Customer Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Widescreen) (2 Discs)

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I only have one thing that I didn't like about my experience. Nothing too major, just a feature I've gotten used to from Amazon. I didmt like that there was about a 2 week period in which my DVD could be delivered and there was no tracking service that would give me an idea of when it would arrive. But, it did come much quicker than I thought, so overall it was a very good experience, and I would consider buying from this company again. Thanks.

Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of "Lord of the Rings" reaches its pinnacle in "Return of the King." The stellar cast, mind-blowing special effects and heartbreaking script are all present in the third movie, which is not only the last of the "Lord of the Rings" films, but the best.

Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are still following the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis) on the path to Mordor, with the increasingly strained Frodo unaware that Gollum is sowing suspicion between the two best friends. By the time he realizes his mistake, he's been dragged into the lair of Shelob, a monstrous spider, and then abducted by orcs who want the Ring he carries. Determined to find his friend, Sam heads into an orc citadel...

Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) takes Pippin (Billy Boyd) with him to Minas Tirith, after the hobbit has a close encounter with Sauron through a palantir. \Not only is the city under siege, but the Steward Denethor is slowly going insane, even sending his one remaining son, Faramir (David Wenham), on a suicide mission to reclaim a dead city. With Minas Tirith crumbling, Aragorn's (Viggo Mortensen) only hope may to be summon an army of the dead, who will only obey the King of Gondor. But even the dead won't help him if Frodo doesn't destroy the Ring...

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is one of those once-in-a-lifetime movie experiences. There has never been anything quite like it in movie history, and there probably never will be again. It seems somehow fitting that the book that every other fantasy has to measure up to, has now become a sweeping cinematic triumph that actually stays halfway loyal to the books. Good things come to fans who wait, I guess.

Peter Jackson really outdoes himself. You know those battle scenes in "Two Towers" and "Fellowship of the Ring," with the swooping camera and thousands of orcs, clashing with men on a gloomy battlefield? In "Return of the King," Jackson surpasses that. There's everything from volcanic eruptions to an invasion of howling ghosts to the attack of the oliphaunts (like elephants, only bigger). Each action scene a shattering ride, and there's no guarantee that all the beloved characters will make it out alive. Some of them don't.

But if Jackson manages the epic battles well, he does an even better job with the gentler, quieter moments. The action slows down, and the characters take a moment to support and comfort each other. They cry, they hug, they think about home -- such as Gandalf comforting the frightened Pippin with a description of the afterlife. Jackson and his fellow screenwriters Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens throw themselves into the semi-formal language of Tolkien's world, resculpting Tolkien's words into equally rich movie dialogue.

Elijah Wood gives an unparalleled performance as Frodo Baggins. Frodo's gradual deterioration is wrenching to watch, and the climactic scene at Mount Doom displays just what the Ring can do to even the pure-hearted hobbit. Sean Astin follows up with his powerful performance as Sam, who is increasingly the "strong" hobbit, rather than the follower. The final scenes between these two outstanding actors are beautiful and understated.

But all the supporting cast also give powerful performances -- Boyd and Dominic Monaghan put their characters through some intense growing pains, and the "I'm going to take care of you" scene is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Mortensen gets more kingly every moment, while Ian McKellen balances action with grandfatherly wisdom. Bernard Hill has a quietly moving final scene, while Miranda Otto makes the despairing Eowyn a strong, kick-butt heroine.

Perhaps the most striking thing about "Return of the King" is the final fourth of the film. While the "multiple endings" may annoy some viewers, it seems somehow right to gently let go of these characters rather than have a sudden, splashy finale. And whether they have a happy or sad ending, Jackson never lets us forget that they all made sacrifices to battle Sauron.

"Return of the King" brings the epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to a close, and cements Jackson's reputation as a master filmmaker. With the outstanding cast, beautiful scripting and amazing direction, this is the best of the "Lord" films -- and that's saying something.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This trilogy was astounding in its scope, its special fx, its writing, acting, cinematography, on and on.... I would have liked to see each film honoured at the Oscars for their own merits, but heck, a nice 11 for 11 sweep surely does Peter Jackson's masterwork justice. One review of 'The Lord of the Rings' novel once said, "the world is divided into two parts. Those who have read this book, and those who are going to." The same can be said of this amazingly good movie trilogy. If you have seen it, go out and buy this "must have." If you haven't seen it yet...you are truly missing out on an amazing experience. Go see it! NOW!

