LOTR: The Return of the King

In PJ's final installment of Jrr Tolkien's genius work come ROTK. How did you like it? What were your initial reactions? Did it live up to the hype?

Well, for me this film will never ever be cherished like how FOTR and TTT were for me. If any of the LOTR's movies deserved a Best picture nod, it should have been FOTR. ROTK was a letdown to me sort've. Not enough Aragorn scenes. The battle at the Pellannor was way too short. 3754327647 endings. Bad editing, they could've just as well ended at Minas Tirith. But, this movie is a hard one to translate from book to movie so I will give them that. I still love the LOTR series but not so much this one. How about you?

 

Legolas taking on the giant elephant was my favorite part

 

ROTK is my favorite. A lot of people have a problem with the endings, but I thought they all worked great. I don't really have any problems with ROTK actually. I do wish that they had kept the Mouth of Sauron in the theatrical release, that guy is crazy creepy.

 

i wish PJ did the scouring of the shire

 

It's the best acted, directed of the entire trilogy. This is a movie where I literally don't have any complaints about.

 

It's my favorite in the series, and I consider it one of the best movies I've seen. The conclusion was very well done for all the characters. I was also very impressed by Gollum. I really didn't understand the fascination with him in TTT - there, I didn't think he looked or behaved any more realistically than the CG characters in Star Wars. But he's amazing in ROTK.

 

RotK is my favorite of the trilogy. The music, the moments, everything about it was great.

The Ride of the Rohirrim still gives me goosebumps, as does the whole Battle of the Morannon.

 

I liked how Legolas took out that entire "Giant Elephant Crew (including the giant elephant!)" all by himself.

 

ROTK was a perfect ending to my favorite movie series beside SW. My only regret is that they cut out Saruman in the theatrical version.

 

I cried when I first saw this movie. And several times after that. FOTR is still my favorite, but ROTK has so many great moments-

Shelob- perfectly done! The Shelob vs. Sam scene could have ended up looking horribly, but it was perfect. And when she stabs Frodo?! OH MAN! Don't tell me you didn't feel that.

Pippin singing to Denethor as Faramir rides to take back the river- oh man. Soooo sad.

The Ride of the Rohirrim- I cannot say enough about that scene. I got so emotional watching that, you just get the perfect sense of bravery and sacrifice which is exactly what the scene is about. It's cut short in the theatrical release, but in the Extended Edition it's perfect. That cavalry charge is just absolutely insane.

The line "Come on, Mr. Frodo! I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you! Come on!" Sam is the greatest.

The Crack of Doom- that scene could've ended up looking bad as well, but it turned out perfect. Even though I knew the end of the movie, I had read the book several times, I was still worried that Frodo was just going to let go. Again, Sam rules. And I love how the ring can't be destroyed until Frodo chooses to hang on and grab Sam's hand.

The line "My friends, you bow to no one." Perfecty encompasses what that movie is about. 4 little Hobbits who left home and changed Middle Earth. They're so small, next to that huge celebration of mainly Humans, but they're huge in the scope of things.

I didn't mind all the endings. It was nice to tie things up and end nice and calmly, instead of ending with Aragorn's coronation. The Scouring of the Shire was left out, and for a very good reason. It would make absolutely no sense for it to be in the movie. It goes against the dramatic model that every single movie follows. You don't put something as trivial as the scouring of the Shire into the movie after THE RING has been destroyed. The movies are called "The Lord of the Rings" for a reason.

Man, I haven't seen ROTK in a while. I'm sure I'm missing plenty of other great scenes that I loved. I need to watch it again. It's definetely my second-favorite LOTR movie, next to FOTR.

 

it sort of reminded me of luke taking on the AT-AT walker in TESB. if someone redid the orginal trilogy i'd do something like Legolas taking on the elephant w/ luke taking on the walker.

*avoids the stones*

 

That still only counts as one!

This movie was awesome indeed, especially the extended version. I loved pretty much everything about this entire series and the way they closed it was perfect IMHO.

 

I love ROTK.
it was very well filmed, acted and the story wrapped up everything nicely.
The multiple endings didnt bother me one bit.
I was very satisfied with the way this, and the entire trilogy played out. Fantastic and Classic movies.
I am not sure if it is my personal favorite, i may be lean a little toward FOTR, but ROTK is jsut phenomenal

 

ROTK is an incredible film. Until ROTS came out it was my favorite film of all time. Everything about it was just emotional. Some people say it can't stand alone as a film. I say it can. Just watch the last 10 minutes of TTT to recap. As a whole it's a 12 hr film, but still works well in a 3 hr 20 min segment.

 

ROTK is my fave of the trilogy.

I can't describe the way I was feeling during the Ride of the Rohirrim...I almost felt like I was charging w/ them. That's my favorite scene. My 2nd favorite is during the Last Stand when Aragorn leads the charge, followed closley by Merry and Pippin and then everyone else--it gave me chills.

 

ROTK is one of my favorite films of all time. It was perfectly directed and I had no problems with the editing. The extended version is the best way to watch this film. My favorite LOTR film next to FOTR.

 

This moment always makes me cry. I feel like such a sissy every time it gets to the end of the movie.

QFT.

Strangely, I think ROTK is my favorite of the three books, but FOTR is by far my favorite of the three films. PJ did a great job of upping the stakes and adapting an "unadaptable" story to the screen, but even though TTT and ROTK advanced a bit from FOTR, they were nowhere near the mindblowing experience of FOTR compared to everything that had come before it.

M. Scott

 

i love the part where aragorn, legolas, gimli, gandalf, and company find merry and pippin sitting on top of the pile of supplies smoking weed and eating

"The salted pork is particulary good"

Gimli - "Salted Pork?"

 

Return of the King was my favorite movie of the trilogy. The epic battle scenes of Minas Tirith, the Black Gate and Pelennor Fields were amazing. The acting was excellent as well. It had some great scenes especially Legolas taking down the Mummakil by himself. I was a little disappointed that Saruman did not appear in the theaters but I was glad that he made the extended cut.

 

This one is my favourite of the trilogy. The scope of the battle on Pelennor fields is epic, and the Ride of the Rohirrim gives me chills.

 

DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The charge was the focal point of the movie for me.
I find myself just watching that entire scene once or twice a week on the surround sound.

 

in the extended edition the mouth of sauron guy that came out of the black gates was creepy. i liked it when Aragorn just lops off his head and Gimli goes,"I guess that concludes negotiations."

 

I always thought that scene was a little pointless. But, at least it was short. I like the original cut where Aragon just turns to the gang and says, "For Frodo!"

 

i wouldn't have minded it being in the theatrical cut. that line of Gimli's adds a little humor to the scene

 

As hard as it may be to believe today, with so many years between us and this film, I will never forget how in the weeks after it was released, a certain group of fanboys (yes, there was more than one of them) on this very message board tried to argue, specifically against me, that George Lucas had copied the AT-AT attack of ESB (1981) from Peter Jackson's Oliphaunt Charge (2003). I kid you not. It really did happen. There were people who believed that a movie as old as Reagan's administration somehow copied a scene from a movie made over twenty-two years later!

It is a bittersweet memory for me, for it is funny, yet also extremely, extremely depressing that there are those kinds of people in the world.


Anyway, when I first saw the LOTR films, I wasn't very hot on them. It took me a while to learn to appreciate them, and then even more time to enjoy them. I think that the one thing that brought me around was the Ride of the Rohirrim sequence. That is a cinematically and aesthetically beautiful moment, and it becomes more engrossing every time I see it. I still have a number of complaints with each of the films, but that scene ranks very high on my list.