Interesting Facts About The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The trilogy's final day of filming actually took place more than a month after the film had opened in cinemas, and three weeks after the 2004 Academy Awards. Sir Peter Jackson organised a final shot of skulls on the floor of the tunnel known as the Paths of the Dead, which was later included on the Extended Edition DVD. He found it amusing to be shooting additional material for a picture that had already won the Best Picture Oscar.

Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood were each presented by Peter Jackson with a prop ring used in the film. Both men believed they were the sole owners of that ring.

A few hundred personnel from the New Zealand Army were brought in as extras for the Battle at the Black Gate. They were reportedly so enthusiastic during the battle sequences that they kept snapping the wooden swords and spears issued to them.

Billy Boyd's singing scene largely stems from co-writer Philippa Boyens going out one evening to a karaoke bar with the younger male members of the cast, where she was struck by the quality of his voice. Recalling that Denethor asks Pippin to sing to him as Faramir heads off to war, she retrieved the lines from the novel (where, in fact, all four hobbits sing them), and Boyd devised the tune. The moment proved so successful that Boyd was later invited back to co-write and perform the song "The Last Goodbye" for the end credits of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), despite not appearing in that film.

Since John Rhys-Davies developed persistent rashes from wearing the Gimli make-up, the make-up team allowed him to toss his Gimli mask into the fire on his last day of pick-up photography. He didn't hesitate for a moment — he grabbed it and set it alight.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy has become the most‑nominated film franchise in the history of the Academy Awards, with thirty nominations, overtaking The Godfather trilogy (twenty‑nine) and the Star Wars film franchise (twenty‑one).

Elijah Wood is well known for his ability to stare straight ahead for extended periods without blinking, which came in very useful for the scenes where Frodo, in a coma, was wrapped in Shelob's web-like cocoon.

Henry Mortensen: The first Orc whom Aragorn is shown killing on the Pelennor Fields is portrayed by Viggo Mortensen's son.

A magazine piece reports that Sir Peter Jackson detested the Army of the Dead, finding it far too implausible. He nevertheless kept it in the screenplay because he didn't want to let down die-hard fans of the book.

The final shot of principal photography showed the newly crowned Aragorn bowing to the four Hobbits. Although Viggo Mortensen did not need to be on set that day, he nonetheless insisted on attending. He didn't have a crown (it wasn't necessary, he wasn't being filmed), so he fashioned one out of paper. With each successive take the crown became more elaborate and increasingly ridiculous as crew members kept decorating it, so the four actors portraying the Hobbits often struggled to stifle their giggles.

Viggo Mortensen estimates that, over the course of filming the trilogy — counting every take — he 'killed' each stuntman on the production no fewer than fifty times.

The final spoken line in the film — "Well, I'm back," — is likewise the final line in the book.

An average film contains roughly 200 visual-effects shots; this film, however, contained 1,487.

Considerable care was taken for the scene in which Faramir is hauled back to Minas Tirith on his horse. The film-makers were concerned the horse might suddenly bolt, carrying David Wenham with it, so a quick-release mechanism was built into the saddle. Wenham gripped a handle in his right hand so that, if the horse did take off, he could pull it and free his foot from the stirrup. Fortunately, they never needed to use it.

The film yielded a 1,408% return for New Line Cinema on its initial outlay.

Sir Peter Jackson is arachnophobic and, when designing Shelob, drew on the species of spiders he feared most.

The idea for King Theoden to touch his soldiers' spears just before they charged into battle originated with Bernard Hill.

The film holds a flawless record at the Academy Awards, winning eleven awards from eleven nominations.

In the book, Eowyn rides into battle with the Rohirrim, taking Merry with her, but she does not disclose her identity to them or to the reader. Instead she is disguised as a character who calls himself "Dernhelm," and only reveals she is a woman during the fight when she removes her helmet to show the Witch-king of Angmar. In the film, both Merry and the audience are always aware that it is Eowyn. The filmmakers altered this because they felt that, on screen, concealing her identity would be difficult, and that not recognising her would make Merry appear "the stupidest Hobbit on Earth."

Sir Peter Jackson had such an unpleasant time dealing with Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein while the film was being developed at Miramax that their joint credit at the end of the film is set against a pencil sketch of a man fending off two oversized trolls. After Harvey was indicted on charges of sexual misconduct in 2018, Jackson later described him as "a real bully" who ruled through "mafia thuggery", suggesting he would likely have taken the project from Jackson and handed it to Quentin Tarantino. He also barred Jackson from casting Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd, both of whom later accused Weinstein of sexual assault.

In every instalment of the trilogy a character actually utters the film's subtitle. In The Fellowship of the Ring, during the council scene, Elrond refers to the nine as 'the Fellowship of the Ring'; in The Two Towers it is Saruman who, in a voice-over, says 'the Two Towers'; and finally, in this film Gandalf tells the steward of Gondor that he cannot deny 'the Return of the King'.

Facts and figures about the trilogy: Over six million feet of film were shot during production; 48,000 swords, axes, shields and make-up prosthetics were created; 20,602 extras were cast; 19,000 costumes were produced by the wardrobe department; 10,000 spectators at a New Zealand cricket match supplied orc battle cries; 2,400 behind-the-scenes crew members worked at the height of production; 1,600 pairs of prosthetic Hobbit feet were made; 250 horses were used in a single scene; 180 computer visual-effects artists were employed; 114 speaking roles in total; 100 real locations across New Zealand were used as backdrops; 50 tailors, cobblers, designers and other staff worked in the wardrobe department; 30 actors and actresses were trained to speak fictional dialects and languages; seven years in total were spent developing all three films.

After filming had finished, the production company's horses were offered at auction to the cast and crew. Viggo Mortensen purchased two horses: the one he rode for most of the film, and another for Liv Tyler's riding double, Jane Abbott.

The final reel of the film to be completed was only finished five days before the world premiere in Wellington, New Zealand. It arrived still wet from processing, as there had been no time to let it dry. The premiere was the first occasion on which director Sir Peter Jackson saw the completed film.

While they were shooting the trilogy, Viggo Mortensen became so absorbed in his role that, in one conversation, Sir Peter Jackson addressed him as 'Aragorn' for more than half an hour, and Mortensen didn't even realise it.

Particular care was taken to ensure that the destruction of Sauron's tower, Barad-dûr, would not resemble the collapse of the World Trade Center. For that reason it disintegrates from the ground upwards, and the sound was created from breaking glass so that it neither sounded nor looked like an explosion.

Elijah Wood was encased in a latex-like material used to represent Shelob's webbing. On the DVD he jokes that it was like being sealed inside the world's largest condom.

In one take while filming the Rohirrim's charge, a rider was unseated from his horse. Remarkably, every horse racing in behind him managed to avoid him.

Some 100,000 people turned out along the streets of Wellington, New Zealand, for the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) — roughly a quarter of the city’s population.

Viggo Mortensen and Billy Boyd stood off-camera during Sam's wedding scene, posing as wedding guests to support Sean Astin's performance. After Sarah McLeod tossed her bridal bouquet to Boyd, Mortensen gave him a passionate kiss. Footage of the scene (and of the kiss) is included among the extras on the Extended Edition DVD.

Gollum is missing the lobe of his left ear. The omission was caused by an air pocket in the mould created so the model could be approved by Sir Peter Jackson. On examining the mould, the design team chose to keep it as it was, as it looked like a battle wound that could plausibly have been sustained during Gollum's earlier adventures.

Sir Christopher Lee would read The Lord of the Rings once a year until his death in 2015, and he was the only member of the film's cast to have met J. R. R. Tolkien.

Royd Tolkien: (the great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien) appears as a Gondorian ranger, passing weapons to his fellow soldiers as the orcs assault Osgiliath.

