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The Lord of the Rings

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This article is about the novel. For the film series, see The Lord of the Rings (film series). For other uses, see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation).
The Lord of the Rings
Jrrt lotr cover design.jpg
Tolkien's unused cover designs for the three volumes which would later be used for the 50th anniversary editions of the books
 
Volumes:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
 
Author
J. R. R. Tolkien
Country
England, United Kingdom
Language
English
Genre
High fantasy
Adventure
Publisher
George Allen & Unwin
Published
29 July 1954, 11 November 1954, 20 October 1955
Media type
Print (hardback & paperback)
Preceded by
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II.[1] It is the second best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[2]
The title of the novel refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron,[note 1] who had in an earlier age created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire, a Hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across northwest Middle-earth, following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took, but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: the Men Aragorn, a Ranger of the North and Boromir, a Captain of Gondor; Gimli, a Dwarf warrior; Legolas, an Elven prince; and Gandalf, a Wizard.
The work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set, the other to be The Silmarillion, but this idea was dismissed by his publisher.[4][5] For economic reasons The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes over the course of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955, thus creating the Lord of the Rings trilogy.[4][6] The three volumes were entitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Structurally, the novel is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of background material included at the end of the third volume. Some editions combine the entire work into a single volume. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages.
Tolkien's work has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917,[7] in a process he described as mythopoeia.[citation needed] Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings, include philology, mythology, religion and the author's distaste for the effects of industrialization, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in World War I.[1] The Lord of the Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy; the impact of Tolkien's works is such that the use of the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" have been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.[8]
The enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works,[9] and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games, and subsequent literature. Award-winning adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film.[10]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot summary 1.1 The Fellowship of the Ring
1.2 The Two Towers
1.3 The Return of the King
2 Main characters
3 Concept and creation 3.1 Background
3.2 Writing
3.3 Influences
4 Publication history 4.1 Editions and revisions
4.2 Posthumous publication of drafts
4.3 Translations
5 Reception
6 Themes
7 Adaptations
8 Legacy 8.1 Influences on the fantasy genre
8.2 Music
8.3 Impact on popular culture
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Plot summary[edit]
See also: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King plot summaries
Long before the events of the novel, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power and corrupt those who wear them: the leaders of Men, Elves and Dwarves. He is vanquished in battle by an alliance of Elves and Men. Isildur cuts the One Ring from Sauron's finger, claiming it as an heirloom for his line, and Sauron loses his physical form. When Isildur is later ambushed and killed by Orcs, the Ring is lost in the River Anduin at Gladden Fields.
Over two thousand years later, the Ring is found by one of the river-folk called Déagol. His friend[11] Sméagol immediately falls under the Ring's influence and strangles Déagol to acquire it. Sméagol is banished and hides under the Misty Mountains, where the Ring extends his lifespan and transforms him over the course of hundreds of years into a twisted, corrupted creature called Gollum. He loses the Ring, his "precious", and, as recounted in The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds it. Meanwhile, Sauron re-assumes physical form and takes back his old realm of Mordor. Gollum sets out in search of the Ring, but is captured by Sauron, who learns from him that "Baggins" in the Shire now has it. Gollum is set loose, and Sauron, who needs the Ring to regain his full power, sends forth his powerful servants, the Nazgûl, to seize it.
The Fellowship of the Ring[edit]
The story begins in the Shire, where the Hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the Ring from Bilbo, his cousin[note 2] and guardian. Neither is aware of its origin and nature, but Gandalf the Grey, a wizard and old friend of Bilbo, suspects the Ring's identity. When he becomes certain, he strongly advises Frodo to take it away from the Shire. Frodo leaves, accompanied by his gardener and friend, Samwise ("Sam") Gamgee, and two cousins, Meriadoc ("Merry") Brandybuck and Peregrin ("Pippin") Took. They nearly encounter the Nazgûl while still in the Shire, but shake off pursuit by cutting through the Old Forest, where they are aided by the enigmatic Tom Bombadil, who alone is unaffected by the Ring's corrupting influence. After leaving the forest, they stop in the town of Bree where they meet Strider, who is later revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur's heir. He persuades them to take him on as guide and protector. They flee from Bree after narrowly escaping another assault, but the Nazgûl follow and attack them on the hill of Weathertop, wounding Frodo with a Morgul blade. Aragorn leads the hobbits toward the Elven refuge of Rivendell, while Frodo gradually succumbs to the wound. The Ringwraiths nearly overtake Frodo at the Ford of Bruinen, but flood waters summoned by Elrond, master of Rivendell, rise up and overwhelm them.
Frodo recovers in Rivendell under the care of Elrond. The Council of Elrond reveals much significant history about Sauron and the Ring, as well as the news that Sauron has corrupted Gandalf's fellow wizard, Saruman. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed, but that can only be done by returning it to the flames of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take on this daunting task, and a "Fellowship of the Ring" is formed to aid him: Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, and the Man Boromir, son of the Ruling Steward Denethor of the realm of Gondor.
After a failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains via the pass below Caradhras, the company are forced to try a more perilous path through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by the Watcher in the Water before the gate. Inside, they discover the fate of Balin and his colony of Dwarves. After repulsing an attack, they are pursued by orcs and an ancient and powerful demonic creature called a Balrog. Gandalf confronts the Balrog, but in their struggle, both fall into a deep chasm. The others escape and take refuge in the Elven forest of Lothlórien, where they are counselled by Galadriel and Celeborn.
With boats and gifts from Galadriel, the company travel down the River Anduin to the hill of Amon Hen. Boromir succumbs to the lure of the Ring and attempts to take it from Frodo. Frodo escapes and determines to continue the quest alone, though Sam guesses his intent and comes along. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken.
The Two Towers[edit]
Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron kill Boromir and kidnap Merry and Pippin. After agonizing over which pair of hobbits to follow, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas pursue the orcs bearing Merry and Pippin to Saruman. In the kingdom of Rohan, the orcs are slain by a company of the Rohirrim. Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by Treebeard, the oldest of the tree-like Ents. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, and encounter Gandalf, resurrected as the significantly more powerful "Gandalf the White" after his mutually fatal duel with the Balrog. Gandalf assures them that Merry and Pippin are safe. They then ride to Edoras, the capital of Rohan, where they free Théoden, King of Rohan, from the influence of Saruman's henchman Gríma Wormtongue. Théoden musters his fighting strength and rides to the ancient fortress of Helm's Deep, but en route Gandalf leaves to seek help from Treebeard.
Meanwhile, the Ents, roused from their customarily peaceful ways by Merry and Pippin, attack Isengard, Saruman's stronghold, and trap the wizard in the tower of Orthanc. Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Théoden's aid. Gandalf and Rohirrim reinforcements arrive at Helm's Deep just in time to defeat and scatter Saruman's army. The Huorns dispose of the fleeing orcs. Gandalf then parleys with Saruman at Orthanc. When Saruman rejects his offer of redemption, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Pippin looks into a palantír, a seeing-stone that Saruman had used to communicate with Sauron and through which he was enslaved. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith, chief city of Gondor, taking Pippin with him.
Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, who had been following them from Moria, and force him to guide them to Mordor. Finding Mordor's Black Gate too well guarded to attempt, they travel instead to a secret passage Gollum knows. Torn between his loyalty to Frodo and his desire for the Ring, Gollum eventually betrays Frodo by leading him to the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol. Frodo is felled by Shelob's bite, but Sam fights her off. Sam takes the Ring and leaves Frodo, believing him to be dead. When orcs find Frodo, Sam overhears them say that Frodo is only unconscious, and chases after them.
The Return of the King[edit]
Sauron unleashes a heavy assault upon Gondor. Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to alert Denethor of the impending attack. The city is besieged, and Denethor, deceived by Sauron, gives up hope and commits suicide, nearly taking his remaining son Faramir with him. With time running out, Aragorn feels he has no choice but to take the Paths of the Dead, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli and the Dúnedain Rangers from the North. There Aragorn raises an undead army of oath-breakers bound by an ancient curse. The ghostly army help them to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. Commandeering the ships of the Corsairs, Aragorn leads reinforcements up the Anduin to relieve the siege of Minas Tirith, and the forces of Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Meanwhile, Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol, and they set out across Mordor. In order to distract Sauron from his true danger, Aragorn leads the armies of Gondor and Rohan in a march on the Black Gate of Mordor. His vastly outnumbered troops fight desperately against Sauron's forces. Reaching the edge of the Cracks of Doom, Frodo is unable to resist the Ring any longer, and suddenly and fiercely claims it for himself. But Gollum suddenly reappears, struggles with Frodo and bites off his finger, Ring and all. Celebrating wildly, Gollum accidentally falls into the fire, taking the Ring with him; and so Frodo's mission is completed. With the destruction of the One Ring, Sauron is permanently shorn of his power, the Nazgûl perish, and his armies are thrown into such disarray that Aragorn's forces emerge victorious.
With the end of the War of the Ring, Aragorn is crowned Elessar, King of Arnor and Gondor, and marries his long-time love, Arwen, daughter of Elrond. Saruman escapes from Isengard and, seeking to carve out a new kingdom, enslaves the Shire through Lotho Sackville-Baggins bearing the name "Sharkey", an orc term for "Old Man". The four hobbits, upon returning home, raise a rebellion and overthrow him. Gríma turns on Saruman and kills him, and is slain in turn by hobbit archers. The War of the Ring thus comes to its true end on Frodo's very doorstep. Merry and Pippin are acclaimed heroes, while Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts from Galadriel to help heal the Shire. He later becomes mayor of the shire. Frodo, however, remains wounded in body and spirit after having borne the spiritual weight of the One Ring so long.
Several years later, accompanied by Bilbo and Gandalf, he sails from the Grey Havens west over the Sea to the Undying Lands to find peace. After Rosie's death, Sam gives his daughter the Red Book of Westmarch, containing the account of Bilbo's adventures and the War of the Ring as witnessed by the hobbits. Sam is then said to have crossed west over the Sea himself, the last of the Ring-bearers.
Main characters[edit]
Protagonists:
Frodo Baggins, bearer of the One Ring, given to him by Bilbo Baggins.
Samwise Gamgee, gardener and friend of the Bagginses
Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), Frodo's cousin
Peregrin Took (Pip or Pippin), Frodo's cousin
Gandalf, a wizard. He is a Maia, an angelic being sent by the god-like Valar to fight Sauron. He bears the Ring of Fire, one of the three Elven rings, given to him by Círdan of the Grey Havens.
Aragorn, descendant of Isildur and rightful heir to the thrones of Arnor and Gondor
Legolas Greenleaf, an Elf prince and son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood
Gimli, son of Glóin, a dwarf
Denethor, ruling Steward of Gondor and Lord of Minas Tirith.
Boromir, the eldest son of Denethor
Faramir, younger brother of Boromir
Galadriel, Elf co-ruler of Lothlórien, and grandmother of Arwen Undómiel (Arwen Evenstar). Keeper of one of the three Elven rings.
Celeborn, Elf co-ruler of Lothlórien, husband of Galadriel, and grandfather of Arwen Undómiel
Elrond, Half-elven Lord of Rivendell and father of Arwen Undómiel. Keeper of another of the Elven rings.
Arwen, daughter of Elrond, love interest of Aragorn
Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's adoptive uncle,
Théoden, King of Rohan, ally of Gondor and father of the late Theodred.
Éomer, the 3rd Marshal of the Mark and Théoden's nephew. Later King of Rohan after Théoden's death.
Éowyn, sister of Éomer, who disguises herself as a male warrior named Dernhelm to fight beside Théoden.
Treebeard, oldest of the Ents.
Antagonists:
Sauron, the Dark Lord and titular Lord of the Rings, a fallen Maia who helped the Elves forge the Rings of Power long ago. Lieutenant of Morgoth in the First Age.
The Nazgûl or Ringwraiths, men enslaved by Sauron when they accepted his treacherous gifts of Rings of Power.
The Witch-king of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgûl, and Sauron's most powerful servant, who commands Sauron's army.
Saruman, a wizard who seeks the One Ring for himself. Corrupted by Sauron through the palantír. Like Gandalf, he is a Maia.
Gríma Wormtongue, a secret servant of Saruman and traitor to Rohan, who poisons Théoden's perceptions with well placed "advice".
Gollum, a river hobbit originally named Sméagol.
Shelob, a giant spider who dwells in the passes above Minas Morgul.
The Balrog, a fire-demon dwelling beneath the Mines of Moria awakened by the digging and mining of Dwarves.
Concept and creation[edit]
Background[edit]
The Lord of the Rings started as a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's earlier work The Hobbit, published in 1937.[12] The popularity of The Hobbit had led George Allen & Unwin, the publishers, to request a sequel. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, and responded with several stories he had already developed. Having rejected his contemporary drafts for The Silmarillion, putting on hold Roverandom, and accepting Farmer Giles of Ham, Allen & Unwin thought more stories about hobbits would be popular.[13] So at the age of 45, Tolkien began writing the story that would become The Lord of the Rings. The story would not be finished until 12 years later, in 1949, and would not be fully published until 1955, when Tolkien was 63 years old.
Writing[edit]
Persuaded by his publishers, he started "a new Hobbit" in December 1937.[12] After several false starts, the story of the One Ring emerged. The idea for the first chapter ("A Long-Expected Party") arrived fully formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, the significance of the Ring, and the title The Lord of the Rings did not arrive until the spring of 1938.[12] Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however, he remembered the Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work.[12] As the story progressed, he also brought in elements from 'The Silmarillion' mythology.[14]
Writing was slow, because Tolkien had a full-time academic position, and needed to earn further money as a university examiner.[15] Tolkien abandoned The Lord of the Rings during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944,[12] as a serial for his son Christopher Tolkien, who was sent chapters as they were written while he was serving in South Africa with the Royal Air Force. Tolkien made another concerted effort in 1946, and showed the manuscript to his publishers in 1947.[12] The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949.[12] The original manuscripts, which total 9,250 pages, now reside in the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University.[16]
Influences[edit]

The corner of a street with a public house called The Ivy Bush on the right side. In the background two tall brick towers can be seen further left.

 Mentioned at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, the Ivy Bush[17] is the closest public house to Birmingham Oratory which Tolkien attended while living near Edgbaston Reservoir. Perrott's Folly is nearby.
Main article: J. R. R. Tolkien's influences
The Lord of the Rings developed as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman Catholicism[18]), fairy tales, Norse and general Germanic mythology,[19][20] and also Celtic,[21] Slavic,[22][23][24] Persian,[25] Greek,[26] and Finnish mythology.[27] Tolkien acknowledged, and external critics have verified, the influences of George MacDonald and William Morris[28] and the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf.[29] The question of a direct influence of Wagner's The Nibelung's Ring on Tolkien's work is debated by critics.
Tolkien included neither any explicit religion nor cult in his work. Rather the themes, moral philosophy, and cosmology of the Lord of the Rings reflect his Catholic worldview. In one of his letters Tolkien states, "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."[18]
Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in Birmingham, where he first lived near Sarehole Mill, and later near Edgbaston Reservoir.[30] There are also hints of the Black Country, which is within easy reach of north west Edgbaston. This shows in such names as "Underhill", and the description of Saruman's industrialisation of Isengard and The Shire. It has also been suggested that The Shire and its surroundings were based on the countryside around Stonyhurst College in Lancashire where Tolkien frequently stayed during the 1940s.[31] The work was influenced by the effects of his military service during World War I, to the point that Frodo has been "diagnosed" as suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or "shell-shock," which was first diagnosed at the Battle of the Somme, at which Tolkien served.[32]
Publication history[edit]
A dispute with his publisher, George Allen & Unwin, led to the book being offered to Collins in 1950. Tolkien intended The Silmarillion (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but A&U were unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of the Rings itself "urgently wanted cutting", Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952.[33] Collins did not; and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying, "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff."[12]
For publication, the book was divided into three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring (Books I, The Ring Sets Out, and II, The Ring Goes South), The Two Towers (Books III, The Treason of Isengard, and IV, The Ring Goes East), and The Return of the King (Books V, The War of the Ring, and VI, The End of the Third Age, plus six appendices). This was due largely to post-war paper shortages, as well as being a way to keep down the price of the book. Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially indices led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped — on 21 July 1954, on 11 November 1954 and on 20 October 1955 respectively in the United Kingdom, and slightly later in the United States. The Return of the King was especially delayed. Tolkien, moreover, did not especially like the title The Return of the King, believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested The War of the Ring, which was dismissed by his publishers.[34]
The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits.[35] It has ultimately become the second best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[2] Only A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens has sold more copies worldwide (over 200 million) while the fourth best-selling novel is Tolkien's The Hobbit.[36][37][38]
Editions and revisions[edit]
In the early 1960s Donald A. Wollheim, science fiction editor of the paperback publisher Ace Books, claimed that The Lord of the Rings was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because Houghton Mifflin, the U.S. hardcover publisher, had neglected to copyright the work in the United States.[39][40] Ace Books then proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without paying royalties to him. Tolkien took issue with this and quickly notified his fans of this objection.[41] Grass-roots pressure from these fans became so great that Ace Books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien.[42][43] Authorized editions followed from Ballantine Books and Houghton Mifflin to tremendous commercial success. By the mid-1960s the novel had become a cultural phenomenon. Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would be published with his consent and establish an unquestioned US copyright. This text became the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings, published in 1965.[42] Houghton Mifflin editions after 1994 consolidate variant revisions by Tolkien, and corrections supervised by Christopher Tolkien, which resulted, after some initial glitches, in a computer-based unified text.[44]
Posthumous publication of drafts[edit]
From 1988 to 1992 Christopher Tolkien published the surviving drafts of The Lord of The Rings, chronicling and illuminating with commentary the stages of the text's development, in volumes 6–9 of his History of Middle-earth series. The four volumes carry the titles The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, and Sauron Defeated.
Translations[edit]
Main article: Translations of The Lord of the Rings
The novel has been translated, with various degrees of success, into at least 38 other languages.[45] Tolkien, an expert in philology, examined many of these translations, and made comments on each that reflect both the translation process and his work. As he was unhappy with some choices made by early translators, such as the Swedish translation by Åke Ohlmarks,[46] Tolkien wrote a "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings" (1967). Because The Lord of the Rings purports to be a translation of the fictitious Red Book of Westmarch, with the English language representing the Westron of the "original", Tolkien suggested that translators attempt to capture the interplay between English and the invented nomenclature of the English work, and gave several examples along with general guidance.
Reception[edit]
Main article: Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien
While early reviews for The Lord of the Rings were mixed, reviews in various media have been, on the whole, highly positive and acknowledge Tolkien's literary achievement as a significant one. On its initial review the Sunday Telegraph felt it was "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century."[47] The Sunday Times seemed to echo these sentiments when in its review it was stated that "the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them."[47] The New York Herald Tribune also seemed to have an idea of how popular the books would become, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time."[48] W. H. Auden, an admirer of Tolkien's writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a "masterpiece", further stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of John Milton's Paradise Lost.[49]
New York Times reviewer Judith Shulevitz criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style, saying that he "formulated a high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself."[50] Critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic, criticized the work for a lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself are, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fibre."[51] Even within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings, reviews were mixed. Hugo Dyson complained loudly at its readings, and Christopher Tolkien records Dyson as "lying on the couch, and lolling and shouting and saying, 'Oh God, not another Elf!'"[52][53] However, another Inkling, C. S. Lewis, had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart." Despite these reviews and its lack of paperback printing until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback.[7]
In 1957, The Lord of the Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and reader surveys.[54] In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book." In similar 2004 polls both Germany[55] and Australia[56] also found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium."[57] The Lord of the Rings was awarded the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award in 2009.
Ethan Gilsdorf, writing for The Boston Globe, commented that while there are movements within academia to approach The Lord of the Rings as a serious literary work, the 2001–2003 film trilogy has contributed to a dumbing down of the reception of the novel by the forces of mass-commercialization.[58]
Themes[edit]
Main article: Themes of The Lord of the Rings
Although The Lord of the Rings was published in the 1950s, Tolkien insisted that the One Ring was not an allegory for the Atomic Bomb,[59] nor were his works a strict allegory of any kind, but were open to interpretation as the reader saw fit.[60][61]
A few critics have found what they consider to be racial elements in the story, generally based upon their views of how Tolkien's imagery depicts good and evil, characters' race (e.g. Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, Southron, Númenórean, Orc); and that the character's race is seen as determining their behaviour.[62][63][64] Counter-arguments note that race-focused critiques often omit relevant textual evidence to the contrary,[65][66][67] cite imagery from adaptations rather than the work itself;[68] ignore the absence of evidence of racist attitudes or events in the author's personal life[65][68][69] and claim that the perception of racism is itself a marginal view.[69]
Critics have also seen social class rather than race as being the determinant factor for the portrayal of good and evil.[65] Commentators such as science fiction author David Brin have interpreted the work to hold unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist social structure.[70] In his essay "Epic Pooh", science fiction and fantasy author Michael Moorcock critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the 'paternalism' of the narrative voice and the power-structures in the narrative.[71] Tom Shippey cites the origin of this portrayal of evil as a reflection of the prejudices of European middle-classes during the inter-war years towards the industrial working class.[72]
The book has been read as fitting the model of Joseph Campbell's "monomyth".[73]
Adaptations[edit]
Main article: Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings has been adapted for film, radio and stage.
The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a 12-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station WBAI produced a short radio adaptation. A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of the Rings was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments. This dramatization of The Lord of the Rings has subsequently been made available on both tape and CD both by the BBC and other publishers. For this purpose it is generally edited into 13 one hour episodes.
Two film adaptations of the book have been made. The first was J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1978), by animator Ralph Bakshi,[74] the first part of what was originally intended to be a two-part adaptation of the story; it covers The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers. A three-issue comic book version of the movie was also published in Europe (but not printed in English), with illustrations by Luis Bermejo. When Bakshi's investors shied away of financing the second film that would complete the story, the remainder of the story was covered in an animated television special by Rankin-Bass. Stylistically, the two segments are very different. The second and far more critically and commercially successful adaptation was Peter Jackson's live action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema and released in three instalments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). All three parts received nearly universal acclaim and were each nominated for and won multiple Academy Awards, including consecutive Best Picture nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11 Oscars (something only two other films in history, Ben-Hur and Titanic, have accomplished), including "Best Picture", "Best Director", "Best Adapted Screenplay" and "Best Original Score".
The Hunt for Gollum, a fan film based on elements of the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, was released on the internet in May 2009 and has been covered in major media.[75]
In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of The Lord of the Rings,[76] with British actor Rob Inglis – who had previously starred in his own one-man stage productions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – reading. A large-scale musical theatre adaptation, The Lord of the Rings was first staged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2006 and opened in London in May 2007.
Legacy[edit]
Main article: Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien
Influences on the fantasy genre[edit]
The enormous popularity of Tolkien's epic saga greatly expanded the demand for fantasy fiction. Largely thanks to The Lord of the Rings, the genre flowered throughout the 1960s, and enjoys popularity to the present day. The opus has spawned many imitators, such as The Sword of Shannara, which Lin Carter called "the single most cold-blooded, complete rip-off of another book that I have ever read".[77] Dungeons & Dragons, which popularized the role-playing game (RPG) genre in the 1970s, features many races found in The Lord of the Rings, most notably halflings (another term for hobbits), elves, dwarves, half-elves, orcs, and dragons. However, Gary Gygax, lead designer of the game, maintained that he was influenced very little by The Lord of the Rings, stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game.[78]
Because D&D has influenced many popular role-playing video games, the influence of The Lord of the Rings extends to many of them as well, with titles such as Dragon Warrior,[79][80] the Ultima series , EverQuest, the Warcraft series, and the Elder Scrolls series of games[81] as well as video games set in Middle-earth itself.
Research also suggests that some consumers of fantasy games derive their motivation from trying to create an epic fantasy narrative which is influenced by The Lord of the Rings.[82]
Music[edit]
In 1965, songwriter Donald Swann, who was best known for his collaboration with Michael Flanders as Flanders & Swann, set six poems from The Lord of the Rings and one from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ("Errantry") to music. When Swann met with Tolkien to play the songs for his approval, Tolkien suggested for "Namárië" (Galadriel's lament) a setting reminiscent of plain chant, which Swann accepted.[83] The songs were published in 1967 as The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle,[84] and a recording of the songs performed by singer William Elvin with Swann on piano was issued that same year by Caedmon Records as Poems and Songs of Middle Earth.[85]
In 1988, Dutch composer and trombonist Johan de Meij completed his Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings", which encompassed 5 movements, titled "Gandalf", "Lothlórien", "Gollum", "Journey in the Dark", and "Hobbits". In 1989 the symphony was awarded the Sudler Composition Award, awarded biennially for best wind band composition. The Danish Tolkien Ensemble have released a number of albums that feature the complete poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings set to music, with some featuring recitation by Christopher Lee.
Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy embracing counter-culture of the time; British 70s rock band Led Zeppelin recorded several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings ("Ramble On", "The Battle of Evermore", "Over the Hills and Far Away", and "Misty Mountain Hop"). In 1970, the Swedish musician Bo Hansson released an instrumental concept album based on the book entitled Sagan om ringen (translated as "The Saga of the Ring", which was the title of the Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings at the time).[86] The album was subsequently released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in 1972.[86] The songs "Rivendell" and "The Necromancer" by the progressive rock band Rush were inspired by Tolkien. Styx also paid homage to Tolkien on their "Pieces of Eight" album with the song "Lords of the Ring," while Black Sabbath's song, "The Wizard", which appeared on their debut album, was influenced by Tolkien's hero, Gandalf. The heavy metal band Cirith Ungol took their name from a mountain pass in Middle-earth. Progressive rock group Camel paid homage to the text in their lengthy composition "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider", and Progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest was inspired by the character Galadriel to write a song by that name, and used "Bombadil", the name of another character, as a pseudonym under which their 1972 single "Breathless"/"When the City Sleeps" was released; there are other references scattered through the BJH oeuvre.
Later, from the 1980s to the present day, many heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien. Blind Guardian has written many songs relating to Middle-earth, including the full concept album Nightfall in Middle Earth. Almost all of Summoning's songs and the entire discography of Battlelore are Tolkien-themed. Gorgoroth and Amon Amarth take their names from an area of Mordor, and Burzum take their name from the Black Speech of Mordor. The Finnish metal band Nightwish and the Norwegian metal band Tristania have also incorporated many Tolkien references into their music. A Swedish metal band, Sabaton, based their song "Shadows" on the nine ring wraiths.[citation needed]
Enya wrote an instrumental piece called "Lothlórien" in 1991, and composed two songs for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring—"May It Be" (sung in English and Quenya) and "Aníron" (sung in Sindarin).
Impact on popular culture[edit]
The Lord of the Rings has had a profound and wide-ranging impact on popular culture, beginning with its publication in the 1950s, but especially throughout the 1960s and 1970s, during which time young people embraced it as a countercultural saga.[87] "Frodo Lives!" and "Gandalf for President" were two phrases popular amongst United States Tolkien fans during this time.[88]
Parodies like the Harvard Lampoon's Bored of the Rings, the VeggieTales episode "Lord of the Beans", the South Park episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers", the Futurama film "Bender's Game", The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius episode "Lights! Camera! Danger!", The Big Bang Theory episode "The Precious Fragmentation", and the American Dad! episode "The Return of the Bling" are testimony to the work's continual presence in popular culture.
In 1969, Tolkien sold the merchandising rights to The Lord of The Rings (and The Hobbit) to United Artists under an agreement stipulating a lump sum payment of £10,000[89] plus a 7.5% royalty after costs,[90] payable to Allen & Unwin and the author.[91] In 1976, three years after the author's death, United Artists sold the rights to Saul Zaentz Company, who now trade as Tolkien Enterprises. Since then all "authorized" merchandise has been signed-off by Tolkien Enterprises, although the intellectual property rights of the specific likenesses of characters and other imagery from various adaptations is generally held by the adaptors.[92] Outside any commercial exploitation from adaptations, from the late 1960s onwards there has been an increasing variety of original licensed merchandise, from posters and calendars created by illustrators such as Pauline Baynes and the Brothers Hildebrandt, to figurines and miniatures to computer, video, tabletop and role-playing games. Recent examples include the Spiel des Jahres award winning (for best use of literature in a game) board game The Lord of the Rings by Reiner Knizia and the Golden Joystick award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar by Turbine, Inc..
See also[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century
Norse mythology in popular culture
1954 in literature
1955 in literature
Literature of the United Kingdom
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ This is made clear in the chapter The Council of Elrond, where Glorfindel states: "[E]ven if we could [hide the Ring], soon or late the Lord of the Rings would learn of its hiding place and would bend all his power towards it."[3]
2.Jump up ^ Although Frodo referred to Bilbo as his "uncle", they were in fact first and second cousins, once removed either way (his paternal great-great-uncle's son's son and his maternal great-aunt's son).
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "World War I and World War II". National Geographic. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Wagner, Vit (16 April 2007). "Tolkien proves he's still the king". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
3.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), The Council of Elrond, ISBN 0-395-08254-4
4.^ Jump up to: a b Reynolds, Pat. "The Lord of the Rings: The Tale of a Text". The Tolkien Society. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
5.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #126., ISBN 0-395-31555-7
6.Jump up ^ "The Life and Works for JRR Tolkien". BBC. 7 February 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Doughan, David. "J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biographical Sketch". TolkienSociety.org. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
8.Jump up ^ Gilliver, Peter (2006). The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861069-6.
9.Jump up ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan (23 March 2007). "Elvish Impersonators". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
10.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings". The Lord of the Rings. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
11.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), "The Shadow of the Past", ISBN 0-395-08254-4 They are popularly thought to be cousins, but Tolkien only calls them "friends" in The Lord of the Rings. In a later letter (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, #214), he writes that they were "evidently relatives".
12.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "The Lord of the Rings: Genesis" (PDF). Archived from the original on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2006.
13.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1977, pp. 195
14.Jump up ^ My Father's "Eviscerated" Work - Son Of Hobbit Scribe J.R.R. Tolkien Finally Speaks Out | Worldcrunch
15.Jump up ^ "I have spent nearly all the vacation-times of seventeen years examining [...] Writing stories in prose or verse has been stolen, often guiltily, from time already mortgaged..." Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #17, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
16.Jump up ^ "J.R.R. Tolkien Collection | Marquette Archives | Raynor Memorial Libraries | Marquette University".
17.Jump up ^ The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, Chapter 1, paragraph 8.
18.^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter, Humphrey (1995). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-05699-8, Letter no. 142, page 172
19.Jump up ^ Shippey, T.A. (2005 [1982]). The Road to Middle-earth, 3rd ed., HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-261-10275-3.
20.Jump up ^ T.A. Shippey: Tolkien, Author of the Century HarperCollins, 2000
21.Jump up ^ Gunnell, Terry (13–14 September 2002). "Tívar in a timeless land: Tolkien's Elves". Retrieved 4 January 2012.
22.Jump up ^ Lesniewski, Michal (3 September 2003). "Re Redigast Quid * cum Boromir?" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 October 2011.
23.Jump up ^ Fisher, Jason (20 October 2009). "Slavic echoes in Tolkien — A response". Retrieved 28 October 2011.
24.Jump up ^ Kuzmenko, Dmitry. "Slavic echoes in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 6 November 2011.
25.Jump up ^ Allen, Elizabeth M. (1985). "Persian Influences in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings" in The Transcendent Adventure: Studies of Religion in Science Fiction/Fantasy, ed. Robert Reilly. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 189–206. ISBN 0-313-23062-5.
26.Jump up ^ Stanton, Michael (2001). Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards: Exploring the Wonders and Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 18. ISBN 1-4039-6025-9.
27.Jump up ^ Handwerk, Brian (1 March 2004). "Lord of the Rings Inspired by an Ancient Epic". National Geographic News (National Geographic Society). pp. 1–2. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
28.Jump up ^ The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Letter #19, 31 December 1960
29.Jump up ^ Shippey, Tom (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien Author of the Century, HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10401-2
30.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #178 & #303, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
31.Jump up ^ Edwards, Paul. "In the Valley of the Hobbits". Travel Lady Magazine. Retrieved 5 October 2006.
32.Jump up ^ Livingston, Michael (2006). "The Shellshocked Hobbit: The First World War and Tolkien’s Trauma of the Ring". Mythlore (Mythopoeic Society). pp. 77–92. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
33.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (1977), Tolkien: A Biography, New York: Ballantine Books, p. 211 ff., ISBN 0-04-928037-6
34.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. (2000). The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-08359-6.
35.Jump up ^ D.C. Drout, Michael (2007). J.R.R. Tokien encyclopedia. CRC Press. ISBN 9780415969420.
36.Jump up ^ The Telegraph on A Tale of Two Cities: "Charles Dickens’ second stab at a historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities, has sold more than 200 million copies to date, making it the bestselling novel – in any genre – of all time." (8 May 2010)
37.Jump up ^ Inman, William H. (2011) "Hotelier Saint-Exupery's Princely Instincts", Institutional Investor, March 2011. Gale document #A253314734, retrieved online from General OneFile, 6 November 2011 (subscription). Quote: "The Prince remains a king among books, with more than 200 million copies sold in more than 190 languages, making it one of the bestselling volumes of any kind."
38.Jump up ^ BBC: Tolkien's memorabilia go on sale. 18 March 2008
39.Jump up ^ "Betsy Wollheim: The Family Trade". Locus Online. June 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
40.Jump up ^ Silverberg, Robert (1997). Reflections & Refractions: Thoughts on Science Fiction, Science, and Other Matters. Grass Valley, Calif: Underwood. pp. 253–6. ISBN 1-887424-22-9.
41.Jump up ^ Joseph Ripp. "Middle America Meets Middle-earth: American Publication and Discussion of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings". p. 38.
42.^ Jump up to: a b Reynolds, Pat. "The Lord of the Rings: The Tale of a Text". The Tolkien Society. "There was a campaign against Ace, who, as a result, agreed to pay royalties, and not to print any more copies. But, as a result of being advised that he had lost his copyright, even before the Ace edition was issued, Tolkien began to revise The Lord of the Rings, so that there could be an authorised paperback which would be a new edition, and more importantly, a new edition for which he would still own the copyright. This was published by Ballentine [sic] Books in October 1965."
43.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, especially #270, #273 and #277, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
44.Jump up ^ "Notes on the text" pp. xi–xiii, Douglas A. Anderson, in the 1994 HarperCollins edition of The Fellowship of the Ring.
45.Jump up ^ "How many languages have The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings been translated into?". Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2006.
46.Jump up ^ Letters, 305f.; c.f. Martin Andersson "Lord of the Errors or, Who Really Killed the Witch-King?"
47.^ Jump up to: a b "The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set (Lord of the Rings Trilogy Series) section: Editorial reviews". Retrieved 4 December 2010.
48.Jump up ^ "From the Critics". Retrieved 30 May 2006.
49.Jump up ^ Auden, W. H. (22 January 1956). "At the End of the Quest, Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
50.Jump up ^ Shulevitz, Judith (22 April 2001). "Hobbits in Hollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2006.
51.Jump up ^ Jenkyns, Richard (28 January 2002). "Bored of the Rings". The New Republic. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
52.Jump up ^ Derek Bailey (Director) and Judi Dench (Narrator) (1992). A Film Portrait of J. R. R. Tolkien (Television documentary). Visual Corporation.
53.Jump up ^ Dyson's actual comment, bowdlerized in the TV version, was "Not another fucking Elf!" Grovier, Kelly (29 April 2007). "In the Name of the Father". The Observer. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
54.Jump up ^ Seiler, Andy (16 December 2003). "'Rings' comes full circle". USA Today. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
55.Jump up ^ Diver, Krysia (5 October 2004). "A lord for Germany". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
56.Jump up ^ Cooper, Callista (5 December 2005). "Epic trilogy tops favourite film poll". ABC News Online. Archived from the original on 16 January 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
57.Jump up ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (4 June 2001). "The book of the century". Salon. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
58.Jump up ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan (16 November 2003). "Lord of the Gold Ring". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
59.Jump up ^ The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power, (Revised Edition, by Jane Chance, copyright 2001). University Press of Kentucky, cited in "Influences on "The Lord of the Rings"". National Geographic Society.
60.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. from Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Macmillan Reference USA. Cited in "J. R. R. Tolkien Summary". BookRags.
61.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. (1991). The Lord of the Rings. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10238-9.
62.Jump up ^ Yatt, John (2 December 2002). "Wraiths and Race". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 25 May 2010.
63.Jump up ^ Bhatia, Shyam (8 January 2003). "The Lord of the Rings rooted in racism". Rediff India Abroad. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
64.Jump up ^ Straubhaar, Sandra Ballif. "Myth, Late Roman history and Multiculturalism in Tolkien's Middle Earth". In Chance, Jane. p. 113.
65.^ Jump up to: a b c Curry, Patrick (2004). Defending Middle-earth: Tolkien: Myth and Modernity. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 30–33. ISBN 0-312-17671-6.
66.Jump up ^ Chism, Christine (2007). "Race and Ethnicity in Tolkien's Works". In Michael Drout. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.
67.Jump up ^ Chism, Christine (2007). "Racism, Charges of". In Michael Drout. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.
68.^ Jump up to: a b Rearick, Anderson (Winter 2004). "Why is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc? The Dark Face of Racism in Tolkien's World". Modern Fiction Studies. p. 861.
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70.Jump up ^ Brin, David (December 2002). "We Hobbits are a Merry Folk: an incautious and heretical re-appraisal of J.R.R. Tolkien". Salon Magazine. Retrieved 9 January 2006.[verification needed]
71.Jump up ^ Moorcock, Michael. "Epic Pooh". Retrieved 27 January 2006.
72.Jump up ^ Shippey, T. A. The Roots of Tolkien's Middle Earth (review) Tolkien Studies – Volume 4, 2007, pp. 307–311
73.Jump up ^ Bower, Jody G. "The Lord of the Rings" — An Archetypal Hero's Journey". Retrieved 4 December 2010.
74.Jump up ^ J.C. Maçek III (2 August 2012). "'American Pop'... Matters: Ron Thompson, the Illustrated Man Unsung". PopMatters.
75.Jump up ^ Masters, Tim (30 April 2009). "Making Middle-earth on a shoestring". BBC News (BBC). Retrieved 1 May 2009.
Sydell, Laura (30 April 2009). "High-Def 'Hunt For Gollum' New Lord Of The Fanvids". All Things Considered (NPR). Retrieved 1 May 2009.
76.Jump up ^ ISBN 1-4025-1627-4
77.Jump up ^ Carter, Lin (1978). The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4. New York: DAW Books. pp. 207–208.
78.Jump up ^ Gygax, Gary. "Gary Gygax — Creator of Dungeons & Dragons". The One Ring.net. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
79.Jump up ^ "The Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: Role-Playing Games". Honorable Mention: Dragon Warrior. Gamasutra. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
80.Jump up ^ Kalata, Kurt. "The History of Dragon Quest". Gamasutra. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
81.Jump up ^ Douglass, Perry (17 May 2006). "The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames". IGN. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
82.Jump up ^ Martin, Brett A. S. (2004), "Using the Imagination: Consumer Evoking and Thematizing of the Fantastic Imaginary", Journal of Consumer Research, 31 (June), 136-149.
83.Jump up ^ Tolkien had recorded a version of his theme on a friend's tape recorder in 1952. This was later issued by Caedmon Records in 1975 as part of J.R.R. Tolkien reads and sings The Lord of the Rings (LP recording TC1478).
84.Jump up ^ Swann, Donald and Tolkien, J.R.R. The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle New York: Ballantine Books (1967).
85.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. and Swann, Donald. Poems and Songs of Middle Earth New York: Caedmon Records (1967). LP recording, TC1231/TC91231.
86.^ Jump up to: a b Snider, Charles. (2008). The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock. Strawberry Bricks. pp. 120–121. ISBN 0-615-17566-X.
87.Jump up ^ Feist, Raymond (2001). Meditations on Middle-earth. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30290-8.
88.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-05702-1.
89.Jump up ^ "Tolkien sold film rights for £10,000". London Evening Standard. 12 July 2001. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
90.Jump up ^ Pulley, Brett (15 July 2009). "‘Hobbit’ Heirs Seek $220 Million for ‘Rings’ Rights (Update1)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
91.Jump up ^ Harlow, John (28 May 2008). "Hobbit movies meet dire foe in son of Tolkien". The Times Online (London: The Times). Retrieved 24 July 2008.
92.Jump up ^ Mathijs, Ernest (2006). The Lord of the Rings: Popular Culture in Global Context. Wallflower Press. p. 25. ISBN 1-904764-82-7.
Further reading[edit]
Carter, Lin (1969). Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27539-X.
Day, David (2004). The World of Tolkien: Mythological Sources of the Lord of the Rings. Gramercy Books. ISBN 978-0-517-22317-8.
Drout, Michael D. C. (2006). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0.
Foster, Robert (1978). The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth: from "The Hobbit" through "The lord of the Rings" and Beyond. Rev. and enl. ed. Ballantine Books. N.B.: An alphabetical dictionary of personages and lore in this body of works by J. R. R. Tolkien. ISBN 0-7394-3297-4 hdbk.
Hammond, Wayne G.; Christina Scull (2005). The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion. Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0-618-64267-6.
Glyer, Diana Pavlac (2007). The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community. Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-890-9.
Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2006), ISBN 0-618-39113-4
Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The History of The Lord of the Rings, 4 vols (1988–1992).
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Lord of the Rings.
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien website of Harper Collins (the British publisher)
Tolkien website of Houghton Mifflin (the American publisher)
The Encyclopedia of Arda: An Interactive Guide to the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
The Tolkien Library

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The Fellowship of the Ring

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see The Fellowship of the Ring (disambiguation).