I LOVE the Lord of the Rings. I loved the first movie, loved the second, loved the third, but less so than the first two. I also love the extended versions of both the first two films much more so than the theatre versions. Why? They fill in the story which Tolkien wrote so beautifully. This is a very complex book and it just bothers me to see so many things changed. I know it is impossible to have the whole book made into a movie, but the additions in the extended version allow us to see more of the characters and understand them, just like reading the book.
Since I am a real Middle Earth junkie, I have this, but I will be first in line when the extended version (the real story) comes out. Hope it is a good one!
Return of the King is beautiful. I love Middle Earth and would enjoy any movie about Middle Earth I think. However, there are some things which are just such a stretch that it changes the book and I think what Tolkien intended. Will the extended version make things better? I hope so. I think that is why I am a bit dissapointed in this film... there are too many things I was looking forward to seeing which did not happen. I especially want to see more of Eowyn, Eomer and Faramir. The whole point in this is the age of the elves is ending and this its the age of men, so let's see a bit more about them!

Tolkien 's works had been put into TV with animation by Rankin/Bass (1977 and 1979). In 1978, Ralph Bakshi had animated the first two books of the famous trilogy to the silver screen. And now, with today's technology,an all-star cast, and a fabulous music score, New Line Cinema has brought the the trilogy to a new level in a live-action spectacle; and one of the best film series of the 21th century. Each scene has heart,a bit of humour,heart-thumpin' action, and excellent effects. And I should like to tell you, that Rings is what got me to love four of the film's stars - Elijah Wood,Orlando Bloom,Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler.

In this adrenaline-rushing conclusion of our adventure, The War of The Ring has began, and Frodo & Sam (who are led by Gollum) continue their dangerous quest to destroy The One Ring. But they are unaware of the trap that set for them by Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn,Legolas,Gimli, and Gandalf are united with Merry & Pippin at the now destoryed Isengard, thanks to them,Treebeard and the other Ents; now they celebrated their victory. But Aragorn was worried of Frodo. And in the dead of the night,Pippin snuck out of bed to take a peek at Saruman's palantir, that was found and confiscated. But something happened, the palantir showed him The Eye of Sauron, and that he is planning to attack Minas Tirith; So Gandalf took Pippin, and rode to Minas Tirith. Meanwhile, on the road to the ships that will take elves away from Middle Earth, Arwen was thinking over her choice of path. Until has a vision of her son that convince her to go home; she did, and so she rode home and plead her father to reforge the ancient blade of Narsil, and give it to her beloved Aragorn, so he can become the king he was born to be.

So overall ALL three films are excellent - 1 to 3. And you know, I do feel sorry for Faramir being an unappreciated son, I mean it was his big brother Boromir who was their dad's favorite. I love the developing friendship between Merry & Eowyn. And I love the end-title song performed by Annie Lennox.

I don't usually write reviews, especially of such huge and widely established masterpieces like Lord of the Rings, figuring that everyone else has said it before and better ... but I was sadly disappointed here. This is without a doubt the best film in the trilogy, far surpassing The Two Towers, (which I disliked until the Extended Edition anyway), and even FotR. This was simply an awe-inspiring movie. Yes Tolkien fans like me were a little put out by some of the changes made, (like the emphasis on Arwen - but that bothered me more in the first two films), and especially how they messed with Aragorn's sword, Anduril. (How in the world did Elrond get to Aragorn so fast? And why didn't they just have Aragorn carry the sword from Rivendell? It played such a huge part in the battle for Helm's Deep.) But most of my complaints, like the lack of Eowyn, Faramir, and especially Merry will hopefully be pacified with the extended edition, and I'm sure once that is released nearly every Tolkien fan will have all their issues resolved. (Though I'm not looking forward to more Arwen sequences, useless as they are.)

But I still can't understand these criticisms over 'cliches' and 'too many endings' ... especially when the critical person can't even spell the names correctly. And for goodness SAKE please stop comparing it to Star Wars. They're completely different and made in a completely different style. I also love Star Wars and while I dislike comparing them, I must admit I think LOTR infinitely better. (But that's not the point here, is it? ^_~) These movies were greatly in keeping with what Tolkien wrote, and tried (and succeeded) to keep the spirit and pathos of those magnificent novels. And they succeeded, in spades. I simply can't praise this movie enough, and not just as a part of the whole, but as an individual movie as well. It did everything it could within the time constraints and did it well. How can you say it was 'too long' when there was so much else they could have and should have put in? (I for one think that the EE time of 4hr10min is too short.) The only explanation I have is if you don't appreciate just how great this film and this trilogy was ... well then, you just don't get it.