As with Billy Boyd earlier in the film, Viggo Mortensen composed the tune and sang the part of the song that Aragorn sings at his coronation. The translation of the Elvish words runs "Out of the Great Sea to Middle Earth I am come. In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." According to the book, this is the same verse Elendil sang when he first arrived in Middle-earth from Númenor.

The opening sequence, in which Smeagol (Andy Serkis) uncovers the Ring and embarks on the downward spiral that ultimately turns him into Gollum, was directed by co-writer and co-producer Dame Fran Walsh. It was originally intended to appear in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), straight after Frodo first revealed Gollum's true name.

The battle sequences, which are said to include in excess of two hundred thousand digital participants, were so immense that an additional room had to be added to Weta Digital's visual-effects facility to accommodate all the computer hardware required to render them.

In the scene where Merry and Pippin are smoking their pipes at Isengard, Dominic Monaghan (Merry) had to drink a glass of milk beforehand to stop himself from being sick while smoking.

The opening shot in which Sam's arm enters the shot, holding Sting up to Shelob, actually shows the arm of director Sir Peter Jackson.

The live-action army of Rohan comprised several hundred New Zealand extras who answered an open casting call for anyone able to ride a horse. Many of them were women who had to portray male riders. The sole woman taking part in the Rohirrim's massive charge was Éowyn (Miranda Otto).

All three films were shot concurrently.

The film was originally intended to end with an epilogue voiced by Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) that would set out the fate of the Fellowship of the Ring after the film’s events. Sequences featuring Gimli and Legolas were filmed for that purpose but were omitted from every cut of the final film.

After the Wellington premiere in New Zealand, the city staged a celebration that ran into the early hours, funded by the City Council to the tune of $400,000, featuring buskers, open-air screenings, an introduction by Prime Minister Helen Clark, and a giant mock-up of a Nazgûl flying above the Embassy Theatre.

For the Extended Edition on DVD, the scene in which Pippin searches for Merry after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields was digitally altered so it reads as night rather than day. According to Sir Peter Jackson on the commentary track, this was done to give the impression that Pippin had been searching for several hours rather than a few minutes, emphasising the friendship between the two Hobbits. In the original edit, because it appeared that Pippin had only been looking for a few minutes, his reaction to finding Merry comes across as an overreaction.

The total running time of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is approximately twelve hours from beginning to end.

Bret McKenzie made a silent cameo as an elf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). His good looks caught the attention of female fans, who dubbed him "Figwit" (short for "Frodo is great...who is THAT?!?"). His online popularity grew to such an extent that director Sir Peter Jackson — who has informally acknowledged the nickname — reintroduced him in this film as Arwen's escort, giving him two scripted lines.

This film marks only the second occasion in history on which the third instalment of a trilogy was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, after The Godfather Part III (1990), and it remains the only instance where a trilogy's third instalment has won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Shelob's shriek is the result of blending several different elements, including the sound of a plastic alien toy, hissing steam (inspired by an incident where an alligator hissed at Sir Peter Jackson's daughter, Katherine Jackson), and the shriek of a Tasmanian Devil.

The Battle of Pelennor Fields was filmed on a large meadow that was teeming with rabbits. The site had to be carefully searched for rabbit burrows, which were all filled in, because if a horse were to step into one it could trigger a major pile-up, causing injuries to horses and riders.

Filming on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) was underway in Queenstown when sudden, extensive flooding struck the town and outdoor filming had to be halted. The only indoor space suitable to be turned into a studio set was the squash court in a local hotel. Consequently, the next day the production shot the intense sequence in which an obsessed Frodo aligns himself with Gollum and sends Sam away. Elijah Wood and Sean Astin were reluctant to perform such a pivotal scene without rehearsal (at that stage Andy Serkis had not yet been cast, so a member of the crew stood in for Gollum), but filming proceeded as planned. Astin completed all his scenes successfully. The following day the sun came out and the floods subsided, allowing exterior filming to recommence. The intention had always been to return to the squash court — where the set remained intact — to film Elijah Wood's portions, but for the next five weeks there was no rain to interrupt the outdoor work. By the end of that period the crew had moved to a new location. Elijah Wood finally filmed his side of the scene in the same place a year later; Queenstown's squash players had been without their court the whole time because the set had remained on it throughout.

During the sequence in which the Hobbits return to Hobbiton, three of them ran into minor issues while filming. Elijah Wood struggled to control his pony, Sean Astin was allergic to the ponies, and Dominic Monaghan was rather irritable because of technical matters surrounding the scene. Billy Boyd, meanwhile, was in stitches during filming.

Sean Astin screen-tested for the role of Samwise Gamgee by performing the scene in which he cradles Frodo, who is in a coma after his encounter with Shelob.

Denethor (John Noble) carried a sword fastened to his belt. Although he never drew it, the props department fashioned a full, draw-ready sword with a scabbard so that Noble would feel as important as the rest of the cast who used their swords.

As Frodo writes the book, the header of the page notes that Sam was elected Mayor of Hobbiton, a detail recounted in the appendices to the novel.

It was Sir Ian McKellen who proposed that the closing credits include portraits of each of the principal cast shown alongside their names. Production designer Alan Lee created the sketches from production stills, although the image seen in the finished film is actually a subtle morph between the sketch and the original photograph.

Sean Astin's daughter, Ali Astin, portrayed Elanor, the daughter of Samwise Gamgee. Sarah McLeod's daughter, Maisy McLeod-Riera, portrays Frodo, the son of Sam and Rosie.

(Extended Edition only) When transliterated, the runes on the helmet worn by the Mouth of Sauron read 'Lammen Gorthaur'. 'Lammen' means 'voice', and 'Gorthaur' — mentioned in The Silmarillion — means 'Dread Abomination', another epithet by which Sauron was known. The full phrase, 'Voice of the Dread Abomination', identifies the wearer as the Mouth of Sauron.

In the extended edition of this film, the song that accompanies the Houses of Healing sequence is performed by Liv Tyler. Tyler had already recorded the piece, but, much to Sir Peter Jackson's regret, he was unable to find anywhere in the theatrical release to place it. Fortunately, the song proved perfect for the newly added Houses of Healing scene.

Miranda Otto was required to attend a series of fittings before a helmet was chosen that concealed her face while still revealing enough for viewers to recognise her.

The sequence in which Aragorn's army gathers before the Black Gate of Mordor was filmed in a desert that had been used by the Army as a training ground. Because the area was still strewn with unexploded mines and bombs, the Army had to sweep the ground with metal detectors to make the risk for the actors, actresses and extras at least acceptable.

When Aragorn addresses the troops he declares: "A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down!" This closely echoes the 45th stanza of the Old Norse poem Völuspá, which depicts Ragnarök. The original stanza reads roughly: "Brother shall strike brother and both fall, Parents shall defile their kin; Evil be on earth, an age of adultery, Axe time, sword time, Of splintered shields, A wind-age, a wolf-age till the world caves in; No man will spare another." The same poem also supplied several of the dwarves' names in Tolkien's world.

The "oil" Denethor drenches himself and Faramir with was actually a blend of water and glycerine to produce a suitably gleaming effect. Because it saturated the wigs and costumes, the sequence had to be shot in a single take.

Frodo and Sam's ascent of Mount Doom was filmed on the volcano Ruapehu. The terrain was so steep that Elijah Wood and Sean Astin were secured to safety cables. Had either lost their footing, the cables would have prevented them sliding halfway down the volcano. The cables were digitally removed in post-production.

Andy Serkis wasn’t the filmmakers’ initial choice to play the real Smeagol at the start of the film. However, once they began considering other actors, it became apparent that Serkis was the natural choice.