The Fellowship of the Ring
FellowshipOfTheRing.JPG
1st edition
 
Author
J. R. R. Tolkien
Country
England
Language
English
Genre
Fantasy
Publisher
George Allen & Unwin[1]
Publication date
July 24, 1954
Media type
Print (Hardback and Paperback)
Pages
531
Preceded by
The Hobbit
Followed by
The Two Towers
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe of Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom. The volume consists of a Prologue titled "Concerning Hobbits, and other matters" followed by Book I and Book II.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Title and publication
2 Plot summary 2.1 Book I: The Ring Sets Out
2.2 Book II: The Ring Goes South
3 Members of the Fellowship of the Ring
4 Critical reception
5 See also
6 Editions
7 References
8 External links
Title and publication[edit]
Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a multiple volume with six sections he called "books" along with extensive appendices. The original publisher made the decision to split the work into three parts. It was also the publisher's decision to place the fifth and sixth books and the appendices into one volume under the title The Return of the King, in reference to Aragorn's assumption of the throne of Gondor. Tolkien indicated he would have preferred The War of the Ring as a title, as it gave away less of the story.[2]
Before the decision to publish The Lord of the Rings in three volumes was made, Tolkien had hoped to publish the novel in one volume, possibly also combined with The Silmarillion. However, he had proposed titles for the individual six sections. Of the two books that comprise what became The Fellowship of the Ring the first was to be called The First Journey or The Ring Sets Out. The name of the second was The Journey of the Nine Companions or The Ring Goes South. The titles The Ring Sets Out and The Ring Goes South were used in the Millennium edition.
Plot summary[edit]
See also: The Lord of the Rings#Plot summary
The Prologue is meant partly to help people who have not read The Hobbit to understand the events of that book. It also contains other background information to set the stage for the novel.
Book I: The Ring Sets Out[edit]
The first chapter in the book begins in a light vein, following the tone of The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins celebrates his 111th (or eleventy-first, as it is called in Hobbiton) birthday on the same day, 22 'September', that his relative and adopted heir Frodo Baggins celebrates his coming of age at 33. At the birthday party, Bilbo departs from the Shire, the land of the Hobbits, for what he calls a permanent holiday. Bilbo does so by using the magic ring (that he had found on his journey) to disappear and is aided by Gandalf with a flash and puff of smoke, leading many in the Shire to believe he has gone mad. He leaves Frodo his remaining belongings, including his home, Bag End, and (after some persuasion by the wizard Gandalf) the Ring. Gandalf leaves on his own business, warning Frodo to keep the Ring secret.
Over the next 17 years Gandalf periodically pays short visits to Bag End. One spring night, he arrives to enlighten Frodo about Bilbo's ring; it is the One Ring of Sauron the Dark Lord. Sauron had forged it to subdue and rule Middle-earth, but in the War of the Last Alliance, he had been defeated by Gil-galad the Elven King and Elendil, High King of Arnor and Gondor, though they themselves perished in the deed. Isildur, Elendil's son, cut the Ring from Sauron's finger. Sauron had thus been overthrown, but the Ring itself was not destroyed as it should have been; Isildur kept it for himself. Isildur was slain soon afterwards in the Battle of the Gladden Fields, and the Ring was lost in Great River Anduin. Thousands of years later, it had been found by the hobbit Déagol; but Déagol was thereupon murdered by his friend Sméagol, who coveted the Ring for himself. Sméagol subsequently possessed the Ring for centuries, and under its influence he became the creature named Gollum. The Ring was found by Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit, and Bilbo left it behind for Frodo.
Gandalf reveals that Sauron has risen again and returned to his stronghold in Mordor, and is exerting all his power toward the hunting of the Ring. Gandalf details the evil powers of the Ring and its ability to influence the bearer and those near him if it is worn for too long. Gandalf warns Frodo that the Ring is no longer safe in the Shire; he has learned through his investigations that Gollum had gone to Mordor, where he was captured and tortured until he revealed to Sauron that a hobbit named Baggins from the Shire possesses the Ring. Gandalf hopes Frodo can reach the elf-haven Rivendell, where he believes Frodo and the Ring will be safe from Sauron, and where its fate can be decided. Samwise Gamgee, Frodo's gardener and friend, is discovered listening in on the conversation. Out of loyalty to his master, Sam agrees to accompany Frodo on his journey.
Over the summer Frodo makes plans to leave his home at Bag End, under the pretence that he is moving to a remote region near the Shire to retire. Helping with the plans are Frodo's friends Sam, Peregrin Took (Pippin for short), Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), and Fredegar Bolger (Fatty), though Frodo does not tell them of the Ring or of his intention to leave the Shire. At midsummer, Gandalf leaves on pressing business, but promises to return before Frodo leaves. Frodo's birthday and departure date approach, but Gandalf does not appear, so Frodo decides to leave without him. Black Riders pursue Frodo's party; these turn out to be Nazgûl or Ringwraiths, "the most terrible servants of the Dark Lord" (men who have been corrupted by Sauron through the Nine Rings), who are searching for "Baggins" and the Ring. In fact, one of the Riders comes to the door of Sam's father, the Gaffer, that very evening before they depart. With help of some elves and Farmer Maggot, they reach Crickhollow beyond the eastern border of the Shire. There Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Fatty reveal that they know of the Ring and of Frodo's plan to leave the Shire. Sam, Merry, and Pippin decide to accompany Frodo, while Fatty stays behind as a decoy. In hopes of eluding the Nazgûl, the hobbits travel through the Old Forest and the Barrow-downs. There in the forest, the group fall asleep by a tree and wake up to realize that its roots are trying to suffocate them, and Tom Bombadil comes to their aid. Within the Barrow-downs, they are captured by a barrow wight but escape and are able to reach the village of Bree, where they meet the ranger Aragorn, a friend of Gandalf who becomes their guide to Rivendell.
At the hill of Weathertop, five of the Nazgûl attack the travellers, and the chief of the Nazgûl stabs Frodo in the shoulder with a cursed knife before Aragorn drives off the Nazgûl with torches. Part of the blade remains within the wound, causing Frodo to fall increasingly ill as they travel to Rivendell; Aragorn warns them that, unless treated soon, Frodo will become a wraith himself. As the travellers near their destination, they meet Glorfindel, an elf-lord from Rivendell, who helps them reach the River Bruinen near Rivendell. But the Nazgûl, all nine now gathered together, ambush the party at the Ford of Bruinen. Glorfindel's horse outruns the pursuers and carries Frodo across the Ford. As the Nazgûl attempt to follow, a giant wave commanded by Elrond, the lord of Rivendell, sweeps them away.
Book II: The Ring Goes South[edit]
Book II opens in Rivendell at the house of Elrond. Frodo is healed by Elrond and discovers that Bilbo has been residing there. Bilbo asks to see the Ring again, but Frodo resists because of the ring's power, which leads Bilbo to understand at last. Frodo also meets many interesting figures, including Glóin—one of the dwarves who accompanied Bilbo on his journey to the Lonely Mountain—and Legolas, Prince of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood. Frodo learns about the remaining dwarves, including Balin, Ori, and Óin who had not been heard from in some time. Elrond convenes the Council of Elrond, attended by Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo and many others, including Boromir, son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Glóin explains that Balin had led an expedition to reclaim the old dwarf kingdom of Moria, but they had not heard from him in years. Furthermore, Glóin tells the group that the Nazgûl had come to Dale and the Lonely Mountain looking for Bilbo and the Ring. Legolas then tells the council that Gollum had escaped from his captivity with the Elves and was also abroad and hunting for the Ring. Boromir then stands and relates the details of a dream he and his brother Faramir both received, telling them to seek "the Sword That Was Broken" and "Isildur's Bane" in Rivendell. Elrond then has Frodo bring out the Ring, which is revealed as "Isildur's Bane."
Gandalf explains that he had gone to Isengard, where the wizard Saruman, the chief of all wizards in Middle-earth, dwells, to seek help and counsel. However, Saruman had turned against them, desiring the Ring for himself. Saruman imprisoned Gandalf in his tower, Orthanc, rightly suspecting that Gandalf knew where the Ring was. Gandalf, however, did not yield and managed to escape from Orthanc. He learns that Saruman is not yet in Sauron's service, and is mustering his own force of Orcs. In the Council of Elrond, a plan is hatched to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor, which will destroy the Ring and end Sauron's power for good. Boromir objects and argues for using the Ring to overcome Sauron and relieve Gondor, but Elrond says that the Ring cannot be used for good because of its intrinsic evil and its corrupting power even on those with the best intentions. Frodo offers to undertake this dangerous quest, and is thus chosen to be the Ring-bearer. He sets forth from Rivendell with eight companions: two Men, Aragorn and Boromir; Legolas; Gandalf; Gimli the Dwarf, the son of Glóin; and Frodo's three Hobbit companions. These Nine Walkers (called the Fellowship of the Ring) are chosen to represent all the free races of Middle-earth and as a balance to the Nazgûl. They are also accompanied by Bill the Pony, whom Aragorn and the Hobbits acquired in Bree as a pack horse.
The Fellowship's attempt to cross the Misty Mountains is foiled by heavy snow, and then they are attacked by a host of Wargs that have moved west of the Mountains to hunt for the Ring. Thus, they are forced to take a path under the mountains, through the mines of Moria, the ancient dwarf kingdom. There, they discover that Balin, Ori, and Óin were all killed by Orcs and other evil creatures that thwarted their attempt to retake Moria. Those same orcs then attack the travellers, and during the battle that ensues, Gandalf encounters a Balrog of Morgoth, and both fall into an abyss. The remaining eight members of the Fellowship escape from Moria and head toward the elf-haven of Lothlórien, where they are given gifts from the rulers Celeborn and Galadriel that in many cases prove useful later during the Quest. As Frodo tries to decide the future course of the Fellowship, Boromir tries to take the Ring for himself, and Frodo ends up putting on the Ring to escape from Boromir. While the rest of the Fellowship scatters to hunt for Frodo, Frodo decides the Fellowship has to be broken, and he must depart secretly for Mordor. Sam insists on coming along, however, and they set off together to Mordor. The Fellowship is thus broken.
Members of the Fellowship of the Ring[edit]
See also: List of Middle-earth characters

Member
Race

Frodo Baggins Hobbit He is the adopted heir of Bilbo and Ring-bearer. He was 33 when he inherited the ring from Bilbo, and 50 when he set out for Rivendell.
Samwise "Sam" Gamgee Hobbit He was employed as Frodo's gardener and became his faithful companion on his quest.
Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck Hobbit The son of the Master of Buckland, cousin to both Pippin and Frodo and is particularly close to Pippin.
Peregrin "Pippin" Took Hobbit The son of the Thain in Tookland, he is the youngest member of the group and cousin to both Merry and Frodo.
Gandalf the Grey Maiar A Wizard who leads the Fellowship until he falls from the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, in Moria fighting a Balrog of Morgoth.
Aragorn (Strider) Man Chief Ranger of the North and heir of Isildur and Elendil who accompanies the hobbits from Bree to Rivendell and becomes a member of the Fellowship.
Legolas Elf He is son of Thranduil, king of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood. He came to inform Elrond of the escape of Gollum.
Gimli Dwarf Son of Glóin. He came to Rivendell from the Lonely Mountain with his father to seek advice on the disappearance of Balin, Ori and Oin and to warn Bilbo that Sauron's agents are seeking him.
Boromir Man Son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor. He came to Rivendell seeking the meaning of a prophetic dream.
In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien speaks more often of the "Company" of the Ring rather than the "Fellowship", as reflected in the page references in Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth. As it appears in the title of the book, however, "Fellowship" has become the familiar term.
Critical reception[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (December 2010)
The poet W.H. Auden wrote a positive review in The New York Times, praising the excitement and saying "Tolkien's invention is unflagging, and, on the primitive level of wanting to know what happens next, The Fellowship of the Ring is at least as good as The Thirty-Nine Steps."[3] However, he noted that the light humour in the beginning was "not Tolkien's forte".[4] It was also favourably reviewed by nature writer Loren Eiseley. Famous author and friend of J.R.R Tolkien, C.S Lewis was also a fan of the novel. The most notorious negative criticism was from famed literary critic Edmund Wilson in his review entitled Oo, those awful Orcs.
See also[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1978 animated film)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001 live-action film)
The Lord of the Rings (theatre) - Two adaptations that have important musical elements, but the producers do not consider these to be standard "stage musicals".
The History of The Lord of the Rings - a collection of material from early drafts of Lord of the Rings.
Editions[edit]
ISBN 0-618-00222-7 (paperback, 1999)
ISBN 0-345-33970-3 (paperback, 2001)
ISBN 0-618-34625-2 (paperback, 2003)
ISBN 0-618-57494-8 (paperback, 2005)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Fellowship of the Ring". Between the Covers. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
2.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #140, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
3.Jump up ^ Auden, W.H. (31 October 1954). "The Hero Is a Hobbit". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
4.Jump up ^ Auden, W.H. (22 January 1956). "At the end of the Quest, Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Fellowship of the Ring
Detailed summary and analysis of The Fellowship of the Ring
Detailed summary and analysis of characters, themes, and symbols of The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring at the Internet Book List

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The Two Towers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the second volume of The Lord of the Rings. For the live-action movie adaptation, see The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. For other uses, see The Two Towers (disambiguation).

The Two Towers
The Two Towers (novel) -1st edition cover.JPG
1st edition
 
Author
J. R. R. Tolkien
Country
England
Language
English
Genre
Fantasy
Publisher
George Allen & Unwin[1]
Publication date
November 11, 1954
Media type
Print (Hardback and Paperback)
Pages
416
Preceded by
The Fellowship of the Ring
Followed by
The Return of the King
The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Title
2 Plot summary 2.1 Book III: The Treason of Isengard
2.2 Book IV: The Ring Goes East
3 Critical reception
4 Adaptations
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Title[edit]
The Lord of the Rings is composed of 6 "books", aside from an introduction, a prologue and 6 appendices. The novel was originally published as 3 separate volumes due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations.[2] The Two Towers covers Books III and IV.
Tolkien wrote, "The Two Towers gets as near as possible to finding a title to cover the widely divergent Books 3 & 4; and can be left ambiguous."[3] At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The proposed title for Book III was The Treason of Isengard. Book IV was titled The Journey of the Ringbearers or The Ring Goes East. The titles The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East were used in the Millennium edition.
In letters to Rayner Unwin Tolkien considered naming the two as Orthanc and Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol.[3][4] However, a month later he wrote a note published at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and later drew a cover illustration which both identified the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc.[5][6]
Plot summary[edit]
See also: The Lord of the Rings#Plot summary
Book III: The Treason of Isengard[edit]
As Aragorn searches for Frodo, he suddenly hears Boromir's horn. Aragorn finds Boromir mortally wounded by arrows and his assailants are gone. Before Boromir dies, Aragorn learns that Merry and Pippin were kidnapped by Saruman's Uruk-hai in spite of his efforts to defend them, and that Frodo had vanished after Boromir had attempted to take the Ring from him and that he truly regretted his actions. In his last moments, Boromir charges Aragorn to defend Minas Tirith from Sauron. With Legolas and Gimli, who had been fighting Orcs by themselves, Aragorn pays his last tributes to Boromir and sends him down the Great River Anduin on a funeral boat, the usual methods of burial being impractical. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli later resolve to follow the Uruk-hai captors. Meanwhile, after some hardship, Merry and Pippin escape when the Uruk-hai are attacked by the horsemen of Rohan, called the Rohirrim or "Riders of Rohan". Merry and Pippin escape into the nearby Fangorn Forest, where they encounter the giant treelike Ents. The Ents resemble actual trees, except they are able to see, talk, and move. These guardians of the forest generally keep to themselves, but after a long contemplation on whether or not the Hobbits were friends, or foes, their leader Treebeard persuades the Ent council to oppose the menace posed to the forest by the wizard Saruman, as suggested by Merry and Pippin, as Treebeard realizes that Saruman's minions have been cutting down large numbers of their trees to fuel the furnaces needed for Saruman's arming of his dark army.
Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas come across the Riders of Rohan led by Éomer, nephew of King Théoden. The trio learn that the horsemen had attacked a band of Orcs the previous night, and that they had left no survivors. However, Aragorn is able to track a small set of prints that lead into Fangorn, where they see an old man who disappears almost as soon as they see him — they assume him to be Saruman. Shortly afterward, the three meet Gandalf, (again, they at first take him to be Saruman) whom they believed had perished in the mines of Moria. He tells them of his fall into the abyss, his battle to the death with the Balrog and his resurrection and his enhanced power. The four ride to Rohan's capital Edoras, where Gandalf rouses King Théoden from inaction against the threat Saruman poses. In the process, Saruman's spy in Rohan (and King Théoden's trusted advisor) Gríma Wormtongue, is expelled from Rohan. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas then travel with Théoden's troops to the fortress of Hornburg, in the valley of Helm's Deep. Gandalf rides away before the battle begins, though he gives no reason for doing so. At the Hornburg, the army of Rohan led by King Théoden and Aragorn resist a full-scale onslaught by the hosts of Saruman. Yet, things begin to go ill with Rohan, until Gandalf arrives with the remains of the army of Westfold that Saruman's forces had previously routed. The tide now turns in Rohan's favour, and Saruman's orcs flee into a forest of Huorns, creatures similar to Ents, and none escape alive. Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, along with King Théoden and Éomer, head to Saruman's stronghold of Isengard.
Here, they reunite with Merry and Pippin and find Isengard overrun by Ents, who had flooded it by breaking a nearby dam of the river Isen, and the central tower of Orthanc besieged, with Saruman and Wormtongue trapped inside. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to repent, but is refused, and so casts Saruman out of the Order of Wizards and the White Council. Gríma throws something from a window at Gandalf but misses, and it is picked up by Pippin. This object turns out to be one of the palantíri (seeing-stones). Pippin, unable to resist the urge, looks into it and encounters the Eye of Sauron, but emerges unscathed from the ordeal. Gandalf and Pippin then head for Minas Tirith in Gondor in preparation for the imminent war against Mordor, while Théoden, Merry, Aragorn, and Legolas remain behind to begin the muster of Rohan, to ride to the aid of Gondor.
Book IV: The Ring Goes East[edit]
Frodo and Sam discover and capture Gollum, who has been stalking them in their quest to reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, as Gollum attempts to reclaim the Ring for himself. Sam loathes and distrusts him, but Frodo pities the poor creature. Gollum promises to lead the pair to the Black Gate of Mordor and for a time appears to be like his old self Sméagol. He leads them through a hidden passage of the Dead Marshes in order to avoid being spied by Orcs. Frodo and Sam learn that the Dead Marshes were once part of an ancient battlefield, upon which the War of the Last Alliance was fought. Upon reaching the Black Gate, Gollum persuades Frodo and Sam not to enter, where they would have been surely caught. Gollum tells them of a secret entrance to Mordor. Thus, they head south into Gondor's province of Ithilien, where they are accosted by a group of Gondorian rangers led by Faramir, the brother of Boromir. Frodo learns from Faramir of Boromir's death. Faramir and the Rangers lead Frodo and Sam into a secret hideout where Sam accidentally reveals to Faramir that Frodo carries the One Ring. As a result of this, Frodo reveals the plan to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Later that night, Gollum is captured diving for fish into the sacred pool. Frodo negotiates Gollum's freedom with Faramir. The following morning Faramir allows them to go on their way, but warns them that Gollum may know more about the secret entrance than he has been telling them.
Gollum leads them past the city of Minas Morgul and up a long, steep staircase of the Cirith Ungol and into the lair of an enormous spider named Shelob. Gollum hopes to get the Ring from Frodo's bones after Shelob is done with him. The hobbits escape Shelob in her lair and mistakenly assume that they are safe. However, Shelob sneaks up on Frodo. Sam attempts to warn Frodo but is attacked by Gollum. Shelob stings Frodo in the back of the neck and he collapses to the ground. Sam fends off Gollum, who runs off back towards Shelob's cave. Sam then drives off Shelob by wounding her with Frodo's blade, Sting. After seeing Frodo lifeless and pale, Sam assumes that Frodo is dead and debates chasing Gollum and abandoning the Quest in favour of vengeance. Sam resolves to finish the Quest himself and takes the Ring, but when Orcs take Frodo's body, Sam follows them and learns that Frodo is not dead, but only unconscious, and is now a prisoner. Sam falls into a swoon as the orcs reach the undergate of the Tower of Cirith Ungol. The book ends with the line, "Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy."
Critical reception[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (December 2010)
The New York Times gave a positive review, calling it "an extraordinary work-pure excitement, unencumbered narrative, moral warmth, barefaced rejoicing in beauty, but excitement most of all."[7]
Anthony Boucher, although noting that The Two Towers "makes inordinate demands upon the patience of its readers" with passages which "could be lopped away without affecting form or content," nevertheless lavished praise on the volume, saying "no writer save E. R. Eddison has ever so satisfactorily and compellingly created his own mythology and made it come vividly alive. . . . described in some of the most sheerly beautiful prose that this harsh decade has seen in print."[8]
Adaptations[edit]
Some of the events of The Two Towers along with The Fellowship of Ring were depicted in the 1978 film of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, directed by Ralph Bakshi.
In 1999, the Lifeline Theatre in Chicago presented the world première of The Two Towers, adapted for the stage by James Sie and Karen Tarjan, directed by Ned Mochel.
In director Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Two Towers the title is indicated to be referring to the towers of Barad-dûr in Mordor and Orthanc in Isengard. In dialogue written for the film, the wizard Saruman says:

"The World is changing. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman ... and the union of the two towers? Together, my Lord Sauron ... we shall rule this Middle-earth."
In different teaser trailers for the film, voice-over narration by Gandalf and Galadriel directly states the towers as Barad-dûr and Orthanc.[9]
Both The Two Towers and the succeeding film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King abandoned the parallel storytelling of the volume in favour of a more chronological presentation. The first chapter from the volume actually appears at the end of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Later events of The Two Towers involving Frodo and Sam were filmed for Jackson's The Return of the King. Other significant changes were made in the plot line, partially to give each of the characters a story arc in which they could develop and change. Although all three of Jackson's films differ from their source material, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers arguably contains the most major alterations.
Various games also adapt The Two Towers, including online role-playing games like The Two Towers Mud and graphically-oriented console games.
See also[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
Perrott's Folly, a water tower in Birmingham that may have provided the inspiration for Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul.[10][11]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Two Towers". Between the Covers. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
2.Jump up ^ The Lord of the Rings Extended Movie Edition, Appendix Part 4
3.^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #140, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
4.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #143, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
5.Jump up ^ "The second part is called The Two Towers, since the events recounted in it are dominated by Orthanc, ..., and the fortress of Minas Morgul..."
6.Jump up ^ Tolkien's own cover design for The Two Towers
7.Jump up ^ Barr, Donald (1 May 1955). "Shadowy World of Men and Hobbits". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
8.Jump up ^ "Recommended Reading," F&SF, August 1955, p.93.
9.Jump up ^ JW's LOTR Fansite FAQ - Which towers are the "The Two Towers"?
10.Jump up ^ "J. R. R. Tolkien". birmingham.gov.uk. 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
11.Jump up ^ "Myths and Legends, Talking Tolkien". BBC. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Two Towers
The Two Towers at the Internet Book List

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Categories: 1954 novels
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The Return of the King

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This article is about the book. For other uses, see The Return of the King (disambiguation).

The Return of the King
ReturnOfTheKing.JPG
1st edition
 
Author
J. R. R. Tolkien
Country
England
Language
English
Genre
Fantasy
Publisher
George Allen & Unwin[1]
Publication date
October 20, 1955
Media type
Print (Hardback and Paperback)
Pages
624
Preceded by
The Two Towers
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, which is soon to be attacked by the Dark Lord Sauron. The human Ranger Aragorn sets out to find the lost army of the undead oathbreakers. The hosts of Mordor break through the gates of Minas Tirith, but are in turn crushed by the arriving cavalry of Rohan. The Wizard Gandalf and Aragorn decide to draw out the hosts of Mordor with an assault on the Black Gate, providing a distraction so that the two hobbits (Frodo and Sam) may have a chance of reaching Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, unseen by the Eye of Sauron. Sam, who now bears the One Ring in Frodo's place, rescues his master from torture and death by Orcs. Gollum gloats over getting his "precious" back, but ends up losing his balance and falls to his death, taking the Ring with him. The Ring is finally destroyed, freeing Middle-earth from Sauron's power.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Title
2 Plot summary 2.1 Book 5
2.2 Book 6
3 Critical reception
4 Adaptations
5 See also
6 Editions
7 References
8 External links
Title[edit]
Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a single volume comprising six "books" plus extensive appendices. The original publisher split the work into three, publishing the fifth and sixth books with the appendices under the title The Return of the King. Tolkien felt the chosen title revealed too much of the story, and indicated he preferred The War of the Ring as a title.[2]
The proposed title for Book V was The War of the Ring. Book VI was to be The End of the Third Age.[3] These titles were used in the Millennium edition.
The Return of the King was in the end published as the third and final part of The Lord of the Rings, on 20 October 1955.[4]
Plot summary[edit]
See also: The Lord of the Rings#Plot summary
Book 5[edit]
Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith in the kingdom of Gondor, delivering the news to Denethor, the Lord and Steward of Gondor, that a devastating attack on his city by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor is imminent. Pippin then enters the service of the Steward as repayment of a debt he owes to Boromir, Denethor's dead son and preferred heir. Now clad in the uniform of the tower guard, Pippin watches the fortunes of war unfold, while Denethor descends into madness as the hosts of Mordor press ever closer to Gondor's capital city of Minas Tirith. Faramir, Boromir's younger brother, returns from his campaign with the shattered remnants of his company and is soon ordered to ride out and continue the hopeless defence of Osgiliath against a horde of orcs. Osgiliath is soon overrun and a gravely wounded Faramir is carried back to Denethor. His people seemingly lost and his only remaining son all but dead, Denethor orders a funeral pyre built that is to claim both him and his dying son. Minas Tirith stands encircled and besieged by Sauron's main host, composed of well over 200,000 orcs.
Meanwhile, in Rohan, Théoden and his Rohirrim are recovering from the Battle of the Hornburg, in which they defended Rohan against the forces of Saruman at great cost. Aragorn, having confronted Sauron through the palantír of Isengard, sets out to find the lost army of the undead oathbreakers who dwell in the Paths of the Dead, a mountain hall, cursed because they did not help Isildur during the War of the Last Alliance. Helped by his companions Legolas and Gimli as well as a Company of Rangers from Arnor in the north (the "Grey Company"), he sets out to recruit the Army of the Dead to his cause. As Aragorn departs on his seemingly impossible task, King Théoden musters the Rohirrim (mounted cavalry) to come to the aid of Gondor. Merry, eager to go to war with his allies, is refused by Théoden several times. Finally Dernhelm, one of the Rohirrim, takes Merry up on his horse so that he can accompany the rest of the Rohirrim. Aided by a tribe of Wild Men of the Woods, Théoden's forces travel a long-forgotten forest path to avoid an Orc ambush on the main road and reach Minas Tirith stealthily.
The hosts of Mordor, led by the dreaded Witch-king of Angmar, succeed in breaking through the gates of Minas Tirith, but are in turn crushed by the arriving cavalry of Rohan. The battle is also joined by a "black fleet with black sails". The forces of Mordor initially rejoice at its arrival; and then are horrified to see the banner of the King upon the ships. Aragorn has succeeded in using the Oathbreakers to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar; the men of Gondor who were once slaves on the ships are brought back to fight the host of Mordor. In the following Battle of the Pelennor Fields the Witch-king is slain by Dernhelm, revealed to be Éowyn the niece of King Théoden, with help from Merry. Thus the siege is broken, but at heavy cost: many warriors of Gondor and Rohan fall, among them King Théoden. Denethor attempts to immolate himself and Faramir on his funeral pyre, but Gandalf and Pippin succeed in saving Faramir. Then Denethor reveals that he has used the palantír of Minas Tirith and declares the situation hopeless.
Gandalf realizes that Denethor—in his desperation—looked into the stone several times. Unlike Saruman, Denethor was too noble of purpose and great of will to submit to the will of Sauron, but the Dark Lord duped the Steward into despairing of the situation. In addition, Denethor revealed that he would not accept Aragorn as the new king and then burns himself on the pyre. Faramir, though, is brought to the Houses of Healing where he is subsequently healed by Aragorn. Aragorn also heals Merry and Éowyn, who were hurt by the Witch-king before he fell. Knowing that it is only a matter of time before Sauron rebuilds his forces for another attack, Gandalf and Aragorn decide to draw out the hosts of Mordor with an assault on the Black Gate, providing a distraction so that Frodo and Sam may have a chance of reaching Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, unseen by the Eye of Sauron.
Gandalf and Aragorn lead an army to the Black Gate of Mordor and lay siege to Sauron's army. A messenger from The Black Gate called "The Mouth of Sauron" shows the Captains Frodo's mithril shirt, elven cloak, and barrow blade and then demands their surrender and obeisance to Sauron as conditions for Frodo's release. However, Gandalf perceives that the emissary is lying, seizes the items, and rejects the terms. The battle begins and Pippin kills a Troll, which then falls onto him, and he loses consciousness just as the Great Eagles arrive.
Book 6[edit]
Bearing the One Ring in Frodo's place, Sam rescues his master from torture and death by Orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Frodo and Sam navigate the barren wasteland of Mordor and are overtaken by a company of Orcs but escape and are forced to disguise themselves in Orcish armour. Gandalf's plan to distract Sauron from the Ring is successful: Mordor is almost empty as all the remaining Orcs have been summoned to defend the land against the assault of the army led by Gandalf and Aragorn. After a weary and dangerous journey, Frodo and Sam finally reach their final destination of the Crack of Doom. As Frodo is preparing to throw the Ring into Mount Doom, he succumbs to the Ring's power and claims it as his own. Just then, Gollum, who had been following Frodo and Sam still, attacks Frodo and bites off his finger and the Ring. Gollum gloats over getting his precious back, but he ends up losing his balance and falls to death and takes the Ring with him. The Ring is finally destroyed, freeing Middle-earth from Sauron's power. Mount Doom erupts violently, trapping Frodo and Sam among the lava flows until the Great Eagles rescue them. Upon Sauron's defeat, his armies at the Gate flee. Sauron finally appears as a gigantic shadow trying to reach out for the armies of men, but is now powerless and is blown away by a wind. The men under Sauron's command that surrender are forgiven and allowed to return to their lands in peace. Frodo and Sam are saved from the lava, meet again with the other surviving members of the Fellowship, and then honoured on the Field of Cormallen in Ithilien.
In Minas Tirith, Faramir and Eówyn meet in the Houses of Healing and fall in love with each other. Aragorn comes to Minas Tirith and is crowned King of Gondor outside the walls of the city in a celebration during which Frodo brings Aragorn the ancient crown of Gondor, and Gandalf places the crown on Aragorn. A healed Faramir is appointed Prince of Ithilien, and Beregond—who saved Faramir's life from the madness of Denethor—is named captain of Faramir's guard. Gandalf and Aragorn go off high above the city and find a seedling of the White Tree, which Aragorn then plants in Minas Tirith in place of the dead tree. Soon after, Arwen, daughter of Elrond of Rivendell, as well as Celeborn and Galadriel come to Minas Tirith, and Aragorn marries Arwen. After a series of goodbyes, the Hobbits finally return home to the Shire, only to find that the Shire were in ruins , its inhabitants oppressed by Lotho Sackville-Baggins (usually called "The Chief" or "The Boss") who is in reality controlled by a shadowy figure called "Sharkey". Sharkey has taken complete control of the Shire using corrupt Men, and begins felling trees in a gratuitous programme of industrialization (which actually produces nothing except destruction and misery for the locals).
Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam make plans to set things right once more. They lead an uprising of Hobbits and are victorious at the Battle of Bywater which effectively frees the Shire. At the very doorstep of Bag End, they meet Sharkey, who is revealed to be the fallen wizard Saruman, and his servant Gríma. Obstinate in defeat, Saruman abuses Gríma, who responds by slitting his master's throat. Gríma is himself slain by hobbit archers as he attempts to escape. Saruman's soul is blown away into the east, and his body decays instantly into a skeleton. Over time, the Shire is healed. The many trees that Saruman's men cut down are replanted with Galadriel's gift of dust used to facilitate growth and a small nut that is planted to replace the party tree; buildings are rebuilt and peace is restored. Sam marries Rosie Cotton, with whom he had been entranced for some time. Merry and Pippin lead Buckland and Tuckborough to greater achievements. However, Frodo cannot escape the pain of his wounds, having been stabbed by the Witch-king and poisoned by Shelob in addition to losing a finger. Frodo departs for the Undying Lands in the West with Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and many Elves, ending the Third Age. Sam, Merry, and Pippin watch Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo, and the Elves depart and return home. Now heir to all of Frodo's possessions, Sam returns to Bag End, saddened by Frodo's departure. When he returns home, he is greeted by Rosie and his daughter, Elanor, and is gratified and happy when he realizes he still has something left to fight for.
Critical reception[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (December 2010)
In a review for The New York Times, W.H. Auden praised The Return of the King and found The Lord of the Rings a "masterpiece of the genre".[5]
Anthony Boucher praised the volume as "a masterly narration of tremendous and terrible climactic events," although he also noted that Tolkien's prose "seems sometimes to be protracted for its own sake."[6]
Adaptations[edit]
The Return of the King, 1980 animated feature made for television, featuring the voices of Orson Bean and John Huston.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003 Academy Award winning theatrical film directed by Peter Jackson.
Stage: The Lord of the Rings
See also[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
The History of The Lord of the Rings
Editions[edit]
ISBN 0-345-33973-8 (paperback, 2001)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Return of the King". Between the Covers. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
2.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, no. 140, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
3.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, no. 136, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
4.Jump up ^ Tolkien in his letter of 12 October 1955 to Allen & Unwin, published in Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, London, George Allen & Unwin, no. 172 (p.227)
5.Jump up ^ Auden, W.H. (22 January 1956). "At the end of the Quest, Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
6.Jump up ^ "Recommended Reading," F&SF, July 1956, p.92.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Return of the King
The Return of the King at the Internet Book List

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Categories: 1955 novels
Sequel novels
The Lord of the Rings
1950s fantasy novels
British novels adapted into films
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The Lord of the Rings

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This article is about the novel. For the film series, see The Lord of the Rings (film series). For other uses, see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation).
The Lord of the Rings
Jrrt lotr cover design.jpg
Tolkien's unused cover designs for the three volumes which would later be used for the 50th anniversary editions of the books
 
