This Movie Review Brought To you By: Davis Auto Body
Movie director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” film series is one of the most stunning movie accomplishments of all time. Considering the combined budget for all three films almost reached $300 million and required more than a continuous year of shooting, the project was certainly an enormous undertaking for everyone involved. However, it also proved enormously successful, as the entire series set the standard for what a fantasy movie could be as an overall experience, and propelled Jackson to the top of the filmmaking world.
There was a time when its success wasn’t so certain. After all, back in the early days of his career, New Zealand director Peter Jackson was known more as a director of cult films than anything else. His early, low budget black comedies like “Bad Taste” (1987) and “Meet the Feebles” (1989) suggested a subversive artist whose taste for dark humor and outrageous subject matter would probably permanently relegate to the ranks of an underground film director. This phase of his career reached an apex with his brilliantly funny (and supremely gory) 1992 movie “Braindead” (aka “Dead/Alive“), a cartoonishly bloody zombie movie that proved so groundbreaking, it helped define the new horror movie sub-genre “splatstick”.
However, as Jackson’s command of the art of filmmaking grew, so did his ambitions. His next movie “Heavenly Creatures” (1994) was a complete change of pace, featuring a young Kate Winslet in a fictionalized story of a famous murder trial of two teenage girls in New Zealand. Possessing none of the copious gore or over-the-top exaggerated dramatic style of Jackson’s previous movies, it instead was a subdued, darkly stylish tale whose carnage was all on a psychological level instead of a visceral one. Jackson’s newfound maturity as a filmmaker was widely praised after the film’s release, garnering his first Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay (along with Fran Walsh), and setting up the greatest success of his career.
Meanwhile, Jackson had first discovered the work of J.R.R. Tolkien after seeing Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated version simply called “The Lord of the Rings”. The movie must have made quite an impression (and perhaps its somewhat unsatisfying nature inspired him), since Jackson later seized the opportunity to secure the rights to Tolkien’s trilogy of books back in 1997. First considering making a two-part movie out of the books, and then pressured by Miramax to cram the entire series into a single film, Jackson managed to talk New Line Cinema into preserving the novels’ trilogy format for three distinct movies.
The results paid off brilliantly. The three-part movie series ultimately announced to the world that Jackson had indeed created a masterpiece of fantasy filmmaking. It was a fanboy’s cinematic dream come true, and Jackson’s meticulous attention to the specific details of Tolkien’s massive tomes was immediately apparent onscreen and Jackson’s enthusiasm for the source material fills every frame. The gorgeous cinematography brings locations like the hobbits’ home of The Shire beautifully to life, giving the locale a completely lived in look that was both fantastical and believable. Jackson’s decision to film the series in his homeland of New Zealand proved to be completely inspired too, as the lush vegetation and picturesque landscapes really did create a feeling that you were travelling into an entirely different world.
Of course, that’s merely the beginning. As the tale of Frodo’s (Elijah Wood) journey unfolds over the course of three movies, the visual wonders never cease, and the special effects by New Zealand-based Weta Workshop consistently create compelling and awe-inspiring images onscreen. Merely the difference in the characters’ appearances and sizes is immediately convincing, as Ian McKellan’s beloved wizard Gandalf towers over the diminutive hobbits and dwarves with conviction. Meanwhile the sleek, almost angelic rendition of elves like Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving) makes their noble nature that much more visually arresting.
Fortunately these visual alterations of the characters didn’t affect the performances, as the strong, protective bond between Frodo and his caretaker Samwise (Sean Astin) is immediately apparent, forming the crucial emotional backbone of the films. Gandalf’s extreme fondness for Frodo is conveyed surprisingly well also, despite the fact that, for effects reasons, they were rarely filmed together at the same time.
Meanwhile Elijah Wood’s wide-eyed portrayal (and the other hobbits’ general naivete) makes their emotional experiences in their adventures that much more compelling. It gives the entire movie a sense of wonder and anxiety that is fully instilled in the viewer as well, as their earnest reactions to the dangers they face are immediately conveyed in their expressive faces.
It all succeeds in creating a completely fantastical world that fully envelops the senses and transports you to another place entirely. Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth is visibly the product of a true fan, and his desire to create a cinematic version of Tolkien’s books that does justice to the revered author’s writings is apparent in every frame.
The series third installment “The Return of the King” is the culmination of the entire series. As only the second movie in film history to make more than $1 billion at the box office (James Cameron’s “Titanic” from 1997 was the first), the movie went on to be nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and astonishingly, won every single one of them. That unique combination of overwhelming popularity and universal critical acclaim has certified the entire movie trilogy as one of the greatest accomplishments in film history.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is playing for one night only at Studio Movie Grill in Redlands on Wednesday, November 20th in its 252 minute extended version. It is rated PG-13.