The "fall of Smeagol" sequence required two separate digital fixes. Firstly, Thomas Robins (Deagol) inadvertently blinked after being strangled. As Sir Peter Jackson preferred that particular take to the others, he asked the Weta Digital team to 'freeze' the eyes. Secondly, in the shot where Smeagol falls onto the rocks (just before Gollum begins to narrate), Andy Serkis's legs were judged to be too muscular and athletic, so they were slimmed down digitally.

The majority of the lines Legolas delivers in the 'Paths of the Dead' sequence of the Extended Edition are verbatim quotations from the book.

The Weta visual-effects team felt notably challenged in realising Shelob, given how effective the giant spider had been in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).

For the beacons sequence, one beacon was airlifted to the summit of a mountain and set alight, while the remainder were entirely computer-generated.

Andy Serkis's final day of shooting was only a few weeks before the film's cinema release. On the carpet in Sir Peter Jackson's home, they filmed Gollum's facial reaction when he realises Frodo intends to destroy the ring. The resulting footage was emailed to Weta Digital so the animators could recreate the shot with the CGI character.

This represents the second film featuring Bernard Hill to have received eleven Academy Awards; the first was Titanic (1997).

Although much of the music for these films represented a departure from Howard Shore's usual style, director Sir Peter Jackson told him that, when composing the score for the Shelob's Lair sequence, he should 'go away and imagine you're making another film for David Cronenberg. It ought to sound like The Fly (1986).'

Since 2007, composer Howard Shore and conductor Ludwig Wicki have collaborated to transfer the films to the concert hall, with the entire score performed live to the film screenings by a full symphony orchestra and choir.

On Elijah Wood's final day of shooting the whole cast shared tearful farewells, but Elijah's was the most moving. Peter Jackson kept running the scene over and over, having Frodo deliver 'There's room for a little more' repeatedly, clearly unwilling for the experience to end. When he at last called 'cut' and 'print', the room erupted into applause; Jackson then broke down in tears, embraced Elijah and thanked him again and again at the culmination of their shared epic film journey.

On the Extended Edition DVD — disc one — as with the first two films, go to the scene selection menu and move to the final page. Press down until a ring icon appears beside the "new scene" entry; this will bring up a satellite-style "interview" with Elijah Wood, conducted by Dominic Monaghan in a German accent. Repeat the same action on disc two to reveal an MTV sketch featuring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, in which they pitch sequels to The Lord of the Rings to Sir Peter Jackson.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Gollum utters the word 'precious' seventeen times.

The final lines shared by Elrond and Aragorn — 'I give hope to Men' and 'I keep none for myself' — are drawn from Appendix A, where the Elvish rendering of those phrases (Onen i-Estel Edain, u-chebin estel anim) is recorded as the last words of Aragorn's mother, Gilraen. Estel, meaning 'hope', was also the name given to Aragorn before his true lineage was revealed to him.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) smashed the international box-office record for opening weekend takings, grossing almost $250 million.

In the cast's commentary it is revealed that although Lawrence Makoare wore the Witch-king's costume, the character's voice was provided by Andy Serkis.

Dominic Monaghan was allergic to the elven cloaks worn by the Fellowship. Prior to filming scenes, Sir Peter Jackson would often joke, asking, "Are we ready to go? Has Dom got his cape on?"

Lawrence Makoare portrayed both the Witch‑king of Angmar and the orc Gothmog. At one stage the two characters exchange lines, and later Eowyn confronts them both (she wounds Gothmog, who is then killed while attempting to attack her, and she kills the Witch‑king).

A sequence featuring Saruman and Gandalf, drawn from the second instalment of the books, was filmed but left out of the final theatrical release for reasons of running time and pacing. The scene appears on the Extended Edition DVD.

A scene was omitted from the final cut of the film that showed Eowyn (Miranda Otto) shedding her everyday clothes and then donning the armour of a Rohan warrior.

The first fantasy film to be honoured with the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Orlando Bloom's major heroic sequence atop a Mûmakil was captured in a single day. Bloom was filmed atop a pile of sandbags.

Before setting out along the Paths of the Dead, Aragorn speaks with Éowyn. In the book this is actually their first meeting and the scene is much longer: it begins with Éowyn bringing him a goblet of mead, and during their conversation she says she does not fear death but rather 'a cage', and that his other companions follow him not because he orders them to but because they love him. Because these characters meet earlier in the films, those story elements were moved into earlier exchanges between them in this film and in The Two Towers.

In February 2004, it became the second film to surpass the $1 billion mark in global box-office receipts. Titanic (1997) was the first.

The Witch-king of Angmar's original design featured a helmet that looked like a bucket topped with a crown of spikes. After viewing test footage, the producers felt it was confusingly similar to Sauron's helmet from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), and they were concerned audiences might wonder why Sauron had suddenly entered the fray. The helmet was redesigned as an homage to the Ringwraiths' aesthetic. They also redesigned the Witch-king's flail. Sir Peter Jackson said the original flail was acceptable but he wanted it bigger. Weta Workshop enlarged it, yet Jackson pushed for an even larger version, scaling it up until the team considered it ridiculously huge; ultimately they agreed it read perfectly on screen. The flail, however, became so large and heavy that it was impractical for the fight sequences and was replaced with a digital version.

The sum New Line Cinema recouped through tax reliefs for the trilogy was ten times the annual budget of the New Zealand Film Commission, which supports local film production.

The film matched Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) in securing the most Oscars (eleven) in a single year. It is also the only one of the three to have won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Sir Peter Jackson deliberately refrained from filming Frodo's left hand after the Mordor sequences to avoid continuity problems over the wound's placement on the index finger. It is shown on only two occasions: when the Fellowship reunites (the hand is bandaged) and when Frodo is writing his final pages in the Red Book (just before he turns back to add the title).

The Steps of Cirith Ungol were built from polystyrene and proved to be a challenging set for Sean Astin, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis to film on. The steps were so steep and fragile that they would sometimes break, and because they were sprayed with water, Astin and Wood's hobbit feet occasionally stuck to the steps and had to be pulled off.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) featured 540 computer-generated effects. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) had 799, while this film (2003) included 1,487.

Scenes were filmed in which Aragorn confronts a physical embodiment of Sauron one-on-one outside the Black Gate. In those takes Sauron would have appeared even taller than the Sauron glimpsed at the start of The Fellowship of the Ring. After reviewing the footage, it was decided that including the sequence would distort J. R. R. Tolkien's intentions and draw too much attention away from the climax of Frodo and Sam's storyline. Material from the fight was repurposed: originally Aragorn was to step forward and behold an image of Sauron in his original, Elvish-like form; this was changed so that Aragorn instead gazes at the Eye of Sauron, beckoning to him from the top of the tower of Barad-dûr. Aragorn's charge towards the Black Gate was intended to lead into an intense swordfight with the actual, armour-clad Sauron. A large troll was digitally composited over the stuntman portraying Sauron. Temporary work on this sequence can be seen on the third disc of the Extended Edition DVD.

On the Extended DVD extras, Sir Peter Jackson says that the head of Gothmog, the leader of the Orcs during the siege of Gondor, was partly modelled on the head of Joseph 'John' Merrick, known as 'The Elephant Man'. He also cites the alien leader from Jackson's Bad Taste (1987) as an influence.

In the sequence where Faramir departs Minas Tirith, he and his troops ride their horses down the slope. As the streets were laid with smooth brick paving, the standard steel horseshoes proved too "slippery", so all the horses were re‑shod with rubber horseshoes.

Andy Serkis's first appearance occurs atop Mount Doom, close to the Cracks of Doom. His final on-screen moment shows Gollum and Frodo grappling and tumbling over the ledge.