The only bad thing I can say about this movie is that it's the last one. Oh yeah, and it isn't the extended version DVD. I had to buy this movie even though I knew a better version was coming out before Christmas; it's just too good to wait that long. Although I loved the movie, I did have one complaint: the whole Saruman plotline is wrapped up in a really odd way. (Peter Jackson promises that this will be rectified in the extended version.) The extras on this DVD aren't anything special, but I don't buy DVDs for the extras. If you loved the first two Lord of the Rings movies, you'll definitely love this one too!!

It is impossible to fairly credit the genius and masterpiece that this movie is in a few short words. Each movie in my opinion, has been better than the last, making for an epic third movie.

To begin with, the acting. People have said that the acting in each of the three movies has never been exceptionall, hence only one Oscar nomination to an actor/actress out of all three movies, (That was Ian McKellan FOTR.) However in this third installment there are several actors who must be recognized for their achievments, namely Sean Astin as Sam, and again Ian McKellan as Gandalf. Sam's incredible acting with his relationship with Frodo draws sympathy and emotion from me every time I see the movie. And Gandalf, with his several stirring speeches, both mostly to Pipin, are a a great acting performance worthy of recognition. Honorable mention must also go to Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn and Bernard Hill, who plays Theoden extremely well.

Next a look at the visual aspect of the movie. In a sense of the natural beauty of the film, it is incredible. All three films incorporate a level of beauty and grandeur hard to find in many films. New Zealands fresh and exotic landscapes are always present throught the film, and can often take ones breath away. One scene in particular is that of the lighting of the beacons, as Peter Jackson takes the viewer on a spectacular ride over snowy mountains and sweeping valleys. The shot itself is not only a testiment to the amazing cinemetography and editing of the movie, but also the amazing beauty of New Zealand that is presented through the entire film.
However as with the first two movies, The Return of the King's visual aspect relies not only on New Zelands beauty and Peter Jackson's camera moves, but also upon the amazing digital and visual effects that are integrated seamlessly throughout the movie. The Weta Digital visual effects team that brought to life such creatures as Gollem and Treebeard, have created the benchmark by which all visual effects will likely be judged from here on. Their ability to make a digital thing like Gollem who exists in a computer resonate emotion and feeling is a work of true genius. The visual effects shine not only in the obvious areas such as Gollum, but in the subtle effects that can barely be noticed; shadows formed by digital creatures that aren't there, lighting effects that create a mood in the scene that is otherwise non-existent. All of these things have been worked together so will with the real-time footage and acting, that you end up never knowing what is real and what is digital.

Everytime I watch the movie, I never am bored. Peter Jackson has made a perfect blend of drama, emotion, action, even some humor and romance, that the movie never grows old. Scenes such as Faramir's ride towards Osgiliath and death, the charge of the Rohiram upon Pelennor fields, the last battle in front of the Black gate, while Frodo and Sam struggle up Mount Doom, just to name a few, are beautifully done and are implanted in my mind forever.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which ended with this rousing finale, has created a pop culture phenomenon that will no doubt last for many years to come. If you haven't seen by all means must buy or rent this DVD. If you have, then I suggest the same thing, buy it. You won't be sorry you did.

Viggo Mortensen has an incredibly Sexy singing voice!!(...) He is a Hottie! Go Pippin, your voice rocks too!! Aragorn is my hero!(...)

The only author to captivate me more or as much as Frank Herbert is that great modern creator of mythos, J.R.R. Tolkein. When I want science fiction that reads almost like Shakespeare, I turn to Herbert's Dune series. When I want the legends of noble Kings and elves, I turn to the great Tolkein.

I am very picky about the art of the motion picture. I am even more ridiculous in my standards in seeing a great work of literature adapted to the big screen. I am usually completely let down by how often Hollywood displays its talent for butchering even the most straightforward of classics.

I was surprised. Not only is this a great film on its own, it makes up for the sludge that was Peter Jackson's "Two Towers." It is obvious in viewing this that Jackson stepped up the standards for his actors and for himself. Unlike the modern Lucas films, Jackson seems to be able to learn from his mistakes. Every slight mis-step found in the earlier Tolkein films is fixed here. And it makes for grand viewing.

Thank you Peter Jackson. You have delivered the goods this time and I am appreciative. Amongst the mire of modern film, you have turned out something with impressive scenery and a royal nobility. Thanks again.