Volumes:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
 
Author
J. R. R. Tolkien
Country
England, United Kingdom
Language
English
Genre
High fantasy
Adventure
Publisher
George Allen & Unwin
Published
29 July 1954, 11 November 1954, 20 October 1955
Media type
Print (hardback & paperback)
Preceded by
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II.[1] It is the second best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[2]
The title of the novel refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron,[note 1] who had in an earlier age created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire, a Hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across northwest Middle-earth, following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took, but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: the Men Aragorn, a Ranger of the North and Boromir, a Captain of Gondor; Gimli, a Dwarf warrior; Legolas, an Elven prince; and Gandalf, a Wizard.
The work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set, the other to be The Silmarillion, but this idea was dismissed by his publisher.[4][5] For economic reasons The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes over the course of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955, thus creating the Lord of the Rings trilogy.[4][6] The three volumes were entitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Structurally, the novel is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of background material included at the end of the third volume. Some editions combine the entire work into a single volume. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages.
Tolkien's work has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917,[7] in a process he described as mythopoeia.[citation needed] Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings, include philology, mythology, religion and the author's distaste for the effects of industrialization, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in World War I.[1] The Lord of the Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy; the impact of Tolkien's works is such that the use of the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" have been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.[8]
The enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works,[9] and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games, and subsequent literature. Award-winning adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film.[10]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot summary 1.1 The Fellowship of the Ring
1.2 The Two Towers
1.3 The Return of the King
2 Main characters
3 Concept and creation 3.1 Background
3.2 Writing
3.3 Influences
4 Publication history 4.1 Editions and revisions
4.2 Posthumous publication of drafts
4.3 Translations
5 Reception
6 Themes
7 Adaptations
8 Legacy 8.1 Influences on the fantasy genre
8.2 Music
8.3 Impact on popular culture
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Plot summary[edit]
See also: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King plot summaries
Long before the events of the novel, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power and corrupt those who wear them: the leaders of Men, Elves and Dwarves. He is vanquished in battle by an alliance of Elves and Men. Isildur cuts the One Ring from Sauron's finger, claiming it as an heirloom for his line, and Sauron loses his physical form. When Isildur is later ambushed and killed by Orcs, the Ring is lost in the River Anduin at Gladden Fields.
Over two thousand years later, the Ring is found by one of the river-folk called Déagol. His friend[11] Sméagol immediately falls under the Ring's influence and strangles Déagol to acquire it. Sméagol is banished and hides under the Misty Mountains, where the Ring extends his lifespan and transforms him over the course of hundreds of years into a twisted, corrupted creature called Gollum. He loses the Ring, his "precious", and, as recounted in The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds it. Meanwhile, Sauron re-assumes physical form and takes back his old realm of Mordor. Gollum sets out in search of the Ring, but is captured by Sauron, who learns from him that "Baggins" in the Shire now has it. Gollum is set loose, and Sauron, who needs the Ring to regain his full power, sends forth his powerful servants, the Nazgûl, to seize it.
The Fellowship of the Ring[edit]
The story begins in the Shire, where the Hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the Ring from Bilbo, his cousin[note 2] and guardian. Neither is aware of its origin and nature, but Gandalf the Grey, a wizard and old friend of Bilbo, suspects the Ring's identity. When he becomes certain, he strongly advises Frodo to take it away from the Shire. Frodo leaves, accompanied by his gardener and friend, Samwise ("Sam") Gamgee, and two cousins, Meriadoc ("Merry") Brandybuck and Peregrin ("Pippin") Took. They nearly encounter the Nazgûl while still in the Shire, but shake off pursuit by cutting through the Old Forest, where they are aided by the enigmatic Tom Bombadil, who alone is unaffected by the Ring's corrupting influence. After leaving the forest, they stop in the town of Bree where they meet Strider, who is later revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur's heir. He persuades them to take him on as guide and protector. They flee from Bree after narrowly escaping another assault, but the Nazgûl follow and attack them on the hill of Weathertop, wounding Frodo with a Morgul blade. Aragorn leads the hobbits toward the Elven refuge of Rivendell, while Frodo gradually succumbs to the wound. The Ringwraiths nearly overtake Frodo at the Ford of Bruinen, but flood waters summoned by Elrond, master of Rivendell, rise up and overwhelm them.
Frodo recovers in Rivendell under the care of Elrond. The Council of Elrond reveals much significant history about Sauron and the Ring, as well as the news that Sauron has corrupted Gandalf's fellow wizard, Saruman. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed, but that can only be done by returning it to the flames of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take on this daunting task, and a "Fellowship of the Ring" is formed to aid him: Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, and the Man Boromir, son of the Ruling Steward Denethor of the realm of Gondor.
After a failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains via the pass below Caradhras, the company are forced to try a more perilous path through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by the Watcher in the Water before the gate. Inside, they discover the fate of Balin and his colony of Dwarves. After repulsing an attack, they are pursued by orcs and an ancient and powerful demonic creature called a Balrog. Gandalf confronts the Balrog, but in their struggle, both fall into a deep chasm. The others escape and take refuge in the Elven forest of Lothlórien, where they are counselled by Galadriel and Celeborn.
With boats and gifts from Galadriel, the company travel down the River Anduin to the hill of Amon Hen. Boromir succumbs to the lure of the Ring and attempts to take it from Frodo. Frodo escapes and determines to continue the quest alone, though Sam guesses his intent and comes along. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken.
The Two Towers[edit]
Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron kill Boromir and kidnap Merry and Pippin. After agonizing over which pair of hobbits to follow, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas pursue the orcs bearing Merry and Pippin to Saruman. In the kingdom of Rohan, the orcs are slain by a company of the Rohirrim. Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by Treebeard, the oldest of the tree-like Ents. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, and encounter Gandalf, resurrected as the significantly more powerful "Gandalf the White" after his mutually fatal duel with the Balrog. Gandalf assures them that Merry and Pippin are safe. They then ride to Edoras, the capital of Rohan, where they free Théoden, King of Rohan, from the influence of Saruman's henchman Gríma Wormtongue. Théoden musters his fighting strength and rides to the ancient fortress of Helm's Deep, but en route Gandalf leaves to seek help from Treebeard.
Meanwhile, the Ents, roused from their customarily peaceful ways by Merry and Pippin, attack Isengard, Saruman's stronghold, and trap the wizard in the tower of Orthanc. Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Théoden's aid. Gandalf and Rohirrim reinforcements arrive at Helm's Deep just in time to defeat and scatter Saruman's army. The Huorns dispose of the fleeing orcs. Gandalf then parleys with Saruman at Orthanc. When Saruman rejects his offer of redemption, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Pippin looks into a palantír, a seeing-stone that Saruman had used to communicate with Sauron and through which he was enslaved. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith, chief city of Gondor, taking Pippin with him.
Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, who had been following them from Moria, and force him to guide them to Mordor. Finding Mordor's Black Gate too well guarded to attempt, they travel instead to a secret passage Gollum knows. Torn between his loyalty to Frodo and his desire for the Ring, Gollum eventually betrays Frodo by leading him to the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol. Frodo is felled by Shelob's bite, but Sam fights her off. Sam takes the Ring and leaves Frodo, believing him to be dead. When orcs find Frodo, Sam overhears them say that Frodo is only unconscious, and chases after them.
The Return of the King[edit]
Sauron unleashes a heavy assault upon Gondor. Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to alert Denethor of the impending attack. The city is besieged, and Denethor, deceived by Sauron, gives up hope and commits suicide, nearly taking his remaining son Faramir with him. With time running out, Aragorn feels he has no choice but to take the Paths of the Dead, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli and the Dúnedain Rangers from the North. There Aragorn raises an undead army of oath-breakers bound by an ancient curse. The ghostly army help them to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. Commandeering the ships of the Corsairs, Aragorn leads reinforcements up the Anduin to relieve the siege of Minas Tirith, and the forces of Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Meanwhile, Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol, and they set out across Mordor. In order to distract Sauron from his true danger, Aragorn leads the armies of Gondor and Rohan in a march on the Black Gate of Mordor. His vastly outnumbered troops fight desperately against Sauron's forces. Reaching the edge of the Cracks of Doom, Frodo is unable to resist the Ring any longer, and suddenly and fiercely claims it for himself. But Gollum suddenly reappears, struggles with Frodo and bites off his finger, Ring and all. Celebrating wildly, Gollum accidentally falls into the fire, taking the Ring with him; and so Frodo's mission is completed. With the destruction of the One Ring, Sauron is permanently shorn of his power, the Nazgûl perish, and his armies are thrown into such disarray that Aragorn's forces emerge victorious.
With the end of the War of the Ring, Aragorn is crowned Elessar, King of Arnor and Gondor, and marries his long-time love, Arwen, daughter of Elrond. Saruman escapes from Isengard and, seeking to carve out a new kingdom, enslaves the Shire through Lotho Sackville-Baggins bearing the name "Sharkey", an orc term for "Old Man". The four hobbits, upon returning home, raise a rebellion and overthrow him. Gríma turns on Saruman and kills him, and is slain in turn by hobbit archers. The War of the Ring thus comes to its true end on Frodo's very doorstep. Merry and Pippin are acclaimed heroes, while Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts from Galadriel to help heal the Shire. He later becomes mayor of the shire. Frodo, however, remains wounded in body and spirit after having borne the spiritual weight of the One Ring so long.
Several years later, accompanied by Bilbo and Gandalf, he sails from the Grey Havens west over the Sea to the Undying Lands to find peace. After Rosie's death, Sam gives his daughter the Red Book of Westmarch, containing the account of Bilbo's adventures and the War of the Ring as witnessed by the hobbits. Sam is then said to have crossed west over the Sea himself, the last of the Ring-bearers.
Main characters[edit]
Protagonists:
Frodo Baggins, bearer of the One Ring, given to him by Bilbo Baggins.
Samwise Gamgee, gardener and friend of the Bagginses
Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), Frodo's cousin
Peregrin Took (Pip or Pippin), Frodo's cousin
Gandalf, a wizard. He is a Maia, an angelic being sent by the god-like Valar to fight Sauron. He bears the Ring of Fire, one of the three Elven rings, given to him by Círdan of the Grey Havens.
Aragorn, descendant of Isildur and rightful heir to the thrones of Arnor and Gondor
Legolas Greenleaf, an Elf prince and son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood
Gimli, son of Glóin, a dwarf
Denethor, ruling Steward of Gondor and Lord of Minas Tirith.
Boromir, the eldest son of Denethor
Faramir, younger brother of Boromir
Galadriel, Elf co-ruler of Lothlórien, and grandmother of Arwen Undómiel (Arwen Evenstar). Keeper of one of the three Elven rings.
Celeborn, Elf co-ruler of Lothlórien, husband of Galadriel, and grandfather of Arwen Undómiel
Elrond, Half-elven Lord of Rivendell and father of Arwen Undómiel. Keeper of another of the Elven rings.
Arwen, daughter of Elrond, love interest of Aragorn
Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's adoptive uncle,
Théoden, King of Rohan, ally of Gondor and father of the late Theodred.
Éomer, the 3rd Marshal of the Mark and Théoden's nephew. Later King of Rohan after Théoden's death.
Éowyn, sister of Éomer, who disguises herself as a male warrior named Dernhelm to fight beside Théoden.
Treebeard, oldest of the Ents.
Antagonists:
Sauron, the Dark Lord and titular Lord of the Rings, a fallen Maia who helped the Elves forge the Rings of Power long ago. Lieutenant of Morgoth in the First Age.
The Nazgûl or Ringwraiths, men enslaved by Sauron when they accepted his treacherous gifts of Rings of Power.
The Witch-king of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgûl, and Sauron's most powerful servant, who commands Sauron's army.
Saruman, a wizard who seeks the One Ring for himself. Corrupted by Sauron through the palantír. Like Gandalf, he is a Maia.
Gríma Wormtongue, a secret servant of Saruman and traitor to Rohan, who poisons Théoden's perceptions with well placed "advice".
Gollum, a river hobbit originally named Sméagol.
Shelob, a giant spider who dwells in the passes above Minas Morgul.
The Balrog, a fire-demon dwelling beneath the Mines of Moria awakened by the digging and mining of Dwarves.
Concept and creation[edit]
Background[edit]
The Lord of the Rings started as a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's earlier work The Hobbit, published in 1937.[12] The popularity of The Hobbit had led George Allen & Unwin, the publishers, to request a sequel. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, and responded with several stories he had already developed. Having rejected his contemporary drafts for The Silmarillion, putting on hold Roverandom, and accepting Farmer Giles of Ham, Allen & Unwin thought more stories about hobbits would be popular.[13] So at the age of 45, Tolkien began writing the story that would become The Lord of the Rings. The story would not be finished until 12 years later, in 1949, and would not be fully published until 1955, when Tolkien was 63 years old.
Writing[edit]
Persuaded by his publishers, he started "a new Hobbit" in December 1937.[12] After several false starts, the story of the One Ring emerged. The idea for the first chapter ("A Long-Expected Party") arrived fully formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, the significance of the Ring, and the title The Lord of the Rings did not arrive until the spring of 1938.[12] Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however, he remembered the Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work.[12] As the story progressed, he also brought in elements from 'The Silmarillion' mythology.[14]
Writing was slow, because Tolkien had a full-time academic position, and needed to earn further money as a university examiner.[15] Tolkien abandoned The Lord of the Rings during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944,[12] as a serial for his son Christopher Tolkien, who was sent chapters as they were written while he was serving in South Africa with the Royal Air Force. Tolkien made another concerted effort in 1946, and showed the manuscript to his publishers in 1947.[12] The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949.[12] The original manuscripts, which total 9,250 pages, now reside in the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University.[16]
Influences[edit]

The corner of a street with a public house called The Ivy Bush on the right side. In the background two tall brick towers can be seen further left.

 Mentioned at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, the Ivy Bush[17] is the closest public house to Birmingham Oratory which Tolkien attended while living near Edgbaston Reservoir. Perrott's Folly is nearby.
Main article: J. R. R. Tolkien's influences
The Lord of the Rings developed as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman Catholicism[18]), fairy tales, Norse and general Germanic mythology,[19][20] and also Celtic,[21] Slavic,[22][23][24] Persian,[25] Greek,[26] and Finnish mythology.[27] Tolkien acknowledged, and external critics have verified, the influences of George MacDonald and William Morris[28] and the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf.[29] The question of a direct influence of Wagner's The Nibelung's Ring on Tolkien's work is debated by critics.
Tolkien included neither any explicit religion nor cult in his work. Rather the themes, moral philosophy, and cosmology of the Lord of the Rings reflect his Catholic worldview. In one of his letters Tolkien states, "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."[18]
Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in Birmingham, where he first lived near Sarehole Mill, and later near Edgbaston Reservoir.[30] There are also hints of the Black Country, which is within easy reach of north west Edgbaston. This shows in such names as "Underhill", and the description of Saruman's industrialisation of Isengard and The Shire. It has also been suggested that The Shire and its surroundings were based on the countryside around Stonyhurst College in Lancashire where Tolkien frequently stayed during the 1940s.[31] The work was influenced by the effects of his military service during World War I, to the point that Frodo has been "diagnosed" as suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or "shell-shock," which was first diagnosed at the Battle of the Somme, at which Tolkien served.[32]
Publication history[edit]
A dispute with his publisher, George Allen & Unwin, led to the book being offered to Collins in 1950. Tolkien intended The Silmarillion (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but A&U were unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of the Rings itself "urgently wanted cutting", Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952.[33] Collins did not; and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying, "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff."[12]
For publication, the book was divided into three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring (Books I, The Ring Sets Out, and II, The Ring Goes South), The Two Towers (Books III, The Treason of Isengard, and IV, The Ring Goes East), and The Return of the King (Books V, The War of the Ring, and VI, The End of the Third Age, plus six appendices). This was due largely to post-war paper shortages, as well as being a way to keep down the price of the book. Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially indices led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped — on 21 July 1954, on 11 November 1954 and on 20 October 1955 respectively in the United Kingdom, and slightly later in the United States. The Return of the King was especially delayed. Tolkien, moreover, did not especially like the title The Return of the King, believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested The War of the Ring, which was dismissed by his publishers.[34]
The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits.[35] It has ultimately become the second best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[2] Only A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens has sold more copies worldwide (over 200 million) while the fourth best-selling novel is Tolkien's The Hobbit.[36][37][38]
Editions and revisions[edit]
In the early 1960s Donald A. Wollheim, science fiction editor of the paperback publisher Ace Books, claimed that The Lord of the Rings was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because Houghton Mifflin, the U.S. hardcover publisher, had neglected to copyright the work in the United States.[39][40] Ace Books then proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without paying royalties to him. Tolkien took issue with this and quickly notified his fans of this objection.[41] Grass-roots pressure from these fans became so great that Ace Books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien.[42][43] Authorized editions followed from Ballantine Books and Houghton Mifflin to tremendous commercial success. By the mid-1960s the novel had become a cultural phenomenon. Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would be published with his consent and establish an unquestioned US copyright. This text became the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings, published in 1965.[42] Houghton Mifflin editions after 1994 consolidate variant revisions by Tolkien, and corrections supervised by Christopher Tolkien, which resulted, after some initial glitches, in a computer-based unified text.[44]
Posthumous publication of drafts[edit]
From 1988 to 1992 Christopher Tolkien published the surviving drafts of The Lord of The Rings, chronicling and illuminating with commentary the stages of the text's development, in volumes 6–9 of his History of Middle-earth series. The four volumes carry the titles The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, and Sauron Defeated.
Translations[edit]
Main article: Translations of The Lord of the Rings
The novel has been translated, with various degrees of success, into at least 38 other languages.[45] Tolkien, an expert in philology, examined many of these translations, and made comments on each that reflect both the translation process and his work. As he was unhappy with some choices made by early translators, such as the Swedish translation by Åke Ohlmarks,[46] Tolkien wrote a "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings" (1967). Because The Lord of the Rings purports to be a translation of the fictitious Red Book of Westmarch, with the English language representing the Westron of the "original", Tolkien suggested that translators attempt to capture the interplay between English and the invented nomenclature of the English work, and gave several examples along with general guidance.
Reception[edit]
Main article: Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien
While early reviews for The Lord of the Rings were mixed, reviews in various media have been, on the whole, highly positive and acknowledge Tolkien's literary achievement as a significant one. On its initial review the Sunday Telegraph felt it was "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century."[47] The Sunday Times seemed to echo these sentiments when in its review it was stated that "the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them."[47] The New York Herald Tribune also seemed to have an idea of how popular the books would become, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time."[48] W. H. Auden, an admirer of Tolkien's writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a "masterpiece", further stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of John Milton's Paradise Lost.[49]
New York Times reviewer Judith Shulevitz criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style, saying that he "formulated a high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself."[50] Critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic, criticized the work for a lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself are, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fibre."[51] Even within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings, reviews were mixed. Hugo Dyson complained loudly at its readings, and Christopher Tolkien records Dyson as "lying on the couch, and lolling and shouting and saying, 'Oh God, not another Elf!'"[52][53] However, another Inkling, C. S. Lewis, had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart." Despite these reviews and its lack of paperback printing until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback.[7]
In 1957, The Lord of the Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and reader surveys.[54] In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book." In similar 2004 polls both Germany[55] and Australia[56] also found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium."[57] The Lord of the Rings was awarded the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award in 2009.
Ethan Gilsdorf, writing for The Boston Globe, commented that while there are movements within academia to approach The Lord of the Rings as a serious literary work, the 2001–2003 film trilogy has contributed to a dumbing down of the reception of the novel by the forces of mass-commercialization.[58]
Themes[edit]
Main article: Themes of The Lord of the Rings
Although The Lord of the Rings was published in the 1950s, Tolkien insisted that the One Ring was not an allegory for the Atomic Bomb,[59] nor were his works a strict allegory of any kind, but were open to interpretation as the reader saw fit.[60][61]
A few critics have found what they consider to be racial elements in the story, generally based upon their views of how Tolkien's imagery depicts good and evil, characters' race (e.g. Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, Southron, Númenórean, Orc); and that the character's race is seen as determining their behaviour.[62][63][64] Counter-arguments note that race-focused critiques often omit relevant textual evidence to the contrary,[65][66][67] cite imagery from adaptations rather than the work itself;[68] ignore the absence of evidence of racist attitudes or events in the author's personal life[65][68][69] and claim that the perception of racism is itself a marginal view.[69]
Critics have also seen social class rather than race as being the determinant factor for the portrayal of good and evil.[65] Commentators such as science fiction author David Brin have interpreted the work to hold unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist social structure.[70] In his essay "Epic Pooh", science fiction and fantasy author Michael Moorcock critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the 'paternalism' of the narrative voice and the power-structures in the narrative.[71] Tom Shippey cites the origin of this portrayal of evil as a reflection of the prejudices of European middle-classes during the inter-war years towards the industrial working class.[72]
The book has been read as fitting the model of Joseph Campbell's "monomyth".[73]
Adaptations[edit]
Main article: Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings has been adapted for film, radio and stage.
The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a 12-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station WBAI produced a short radio adaptation. A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of the Rings was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments. This dramatization of The Lord of the Rings has subsequently been made available on both tape and CD both by the BBC and other publishers. For this purpose it is generally edited into 13 one hour episodes.
Two film adaptations of the book have been made. The first was J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1978), by animator Ralph Bakshi,[74] the first part of what was originally intended to be a two-part adaptation of the story; it covers The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers. A three-issue comic book version of the movie was also published in Europe (but not printed in English), with illustrations by Luis Bermejo. When Bakshi's investors shied away of financing the second film that would complete the story, the remainder of the story was covered in an animated television special by Rankin-Bass. Stylistically, the two segments are very different. The second and far more critically and commercially successful adaptation was Peter Jackson's live action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema and released in three instalments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). All three parts received nearly universal acclaim and were each nominated for and won multiple Academy Awards, including consecutive Best Picture nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11 Oscars (something only two other films in history, Ben-Hur and Titanic, have accomplished), including "Best Picture", "Best Director", "Best Adapted Screenplay" and "Best Original Score".
The Hunt for Gollum, a fan film based on elements of the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, was released on the internet in May 2009 and has been covered in major media.[75]
In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of The Lord of the Rings,[76] with British actor Rob Inglis – who had previously starred in his own one-man stage productions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – reading. A large-scale musical theatre adaptation, The Lord of the Rings was first staged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2006 and opened in London in May 2007.
Legacy[edit]
Main article: Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien
Influences on the fantasy genre[edit]
The enormous popularity of Tolkien's epic saga greatly expanded the demand for fantasy fiction. Largely thanks to The Lord of the Rings, the genre flowered throughout the 1960s, and enjoys popularity to the present day. The opus has spawned many imitators, such as The Sword of Shannara, which Lin Carter called "the single most cold-blooded, complete rip-off of another book that I have ever read".[77] Dungeons & Dragons, which popularized the role-playing game (RPG) genre in the 1970s, features many races found in The Lord of the Rings, most notably halflings (another term for hobbits), elves, dwarves, half-elves, orcs, and dragons. However, Gary Gygax, lead designer of the game, maintained that he was influenced very little by The Lord of the Rings, stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game.[78]
Because D&D has influenced many popular role-playing video games, the influence of The Lord of the Rings extends to many of them as well, with titles such as Dragon Warrior,[79][80] the Ultima series , EverQuest, the Warcraft series, and the Elder Scrolls series of games[81] as well as video games set in Middle-earth itself.
Research also suggests that some consumers of fantasy games derive their motivation from trying to create an epic fantasy narrative which is influenced by The Lord of the Rings.[82]
Music[edit]
In 1965, songwriter Donald Swann, who was best known for his collaboration with Michael Flanders as Flanders & Swann, set six poems from The Lord of the Rings and one from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ("Errantry") to music. When Swann met with Tolkien to play the songs for his approval, Tolkien suggested for "Namárië" (Galadriel's lament) a setting reminiscent of plain chant, which Swann accepted.[83] The songs were published in 1967 as The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle,[84] and a recording of the songs performed by singer William Elvin with Swann on piano was issued that same year by Caedmon Records as Poems and Songs of Middle Earth.[85]
In 1988, Dutch composer and trombonist Johan de Meij completed his Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings", which encompassed 5 movements, titled "Gandalf", "Lothlórien", "Gollum", "Journey in the Dark", and "Hobbits". In 1989 the symphony was awarded the Sudler Composition Award, awarded biennially for best wind band composition. The Danish Tolkien Ensemble have released a number of albums that feature the complete poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings set to music, with some featuring recitation by Christopher Lee.
Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy embracing counter-culture of the time; British 70s rock band Led Zeppelin recorded several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings ("Ramble On", "The Battle of Evermore", "Over the Hills and Far Away", and "Misty Mountain Hop"). In 1970, the Swedish musician Bo Hansson released an instrumental concept album based on the book entitled Sagan om ringen (translated as "The Saga of the Ring", which was the title of the Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings at the time).[86] The album was subsequently released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in 1972.[86] The songs "Rivendell" and "The Necromancer" by the progressive rock band Rush were inspired by Tolkien. Styx also paid homage to Tolkien on their "Pieces of Eight" album with the song "Lords of the Ring," while Black Sabbath's song, "The Wizard", which appeared on their debut album, was influenced by Tolkien's hero, Gandalf. The heavy metal band Cirith Ungol took their name from a mountain pass in Middle-earth. Progressive rock group Camel paid homage to the text in their lengthy composition "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider", and Progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest was inspired by the character Galadriel to write a song by that name, and used "Bombadil", the name of another character, as a pseudonym under which their 1972 single "Breathless"/"When the City Sleeps" was released; there are other references scattered through the BJH oeuvre.
Later, from the 1980s to the present day, many heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien. Blind Guardian has written many songs relating to Middle-earth, including the full concept album Nightfall in Middle Earth. Almost all of Summoning's songs and the entire discography of Battlelore are Tolkien-themed. Gorgoroth and Amon Amarth take their names from an area of Mordor, and Burzum take their name from the Black Speech of Mordor. The Finnish metal band Nightwish and the Norwegian metal band Tristania have also incorporated many Tolkien references into their music. A Swedish metal band, Sabaton, based their song "Shadows" on the nine ring wraiths.[citation needed]
Enya wrote an instrumental piece called "Lothlórien" in 1991, and composed two songs for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring—"May It Be" (sung in English and Quenya) and "Aníron" (sung in Sindarin).
Impact on popular culture[edit]
The Lord of the Rings has had a profound and wide-ranging impact on popular culture, beginning with its publication in the 1950s, but especially throughout the 1960s and 1970s, during which time young people embraced it as a countercultural saga.[87] "Frodo Lives!" and "Gandalf for President" were two phrases popular amongst United States Tolkien fans during this time.[88]
Parodies like the Harvard Lampoon's Bored of the Rings, the VeggieTales episode "Lord of the Beans", the South Park episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers", the Futurama film "Bender's Game", The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius episode "Lights! Camera! Danger!", The Big Bang Theory episode "The Precious Fragmentation", and the American Dad! episode "The Return of the Bling" are testimony to the work's continual presence in popular culture.
In 1969, Tolkien sold the merchandising rights to The Lord of The Rings (and The Hobbit) to United Artists under an agreement stipulating a lump sum payment of £10,000[89] plus a 7.5% royalty after costs,[90] payable to Allen & Unwin and the author.[91] In 1976, three years after the author's death, United Artists sold the rights to Saul Zaentz Company, who now trade as Tolkien Enterprises. Since then all "authorized" merchandise has been signed-off by Tolkien Enterprises, although the intellectual property rights of the specific likenesses of characters and other imagery from various adaptations is generally held by the adaptors.[92] Outside any commercial exploitation from adaptations, from the late 1960s onwards there has been an increasing variety of original licensed merchandise, from posters and calendars created by illustrators such as Pauline Baynes and the Brothers Hildebrandt, to figurines and miniatures to computer, video, tabletop and role-playing games. Recent examples include the Spiel des Jahres award winning (for best use of literature in a game) board game The Lord of the Rings by Reiner Knizia and the Golden Joystick award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar by Turbine, Inc..
See also[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century
Norse mythology in popular culture
1954 in literature
1955 in literature
Literature of the United Kingdom
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ This is made clear in the chapter The Council of Elrond, where Glorfindel states: "[E]ven if we could [hide the Ring], soon or late the Lord of the Rings would learn of its hiding place and would bend all his power towards it."[3]
2.Jump up ^ Although Frodo referred to Bilbo as his "uncle", they were in fact first and second cousins, once removed either way (his paternal great-great-uncle's son's son and his maternal great-aunt's son).
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "World War I and World War II". National Geographic. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Wagner, Vit (16 April 2007). "Tolkien proves he's still the king". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
3.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), The Council of Elrond, ISBN 0-395-08254-4
4.^ Jump up to: a b Reynolds, Pat. "The Lord of the Rings: The Tale of a Text". The Tolkien Society. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
5.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #126., ISBN 0-395-31555-7
6.Jump up ^ "The Life and Works for JRR Tolkien". BBC. 7 February 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Doughan, David. "J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biographical Sketch". TolkienSociety.org. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
8.Jump up ^ Gilliver, Peter (2006). The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861069-6.
9.Jump up ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan (23 March 2007). "Elvish Impersonators". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
10.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings". The Lord of the Rings. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
11.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), "The Shadow of the Past", ISBN 0-395-08254-4 They are popularly thought to be cousins, but Tolkien only calls them "friends" in The Lord of the Rings. In a later letter (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, #214), he writes that they were "evidently relatives".
12.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "The Lord of the Rings: Genesis" (PDF). Archived from the original on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2006.
13.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1977, pp. 195
14.Jump up ^ My Father's "Eviscerated" Work - Son Of Hobbit Scribe J.R.R. Tolkien Finally Speaks Out | Worldcrunch
15.Jump up ^ "I have spent nearly all the vacation-times of seventeen years examining [...] Writing stories in prose or verse has been stolen, often guiltily, from time already mortgaged..." Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #17, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
16.Jump up ^ "J.R.R. Tolkien Collection | Marquette Archives | Raynor Memorial Libraries | Marquette University".
17.Jump up ^ The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, Chapter 1, paragraph 8.
18.^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter, Humphrey (1995). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-05699-8, Letter no. 142, page 172
19.Jump up ^ Shippey, T.A. (2005 [1982]). The Road to Middle-earth, 3rd ed., HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-261-10275-3.
20.Jump up ^ T.A. Shippey: Tolkien, Author of the Century HarperCollins, 2000
21.Jump up ^ Gunnell, Terry (13–14 September 2002). "Tívar in a timeless land: Tolkien's Elves". Retrieved 4 January 2012.
22.Jump up ^ Lesniewski, Michal (3 September 2003). "Re Redigast Quid * cum Boromir?" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 October 2011.
23.Jump up ^ Fisher, Jason (20 October 2009). "Slavic echoes in Tolkien — A response". Retrieved 28 October 2011.
24.Jump up ^ Kuzmenko, Dmitry. "Slavic echoes in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 6 November 2011.
25.Jump up ^ Allen, Elizabeth M. (1985). "Persian Influences in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings" in The Transcendent Adventure: Studies of Religion in Science Fiction/Fantasy, ed. Robert Reilly. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 189–206. ISBN 0-313-23062-5.
26.Jump up ^ Stanton, Michael (2001). Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards: Exploring the Wonders and Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 18. ISBN 1-4039-6025-9.
27.Jump up ^ Handwerk, Brian (1 March 2004). "Lord of the Rings Inspired by an Ancient Epic". National Geographic News (National Geographic Society). pp. 1–2. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
28.Jump up ^ The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Letter #19, 31 December 1960
29.Jump up ^ Shippey, Tom (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien Author of the Century, HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10401-2
30.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #178 & #303, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
31.Jump up ^ Edwards, Paul. "In the Valley of the Hobbits". Travel Lady Magazine. Retrieved 5 October 2006.
32.Jump up ^ Livingston, Michael (2006). "The Shellshocked Hobbit: The First World War and Tolkien’s Trauma of the Ring". Mythlore (Mythopoeic Society). pp. 77–92. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
33.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (1977), Tolkien: A Biography, New York: Ballantine Books, p. 211 ff., ISBN 0-04-928037-6
34.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. (2000). The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-08359-6.
35.Jump up ^ D.C. Drout, Michael (2007). J.R.R. Tokien encyclopedia. CRC Press. ISBN 9780415969420.
36.Jump up ^ The Telegraph on A Tale of Two Cities: "Charles Dickens’ second stab at a historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities, has sold more than 200 million copies to date, making it the bestselling novel – in any genre – of all time." (8 May 2010)
37.Jump up ^ Inman, William H. (2011) "Hotelier Saint-Exupery's Princely Instincts", Institutional Investor, March 2011. Gale document #A253314734, retrieved online from General OneFile, 6 November 2011 (subscription). Quote: "The Prince remains a king among books, with more than 200 million copies sold in more than 190 languages, making it one of the bestselling volumes of any kind."
38.Jump up ^ BBC: Tolkien's memorabilia go on sale. 18 March 2008
39.Jump up ^ "Betsy Wollheim: The Family Trade". Locus Online. June 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
40.Jump up ^ Silverberg, Robert (1997). Reflections & Refractions: Thoughts on Science Fiction, Science, and Other Matters. Grass Valley, Calif: Underwood. pp. 253–6. ISBN 1-887424-22-9.
41.Jump up ^ Joseph Ripp. "Middle America Meets Middle-earth: American Publication and Discussion of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings". p. 38.
42.^ Jump up to: a b Reynolds, Pat. "The Lord of the Rings: The Tale of a Text". The Tolkien Society. "There was a campaign against Ace, who, as a result, agreed to pay royalties, and not to print any more copies. But, as a result of being advised that he had lost his copyright, even before the Ace edition was issued, Tolkien began to revise The Lord of the Rings, so that there could be an authorised paperback which would be a new edition, and more importantly, a new edition for which he would still own the copyright. This was published by Ballentine [sic] Books in October 1965."
43.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, especially #270, #273 and #277, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
44.Jump up ^ "Notes on the text" pp. xi–xiii, Douglas A. Anderson, in the 1994 HarperCollins edition of The Fellowship of the Ring.
45.Jump up ^ "How many languages have The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings been translated into?". Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2006.
46.Jump up ^ Letters, 305f.; c.f. Martin Andersson "Lord of the Errors or, Who Really Killed the Witch-King?"
47.^ Jump up to: a b "The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set (Lord of the Rings Trilogy Series) section: Editorial reviews". Retrieved 4 December 2010.
48.Jump up ^ "From the Critics". Retrieved 30 May 2006.
49.Jump up ^ Auden, W. H. (22 January 1956). "At the End of the Quest, Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
50.Jump up ^ Shulevitz, Judith (22 April 2001). "Hobbits in Hollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2006.
51.Jump up ^ Jenkyns, Richard (28 January 2002). "Bored of the Rings". The New Republic. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
52.Jump up ^ Derek Bailey (Director) and Judi Dench (Narrator) (1992). A Film Portrait of J. R. R. Tolkien (Television documentary). Visual Corporation.
53.Jump up ^ Dyson's actual comment, bowdlerized in the TV version, was "Not another fucking Elf!" Grovier, Kelly (29 April 2007). "In the Name of the Father". The Observer. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
54.Jump up ^ Seiler, Andy (16 December 2003). "'Rings' comes full circle". USA Today. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
55.Jump up ^ Diver, Krysia (5 October 2004). "A lord for Germany". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
56.Jump up ^ Cooper, Callista (5 December 2005). "Epic trilogy tops favourite film poll". ABC News Online. Archived from the original on 16 January 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
57.Jump up ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (4 June 2001). "The book of the century". Salon. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
58.Jump up ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan (16 November 2003). "Lord of the Gold Ring". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
59.Jump up ^ The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power, (Revised Edition, by Jane Chance, copyright 2001). University Press of Kentucky, cited in "Influences on "The Lord of the Rings"". National Geographic Society.
60.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. from Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Macmillan Reference USA. Cited in "J. R. R. Tolkien Summary". BookRags.
61.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. (1991). The Lord of the Rings. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10238-9.
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63.Jump up ^ Bhatia, Shyam (8 January 2003). "The Lord of the Rings rooted in racism". Rediff India Abroad. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
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66.Jump up ^ Chism, Christine (2007). "Race and Ethnicity in Tolkien's Works". In Michael Drout. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.
67.Jump up ^ Chism, Christine (2007). "Racism, Charges of". In Michael Drout. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.
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71.Jump up ^ Moorcock, Michael. "Epic Pooh". Retrieved 27 January 2006.
72.Jump up ^ Shippey, T. A. The Roots of Tolkien's Middle Earth (review) Tolkien Studies – Volume 4, 2007, pp. 307–311
73.Jump up ^ Bower, Jody G. "The Lord of the Rings" — An Archetypal Hero's Journey". Retrieved 4 December 2010.
74.Jump up ^ J.C. Maçek III (2 August 2012). "'American Pop'... Matters: Ron Thompson, the Illustrated Man Unsung". PopMatters.
75.Jump up ^ Masters, Tim (30 April 2009). "Making Middle-earth on a shoestring". BBC News (BBC). Retrieved 1 May 2009.
Sydell, Laura (30 April 2009). "High-Def 'Hunt For Gollum' New Lord Of The Fanvids". All Things Considered (NPR). Retrieved 1 May 2009.
76.Jump up ^ ISBN 1-4025-1627-4
77.Jump up ^ Carter, Lin (1978). The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4. New York: DAW Books. pp. 207–208.
78.Jump up ^ Gygax, Gary. "Gary Gygax — Creator of Dungeons & Dragons". The One Ring.net. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
79.Jump up ^ "The Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: Role-Playing Games". Honorable Mention: Dragon Warrior. Gamasutra. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
80.Jump up ^ Kalata, Kurt. "The History of Dragon Quest". Gamasutra. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
81.Jump up ^ Douglass, Perry (17 May 2006). "The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames". IGN. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
82.Jump up ^ Martin, Brett A. S. (2004), "Using the Imagination: Consumer Evoking and Thematizing of the Fantastic Imaginary", Journal of Consumer Research, 31 (June), 136-149.
83.Jump up ^ Tolkien had recorded a version of his theme on a friend's tape recorder in 1952. This was later issued by Caedmon Records in 1975 as part of J.R.R. Tolkien reads and sings The Lord of the Rings (LP recording TC1478).
84.Jump up ^ Swann, Donald and Tolkien, J.R.R. The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle New York: Ballantine Books (1967).
85.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. and Swann, Donald. Poems and Songs of Middle Earth New York: Caedmon Records (1967). LP recording, TC1231/TC91231.
86.^ Jump up to: a b Snider, Charles. (2008). The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock. Strawberry Bricks. pp. 120–121. ISBN 0-615-17566-X.
87.Jump up ^ Feist, Raymond (2001). Meditations on Middle-earth. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30290-8.
88.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-05702-1.
89.Jump up ^ "Tolkien sold film rights for £10,000". London Evening Standard. 12 July 2001. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
90.Jump up ^ Pulley, Brett (15 July 2009). "‘Hobbit’ Heirs Seek $220 Million for ‘Rings’ Rights (Update1)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
91.Jump up ^ Harlow, John (28 May 2008). "Hobbit movies meet dire foe in son of Tolkien". The Times Online (London: The Times). Retrieved 24 July 2008.
92.Jump up ^ Mathijs, Ernest (2006). The Lord of the Rings: Popular Culture in Global Context. Wallflower Press. p. 25. ISBN 1-904764-82-7.
Further reading[edit]
Carter, Lin (1969). Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27539-X.
Day, David (2004). The World of Tolkien: Mythological Sources of the Lord of the Rings. Gramercy Books. ISBN 978-0-517-22317-8.
Drout, Michael D. C. (2006). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0.
Foster, Robert (1978). The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth: from "The Hobbit" through "The lord of the Rings" and Beyond. Rev. and enl. ed. Ballantine Books. N.B.: An alphabetical dictionary of personages and lore in this body of works by J. R. R. Tolkien. ISBN 0-7394-3297-4 hdbk.
Hammond, Wayne G.; Christina Scull (2005). The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion. Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0-618-64267-6.
Glyer, Diana Pavlac (2007). The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community. Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-890-9.
Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2006), ISBN 0-618-39113-4
Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The History of The Lord of the Rings, 4 vols (1988–1992).
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Lord of the Rings.
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien website of Harper Collins (the British publisher)
Tolkien website of Houghton Mifflin (the American publisher)
The Encyclopedia of Arda: An Interactive Guide to the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
The Tolkien Library

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The Lord of the Rings (film series)

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This article is about the film series released in 2001 to 2003. For other films based on The Lord of the Rings, see Middle-earth in film.

