven Academy Awards for which it was nominated, an Oscar record, and tied for largest number of awards won with Ben-Hur and Titanic. It also won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the first and only time a fantasy film has done so; it was also the second sequel to win a Best Picture Oscar (following The Godfather Part II) Sony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B Battery and the only time a sequel has won without a predecessor winning the award. It was the highest-grossing film of 2003. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Théoden, Gamling and Éomer meet up with Merry, Pippin and Treebeard at Isengard. Sony VAIO VPCS123FGB Battery The group returns to Edoras, where Pippin looks into Saruman's recovered palantír, in which Sauron appears and invades his mind; Pippin tells him nothing regarding Frodo and the Ring. From this event, Gandalf deduces that Sauron is planning to attack Minas Tirith. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery Gandalf rides with Pippin to find Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, to whom Pippin swears his service. Gandalf urges Denethor to call Rohan for aid, but Denethor declines, fearing Aragorn and Gandalf plan to depose him. The Morgul army, led by the Nazgûl, drives the Gondorians out of Osgiliath. Sony VAIO VPCS128EC Battery Denethor sends his son Faramir on asuicide mission to reclaim the city. Pippin lights a beacon, signaling Théoden and Aragorn to assemble the Rohirrim for battle. Elrond informs Aragorn that Arwen did not go to the Undying Lands, and is now dying. Believing their forces to be outnumbered by Sauron's, Sony VAIO VPCS129GC Battery Elrond gives Aragorn the sword Andúril to acquire the service of the Army of the Dead, who owe allegiance to the heir of Isildur. Éowyn confesses her love for Aragorn and asks him not to go, but Aragorn reaffirms his love for Arwen and heads into battle. Accompanied by Legolas and Gimli, Sony VAIO VPCS12C7E/B Battery Aragorn ventures into the Paths of the Dead and gains the loyalty of the King of the Dead and his men by brandishing Andúril, proving himself the Heir of Isildur. At Dunharrow, Théoden rides off to war, unaware that Éowyn and Merry have secretly joined his forces. Sauron's armies lay siege to Minas Tirith, led by the Witch-king. Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B Battery Believing a grievously wounded Faramir to be dead, Denethor tries to burn his son and himself alive, but Gandalf intervenes; he saves Faramir, but Denethor commits suicide. Just as the Gondorians are about to be overrun, the Rohirrim army arrives and counter-attacks in a massive cavalry charge led by Théoden. Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B Battery This shifts the tide of the battle, and the Orcs begin to retreat. However, the Haradrim arrive and join the Orc army, turning the tide. The Witch-king kills Théoden, only to be killed himself by Éowyn with help from Merry. On the verge of defeat, the Rohirrim are saved when Aragorn, Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS Battery Legolas, and Gimli arrive with the Army of the Dead and decimate Sauron's forces, ending the battle. Aragorn frees the Army of the Dead and their souls go to the afterlife. Meanwhile, Frodo, Sam and Gollum travel to Minas Morgul. Sam overhears Gollum's plans to murder them and take the Ring for himself. Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery Gollum persuades Frodo that Sam wants the Ring for himself, and Frodo angrily tells Sam to go home. A heartbroken Sam leaves, but discovers Gollum's treachery and follows after them. Gollum betrays Frodo, leaving him in the lair of the giant spider Shelob, who paralyzes Frodo before being wounded and driven away by Sam. Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery An Orc patrol captures Frodo and takes him to Sauron's fortress. Sam rescues Frodo from the tower, and they continue the journey to Mount Doom. Aragorn leads his remaining men to the Black Gate of Mordor, distracting Sauron and his forces and allowing Sam and Frodo to enter Mount Doom. Sony VAIO VPCY118EC Battery Sam carries the weakened Frodo up the volcano, but Gollum attacks them. At the Crack of Doom, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power, refusing to destroy it. Gollum attacks Frodo and bites his finger off, seizing the Ring for himself. An enraged Frodo attacks Gollum, and they both fall over the edge. Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery At the last second, Frodo grabs onto the ledge, leaving Gollum to fall into the lava, taking the Ring with him. As the Ring melts in the volcano, Sauron is destroyed and the land of Mordor collapses, consuming most of his forces. Frodo and Sam are saved from the rising lava by Eagles, led by Gandalf. Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Battery In the aftermath, Aragorn is crowned King, heralding a new age of peace, and is reunited with Arwen and the four hobbits are bowed by all of Gondor for their courageous efforts. The four Hobbits return home to the Shire, where Sam marries his childhood sweetheart, Rosie Cotton. Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ Battery A few years later, Frodo leaves Middle-earth for the Undying Lands with Gandalf, Bilbo, Elrond, Celeborn and Galadriel, leaving his account of their quest to Sam.There are also 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. Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ Battery Jackson also has another unofficial cameo, as Sam's hand stepping into view when he confronts Shelob.^[7] Sean Astin's daughter played Sam's daughter Elanor in the last scene of the film. 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. Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery Royd Tolkien cameos as a Ranger in Osgiliath,^[8] while in the Extended EditionHoward 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.^[9] At the end of the film, during the closing credits, Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery 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. The film contains major scenes that occurred in the middle portion of the novel, The Two Towers, but were not included in the film The Lord of the Rings: Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S Battery The Two Towers, such as Shelob and the palantír subplot, due to Jackson realigning the timeline as described in the book's Appendices, but not in the main prose.^[11]Saruman's murder by Gríma (seen only in the Extended Edition) is moved into the Isengard visit due to the cutting of the Scouring of the Shire. Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery In the film, Saruman drops the palantír, whereas in the book Gríma throws it at the Fellowship, unaware of its value. While the parting of Gandalf from Théoden's company in "The Two Towers" occurs hastily at Dol Baran with the appearance of a Nazgûl on a winged steed, Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Battery here he leaves from Edoras after the entire company arrives there to recuperate after the Battle of Helm's Deep. The muster of Gondor is absent from the film, and the major captains and generals, including Imrahil and the Knights of Dol Amroth, are not present. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI Battery Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, was a more tragic character in the book. The film only focuses on his overwhelming grief over the death of Boromir as to ignore Sauron's threat (in the book he already lights the beacons), and is driven over the edge by Faramir's injury. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G Battery The film only hints at his use of the palantírwhich drives him mad, information revealed in the Pyre scene, which is more violent than the book. Jackson also has Denethor jump off the Citadel in addition to burning himself on the Pyre, one of the earliest changes.^[12] The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is altered: Faramir never goes on a suicide mission, Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L Battery and the conflict is a simplification of the siege of Osgiliath. With generals such as Forlong and Imrahil absent, Gandalf commands the defense of Minas Tirith due to Denethor's despair. While Denethor gives command to Gandalf in the book, in this film Gandalf forcibly takes control as Denethor tells the men to flee rather than fight. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery The Orcs also never get into the city in the book. The Witch-king enters and stands off against Gandalf before the Rohirrim arrive, but in the film Orcs invade the city after Grond breaks the Gate. The confrontation takes place while Gandalf journeys to save Faramir in the Extended Edition, during which Gandalf has his staff broken in the film (but not in the book). Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery A subplot in which the Rohirrim are aided by the primitive Drúedain into entering the besieged Gondor is also excised. The Red Arrow brought by a messenger from Gondor to ask for aid is absent. Éowyn's presence on the battlefield is unknown to the reader until she takes off her helmet, Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/P Battery but in the film the audience is aware, as it would have been difficult to have Miranda Otto playing a man.^[13] When hope seems lost, Gandalf comforts Pippin with a description of the Undying Lands, which is a descriptive passage in the book's final chapter.The film depicts the Army of the Dead fighting in the Battle, Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery whereas in the book they are released from service prior to this, after helping Aragorn defeat the Corsairs of Umbar at the port city of Pelargir in Lebennin; Aragorn's reinforcements are merely more Gondorians, and the Dúnedain, Aragorn's people (the rangers of the North). An unstoppable and invulnerable force, the Dead wipe out Sauron's forces. Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI Battery The film also cuts out several supporting characters, such as: Halbarad, a friend of Aragorn's, who helps lead the Dúnedain, Beregond, a member of the Citadel Guard of Gondor, whom Pippin befriends, and Elladan and Elrohir, the twin sons of Elrond who deliver Aragorn's banner and accompany him to the Pelennor Fields. Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ Battery Elladan and Elrohir are replaced by Elrond in the film, instead delivering Andúril, and then returning to Rivendell. The film also altered the circumstances of Théoden's death; his death speech, in which he names Éomer the new king in the book, is trimmed and delivered to Éowyn instead, Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery with an earlier scene in the Extended Edition even implying that she is next in line for the throne. Théoden's rallying cries before the initial charge are in fact spoken by Éomer in the book upon his realisation that Éowyn is also apparently dead. Sony VAIO VPCF11AHJ Battery In the film Aragorn leads the entire remaining force of Rohan and Gondor's men to the Black Gate without incident. In the book tactics are discussed, forces divide and fight smaller skirmishes in Anórien and Ithilien before the army (only a fraction of the full remaining strength of the nations of men) reach the Morannon. Sony VAIO VPCF11JFX/B Battery The romance that develops between Éowyn and Faramir during their recoveries in the Houses of Healing is also largely cut, presumably to keep the focus onAragorn and Arwen; the subplot is only briefly referenced in the Extended Edition with a scene where the two hold hands.Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E Battery Sam and Frodo's major rift in their friendship, due to Gollum's machinations, never takes place in the book, but was added by the writers in believing that it added drama and more complexity to the character of Frodo. Frodo enters Shelob's lair alone in the film, whereas in the book he and Sam entered together. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H Battery This was done to make the scene more horrific with Frodo being alone, and Sam's rescue at the last minute more dramatic. Also, in the film we do not know that Sam has the Ring until he gives it back to Frodo, whereas in the book the reader knows that Sam has the Ring. Sony VAIO VPCF11MFX/B Battery Gollum's fall into the lava of Mount Doom was also rewritten for the film, as the writers felt Tolkien's original idea (Gollum simply slips and falls off) was anti-climactic. Originally, an even greater deviation was planned: Frodo would heroically push Gollum over the ledge to destroy him and the Ring, Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E Battery but the production team eventually realised that it looked more like Frodo murdering Gollum. As a result, they had Frodo and Gollum struggle for possession of the Ring and both slip over the edge by accident.Also absent from the film are the other major attacks by Sauron on various regions of Middle-earth, Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B Battery referenced only briefly in the main text of The Return of the King, and expanded upon in the Appendices; the invasion of Rohan by the orcs of Moria, the attacks on Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm of Thranduil by the forces of Dol Guldur, and the attack on Dale and the Lonely Mountain by a force of Easterlings. Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E Battery There are several changes in the Battle of the Black Gate: Merry is not present there in the book, Pippin does not kill a troll as he does in the novel, the eagles fight and defeat some of the mounted Nazgûl (while Frodo putting on the One Ring distracted the Nazgûl, who raced away to Mount Doom in the book before a confrontation could occur), Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI Battery and Aragorn kills the Mouth of Sauron in the extended edition of the film but not in the book. There was an even larger change planned: Sauron himself would come out in physical form to battle Aragorn, who would only be saved by the destruction of the Ring. Sony VAIO VPCF11ZHJ Battery Jackson eventually realised it ignored the point of Aragorn's true bravery in distracting Sauron's army against overwhelming odds, and a computer generated Troll was placed over footage of Sauron in the finished film. The ending is streamlined so as not to include the Scouring of the Shire, which was always seen by the screenwriters as anti-climactic. Sony VAIO VPCF127HGBI Battery It is referenced, though, in Frodo's vision of the future in Galadriel's mirror in The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is unusual in that it is, to date, the only one whose separate installments were written and shot simultaneously (excludingpick up shoots). Sony VAIO VPCF137HG/BI Battery Jackson found The Return of the King the easiest of the films to make, because it contained the climax of the story, unlike the other two films. The Return of the King was originally the second of two planned films under Miramax from January 1997 to August 1998, and more or less in its finished structure as the first film was to end with The Two Towers' Battle of Helm's Deep. Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery Filming took place under multiple units across New Zealand, between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000, with pick up shoots for six weeks in 2003 before the film's release. Middle-earth as envisioned by Jackson was primarily designed by Alan Lee and John Howe, former Tolkien illustrators, and created by Weta Workshop, Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery who handled all the trilogy's weapons, armour, miniatures, prosthetics and creatures, as well as the Art Department which built the sets. Richard Taylor headed Weta, while Grant Major and Dan Hennah organised the planning and building respectively. Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery The city of Minas Tirith, glimpsed briefly in both the previous two films is seen fully in this film, and with it the Gondorian civilization. The enormous soundstage was built at Dry Creek Quarry, outside Wellington, from the Helm's Deepset. That set's gate became Minas Tirith's second, Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery while the Hornburg exterior became that of the Extended Edition's scene where Gandalf confronts the Witch-king. New structures included the 8m tall Gate, with broken and unbroken versions, with a working opening and closing mechanism, with its engravings inspired by the Baptistry of San Giovanni. Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery There were also four levels of streets with heraldic motifs for every house, as inspired by Siena. There was also the Citadel, the exterior of which was in the Stone Street Studios backlot, using forced perspective. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery It contains the withered White Tree, built from polystyrene by Brian Massey and the Greens Department with real branches, influenced by ancient and gnarled Lebanese olive trees. The interior was within a 3 story former factory in Wellington, and colour wise is influenced by Charlemagne's Chapel, Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery with a throne for Denethor carved from stone and polystyrene statues of past Kings. The Gondorian armour is designed to represent an evolution from the Númenóreans of the first film's prologue, with a simplified sea bird motif. 16th century Italian and German armour served as inspiration, Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery while civilians wear silver and blacks as designed by Ngila Dickson, continuing an ancient/medieval Mediterranean Basin look.^[19] Minas Morgul, the Staircase and Tower of Cirith Ungol as well as Shelob's Lair were designed by Howe, with the Morgul road using forced perspective into a bluescreened miniature. Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery Howe's design of Minas Morgul was inspired from the experience of having a wisdom tooth pulled out: in the same way, the Orcs have put their twisted designs on to a former Gondorian city.^[20] Cirith Ungol was based on Tolkien's design, but when Richard Taylor felt it as "boring", it was redesigned with more tipping angles.^[21] Sony VAIO VPCS11AGJ Battery The interior set, like Minas Tirith, was built as a few multiple levels that numerous camera takes would suggest a larger structure.The third film introduces the enormous spider Shelob. Shelob was designed in 1999,with the body based on a tunnelweb spider and the head with numerous growths selected by Peter Jackson's children from one of many sculpts. Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ Battery Jackson himself took great joy in planning the sequence, being an arachnophobehimself.^[18] Shelob's Lair was inspired by sandstone and sculpted from the existing Caverns of Isengard set.^[17] The Return of the King also brings into focus the Dead Men of Dunharrow and the evil Haradrim from the south of Middle-earth, men who ride the mûmakil. Sony VAIO VPCS11AVJ Battery The Dead Men have a Celtic influence, as well as lines and symmetry to reflect their morbid state,^[17] while their underground city is influenced by Petra.^[20] The Haradrim were highly influenced by African culture, until Philippa Boyens expressed concern over the possibility of offensiveness, Sony VAIO VPCS11J7E/B Battery so the finished characters instead bear influence from Kiribati, in terms of weaving armour from bamboo, and the Aztecs, in use of jewellery. Also built was a single dead mûmak.Other minor cultures include the Corsairs, with an exotic, swarthy look, and the Grey Havens, Elven structures adapted to stone, with influence from J. M. W. Turnerpaintings. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/L Battery The Return of the King was shot during 2000, though Sean Astin's coverage from Gollum's attempt to separate Frodo and Sam was filmed on 24 November 1999, when floods in Queenstown interrupted the focus on The Fellowship of the Ring.^[7] Some of the earliest scenes shot for the film were in fact the last. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/P Battery Hobbiton, home of the Hobbits, was shot in January 2000 with early scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring, with the exterior shot at a Matamata farm, while interior scenes shot at Stone Street Studios in Wellington,shared with the Grey Havens sequence. Due to the high emotions of filming the scene, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/R Battery the cast were in despair when they were required to shoot it three times, due to a continuity flaw in Sean Astin's costume, and then negatives producing out-of-focus reels.^[7] Also shared with the previous films was the Rivendell interior in May. The Battle of the Black Gate was filmed in Aprilat the Rangipo Desert, a former minefield.Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/W Battery New Zealand soldiers were hired as extras while guides were on the look out for unexploded mines. Also a cause for concern were Monaghan and Boyd's scale doubles during a charge sequence. In the meantime, Wood, Astin and Serkis filmed at Mount Ruapehu for the Mount Doom exteriors. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/B Battery In particular, they spent two hours shooting Sam lifting Frodo on to his back with cross-camera coverage.Scenes shot in June were the Paths of the Dead across various locations, including Pinnacles.^[23] In July the crew shot some Shelob scenes, and in August and September time was spent on the scenes in Isengard. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/L Battery Monaghan and Boyd tried numerous takes of their entrance, stressing the word "weed" as they smoked pipe-weed. Christopher Lee spent his part of his scene mostly alone, though McKellen and Hill arrived on the first day for a few lines to help.