The days are darkening and the dark Lord Sauron is fast gathering his legions of followers to seal the doom of Middle Earth. The only weapon that can be used against him lies in the hands of a hobbit who is slowly falling under its evil influence. All the efforts of the splintered fellowship have been leading to this moment. Now it will be seen if they succeed or fail.
It occurred to me as I was watching the special features of this extended DVD that The Lord of the Rings is a decade old now. It seems like only yesterday that the first one was in the cinemas. Seriously, these films have no expiration date and when you watch the special features on disc three and four, you learn things about how they achieved that on screen and it just blows your mind.
In the land of Mordor, the dark Lord Sauron is gathering his evil legions of followers to deliver the final stroke that will determine the doom of Middle Earth. The question on everyone’s lips is “where will the final stroke fall?” But for all Suaron’s plotting and secrecy, there is one thing that can be used against him: the One Ring of Power that he himself created. That a group has set forth to destroy the Ring has not entered his darkest nightmares and that remains Middle Earth’s only advantage. As Frodo and Sam stumble their way into Mordor to carry out the deed, the remaining members of the fellowship have been reunited and are now in preparation for the coming battle. All their hardships, broken bones, bad dreams, losses, and efforts have been leading to this moment. This is the moment when the quest succeeds or fails.
Of the three films that make up the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King is the film where the sets and scenery steal the show. What was utterly awesome when seen on screen for the first time becomes even more mind-blowing when you learn how they managed to achieve that effect. In Return of the King it was the set of Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor that had me marvelling. The long shots of the exterior of Minas Tirith shows us an entire city that is situated in one magnificent structure. This beautiful structure is actually a miniature scale model and the background has been digitally put in. Watching it on screen, you could swear that this structure had actually been built into the rock surrounding it. There is no way for me to put into words the magnificence of Minas Tirith. As soon as you set eyes on it, you are completely awestruck.
From a stunt and action perspective, The Return of the King is a very enjoyable film because there are epic battles left, right, and centre. Not only are there wonderful swordfights and arrow shootings, there are decapitated heads flying everywhere, numerous merciless stabbings, and women slaying that which men can’t. Miranda Otto kicks arse in this movie!
One thing that I have to draw attention to is the Cameras In Middle Earth special feature located on the fourth disc. There is one of these on every fourth disc for each film and it basically follows the actors’ and crew’s personal experiences during production. It’s on these features that you hear wonderful little stories from the cast and crew. What I love about the Cameras In Middle Earth on this film is that they show you the closure of the production. As actors have their final days on set doing scenes and pick-ups and stuff, there are gifts given and beautiful gestures of love. One that really stands out is the one that Viggo Mortensen received on his last day. Viggo had been an incredibly popular guy on the set, in particular with the stunt guys, all of whom are Maori. On his last day, the stunt team gave him a most beautiful Maori Haka, something that is only performed for royalty. It is just beautiful to watch this happen. Seriously, if you ever get a copy of the extended Return of the King, watch the Cameras In Middle Earth!
With it’s stellar cast of Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortenesen, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, David Wenham, Miranda Otto, Karl Urban, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Brad Douriff, Andy Serkis, Bruce Spence, Liv Tyer, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, and John Noble, The Return of the King is an epic movie filled with action, romance, battles, hideous creatures, and knock-out special effects. If you really are a fan of movies, you cannot go through your entire life without having seen the extended Lord of the Rings!
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