The Lord of the Rings
Ringstrilogyposter.jpg
The poster for the series is a montage that features a range of characters and scenes from all three films
 
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Produced by
Peter Jackson
Barrie M. Osborne
Fran Walsh
Mark Ordesky
Tim Sanders (The Fellowship of the Ring)
 
Screenplay by
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Peter Jackson
Stephen Sinclair (The Two Towers)
 
Based on
The Lord of the Rings
 by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring
Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Viggo Mortensen
Sean Astin
Liv Tyler
John Rhys-Davies
Orlando Bloom
Cate Blanchett
Billy Boyd
Dominic Monaghan
Hugo Weaving
Christopher Lee
Sean Bean
Andy Serkis
 
Music by
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie
Studio
WingNut Films
The Saul Zaentz Company
 
Distributed by
New Line Cinema
Release date(s)
19 December 2001
(The Fellowship of the Ring)
18 December 2002
(The Two Towers)
17 December 2003
(The Return of the King)
 
Running time
558 minutes
683 minutes (extended edition)
726 minutes (special extended Blu-ray edition)
 
Country
United Kingdom
New Zealand
United States
 
Language
English
Budget
$281 million
Box office
$2.92 billion
The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three epic[1][2] fantasy adventure films adapted and directed by Peter Jackson and based on English author J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The films are, by subtitle, The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). They were distributed by New Line Cinema.
Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with an overall budget of $281 million, the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all three films done simultaneously and entirely in New Zealand, Jackson's native country. Each film in the series also had special extended editions released on DVD a year after their respective theatrical releases. While the films follow the book's general storyline, they do omit some of the novel's plot elements and include some additions to and deviations from the source material.
Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the three films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) as he and a Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, and thus ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Fellowship becomes divided and Frodo continues the quest together with his loyal companion Sam (Sean Astin) and the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis). Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, and the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) unite and rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, who are ultimately victorious in the War of the Ring.
The series was a major financial success, with the films collectively being among the highest-grossing film series of all time. The films were critically acclaimed and heavily awarded, winning 17 out of 30 total Academy Award nominations. The final film in the series, The Return of the King, won all of its 11 Academy Awards nominations, tying it with Ben-Hur and Titanic for most Academy Awards received for a film. The series received wide praise for its innovative special and visual effects.[3][4][5]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Development
2 Production design
3 Filming
4 Cast 4.1 The Fellowship of the Ring
4.2 The Shire and Bree
4.3 Rivendell and Lothlórien
4.4 Rohan and Gondor
4.5 Isengard and Mordor
4.6 Historical figures
5 Post-production 5.1 Editing
5.2 Music
5.3 Sound
5.4 Special effects
6 Releases 6.1 Theatrical
6.2 Home media
6.3 Documentaries
7 Reception 7.1 Box office
7.2 Public and critical response
7.3 Academy Awards
7.4 Reactions to changes in the films from the book
7.5 Legacy
8 Video games
9 Prequels
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
Development[edit]
Director Peter Jackson first came into contact with The Lord of the Rings when he saw Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings. Jackson "enjoyed the film and wanted to know more."[6] Afterwards, he read a tie-in edition of the book[7] during a twelve-hour train journey from Wellington to Auckland when he was seventeen.[8]
In 1995, Jackson was finishing The Frighteners and considered The Lord of the Rings as a new project, wondering "why nobody else seemed to be doing anything about it".[8] With the new developments in computer-generated imagery following Jurassic Park, Jackson set about planning a fantasy film that would be relatively serious and feel real. By October, he and his partner Fran Walsh teamed up with Miramax Films boss Harvey Weinstein to negotiate with Saul Zaentz who had held the rights to the book since the early 1970s, pitching an adaptation of The Hobbit and two films based on The Lord of the Rings. Negotiations then stalled when Universal Studios offered Jackson a remake of King Kong.[9] Weinstein was furious, and further problems arose when it turned out Zaentz did not have distribution rights to The Hobbit; United Artists, which was in the market, did. By April 1996, the rights question was still not resolved.[9]
Jackson decided to move ahead with King Kong before filming The Lord of the Rings, prompting Universal to enter a deal with Miramax to receive foreign earnings from The Lord of the Rings while Miramax received foreign earnings from King Kong.[9] It was also revealed that Jackson originally wanted to finish King Kong before The Lord of the Rings began. But due to location problems, he decided to start with The Lord of the Rings franchise instead.
When Universal cancelled King Kong in 1997,[10] Jackson and Walsh immediately received support from Weinstein and began a six-week process of sorting out the rights. Jackson and Walsh asked Costa Botes to write a synopsis of the book and they began to re-read the book. Two to three months later, they had written their treatment.[11] The first film would have dealt with what would become The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and the beginning of The Return of the King, ending with Saruman's death, and Gandalf and Pippin going to Minas Tirith. In this treatment, Gwaihir and Gandalf visit Edoras after escaping Saruman, Gollum attacks Frodo when the Fellowship is still united, and Farmer Maggot, Glorfindel, Radagast, Elladan and Elrohir are present. Bilbo attends the Council of Elrond, Sam looks into Galadriel's mirror, Saruman is redeemed before he dies and the Nazgûl just make it into Mount Doom before they fall.[11] They presented their treatment to Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the latter of whom they focused on impressing with their screenwriting as he had not read the book. They agreed upon two films and a total budget of $75 million.[11]
During mid-1997,[12] Jackson and Walsh began writing with Stephen Sinclair.[11] Sinclair's partner, Philippa Boyens, was a major fan of the book and joined the writing team after reading their treatment.[12] It took 13–14 months to write the two film scripts,[12] which were 147 and 144 pages respectively. Sinclair left the project due to theatrical obligations. Amongst their revisions, Sam is caught eavesdropping and forced to go along with Frodo, instead of Sam, Merry, and Pippin figuring out about the One Ring themselves and voluntarily going along after confronting Frodo about it, as occurs in the original novel. Gandalf's account of his time at Orthanc was pulled out of flashback and Lothlórien was cut, with Galadriel doing what she does in the story at Rivendell. Denethor attends the Council with his son. Other changes included having Arwen rescue Frodo, and the action sequence involving the cave troll. Arwen was even going to kill the Witch-king.[11]
Trouble struck when Marty Katz was sent to New Zealand. Spending four months there, he told Miramax that the films were more likely to cost $150 million, and with Miramax unable to finance this, and with $15 million already spent, they decided to merge the two films into one. On 17 June 1998, Bob Weinstein presented a treatment of a single two-hour film version of the book. He suggested cutting Bree and the Battle of Helm's Deep, "losing or using" Saruman, merging Rohan and Gondor with Éowyn as Boromir's sister, shortening Rivendell and Moria as well as having Ents prevent the Uruk-hai kidnapping Merry and Pippin.[11] Upset by the idea of "cutting out half the good stuff"[12] Jackson balked, and Miramax declared that any script or work completed by Weta Workshop was theirs.[11] Jackson went around Hollywood for four weeks,[12] showing a thirty-five-minute video of their work, before meeting with New Line Cinema's Mark Ordesky.[13] At New Line Cinema, Robert Shaye viewed the video, and then asked why they were making two films when the book was published as three volumes; he wanted to make a film trilogy. Now Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens had to write three new scripts.[12]
The expansion to three films allowed much more creative freedom, although Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens had to restructure their script accordingly. The three films do not correspond exactly to the trilogy's three volumes, but rather represent a three-part adaptation. Jackson takes a more chronological approach to the story than did Tolkien. Frodo's quest is the main focus, and Aragorn is the main sub-plot,[14] and many sequences (such as Tom Bombadil) that do not contribute directly to those two plots were left out. Much effort was put into creating satisfactory conclusions and making sure exposition did not bog down the pacing. Amongst new sequences, there are also expansions on elements Tolkien kept ambiguous, such as the battles and the creatures. During shooting, the screenplays continued to evolve, in part due to contributions from cast looking to further explore their characters.[12] Most notable amongst these rewrites was the character Arwen, who was originally planned as a warrior princess, but reverted to her book counterpart, who remains physically inactive in the story (though she sends moral and military support).[15]
To develop fight and sword choreography for the series, the filmmakers employed Hollywood sword-master Bob Anderson. Anderson worked directly with the talent including Viggo Mortensen and Karl Urban to develop the film's many sword fights and stunts.[16] Bob Anderson's role in The Lord of the Rings series was highlighted in the film Reclaiming the Blade. This documentary on sword martial arts also featured Weta Workshop and Richard Taylor, The Lord of the Rings illustrator John Howe and actors Viggo Mortensen and Karl Urban. All discussed their roles and work on the series as related to the sword.[17]
Production design[edit]

 

 Alan Lee at Worldcon 2005 in Glasgow, August 2005.
Main article: Production design of The Lord of the Rings film series
Jackson began storyboarding the series with Christian Rivers in August 1997 and assigned his crew to begin designing Middle-earth at the same time.[18] Jackson hired long-time collaborator Richard Taylor to lead Weta Workshop on five major design elements: armour, weapons, prosthetics/make-up, creatures, and miniatures. In November 1997,[12] famed Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe joined the project. Most of the imagery in the films is based on their various illustrations.[19] Production designer Grant Major was charged with the task of converting Lee and Howe's designs into architecture, creating models of the sets, while Dan Hennah worked as art director, scouting locations and organising the building of sets.
Jackson's vision of Middle-earth was described as being "Ray Harryhausen meets David Lean" by Randy Cook.[20] Jackson wanted a gritty realism and historical regard for the fantasy, and attempted to make the world rational and believable. For example, the New Zealand Army helped build Hobbiton months before filming began so the plants could really grow.[21] Creatures were designed to be biologically believable, such as the enormous wings of the fell beast to help it fly.[22] In total, 48,000 pieces of armour, 500 bows, and 10,000 arrows were created by Weta Workshop.[23] They also created many prosthetics, such as 1,800 pairs of Hobbit feet for the lead actors,[12] as well as many ears, noses, and heads for the cast, and around 19,000 costumes were woven and aged.[12] Every prop was specially designed by the Art Department, taking the different scales into account.[12]
Filming[edit]
Main article: Principal photography of The Lord of the Rings film series

 

 A helmet of the Rohirrim.
Principal photography for all three films was conducted concurrently in many locations within New Zealand's conservation areas and national parks between 11 October 1999, and 22 December 2000, a period of 438 days. Pick-up shoots were conducted annually from 2001 to 2004. The series was shot at over 150 different locations,[23] with seven different units shooting, as well as soundstages around Wellington and Queenstown. As well as Jackson directing the whole production, other unit directors included John Mahaffie, Geoff Murphy, Fran Walsh, Barrie Osbourne, Rick Porras, and any other assistant director, producer, or writer available. Jackson monitored these units with live satellite feeds, and with the added pressure of constant script re-writes and the multiple units interpreting his envisioned result, he only got around four hours of sleep a night.[15] Due to the remoteness of some of the locations, the crew would also bring survival kits in case helicopters could not reach the location to bring them home in time.[12] The New Zealand Department of Conservation was criticised for approving the filming within national parks without adequate consideration of the adverse environmental effects and without public notification.[24] The adverse effects of filming battle scenes in Tongariro National Park meant that the park later required restoration work.[25][dead link]
Cast[edit]
See also: Middle-earth in film#Cast
The following is a list of cast members who voiced or portrayed characters appearing in the extended version of The Lord of the Rings film series.

[hide]Character
Film

The Fellowship of the Ring[26]
The Two Towers[27]
The Return of the King[28]

The Fellowship of the Ring[edit]
 
Frodo Baggins
Elijah Wood
Aragorn
Viggo Mortensen
Boromir
Sean Bean
Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck
Dominic Monaghan
Samwise Gamgee
Sean Astin
Gandalf
Ian McKellen
Gimli
John Rhys-Davies
Legolas
Orlando Bloom
Peregrin "Pippin" Took
Billy Boyd

The Shire and Bree[edit]
 
Bilbo Baggins
Ian Holm   Ian Holm
Mrs. Bracegirdle
Lori Dungey  
Barliman Butterbur
David Weatherley  
Rosie Cotton
Sarah McLeod   Sarah McLeod
Gaffer Gamgee
Norman Forsey   Norman Forsey
Elanor Gamgee
  Alexandra Astin
Bree Gate Keeper
Martyn Sanderson  
Farmer Maggot
Cameron Rhodes  
Old Noakes
Bill Johnson  
Everard Proudfoot
Noel Appleby   Noel Appleby
Mrs. Proudfoot
Megan Edwards  
Otho Sackville
Peter Corrigan  
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins
Elizabeth Moody  
Ted Sandyman
Brian Sergent  

Rivendell and Lothlórien[edit]
 
Arwen
Liv Tyler
Elf escort (a.k.a. Figwit)
Bret McKenzie   Bret McKenzie
Lord Celeborn
Marton Csokas   Marton Csokas
Lord Elrond
Hugo Weaving
Lady Galadriel
Cate Blanchett
Haldir
Craig Parker  
Rúmil
Jørn Benzon  
Glóin
John Rhys-Davies  

Rohan and Gondor[edit]
 
Damrod
  Alistair Browning
Denethor
  John Noble
Éomer
  Karl Urban
Éothain
  Sam Comery  
Éowyn
  Miranda Otto
Faramir
  David Wenham
Freda
  Olivia Tennet  
Gamling
  Bruce Hopkins
Grimbold
  Bruce Phillips
Háma
  John Leigh  
Haleth
  Calum Gittins  
Irolas
  Ian Hughes
King of the Dead
  Paul Norell
Madril
  John Bach
Morwen
  Robyn Malcolm  
King Théoden
  Bernard Hill
Théodred
  Paris Howe Strewe  
Treebeard
  John Rhys-Davies (voice)

Isengard and Mordor[edit]
 
Sméagol/Gollum
Andy Serkis
Gorbag
  Stephen Ure
Gothmog
  Lawrence Makoare
Craig Parker (voice)
Gríma Wormtongue
  Brad Dourif
Grishnákh
  Stephen Ure  
Lurtz
Lawrence Makoare  
Mauhur
  Robbie Magasiva  
Mouth of Sauron
  Bruce Spence
The One Ring
Alan Howard (voice)   Alan Howard (voice)
Saruman
Christopher Lee
Sauron
Sala Baker   Sala Baker
Shagrat
  Peter Tait
Sharku
  Jed Brophy  
Snaga
  Jed Brophy  
Uglúk
  Nathaniel Lees  
Witch-king of Angmar
Shane Rangi
Brent McIntyre
Andy Serkis (voice)   Lawrence Makoare
Andy Serkis (voice)

Historical figures[edit]
 
Déagol
  Thomas Robins
Elendil
Peter McKenzie  
Gil-galad
Mark Ferguson  
Isildur
Harry Sinclair   Harry Sinclair
Post-production[edit]

 

 An example of Elvish armour from the films.
Each film had the benefit of a full year of post-production time before its respective December release, often finishing in October–November, with the crew immediately going to work on the next film. In this period's later part, Jackson would move to London to supervise the scoring and continue editing, while having a computer feed for discussions to The Dorchester Hotel, and a "fat pipe" of Internet connections from Pinewood Studios to look at the special effects. He had a Polycom video link and 5.1 surround sound to organise meetings, and listen to new music and sound effects generally wherever he was. The extended editions also had a tight schedule at the start of each year to complete special effects and music.[29]
Editing[edit]
To avoid pressure, Jackson hired a different editor for each film. John Gilbert worked on the first film, Mike Horton and Jabez Olssen on the second and longtime Jackson collaborator Jamie Selkirk and Annie Collins on the third. Daily rushes would often last up to four hours, with scenes being done throughout 1999–2002 for the rough (4½ hours) assemblies of the films.[12] In total, six million feet of film (over 1,100 miles)[23] was edited down to the 11 hours and 23 minutes (683 minutes) of Extended running time. This was the final area of shaping of the films, when Jackson realised that sometimes the best scripting could be redundant on screen, as he picked apart scenes every day from multiple takes.
The first film's editing was relatively easygoing, with Jackson coming up with the concept of an Extended Edition later on, although after a screening to New Line they had to re-edit the beginning for a prologue. The Two Towers was always acknowledged by the crew as the most difficult film to make, as "it had no beginning or end", and had the additional problem of inter-cutting storylines appropriately. Jackson even continued editing the film when that part of the schedule officially ended, resulting in some scenes, including the reforging of Andúril, Gollum's back-story, and Saruman's demise, being moved to The Return of the King. Later, Saruman's demise was cut from the theatrical edition (but included in the Extended edition) when Jackson felt it was not starting the third film effectively enough.[30] As with all parts of the third film's post-production, editing was very chaotic. The first time Jackson actually saw the completed film was at the Wellington premiere.
Many filmed scenes remain unused, even in the Extended Editions. Promotional material for The Fellowship of the Ring contained an attack by Orcs from Moria on Lothlórien after the Fellowship leaves Moria, replaced with a more suspenseful entrance for the Fellowship. Also cut were scenes from the book, including Frodo seeing more of Middle-earth at Parth Galen and an extended Council of Elrond,[12] and new scenes with an attack upon Frodo and Sam at the river Anduin by an Uruk-hai.[12] The major cut to The Two Towers featured Arwen and Elrond visiting Galadriel at Lothlórien, with Arwen then leading the Elven reinforcements to Helm's Deep.[15] This scene, and a flashback to Arwen and Aragorn's first meeting, was cut during a revision of the film's plot; the Elves' appearance was explained with a telepathic communication between Elrond and Galadriel.[15]
Éowyn was to have a greater role in defending the refugees in the Glittering Caves from Uruk-hai intruders,[31] while in Osgiliath, Faramir was to have a vision of Frodo becoming like Gollum,[15] with Frodo and Sam having an extended fight sequence.[32] Filmed for The Return of the King were two scenes present in the book; Sam using the Phial of Galadriel to pass the Watchers at Cirith Ungol, and further epilogue footage, with endings for Legolas and Gimli, Éowyn and Faramir's wedding and Aragorn's death and funeral.[33] Sauron was to fight Aragorn at the Black Gate, but with Jackson deciding the scene was inappropriate, a computer-generated Troll was used instead.[20] To give context for Wormtongue killing Saruman, and Legolas in turn killing Wormtongue, it was to be revealed Wormtongue poisoned Théodred.[34] The final scene cut was Aragorn having his armour fitted for the Battle of the Black Gate by the trilogy's armourers, which was the final scene filmed during principal photography.[20] Peter Jackson has stated that he would like to include some of these unused scenes in a future "Ultimate Edition" home video release, also including out-takes.[35]
Music[edit]
Main article: Music of The Lord of the Rings film series
Howard Shore composed, orchestrated, conducted, and produced the trilogy's music. He was hired in August 2000[36] and visited the set, and watched the assembly cuts of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King. In the music, Shore included many leitmotifs to represent various characters, cultures, and places. For example, there are leitmotifs for the hobbits as well as the Shire. Although the first film had some of its score recorded in Wellington,[12] virtually all of the trilogy's score was recorded in Watford Town Hall and mixed at Abbey Road Studios. Jackson planned to advise the score for six weeks each year in London, though for The Two Towers he stayed for twelve. As a Beatles fan, Jackson had a photo tribute done there on the zebra crossing.[15]
The score is primarily played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and many artists such as Ben Del Maestro, Enya, Renée Fleming, James Galway, Annie Lennox and Emilíana Torrini contributed. Even actors Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Miranda Otto (extended cuts only for the latter two), and Peter Jackson (for a single gong sound in the second film) contributed to the score. Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens also wrote the lyrics to various music and songs, which David Salo translated into Tolkien's languages. The third film's end song, "Into the West", was a tribute to a young filmmaker Jackson and Walsh befriended named Cameron Duncan, who died of cancer in 2003.[20]
Shore composed a main theme for The Fellowship rather than many different character themes, and its strength and weaknesses in volume are depicted at different points in the series. On top of that, individual themes were composed to represent different cultures. Infamously, the amount of music Shore had to write every day for the third film increased dramatically to around seven minutes.[20]
Sound[edit]
Sound technicians spent the early part of the year trying to find the right sounds. Some, such as animal sounds like tigers' and walruses', were bought. Human voices were also used. Fran Walsh contributed to the Nazgûl scream and David Farmer the Warg howls. Other sounds were unexpected: The Fell Beast's screech is taken from that of a donkey, and the mûmakil's bellow comes from the beginning and end of a lion's roar. In addition, ADR was used for most of the dialogue.
The technicians worked with New Zealand locals to get many of the sounds. They re-recorded sounds in abandoned tunnels for an echo-like effect in the Moria sequence. 20,000 New Zealand cricket fans provided the sound of the Uruk-hai army in The Two Towers, with Jackson acting as conductor during the innings break of a one day International cricket match between England and New Zealand at Westpac Stadium.[15] They spent time recording sounds in a graveyard at night, and also had construction workers drop stone blocks for the sounds of boulders firing and landing in The Return of the King. Mixing took place between August and November at "The Film Mix", before Jackson commissioned the building of a new studio in 2003. The building, however, had not yet been fully completed when they started mixing for The Return of the King.[20]
Special effects[edit]
Main article: Special effects of The Lord of the Rings film series
The first film has around 540 effect shots, the second 799, and the third 1,488 (2,730 in total). The total increases to 3,420 with the extended editions. 260 visual effect artists began work on the series, and the number doubled by The Two Towers. The crew, led by Jim Rygiel and Randy Cook, worked long hours, often overnight, to produce special effects within a short space of time. Jackson's active imagination was a driving force. For example, several major shots of Helm's Deep were produced within the last six weeks of post-production of The Two Towers, and the same happened again within the last six weeks on The Return of the King.
Releases[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
The trilogy's online promotional trailer was first released on 27 April 2000, and set a new record for download hits, registering 1.7 million hits in the first 24 hours of its release.[37] The trailer used a selection from the soundtrack for Braveheart, and The Shawshank Redemption among other cuts. In 2001, 24 minutes of footage from the series, primarily the Moria sequence, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, and was very well received.[38] The showing also included an area designed to look like Middle-earth.[23]
The Fellowship of the Ring was released 19 December 2001. It grossed $47 million in its U.S. opening weekend and made around $871 million worldwide. A preview of The Two Towers was inserted just before the end credits near the end of the film's theatrical run.[39] A promotional trailer was later released, containing music re-scored from the film Requiem for a Dream.[40] The Two Towers was released 18 December 2002. It grossed $62 million in its first U.S. weekend and out-grossed its predecessor, grossing $926 million worldwide. The promotional trailer for The Return of the King was débuted exclusively before the New Line Cinema film Secondhand Lions on 23 September 2003.[41] Released 17 December 2003, its first U.S. weekend gross was $72 million, and became the second film (after Titanic) to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
Home media[edit]
Each film was released on standard two-disc edition DVDs containing previews of the next film. The success of the theatrical cuts brought about four-disc Extended Editions, with new editing, added special effects and music.[42] The extended cuts of the films and the included special features were spread over two discs, and a limited collectors edition was also released. The Fellowship of the Ring was released on 12 November 2002, containing 30 minutes more footage, an Alan Lee painting of the Fellowship entering Moria, and the Moria Gate on the back of the sleeve and an Argonath styled bookend with the Collector's Edition. The Two Towers, released on 18 November 2003, contains 44 minutes extra footage, a Lee painting of Gandalf the White's entrance and the Collector's Edition contained a Sméagol statue, with a crueller-looking statue of his Gollum persona available for order during a limited time.
The Return of the King was released on 14 December 2004, having 52 minutes more footage, a Lee painting of the Grey Havens and a model of Minas Tirith for the Collector's Edition, with Minas Morgul available for order during a limited time. The Special Extended DVD Editions also had in-sleeve maps of the Fellowship's travels. They have also played at cinemas, most notably for a 16 December 2003, marathon screening (dubbed "Trilogy Tuesday") culminating in a late afternoon screening of the third film. Attendees of "Trilogy Tuesday" were given a limited edition keepsake from Sideshow Collectibles containing one random frame of film from each of the three movies. Both versions were put together in a Limited Edition "branching" version, plus a new feature-length documentary by Costa Botes. The complete series was released in a six Disc set on 14 November 2006.
Warner Bros. released the trilogy's theatrical versions on Blu-ray Disc in a boxed set on 6 April 2010.[43] An extended edition Blu-ray box set was made available for pre-order from Amazon.com in March 2011 and was released on 28 June 2011.[44] Each film's extended Blu-ray version is identical to the extended DVD version; the running time includes an added credit sequence listing the names of "Lord of the Rings fan-club members" who contributed to the project.[45][46]

Film
Theatrical edition length
Extended edition length
The Fellowship of the Ring 178 mins 208 mins (228 with additional credits)
The Two Towers 179 mins 222 mins (236 with additional credits)
The Return of the King 201 mins 264 mins (277 with additional credits)
Documentaries[edit]
For the extended cuts, the filmmakers brought in Michael Perlin, who created many documentaries on the making of the films titled "the Appendicies", as a nod to the book. The final result was 23 Documentaries, some of which were split into 2 to 3 parts. They are listed below: (note, the ones with numbers on the sides is how many parts there were.
JRR Tolkien 1-3, From Book to Vision 1-3, Storyboards and Pre-viz, Designing Middle-earth 1-3, Weta Workshop 1-3, Costume Design 1-2, The Fellowship of the Cast, A Day in the Life of a Hobbit, The Taming of Smeagol, Wariors of the Third Age, Home of the Horse-lords, Cameras in Middle-earth 1-3, Scale, Bigatures 1-3, Weta Digital 1-3, Editorial 1-3, Digital Grading, The Soundscapes of Middle-earth 1-3, Music for Middle-earth 1-3, The End of all Things, The Road Goes Ever On, The Battle For Helms deep is Over, and The Passing of an Age.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]

Film
Release date
Box office revenue
Box office ranking
Budget
Reference

United States
International
Worldwide
All time USA
All time worldwide
The Fellowship of the Ring 19 December 2001 $315,544,750 $555,985,574 $871,530,324 #32
 #76(A) No. 31 $93,000,000 [47]
The Two Towers 18 December 2002 $342,551,365 $583,495,746 $926,047,111 #22
 #61(A) No. 21 $94,000,000 [48]
The Return of the King 17 December 2003 $377,845,905 $742,083,616 $1,119,929,521 #17
 #52(A) No. 6 $94,000,000 [49]
Total $1,035,942,020 $1,881,564,936 $2,917,506,956   $281,000,000
List indicator(s) (A) indicates the adjusted ranks based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo).
 
Public and critical response[edit]
Unadjusted for inflation, The Lord of the Rings film series is the highest grossing film trilogy worldwide of all time, higher even than other film franchises such as the original Star Wars trilogy and The Godfather trilogy. The film series grossed a total of $2.91 billion. The film series also tied a record with Ben-Hur and Titanic for the total number of Academy Awards won for a single film with The Return of the King receiving eleven Oscars.[50]
The majority of critics have also praised the series, with Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times writing that "the trilogy will not soon, if ever, find its equal".[51] In particular, performances from Ian McKellen,[52] Sean Astin,[53] Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, and Bernard Hill stood out for many in audience polls, and special effects for the battles and Gollum were praised. Some were critical of the films' pacing and length: "It's a collection of spectacular set pieces without any sense of momentum driving them into one another" according to the Philadelphia Weekly.[54]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series received a positive 94% average rating from critics – 92%, 96%, and 94% respectively, making it one of the highest-rated film series of all-time, along with the Toy Story trilogy (in which the first two films earned a perfect 100%, and the third earned 99%), The Apu Trilogy (97%, 93%, and 100%), the Dollars trilogy (98%, 93%, 97%), The Dark Knight trilogy (85%, 94%, 87%), and the original Star Wars trilogy (94%, 97%, and 79%). Metacritic, based on its ratings for each film (92%, 88%, 94%), lists the series as one of two most critically acclaimed trilogies of all time. Every film is placed in the top 100 of the 'Metacritic Best-Reviewed Movies' list, a position achieved (as of July 2010) by only one other trilogy, the Toy Story trilogy.
The series appears in many "Top 10" film lists, such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association's Top 10 Films, IMDb top 250, Time magazine's All-Time 100 Movies, and James Berardinelli's Top 100.[55] In 2007, USA Today named the series as the most important films of the past 25 years.[56] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Bringing a cherished book to the big screen? No sweat. Peter Jackson's trilogy—or, as we like to call it, our preciousssss—exerted its irresistible pull, on advanced Elvish speakers and neophytes alike."[57] Paste Magazine named it one of the 50 Best Movies of the Decade (2000–2009), ranking it at No. 4.[58] In another Time magazine list, the series ranks second in "Best Movies of the Decade".[59]

Film
Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic
The Fellowship of the Ring 92% (210 reviews)[60] 92% (34 reviews)[61]
The Two Towers 96% (224 reviews)[62] 88% (39 reviews)[63]
The Return of the King 94% (245 reviews)[64] 94% (42 reviews)[65]
Average
94%
91%

Academy Awards[edit]
See also: List of accolades received by The Lord of the Rings film series
The three films together were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards, of which they won 17, a record for any movie trilogy (the 3 nominations for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey brings the series' total to 33 nominations). The Return of the King won in every category in which it was nominated, an extremely rare feat; its Oscar for Best Picture was widely perceived as an award by proxy for the entire series. The Return of the King also tied a record for the total number of Academy Awards won, 11, with Ben-Hur and Titanic (though both of those films had additional nominations that they lost out on). It currently holds the Oscar record for the highest clean sweep. No actors in any of the three films won Oscars, although Ian McKellen was nominated for his work in The Fellowship of the Ring.
The Fellowship of the Ring — Nominations: 13, Wins: 4
The Two Towers — Nominations: 6, Wins: 2
The Return of the King — Nominations: 11, Wins: 11

Award
Awards Won

The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
Art Direction Nominated Nominated Won
Cinematography Won  
Costume Design Nominated  Won
Directing Nominated  Won
Film Editing Nominated Nominated Won
Makeup Won  Won
Music (Original Score) Won  Won
Music (Original Song) Nominated
 ("May It Be")  Won
 ("Into the West")
Best Picture Nominated Nominated Won
Sound Editing  Won 
Sound Mixing Nominated Nominated Won
Supporting Actor Nominated
 (Ian McKellen)  
Visual Effects Won Won Won
Adapted Screenplay Nominated  Won
As well as Academy Awards, each film in the series won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the MTV Movie Award for Best Movie, and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. The first and third films also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film. The soundtrack for The Two Towers did not receive a nomination because of a rule prohibiting a soundtrack including music from a previous soundtrack to be eligible for nomination. This rule was overturned in time for The Return of the King to receive the Oscar for Best Music Score. The New York Film Critics Circle awarded The Return of the King its Best Picture Award at the 2003 Awards Ceremony, hosted by Andrew Johnston, chair of the organisation at that time, who called it "a masterful piece of filmmaking."[66]
Reactions to changes in the films from the book[edit]
See also: List of original characters in The Lord of the Rings film series
The film series caused reaction amongst fans and scholars of the book and were seen as changing parts Tolkien felt thematically necessary in terms of characters, themes, events and subtlety. Some fans of the book who disagreed with such changes have released fan edits of the films such as The Lord of the Rings: The Purist Edition.[67][68] which removed many of the changes to bring them closer to the original.
Various changes to characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Arwen, Denethor, Faramir, Gimli, and Frodo, when considered together, were seen by some to alter the tone and themes from those found in the book. Several critics contend that the portrayal of women, especially Arwen, in the films is thematically faithful to (or compatible with) Tolkien's writings despite some differences.[69][70][71][72] Wayne G. Hammond, a Tolkien scholar,[73][74] said of the first two films that he found them to be "travesties as adaptations... faithful only on a basic level of plot" and that many characters had not been depicted faithfully to their appearance in the novel.[75][76] Other critics have argued that Tolkien's characters were weakened and misinterpreted by their portrayal in the films.[77][78][79]
Changes to events (such as the Elves participating at the Battle of Helm's Deep,[80] Faramir taking the hobbits to Osgiliath),[81] and the deletion of the chapter "The Scouring of the Shire", are seen as changing Tolkien's themes.[81]
Janet Brennan Croft criticises the films using Tolkien's own terms "anticipation" and "flattening", which he used in critiquing a proposed film script. She contrasts Tolkien's subtlety with Jackson's tendency to show "too much too soon".[82]
Supporters of the series assert that it is a worthy interpretation of the book and that most of the changes were necessary.[19] Many who worked on the series are fans of the book, including Christopher Lee, who (alone among the cast) had actually met Tolkien in person,[83] and Boyens once noted that no matter what, it is simply their interpretation of the book. Jackson once said that to simply summarise the story on screen would be a mess, and in his own words, "Sure, it's not really The Lord of the Rings ... but it could still be a pretty damn cool movie."[84][85] Other fans also claim that, despite any changes, the films serve as a tribute to the book, appealing to those who have not yet read it, and even leading some to do so. The Movie Guide for The Encyclopedia of Arda (an online Tolkien encyclopaedia) states that Jackson's films were exceptional since filming the whole story of The Lord of the Rings was probably impossible.[86] This notion is partially supported by a review published in 2005 that otherwise criticised a lack in "faithfulness to Tolkien's spirit and tone."[87] Douglas Kellner argues that the conservative community spirit of Tolkien's Shire is reflected in Jackson's films as well as the division of the Fellowship into "squabbling races".[88]
Legacy[edit]

 

Air New Zealand painted this Airbus A320 in The Lord of the Rings livery to help promote the films.
The release of the films saw a surge of interest in The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's other works, vastly increasing his impact on popular culture.[89] It was rumoured that the Tolkien family became split on the series, with Christopher Tolkien and Simon Tolkien feuding over whether or not it was a good idea to adapt.[90] Christopher has since denied these claims saying, "My own position is that The Lord of the Rings is peculiarly unsuitable to transformation into visual dramatic form. The suggestions that have been made that I 'disapprove' of the films, even to the extent of thinking ill of those with whom I may differ, are wholly without foundation." He added that he had never "expressed any such feeling".[91] In 2012, however, he described the films as having "eviscerated" the book, and criticised the resulting "commercialisation" of his father's work.[92][93]
As a result of the series' success, Peter Jackson has become a player in the film business (sometimes called a mogul) in the mould of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, in the process befriending some industry heavyweights like Bryan Singer and Frank Darabont. Jackson has since founded his own film production company, Wingnut Films, as well as Wingnut Interactive, a video-game company. He was also finally given a chance to remake King Kong in 2005. The film became a critical and box office success, although not as successful as The Lord of the Rings series. Jackson has been called a "favourite son" of New Zealand.[94] In 2004, Howard Shore toured with The Lord of the Rings Symphony, consisting of two hours of the score. Along with the Harry Potter films, the series has renewed interest in the fantasy film genre. Tourism for New Zealand is up, possibly due to its exposure in the series,[95] with the country's tourism industry waking up to an audience's familiarity.[96]
In December 2002, The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition opened at the Te Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2007, the exhibition has travelled to seven other cities around the world. A musical adaptation of the book was launched in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2006, but it closed after mostly poor reviews. A shortened version opened in London, United Kingdom, in the summer of 2007. The success of the films has also spawned the production of video games and many other kinds of merchandise.