^[7] Edoras exteriors were shot in October. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/R Battery The Ride of the Rohirrim, where Théoden leads the charge into the Orc army, was filmed in Twizel with 150 extras on horseback. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields has more extensive use of computer-generated imagery, in contrast to the more extensive use of live action in theBattle of Helm's Deep in the second film. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/W Battery Also filmed were the attempts by Faramir to recapture Osgiliath,^[24] as were scenes in the city itself.^[25] At this point production was very hectic, with Jackson moving around ten units per day, and production finally wrapped on the Minas Tirith sets, as well as second units shooting parts of the siege. Sony VAIO VPCCW26EC Battery Just as the Hobbit actors' first scene was hiding under a Ringwraith, their last scene was the bluescreened reaction shot of the inhabitants of Minas Tirith bowing to them. The 2003 pick ups were filmed in the Wellington studio car park, with many parts of sets and bluescreens used to finish off scenes, Sony VAIO VPCCW26FX/B Battery which the design team had to work 24/7 to get the right sets ready for a particular day.^[17] The shoot continued for two months, and became an emotional time of farewells for the cast and crew. The film has the most extensive list of reshoots given for the trilogy. Jackson took his time to reshoot Aragorn's coronation, Sony VAIO VPCCW28EC Battery rushed into a single day under second unit director Geoff Murphy on 21 December 2000. Jackson also reshot scenes in and around Mount Doom,^[7] and Théoden's death, right after Bernard Hill was meant to wrap.^[13] There was also the new character of Gothmog. Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/P Battery This was a major new design addition for the film, as Jackson felt the Mordor Orcs were "pathetic" compared to theUruk-hai of the second film after watching assembly cuts, and thus Weta created grotesque new "über Orcs" as antagonists for the audience to focus on.Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/R Battery Christian Rivers also redesigned the Witch-king and all of his scenes were reshot, due to confusion from non-readers over whether or not Sauron was on the battlefield.With the positive response to Orlando Bloom, Legolas was given a fight with a mûmak, and Howard Shore also appeared in a cameo during Legolas and Gimli's drinking game at Edoras. Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/W Battery The final scenes shot were Aragorn escaping the Skull avalanche, and Frodo finishing his book. The cast also received various props associated with their characters, although in the case of John Rhys-Davies, he burned his final Gimli prosthetic. Viggo Mortensen headbutted the stunt team goodbye.^[7] Pick-ups ended on 27 June 2003. Sony VAIO VPCCW29FJ/W Battery Scenes shot afterwards included various live-action shots of Riders for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and a reaction shot of Andy Serkis as Gollum finally realises Frodo intends to destroy the Ring, shot in Jackson's house.^[28] For the Extended DVD, Jackson shot in March 2004 a few shots of skulls rolling over for the avalanche scene; Sony VAIO VPCCW2AFJ Battery this was the final piece of footage ever shot for the trilogy, and Jackson noted that it must be the first time a director had shot scenes for a film after it had already won the Oscar.Post-production on The Return of the King began in November 2002, with the completion of the 4½ hour assembly cut of the film that Annie Collins had been completing over 2001 and 2002, Sony VAIO VPCCW2AHJ Battery from 4 hour dailies. For example, Théoden leading the charge went from 150 minutes of takes to a finished 90 seconds.^[30] Jackson reunited with longtime collaborator Jamie Selkirk to edit the final film. Like The Two Towers, they would have to deal with multiple storylines, and Jackson paid attention to each storyline at a time before deciding where to intercut. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E Battery Most importantly they spent three weeks working on the last 45 minutes of the film,^[28] for appropriate intercutting and leaving out scenes such as the Mouth of Sauron, and the fates of characters like Legolas, Gimli, Éowyn and Faramir.^[11] The film inherited scenes originally planned to go into the second film, including the reforging of Narsil, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/B Battery Gollum's backstory, and Saruman's exit. But the Saruman scene posed a structural problem: killing off the second film's villain when the plot has Sauron as the main villain.^[28] Despite pick-ups and dubs, the scene was cut, causing controversy with fans and Saruman actor Christopher Lee, as well as a petition to restore the scene. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/L Battery Lee nonetheless contributed to the DVDs and was at the Copenhagen premiere, although on the other hand he says he will never understand the reason for the cut and his relationship with Jackson is chilly.They would, however, later reconcile upon Lee's casting in Jackson's Hobbit films. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/P Battery Jackson only had a lock on 5 out of 10 reels, and had to churn out 3 reels in 3 weeks to help finish the film. It was finally done on 12 November 2003.