The deformed Orc leader Gothmog is mentioned only once in the original novel of The Lord of the Rings, identified solely by name and described as the Lieutenant of Morgul. His race is not specified. The film-makers chose to portray him as an Orc. The name Gothmog is also borne by the commander of the Balrogs in Morgoth's host in The Silmarillion, the history of Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, set several millennia before the events of The Lord of the Rings.

In the crowd shot during Aragorn's ascension you can spot the blue banner bearing the silver swan of Dol Amroth being waved. The Prince of Dol Amroth, Imrahil, is a minor character in the film, but he is the one who discovers that Eowyn is still alive after she slew the Witch-king.

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) had initially auditioned for the part of Denethor.

The place-names encountered across the trilogy come from the Sindarin language: Rivendell/Imladris — an elven outpost/a deep valley of the cleft. Lothlorien — 'dream flower'. Isengard — 'iron fortress'. Caradhras — 'red horn'. Anduin — 'long river'. Argonath — 'two noble stones'. Emyn Muil — 'the dreary hills'. Fangorn — 'Treebeard'. Rohan — 'land of horses'. Gondor — 'land of stone'. Osgiliath — 'citadel of the host of stars'. Minas Tirith — 'tower of watch'. Minas Morgul — 'tower of dark sorcery'. Moria — 'black chasm'. Cirith Ungol — 'pass of the spider'. Mordor — 'black land'.

The model for Shelob was modelled on a New Zealand funnel-web spider.

The Minas Tirith set was erected on the same site as Helm's Deep after the Helm's Deep sequences had been filmed. Sections of Helm's Deep were modified and constructed on top of the Minas Tirith set.

To convey the sense of perspective as Denethor drags and throws Pippin out of the burial chamber, the film-makers used a technique known as a 'Texas Switch': a scale double of Billy Boyd was the one who was dragged and thrown and then rolled out of shot. When the double struck Boyd on the back, Boyd popped back into view to preserve the illusion that it had been him all along.

Director of photography Andrew Lesnie captured most of his shots during the fierce Battle of the Pelennor Fields by donning polo armour and plunging into the thick of the fighting.

The London Daily Mail reported on 5 December 2003 that the stars of the Lord of the Rings trilogy were paid bonuses in addition to their salaries, depending on how long cast members spent working on the trilogy. The actors who played hobbits, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan received bonuses ranging from $430,000 to $560,000 per film. Bernard Hill and Sir Ian McKellen earned $312,000 per film, with Liv Tyler earning slightly less.

Treebeard calls the wizard "young master Gandalf," which suggests that Treebeard himself is considerably older than Gandalf. In the preceding film, Gandalf states that he has lived "three hundred lifetimes." Depending on whether that is interpreted as generations or as cumulative lifetimes (for example, around forty years each), Gandalf's age would lie between 6,000 and 12,000 years. That would make Treebeard exceptionally ancient.

On the Extended Edition DVD, the Mouth of Sauron is portrayed by Bruce Spence. His real mouth was digitally enlarged to emphasise his role in Sauron's service and to give the character a more inhuman appearance.

The Rohirrim's charge across the Pelennor Fields was shot 52 times before the crew were happy with the take. In the course of filming, about 60 of the 280 horses taking part had to be withdrawn for various reasons.

The sequence on the Extended Edition DVD showing the "Corsairs of Umbar" under attack by the Army of the Dead features several cameos. Sir Peter Jackson is the man struck by Legolas's arrow. (In the commentary he says he did six or seven takes of the hit, with no padding.) Co-producer Rick Porras is seen with a "look of horror" as the ghostly horde attack at the end of the scene. Also visible are Weta supervisor Sir Richard Taylor, prosthetics supervisor Gino Acevedo, and director of photography Andrew Lesnie.

The beacon system depicted in this film is modelled on a real network used by the Byzantine Empire during the Arab–Byzantine wars. If an Arab attack struck that frontier, the beacon fires could be seen more quickly than a mounted rider could arrive, and rulers in Constantinople (which, like Minas Tirith, was defended by successive rings of walls) would be informed within an hour rather than after days. Around the same period (the 9th century), the Chinese employed a similar system, although they fuelled their bonfires with wolf dung, producing smoke that rose to a very great height without dispersing.

As John Gilbert was cutting The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and Michael Horton was editing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Jamie Selkirk took charge of assembling the final instalment. From the outset, Sir Peter Jackson insisted on having his long‑standing collaborator Selkirk on the film, knowing he would remain focussed on the saga's climax.

Regarded together as a trilogy, they were voted the greatest film of all time in a 2005 Australian film poll.

The first sequel since The Godfather Part II (1974) to be awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Part of the Orcs' vocalisations were recordings of elephant seal pups made at the Marine Mammal Centre in Sausalito, California — a marine-mammal hospital that rescues, rehabilitates and releases sick and injured seals, sea lions, whales and dolphins.

Among the three films that each secured eleven Academy Awards, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) stands alone as the only one that did not receive any nominations in the acting categories.

When Frodo is caught in Shelob's web, whilst Gollum jeers at him, Elijah Wood was in fact suspended in a harness with bungee cords fastened around his wrists and ankles. On the commentary track he quips that he was 'not hanging up by sheer strength of the web.'

Gothmog's appearance was modelled on Harvey Weinstein, after he pushed for Miramax to pare the trilogy down to a single film (and other related matters) before a deal was struck and New Line Cinema stepped in to rescue the epic saga.

The only film trilogy to have all three of its films nominated for inclusion in the American Film Institute's 'Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time' list.

The final scene filmed during principal photography showed Aragorn being dressed in his armour by Gondorian soldiers ahead of his coronation. The soldiers were portrayed by members of the wardrobe department, but the sequence was ultimately removed. Some behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot appears among the DVD extras for the Extended Edition.

This marks the third film, spread across three separate decades, featuring Bernard Hill that also won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. The others were Gandhi (1982) and Titanic (1997).

Samwise Gamgee is left-handed. However, he is capable of fighting with a sword using either hand.

At 35 letters, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) boasts the longest title of any Best Picture Academy Award winner in history. It eclipses the previous record held by Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which has 26 letters. It also set the record for the number of words in a Best Picture title, with 10.

WILHELM SCREAM: When Legolas knocks a Southron off an oliphaunt. When an oliphaunt handler is struck by a spear hurled by Éomer, just before two Mûmakil collide during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. During the withdrawal from Osgiliath, as Faramir leads his men in a frenzied dash back to Minas Tirith, a Fell Beast snatches one of the soldiers from his horse.

Lawrence Makoare, while wearing the Gothmog make-up, was nicknamed "Pimplehead" by extras who didn't know his name.

Sir Peter Jackson, the director, ultimately secured a world premiere for the film in his native New Zealand, where the trilogy had been filmed. The decision had not technically been taken at that point, but during promotional tours for the previous film Jackson revealed that producer Mark Ordesky had a special surprise in store for New Zealand fans. That effectively obliged Ordesky to pledge that Wellington would host the world premiere.

The House of the Healing sequence marked the first day of filming for David Wenham.

On the day of the premiere, New Zealand's two principal television networks suspended their usual schedules to air live coverage of the event.

The initial storyboards for the destruction of Barad-dûr showed a volcanic fissure opening between Mount Doom and the tower, with lava pouring into the tower and melting it from within. As the post-production schedule became too hectic, the sequence was pared back to the version seen in the finished film.

In 2004 it was awarded the Science Fiction Achievement Award (the Hugo Award) for Best Dramatic Presentation — Long Form. This made it the first work to claim the top film honours at both the Academy Awards and the Hugos. The 'profane' acceptance speech delivered by Gollum at the MTV Movie Awards subsequently won the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation — Short Form.