They eviscerated the book by making it an action movie for young people aged 15 to 25, and it seems that The Hobbit will be the same kind of film. [...] Tolkien has become a monster, devoured by his own popularity and absorbed by the absurdity of our time. The chasm between the beauty and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, has gone too far for me. Such commercialisation has reduced the aesthetic and philosophical impact of this creation to nothing. There is only one solution for me: turning my head away.
“
”
—Christopher Tolkien, Le Monde, 9 July 2012[92]
The legacy of The Lord of the Rings is also that of court cases over profits from the trilogy. Sixteen cast members (Noel Appleby, Jed Brophy, Mark Ferguson, Ray Henwood, Bruce Hopkins, William Johnson, Nathaniel Lees, Sarah McLeod, Ian Mune, Paul Norell, Craig Parker, Robert Pollock, Martyn Sanderson, Peter Tait and Stephan Ure) sued over the lack of revenue from merchandise bearing their appearance. The case was resolved out of court in 2008. The settlement came too late for Appleby, who died of cancer in 2007.[97] Saul Zaentz also filed a lawsuit in 2004 claiming he had not been paid all of his royalties. The next year, Jackson himself sued the studio over profits from the first film, slowing development of the prequels until late 2007.[98] The Tolkien Trust filed a lawsuit in February 2008, for violating Tolkien's original deal over the rights that they would earn 7.5% of the gross from any films based on his works. The Trust sought compensation of $150 million.[99] A judge denied them this option, but allowed them to win compensation from the act of the studio ignoring the contract itself.[100] On 8 September 2009, a settlement of this dispute between the Trust and New Line was announced (clearing a potential obstacle to the making of a new film based on The Hobbit).[101]
Video games[edit]
Numerous video games have been released to supplement the film series. The releases include: The Two Towers Pinball, The Return of the King, The Third Age, The Third Age (GBA), Tactics, The Battle for Middle-earth, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king, Conquest, Aragorn's Quest, War in the North, Lego The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar and the most recent game Guardians of Middle-earth.
Prequels[edit]
Main article: The Hobbit (film series)
Peter Jackson is currently directing three films based on Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit. The first film, titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was released on 12 December 2012.[102] The second film, subtitled The Desolation of Smaug, will be released on 13 December 2013, and the third film, subtitled There and Back Again, will be released on 17 December 2014.[103] Several actors from The Lord of the Rings, including Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Ian Holm (as older Bilbo), Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom will reprise their roles.
See also[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
Book icon Book: The Lord of the Rings film series

The Hobbit (film series)
The Hobbit (1977 film)
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)
The Return of the King (1980 film)
List of films considered the best
Longest films


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80.Jump up ^ Rutledge, Fleming (2004). The Battle for Middle-Earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 176, note 39. ISBN 0-8028-2497-8.
81.^ Jump up to: a b "5th Anniversary of TTT release [Archive] - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum". Forum.barrowdowns.com. 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
82.Jump up ^ Croft, Jannet Brennan (1 January 2005). "Mithril Coats and Tin Ears: ‘Anticipation’ and ‘Flattening’ in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy". In Croft, Janet Brennan. Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. Altadena: Mythopoeic Press. ISBN 978-1-887726-09-2.
83.Jump up ^ Biography for Christopher Lee at the Internet Movie Database
84.Jump up ^ "20 Questions with Peter Jackson. Last retrieved 16 September 2006". Members.tripod.com. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
85.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Rings Movies – Complete List of Film Changes – Overview – The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien – The One Ring – The Home of Tolkien Online". Theonering.com. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
86.Jump up ^ "The Encyclopedia of Arda". Glyphweb.com. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
87.Jump up ^ Bratman, David (1 January 2005). "Summa Jacksonica: A Reply to Defenses of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, after St. Thomas Aquinas". In Croft, Janet Brennan. Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. Altadena: Mythopoeic Press. ISBN 978-1-887726-09-2. "It’s Jackson’s vision, not Tolkien’s ... The perfect film would have been 40 hours long."
88.Jump up ^ Kellner, Douglas (2006). "The Lord of the Rings as Allegory: A Multiperspectivist Reading". In Matthijs, Ernest; Pomerance, Murray. From Hobbits to Hollywood: Essays on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi. pp. 21, 23. ISBN 978-90-420-1682-8.
89.Jump up ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan (16 November 2003). "Lord of the Gold Ring". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
90.Jump up ^ "Feud over 'Rings' movie splits Tolkien family". The New Zealand Herald. 3 December 2001.
91.Jump up ^ "Tolkien's son denies rift". BBC News. 7 December 2001.
92.^ Jump up to: a b Rérolle, Raphaëlle (5 July 2012). "Tolkien, l'anneau de la discorde". Le Monde. Retrieved 4 August 2012. "Ils ont éviscéré le livre, en en faisant un film d'action pour les 15–25 ans. Et il paraît que Le Hobbit sera du même acabit. [...] Tolkien est devenu un monstre, dévoré par sa popularité et absorbé par l'absurdité de l'époque. Le fossé qui s'est creusé entre la beauté, le sérieux de l'œuvre, et ce qu'elle est devenue, tout cela me dépasse. Un tel degré de commercialisation réduit à rien la portée esthétique et philosophique de cette création. Il ne me reste qu'une seule solution : tourner la tête."
93.Jump up ^ English translation of Le Monde article: http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/my-father-039-s-quot-eviscerated-quot-work-son-of-hobbit-scribe-j.r.r.-tolkien-finally-speaks-out/hobbit-silmarillion-lord-of-rings/c3s10299/#.UX1d3qKG2So
94.Jump up ^ "NZer of the year: Peter Jackson". The New Zealand Herald. 29 December 2001.
95.Jump up ^ "Movie Tourism in New Zealand". Archived from the original on 20 November 2005.
96.Jump up ^ "New Zealand, Home of Middle-earth". The New Zealand Herald.
97.Jump up ^ Bruce Hopkins (8 October 2008). "New Zealand actors settle out of court with New Line". TheOneRing.net. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
98.Jump up ^ Benjamin Svetkey (4 October 2007). "'The Hobbit': Peace in Middle-Earth?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
99.Jump up ^ Alex Viega (12 February 2008). "Tolkien Estate Sues New Line Cinema". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
100.Jump up ^ "No punitive damages in Rings case". BBC News. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
101.Jump up ^ Alex Dobuzinskis (8 September 2009). "Legal settlement clears way for "Hobbit" movie". Reuters. Retrieved 8 September 2009. "The Hollywood studio behind a film based on 'The Hobbit' and trustees for author J.R.R. Tolkien's estate said on Tuesday they had settled a lawsuit that clears the way for what is expected to be a blockbuster movie based on the book."
102.Jump up ^ "The Hobbit Worldwide Release Dates". thehobbit.com. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
103.Jump up ^ McClintock, Pamela (31 August 2012). "Third 'Hobbit' Film Sets Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Lord of the Rings (movies)
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

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This article is about the 2001 live-action film. For the book from which it was adapted, see The Fellowship of the Ring. For other uses, see The Fellowship of the Ring (disambiguation).
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The Lord of the Rings:
 The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship Of The Ring.jpg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Produced by
Peter Jackson
Barrie M. Osborne
 Tim Sanders
Fran Walsh
Screenplay by
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
 Peter Jackson
Based on
The Fellowship of the Ring
 by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring
Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Liv Tyler
Viggo Mortensen
Sean Astin
Cate Blanchett
John Rhys-Davies
Billy Boyd
Dominic Monaghan
Orlando Bloom
Christopher Lee
Hugo Weaving
Sean Bean
Ian Holm
Andy Serkis
Music by
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie
Editing by
John Gilbert
Studio
WingNut Films
The Saul Zaentz Company
Distributed by
New Line Cinema
Release date(s)
10 December 2001 (United Kingdom premiere)
19 December 2001 (United Kingdom)
19 December 2001 (United States)
20 December 2001 (New Zealand)
 
Running time
178 minutes[1]
Country
New Zealand
United Kingdom
United States
 
Language
English
Budget
$93 million[2]
Box office
$871,530,324[2]
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic[3][4] fantasy film[5] directed by Peter Jackson based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). It is the first installment in the The Lord of the Rings film series, and was followed by The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), based on the second and third volumes of The Lord of the Rings.
Set in Middle-earth, the story tells of the Dark Lord Sauron, who is seeking the One Ring. The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). The fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and eight companions who form the Fellowship of the Ring begin their journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed.
Released on 10 December 2001, the film was highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike who consider the film to be a landmark in film making and an achievement in the fantasy film genre. It has continued being featured on critic's lists of the greatest fantasy films ever made as of 2013. The film was a massive box office success, earning over $871 million worldwide, and becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2001 in the U.S. and worldwide (behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) which made it the fifth highest-grossing film ever at the time.
As of 2013, it is the 32nd highest-grossing film of all time worldwide. It won four Academy Awards and five British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director BAFTA awards. The Special Extended Edition was released to DVD on 12 November 2002 and to Blu-ray Disc on 28 June 2011. In 2007, The Fellowship of the Ring was voted No. 50 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest American films. The AFI also voted it the second greatest fantasy film of all time during their 10 Top 10 special.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Comparison with the source material
4 Production 4.1 Filming locations
4.2 Special effects
4.3 Score
5 Reception 5.1 Critical response
5.2 Accolades
6 Home media 6.1 Theatrical and extended release
6.2 Blu-ray edition
7 References
8 External links
Plot[edit]
In the Second Age, the Dark Lord Sauron created magical rings to give to leaders of the peoples of Middle Earth. He gave three rings to the Elves, seven rings to the Dwarves, and nine rings to the Humans. However, Sauron also secretly created another ring, called the One Ring, which allows him to control the carriers of the other Rings, thereby allowing him to conquer Middle-earth. But, in a battle against Sauron, Prince Isildur cuts the Ring from Sauron's hand, destroying his physical form.
However, there is a catch; Sauron's life force is bound to the Ring, allowing him to survive while the Ring also survives. Isildur, corrupted by the Ring's power, refuses to destroy it. When Isildur is killed by Orcs, the Ring is lost in a river for 2,500 years. The Ring is found by Gollum, who has the ring for 500 years, allowing him to live for a very long time, but corrupting his mind, but one day, the Ring separates from Gollum, and remains that way until it is found by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
Sixty years later, Bilbo is celebrating his 111th birthday, and he decides to leave his birthplace of the Shire, and leaves the Ring to his nephew, Frodo Baggins. Upon learning the Ring belonged to Sauron, the Wizard Gandalf the Grey warns Frodo that Sauron's forces will come for him, and has Frodo leave the shire accompanied by his friend Samwise Gamgee. Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with the head of his order, Saruman the White, who reveals that Sauron's servants, the Nazgûl, have been sent to capture the Ring. Saruman reveals himself to be in service to Sauron and imprisons Gandalf atop his tower. Saruman commands Sauron's Orcs to construct weapons of war and produce a new breed of Orc fighters: the Uruk-hai.
While travelling to Bree to meet with Gandalf, Frodo and Sam are joined by Merry and Pippin, who are stealing some local crops and are nearly captured by the Nazgûl. The four reach Bree and meet the mysterious ranger Aragorn (Isildur's descendant) who hides them from their pursuers and agrees to lead them to Rivendell since Gandalf hasn't arrived. The group rests at Weathertop where they are attacked by the Nazgûl, and Frodo is wounded by a Morgul blade, but Aragorn arrives and scares off the Nazgûl. Frodo is saved by the Elf Arwen, who uses her magic to summon a surge of water that sweeps away the pursuing Nazgûl. Arwen takes Frodo to Rivendell where her father, Elrond, heals him.
Gandalf escapes Saruman's tower with the aid of Gwaihir the eagle and travels to Rivendell. Elrond calls a council of the races still loyal to Middle-earth to decide what should be done with the Ring. He reveals that the Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged, as he himself tried to get Isildur to destroy it. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mordor, accompanied by Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, and Aragorn. They are joined by the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli, and Boromir, a man of Gondor, to form the Fellowship of the Ring.
Hindered by Saruman's magic, the Fellowship are forced to travel through the abandoned underground Dwarf city of Moria. Inside, the Fellowship is ambushed by Orcs and a Balrog, an ancient demon of fire and shadow. Gandalf confronts the Balrog, allowing the others to escape, but both Gandalf and the Balrog fall into an abyss. Mourning Gandalf's apparent death, the group flees to the forest of Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, the Elves Galadriel and Celeborn. That night, Galadriel informs Frodo that it is his destiny to destroy the Ring. Meanwhile, Saruman assembles a force of Uruk-hai to hunt the Fellowship.
After leaving Moria's caves and then arriving at Parth Galen, Boromir, after hinting that the ring should be used as a weapon to fight against Mordor, eventually gives in to the Ring's corruption and tries to take it from Frodo, believing it is the only way to save the people of Gondor. Heeding Galadriel's warning that the Ring will eventually corrupt the other members of the Fellowship, Frodo escapes by the Ring's power of invisibility and decides to continue his journey alone.
The Uruk-hai arrive, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli attempt to hold them off while Frodo escapes. Merry, Pippin, and a remorseful Boromir, who realized the ring's corruption and prays for forgiveness, lead the Orcs away from Frodo. Boromir is shot fatally by the Uruk-hai's leader, Lurtz, while Merry and Pippin are captured by the rest of the Uruk-hai. Aragorn slays Lurtz, and Boromir dies with Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas by his side. The three set out to rescue Merry and Pippin, while Frodo lets Sam join him in his journey to Mordor.
Cast[edit]
Further information: Cast of The Lord of the Rings film series

 

 The eponymous Fellowship from left to right: (Top row) Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, (bottom row) Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Gimli.
Before filming began on 11 October 1999, the principal actors trained for six weeks in sword fighting (with Bob Anderson), riding and boating. Jackson hoped such activities would allow the cast to bond so chemistry would be evident on screen as well as getting them used to life in Wellington.[6] They were also trained to pronounce Tolkien's verses properly.[7] After the shoot, the nine cast members playing the Fellowship got a tattoo, the Elvish symbol for the number nine, with the exception of John Rhys-Davies, whose stunt double got the tattoo instead.[8] The film is noted for having an ensemble cast,[9] and some of the cast and their respective characters include:
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: A hobbit who inherits the One Ring from his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. Wood was the first actor to be cast on 7 July 1999.[10] Wood was a fan of the book, and he sent in an audition dressed as Frodo, reading lines from the novel.[11] Wood was selected from 150 actors who auditioned.[12]
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: An Istari wizard and mentor to Frodo. Sean Connery was approached for the role, but did not understand the plot,[11] while Patrick Stewart turned it down as he disliked the script.[13] Before being cast, McKellen had to sort his schedule with 20th Century Fox as there was a two-month overlap with X-Men.[12] He enjoyed playing Gandalf the Grey more than his transformed state in the next two films,[8] and based his accent on Tolkien. Unlike his on-screen character, McKellen did not spend much time with the actors playing the Hobbits; instead he worked with their scale doubles.[6]
Liv Tyler as Arwen: An elf and Aragorn's lover. The filmmakers approached Tyler after seeing her performance in Plunkett & Macleane, and New Line Cinema leaped at the opportunity of having one Hollywood star in the film. Actress Helena Bonham Carter had expressed interest in the role.[11] Tyler came to shoot on short occasions, unlike the rest of the actors. She was one of the last actors to be cast, on 25 August 1999.[14]
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn: Dubbed Strider, he is a Dúnedain ranger and the heir to Gondor's throne. Daniel Day-Lewis was offered the part at the beginning of pre-production, but turned it down.[15] Nicolas Cage also received an offer, declining because of "family obligations",[16] while Vin Diesel, a fan of the book, auditioned for Aragorn. Stuart Townsend was cast in the role, before being replaced during filming when Jackson realised he was too young.[11] Russell Crowe was considered as a replacement, but he turned it down after taking what he thought to be a similar role in Gladiator.[11] Day-Lewis was offered the role for a second time, but declined again.[15] Executive Producer Mark Ordesky saw Mortensen in a play. Mortensen's son, a fan of the book, convinced him to take the role.[6] Mortensen read the book on the plane, received a crash course lesson in fencing from Bob Anderson and began filming the scenes on Weathertop.[17] Mortensen became a hit with the crew by patching up his costume[18] and carrying his "hero" sword around with him offscreen.[6]
Sean Astin as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee: A Hobbit gardener and Frodo's best friend. Astin, who had recently become a father, bonded with the 18-year-old Wood in a protective manner, which mirrored Sam's relationship with Frodo.[6]
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: An Elf and the co-ruler of Lothlórien along with her husband Celeborn.
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: A Dwarf who accompanies the Fellowship to Mordor after they set out from Rivendell. Billy Connolly, who was considered for the part of Gimli, will portray Dáin II Ironfoot in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy. [11] Rhys-Davies wore heavy prosthetics to play Gimli, which limited his vision, and eventually he developed eczema around his eyes.[6] Rhys-Davies also played Gimli's father Glóin during the scene where the fellowship is forged.
Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took: A Hobbit who travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor.
Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck: A Hobbit and distant cousin of Frodo. Monaghan was cast as Merry after auditioning for Frodo.[11]
Orlando Bloom as Legolas: Prince of the Elves' Woodland Realm and a skilled archer. Bloom initially auditioned for Faramir, who appears in the second film, a role which went to David Wenham.[11]
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: The fallen head of the Istari Order, who succumbed to Sauron's will via his use of the palantír. Lee is a major fan of the book, and reads it once a year. He has also met J. R. R. Tolkien.[17] He originally auditioned for Gandalf, but was judged too old.[11]
Hugo Weaving as Elrond: The Elven master and Lord of Rivendell, who leads the Council of Elrond which ultimately decides to destroy the One Ring. David Bowie expressed interest in the role, but Jackson stated, "To have a famous, beloved character and a famous star colliding is slightly uncomfortable."[12]
Sean Bean as Boromir: A prince of the Stewards of Gondor, he journeys with the Fellowship towards Mordor. Bruce Willis, a fan of the book, expressed interest in the role, while Liam Neeson was sent the script, but passed.[11]
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins: Frodo's uncle who gives him the Ring after he decides to retire to Rivendell. Holm previously played Frodo in a 1981 radio adaption of The Lord of the Rings, and was cast as Bilbo after Jackson remembered his performance.[11] Sylvester McCoy, who would later play Radagast the Brown Wizard in The Hobbit, was contacted about playing the role, and was kept in place as a potential Bilbo for six months before Jackson went with Holm.[19]
Andy Serkis as Gollum: a wretched hobbit-like creature, owner of the Ring for centuries, who guides Frodo on his quest; voice and motion capture. This character appears briefly in the prologue. In Mordor, only can hear his voice shouting and in Moria, only appears his eyes and his nose.
The cast also includes:
Sala Baker as the Dark Lord Sauron manifest as an Eye after the destruction of his physical form;
Marton Csokas as the Elf Celeborn, co-ruler of Lothlórien;
Lawrence Makoare as the Orc Lurtz, commander of Saruman's Orc forces;
Craig Parker as Haldir, Leader of The Galadhrim warriors guarding the border of Lothlórien;
Mark Ferguson as Gil-galad, an Elven-King and last ruler of Noldor;
Peter McKenzie as Elendil, High King of Arnor and Gondor; and
Harry Sinclair as Isildur, Elendil's son and Aragorn's ancestor who originally defeated Sauron.
Comparison with the source material[edit]

 

 Image showing the inscriptions on the Ring.
Jackson, Walsh and Boyens made numerous changes to the story, for purposes of pacing and character development. Jackson said his main desire was to make a film focused primarily on Frodo and the Ring, the "backbone" of the story.[20] The prologue condenses Tolkien's backstory, in which The Last Alliance's seven-year siege of the Barad-dûr is a single battle, where Sauron is shown to explode, though Tolkien only said his spirit flees.[21]
Events at the beginning of the film are condensed or omitted altogether. In the book the time between Gandalf leaving the Ring to Frodo and returning to reveal its inscription, which is 17 years, is compressed for timing reasons.[22] Frodo also spends a few months preparing to move to Buckland, on the eastern border of the Shire. This move is omitted and combined with him setting out for Bree. Also compressed is the time between Frodo and Sam leaving Bag End and their meeting Merry and Pippin. Characters such as Tom Bombadil and the incidents in the old forest and the barrow downs are left out to simplify the plot and increase the threat of the Ringwraiths. Such sequences are left out to make time to introduce Saruman, who in the book doesn't appear until Gandalf's account at the Council of Elrond. While some characters are left out, some are referenced such as Tom, Bert, and William to show how "The Hobbit" and the "The Lord of the Rings" series intertwine. Saruman's role is enhanced: he is to blame for the blizzard on Caradhras, a role taken from Sauron and/or Caradhras itself in the book. Gandalf's capture by Saruman is also expanded with a fight sequence.
The role of Barliman Butterbur at the Prancing Pony is largely removed for time and dramatic flow.
The events at Weathertop were also altered. The location of the fight against the Ringwraiths was changed to the ruins on top of the hill rather than a campsite at its base. When Frodo was stabbed in the book, the party spent two weeks travelling to Rivendell, but in the film this is shortened to less than a week, with Frodo's condition worsening at a commensurately greater rate. Arwen was given a greater role in the film, accompanying Frodo all the way to Rivendell, while in the book Frodo faced the Ringwraiths alone at the Ford of Bruinen. The character of Glorfindel was omitted entirely and his scenes were also given to Arwen. She was tacitly credited with the river rising against the Ringwraiths, which was the work of her father Elrond with aid from Gandalf in the book.
A significant new addition is Aragorn's self-doubt, which causes him to hesitate to claim the kingship of Gondor. This element is not present in the book, where Aragorn intends to claim the throne at an appropriate time. In the book Narsil is reforged immediately when he joins the Fellowship, but this event is held over until Return of the King in film to symbolically coincide with his acceptance of his title. These elements were added because Peter Jackson believed that each character should be forced to grow or change over the course of the story.
Elrond's character gained an adversarial edge; he expresses doubts in the strength of Men to resist Sauron's evil after Isildur's failure to destroy the ring as depicted in the prologue. Jackson also shortens the Council of Elrond by spreading its exposition into earlier parts of the film. Elrond's counsellor, Erestor—who suggested the Ring be given to Tom Bombadil—was completely absent from this scene. Gimli's father, Glóin, was also deemed unnecessary.
The tone of the Moria sequence was altered. Although in the book the Fellowship only realises the Dwarves are all dead once they reach Balin's tomb, the filmmakers chose to use foreshadowing devices instead. Gandalf says to Gimli he would prefer not to enter Moria, and Saruman is shown to be aware of Gandalf's reticence, and also reveals an illustration of the Balrog in one of his books. The corpses of the dwarves are instantly shown as the Fellowship enter Moria.[23]
In terms of dramatic structure, the book simply ends; there is no climax, because Tolkien wrote the "trilogy" as a single story published in three volumes. Jackson's version incorporates the first chapter of '"The Two Towers" and makes its events, told in real time instead of flashback, simultaneous with the Breaking of the Fellowship. This finale is played as a climactic battle, into which he introduces the Uruk-hai referred to as Lurtz in the script. In the book, Boromir is unable to tell Aragorn which hobbits were kidnapped by the orcs before he dies. From there, Aragorn deduces Frodo's intentions when he notices that a boat is missing and Sam's pack is gone. In the film, Aragorn and Frodo have a scene together in which Frodo's intentions are explicitly stated.
Production[edit]
Peter Jackson began working with Christian Rivers to storyboard the series in August 1997, as well as getting Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop to begin creating his interpretation of Middle-earth.[24] Jackson told them to make Middle-earth as plausible and believable as possible, to think of Middle-earth in a historical manner.[25]
In November,[25] Alan Lee and John Howe became the film trilogy's primary conceptual designers, having had previous experience as illustrators for the book and various other tie-ins. Lee worked for the Art Department creating places such as Rivendell, Isengard, Moria and Lothlórien, giving art nouveau and geometry influences to the Elves and Dwarves respectively.[25][26] Though Howe contributed with Bag End and the Argonath,[25][26] he focused working on armour having studied it all his life.[27] Weta and the Art Department continued to design, with Grant Major turning the Art Department's designs into architecture, and Dan Hennah scouting locations.[25] On 1 April 1999, Ngila Dickson joined the crew as costume designer. She and 40 seamstresses would create 19,000 costumes, 40 per version for the actor and their doubles, ageing and wearing them out for impression of age.[18]
Filming locations[edit]

 

 Arwen faces the Nazgûl at the Fords of Bruinen (Arrow River, Skippers Canyon).
Filming took place in various locations across New Zealand. A list of filming locations, sorted by appearance order in the film:

Fictional
 location
Specific location
 in New Zealand
General area
 in New Zealand
Hobbiton Matamata Waikato
Gardens of Isengard Harcourt Park Upper Hutt
The Shire woods Otaki Gorge Road Kapiti Coast District
Bucklebury Ferry Keeling Farm, Manakau Horowhenua
Forest near Bree Takaka Hill Nelson
Trollshaws Waitarere Forest Horowhenua
Flight to the Ford Tarras Otago
Ford of Bruinen Arrow River, Skippers Canyon Queenstown
Rivendell Kaitoke Regional Park Upper Hutt
Eregion Mount Olympus Nelson
Dead Marshes Kepler Mire Southland District
Dimrill Dale Lake Alta The Remarkables
Dimrill Dale Mount Owen Nelson
Lothlórien Paradise Glenorchy
River Anduin Upper Waiau River Fiordland National Park
River Anduin Rangitikei River Rangitikei District
River Anduin Poets' Corner Upper Hutt
Parth Galen Paradise Glenorchy
Amon Hen Mavora Lakes, Paradise and Closeburn Southern Lakes
Special effects[edit]
The Fellowship of the Ring makes extensive use of digital, practical and make-up special effects throughout. One noticeable illusion that appears in almost every scene involves setting a proper scale so that the characters are all the correct height. Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) tall in real life, but the character of Frodo Baggins is barely four feet in height. Many different tricks were used to depict the hobbits (and Gimli the Dwarf) as being of diminutive stature. (In a happy coincidence, John-Rhys Davies — who played Gimli — is as tall compared to the Hobbit actors as his character needed to be compared to theirs, so he did not need to be filmed separately as a third variation of height, and is quite taller than Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas.) Large and small scale doubles were used in certain scenes, while entire duplicates of certain sets (including Bag End in Hobbiton) were built at two different scales, so that the characters would appear to be the appropriate size. At one point in the film, Frodo runs along a corridor in Bag End, followed by Gandalf. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were filmed in separate versions of the same corridor, built at two different scales, and a fast camera pan conceals the edit between the two. Forced perspective was also employed, so that it would look as though the short Hobbits were interacting with taller Men and Elves. Even the simple use of kneeling down, to the filmmakers' surprise, turned out to be an effective method in creating the illusion.
For the battle between the Last Alliance and Sauron's forces that begins the film, an elaborate CGI animation system, called MASSIVE, was developed by Stephen Regelous; it allowed thousands of individual animated "characters" in the program to act independently. This helped give the illusion of realism to the battle sequences. The "Making of" Lord of the Rings DVD reports some interesting initial problems: in the first execution of a battle between groups of characters, the wrong groups attacked each other. In another early demo, some of the warriors at the edge of the field could be seen running away. They were initially moving in the wrong direction, and had been programmed to keep running until they encountered an enemy.
The digital creatures were important due to Jackson's requirement of biological plausibility. Their surface was scanned from large maquettes before numerous digital details of their skeletons and muscles were added. In the case of the Balrog, Gray Horsfield created a system that copied recorded imagery of fire.
Score[edit]
Main article: Music of The Lord of the Rings film series
The musical score for The Lord of the Rings films was composed by Howard Shore. It was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices, and featured several vocal soloists. Two original songs, "Aníron" and the end title theme "May It Be", were composed and sung by Enya, who allowed her label, Reprise Records, to release the soundtrack to this and its two sequels. In addition to this, Shore composed "In Dreams", which was sung by Edward Ross of the London Oratory School Schola.
Reception[edit]
See also: List of films considered the best
The Fellowship of the Ring was released on 19 December 2001 in 3,359 cinemas where it grossed $47.2 million on its opening weekend. The World premiere was held at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. It went on to make $314.7 million in North America and $555.9 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $870.7 million.[28]
Critical response[edit]
The Fellowship of the Ring received critical acclaim from major film critics and was one of 2001's best reviewed films.[29] The film holds a 92% "Fresh" rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 210 reviews, with an average score of 8.1/10. The site's main consensus reads "Full of eye-popping special effects, and featuring a pitch-perfect cast, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring brings J.R.R. Tolkien's classic to vivid life".[30] The film holds a score of 92 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 34 reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim".[31]
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "Peter Jackson ... has made a work for, and of, our times. It will be embraced, I suspect, by many Tolkien fans and take on aspects of a cult. It is a candidate for many Oscars. It is an awesome production in its daring and breadth, and there are small touches that are just right".[32] USA Today also gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "this movie version of a beloved book should please devotees as well as the uninitiated".[33] In his review for The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell wrote, "The playful spookiness of Mr. Jackson's direction provides a lively, light touch, a gesture that doesn't normally come to mind when Tolkien's name is mentioned".[34] Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the film an "A" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, "The cast take to their roles with becoming modesty, certainly, but Jackson also makes it easy for them: His Fellowship flows, never lingering for the sake of admiring its own beauty ... Every detail of which engrossed me. I may have never turned a page of Tolkien, but I know enchantment when I see it".[35]
In her review for The Washington Post, Rita Kempley praised the cast, in particular, "Mortensen, as Strider, is a revelation, not to mention downright gorgeous. And McKellen, carrying the burden of thousands of years' worth of the fight against evil, is positively Merlinesque".[36] Time magazine's Richard Corliss praised Jackson's work: "His movie achieves what the best fairy tales do: the creation of an alternate world, plausible and persuasive, where the young — and not only the young — can lose themselves. And perhaps, in identifying with the little Hobbit that could, find their better selves".[37] In his review for The Village Voice, J. Hoberman wrote, "Peter Jackson's adaptation is certainly successful on its own terms".[38] Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "It's emotion that makes Fellowship stick hard in the memory ... Jackson deserves to revel in his success. He's made a three-hour film that leaves you wanting more".[39] However, in his review for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote, "there is a strange paucity of plot complication, an absence of anything unfolding, all the more disconcerting because of the clotted and indigestible mythic back story that we have to wade through before anything happens at all".[40]
Accolades[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by The Lord of the Rings film series
In 2002, the film won four Academy Awards from thirteen nominations.[41] The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Gethin Creagh and Hammond Peek), Best Costume Design and Best Adapted Screenplay.
As of March 2013, it is the 31st highest-grossing film worldwide, with US$871,530,324 in worldwide theatrical box office receipts.[2]
The film won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. It also won Empire readers' Best Film award, as well as five BAFTAs, including Best Film, the David Lean Award for Best Direction, the Audience Award (voted for by the public), Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up. The film was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight between Gandalf and Saruman.
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "10 Top 10"—the ten best films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. The Fellowship of the Ring was acknowledged as the second best film in the fantasy genre.[42][43]
American Film Institute recognitionAFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains: Gandalf the Grey – Nominated Hero
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – No. 50
AFI's 10 Top 10 – No. 2 Fantasy film
Home media[edit]
Theatrical and extended release[edit]
The Fellowship of the Ring was released on VHS and DVD on 6 August 2002.
On 12 November 2002, an extended edition was released on VHS and DVD, with 30 minutes of new material, added special effects and music, plus 20 minutes of fan-club credits, totalling to 219 minutes.[44] The DVD set included four commentaries and over three hours of supplementary material.
On 29 August 2006, a limited edition of The Fellowship of the Ring was released on DVD. The set included both the film's theatrical and extended editions on a double-sided disc along with all-new bonus material.
Blu-ray edition[edit]
The theatrical Blu-ray version of The Lord of the Rings was released in the United States on 6 April 2010. There were two separate sets: one with digital copies and one without.[45] The individual Blu-ray disc of The Fellowship of the Ring was released on 14 September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, except there was no digital copy.[46]
The extended Blu-ray editions were released in the U.S. on 28 June 2011.[47] This version has a runtime of 228 minutes[48] (the extended editions include the names of all fan club members at the time of their release; the additional 9 minutes in the Blu-ray version are because of expanded member rolls, not any additional story material).
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "THE LORD OF THE RINGS – THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 16 November 2001. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
3.Jump up ^ "Top 25 Holiday Movies of All-Time - IGN". Uk.movies.ign.com. 2005-11-23. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
4.Jump up ^ "'Lord' rings true / Tolkien's epic fantasy springs to wondrous life onscreen". The San Francisco Chronicle. 30 December 2001.
5.Jump up ^ Willams, Karl. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring overview". Allmovie. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
6.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f The Fellowship of the Cast (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
7.Jump up ^ Sibley, Brian (2001). The Lord of the Rings: Official Movie Guide. Harpercollins. pp. 100–101. ISBN 0-00-711908-9.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Brian Sibley (2006). "Ring-Master". Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey. London: Harpercollins. pp. 445–519. ISBN 0-00-717558-2.
9.Jump up ^ Clinton, Paul (18 December 2001). "Review: Dazzling, flawless 'Rings' a classic". CNN. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
10.Jump up ^ "OFFICIAL Frodo Press Release!". The One Ring.net. 9 July 1999. Retrieved 15 October 2006.
11.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Brian Sibley (2006). "Three-Ring Circus". Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey. London: Harpercollins. pp. 388–444. ISBN 0-00-717558-2.
12.^ Jump up to: a b c Gillian Flynn (16 November 2001). "Ring Masters". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
13.Jump up ^ "New York Con Reports, Pictures and Video". TrekMovie. 9 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
14.Jump up ^ "Liv Tyler WILL be in LOTR – UPDATED". The One Right.net. 25 August 1999. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
15.^ Jump up to: a b xoanon (15 October 1999). "Daniel Day-Lewis Offered role of Aragorn, Again!". theonering.net. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
16.Jump up ^ Larry Carroll (7 December 2007). "Will Smith Snagged 'I Am Legend' From Schwarzenegger, But Can You Imagine Nicolas Cage In 'The Matrix'?". MTV. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
17.^ Jump up to: a b Cameras in Middle-earth: Filming The Fellowship of the Ring (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
18.^ Jump up to: a b Costume Design (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
19.Jump up ^ Diane Parkes (19 September 2008). "Who’s that playing The Mikado?". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
20.Jump up ^ From Book to Screen (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
21.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. (1981). "The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien". Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-05699-6.
22.Jump up ^ Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens (2002). "Director/Writers Commentary". New Line Cinema (DVD).
23.Jump up ^ Rejina Doman (7 January 2008). "Can Hollywood Be Restrained?". Hollywood Jesus. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
24.Jump up ^ Russell, Gary (2003). The Art of the Two Towers. Harper Collins. p. 8. ISBN 0-00-713564-5.
25.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Designing Middle-earth (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
26.^ Jump up to: a b Big-atures (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
27.Jump up ^ Sibley (2001), p.90
28.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
29.Jump up ^ "Flashback Friday: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' (VIDEO)". Celebuzz. 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
30.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
31.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
32.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (19 December 2001). "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
33.Jump up ^ Puig, Claudia (18 December 2001). "Middle-earth leaps to life in enchanting, violent film". USA Today. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
34.Jump up ^ Mitchell, Elvis (19 December 2001). "Hit the Road, Middle-Earth Gang". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
35.Jump up ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (5 December 2001). "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
36.Jump up ^ Kempley, Rita (19 December 2001). "Frodo Lives! A Spirited Lord of the Rings". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
37.Jump up ^ Corliss, Richard (17 December 2001). "Lord of the Films". Time. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
38.Jump up ^ Hoberman, J (18 December 2001). "Plastic Fantastic". The Village Voice. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
39.Jump up ^ Travers, Peter (17 January 2002). "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
40.Jump up ^ Bradshaw, Peter (14 December 2001). "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 12 May 2009.
41.Jump up ^ "The 74th Academy Awards (2002) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
42.Jump up ^ American Film Institute (17 June 2008). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
43.Jump up ^ "Top 10 Fantasy". American Film Institute. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
44.Jump up ^ "THE LORD OF THE RINGS – THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 16 July 2002. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
45.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-ray: Theatrical Editions". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
46.Jump up ^ Calogne, Juan (23 June 2010). "Lord of the Rings Movies Get Separate Blu-ray editions". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
47.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Rings Pre-order Now Available". Amazon.com. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
48.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". IMDb.com. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
External links[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
Book icon Book: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
 
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Official website
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at the Internet Movie Database
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at AllRovi
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Rotten Tomatoes
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Box Office Mojo
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Metacritic
Filming locations on Google Earth

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Categories: 2001 films
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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

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This article is about the 2002 live-action film. For the book from which it was adapted, see The Two Towers. For other uses, see The Two Towers (disambiguation).