^[33] Jackson never had a chance to view the film in full due to the hectic schedule, and only saw the film from beginning to end on 1 December at the Wellington premiere; Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/R Battery according to Elijah Wood, his response was "yup, it's good, pretty good". The Return of the King contains 1,488 visual effect shots, nearly three times the number from the first film and almost twice that of the second. Visual effects work began with Alan Lee and Mark Lewis compositing various photographs of New Zealand landscape to create the digital arena of the Pelennor Fields in November 2002. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/W Battery Gary Horsfield also created a digital version of the Barad-dûr during his Christmas break at home by himself, for the film's climax. In the meantime, Jackson and Christian Rivers used computers to plan the enormous battle up until February 2003, when the shots were shown to Weta Digital. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery To their astonishment, 60 planned shots had gone up to 250, and 50,000 characters were now 200,000.^[34]Nevertheless they pressed on, soon delivering 100 shots a week, 20 a day, as the deadline neared within the last two months, often working until 2 a.m.^[33] For the battle, they recorded 450 motions for the MASSIVE digital horses Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery (though deaths were animated), and also had to deal with late additions in the film, such as Trolls bursting through Minas Tirith's gates as well as the creatures that pull Grond to the gate,^[18] and redoing a shot of two mûmakil Éomer takes down that had originally taken six months in two days. Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery On a similar note of digital creatures, Shelob's head sculpture was scanned by a Canadian company for 10 times more detail than Weta had previously been able to capture.^[34] Like the previous films, there are also extensive morphs between digital doubles for the actors. Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery This time, there was Sam falling off Shelob, where the morph takes place as Astin hits the ground. Legolas attacking a mûmak required numerous transitions to and fro, and Gollum's shots of him having recovered the One Ring and falling into the Crack of Doom were fully animated. Sony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery The King of the Dead is played by an actor in prosthetics, and his head occasionally morphs to a more skull-like digital version, depending on the character's mood. The Mouth of Sauron also had his mouth enlarged 200% for unsettling effect.The Return of the King also has practical effects. Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery In the Pyre of Denethor sequence, as the Steward of Gondor throws Pippin out of the Tomb, John Noble threw asize double named Fon onto a prostrate Billy Boyd, who immediately pushed his head into camera to complete the illusion. Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery A few burning torches were also reflected off a plate of glass and into the camera for when Gandalf's horse Shadowfax kicks Denethor onto the pyre. Because of Jackson's requirement for complete representation of his fantasy world, numerous miniatures were built, such as 1:72 scale miniature of Minas Tirith, which rises 7m high and is 6.5m indiameter. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery 1:14 scale sections of the city were also required, and the Extended Edition scene of the collapsing City of the Dead has 80,000 small skulls, amounting in total to a single cubic meter.^[20] The miniatures team concluded in November with the Black Gate, after 1000 days of shooting, and the final digital effects shot done was the Ring's destruction, on 25 November. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery The Sound department spent the early part of the year searching for the right sounds. A tasmanian devil was Shelob's shriek, which in turn gave inspiration for Weta's animators, while the mûmakil is the beginning and end of a lion roar. Human screams and a donkey screech were mixed into Sauron's fall, Sony VAIO VGN-SR90US Battery and to avoid comparison with 9/11, broken glass was used for the collapsing sounds. For missile trading during Minas Tirith's siege, construction workers dropped actual 2 ton stone blocks previously lifted by a construction crane. Mixing began at a new studio on 15 August, although unfinished building work caused some annoyances. Sony VAIO VGN-SR91NS Battery The mixers finished on 15 November, after three months of non-stop work. The music was composed by Howard Shore, who previously composed the first two parts of the trilogy. Shore watched the assembly cut of the film,and had to write seven minutes of music per day to keep up with the schedule. Sony VAIO VGN-SR91PS Battery The score sees the full introduction of the Gondor theme, originally heard during Boromir's speeches at the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring and at Osgiliath in The Two Towers Extended Edition. Actors Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler also contributed to the film's music. Sony VAIO VGN-SR91S Battery Boyd sings on screen as Faramir charges towards Osgiliath, Mortensen sings on screen as he is crowned King, and in the Extended Edition Tyler sings as Aragorn heals Éowyn. Renée Fleming, Ben Del Maestro and James Galway also contribute to the soundtrack. Fleming sings as Arwen has a vision of her son and when Gollum recovers the One Ring. Sony VAIO VGN-SR91US Battery Del Maestro sings when Gandalf lights his staff to save fleeing Gondorian soldiers from Osgiliath as the Nazgûl attack. Galway plays the flute as Frodo and Sam climb Mount Doom. The end title song, "Into the West", was composed by Shore with lyrics by Fran Walsh. Annie Lennox (formerly of Eurythmics) performed it and also received songwriting credit. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92NS Battery The song was partially inspired by the premature death from cancer of a young New Zealand filmmaker named Cameron Duncan who had befriended Peter Jackson. After two years of attention and acclaim since the release of The Lord of the Rings: Sony VAIO VGN-SR92PS Battery The Fellowship of the Ring, audience anticipation for the final installment of the trilogy had reached fever pitch when the film was complete. The world premiere was held in Wellington's Embassy Theatre, on 1 December 2003, and was attended by the director and many of the stars. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92S Battery It was estimated that over 100,000 people lined the streets, more than a quarter of the city's population.The film received mostly positive reviews; it has a 94% rating of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Richard Corliss of Time named it the best film of the year.The main criticism of The Lord of the Rings: Sony VAIO VGN-SR92US Battery The Return of the King, was its running time, particularly the epilogue; even rave reviews for the film commented on its length. Joel Siegel of Good Morning America said in his review for the film (which he gave an 'A'): "If it didn't take forty-five minutes to end, it'd be my best picture of the year. As it is, it's just one of the great achievements in film history." Sony VAIO VGN-SR93DS Battery There was also criticism regarding the Army of the Dead's appearance, rapidly ending the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In February 2004, a few months after release, the film was voted as #8 on Empire's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, compiled from readers' top 10 lists. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93JS Battery This forced the magazine to abandon its policy of only allowing films being older than 12 months to be eligible.^[40] In 2007, Total Film named The Return of the Kingthe third best film of the past decade (Total Film's publication time), behind The Matrix and Fight Club. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93PS Battery The film earned $377,845,905 in the USA and Canada and $742,083,616 in other countries for a worldwide total of $1,119,929,521. Worldwide, it is the sixth highest-grossing film,^[42] the highest-grossing 2003 film^[43] and the highest-grossing installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.It was the second film in history to earn over $1 billion. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93YS Battery In the USA and Canada, it is the seventeenth highest-grossing film,^[45] the highest-grossing 2003 film,^[46] the highest-grossing installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.^[44] The film set an opening-Wednesday record with $34.5 million.^[47] This record was first surpassed by Spider-Man 2 and ranks as the seventh largest Wednesday opening. Sony VAIO VGN-SR94FS Battery The film opened a day earlier for a midnight showing and it accounted for about $8 million. This was nearly twice the first-day total of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (which earned $18.2 million on its opening day in 2001), and a significant increase over The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as well (which earned $26.1 million on its debut in 2002). Sony VAIO VGN-SR94GS Battery Part of the grosses came from the Trilogy Tuesday event, in which the Extended Editions of the first two films were played on 16 December before the first midnight screening. It went on to make an opening weekend of $72.6 million ($124.1 million with weekday previews). Sony VAIO VGN-SR94HS Battery Its Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend was a record-high for December (first surpassed by I Am Legend).^[50] The film also set single-day reocrds for Christmas Day and New Year's Day (both first surpassed by Meet the Fockers). Outside the US and Canada, it is the seventh highest-grossing film, Sony VAIO VGN-SR94VS Battery the highest-grossing 2003 filmand the highest-grossing film of the trilogy.^[44] On its first day (Wednesday, December 17, 2003), the film earned $23.5 million from 19 countries^[47] and, during the 5-day weekend as a whole, it set an opening-weekend record outside the US and Canada with $125.9 million. Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery It set opening-day records in 13 of them, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Scandinavia (as well as separately in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark), Mexico, Chile and Puerto Rico.It set opening-weekend records in the United Kingdom ($26.5 million in five days), Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. In New Zealand, where filming took place, the film set opening-day, opening-weekend, single-day, Friday-gross, Saturday-gross and Sunday-gross records with $1.7 million in four days.