The Lord of the Rings (film series): Difference between revisions

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'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' film trilogy consists of three live action films, directed by [[Peter Jackson]]. Principal photography for all three films took place in [[New Zealand]] over a continuous eighteen-month period — the first time that three films had ever been shot together in this way, although some ''pairs'' of films had. There were several later "pick-up" shoots over the following months and years as the films were edited, special effects were added and the script was honed and revised.  
'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' film trilogy consists of three live action films, directed by [[Peter Jackson]]. Principal photography for all three films took place in [[New Zealand]] over a continuous eighteen-month period — the first time that three films had ever been shot together in this way, although some ''pairs'' of films had. There were several later "pick-up" shoots over the following months and years as the films were edited, special effects were added and the script was honed and revised.  


*''[[Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring|The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' was released in December 2001, and won the [[Awards|Hugo Award]] for Best Dramatic Presentation of 2001.
*''[[Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring|The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' was released in December 2001, and won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation of 2001.
*''[[Peter Jackson's The Two Towers|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' was released in December 2002.
*''[[Peter Jackson's The Two Towers|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' was released in December 2002.
*''[[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' was released in December 2003, and won all eleven of the Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including the the award for Best Picture.
*''[[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' was released in December 2003, and won all eleven of the Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including the the award for Best Picture.


The films for the most part follow the storyline of the books (see [[J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien's]] ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''); however there are some major deviations as detailed within the entry for each film. For an in depth analysis of the differences between the books and films, see '''[[Tolkien vs. Jackson: Differences Between Story and Screenplay]]''' and [[Tolkien vs. Jackson: Major Differences Between Story and Screenplay]].
==Differences from the book==
The films for the most part follow the storyline of the book (see [[J.R.R. Tolkien|J.R.R. Tolkien's]] ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''); however there are some major deviations as detailed within the entry for each film. For an in depth analysis of the differences between the books and films, see '''[[Tolkien vs. Jackson: Differences Between Story and Screenplay]]''' and [[Tolkien vs. Jackson: Major Differences Between Story and Screenplay]].


For analysis of the individual films, see [[Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring]], [[Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Two Towers]], and [[Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Return of the King]].
For analysis of the individual films, see [[Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring]], [[Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Two Towers]], and [[Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Return of the King]].


==Cast==
Principal actors and actresses include:
Principal actors and actresses include:
*[[Elijah Wood]] - Frodo Baggins
{| class="wikitable"
*[[Ian McKellen]] - Gandalf
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
*[[Viggo Mortensen]] - Aragorn
! Role !! Actor
*[[Liv Tyler]] - Arwen
|-
*[[Sean Astin]] - Samwise Gamgee
| [[Frodo Baggins]] || [[Elijah Wood]]
*[[Christopher Lee]] - Saruman
|-
*[[Orlando Bloom]] - Legolas
| [[Gandalf]] || [[Ian McKellen]]
*[[Dominic Monaghan]] - Meriadoc Brandybuck
|-
*[[Billy Boyd]] - Peregrin Took
| [[Aragorn II|Aragorn]] || [[Viggo Mortensen]]
*[[John Rhys-Davies]] - Gimli
|-
*[[Miranda Otto]] - Eowyn
| [[Arwen]] || [[Liv Tyler]]
*[[Karl Urban]] - Eomer
|-
*[[Bernard Hill]] - Théoden
| [[Samwise Gamgee]] || [[Sean Astin]]
*[[Sean Bean]] - Boromir
|-
*[[David Wenham]] - Faramir
| [[Saruman]] || [[Christopher Lee]]
*[[John Noble]] - Denethor
|-
*[[Andy Serkis]] - Gollum/Sméagol
| [[Legolas of Mirkwood|Legolas]] || [[Orlando Bloom]]
|-
| [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] || [[Dominic Monaghan]]
|-
| [[Peregrin Took]] || [[Billy Boyd]]
|-
| [[Éowyn]] || [[Miranda Otto]]
|-
| [[Éomer]] || [[Karl Urban]]
|-
| [[Théoden]] || [[Bernard Hill]]
|-
| [[Boromir (son of Denethor II)|Boromir]] || [[Sean Bean]]
|-
| [[Faramir (son of Denethor II)|Faramir]] || [[David Wenham]]
|-
| [[Denethor II]] || [[John Noble]]
|-
| [[Gollum|Gollum/Sméagol]] || [[Andy Serkis]]
|}