The Lord of the Rings:
 The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers.jpg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Produced by
Peter Jackson
Barrie M. Osborne
Fran Walsh
Screenplay by
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Stephen Sinclair
 Peter Jackson
Based on
The Two Towers
 by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring
Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Liv Tyler
Viggo Mortensen
Sean Astin
Cate Blanchett
John Rhys-Davies
Bernard Hill
Christopher Lee
Billy Boyd
Dominic Monaghan
Orlando Bloom
Hugo Weaving
Miranda Otto
David Wenham
Brad Dourif
Karl Urban
Sean Bean
Andy Serkis
Music by
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie
Editing by
Michael J. Horton
Jabez Olssen
Studio
WingNut Films
The Saul Zaentz Company
Distributed by
New Line Cinema
Release date(s)
5 December 2002 (New York City premiere)
18 December 2002 (United Kingdom)
18 December 2002 (United States)
19 December 2002 (New Zealand)
 
Running time
179 minutes[1][2]
Country
New Zealand
United Kingdom
United States
 
Language
English
Budget
$94 million[1]
Box office
$926,047,111[1]
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a 2002 epic fantasy film[3][4] directed by Peter Jackson and based on the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. It is the second installment in The Lord of the Rings film series, preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and concluding with The Return of the King (2003).
Continuing the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring, the film intercuts three storylines. Frodo and Sam continue their journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring, meeting and joined by Gollum, the ring's former owner. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli come to the war-torn nation of Rohan and are reunited with the resurrected Gandalf, before fighting at the Battle of Helm's Deep. Merry and Pippin escape capture, meet Treebeard the Ent, and help to plan an attack on Isengard.
Meeting high critical acclaim, the film was an enormous box-office success, earning over $926 million worldwide and is currently the 24th highest-grossing film of all time (inflation-adjusted, it is the sixtieth most successful film in North America[5]). The film also won numerous accolades and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Comparison to the source material
4 Production 4.1 Production design
4.2 Principal photography
4.3 Special effects 4.3.1 Gollum
4.3.2 Treebeard
4.4 Score
5 Reception 5.1 Critical response
5.2 Accolades
6 Home media 6.1 VHS and DVD
6.2 Blu-ray edition
7 References
8 External links
Plot[edit]
Gandalf the Grey gives his life in battle against the Balrog, giving the Fellowship of the Ring time to escape from the Mines of Moria.
Weeks later, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee continue their journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring and, with it, the Dark Lord Sauron. One night, they are attacked by the ring's former owner Gollum. The pair capture Gollum, but Frodo takes pity on him, understanding the burden of the Ring. Frodo persuades Gollum to guide them to Mordor. Sam immediately distrusts Gollum on sight and warns Frodo that Gollum will betray them.
In Rohan, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli pursue the Uruk-hai who have taken Merry and Pippin prisoner. Meanwhile, Rohan's King Théoden has been entranced and physically weakened by Gríma Wormtongue, who is secretly in the service of Saruman the White. Saruman has his Orcs and Wild Men of Dunland lay siege to the lands. Théoden's nephew Éomer accuses Gríma of being a spy; Gríma has him banished for undermining him. Éomer travels to the countryside to gather the remaining men of the Rohirrim. Éomer's army later ambush and kill the Uruk-hai holding Merry and Pippin. Merry and Pippin flee into Fangorn forest and meet Treebeard, the oldest of the Ents.
Frodo, Sam and Gollum traverse the Dead Marshes, evading a Nazgûl. Upon reaching the Black Gate, they find it closed and guarded by Orcs. Gollum convinces the pair that he will lead them to an unguarded entrance. After learning of Éomer's ambush, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli discover Merry and Pippin's trail. The trio are confronted by Gandalf, reborn as Gandalf the White. Gandalf joins with the trio as they journey to Edoras. After arriving, they free Théoden from Gríma's spell, and inform the king of his son Théodred's death. Théoden moves his people to the stronghold Helm's Deep for safety. Fearing Helm's Deep will not survive, Gandalf leaves to find Éomer. Gríma flees to Orthanc and informs Saruman of a weakness in the outer wall of Helm's Deep. Saruman dispatches his vast army to the stronghold, with the intent of wiping out all of Rohan and Aragorn with them.
Meanwhile, Gollum struggles with his loyalty to Frodo and his consuming need for the Ring. When Sam and Frodo are captured by Rangers of Ithilien, Frodo reveals Gollum's presence to spare his life; Gollum nevertheless feels betrayed, and begins plotting against Frodo. As Théoden's forces travel to Helm's Deep, they are attacked by Saruman's Warg riders and Aragorn is thrown from a cliff to his apparent death in a raging river. In Rivendell, Elrond convinces his daughter Arwen to abandon her love for Aragorn and leave Middle-earth with her fellow Elves. Meanwhile, Éowyn, Théoden's niece, nurtures a growing affection for Aragorn.
Learning that Frodo has the Ring, the Rangers' captain, Faramir, who is also Boromir's brother, orders that it be sent to Gondor. In Rohan, the barely-alive Aragorn washes up on the river bank. He makes his way to Helm's Deep and warns Théoden that he has seen Saruman's army headed for the fortress. Théoden gathers his men to fight against Saruman's army of Uruk-hai. When night falls, a battalion of Elves arrive to re-enforce the men of Rohan. In Fangorn Forest, Merry, Pippin, Treebeard and other Ents hold a council to decide on the role of the Ents in the war with Saruman.
The battle of Helm's Deep begins between the Uruk-hai and Rohirrim with Aragorn and his companions. Explosives are used against the weakness in the wall, allowing the Orcs to breach the fortress. In Fangorn, Treebeard and the other Ents initially refuse to get involved in the war until Pippin shows them that Saruman has decimated the forest; enraged, Treebeard commands the Ents to seek vengeance. Aragorn leads Théoden, Legolas and the remaining Rohirrim to attack the Uruk-hai, allowing the Rohirrim's women and children to escape into the mountains. Gandalf appears, accompanied by Éomer and his men. The combined forces cause the Uruk-hai to flee into Fangorn, where the Ents and their Huorn allies attack them. At Isengard, the Ents defeat the Uruk-hai and break the river dam, drowning the surviving Orc defenders, flooding Isengard, and stranding Saruman in his tower.
Faramir has the Hobbits taken to the war-torn Osgiliath, where they are attacked by Orcs led by a Nazgûl. Frodo succumbs to the Ring's influence and attacks Sam, but comes to his senses when Sam tearfully reminds him of their friendship. The Nazgûl is defeated and flees. Faramir, understanding the danger of the Ring, frees the Hobbits and sends them on their journey, joined by Gollum. Gandalf remarks that Sauron will seek retribution for Saruman's defeat, stating that hope now rests with Frodo and Sam. At that same moment, Gollum vows to reclaim the Ring by having "her" kill Frodo and Sam.
Cast[edit]
Further information: Cast of The Lord of the Rings film series

 

 From left to right: Karl Urban, Bernard Hill, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo Mortensen. According to Peter Jackson, The Two Towers is centered around Aragorn.[6]
Like the other films in the series, The Two Towers has an ensemble cast,[7] and the cast and their respective characters include:
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: the hobbit who must destroy the One Ring, the burden of which is becoming heavier.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey/Gandalf the White: the Wizard who fell fighting the Balrog, who has now returned, more powerful than ever, to finish his task.
Liv Tyler as Arwen: Elrond's daughter and Elven princess. Aragorn's true love.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn: the heir-in-exile to Gondor's throne who has come to Rohan's defence.
Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee: Frodo's loyal hobbit companion, better known as Sam.
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: the Elven queen of Lórien, who discusses Middle-earth's future with Elrond.
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: the Dwarf warrior and one of Aragorn's companions. Also voices Treebeard: the leader of the Ents, who is roused to anger against Saruman.
Bernard Hill as Théoden: King of Rohan, who is under Saruman's spell until Gandalf heals him so he can lead his people once more.
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: the Wizard waging war upon Rohan and devastating Fangorn Forest, who allies himself with Sauron.
Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took: the hobbit captured by the Uruk-hai, Merry's best friend, better known as Pippin.
Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck: the hobbit captured by the Uruk-hai, Pippin's best friend, better known as Merry.
Orlando Bloom as Legolas: the Elven archer and one of Aragorn's companions.
Hugo Weaving as Elrond: the Elven lord of Rivendell who expresses doubt over his daughter's love for Aragorn.
Miranda Otto as Éowyn: Théoden's niece, who is in love with Aragorn.
David Wenham as Faramir: the captain of the Ithilien Rangers, who captures Frodo, Sam and Gollum. Also, Boromir's younger brother.
Brad Dourif as Gríma Wormtongue: Saruman's agent at Edoras, who renders Théoden incapable of decisions, and desires Éowyn. He is the secondary antagonist.
Karl Urban as Éomer: Théoden's nephew and previously Chief Marshal of the Riddermark, exiled by Gríma.
Sean Bean as Boromir, who appears in flashbacks, more prominently in the film's extended edition.
Andy Serkis as Sméagol/Gollum: a wretched hobbit-like[8] creature, owner of the Ring for centuries, who guides Frodo on his quest; voice and motion capture.
Craig Parker as Haldir of Lórien: the leader of the Lórien Elves sent by Elrond and Galadriel to defend Helm's Deep.
John Leigh as Háma: the loyal doorwarden of the Golden Hall and a majordomo of Théoden.
Bruce Hopkins as Gamling: Théoden's chief lieutenant and a skilled member of the Royal Guard of Rohan.
John Bach as Madril: Faramir's closest aide, who informs him of battle preparations.
The following appear only in the Extended EditionJohn Noble as Denethor, Steward of Gondor and the father of Boromir and Faramir.
In the Battle of Helm's Deep, Peter Jackson has a cameo appearance as one of the men on top of the gate, throwing a spear at the attacking Uruk-hai. His children and Elijah Wood's sister also cameo as young refugees in the caves behind the Hornburg, and Alan Lee and Dan Hennah also cameo as soldiers preparing for the battle. The son of a producer's friend, Hamish Duncan, appears as a reluctant young Rohirrim warrior. Daniel Falconer has a cameo as an Elvish archer at the battle.[9]
Comparison to the source material[edit]
The screenwriters did not originally script The Two Towers as its own film: instead, parts of it were the conclusion to The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of two planned films under Miramax.[10] However, as the two films became a trilogy under New Line, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens shuffled their scripts. The Two Towers is known as the most difficult of the Rings films to make, having neither a clear beginning nor end to focus the script.[11] Nonetheless, they had a clear decision with making the Battle of Helm's Deep the climax, a decision affecting the whole story's moods and style.
The most notable difference between the book and the film is the structure. Tolkien's The Two Towers is split into two parts; one follows the war in Rohan, while the other focuses on the journey of Frodo and Sam. The film omits the book's opening, Boromir's death, which was used as a linear climax at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. Also, the film climaxes with the Battle of Helm's Deep, while the book ends with the Fellowship going to Isengard and Frodo's confrontation with Shelob, scenes which were left for the film adaptation of The Return of the King. This was done partly to fit more closely the timeline indicated by the book.
One notable change in plotting is that in the film Théoden is literally possessed by Saruman, whereas in the book he is simply depressed and deluded by Wormtongue. Afterwards, in the film, Théoden is still unsure of what to do, and flees to Helm's Deep. In the book he rides out to war, only ending up besieged when he considers helping Erkenbrand. Erkenbrand does not exist in the films: his character is combined with Éomer as the Rohirrim general who arrives with Gandalf at the film's end. Éomer himself is present during the entire battle in the book.
On the way to Helm's Deep, the refugees from Edoras are attacked by Wargs. The scene is possibly inspired by one in the book cut from The Fellowship of the Ring where it is the Fellowship who battle them. Here, a new subplot is created where Aragorn falls over a cliff, and is assumed to be dead; Jackson added it to create tension.[12] This scene also resonates with a new subplot regarding Arwen, where she decides to leave Middle-earth after losing hope in the long-term possibilities of her love. In the book, Arwen's role is primarily recorded in the Appendices, and she is never depicted as considering such an act.
A larger change was originally planned: Arwen and Elrond would visit Galadriel, and Arwen would accompany an army of Elves to Helm's Deep to fight alongside Aragorn. During shooting, the script changed, both from writers coming up with better ideas to portray the romance between Aragorn and Arwen, as well as poor fan reaction.[11][13] The new scene of Arwen leaving for the West was created, and the conversation scene remains, edited to be a flashback to a conversation between them in Rivendell, on the evening before the Fellowship's departure.[11] A conversation between Elrond and Galadriel in Lothlórien was edited to be a telepathic one.[14] Nonetheless, one major change (already filmed) remained that could not be reversed: the Elven warriors fighting at Helm's Deep, although Jackson and Boyens found this romantic and stirring and a reference to how, in the Appendices of The Return of the King, Galadriel and the Elves of Lothlórien, and Thranduil of Mirkwood were first attacked by an army out of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, and then later counter-attacked and assaulted the fortress itself.[11]
Another change is the fact Treebeard does not immediately decide to go to war. This adds to the tension, and Boyens describes it as making Merry and Pippin "more than luggage".[12] Here, the Hobbits show Treebeard what Saruman has done to the forest, prompting his decision to act. Another structural change is that the Hobbits meet Gandalf the White early on, explaining why the Hobbits do not react to his return when they meet him again following Isengard's destruction. This was explained in the book by Gandalf arriving at Isengard in the middle of the night to talk to Treebeard.
The filmmakers' decision to leave Shelob for the third film meant that Faramir had to become an obstacle for Frodo and Sam.[11] In the book, Faramir (like Aragorn) quickly recognizes the Ring as a danger and a temptation, and does not hesitate long before letting Frodo and Sam go. In the film, Faramir first decides that the Ring shall go to Gondor and his father Denethor, as a way to prove his worth. In the film, Faramir takes Frodo, Sam and the Ring to the Battle of Osgiliath — they do not go there in the book. Jackson winks to readers with Sam's line, "By all rights we shouldn't even be here, but we are." After seeing how strongly the Ring affects Frodo during the Nazgûl attack, Faramir changes his mind and lets them go. These changes reshape the book's contrast between Faramir and Boromir, who in The Fellowship of the Ring attempted to take the Ring for himself. On the other hand (which can be seen only in the film's extended version), it is actually their father who wants the Ring and urges Boromir to get it, while Faramir only wants to prove himself to his father. Boyens contends these plot changes were needed to keep the Ring menacing. Wenham commented on the DVD documentaries that he had not read the book prior to reading the script, so the film's version of Faramir was the Faramir he knew. When he later read the book and noticed the major difference, he approached the writers about it, and they explained to him that if he did say "I wouldn't pick that thing up even if it lay by the wayside", it would basically strip the One Ring of all corruptive power.[11]
The meaning of the title itself, 'The Two Towers', was changed. While Tolkien considered several possible sets of towers[15] he eventually created a final cover illustration[16] and wrote[17] a note included at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring which identified them as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. Jackson's film names them as Orthanc and Barad-dûr, symbolic of an evil alliance out to destroy Men that forms the film's plot point. The film depicted Saruman openly presenting himself outright as Sauron's servant, whereas this association was not explicitly stated in the novel (and indeed analysis by Gandalf and Aragorn in the chapter "The White Rider" stated that there was a rivalry instead, as Saruman was afraid of the prospect of being at war with Sauron, if Rohan and Gondor fell).
Production[edit]
Production design[edit]
Main article: Production design of The Lord of the Rings film series
When Alan Lee joined the project in late 1997, Helm's Deep was the first structure he was tasked to design. At 1:35 scale, it was one of the first miniatures built, and part of the 45 minute video that sold the project to New Line. It was primarily drawn from an illustration Lee had once done for the book, though fellow illustrator and designer John Howe suggested a curved wall. Used in the film for longshots, Jackson also used this miniature to plan the battle with 40,000 toy soldiers.[18]
As a pivotal part of the story, Helm's Deep was built at Dry Creek Quarry with the Gate, a ramp, and a wall with a removable section and the tower on a second level. Most importantly, there was the 1:4 scale miniature of Helm's Deep that ran 50 feet wide. It was used for forced perspective shots,[19] as well as the major explosion sequence.[18]
The film explores the armies of Middle-earth. John Howe was the basic designer of the forces of evil. The Uruk-hai were the first army approved by Jackson, and Howe also designed a special crossbow for the characters, one without the redundancy of opening to reload, the realization of a 15th-century manuscript. Also created were 100 Elven suits of armour, with emphasis on Autumnal colours due to the theme of Elves leaving Middle-earth. 250 suits were made for the Rohirrim. The Rohan designs were based on Germanic and Anglo-Saxon patterns. Most of the weapons were designed by John Howe, and forged by Peter Lyon. Each sword took 3–6 days to make.[20]
The Rohirrim's capital of Edoras took six months to build on Mount Sunday, with thatched roofs, but that was simply the exterior: the buildings doubled as offices and lunch halls. The army created a road to the location, whilst the interior was filmed at Stone Street Studios with tapestries designed by Lee, and Théoden's wooden throne partly created by his daughter.[19] Hill endured heavy make-up for the possession scene where his skin was pulled back and released for increased wrinkles. Dourif shaved off his eyebrows and put potato flakes as dandruff in his hair for unnerving effect.
The film also provides a look at Mordor and Gondor, in terms of Frodo and Sam's story. Barad-dûr is seen fully in a tracking shot, a design which Howe called a mockery of Gothic Cathedrals. He and Lee fully created the Black Gate (though a typo in the script made the miniature into two) [18] and Osgiliath, the ruined city reflecting London during the Blitz or Berlin in 1945.[21] The set on a backlot was based around a bridge and reused some of Moria.[19]
Principal photography[edit]

 

 The hill known as Mount Sunday, in Canterbury, New Zealand, provided the location for Edoras
The Two Towers shared principal photography with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King between 11 October 1999 to 22 December 2000. Scenes in Rohan were shot early on, and Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies' scale double Brett Beattie sustained many injuries. Mortensen broke two toes when he kicked an Orc helmet upon finding the remains of the Uruk-hai and believing Merry and Pippin to be dead; this take is the one in the finished film. Bloom fell off his horse and cracked three ribs, whilst Beattie dislocated his knee. The three spent two days of pain for the running sequence with these injuries, leading Jackson to jokingly refer to them as "The Walking Wounded."[21]
Afterwards, they went on for three months filming the Battle of Helm's Deep. John Mahaffie handled most of the night shoots. Mortensen got his tooth chipped during the nightshoots, and Bernard Hill also got his ear slashed.[21] Nonetheless, the 700 extras had fun, insulting each other in Māori[22] and improvising scenes, such as the Uruk-hai stamping their spears before the battle begins.[21] They did get annoyed by the Art Department's craftsmanship: the Gates were too reinforced for the Battering Ram scene.[19] Mortensen greatly respected the stunt team, and head butting them became a sign of that respect.[22]
Wood and Astin were joined by Serkis on 13 April 2000.[23]
Special effects[edit]
For The Two Towers, Weta Digital doubled their staff[24] of 260.[25] In total, they would produce 73 minutes of digital effects with 799 shots.[24] The film would feature their first challenge in creating a battle scene, as well as creating two digital characters who needed to act rather than be a set piece, unlike the previous film's Cave Troll and Balrog.[20]
Gollum[edit]

 

 Gollum eating a fish.
Weta began animating Gollum in late 1998 to convince New Line they could achieve the effect. Andy Serkis "played" Gollum by providing his voice and movements on set, as well as performing within the motion capture suit later on. His scenes were filmed twice, with and without him. Originally, Gollum was set to solely be a CG character, but Jackson was so impressed by Serkis' audition tape that they used him on set as well.
Gollum's CG model was also redesigned during 2001 when Serkis was cast as Sméagol, Gollum's former self, so as to give the impression Andy Serkis as Sméagol transforms into the CG Gollum. The original model can still be glimpsed briefly in the first film. Over Christmas 2001, the crew proceeded to reanimate all the previous shots accordingly within two months. Another problem was that the crew realized that the cast performed better in the versions of the film with Serkis. In the end, the CG Gollum was rotoscoped and animated on top of these scenes. They fully animated some shots such as him crawling upside down. Serkis' motion capture animated the body while animators did the head. Gino Acevedo supervised realistic skin tones, which took four hours per frame to render.[26]
While the novel alludes to a division within his mind, the film depicts him as literally having a split personality. The two personas — the childlike Smeágol and the evil Gollum — are established during a scene in which they argue over remaining loyal to Frodo. The two personalities talk to each other, as established by contrasting camera angles and by Serkis altering his voice and physicality for each persona.
Treebeard[edit]
Treebeard took between 28 and 48 hours per frame to render.[24] For scenes where he interacts with Merry and Pippin, a 14-foot-tall puppet was built on a wheel. Weta took urethane moulds of tree bark and applied them to the sculpt of Treebeard to create his wooden skin. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd sat on bicycle seats concealed into Treebeard's hands to avoid discomfort and were left alone on set sitting in the puppet's hands during breaks. The puppet was shot against bluescreen.[20]
Score[edit]
Main article: Music of The Lord of the Rings film series
The musical score for The Two Towers was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore, who also composed the music for the other two films in the series. While the scores for its predecessor and sequel won the Academy Award for Best Score, the soundtrack for The Two Towers was not nominated. (Initially there was confusion over the score's eligibility due to a new rule applying to sequels, but the Academy did declare it eligible.[27])
The funeral song Éowyn sings during her cousin Théodred's entombment in the extended edition is styled to be a traditional song of the Rohirrim, and has lyrics in their language, Rohirric (represented by Old English). The song does not appear in the book, and the tune is a variation upon a theme of the rímur Icelandic folk tradition; it can be heard as part of track 7 in the 1999 recording of a musical version of the Edda by Sequentia.[28]
The soundtrack was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. The soundtrack has a picture of Peter Jackson (barefoot), the composer, and two producers crossing Abbey Road, referencing the The Beatles album of the same name.
Reception[edit]
The Two Towers opened in theaters on December 18, 2002. It made $64.2 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada. The movie went on to gross $342,551,365 in North America and $583,495,746 internationally for a worldwide total of $926,047,111.[1] It was the highest grossing film of 2002 worldwide.[29]
Critical response[edit]
The Two Towers received critical acclaim and was one of 2002's best reviewed films. The film holds a 96% "Fresh" rating on the aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 224 reviews, with an average score of 8.4. The site's main consensus read "The Two Towers balances spectacular action with emotional storytelling, leaving audiences both wholly satisfied and eager for the final chapter".[30] The films holds a Metacritic score of 88 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim".[31] The Battle of Helm's Deep has been named as one of the greatest screen battles of all time,[32] while Gollum was named as the third favorite computer-generated film character by Entertainment Weekly in 2007.[33]
Accolades[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by The Lord of the Rings film series
Academy Awards[34] Winner: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing.
Nominee: Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek).
British Academy Film Awards: Best Costume Design, Best Special Visual Effects, Orange Film of the Year (voted on by the public)
Empire Awards: Best Picture
Grammy Awards: Best Score (Howard Shore)
Hugo Awards (World Science Fiction Society): Best Dramatic Presentation — Long Form
2003 MTV Movie Awards: Best virtual performance (Gollum)
Saturn Awards: Best Fantasy Film, Best Costume (Ngila Dickson), Best Supporting Actor (Andy Serkis)
American Film Institute listsAFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "My precious." – #85
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated
Home media[edit]
VHS and DVD[edit]
The Two Towers was released on VHS and DVD on 26 August 2003 in the United States. The date was originally intended to be a simultaneous worldwide release, but due to a Bank holiday weekend in the United Kingdom, some British stores began selling DVDs early as 22 August much to the ire of the film's U.K. distributor, which had threatened to withhold advance supplies of subsequent DVD releases.[35]
As with The Fellowship of the Ring, an extended edition of The Two Towers was released on VHS and DVD on 19 November 2003 with 45 minutes of new material, added special effects and music, plus 11 minutes of fan-club credits. The runtime expanded to 223 minutes. The 4-disc DVD set included four commentaries along with hours of supplementary material.
On 29 August 2006, a limited edition of The Two Towers was released on DVD. The set included both the film's theatrical and extended editions on a double-sided disc along with all-new bonus material.
Blu-ray edition[edit]
The theatrical Blu-ray version of The Lord of the Rings was released in the United States on 6 April 2010.[36] The individual Blu-ray disc of The Two Towers was released on 14 September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, except there was no digital copy.[37]
The extended editions for Blu-ray were released in the U.S. and Canada on 28 June 2011.[38] This version has a runtime of 235 minutes.[39]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
2.Jump up ^ "THE LORD OF THE RINGS - THE TWO TOWERS (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
3.Jump up ^ http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/667/667848p1.html
4.Jump up ^ "'Lord' rings true / Tolkien's epic fantasy springs to wondrous life onscreen". The San Francisco Chronicle. 30 December 2001.
5.Jump up ^ "All Time Box Office Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
6.Jump up ^ Head, Steve (13 December 2002). "An interview with Peter Jackson". IGN. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
7.Jump up ^ Lammers, Tim (28 August 2003). "New On Video: 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers'". nbc4. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
8.Jump up ^ Frodo calls Gollum "not so very different from a hobbit once". In the book, however, Sméagol is described as belonging to "hobbit-kind; akin to the fathers of the fathers of the hobbit Stoors" (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Shadow of the Past"); Stoors being one of the three kindreds of hobbits. In an appendix, Tolkien calls his relative Déagol (featured in the third film of the trilogy) a Stoor; therefore Sméagol must have been a Stoor himself. In a letter, Tolkien confirms that Gollum was a hobbit (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, #214).
9.Jump up ^ J.W. Braun, The Lord of the Films (ECW Press, 2009).
10.Jump up ^ "20 Questions with Peter Jackson". Peter Jackson online transcript from Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
11.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f From Book to Script: Finding the Story (DVD). New Line. 2003.
12.^ Jump up to: a b Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (2003). Director/Writers Commentary (DVD). New Line.
13.Jump up ^ Clint Morris (5 December 2002). "Interview: Liv Tyler". Moviehole. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
14.Jump up ^ Editorial: Refining the Story (DVD). New Line. 2003.
15.Jump up ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #140 & #143, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
Hammond, Wayne G.; Scull, Christina (1995), J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #178, ISBN 0-395-74816-X
16.Jump up ^ Hammond, Wayne G.; Scull, Christina (1995), J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #180, ISBN 0-395-74816-X
17.Jump up ^ Hammond, Wayne G.; Anderson, Douglas A. (1993), J. R. R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography, New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books, 92 (23 February 1954 entry), ISBN 0-938768-42-5
18.^ Jump up to: a b c Big-atures (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2003.
19.^ Jump up to: a b c d Designing Middle-earth (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2003.
20.^ Jump up to: a b c Weta Workshop (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2003.
21.^ Jump up to: a b c d Cameras in Middle-earth: Filming The Two Towers (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2003.
22.^ Jump up to: a b Warriors of the Third Age (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2003.
23.Jump up ^ Serkis, Andy (2003). Gollum: How we made Movie Magic. Harpercollins. p. 24. ISBN 0-618-39104-5.
24.^ Jump up to: a b c Weta Digital (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
25.Jump up ^ Weta Digital (The Fellowship of the Ring Appendices) (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2003.
26.Jump up ^ The Taming of Sméagol (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2003.
27.Jump up ^ "Two Tower's Score Remains Eligible". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
28.Jump up ^ Sequentia, Edda — Myths from medieval Iceland, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1999
29.Jump up ^ 2002 WORLDWIDE GROSSES Retrieved April 26, 2013
30.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
31.Jump up ^ www.metacritic.com/movie/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-two-towers
32.Jump up ^ "The best – and worst – movie battle scenes". CNN. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007.
33.Jump up ^ "Our 10 Favorite CG Characters". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
34.Jump up ^ "The 75th Academy Awards (2003) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
35.Jump up ^ "UK video stores jump the gun on 'Rings'". IMDb — Studio Briefing. 27 August 2003. Retrieved 29 October 2006.
36.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-ray: Theatrical Editions". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
37.Jump up ^ Calogne, Juan (23 June 2010). "Lord of the Rings Movies Get Separate Blu-ray editions". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
38.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Rings Pre-order Now Available". Amazon.com. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
39.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". IMDb.com. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
External links[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
Book icon Book: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
 
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

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This article is about the 2003 live-action film. For the book from which it was adapted, see The Return of the King. For other uses, see The Return of the King (disambiguation).

The Lord of the Rings:
 The Return of the King
Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King.jpg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Produced by
Peter Jackson
Barrie M. Osborne
Fran Walsh
Screenplay by
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
 Peter Jackson
Based on
The Return of the King
 by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring
Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Liv Tyler
Viggo Mortensen
Sean Astin
Cate Blanchett
John Rhys-Davies
Bernard Hill
Billy Boyd
Dominic Monaghan
Orlando Bloom
Hugo Weaving
Miranda Otto
David Wenham
Karl Urban
John Noble
Andy Serkis
Ian Holm
Sean Bean
Music by
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie
Editing by
Jamie Selkirk
Studio
WingNut Films
The Saul Zaentz Company
Distributed by
New Line Cinema
Release date(s)
1 December 2003 (Wellington premiere)
17 December 2003 (United Kingdom)
17 December 2003 (United States)
18 December 2003 (New Zealand)
 
Running time
201 minutes[1]
Country
New Zealand
United Kingdom
United States
 
Language
English
Budget
$94 million[2]
Box office
$1,119,929,521[2]
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic[3][4] fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is the third and concluding installment in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, following The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002).
As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth, Gandalf the Wizard and Théoden King of Rohan rally their forces to help defend Gondor's capital Minas Tirith from the looming threat. Aragorn finally claims the throne of Gondor and, with the aid of Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf summons the army of the Dead to help him defeat Sauron. Ultimately, even with full strength of arms, they realize they cannot win; so it comes down to the Hobbits, Frodo and Sam, to bear the burden of the Ring and deal with the treachery of Gollum. After a long journey they finally arrive in the dangerous lands of Mordor, seeking to destroy the One Ring in the place it was created, the volcanic fires of Mount Doom.
Released on 17 December 2003, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King received rave reviews[5] and became one of the greatest critical and box-office successes of all time, being only the second film to gross $1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film from New Line Cinema, as well as the biggest financial success for Time Warner in general, until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 surpassed The Return of the King's final gross in 2011. The film was the highest-grossing film of 2003. Notably, it won all eleven Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including the awards for Best Picture, the first and only time a fantasy film has done so; it was also the second sequel to win a Best Picture Oscar (following The Godfather Part II) and Best Director. The film is tied for largest number of awards won with Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997).

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Comparison with the source material 3.1 Extended sequences
4 Production 4.1 Design
4.2 Principal photography
4.3 Pick-ups
5 Post-production 5.1 Editing
5.2 Visual effects
5.3 Sound effects
5.4 Score
6 Release 6.1 Box office
6.2 Critical response
6.3 Accolades
6.4 Home media
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Plot[edit]
While on a fishing trip, Sméagol's cousin Déagol finds the One Ring in a river. Sméagol kills Déagol for the Ring and flees into a cave, becoming the creature Gollum under the Ring's corruption.
Five centuries later, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Théoden, Gamling, and Éomer meet up with Merry, Pippin and Treebeard at Isengard. The group returns to Edoras, where Pippin looks into Saruman's recovered palantír, in which Sauron appears and invades his mind; Pippin tells him nothing regarding Frodo and the Ring. From this event, Gandalf deduces that Sauron is planning to attack Minas Tirith. Gandalf rides with Pippin to find Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, to whom Pippin swears his service. Gandalf urges Denethor to call Rohan for aid, but Denethor declines, fearing Aragorn and Gandalf plan to depose him. The Morgul army, led by the Nazgûl, drives the Gondorians out of Osgiliath. Denethor sends his son Faramir on a suicide mission to reclaim the city. Under instruction from Gandalf, Pippin evades city guards to light the distress beacon, signalling Théoden and Aragorn to assemble the Rohirrim for battle.
Elrond informs Aragorn that Arwen did not go to the Undying Lands, and is now dying. Believing their forces to be outnumbered by Sauron's, Elrond gives Aragorn the sword Andúril to acquire the service of the Army of the Dead, who owe allegiance to the heir of Isildur. Éowyn confesses her love for Aragorn and asks him not to go, but Aragorn reaffirms his love for Arwen and heads into battle. Accompanied by Legolas and Gimli, Aragorn ventures into the Paths of the Dead and gains the loyalty of the King of the Dead and his men by brandishing Andúril, proving himself the Heir of Isildur. At Dunharrow, Théoden rides off to war, unaware that Éowyn and Merry have secretly joined his forces.
Sauron's armies lay siege to Minas Tirith, led by the Witch-king. Believing a grievously wounded Faramir to be dead, Denethor tries to burn his son and himself alive, but Gandalf intervenes; he saves Faramir, but Denethor commits suicide. Just as the Gondorians are about to be overrun, the Rohirrim army arrives and counter-attacks in a massive cavalry charge led by Théoden. This shifts the tide of the battle, and the Orcs begin to retreat. However, Haradrim warriors arrive to reinforce the Orc army with their Oliphants, turning the tide. The Witch-king kills Théoden, only to be wounded by Merry and finished off by Éowyn. On the verge of defeat, the Rohirrim are saved when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli arrive with the Army of the Dead and overwhelm Sauron's forces, ending the battle. Aragorn frees the Army of the Dead and their souls go to the afterlife.
Meanwhile, Frodo, Sam and Gollum travel to Minas Morgul. Sam overhears Gollum's plans to murder them and take the Ring for himself but an oblivious Frodo refuses to believe him. Hoping to remove Sam as an obstacle, Gollum secretly tosses their precious food supply over a cliff and persuades Frodo that Sam wants the Ring for himself. Frodo angrily tells a heartbroken Sam to go home, who initially leaves, but discovers Gollum's treachery and follows after them. Gollum betrays Frodo and disappears, leaving him in the lair of the giant spider Shelob, who paralyses Frodo before being wounded and driven away by Sam. An Orc patrol captures Frodo and takes him to Sauron's fortress. Sam rescues Frodo from the tower, and they continue the journey to Mount Doom.
Meanwhile, Aragorn leads his remaining men to the Black Gate of Mordor, distracting Sauron and his forces and allowing Sam and Frodo to enter Mount Doom. As Sam carries the weakened Frodo up the volcano, Gollum reappears and attacks them but they manage to evade him. At the Crack of Doom, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power, refusing to destroy it. Having followed them, Gollum attacks Frodo, biting his finger off and seizing the Ring for himself. An enraged Frodo attacks Gollum, and they both fall over the edge. At the last second, Frodo grabs onto the ledge, leaving Gollum to fall into the lava to his death, taking the Ring with him. As the Ring melts in the volcano, Sauron is destroyed and the land of Mordor collapses, taking down most of his forces.
Frodo and Sam are saved from the rising lava by Eagles, led by Gandalf. In the aftermath, Aragorn is crowned King, heralding a new age of peace, and marries Arwen while the four hobbits are bowed to by all of Gondor for their courageous efforts. The four Hobbits return home to the Shire, where Sam marries his childhood sweetheart. Four years later, Frodo leaves Middle-earth for the Undying Lands with Gandalf, Bilbo, Elrond, Celeborn, and Galadriel, leaving his account of their quest to Sam.
Cast[edit]
Further information: Cast of The Lord of the Rings film series
Like the preceding films in the trilogy, The Return of the King has an ensemble cast,[6] and some of the cast and their respective characters include:
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: The Hobbit who continues his quest to destroy the Ring, which continues to torture him.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White: The Wizard who travels to aid the Men of Gondor, acting as a general at the Siege of Gondor.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn: The mortal Ranger who must finally face his destiny as King of Gondor.
Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee: Better known as Sam, he is Frodo's loyal Hobbit companion.
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: Elven lady of Lórien. She is aware the time of the Elves is at an end.
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: The warrior Dwarf who continues his friendly rivalry over Orc kills with Legolas; a companion to Aragorn along with Legolas. Rhys-Davies also voices Treebeard the Ent leader.
Bernard Hill as Théoden: King of Rohan. After triumphing at Helm's Deep, he is preparing his troops for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. He is the uncle of Éomer and Éowyn.
Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took: Better known as Pippin, a Hobbit who looks into the palantír and later becomes an esquire of Gondor.
Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck: Better known as Merry, the Hobbit who becomes an esquire of Rohan.
Orlando Bloom as Legolas: An Elven prince and skilled archer who aids Aragorn in his quest to reclaim the throne.
Hugo Weaving as Elrond: The Elven lord of Rivendell who must convince Aragorn to take up the throne.
Liv Tyler as Arwen: Daughter of Elrond, and Aragorn's lover. She gives up her immortal life for Aragorn.
Miranda Otto as Éowyn: Théoden's niece, who wishes to prove herself in battle. She also starts to fall in love with Aragorn, who does not return her love. In the extended and regular version, she finds love with Faramir when they are both residing in the Houses of Healing.
David Wenham as Faramir: The head of the Gondorian Rangers defending Osgiliath. Second-born son to Denethor, he seeks his father's love in vain.
Karl Urban as Éomer: Éowyn's brother, and Chief Marshal of the Riders of Rohan. Nephew to King Théoden.
John Noble as Denethor: Steward of Gondor and father to Faramir, as well as the slain Boromir. Grief over Boromir's death and despair over Mordor's superior numbers drive him into madness during the Siege of Gondor.
Andy Serkis voices and provides motion capture for Sméagol/Gollum: The treacherous creature, once one of the River-folk (a race akin to Hobbits), who guides Frodo and Sam into Mordor. The first scene in the film portrays him in his former life as Sméagol, his murder of his relative Déagol for possession of the Ring, as well as his degeneration into Gollum.
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins: Frodo's elderly uncle, who has rapidly aged after giving away the Ring.
Sean Bean as Boromir: Faramir's brother, in a flashback to his death at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and in the extended cut when Denethor has a hallucination.
Marton Csokas as Lord Celeborn: Elven lord of Lórien.
Bruce Hopkins as Gamling: Right-hand man of Théoden and a skilled member of the Royal Guard of Rohan.
Paul Norell as The King of the Dead: The cursed leader of the Dead Men at Dunharrow, from whom Aragorn must seek help.
Lawrence Makoare plays the Witch-king of Angmar: The Lord of the Nazgûl. He leads Mordor's assault on Minas Tirith. He also plays Gothmog, an Orc commander, voiced by Craig Parker.[7]
Sarah McLeod as Rosie Cotton: The girl of Sam's dreams. When Sam returns to The Shire, she marries him and has a family.
Thomas Robins as Déagol: Sméagol's cousin.
The following appear only in the Extended EditionChristopher Lee as Saruman the White: A wizard, former Head of the White Council, now trapped by Treebeard. He is seen being killed by his servant, Gríma.
Brad Dourif as Gríma Wormtongue: Saruman's sycophantic, treacherous servant. He is shot by Legolas after stabbing Saruman.
Bruce Spence as The Mouth of Sauron: Sauron's ambassador at the Black Gate.
There are also cameos from Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Gino Acevedo, Rick Porras and Andrew Lesnie on the Corsair ship, although all of them but Jackson appear only in the Extended Edition. Jackson also has another unofficial cameo, as Sam's hand stepping into view when he confronts Shelob.[8] Sean Astin's daughter played Sam and Rosie's older daughter Elanor in the last scene of the film; in the same scene, Sarah McLeod's daughter plays their younger daughter. Jackson's children also cameo as Gondorian extras, while Christian Rivers played a Gondorian soldier guarding the Beacon Pippin lights, and is later seen wounded. Royd Tolkien cameos as a Ranger in Osgiliath,[9] while in the Extended Edition Howard Shore appears as a celebrating soldier at Edoras. Additionally, four of the designers of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game are featured as Rohirrim at the Pelennor.[10] At the end of the film, during the closing credits, each cast member gets a sketched portrait morphed with the real photograph beside their name, which were sketched by Alan Lee, an idea suggested by Ian McKellen.[11]
Comparison with the source material[edit]
The film contains major scenes that occurred in the middle portion of the novel, The Two Towers, but were not included in the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, such as Shelob and the palantír subplot, due to Jackson realigning events of the film to fit the timeline as described in the book's Appendices, rather than the main prose.[12] Saruman's murder by Gríma (seen only in the Extended Edition) is moved into the Isengard visit due to the cutting of the Scouring of the Shire. In the film, Saruman drops the palantír, whereas in the book Gríma throws it at the Fellowship, unaware of its value. While the parting of Gandalf from Théoden's company in The Two Towers occurs hastily at Dol Baran with the appearance of a Nazgûl on a winged steed, here he leaves from Edoras after the entire company arrives there to recuperate after the Battle of Helm's Deep. The muster of Gondor is absent from the film, and the major captains and generals, including Imrahil and the Knights of Dol Amroth, are not present.
Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, was a more tragic character in the book. The film only focuses on his overwhelming grief over the death of Boromir as to ignore Sauron's threat (in the book he already lights the beacons), and is driven over the edge by Faramir's injury. The film only hints at his use of the palantír which drives him mad, information revealed in the Pyre scene, which is more violent than the book. Jackson also has Denethor jump off the Citadel in addition to burning himself on the Pyre, one of the earliest changes.[13]
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is altered: Faramir never goes on a suicide mission, and the conflict is a simplification of the siege of Osgiliath. With generals such as Forlong and Imrahil absent, Gandalf commands the defence of Minas Tirith due to Denethor's despair. While Denethor gives command to Gandalf in the book, in this film Gandalf forcibly takes control as Denethor tells the men to flee rather than fight. The Orcs also never get into the city in the book. The Witch-king enters and stands off against Gandalf before the Rohirrim arrive, but in the film Orcs invade the city after Grond breaks the Gate. The confrontation takes place while Gandalf journeys to save Faramir in the Extended Edition, during which Gandalf has his staff broken in the film (but not in the book). A subplot in which the Rohirrim are aided by the primitive Drúedain into entering the besieged Gondor is also excised. The Red Arrow brought by a messenger from Gondor to ask for aid is absent. Éowyn's presence on the battlefield is unknown to the reader until she takes off her helmet, but in the film the audience is aware, as it would have been difficult to have Miranda Otto playing a man.[14] When hope seems lost, Gandalf comforts Pippin with a description of the Undying Lands, which is a descriptive passage in the book's final chapter.[12] The film depicts the Army of the Dead fighting in the Battle, whereas in the book they are released from service prior to this, after helping Aragorn defeat the Corsairs of Umbar at the port city of Pelargir in Lebennin; Aragorn's reinforcements are merely more Gondorians, and the Dúnedain, Aragorn's people (the rangers of the North). An unstoppable and invulnerable force, the Dead wipe out Sauron's forces. The film also cuts out several supporting characters, such as: Halbarad, a friend of Aragorn's, who helps lead the Dúnedain, Beregond, a member of the Citadel Guard of Gondor, whom Pippin befriends, and Elladan and Elrohir, the twin sons of Elrond who deliver Aragorn's banner and accompany him to the Pelennor Fields. Elladan and Elrohir are replaced by Elrond in the film, instead delivering Andúril, and then returning to Rivendell. The film also altered the circumstances of Théoden's death; his death speech, in which he names Éomer the new king in the book, is trimmed and delivered to Éowyn instead, with an earlier scene in the Extended Edition even implying that she is next in line for the throne. Théoden's rallying cries before the initial charge are in fact spoken by Éomer in the book upon his realisation that Éowyn is also apparently dead.[12]
In the film Aragorn leads the entire remaining force of Rohan and Gondor's men to the Black Gate without incident. In the book tactics are discussed, forces divide and fight smaller skirmishes in Anórien and Ithilien before the army (only a fraction of the full remaining strength of the nations of men) reach the Morannon. The romance that develops between Éowyn and Faramir during their recoveries in the Houses of Healing is also largely cut, presumably to keep the focus on Aragorn and Arwen; the subplot is only briefly referenced in the Extended Edition with a scene where the two hold hands.[12] Sam and Frodo's major rift in their friendship, due to Gollum's machinations, never takes place in the book, but was added by the writers in believing that it added drama and more complexity to the character of Frodo. Frodo enters Shelob's lair alone in the film, whereas in the book he and Sam entered together. This was done to make the scene more horrific with Frodo being alone, and Sam's rescue at the last minute more dramatic. Also, in the film we do not know that Sam has the Ring until he gives it back to Frodo, whereas in the book the reader knows that Sam has the Ring. Gollum's fall into the lava of Mount Doom was also rewritten for the film, as the writers felt Tolkien's original idea (Gollum simply slips and falls off) was anti-climactic. Originally, an even greater deviation was planned: Frodo would heroically push Gollum over the ledge to destroy him and the Ring, but the production team eventually realised that it looked more like Frodo murdering Gollum. As a result, they had Frodo and Gollum struggle for possession of the Ring and both slip over the edge by accident.[12]
In addition to the absent footage from the film are the other major attacks by Sauron on various regions of Middle-earth, referenced only briefly in the main text of The Return of the King,[12] and expanded upon in the Appendices; the invasion of Rohan by the orcs of Moria, the attacks on Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm of Thranduil by the forces of Dol Guldur, and the attack on Dale and the Lonely Mountain by a force of Easterlings.[12] There are several changes in the Battle of the Black Gate: Merry is not present there in the book, Pippin does not kill a troll as he does in the novel, the eagles fight and defeat some of the mounted Nazgûl (while Frodo putting on the One Ring distracted the Nazgûl, who raced away to Mount Doom in the book before a confrontation could occur), and Aragorn kills the Mouth of Sauron in the extended edition of the film but not in the book.[12] There was an even larger change planned: Sauron himself would come out in physical form to battle Aragorn, who would only be saved by the destruction of the Ring. Jackson eventually realised it ignored the point of Aragorn's true bravery in distracting Sauron's army against overwhelming odds, and a computer generated Troll was placed over footage of Sauron in the finished film. The ending is streamlined so as not to include the Scouring of the Shire, which was always seen by the screenwriters as anti-climactic.[12]
Extended sequences[edit]
Extra dialogue in Merry and Pippin's first scene at Isengard reuniting them with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli was added. There is also the final confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman, in which Saruman is stabbed to death by Wormtongue, who is killed by Legolas in turn. Saruman lands on a water wheel and drops the palantír. Edoras is extended, with the party containing a drinking game between Legolas and Gimli. Aragorn enters the Great Hall and has a conversation with Éowyn about a dream she had, about a great wave over a green countryside.
At Minas Tirith, Pippin explains to Denethor how Boromir died, and Gandalf explains to Pippin how Gondor fell into ruin. Frodo, Sam and Gollum discover a ruined and defaced statue at the Crossroads. When the Morgul signal for war begins, Sam warns Gollum about betrayal, eventually setting up the separation. When the Orcs cross the river it is shown the Gondorians were surprised, expecting an attack at Cair Andros. To further set up the battle, we also see Merry swearing loyalty to Théoden at Edoras after the lighting of the beacons. After Faramir arrives in Minas Tirith, there is a scene where Denethor confronts him for not taking the Ring, which includes his vision of Boromir. There is a friendly chat between Pippin and Faramir which sets up Pippin's later attempts to rescue him.
The Paths of the Dead sequence is heavily extended. A sequence involving an avalanche of skulls, and Aragorn's emergence from the mountain where the King of the Dead accepts his offer is integrated back into the film. This leads onto Aragorn attacking the Corsair ships, which includes a cameo by Peter Jackson as a character killed by Legolas. During the siege of Minas Tirith, the Orcs use a small battering ram on the gates before Grond arrives, and Gandalf's confronts the Witch-king as he comes to rescue Faramir, when his staff is broken. Gothmog also fights Éowyn during the battle, and attempts to finish her off as the battle closes before he is killed by Aragorn and Gimli.
The scenes between the end of the Pelennor battle and Black Gate battle is extended. Pippin's search for Merry is digitally revised for a nighttime environment to give the impression he has been searching for almost the entire day. Éomer also finds Éowyn on the field and mourns when he thinks she is dead. Aragorn heals her and she falls in love with Faramir. Before the march to the Black Gate, Aragorn confronts Sauron in the palantír, however Sauron reveals to Aragorn an image of an unconscious Arwen, which frightens Aragorn into backing away, in which Aragorn drops the Evenstar and it shatters. Sam and Frodo get more time in Mordor: the fight among the orcs in the tower of Cirith Ungol is longer, and after Sam rescues Frodo, a sequence reveals a surviving Uruk sneaking off with Frodo's mithril shirt. Frodo and Sam are also diverted into the Orc march to the Black Gate and escape on a long journey, during which they throw away the last of their gear. Sam also sees a star through the clouds, symbolizing hope whilst Frodo merely rests with a burn on his neck. At the Black Gate, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin, Merry, and Éomer are first confronted by the Mouth of Sauron, suggesting that Frodo is dead, providing additional meaning to Aragorn's line "For Frodo". There is a final line of dialogue in which Gollum admits he lied about protecting Frodo.
Production[edit]
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is unusual in that it was, up until the release of Jackson's prequel trilogy The Hobbit, the only series whose separate instalments were written and shot simultaneously (excluding pick up shoots). Jackson found The Return of the King the easiest of the films to make, because it contained the climax of the story, unlike the other two films.[15] The Return of the King was originally the second of two planned films under Miramax from January 1997 to August 1998,[16] and more or less in its finished structure as the first film was to end with The Two Towers' Battle of Helm's Deep.[17] Filming took place under multiple units across New Zealand, between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000, with pick up shoots for six weeks in 2003 before the film's release.
Design[edit]
Main article: Production design of The Lord of the Rings film series