Howard Shore, Michael Semanick: Visible above Legolas's shoulder during the drinking game in the Golden Hall on the Extended Edition DVD.

There is a common misconception that the Fell beasts are Nazgûl, likely because in many computer games the combined Fell Beast and Ringwraith unit was labelled Nazgûl. Another potential source of confusion is a line in this film where the Witch‑king of Angmar says "Do not come between the Nazgûl and his prey", referring to himself, even though moments earlier his mount had appeared as if attempting to eat Théoden's horse.

Sméagol’s ultimate transformation into Gollum, shown in the opening flashback, was largely inspired by Seth Brundle’s final metamorphosis into Brundlefly in The Fly (1986).

If the extended cut of the first instalment is taken into account, Sam is both the first and the last member of the Fellowship to appear in the film.

To achieve believable galloping horses for the predominantly CGI-created mounted army, they filmed a horse wearing a motion‑capture suit.

Minas Tirith and its surrounding area were actually assembled from several different locations. The seventh tier was a backlot set at Three Foot Six Studios. The other streets formed a maze-like set built in the same rock quarry used for the Hornburg (Helm's Deep). The Pelennor Fields were filmed on a large open plain near Twizel. Osgiliath was another backlot construction. Full models of both Osgiliath and Minas Tirith were constructed. The surrounding mountain ranges were created as a digital composite from photographs of several ranges in New Zealand.

"The Return of the King" is also the title of a graphic novel in the X-Men comic series. The title refers to Magneto, a character who has also been portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen. The series also features a villain called Sauron.

At the conclusion of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), as Sam returns home and is welcomed by his wife and their two children, the eldest child is, in fact, Sean Astin's real-life child.

On the initial published cast list for this film was Wi Kuki Kaa, who was due to appear as a character called Ghân-buri-Ghân. In the book, this character is the chieftain of the Woses, a group of wild men who lived in the Drúadan Forest of Gondor and offered their assistance to the Rohirrim as they passed through. Ghân-buri-Ghân does not appear in either the theatrical or the Extended Editions, nor is he mentioned anywhere.

The way the Mûmakil topples when Legolas drives arrows through its skull and kills it is a reference to how the AT-AT walkers fall in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), after Rebel pilots attacked them with harpoons and tow cables.

Peter Jackson: [children] Jackson's children Billy Jackson and Katherine Jackson make two appearances in this film — once in Gondor as the horsemen depart the city, and again at the hobbits' wedding.

John Howe joked that he fancied taking the twin Watchers statues from the Minas Morgul set home to frighten off cold callers from his house.

Alison Doody was asked by Sir Peter Jackson to play Eowyn, but she had to turn the role down because she was pregnant and the part involved a sixteen-month commitment.

On 19 June 2020, Ian Holm, who portrayed Bilbo in both trilogies, died aged 88. A few weeks earlier, Josh Gad had organised a Zoom reunion that brought together many members of the cast. Holm was too unwell to attend in person, but he sent a letter conveying his best wishes from his "hobbit Holm."

Additional scenes were shot in New Zealand in 2003, much as new sequences had been filmed for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) shortly before that film's release.

Applying Andy Serkis's "Fall of Smeagol" prosthetic make-up (the final stage before the CGI Gollum) required five hours. That was the same length of time needed to apply the damaged Terminator make-up to Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).

In the extended edition scene where Sam tells Frodo, "There's light and beauty up there that no shadow can touch," the star he glimpses is not an ordinary one. It is the Star of Earendil, the Evenstar — the very namesake of Arwen. To us it would be Venus. In Middle-earth, however, that 'star' is actually a Half-elf (Arwen's grandfather, of all people) aboard a flying ship carrying one of the three Silmarils, which contain the light of the Two Trees — a holy light that predates the sun and the moon. The Star of Earendil was the source of the light held within Galadriel's Phial.

The lightning-storm effects were sourced from news footage filmed in Lawrence, Kansas.

Gimli remarks that he wishes he could summon a host of Dwarves to march on Gondor alongside the Rohirrim. However Legolas replies, "Your kinsmen may not need to ride to war. I fear war already marches on their lands", which could be a reference to the Easterlings' siege of the Dwarven kingdom of Erebor and their allies occurring off-screen whilst the siege of Minas Tirith takes place.

Rick Porras: The other soldier standing guard at the Minas Tirith beacon is a co-producer.

Christian Rivers: The art director and storyboard artist can be seen portraying one of the Gondorian soldiers keeping watch at the beacon in Minas Tirith.

The role of Irolas was originally written to be Beregond, a character who appears in the book. Irolas does not appear in the book, but he is presented as Beregond's brother (spelt "Iorlas" in the book). The name "Iorlas" translates as "Old Leaf", whereas "Irolas" has no meaning in Sindarin.

The cast counts eight Academy Award winners: Cate Blanchett, Sir Peter Jackson, Andrew Lesnie, Bret McKenzie, Christian Rivers, Michael Semanick, Howard Shore and Sir Richard Taylor. It also includes five Academy Award nominees: Sean Astin, Sir Ian Holm, Sir Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and, in the Extended Edition on DVD, Brad Dourif.

In the extended edition, Eowyn tells Aragorn that she dreamt of a great wave. In a 1964 interview, J.R.R. Tolkien spoke about this — a recurring nightmare he experienced on many occasions: the vision of an inescapable wave coming in over the countryside. He called it his 'Atlantis complex.'

On the Extended Edition DVD there is a song composed by Howard Shore and sung by Liv Tyler, titled "The House of Healing" (also known as "Arwen's Song"), which was removed from the theatrical release.

Andy Serkis portrayed Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017). George Lucas has described The Lord of the Rings as a major influence on Star Wars.

Jed Brophy, credited as a 'Featured Orc', portrayed an orc in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). He went on to appear in King Kong (2005) and in the Sir Peter Jackson-produced District 9 (2009), before being given a featured role as Nori in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).

Although none of the films ever states it outright, Sauron is effectively the titular Lord of the Rings; this is briefly hinted at in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), when Gandalf tells Saruman that 'there is only one Lord of the Ring, only one who can bend it to his will, and he does not share power.' In Middle-earth lore, Sauron once assumed the guise of a man called Annatar and taught the Elves how to craft the Rings of Power. He went on to forge the One Ring, which bound the other rings to his will and thus made him the true Lord of the Rings.

The Mouth of Sauron is depicted as rotting and bleeding when it repeats lines. The effect was added digitally, long after the footage had been filmed. After Peter Jackson dismissed the idea of rotating the mouth on its side so it would read vertically on the face, the design team chose to render it at twice the size of the original. According to designer Walter Mahy, the original costume concept for the Mouth of Sauron had the helmet hooked straight into the mouth, holding it permanently agape. That proved unworkable because it prevented the actor from speaking; however, Jackson liked the notion of the robe flowing up into the helmet, and that element was retained for the final version.

Appears in the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider.

A choir can be heard during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The lyrics actually recount Eowyn's forthcoming duel with the Witch-king — at times they quote the book verbatim. The words, rendered into English, are: Dollost - dir cuiol ú-'ar nin degi! Le echelithar aen Athar fuin ban Rhaw lin mannen Ind tham lin Lanc na chen be-thobas. Anant i vaethor ú-ritha Hên Rohan Fim sui anghathel Bain a goeol. Na vedui istant Na vedui cenn Dir u-naun hon Vess e tiriant. Fool that you are — no living man can slay me! You shall be borne away beyond all darkness; your flesh shall be devoured; left naked before the lidless eye. Your shrivelled mind. Yet the soldier did not stir, 'Child of Rohan, slender as a steel blade, fair yet terrible.' Too late he realised; too late he saw — this was no man... he looked upon a woman.