^[55] Compared to the first two films of the trilogy it performed better: Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery each of the first two films grossed less than the third both in North America and overseas.The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has helped The Lord of the Rings franchise to become the highest-grossing motion picture trilogy worldwide of all time with $2,911,746,256, beating other notable ones such as the Star Wars trilogies,Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery and surviving from being out-grossed by subsequent trilogies like Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter, despite ticket price inflation.These figures do not include income from DVD sales, TV rights, etc. It has been estimatedthat the gross income from non-box office sales and merchandise has been at least equal to the box office for all three films. Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery If this is so, the total gross income for the trilogy would be in the region of $6 billion following an investment of $300 million ($426 million including marketing costs). On 27 January 2004, the film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Make-up, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. On 29 February, the film won all the categories for which it was nominated,^[58] making it the most successful film in Academy Award history. The film also won four Golden Globes (including Best Picture for Drama and Best Director), Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery five BAFTAs, two MTV Movie Awards, two Grammy Awards, nineSaturn Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Picture, the Nebula Award for Best Script, and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.The film was nominated for the 10th Anniversary Edition of AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies.Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery The theatrical edition of the film was released on DVD on 23 August 2004. The DVD was a 2-disc set with extras on the second disc. The theatrical DVD sets for the two previous films were released eight months after the films were released, but Return of the King's set was completed in five because it did not have to market a sequel Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/R Battery (the previous films had to wait for footage of their sequels to become available for a ten minute preview). However, it contained a 7 minute trailer of the entire trilogy. The Return of the King followed the precedent set by its predecessors by releasing an Extended Edition (263 minutes) with new editing and added special effects and music, Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/W Battery along with four commentaries and six hours of supplementary material, plus 10 minutes of fan-club credits. However, this set took longer to produce than the others because the cast and crew were spread all over the world working on other projects.^[63] The set was finally released on 10 December 2004 in the UK and 14 December in the U.S. Sony VAIO VPCCW19FJ/W Battery The final ten minutes comprises a listing of the charter members of the official fan club who had paid for three-year charter membership. New scenes such as: Éowyn's Dream, The Voice of Saruman, The Decline of Gondor, The Wizard's Pupil, Crossroads of the Fallen King, Merry's Simple Courage, Sony VAIO VPCCW1AFJ Battery The Witch-king's Hour, The Houses of Healing, The Mouth of Sauron, The Corsairs of Umbar & Sam's Warning, are added to progress the story and give it, as well as the characters depicted, more depth. Along with the new scenes, additional footage as been added to the battles in Osgiliath, Minas Tirith & Pelennor Fields. Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery Likewise, more footage has been added to the Paths of the Dead, Edoras, as well as the time spent at Minas Tirith.A collectors' box set was also released, which included the Extended Set plus a sculpture of Minas Tirith and a bonus 50-minute music documentary DVD, Howard Shore: Creating The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Composer's Journey Through Middle-earth. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery The DVD has a DTS-ES soundtrack. The DVD also features two humorousEaster Eggs, one where Dominic Monaghan plays a German interviewer with Elijah Wood over a phone, and another where Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller attempt to convince Jackson to make a sequel, originally shown at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery Both can be accessed via a Ring icon on the last page of both Disc 1 and 2's scene indexes. On 29 August 2006, a Limited Edition of The Return of the King was released. This Limited Edition contains two discs, the first is a two-sided DVD containing both the Theatrical and Extended editions of the film. Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B Battery The second disc is a bonus disc that contains a new behind-the-scenes documentary. The theatrical Blu-ray version of The Lord of the Rings was released in the United States on 6 April 2010.The individual Blu-ray disc of The Return of the King was released on 14 September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTH Battery except there was no digital copy.The Extended Edition was released in the United States on 28 June 2011. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTJ Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTQ Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVB/C Battery