A wide view of Minas Tirith.

 The city of Minas Tirith was built from parts of the set of Helms Deep, while the wide shots were from miniatures.
Middle-earth as envisioned by Jackson was primarily designed by Alan Lee and John Howe, former Tolkien illustrators, and created by Weta Workshop, who handled all the trilogy's weapons, armour, miniatures, prosthetics and creatures, as well as the Art Department which built the sets. Richard Taylor headed Weta, while Grant Major and Dan Hennah organised the planning and building respectively.
The city of Minas Tirith, glimpsed briefly in both the previous two films is seen fully in this film, and with it the Gondorian civilisation. The enormous soundstage was built at Dry Creek Quarry, outside Wellington, from the Helm's Deep set. That set's gate became Minas Tirith's second, while the Hornburg exterior became that of the Extended Edition's scene where Gandalf confronts the Witch-king. New structures included the 8m tall Gate, with broken and unbroken versions, with a working opening and closing mechanism, with its engravings inspired by the Baptistry of San Giovanni. There were also four levels of streets with heraldic motifs for every house, as inspired by Siena.[18]
There was also the Citadel, the exterior of which was in the Stone Street Studios backlot, using forced perspective. It contains the withered White Tree, built from polystyrene by Brian Massey and the Greens Department with real branches, influenced by ancient and gnarled Lebanese olive trees. The interior was within a three-story former factory in Wellington, and colour wise is influenced by Charlemagne's Chapel, with a throne for Denethor carved from stone and polystyrene statues of past Kings. The Gondorian armour is designed to represent an evolution from the Númenóreans of the first film's prologue, with a simplified sea bird motif. 16th-century Italian and German armour served as inspiration,[19] while civilians wear silver and blacks as designed by Ngila Dickson, continuing an ancient/medieval Mediterranean Basin look.[20]
Minas Morgul, the Staircase and Tower of Cirith Ungol as well as Shelob's Lair were designed by Howe, with the Morgul road using forced perspective into a bluescreened miniature. Howe's design of Minas Morgul was inspired from the experience of having a wisdom tooth pulled out: in the same way, the Orcs have put their twisted designs on to a former Gondorian city.[21] Cirith Ungol was based on Tolkien's design, but when Richard Taylor felt it as "boring", it was redesigned with more tipping angles.[22] The interior set, like Minas Tirith, was built as a few multiple levels that numerous camera takes would suggest a larger structure.[18]
The third film introduces the enormous spider Shelob. Shelob was designed in 1999,[22] with the body based on a tunnelweb spider and the head with numerous growths selected by Peter Jackson's children from one of many sculpts. Jackson himself took great joy in planning the sequence, being an arachnophobe himself.[19] Shelob's Lair was inspired by sandstone and sculpted from the existing Caverns of Isengard set.[18]
The Return of the King also brings into focus the Dead Men of Dunharrow and the evil Haradrim from the south of Middle-earth, men who ride the mûmakil. The Dead Men have a Celtic influence, as well as lines and symmetry to reflect their morbid state,[18] while their underground city is influenced by Petra.[21] The Haradrim were highly influenced by African culture, until Philippa Boyens expressed concern over the possibility of offensiveness, so the finished characters instead bear influence from Kiribati, in terms of weaving armour from bamboo, and the Aztecs, in use of jewellery. Also built was a single dead mûmak.[19] Other minor cultures include the Corsairs, with an exotic, swarthy look, and the Grey Havens, Elven structures adapted to stone, with influence from J. M. W. Turner paintings.[22]
Principal photography[edit]
The Return of the King was shot during 2000, though Astin's coverage from Gollum's attempt to separate Frodo and Sam was filmed on 24 November 1999, when floods in Queenstown interrupted the focus on The Fellowship of the Ring.[8] Some of the earliest scenes shot for the film were in fact the last. Hobbiton, home of the Hobbits, was shot in January 2000 with early scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring, with the exterior shot at a Matamata farm, while interior scenes shot at Stone Street Studios in Wellington,[23] shared with the Grey Havens sequence. Due to the high emotions of filming the scene, the cast were in despair when they were required to shoot it three times, due to a continuity flaw in Sean Astin's costume, and then negatives producing out-of-focus reels.[8] Also shared with the previous films was the Rivendell interior in May.
The Battle of the Black Gate was filmed in April[24] at the Rangipo Desert, a former minefield.[citation needed] New Zealand soldiers were hired as extras while guides were on the lookout for unexploded mines. Also a cause for concern were Monaghan and Boyd's scale doubles during a charge sequence. In the meantime, Wood, Astin and Serkis filmed at Mount Ruapehu for the Mount Doom exteriors. In particular, they spent two hours shooting Sam lifting Frodo on to his back with cross-camera coverage.[8]
Scenes shot in June were the Paths of the Dead across various locations, including Pinnacles.[24] In July the crew shot some Shelob scenes, and in August and September time was spent on the scenes in Isengard. Monaghan and Boyd tried numerous takes of their entrance, stressing the word "weed" as they smoked pipe-weed. Christopher Lee spent his part of his scene mostly alone, though McKellen and Hill arrived on the first day for a few lines to help.[8]
Edoras exteriors were shot in October. The Ride of the Rohirrim, where Théoden leads the charge into the Orc army, was filmed in Twizel with 150 extras on horseback. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields has more extensive use of computer-generated imagery, in contrast to the more extensive use of live action in the Battle of Helm's Deep in the second film. Also filmed were the attempts by Faramir to recapture Osgiliath,[25] as were scenes in the city itself.[26] At this point production was very hectic, with Jackson moving around ten units per day, and production finally wrapped on the Minas Tirith sets, as well as second units shooting parts of the siege. Just as the Hobbit actors' first scene was hiding under a Ringwraith, their last scene was the bluescreened reaction shot of the inhabitants of Minas Tirith bowing to them.[8]
Pick-ups[edit]
The 2003 pick-ups were filmed in the Wellington studio car park, with many parts of sets and blue-screens used to finish off scenes, which the design team had to work 24 hours to get the right sets ready for a particular day.[18] The shoot continued for two months, and became an emotional time of farewells for the cast and crew. The film has the most extensive list of re-shoots given for the trilogy. Jackson took his time to re-shoot Aragorn's coronation, rushed into a single day under second unit director Geoff Murphy on 21 December 2000. Jackson also re-shot scenes in and around Mount Doom,[8] and Théoden's death, right after Bernard Hill was meant to wrap.[14]
There was also the new character of Gothmog. This was a major new design addition for the film, as Jackson felt the Mordor Orcs were "pathetic" compared to the Uruk-hai of the second film after watching assembly cuts, and thus Weta created grotesque new "über Orcs" as antagonists for the audience to focus on. Christian Rivers also redesigned the Witch-king and all of his scenes were re-shot, due to confusion from non-readers over whether or not Sauron was on the battlefield.[19]
With the positive response to Bloom, Legolas was given a fight with a mûmak,[27] and Howard Shore also appeared in a cameo during Legolas and Gimli's drinking game at Edoras.[28] The final scenes shot were Aragorn escaping the Skull avalanche, and Frodo finishing his book. The cast also received various props associated with their characters, although in the case of John Rhys-Davies, he burned his final Gimli prosthetic. Viggo Mortensen headbutted the stunt team goodbye.[8] Pick-ups ended on 27 June 2003.[27]
Scenes shot afterwards included various live-action shots of Riders for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and a reaction shot of Serkis as Gollum finally realises Frodo intends to destroy the Ring, shot in Jackson's house.[29] For the Extended DVD, Jackson shot in March 2004 a few shots of skulls rolling over for the avalanche scene; this was the final piece of footage ever shot for the trilogy, and Jackson noted that it must be the first time a director had shot scenes for a film after it had already won the Oscar.[30]
Post-production[edit]
Editing[edit]
Post-production began in November 2002, with the completion of the 4½ hour assembly cut of the film that Annie Collins had been completing over 2001 and 2002, from 4-hour dailies. For example, Théoden leading the charge went from 150 minutes of takes to a finished 90 seconds.[31] Jackson reunited with longtime collaborator Jamie Selkirk to edit the final film. Like The Two Towers, they would have to deal with multiple storylines, and Jackson paid attention to each storyline at a time before deciding where to intercut. Most importantly they spent three weeks working on the last 45 minutes of the film,[29] for appropriate intercutting and leaving out scenes such as the Mouth of Sauron, and the fates of characters like Legolas, Gimli, Éowyn and Faramir.[12] The film inherited scenes originally planned to go into the second film, including the reforging of Narsil, Gollum's backstory, and Saruman's exit. But the Saruman scene posed a structural problem: killing off the second film's villain when the plot has Sauron as the main villain.[29] Despite pick-ups and dubs, the scene was cut, causing controversy with fans and Saruman actor Christopher Lee, as well as a petition to restore the scene.[32] Lee nonetheless contributed to the DVDs and was at the Copenhagen premiere, although on the other hand he says he will never understand the reason for the cut and his relationship with Jackson is chilly.[33] They would, however, later reconcile upon Lee's casting in Jackson's Hobbit films. Jackson only had a lock on 5 out of 10 reels, and had to churn out 3 reels in 3 weeks to help finish the film. It was finally completed on 12 November 2003.[34] Jackson never had a chance to view the film in full due to the hectic schedule, and only saw the film from beginning to end on 1 December at the Wellington premiere; according to Elijah Wood, his response was "yup, it's good, pretty good".[30]
Visual effects[edit]
Main article: Special effects of The Lord of the Rings film series

 

 Jackson's retelling of the Dunharrow sequence required an actor in prosthetics to play the King of the Dead, while the rest of the Army of the Dead were completely digitally constructed.
The Return of the King contains 1,488 visual effect shots, nearly three times the number from the first film and almost twice that of the second. Visual effects work began with Alan Lee and Mark Lewis compositing various photographs of New Zealand landscape to create the digital arena of the Pelennor Fields in November 2002. Gary Horsfield also created a digital version of the Barad-dûr during his Christmas break at home by himself, for the film's climax. In the meantime, Jackson and Christian Rivers used computers to plan the enormous battle up until February 2003, when the shots were shown to Weta Digital. To their astonishment, 60 planned shots had gone up to 250, and 50,000 characters were now 200,000.[35] Nevertheless they pressed on, soon delivering 100 shots a week, 20 a day, and as the deadline neared within the last two months, often working until 2 am[34]
For the battle, they recorded 450 motions for the MASSIVE digital horses (though deaths were animated), and also had to deal with late additions in the film, such as Trolls bursting through Minas Tirith's gates as well as the creatures that pull Grond to the gate,[19] and redoing a shot of two mûmakil Éomer takes down that had originally taken six months in two days. On a similar note of digital creatures, Shelob's head sculpture was scanned by a Canadian company for 10 times more detail than Weta had previously been able to capture.[35]
Like the previous films, there are also extensive morphs between digital doubles for the actors. This time, there was Sam falling off Shelob, where the morph takes place as Astin hits the ground. Legolas attacking a mûmak required numerous transitions to and fro, and Gollum's shots of him having recovered the One Ring and falling into the Crack of Doom were fully animated.[35] The King of the Dead is played by an actor in prosthetics, and his head occasionally morphs to a more skull-like digital version, depending on the character's mood. The Mouth of Sauron also had his mouth enlarged 200% for unsettling effect.[18]
The Return of the King also has practical effects. In the Pyre of Denethor sequence, as the Steward of Gondor throws Pippin out of the Tomb, John Noble threw a size double named Fon onto a prostrate Billy Boyd, who immediately pushed his head into camera to complete the illusion. A few burning torches were also reflected off a plate of glass and into the camera for when Gandalf's horse Shadowfax kicks Denethor onto the pyre. Because of Jackson's requirement for complete representation of his fantasy world, numerous miniatures were built, such as 1:72 scale miniature of Minas Tirith, which rises 7m high and is 6.5m in diameter. 1:14 scale sections of the city were also required, and the Extended Edition scene of the collapsing City of the Dead has 80,000 small skulls, amounting in total to a single cubic meter.[21] The miniatures team concluded in November with the Black Gate, after 1000 days of shooting, and the final digital effects shot done was the Ring's destruction, on 25 November.[34]
Sound effects[edit]
The Sound department spent the early part of the year searching for the right sounds. A Tasmanian devil was Shelob's shriek, which in turn gave inspiration for Weta's animators, while the mûmakil is the beginning and end of a lion roar. Human screams and a donkey screech were mixed into Sauron's fall, and to avoid comparison with 9/11, broken glass was used for the collapsing sounds. For missile trading during Minas Tirith's siege, construction workers dropped actual 2 ton stone blocks previously lifted by a construction crane. Mixing began at a new studio on 15 August, although unfinished building work caused some annoyances.[36] The mixers finished on 15 November, after three months of non-stop work.[34]
Score[edit]
See also: Music of The Lord of the Rings film series


 
"Into the West" (performed by Annie Lennox)




Written by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore, and Annie Lennox, this selected song won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 76th Academy Awards. It also won a Grammy for Best Film Song.
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The music was composed by Howard Shore, who previously composed the first two parts of the trilogy. Shore watched the assembly cut of the film,[28] and had to write seven minutes of music per day to keep up with the schedule.[34] The score sees the full introduction of the Gondor theme, originally heard during Boromir's speeches at the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring and at Osgiliath in The Two Towers' Extended Edition. Actors Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler also contributed to the film's music. Boyd sings on screen as Faramir charges towards Osgiliath, Mortensen sings on screen as he is crowned King, and in the Extended Edition Tyler sings as Aragorn heals Éowyn.
Renée Fleming, Ben Del Maestro and James Galway also contribute to the soundtrack. Fleming sings as Arwen has a vision of her son and when Gollum recovers the One Ring. Del Maestro sings when Gandalf lights his staff to save fleeing Gondorian soldiers from Osgiliath as the Nazgûl attack. Galway plays the flute as Frodo and Sam climb Mount Doom. The end title song, "Into the West", was composed by Shore with lyrics by Fran Walsh. Annie Lennox (formerly of Eurythmics) performed it and also received songwriting credit. The song was partially inspired by the premature death from cancer of a young New Zealand filmmaker named Cameron Duncan who had befriended Peter Jackson.[28]
Release[edit]
After two years of attention and acclaim since the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, audience and critical anticipation for the final instalment was extremely high. The world premiere was held in Wellington's Embassy Theatre, on 1 December 2003, and was attended by the director and many of the stars. It was estimated that over 100,000 people lined the streets, more than a quarter of the city's population.[37]
Box office[edit]
The film earned $377,845,905 in the United States and Canada and $742,083,616 in other countries for a worldwide total of $1,119,929,521. Worldwide, it is the seventh highest-grossing film,[38] the highest-grossing 2003 film[39] and the highest-grossing instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.[40] It was the second film in history to earn over $1 billion.
In the US and Canada, it is the seventeenth highest-grossing film,[41] the highest-grossing 2003 film,[42] and the highest-grossing instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.[40] The film set an opening Wednesday record with $34.5 million.[43] This record was first surpassed by Spider-Man 2 and ranks as the seventh largest Wednesday opening.[44] The film opened a day earlier for a midnight showing and it accounted for about $8 million. This was nearly twice the first-day total of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (which earned $18.2 million on its opening day in 2001), and a significant increase over The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as well (which earned $26.1 million on its debut in 2002). Part of the grosses came from the Trilogy Tuesday event, in which the Extended Editions of the first two films were played on 16 December before the first midnight screening. It went on to make an opening weekend of $72.6 million ($124.1 million with weekday previews).[45] Its Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend was a record-high for December (first surpassed by I Am Legend).[46] The film also set single-day records for Christmas Day and New Year's Day (both first surpassed by Meet the Fockers).[47][48]
Outside the US and Canada, it is the seventh highest-grossing film,[49] the highest-grossing 2003 film[50] and the highest-grossing film of the trilogy.[40] On its first day (Wednesday, 17 December 2003), the film earned $23.5 million from 19 countries[43] and, during the 5-day weekend as a whole, it set an opening-weekend record outside the US and Canada with $125.9 million.[51] It set opening-day records in 13 of them, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Scandinavia (as well as separately in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark), Mexico, Chile and Puerto Rico.[43][51] It set opening-weekend records in the United Kingdom ($26.5 million in five days), Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. In New Zealand, where filming took place, the film set opening day, opening weekend, single-day, Friday gross, Saturday gross and Sunday gross records with $1.7 million in four days.[51]
The substantial increase in initial box office totals caused optimistic studio executives to forecast that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King would surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in total earnings. If this proved to be true, then this would be the first blockbuster movie trilogy for each successive film to earn more at the box office than its predecessor, when all three films were blockbuster successes. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has helped The Lord of the Rings franchise to become the highest-grossing motion picture trilogy worldwide of all time with $2,917,506,956, beating other notable ones such as the Star Wars trilogies,[52] and surviving from being out-grossed by subsequent trilogies like Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter, despite ticket price inflation.
These figures do not include income from DVD sales, TV rights, etc. It has been estimated[53] that the gross income from non-box office sales and merchandise has been at least equal to the box office for all three films. If this is so, the total gross income for the trilogy would be in the region of $6 billion following an investment of $300 million ($426 million including marketing costs).
Critical response[edit]
"The Return of the King" received universal critical acclaim and was one of 2003's best reviewed films. The film holds a 94% "Fresh" rating on the aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 245 reviews, with an average score of 8.6, The sites main consensus reads "Visually breathtaking and emotionally powerful, The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King is a moving and satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy".[54] The film holds a score of 94 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 41 reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim".[55]
Richard Corliss of Time named it the best film of the year.[56] The main criticism of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was its running time, particularly the epilogue; even rave reviews for the film commented on its length. Joel Siegel of Good Morning America said in his review for the film (which he gave an 'A'): "If it didn't take forty-five minutes to end, it'd be my best picture of the year. As it is, it's just one of the great achievements in film history."[57] There was also criticism regarding the Army of the Dead's appearance, rapidly ending the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.[58]
In February 2004, a few months following release, the film was voted as No. 8 on Empire's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, compiled from readers' top 10 lists. This forced the magazine to abandon its policy of only allowing films being older than 12 months to be eligible.[59] In 2007, Total Film named The Return of the King the third best film of the past decade (Total Film's publication time), behind The Matrix and Fight Club.[60]
Accolades[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Make-up, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. At the 76th Academy Awards in 2004, the film won all the categories for which it was nominated.[61]
The film also won four Golden Globes (including Best Picture for Drama and Best Director),[62][63][64] five BAFTAs, two MTV Movie Awards, two Grammy Awards, nine Saturn Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Picture, the Nebula Award for Best Script, and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.
The film was nominated for the 10th Anniversary Edition of AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies.[65]
Home media[edit]
The theatrical edition of the film was released on DVD on 25 May 2004. The DVD was a 2-disc set with extras on the second disc. The theatrical DVD sets for the two previous films were released eight months after the films were released, but Return of the King's set was completed in five because it did not have to market a sequel (the previous films had to wait for footage of their sequels to become available for a ten-minute preview). However, it contained a seven-minute trailer of the entire trilogy.
The Return of the King followed the precedent set by its predecessors by releasing an Extended Edition (251 minutes) with new editing and added special effects and music, along with four commentaries and six hours of supplementary material, plus 10 minutes of fan-club credits. However, this set took longer to produce than the others because the cast and crew were spread all over the world working on other projects.[66] The set was finally released on 10 December 2004 in the UK and 14 December in the U.S. The final ten minutes comprises a listing of the charter members of the official fan club who had paid for three-year charter membership.
A collectors' box set was also released, which included the Extended Set plus a sculpture of Minas Tirith and a bonus 50-minute music documentary DVD, Howard Shore: Creating The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Composer's Journey Through Middle-earth. The DVD has a DTS-ES soundtrack. The DVD also features two humorous Easter Eggs, one where Dominic Monaghan plays a German interviewer with Elijah Wood via satellite and another where Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller attempt to convince Jackson to make a sequel, originally shown at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. Both can be accessed via a Ring icon on the last page of both Disc 1 and 2's scene indexes. On 29 August 2006, a Limited Edition of The Return of the King was released. This Limited Edition contains two discs; the first is a two-sided DVD containing both the Theatrical and Extended editions of the film. The second disc is a bonus disc that contains a new behind-the-scenes documentary.
The theatrical Blu-ray release was released in the United States on 6 April 2010.[67] The individual Blu-ray disc of The Return of the King was released on 14 September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, except there was no digital copy.[68] The Extended Edition was released in the United States on 28 June 2011.[69] It has a runtime of 263 minutes.[70]
See also[edit]
Book icon Book: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
 

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
The Hobbit (film series)
The Hobbit (1977 film)
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)
The Return of the King (1980 film)
List of films considered the best
References[edit]
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14.^ Jump up to: a b Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (2004). Director/Writers' Special Extended Edition commentary (DVD). New Line Cinema.
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16.Jump up ^ Watkin, Tim (12 August 2001). "The 'Rings' movies, a potted history". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
17.Jump up ^ "20 Questions with Peter Jackson". Peter Jackson online transcript from Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
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23.Jump up ^ Cameras in Middle-earth: Filming the Fellowship of the Ring (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.
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27.^ Jump up to: a b Davidson, Paul (27 June 2003). "A new Return of the King poster". IGN. Retrieved 21 October 2006.
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31.Jump up ^ Sibley, Brian (2002). The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy. Harpercollins. 158. ISBN 0-00-713567-X.
32.Jump up ^ "Rings director cuts wizard scenes". BBC News online. 12 November 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
33.Jump up ^ Wootton, Dan (30 April 2006). "I will never forgive Jackson, says LOTR actor". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
34.^ Jump up to: a b c d e The End of All Things (Special Extended Edition documentary) (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2004.
35.^ Jump up to: a b c Weta Digital (Special Extended Edition documentary) (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2004.
36.Jump up ^ The Soundscapes of Middle-earth (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2004.
37.Jump up ^ Mercer, Phil (1 December 2003). "How hobbits took over NZ's capital". BBC News. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
38.Jump up ^ All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses
39.Jump up ^ 2003 Yearly Box Office Results
40.^ Jump up to: a b c The Lord of the Rings Movies at the Box Office
41.Jump up ^ All Time Domestic Box Office Results
42.Jump up ^ 2003 Yearly Box Office Results
43.^ Jump up to: a b c Gray, Brandon (18 December 2003). "'Return of the King' Rakes in $57.6M Worldwide on Opening Day". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
44.Jump up ^ "Opening Wednesday Records at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
45.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
46.Jump up ^ Top December Opening Weekends at the Box Office
47.Jump up ^ Single Day Records: High Grossing Movies on Christmas Day
48.Jump up ^ Single Day Records: High Grossing Movies on New Year's Day
49.Jump up ^ All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses
50.Jump up ^ 2003 Overseas Total Yearly Box Office Results
51.^ Jump up to: a b c Gray, Brandon (22 December 2003). "'King' of the World: $250M in 5 Days". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
52.Jump up ^ "Top Box Office Earning Trilogies Worldwide". Box Office Mojo.com. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
53.Jump up ^ Lord of the Rings revenue statistics on Time Warner[dead link]
54.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Flixster. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
55.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
56.Jump up ^ Richard Corliss (18 December 2003). "The Best Movies". Time. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
57.Jump up ^ Joel Siegel (19 December 2003). "Jackson Brings Lord of the Rings to Historic Completion". ABC News. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
58.Jump up ^ "The best – and worst – movie battle scenes". CNN. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007.
59.Jump up ^ "The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire. 30 January 2004. p. 96.
60.Jump up ^ "Ten Greatest Films of the Past Decade". Total Film. April 2007. p. 98.
61.Jump up ^ "The 76th Academy Awards (2004) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
62.Jump up ^ Crean, Ellen (25 January 2004). "Golden Globe Spins For 'Rings'". CBS News. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
63.Jump up ^ "Hail to the 'King' at Golden Globes". MSNBC. 26 January 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
64.Jump up ^ Armstrong, Mark (25 January 2004). "'Rings,' 'Translation' Rule the Globes". People. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
65.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) Ballot
66.Jump up ^ Gary Susman (9 June 2004). "Hobbits for the Holidays". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 February 2007.
67.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-ray: Theatrical Editions". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
68.Jump up ^ Calogne, Juan (23 June 2010). "Lord of the Rings Movies Get Separate Blu-ray editions". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
69.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Rings Pre-order Now Available". Amazon.com. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
70.Jump up ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". IMDb.com. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at the Internet Movie Database
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at AllRovi
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at Box Office Mojo
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at Rotten Tomatoes
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at Metacritic

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The Hobbit (film series)

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The Hobbit
TheHobbit.png
Official series logo
 
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Produced by
Carolynne Cunningham
Zane Weiner
Fran Walsh
Peter Jackson
 
Screenplay by
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Peter Jackson
Guillermo del Toro
 
Based on
The Hobbit
 by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring
Martin Freeman
Ian McKellen
Richard Armitage
Andy Serkis
Benedict Cumberbatch
 
Music by
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie
Editing by
Jabez Olssen
Studio
New Line Cinema
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer[1]
WingNut Films
 
Distributed by
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)
12 December 2012
(An Unexpected Journey)
12 December 2013
(The Desolation of Smaug)
17 December 2014
(There and Back Again)
 
Country
United Kingdom
New Zealand
United States
 
Language
English
Budget
$561,000,000[2]
Box office
$1,017,003,568[3]
The Hobbit is a series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed, produced, and adapted to film by Peter Jackson, based on J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel, The Hobbit. The films are, by subtitle, An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and There and Back Again (2014). Just as Tolkien's three-volume novel, The Lord of the Rings, continues themes and issues introduced in his earlier novel, The Hobbit, in the same way, Jackson's three Hobbit films together are imagined as a prequel to Jackson's earlier film adaptation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novel.
Several actors reprise their roles from The Lord of the Rings, including Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, and Hugo Weaving, as well as actors whose characters did not appear in the novel, such as Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, and Orlando Bloom. Also returning for the production, among others, were co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, illustrators John Howe and Alan Lee, art director Dan Hennah, cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, and composer Howard Shore.[4] As with the original trilogy, props will generally be crafted by Weta Workshop and visual effects managed by Weta Digital. The most significant new involvement in the series is the participation of Guillermo del Toro, originally chosen to direct the films, as co-writer.
Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the three films follow the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), chosen by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), to accompany thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch).
The first film in the series premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand on 28 November 2012. Around 100,000 people were expected to line the red carpet on Courtenay Place, and the entire event was broadcast live on television in New Zealand, as well as streaming over the Internet.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Cast 1.1 Thorin's Company
1.2 Other Dwarves
1.3 Men
1.4 Elves and Wizards
1.5 Foes
1.6 Other characters
2 Development 2.1 First stages of development
2.2 Development with del Toro
2.3 Del Toro's interpretation
2.4 Del Toro's departure
2.5 Industrial dispute in New Zealand
2.6 Third film
3 Filming 3.1 Filming locations
3.2 Technology
3.3 Alleged animal abuse
4 Post-production 4.1 Music
4.2 Visual effects
5 Release 5.1 Theatrical
5.2 Home media
6 Reception 6.1 Box office
6.2 Public and critical response
6.3 Accolades
6.4 Reaction to high frame rate
6.5 Derivative works 6.5.1 Toys
6.5.2 Video games