==Facts and figures about the trilogy==
==Facts and figures==


* Amount of film shot during production: '''Over 6 million feet (over 1,800 kilometers)'''
* Amount of film shot during production: '''Over 6 million feet (over 1,800 kilometers)'''

Revision as of 11:39, 6 August 2008

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy consists of three live action films, directed by Peter Jackson. Principal photography for all three films took place in New Zealand over a continuous eighteen-month period — the first time that three films had ever been shot together in this way, although some pairs of films had. There were several later "pick-up" shoots over the following months and years as the films were edited, special effects were added and the script was honed and revised.

Differences from the book

The films for the most part follow the storyline of the book (see J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings); however there are some major deviations as detailed within the entry for each film. For an in depth analysis of the differences between the books and films, see Tolkien vs. Jackson: Differences Between Story and Screenplay and Tolkien vs. Jackson: Major Differences Between Story and Screenplay.

For analysis of the individual films, see Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Two Towers, and Book vs. Movie: Peter Jackson's The Return of the King.

Cast

Principal actors and actresses include:

Role Actor
Frodo Baggins Elijah Wood
Gandalf Ian McKellen
Aragorn Viggo Mortensen
Arwen Liv Tyler
Samwise Gamgee Sean Astin
Saruman Christopher Lee
Legolas Orlando Bloom
Meriadoc Brandybuck Dominic Monaghan
Peregrin Took Billy Boyd
Éowyn Miranda Otto
Éomer Karl Urban
Théoden Bernard Hill
Boromir Sean Bean
Faramir David Wenham
Denethor II John Noble
Gollum/Sméagol Andy Serkis

Facts and figures

  • Amount of film shot during production: Over 6 million feet (over 1,800 kilometers)
  • Swords, axes, shields and makeup prosthetics created: 48,000
  • Background actors cast: 20,602
  • Costumes produced by the wardrobe department: 19,000
  • New Zealand cricket fans enlisted to create the Orc army's grunts: 10,000
  • Behind-the-scenes crew members: 2,400 at the height of production
  • Pairs of prosthetic Hobbit feet created: 1,600
  • Most real horses in one scene: 250
  • Computer special-effects artists employed: 180
  • Total speaking roles: 114
  • Locations in New Zealand used as backdrops: 100
  • Tailors, cobblers, designers, et al. in the wardrobe department: 50
  • Actors trained to speak fictional dialects and languages: 30
  • Total years of development for all three films: 7
  • Combined running time of the series (extended DVD editions): 680 minutes (11 hours and 20 minutes)
  • Combined worldwide box-office gross: US$2,916,544,743 (source)
  • International all-time box office rankings: 2 (Return of the King), 5 (Two Towers), 7 (Fellowship of the Ring)[1]

Academy Awards

If all three films are counted as one, the trilogy was nominated for 30 Academy Awards, of which it won 17.[2]

The Awards were as follows (A Win is marked by a "W"):

  • Art Direction [Fellowship, Two Towers, King (W)]
  • Cinematography [Fellowship (W)]
  • Costume Design [Fellowship, King (W)]
  • Directing [Fellowship, King (W)]
  • Film Editing [Fellowship, Two Towers, King (W)]
  • Makeup [Fellowship (W), King (W)]
  • Music (Original Score) [Fellowship (W), King (W)]
  • Music (Original Song) [Fellowship: "May It Be", King: "Into the West" (W)]
  • Best Picture [Fellowship, Two Towers, King (W)]
  • Sound [Fellowship, Two Towers]
  • Sound Editing (Two Towers)
  • Sound Mixing [King (W)]
  • Supporting Actor [Fellowship: Ian McKellen ("Gandalf")]
  • Visual Effects [Fellowship (W), Two Towers (W), King (W)]
  • Writing (Previously Produced or Published) [Fellowship, King (W)]

External links