The Witch-king's true name was never revealed, and consequently among J.R.R. Tolkien fans he is often simply called Angmar, after the name of the realm he founded and ruled (similar to how Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, who helped defeat Napoléon at Waterloo, is commonly referred to simply as "Wellington"). Many fans also regard him as one of the three Black Númenóreans that J.R.R. Tolkien said became Nazgûl, or possibly as Isilmo, a Númenórean prince and the father of Tar‑Minastir. In the now‑defunct Middle‑earth role‑playing game he was named "Er‑Murazor," a Númenórean prince, though this is strictly non‑canonical. In the Angband computer game he was listed as "Murazor, the Witch‑king of Angmar."

Scenes from the book, such as goblins attacking the Fellowship after they leave Rivendell, appear in the 2011 Blu-ray bonus features.

Although the film carries the name of the third volume, much of the opening material actually comes from the middle book, 'The Two Towers'. Frodo and Sam’s journey to Shelob’s lair and Frodo’s capture by the Orcs are taken from that novel, whereas their trek across Mordor to Mount Doom occupies only three chapters in 'The Return of the King'. Likewise, the sequences featuring Aragorn and the other members of the Fellowship up to the point where Gandalf and Pippin leave for Minas Tirith were likewise drawn from the second book. In addition, both the second and third volumes are split into two halves: the first halves focus on the remaining members of the Fellowship, the second halves are devoted solely to Frodo and Sam. The second and third films do not follow that structure; they deliberately alternate between the two strands. However, the two halves of 'The Two Towers' are not perfectly synchronised, with Frodo and Sam’s narrative running ahead of the others’ in the later chapters. Shifting chapters from the second book into the third film therefore not only grants Frodo and Sam more screen time than in the book, but also serves to better align the timelines of the two storylines.

The entire opening half-hour, together with the majority of Sam and Frodo's journey, is drawn from the novel The Two Towers.

The initial cut ran for four hours and fifteen minutes, and it took a year to edit it down to three hours and twelve minutes.

When members of the Fellowship come to see Frodo, the score subtly shifts with each arrival: as Frodo, Merry and Pippin enter the room the music brightens and the familiar tin whistle comes forward and becomes more distinct. Gimli's entrance brings a slightly louder, stronger tone, yet it remains bouncy and cheerful. When Legolas steps through the door a more serious passage begins, emphasising his grace and almost regal bearing. Aragorn then arrives on a very familiar motif, similar to Legolas's, but with a more "royal" quality, as if the King himself has entered. When the camera pulls back to show almost the whole Fellowship in one shot, the music swells into an epic orchestral moment. Finally, as Sam walks in the music quietens into a slightly lighter, slower rendition of "Concerning Hobbits."

Eight-channel SDDS decoders display the title of the film they are decoding on their screens. For this film, some reels were labelled "Till Death for Glory," while others were labelled "Beijing Chicken."

The piece that plays as Gandalf rescues Frodo and Sam from Mount Doom is sung in Sindarin (Elvish). The lyrics are: "Orthannen im vi ól orthannen vi, Coll e dû, Or hiriath naur Or Na rovail mae sui rovail," which can be loosely rendered as: "In a dream I was lifted up. Born from darkness, Above the rivers of fire. On wings soft as the wind. What's happened to the world? Is everything sad going to come untrue?"

Smeagol's pupils are noticeably more dilated than Gollum's. In the reflection scene, the pupils change as he alternates back and forth between his personalities.

Numerous black metal bands have taken their names from places and characters in Tolkien's mythology, resulting in acts such as the Norwegian groups Gorgoroth, Burzum and Morgul; the Swedish band Amon Amarth (Mount Doom); and the Dutch band Carach Angren (Isenmouthe).

The undead force Aragorn summons is composed of luminous green spectres so ancient that even their ethereal forms have deteriorated. Peter Jackson featured similar spectres in The Frighteners.

John Noble later portrayed another fictional father. On this occasion he appeared in the television series The Boys (2019) as Samuel Butcher, the father of Billy Butcher, a role played by Karl Urban.

Although occasionally likened to pterosaurs, J.R.R. Tolkien stated that the creatures were not intended to be 'pterodactylic', though he conceded the resemblance. For the most part, while the fell beasts may vaguely resemble outdated depictions of pterosaurs, they are markedly different from the modern scientific view of those animals as warm-blooded, hairy quadrupeds rather than 'featherless birds'.

With a running time of 201 minutes, the film is the longest to have earned more than $1 billion worldwide (not adjusted for inflation).

By saying "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you." Sam assumes the role of Simon of Cyrene.

As Legolas clambers aboard the Oliphaunt, it can be seen attempting to dislodge him with its trunk before resorting to its tail.

The only Best Picture nominee at the Academy Awards that year to receive nominations in both Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

The extended palantir sequence featuring Aragorn and Sauron depicts Sauron for a fleeting moment clutching the palantir in his armoured guise, suggesting he has reverted to a humanoid appearance.

Legolas is shown wearing a crown at Aragorn's coronation because he is the son of the Elven king Thranduil, and therefore a prince. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) he is briefly referred to as 'Legolas Thranduillion', which is Sindarin for 'Legolas, son of Thranduil', but the king himself does not appear on-screen until The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).

This was the eleventh film running three hours or more to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, following Gone with the Wind (1939), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Deer Hunter (1978), Gandhi (1982), Dances with Wolves (1990), Schindler's List (1993) and Titanic (1997).

Aragorn is the long-anticipated king returning to a city that had long been governed by stewards; its architecture evokes Rome, and its uppermost tier closely resembles the Vatican (it is worth noting that J. R. R. Tolkien himself was a devout Roman Catholic).

Gothmog's voice was provided by Craig Parker, despite his name not appearing in the film's credits. Parker had portrayed the elf Haldir in the two preceding films.

Gothmog was introduced as a significant new design for the film. After watching the assembly cuts, Peter Jackson felt the Mordor Orcs looked "pathetic" beside the Uruk-hai from the second film, so Weta Workshop devised grotesque new "über Orcs" to provide a clear on-screen antagonist. Christian Rivers also reworked the Witch-king's appearance, and all of his scenes were re-shot because viewers who hadn’t read the books were confused about whether Sauron himself was on the battlefield.

In the Italian release of the film, the voice of Sir Christopher Lee was dubbed by Omero Antonutti.

This represents the 19th (and, as of 2024, most recent) occasion on which the highest-grossing film of the year has won the Academy Award for Best Picture, following Wings (1927), The Broadway Melody (1929), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), You Can't Take It with You (1938), Gone with the Wind (1939), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Going My Way (1944), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Ben-Hur (1959), West Side Story (1961), My Fair Lady (1964), The Sound of Music (1965), The Godfather (1972), Rocky (1976), Rain Man (1988), and Titanic (1997). Since then, three films that topped their year's box office were nominated but did not win — Avatar (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).

On Theoden's sword, the orc blood appears black after the Rohirrim's initial charge during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. This aligns with Tolkien's works and with brief glimpses of bloodied blades shown in the earlier films.

It was the ninth film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture without receiving a single acting nomination. As of 2018, ten films have achieved this distinction. The others are Wings (1927), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Grand Hotel (1932), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Gigi (1958), The Last Emperor (1987), Braveheart (1995) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

This film was the second Best Picture winner to feature Sir Christopher Lee and Brad Dourif. Lee had appeared in Hamlet (1948), whilst Dourif had been in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

The first scene involving humans is set in Theoden's halls, where he lifts a glass to the "victorious dead." It is literally a host of the dead that determines the outcome of the siege of Minas Tirith.

Although the books are frequently referred to as 'novels', J.R.R. Tolkien preferred to describe them as 'heroic romances'. The latter term simply denotes a genre of the former, and the two labels are not mutually exclusive.

It became the first fantasy film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was also the last film for 14 years to claim the Academy Award for Best Picture without being selected among the National Board of Review's top ten films of the year, until the release of The Shape of Water (2017) in 2017.

The film features in Letterboxd's Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films list.

With 11 nominations in total, the film set a new record for the most Academy Award nominations without any acting nods, surpassing Braveheart (1995) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which each received 10. Since then, two further films have matched that mark — Hugo (2011) and Life of Pi (2012).

The particular novel on which this film was based — "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien — appears in the bedroom of Conrad Jarrett (portrayed by Timothy Hutton) in Ordinary People (1980), a film that, like this one, won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

When Aragorn reveals himself to Sauron through the palantír, Sauron utters the Elvish phrase "silivren penna miriel". It derives from the poem "A Elbereth Gilthoniel", which appears in the books, and translates as "white-sparkling, falling down jewel". Moments later the Evenstar pendant slips from Aragorn's neck and smashes onto the floor.

Billy Boyd is the eldest of the four actors who portrayed the principal Hobbits; yet his character, Pippin, is the youngest of the four.

Bernard Hill's first film to win Best Picture was Gandhi (1982). That production included Sir Michael Hordern, who had portrayed Gandalf in the BBC radio adaptation. The film also features the figure Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a role later undertaken by Sir Christopher Lee in Jinnah (1998).

Later in Minas Tirith, the jug Pippin uses to substitute for the palantir while Gandalf is asleep can be seen when Pippin & Gandalf are talking after visiting the steward.

Ian Holm and Bernard Hill appeared in successive Academy Award winners for Best Picture during the early 1980s. Holm was in Chariots of Fire (1981), while Hill featured in Gandhi (1982). Both films also included Ian Charleson and John Gielgud in their casts.

Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee) and Billy Boyd (Peregrin "Pippin" Took) both featured in The Witches of Oz (2011) and Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2011).

The film comprises 1,489 visual effects shots — nearly three times the number found in the first instalment and almost twice as many as in the second.

Prints were dispatched to cinemas under the code name 'Til Death for Glory'.

John Rhys-Davies featured in the 1988 miniseries War and Remembrance, which also included Sir Robert Stephens and Peter Vaughan. Stephens and Vaughan took leading parts in the BBC radio dramatisation of "The Lord of the Rings", portraying Aragorn and Denethor respectively.

Sir Peter Jackson was presented with the Best Picture award by Steven Spielberg, who had himself won the Best Director and Best Picture honours a decade earlier for Schindler's List (1993). That film starred Sir Ben Kingsley, who co-starred with Bernard Hill in Gandhi (1982), the picture that brought Sir Richard Attenborough the Best Director and Best Picture honours.

Until 2022, the most recent Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards to complete a clean sweep — winning all of its other awards — was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Excluding Grand Hotel (1932), which won its sole nomination, that makes five out of six films to achieve this: Wings (1927), It Happened One Night (1934), Gigi (1958), The Last Emperor (1987) and CODA (2021).

The orc Gorbag carries a fragment of Gondorian armour on his shoulder, indicating he either fought the soldiers of Minas Tirith or, as a captain, had spoils brought to him.

Besides matching James Cameron's 'Titanic' for the number of Oscars it won, two performers from this film also appeared in productions about the Titanic. Bernard Hill portrayed Captain Smith in Cameron's 'Titanic', and John Rhys‑Davies played the captain of the Titanic's ill‑fated sister ship Britannic in the 2000 television film 'Britannic'.

Brad Dourif's first film to win a Best Picture award was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which also featured Scatman Crothers and Jack Nicholson, along with an uncredited cameo by Nicholson's then-girlfriend, Anjelica Huston. Her father, John Huston, supplied the voice of Gandalf in The Return of the King (1980). Crothers and Nicholson reunited in The Shining (1980), which also included Philip Stone, who provided the voice of Theoden in The Lord of the Rings (1978).

Bernard Hill (King Theoden) died on 5 May 2024 at the age of 79. Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee), Billy Boyd (Peregrin "Pippin" Took) and Dominic Monaghan (Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck) paid tribute to him at a Comic Con event in Liverpool, UK, which was held on the same day he passed away. Hill had been due to attend the event but had cancelled several days beforehand.

In 2004, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Sarah McLeod and Thomas Robbins appeared as guests at the Armageddon Expo in Wellington, New Zealand.

Faramir was struck by 2 arrows and survived. By contrast, it took 3 arrows to kill his brother Boromir.

Bernard Hill appeared in the 1980 television series Fox, portraying the son of Peter Vaughan. Vaughan later played Denethor in the BBC radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings.

This marked the debut of Ali Astin.

Bernard Hill's first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture was Gandhi (1982), which also featured Amrish Puri and Roshan Seth. Puri and Seth later co-starred in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). That same picture also included Philip Stone, who provided the voice of Theoden in The Lord of the Rings (1978).

The Lord of the Rings is the second film trilogy in which all three instalments received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture, following The Godfather trilogy.

For this film Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh became the third couple to jointly receive an Academy Award for Best Picture, following Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips for The Sting (1973) and Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck for Driving Miss Daisy (1989). They also became the third couple to share an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, after Sydney Box and Muriel Box for The Seventh Veil (1945) and Earl W. Wallace and Pamela Wallace for Witness (1985). The Phillipses, Zanucks, Boxes and Wallaces were all married couples, whereas Jackson and Walsh are partners.

This was the sixth film to win both the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Visual Effects, following Wings (1927), Ben-Hur (1959), Forrest Gump (1994), Titanic (1997) and Gladiator (2000).

In the extended edition scene where Sam tells Frodo, "There's light and beauty up there that no shadow can touch," the star he notices isn't an ordinary one. It's the Star of Eärendil, the Evenstar — the very name Arwen takes. While we'd normally equate it with Venus, in Middle-earth it's something else: a Half‑Elf (indeed, Arwen's grandfather) sailing on a flying ship with one of the three Silmarils, which contain the light of the Two Trees — a holy light that predates the Sun and Moon. The Star of Eärendil supplied the light preserved in Galadriel's Phial.

It was the ninth occasion that the Academy Award for Best Picture went to a film which had spent more than a decade in development limbo (The Lord of the Rings was first optioned in 1967), following Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Patton (1970), The Deer Hunter (1978), Gandhi (1982), Platoon (1986), Unforgiven (1992), Schindler's List (1993), and Chicago (2002).

It stood as the highest-grossing sequel globally until it was overtaken by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

Patrick McGoohan and Donald Sutherland were both in contention to portray Denethor. McGoohan was also on the shortlist for Gandalf, while Sutherland ultimately went on to play a deranged ruler in another major blockbuster franchise, The Hunger Games.

The Movie Insider website does not credit Peter Jackson as the director of the film, unlike its listing for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).

This film was the first sequel since The Godfather Part II (1974) to secure the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. There was another connection between the two films: Marianna Hill, who portrayed Deanna Corleone (Fredo's wife), was in real life married to fellow cast member Bernard Hill.

The third sequel ever to exceed $300 million in domestic takings, following Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).

Before recording ADR for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Andy Serkis had already recorded every one of his lines for the tie-in video game.

The film stayed within the top ten highest-grossing films worldwide for more than a decade, until Jurassic World (2015) eventually unseated it from that list.

Elijah Wood and John Noble both lent their voices to Jonathan Crane—better known as the Scarecrow—in the Batman: Arkham video-game series.

'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' (2003) is the sole film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy to have received an 'A+' rating from CinemaScore.

The Lord of the Rings franchise surpassed $2 billion in worldwide box office takings with this film, becoming only the fourth film series to do so, after James Bond, Star Wars and Jurassic Park.

The animation of Shelob drew on photographs and footage of spiders. She is introduced in darkness with her legs held tightly together — an image inspired by a spider photograph Peter Jackson had seen in a National Geographic documentary. In fact, the visual effects artists aimed to give the entire sequence a documentary feel. When Shelob emerges from her lair to stalk Frodo outside, the shot of her legs coming out of the tunnel was based on a piece of concept art by John Howe that was a particular favourite of Peter Jackson.

With a budget of $94 million, it ranks as the fourth most costly film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, behind Titanic (1997) ($200 million), Gladiator (2000) ($110 million) and Oppenheimer (2023) ($100 million).

A vast range of design options was explored, from simple spider-like concepts (inspired by various species) to beings that borrowed traits from crustaceans and other arthropods, all rendered as concept art or small-scale maquettes. The body was eventually conceived as corpulent and bloated, echoing the depiction of Shelob in the novel. A competition was staged among the designers at Weta Workshop to create the most "Shelob-like" head for the creature. Peter Jackson set most of the design himself, as AAlan Lee later recalled: "I don't think anyone who worked on Shelob quite managed to capture what Peter Jackson was actually after until he tackled it himself with a handful of plasticine."

Shelob's eyes posed particular challenges. Letteri explained: "The main consideration in her design was working out how her eyes should look. Spiders have eight eyes, but if you place them where real spiders' eyes are, it doesn't make for an interesting shot, because you can't tell which one you're supposed to be looking at. So we moved the eyes around so that two of them would read as the eyes you recognise on a face. Those became the primary ones and the others were deemphasised around them."

Once a final design had been chosen, a maquette was modelled and scanned to produce Shelob's digital model. Shelob's face was sculpted in two poses — mouth closed and mouth open — the former specifically defining her facial connotations. 'Combining elements from Jaimie Beswarick's anatomical spider-face sculpts and Greg Broadmore's diseased maquettes,' sculptor Ben Wootten explained, 'the final version was an attempt to capture all the design aspects that Peter and Fran Walsh warmed to most. The diseased growths were pared back to a concentration around the left eye, and a more predatory appearance was achieved by bringing the "alpha" eyes closer together. In keeping with the squat nature of the Tunnelweb spider, Peter had me shorten the length of the face, drawing the eyes and mouthparts nearer and creating a more focused creature.' The scanning technology was so sophisticated that it literally picked up an errant thumbprint on the back of the maquette.

Defining Shelob's inner mouth components proved the most difficult task, sculptor Ben Wootten recalled: "after the initial sculpt had been approved and scanned, Weta Digital quickly realised they needed a far more detailed understanding of Shelob's mouthparts to produce a functioning digital model. Because of the deadline placed on the digital animation team, only one day could be allotted to designing the mouth mechanisms. The fastest way to achieve this was to create an augmented version of the original sculpt. We poured a hard plasticine copy from the existing mould and rapidly worked the mouth details into it. The design brief was blunt: scary and disgusting. From memory I conjured together a mix of the most vile images I could think of and worked them around the existing mandibles: squid beaks, crayfish mouths, and various 'organic apertures' were the primary inspirations. The only change Peter made to that design was to remove the large central tooth at the top of the mouth. The digital team did an amazing job of bringing the design to life."

Sequences of Sam battling Shelob were filmed even before a final design for Shelob had been finalised. Joe Letteri of Weta commented: "What we did for the fight was actually quite neat. On set we had a stunt performer in a blue suit with a large extension ending in two fangs. Much of the fighting with Sam was done that way. Sean [Astin] essentially reworked all the animation for us, in a sense backwards, because he would grab the fangs and kind of fight with them, puppeteering them, and because we had to match all that action to his hands, those became the movements of her fangs, and then we built the body performance around that."

The design of Shelob only partly reflects the creature from the novel: the "great horns" Tolkien described are entirely missing, and the suggestion that Frodo is stung was taken literally — Shelob features a stinger, modelled on wasp stings, at the tip of her abdomen. The beak was likewise replaced by internal jaws concealed behind Shelob's chelicerae.

Shelob's chitinous body was partly clad in a furry covering, which proved challenging to render. Letteri explained: "at that scale, the fur becomes translucent, but it's almost like the beer-bottle effect; when the hairs reach that size they become highly refractive. That was new for us, and we had to work out how to achieve that look so that, when back-lit, each hair took on that lovely amber quality."

Shelob's mass — greater than that of any spider (or arthropod) known to have lived — presented a distinct problem when attempting to map spider-like motion onto her much larger frame. Animator Andre Calder explained: "once you get into animating a two-ton, six-metre-long film monster, clips of garden spiders are quickly left behind. You can capture the fundamentals of spider locomotion — which leg pairs move in which sequence as the spider walks and how the body mass responds. But the broader behaviour is dictated more by the needs of the action and the limits of what was filmed on set with the actors. Plus [Shelob] is a film monster, and acts with an unnaturally intelligent, malevolent demeanour." Shelob's mass mattered particularly in the sequence where she seizes Frodo. Letteri recalled: "what really determined the scale was the scene where she had to wrap Frodo up. She had to be large enough for that to read believably, because if you watch spiders handling insects, they can cope with prey relatively large compared with their body, but we wanted something that would be a bit easier for her to manage to make it genuinely frightening, so that relationship informed the final size decision. That scene combined some live-action footage we shot with Elijah [Wood] with a digital double in the wide shots when you see her spinning him around. We produced a sort of silken, fabric-like texture coming from her spinnerets that she wrapped around him."

Although spiders were a key reference point, the team always left room for improvisation — and that became evident when the animators assembled the sequences of Sam fighting Shelob. Letteri explained: "We devoted a considerable amount of time to her, fine‑tuning the articulation and making the joints as close to a spider's as possible, yet we took liberties because we wanted her movements to be a little more supple than a real spider's — small adjustments here and there as we worked out what she needed for the animation. You can reproduce the basic locomotion of all eight legs and study spiders to see how they move, but you still have to come up with something engaging. Especially in the battle, when Sam is running around her and they are fighting, you need to stage it so that each leg is doing something — either bearing weight, adjusting for a manoeuvre, striking out, or moving her in the direction she needs to go. With eight legs you constantly have to consider that, because you don't want any of them to look disengaged or you'll lose the excitement, but nor do you want them flailing about without purpose, because that just looks wrong. The animators spent a great deal of time finding that right level."

Although a practical effect was first used for certain shots, Shelob was ultimately an entirely digital character, realised by Weta Digital. Sixteen animators in total worked on the sequences featuring Shelob — she was one of the most complex characters in the film to animate because of the number of limbs and the breadth of her movement repertoire.

Peter Jackson made it clear that Shelob should be modelled — both in appearance and in behaviour — on a spider native to New Zealand: the black tunnelweb spider. As a point of reference, art director Christian Rivers actually dug one up from his own garden and brought it to Weta Workshop in a glass jar. Letteri continued: "[these spiders] live in little holes in the ground; they cover themselves with a little flap of dirt, and when prey goes by, they pop up and run out and grab it. [Rivers] happened to find one in his garden one morning and just photographed it, and that was our reference, that was what we used. We got other pictures as well, but that was the main one."

To give Shelob an aged feel, asymmetrical fleshy growths and deformities were incorporated into her design to suggest "she's been around for God knows how long," as Peter Jackson recounted. Letteri added: "Peter, of course, wanted a sense of history — the scarring around the eyes and the impression that she'd been in battles and had to be in numerous fights, whether in defence or in pursuit of prey, throughout her life."