7 References
8 Bibliography
9 External links
Cast[edit]
See also: Middle-earth in film#Cast
Thorin's Company[edit]
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
A Hobbit chosen by the wizard Gandalf to accompany 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug. In October 2010, Freeman revealed that he had been approached by the producers to play Bilbo in the films, but was forced to turn it down because of scheduling conflicts with the BBC television series Sherlock although other actors such as Tobey Maguire, David Tennant, James McAvoy, and Daniel Radcliffe were considered. However, Freeman was quoted as saying, "[I]f something could be worked out, that would be great. I did it [turned down the role] with a heavy heart, definitely."[5] Weeks later, it was confirmed by the studio that he had officially been cast in the role. On his casting, Peter Jackson was quoted as saying, "Despite the various rumours and speculation surrounding this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us. There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin Freeman. He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave—exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit."[6]Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey
A wizard who recruits Bilbo and helps to arrange the quest to reclaim the Dwarves' lost treasure in Erebor. He was also portrayed by McKellen in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. In July 2010 McKellen appeared on TVNZ's Good Morning, where he stated that: "I'm not under contract and my time is running out. I don't want to give the producers the impression that I'm sitting waiting."[7] However, on 27 November 2010, McKellen updated his website to include The Hobbit, suggesting that he had, in fact, decided to reprise the role of Gandalf in the two parts. In the update, he wrote, "The Hobbit’s two parts start shooting in New Zealand in February 2011. Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth."[8] In January 2011 McKellen confirmed on his website that he was "happy to say I start filming in Wellington on 21 February 2011".[9]Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield:
The leader of the Company of Dwarves who have set out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. On his casting, Jackson was quoted as saying, "Richard is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakenshield. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle Earth is in such good hands."[6]Graham McTavish as Dwalin:[10]
One of the Company of Dwarves that accompanies Bilbo and Thorin on the Quest of Erebor. On his casting, McTavish stated, "I think that I would be very lucky indeed if ever again in my career, I was offered an opportunity that was going to be so iconic in its influence and scale with regards to The Hobbit. I can't think of anything comparable."[11] Following McTavish's casting, scheduling conflicts arose while he was working on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, resulting in the game's storyline being modified so that McTavish could go to New Zealand to work on the film.Ken Stott as Balin:
A member of the Company of Dwarves and the brother of Dwalin. He is described in the novel as "always their look-out man." On the casting of Stott, Jackson commented "Fran and I have long been fans of Ken's work and are excited he will be joining us on this journey."[12]Aidan Turner as Kíli:
One of Thorin's nephews who sets out on the Quest of Erebor. On his casting, Jackson stated, "Aidan is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I'm sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kíli."[10][13]Dean O'Gorman as Fíli:
English actor Rob Kazinsky had originally been cast as Kili's brother Fili,[10] but left the film on 24 April 2011 "for personal reasons".[14] Jackson said that he would have time to cast a replacement due to focusing on filming scenes with Bilbo without dwarves.[14] On 30 April 2011, Jackson announced via Facebook that O'Gorman had been hired as Kazinsky's replacement.[15] Jackson stated, "Dean's a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with."[15]Mark Hadlow as Dori:
A member of the Company of Dwarves. He is described in the novel as "a decent fellow, despite his grumbling," while Thorin described him as being the strongest member of the Company. Hadlow is a long-time collaborator of Jackson's, having previously worked with him on films such as Meet the Feebles and King Kong. On his casting, Jackson said, "I have worked with Mark Hadlow on many projects; he is a fantastic actor. I am thrilled to be working with [him] on these movies."[10][13] Hadlow also plays Bert the Stone-troll.Jed Brophy as Nori:[12]
A member of the Company of Dwarves and brother of Dori and Ori. Brophy has collaborated with Jackson on several films, including Braindead, Heavenly Creatures, and all three Lord of the Rings films as various creatures.Adam Brown as Ori:
A member of the Company of Dwarves. The role will mark Brown's first film appearance.[16] Commenting on Brown's casting, Jackson was quoted as saying, "Adam is a wonderfully expressive actor and has a unique screen presence. I look forward to seeing him bring Ori to life."[17]John Callen as Óin:[10]
A member of the Company of Dwarves and brother of Glóin. On getting a role in the films, Callen stated, "I did wonder about my casting and how they had made the choice—maybe the long hair and the beard sold it, I thought. But now that has all gone. Given that Óin is almost 200 years old I can presume only that it was the age."[18]Peter Hambleton as Glóin:[10]
A member of the Company of Dwarves and brother of Óin. He is also the father of Gimli, who was portrayed in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy by actor John Rhys-Davies. Hambleton also plays William the Stone-troll.William Kircher as Bifur:[12]
One of the twelve companions of Thorin and Bilbo on the Quest of Erebor and the cousin of Bofur and Bombur. The remnant of a goblin-axe in Bifur's forehead means that he can only speak ancient Dwarvish, which only Gandalf understands. Kircher also plays Tom the Stone-troll.James Nesbitt as Bofur:
One of the Company of Dwarves and the cousin of Bifur and brother of Bombur, he is described as "a disarmingly forthright, funny and occasionally brave Dwarf." On 15 October 2010, Deadline Hollywood reported that Nesbitt was in negotiations for a part in the film.[19] On 1 November 2010, Jackson confirmed that he had been added to the cast.[17] Jackson was quoted as saying, "James's charm, warmth and wit are legendary as is his range as an actor in both comedic and dramatic roles. We feel very lucky to be able to welcome him as one of our cast."[17]Stephen Hunter as Bombur:[10]
Described in the novel as being fat and clumsy, he is the brother of Bofur and the cousin of Bifur. On being cast in the role, Hunter said, "Being cast in The Hobbit is really exciting and really an honour. I auditioned for the original Lord of the Rings way back when I signed with my agent in New Zealand. When I saw the films I thought, 'Man, I so want to do The Hobbit.'"[20]
Other Dwarves[edit]
Billy Connolly as Dáin II Ironfoot:[21]
A great dwarf warrior, ruler of the Iron Hills and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield. According to Connolly, "...this guy will terrify the life out of you. I have a mohawk and tattoos on my head."[22]Jeffrey Thomas as Thrór:[23]
King of Durin's folk, the son of Dáin I, father of Thráin II and grandfather of Thorin Oakenshield.Mike Mizrahi as Thráin II:[23]
A Dwarven king, Thráin is the son of Thrór and father of Thorin Oakenshield. A Longbeard and direct descendant of Durin, he became heir of the lost King under the Mountain and King of Durin's Folk in exile as Thráin II after his father was killed at Moria.[24] Thráin and his kin fled when the dragon Smaug descended on Erebor and took the kingdom. Thráin took with him a map which showed a secret entrance to Erebor; yet was later captured and imprisoned in Dol Guldur, Sauron's temporary stronghold, where he soon after died.
Men[edit]
Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn:[12]
A skin-changer; a man who can assume the appearance of a great black bear. In the novel, he lives with his animal retinue (horses, dogs and cows, among others) in a wooden house between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood. Beorn receives Gandalf, Bilbo, and the 13 Dwarves and aids them in their quest to reclaim the Dwarves' kingdom beneath Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. He is convinced of their trustworthiness after confirming their tale of encountering the Goblins of the Misty Mountains and Gandalf's slaying of their leader, the Great Goblin. On 3 December 2010, Swedish newspaper Nöjesbladet announced that Persbrandt had been cast in an unspecified role.[25] He was confirmed as Beorn on 7 December 2010. Jackson was quoted as saying, "The role of Beorn is an iconic one and Mikael was our first choice for the part. Since seeing him read for the role we can't imagine anyone else playing this character."[12]Stephen Fry as Master of Lake-town:[26]
The leader of the settlement of Men at Lake-town near the Lonely Mountain. According to Fry, "My character is an opportunity for sheer grossness... [Peter Jackson] had me eating testicles... gross appetites. I mustn't give too much away but I've got a bald cap and then on top of that a really bad combover wig and this wispy mustache and wispy beard and horrible blotchy skin and disgusting fingernails... And generally speaking a really unappetizing piece of work. And a coward to boot and very, very greedy."[27]Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman:[28]
Bard of Esgaroth was a skilled archer and the heir of Girion, the last king of old Dale, described as "grim faced". He rallies the guards to defend the town when the dragon comes, and slays the dragon himself. He later leads the Men of Esgaroth at the Battle of Five Armies and is crowned king of the re-founded Dale. Evans described playing the bowman as "really difficult to do", in regard to the physical nature of the part[29]Ryan Gage as Alfrid:[26]
The Master of Laketown's "conniving" servant. Gage was originally cast to play Drogo Baggins, father of Frodo Baggins. According to Jackson, "Ryan is a great young actor who we originally cast in a small role, but we liked him so much, we promoted him to the much larger Alfrid part."John Bell as Bain:[30]
Son of Bard, he is described as "confident and brave and ready to do battle if required even though he is still a boy."[31]
Elves and Wizards[edit]
Hugo Weaving as Elrond:
The Elven master of Rivendell. Elrond gives shelter to Bilbo's party, after which, presumably, the two become friends. Weaving portrayed Elrond previously in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. It had long been assumed that he would be returning to the role, but was not officially confirmed until 1 May 2011, almost six weeks after principal photography had begun.[32]Christopher Lee as Saruman the White:
Head of Gandalf's Order of Wizards and the White Council. Lee had originally said he would have liked to have shown how Saruman is first corrupted by Sauron,[33] but would not be comfortable flying to New Zealand at his age.[34] Lee went on to say that if a film were made, he would love to voice Smaug, as it would mean he could record his part in England and not have to travel.[35] On 10 January 2011, it was reported that Lee had entered into negotiations to reprise the role of Saruman.[36] On 11 January 2011, Lee announced on his website that he would be reprising the role.[37]Cate Blanchett as Galadriel:
An Elf and the co-ruler of Lothlórien along with her husband, Lord Celeborn. Blanchett was the first returning cast member from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy to be cast in the films, even though her character does not appear in the novel. On her casting, Jackson said, "Cate is one of my favorite actors to work with and I couldn't be more thrilled to have her reprise the role she so beautifully brought to life in the earlier films."[12]Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown:
A wizard of Gandalf's Order. During the production of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, McCoy had been contacted about playing the role of Bilbo and was kept in place as a potential Bilbo for six months before Jackson went with Ian Holm.[38] The former Doctor Who star, who appeared alongside McKellen in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of King Lear in 2008, confirmed on 23 October 2010 that he was in negotiations to play a major role as a "wizard",[39] leading to speculation he could appear as Radagast the Brown.[40] This was later confirmed by the actor.[41] He was officially added to the cast on 7 December 2010.[12]Lee Pace as Thranduil:
Referred to in the novel as "The Elvenking", he is the ruler of the realm of the northern part of Mirkwood. He is also the father of Legolas. In the novel, the Dwarves are captured by Thranduil's guards and locked in his dungeons when they refuse to divulge their intentions. In the early stages of production, the role had been linked to actor Doug Jones but on 29 April 2011, Jackson reported on Facebook that the role had gone to Pace. On his casting, Jackson said, "Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He's going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately."[15][42]Bret McKenzie as Lindir:
An Elf of Rivendell. McKenzie has appeared in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. His silent role in the first film achieved some minor Internet fame as Figwit, which led to Jackson giving him a line in the third film. On 4 April 2011, McKenzie was added to the cast as Lindir, a Rivendell elf quarrelling with Bilbo in The Fellowship of the Ring, whose name means "singer".[43] His father Peter McKenzie played the role of Elendil in The Lord of the Rings.Orlando Bloom as Legolas:[44]
The Elven Prince of Mirkwood and the son of Thranduil. On 4 December 2010, Deadline reported that Bloom had entered into negotiations to reprise the role of Legolas.[45] Bloom revealed on 25 April 2011 that he had been in contact with Jackson, who had given him a copy of the screenplay and said that there was a high probability that he would return. He was quoted as saying, "I'm going to bet on it... But I can't really talk too much about it because it's still sort of in the ether. But I would love to go back to work with Peter Jackson. It would be an honour."[46] On 27 May 2011, Peter Jackson announced via Facebook that Bloom would reprise his role as Legolas.[47]Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel:[48]
A female elf from Mirkwood. She is the Chief of the Guards for the Elvenking, Thranduil. Her name means "daughter of the wood". Peter Jackson has confirmed there will be no romantic connection to Legolas. Philippa Boyens stated that she was there so that there would be a female character in The Hobbit: "She’s our redhead. We created her for that reason. To bring that energy into the film, that feminine energy. We believe it’s completely within the spirit of Tolkien."[49]Craig Hall as Galion:[50]
Elven King Thranduil's butler, whose fondness for drink allows for Bilbo and the dwarves' escape attempt.
Foes[edit]
Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug and as The Necromancer:[51]
Smaug, one of the last remaining dragons in Middle-earth, guards the treasure in Erebor. Cumberbatch will portray Smaug through motion capture, similar to Andy Serkis with Gollum.[52]The Necromancer, the ruler of the stronghold of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood, is later revealed to be Sauron and is driven out by the White Council. Cumberbatch will play the role of the Necromancer through motion capture, as well as providing the voice.[53][54]The casting of Cumberbatch was prematurely revealed by his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman during the BAFTA Television Awards in May. Speculations of his undisclosed role were further fuelled when Ian McKellen wrote on his blog that Philippa Boyens showed him Cumberbatch's screen test, stating that it was "electrifying, vocally and facially".[55] Peter Jackson finally revealed on his Facebook page that Cumberbatch was set to play Smaug. Following this, it was also confirmed that he would be portraying The Necromancer as well.[56]Andy Serkis as Gollum:
Serkis portrayed the character in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, but was not confirmed to reprise the role in The Hobbit until 10 January 2011.[36] On 6 April 2011, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Serkis would also serve as second unit director on the films.[57] "I think I understand Peter's sensibility and we have a common history of understanding Middle-earth. A lot of the crew from The Lord of the Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic."[57]Barry Humphries as the Great Goblin:[48]
The ruler of the underground caverns in the Misty Mountains.Manu Bennett as Azog:[58]
Also known as "Azog the Defiler" or "The Pale Orc" he is an Orc chieftain of Moria. He killed King Thrór, who came to revisit the ruins of Khazad-dûm. In the following years he was the common enemy of all Dwarves and particularly Thorin, who cut off his arm in the Battle of Azanulbizar.Conan Stevens as Bolg:[59]
Goblin-king of the Misty Mountains, Lord of Mount Gundabad and son of Azog. He leads the army of goblins in the Battle of Five Armies.Ben Mitchell as Narzug[50]
John Rawls as Yazneg[60]
Stephen Ure as Fimbul and as Grinnah:
Fimbul is a hunter orc commander, who becomes the second-in-command of Azog's hunter orc party after Yazneg's death. Grinnah's a goblin lieutenant under the Misty Mountains, where he serves the Great Goblin. He's later killed by Kili the Dwarf.Kiran Shah as goblin scribe[61]
Other characters[edit]
Ian Holm as old Bilbo Baggins:
During the early stages of pre-production, former director Guillermo del Toro indicated that he was interested in having Holm reprise the role of Bilbo, but acknowledged that he might be too old to take on such a physically demanding role. On his potential casting, del Toro stated, "[Holm] certainly is the paragon we aspire to. He will be involved in some manner, I'm sure."[62] He also indicated that he was open to the possibility of Holm narrating the films.[63] On 10 January 2011, Deadline Hollywood reported that Holm had entered into negotiations to play the older Bilbo.[36] On 3 March 2011, Holm revealed that he had been in talks with the producers about reprising the role, but that he had not heard back from them yet.[64] On 22 April 2011, Jackson confirmed via Facebook that Holm had been added to the cast.[65]Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins:
A hobbit and favourite relative of Bilbo Baggins. On 6 January 2011, Deadline reported that Wood was in talks to reprise his role of Frodo Baggins in the two parts.[66] He was confirmed as joining the cast on 7 January 2011 by TheOneRing.net. As Frodo hadn't been born during the events of The Hobbit, the inclusion of Frodo indicated that parts of the story would take place shortly before or during the events of The Lord of the Rings. According to TheOneRing.net, "As readers of 'The Hobbit' know, the tale of 'The Downfall of The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit or There and Back Again,' are contained in the fictional 'Red Book of Westmarch.' In Peter Jackson's LOTR films, the book is shown on screen and written in by Bilbo and Frodo and handed off to Samwise Gamgee....The fictional book and either the telling from it or the reading of it, will establish Frodo in the film experiencing Bilbo's story. Viewers are to learn the tale of 'The Hobbit' as a familiar Frodo gets the tale as well."[67]Stephen Colbert in an undisclosed cameo[68]
Development[edit]
First stages of development[edit]
See also: The Lord of the Rings (film series)#Development
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh originally expressed interest in filming The Hobbit in 1995, then envisaging it as part one of a trilogy (the other two would have been based on The Lord of the Rings).[69] Frustration arose when Jackson's producer, Harvey Weinstein, discovered that Saul Zaentz had production rights to The Hobbit, but that distribution rights still belonged to United Artists (which had kept those rights, believing that filmmakers would prefer to adapt The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings).[70] The studio was on the market, but Weinstein's attempts to buy those rights were unsuccessful. Weinstein asked Jackson to press on with adapting The Lord of the Rings.[71] Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings was produced by New Line Cinema, not the Weinsteins, and their rights to film The Hobbit were set to expire in 2010.[72] In September 2006, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, now the owner of UA, expressed interest in teaming up with New Line and Jackson to make The Hobbit.[73]

 

Peter Jackson, the film's director, co-writer and producer.
In March 2005, Jackson launched a lawsuit against New Line, claiming he had lost revenue from merchandising, video and computer games releases associated with The Fellowship of the Ring.[74] He did not seek a specific settlement, but requested an audit to see whether New Line had withheld money owed him.[72] Although Jackson wanted it settled before he would make the film,[72] he felt the lawsuit was minor and that New Line would still let him make The Hobbit.[75] New Line co-founder Robert Shaye was annoyed with the lawsuit and said in January 2007 that Jackson would never again direct a film for New Line, accusing him of being greedy.[76] MGM boss Harry Sloan halted development, as he wanted Jackson to be involved.[77] By August, after a string of flops, Shaye tried to repair his relationship with the director. He said, "I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit."[78] The following month, New Line was fined $125,000 for failing to provide requested accounting documents.[72]
On 16 December 2007, New Line and MGM announced that Jackson would be executive producer of The Hobbit and its sequel. The two studios would co-finance the film and the latter studio (via 20th Century Fox) would distribute the film outside North America—New Line's first ever such deal with another major studio.[79] Each film's budget was estimated at US$150 million,[80] which compares to the US$94 million budget for each of the films in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. After completion of the merger of New Line Cinema with Warner Bros. in February 2008, the two parts were announced as scheduled for release in Decembers 2011 and 2012.[77] Producer Mark Ordesky, the executive producer of The Lord of the Rings, planned to return to supervise the prequels.[81] Jackson explained he chose not to direct because it would have been unsatisfying to compete with his previous films.[82]
In February 2008, the Tolkien Estate (through The Tolkien Trust, a British charity) and HarperCollins Publishers filed a suit against New Line for breach of contract and fraud and demanded $220 million in compensation for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The suit claimed New Line had only paid the Estate an upfront fee of $62,500, despite the trilogy earning an estimated $6 billion worldwide from box office receipts and merchandise sales. The suit claimed the Estate was entitled to 7.5% of all profits made by any Tolkien films, as established by prior deals. The suit also sought to block the filming of The Hobbit. The suit was settled in September 2009 for an undisclosed amount. However the Tolkien Trust's 2009 accounts show that it received a payment of £24 million, (a little over US$38 million), in respect of a 'film rights settlement'.[83] Christopher Tolkien said: "The trustees regret that legal action was necessary but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed film of The Hobbit."[84][85]
Development with del Toro[edit]

 

Guillermo del Toro was originally set to direct the film, but left because of ongoing delays. Jackson has stated that del Toro's "creative DNA" will remain in the scripts and designs.
Despite the legal suits, development proceeded and in April 2008, Guillermo del Toro was hired to direct the film. Del Toro has said he was a fan of Jackson's trilogy and had discussed directing a film adaptation of Halo with him in 2005. Though that project stalled, they kept in contact.[82] In a 2006 interview, del Toro was quoted saying "I don't like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits, [...] I don't like sword and sorcery, I hate all that stuff".[86] After he signed on to direct in April 2008,[87] Del Toro posted on TheOneRing.net forums that he had been enchanted by The Hobbit as a child, but found that Tolkien's other books "contain[ed] geography and genealogy too complex for my prepubescent brain". In taking the job of director, del Toro was now "reading like a madman to catch up with a whole new land, a continent of sorts—a cosmology created by brilliant philologist turned Shaman". He also posted that his appreciation of Tolkien was enhanced by his knowledge of the fantasy genre and the folklore research he had undertaken while making his own fantasy films.[82]
Pre-production began around August 2008, with del Toro, Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens writing the scripts.[88] Del Toro collaborated with Jackson, Walsh and Boyens via videoconferencing and flew every three weeks, back and forth from Los Angeles (where some of the designs were done)[87] to New Zealand to visit them.[89] Del Toro spent his mornings writing and afternoons looking at material related to Tolkien to help him understand the writer's work. He watched World War I documentaries and asked for book recommendations from Jackson, who is a collector of World War I memorabilia. Del Toro felt Tolkien's experiences in that war influenced his stories.[90]
By November 2008, del Toro had said that he, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens would realize something new about the story every week and the script was continually changing.[91] The writing hours increased to twelve each day, as they dedicated three weeks to finally deciding the films' structures.[92] During the first few months of 2009, writing would start from 8:30 am and end at 3:00 pm when del Toro would meet with Weta (i.e., Weta Workshop and Weta Digital film effects companies). Completion of the story outlines and treatments ended in March 2009 and the studios approved the start of writing the screenplay.[93] Filming was expected to take place throughout 2010 in New Zealand, with del Toro renovating the Hobbiton sets in Matamata.[82] For his part, Jackson had kept the Rivendell scale model and the Bag End set (which he has used as a guest house) from the trilogy.[75] During the middle of the shoot, there was expected to be a break which would have allowed del Toro to edit The Hobbit while sets would be altered for the second film.[94] The director expected the shoot to last 370 days.[95]
Jackson revealed in late November 2009 that he anticipated that the script for The Hobbit would not be finished until the beginning of 2010, delaying the start of production until the middle of that summer (several months later than previously anticipated).[96] The announcement created doubts about whether the film would make its previously-announced release dates of December 2011 and December 2012.[96] Jackson reiterated that no casting decisions had been made.[96] On 22 January 2010, Alan Horn said the first film would likely not be released until the fourth quarter of 2012.[97]
Del Toro's interpretation[edit]


The first film will stand on its own and the second will be a transition and fusion with Peter's world. I plan to change and expand the visuals from Peter's and I know the world can be portrayed in a different way. Different is better for the first one. For the second, I have the responsibility of finding a slow progression and mimicking the style of Peter.
 —Guillermo Del Toro, on tonal consistency with Jackson's trilogy[98]
Del Toro and Jackson had a positive working relationship, in which they compromised on disagreements for the benefit of the film.[82] Del Toro believed he would be able to shoot the film himself,[99] although Jackson noted he had similar hopes for filming all of his trilogy and offered to help as second unit director. Del Toro planned on shooting the film in the trilogy's 2.35:1 aspect ratio, rather than his signature 1.85:1 ratio.[82] He hoped to collaborate again with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro.[95]
Del Toro shares Jackson's passion for scale models and background paintings,[100] though he wanted to increase the use of animatronics; "We really want to take the state-of-the-art animatronics and take a leap ten years into the future with the technology we will develop for the creatures in the movie. We have every intention to do for animatronics and special effects what the other films did for virtual reality."[87] Spectral Motion (Hellboy, Fantastic Four) was among those del Toro wanted to work with again.[95] Some characters would have been created by mixing computer-generated imagery with animatronics and some would have been created solely with animatronics or animation. Gollum would be entirely digital again; as del Toro noted, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?"[100]
Del Toro said that he interpreted The Hobbit as being set in a "world that is slightly more golden at the beginning, a very innocent environment" and the film would need to "[take] you from a time of more purity to a darker reality throughout the film, but [in a manner] in the spirit of the book".[87] He perceived the main themes as loss of innocence, which he likened to the experience of England after World War I, and greed, which he said Smaug and Thorin Oakenshield represent.[82] Bilbo Baggins reaffirms his personal morality during the story's third act as he encounters Smaug and the Dwarves' greed.[101] He added, "The humble, sort of a sturdy moral fibre that Bilbo has very much represents the idea that Tolkien had about the little English man, the average English man",[63] and the relationship between Bilbo and Thorin would be the heart of the film.[102] The Elves will also be less solemn.[82]
Del Toro met concept artists John Howe and Alan Lee, Weta Workshop head Richard Taylor, and make-up artist Gino Acevedo in order to keep continuity with the previous films,[87] and he also hired comic book artists to complement Howe's and Lee's style on the trilogy,[62] including Mike Mignola and Wayne Barlowe, who began work around April 2009.[93] He has also considered looking at Tolkien's drawings and using elements of those not used in the trilogy.[63] As Tolkien did not originally intend for the magic ring Bilbo finds to be the all-powerful talisman of evil it is revealed to be in The Lord of the Rings[citation needed], del Toro said he would address its different nature in the story, but not so much as to draw away from the story's spirit.[101] Each Dwarf would need to look different from the others.[103] Del Toro would have redesigned the Goblins and Wargs[82] and the Mirkwood spiders would also have looked different from Shelob.[101] Del Toro felt the Wargs had to be changed because "the classical incarnation of the demonic wolf in Nordic mythology is not a hyena-shaped creature".[90]
Del Toro also wanted the animals to speak so that Smaug's speech would not be incongruous, though he explained portraying the talking animals would be more about showing people can understand them.[101] Smaug would not have a "snub Simian [mouth] in order to achieve a dubious lip-synch",[82] and del Toro stated that such attention is being given to him that he would be the first design begun and the last to be approved.[90] Del Toro, whose Chinese zodiac sign is the Dragon, is fascinated by the mythological species and attempted to include one in Pan's Labyrinth, but was unable to do so for budgetary reasons. His favourite cinematic dragons are Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty and Vermithrax Pejorative from Dragonslayer.[82] He has also provided a foreword to Howe's portfolio book Forging Dragons, where he discussed the dragon's differing symbolism and roles in various cultures and legends.[104]
Del Toro and Jackson considered the sudden introduction of Bard the Bowman and Bilbo's unconsciousness during the Battle of Five Armies to be "less cinematic moments" reminiscent of the novel's more "fairy tale world" than The Lord of the Rings, and they would change them to make The Hobbit feel more like the trilogy. However, del Toro did say he considered some of these moments iconic and would require the "fairy tale logic [to] work as is".[93]
Several actors were considered by del Toro for roles in the film. He wrote the part of Beorn specifically for American actor Ron Perlman.[105] Del Toro had originally considered asking Perlman to voice the dragon Smaug, but decided against this.[106] Del Toro met with English actor Brian Blessed to discuss the possibility of him playing Thorin Oakenshield.[107] The director later stated that he thought Ian McShane "would make the most perfect dwarf".[108] Frequent del Toro collaborator Doug Jones said that he would love to play the Elvenking Thranduil, but del Toro later stated that he had another role (or roles) in mind for the actor.[109] Del Toro was the one who originally pushed to cast Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown, a choice Peter Jackson later followed.[110] While del Toro initially wanted Ian Holm to reprise the role of Bilbo Baggins, he also said that he "absolutely" supported the casting of Martin Freeman as the character,[111] and wanted all other returning Lord of the Rings characters to be played by the original actors where possible.[106]
In December 2012, Philippa Boyens expressed regret that del Toro's version of the film remained unmade. She revealed that it would have had a different script and visual elements, and would more closely have resembled a fairy tale.[112] Boyens stated that the most significant script change was to Bilbo's characterisation: "It shifted and changed into someone who, rather than being slightly younger and more innocent in the world, once had a sense of longing for adventure and has lost it and become fussy and fusty."[113]
Del Toro's departure[edit]
In 2010, del Toro left the project because of ongoing delays. On 28 May he explained at a press conference that owing to MGM's financial troubles the Hobbit project had then not been officially greenlit at the time. "There cannot be any start dates until the MGM situation gets resolved... We have designed all the creatures. We've designed the sets and the wardrobe. We have done animatics and planned very lengthy action sequences. We have scary sequences and funny sequences and we are very, very prepared for when it's finally triggered, but we don't know anything until MGM is solved."[114][115] Two days later, del Toro announced at TheOneRing.net that "In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming", he would "take leave from helming", further stating that "the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. [...] I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director".[116][117] Reports began to surface around the Internet about possible directors; apparently the studios wanted Jackson, but such names as Neill Blomkamp, Brett Ratner, David Yates and David Dobkin were mentioned.[118]
However, this incident received negative reaction from many Hobbit fans, who were angry at MGM for delaying the project. They also tried willing the studio to sell their rights to Warner Bros. On 27 July, del Toro responded to these angry fans, saying that "it wasn't just MGM. These are very complicated movies, economically and politically."[119]
On 25 June 2010, Jackson was reported to be in negotiations to direct the two-part film.[120] On 15 October 2010, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. confirmed that The Hobbit was to proceed filming with Jackson as director and that the film will be in 3D.[121] As well as confirming Jackson as director, the film was reported to be greenlit, with principal photography to begin in February 2011.[122] Jackson stated that "Exploring Tolkien's Middle-earth goes way beyond a normal film-making experience. It's an all-immersive journey into a very special place of imagination, beauty and drama."[123]
Industrial dispute in New Zealand[edit]
On 24 September 2010, the International Federation of Actors issued a Do Not Work order, advising members of its member unions (including the Screen Actors Guild) that "The producers... have refused to engage performers on union-negotiated agreements."[124] This would subject actors who work on the film to possible expulsion from the union.[125] In response, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema considered taking the production elsewhere, with Jackson mentioning the possibility of filming in Eastern Europe.[125]
Partly out of fear for the Tolkien tourism effect, on 25 October 2010, thousands of New Zealanders organised protest rallies imploring that production remain in New Zealand, arguing that shifting production to locations outside New Zealand would potentially cost the country's economy up to $1.5 billion.[126] After two days of talks with the New Zealand government (including involvement by Prime Minister John Key), Warner Bros. executives decided on 27 October to film The Hobbit in New Zealand as originally planned. In return, the National government of New Zealand agreed to introduce legislation to remove the right of workers to organise trade unions in the film production industry, and to give money to big budget films made in New Zealand.[127][128][129] The legislation reversed a decision by the New Zealand Supreme Court called Bryson v Three Foot Six Ltd[130] holding that under the Employment Relations Act 2000, a model maker named Mr Bryson was an "employee" who could organise a union to defend his interests. The Key government's legislation has been criticised as breaching the International Labour Organization's core ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association, and giving an unfair subsidy to protect multinational business interests.[131]
Some have subsequently called the price (further financial subsidies and specific laws made for the producers' benefit) that New Zealand had to pay to retain the movie 'extortionate'. It was also argued that the discussion had occurred in a climate of 'hyperbole and hysteria'.[132]
In February 2013, emails and documents released under orders of the Ombudsman showed that the union representing actors had already reached an agreement with Warner two days before the 20 October protest,[133][134] but Warner refused to confirm the deal publicly. One union representative said those on the march were 'patsies' that had been fooled into thinking the production would be taken offshore.[135] Further emails released showed Government ministers knew a deal had been reached a week before the protest, despite claiming negotiations were still happening.[136]
Third film[edit]
The project had been envisaged as two parts since 2006, but the proposed contents of the parts changed during development. MGM expressed interest in a second film in 2006, set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.[137] Jackson concurred, stating that "one of the drawbacks of The Hobbit is it's relatively lightweight compared to LOTR [Lord of the Rings]... There's a lot of sections in which a character like Gandalf disappears for a while. – he references going off to meet with the White Council, who are actually characters like Galadriel and Saruman and people that we see in Lord of the Rings. He mysteriously vanishes for a while and then comes back, but we don't really know what goes on."[75] Jackson was also interested in showing Gollum's journey to Mordor and Aragorn setting a watch on the Shire.[138] In 2008, the producers asked Viggo Mortensen if he was interested in reprising the role of Aragorn, but he declined, citing the character's absence from the book and the 60-year gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.[139]
After his hiring in 2008, del Toro confirmed the sequel would be about "trying to reconcile the facts of the first movie with a slightly different point of view. You would be able to see events that were not witnessed in the first."[62] He also noted the story must be drawn from only what is mentioned in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as they do not have the rights to The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.[140] Del Toro also added (before writing began) that if they could not find a coherent story for the second film, they would just film The Hobbit, stating "The Hobbit is better contained in a single film and kept brisk and fluid with no artificial 'break point'."[141] By November 2008, he acknowledged that the book was more detailed and eventful than people may remember.[142] He decided to abandon the "bridge film" concept, feeling that it would be better for the two parts to contain only material from The Hobbit:

when you lay out the cards fro [sic] the story beats contained within the book (before even considering any apendix [sic] material) the work is enormous and encompasses more than one film. That's why we are thinking of the two instalments as parts of a single narrative. That's why I keep putting down the use of a "bridge" film (posited initially). I think the concept as such is not relevant any more. I believe that the narrative and characters are rich enough to fit in two films.[143]
Del Toro said that he was faced with two possible places to split the story,[92] including Smaug's defeat. He noted the second film would need to end by leading directly into The Fellowship of the Ring.[144] In June 2009, del Toro revealed he had decided where to divide the story based on comments from fans about signifying a change in Bilbo's relationship with the dwarves.[145] The second film's story would also have depended on how many actors could have reprised their roles.[82]
Although The Hobbit was originally made as a two-part film, on 30 July 2012, Jackson confirmed plans for a third film, turning his adaptation of The Hobbit into a trilogy.[146][147] According to Jackson, the third film would make extensive use of the appendices that Tolkien wrote to expand the story of Middle-Earth (published in the back of The Return of the King). While the third film will largely make use of footage originally shot for the first and second films, it will require additional filming as well. The Battle of the Five Armies will take place in the third film.[148] The second film was retitled The Desolation of Smaug and the third film was titled There and Back Again in August 2012.[149]
Filming[edit]

 

 The Company of Dwarves from left to right: Nori, Fíli, Dori, Bofur, Glóin, Dwalin, Thorin, Balin, Óin, Bombur, Bifur, Ori and Kíli.
Principal photography began on 21 March 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand. Filming took place at Wellington Stone Street Studios, the town of Matamata and at other undisclosed locations around New Zealand.[150]
The costumes for each of the Dwarves included six wigs and eight beards, which were worn by the actors, stunt doubles, and stand-ins.[151]
During July 2011, scenes from The Hobbit were filmed at Pinewood Studios, England. Sets were constructed on the F Stage and N&P Stages for the shoot.[152] Jackson recorded a video blog from the set, which featured Christopher Lee in full makeup and costume as Saruman.[152][153]
The second block of shooting in New Zealand began at the end of August and was completed in December 2011.[154]
Principal photography ended on 6 July 2012, after 266 days of filming.[155]
During May 2013, additional filming for the second and third films began in New Zealand and is set to last 10 weeks.[156]
Filming locations[edit]
A list of filming locations

Fictional
 location
Specific location
 in New Zealand
General area
 in New Zealand
Forest River Aratiatia Spillway Taupo[157]
Laketown Braemar Station Tekapo[158]
 Canaan Downs Takaka[159]
Trollshaws Denize Bluffs Mangaotaki[160]
Vales of Anduin Earnslaw Burn Mount Aspiring National Park[161]
 Eweburn Station Te Anau[162]
Carrock David's Knoll Fiordland[163]
 Greenstone Track Greenstone[164]
 Harwoods Hole Takaka[165]
Hobbiton Matamata Waikato[166]
 Miramar Peninsula Wellington[167][168]
 Ohuto Station Ohakune[169]
 Paradise Otago[170]
Forest River Pelorus River Marlborough[171]
Misty Mountains The Remarkables Otago[172]
Dale Hills Rock and Pillar Range Otago[172]
 Speargrass Flat Otago[172]
Rhudaur Strath Taieri Middlemarch[173]
 Treble Cone Ski Resort Wanaka[174]
 Turoa Ski Area Mount Ruapehu[169]
 Wanaka-Mt Aspiring Rd Wanaka[174]
Technology[edit]
See also: 3D film and High Frame Rate

 

 3D concept art by John Howe and Alan Lee
 

 Comparison of 5K to standard resolution
The films were filmed in 3D using Red Epic cameras.[175] According to a production diary video, 48 Epic cameras were used during the film's production.[176] The production employed a specialty rig designed by 3ality Technica, using two cameras and a mirror in order to achieve an intraocular effect similar to that of human sight (the distance between the eyes). This is how the depth required for 3D film is achieved.[176]
In April 2011, Jackson revealed through his Facebook page that he would film The Hobbit at 48 fps (frames per second) instead of the normal 24 fps.[177]
Additionally, the films are being filmed at a 5K resolution, native to the Epic cameras. This is clearer than the conventional 4K resolution. The films are being filmed digitally onto 128 GB memory cards that fit into the RED Epic camera.[176]
Alleged animal abuse[edit]
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is asking the New Zealand government to investigate allegations that 27 animals used for the film that died due to poor living conditions. Claims also include sheep falling into sinkholes, chickens being mauled by unsupervised dogs, a horse falling over a steep embankment, and another one being left on the ground for three hours after being hobbled. PETA says that instead of "vainly defending himself", Peter Jackson should be giving a "firm assurance that this will never happen again". They also called Jackson a "CGI master", stating that he could easily make convincing CGI animals, instead of using actual ones.[178][179][180]
Post-production[edit]
Music[edit]
Main article: Music of The Hobbit film series
The music of The Hobbit film series is being composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Howard Shore, who scored all three The Lord of the Rings films. The music will once again be performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra as it was for The Lord of the Rings. Recording sessions for the films began on 20 August 2012 at Abbey Road Studios. The soundtrack for An Unexpected Journey was released on 11 December 2012 through WaterTower Music label.
Musician Neil Finn as well as some actors including Richard Armitage and the cast of dwarves will contribute to the score.
Visual effects[edit]
Unlike the orcs in The Lord of the Rings trilogy who wore full-body makeup and prosthetics, many of those in The Hobbit have computer-generated faces.[181]
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]

 

 A standee outside the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand at the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was scheduled to have its world premiere take place on 28 November 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand,[182] with a wide release in New Zealand on 12 December.[183] Tickets to the film's midnight screenings in New Zealand sold out within minutes of going on sale, prompting director Peter Jackson to say that the fans who missed out "may get something special" which could include getting to see the film "possibly even a minute or two before anyone else".[184] The film was released on 13 December 2012 in the U.K.[185] and 14 December 2012 for some other parts of the world.[149] It has a runtime of 169 minutes (2 hours and 49 minutes).[186]
Around 100,000 people were expected to line the red carpet on Wellington's Courtenay Place for the premiere.[187] The entire event was broadcast live on TV3 and streamed over the Internet.[188]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has grossed over $1 billion at the box office, surpassing both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers nominally.[189]
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is scheduled to premiere in November 2013 and will be released internationally from 11 December 2013,[190] with the final film The Hobbit: There and Back Again scheduled for release on 17 December 2014. The release for the third film was originally set for an 18 July 2014 release, but was pushed back when X-Men: Days of Future Past, was announced to be released on the same date, to directly compete with.[191]
Home media[edit]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the US on 19 March 2013, with a scheduled release for the UK a month later in April. An extended edition containing 13 minutes of additional footage that will be released on DVD and Blu - Ray on November 5, 2013.[192]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]

Film
Release date
Box office revenue
Box office ranking
Budget
Ref.
An Unexpected Journey 14 December 2012 $1,017,003,568 #16 $180,000,000 [3]
The Desolation of Smaug 13 December 2013 N/A N/A $200,000,000 [193]
There and Back Again 17 December 2014 N/A N/A $200,000,000 [194]
Total
$1,017,003,568

$580,000,000

Public and critical response[edit]

Film
Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic
An Unexpected Journey 65% (267 reviews)[195] 58% (40 reviews)[196]
The Desolation of Smaug No score yet[197] No score yet[198]
There and Back Again No score yet[199] No score yet[200]
Average
65%
58%

Accolades[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by The Hobbit film series
An Unexpected Journey has won the "Technical Achievement" award by the Houston Film Critics Society, who also nominated it for "Best Original Song", the award for "Outstanding Virtual Cinematography" by the Visual Effects Society, and the Empire Awards for "Best Actor" and "Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy".[201][202][203][204] Among others, the film has also received three Academy Award nominations, a nomination from the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association, four nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, six nominations from the Visual Effects Society, and three nominations from the Phoenix Film Critics Society.[205][206][207][202][208][209]
Reaction to high frame rate[edit]
At an industry event screening in April 2012, Peter Jackson showed a ten-minute clip of the film, and the new High Frame Rate 48 fps format received "an underwhelming reaction at best".[210] While Variety stated that the footage "looked distinctively sharper and more immediate than everything shown before it, giving the 3D smoother movement and crisp sharpness", it also reported that it lost "the cinematic glow of the industry-standard 24 fps" and that "human actors seemed overlit and amplified in a way that many compared to modern sports broadcasts... and daytime television".[211] One projectionist complained that "it looked like a made-for-TV movie".[212]
Peter Jackson claimed that the poor reception "wasn't particularly surprising" because "it does take you a while to get used to it. Ten minutes is sort of marginal, it probably needed a little bit more".[213] However, once the entire film was released, many critics retained their complaints. While many noted the clarity and immediacy of the action scenes, they also criticized the picture quality as "hyper-real," clear enough to detect "painted sets" and "prosthetic noses".[214][215] Some critics did respond positively to the overall effect of the faster frame rate, saying it just takes a while to get used to – still allowing that the extra clarity can make some scenes look like "actors on a set rather than a scene in a movie".[216]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was also released in the current 24 fps standard in many theatres, some of which had not yet switched from film to digital projection.[217]
Derivative works[edit]
Toys[edit]
On 6 October 2011, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and U.S. toy company The Bridge Direct announced their partnership on worldwide master toy rights for The Hobbit films.[218] The toy line will include action figures, playsets and role-play accessories like swords and battle axes representing the characters and weapons in the films.[219][220]
The first wave of toy product will hit store shelves in October 2012, ahead of the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. U.S. retailers that will carry the toy line include Toys "R" Us, Kmart, and Walmart. Games Workshop will release miniatures from The Hobbit as part of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. The company has had rights to produce miniatures from the original book for some years but has not released any lines, save for a stand alone game based on the Battle of Five Armies, with original designs not related to The Lord of the Rings films.[221]
While a number of companies were vying for The Hobbit deal, Warner Bros. Consumer Products awarded the license to Bridge Direct partly because some of its execs and staffers had worked on The Lord of the Rings toy line during their tenure at other toy companies, including Toy Biz and Play Along. The Bridge Direct, run by toy business veteran Jay Foreman, is best known for toys such as Inkoos activity plush, and the Zhu Zhu Pets plush line.
On 16 December 2011, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Lego announced the development of figures and play sets based on the upcoming adaptations of The Hobbit as well as The Lord of the Rings. The launch of the Lego The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released to coincide with the release of the film adaptation's first part in December 2012.[222]
Video games[edit]
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment now has the rights to develop a video game based on The Hobbit following the expiration in 2008 of Electronic Arts' license to The Lord of the Rings.[223] When Guillermo del Toro was set to direct he had stated that a video game, if it were to be made, would not be released to tie-in with The Hobbit film, but rather after their release. Del Toro had stated that while he would like to be involved in the video game's creation, making it at the same time as the film would complicate things due to a "tight schedule".[224] In October 2011, Warner Bros. confirmed that a Hobbit video game would be released in 2012, before the first film's release.[225] However, the studio did not confirm whether or not the game would be a tie-in with the film.[226]
Warner Brothers is developing two free online games promoting the film series. The company will collaborate with Kabam to develop the two games.[227]
Monolith Productions developed Guardians of Middle-earth,[228] which was released on 4 December 2012 for PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network, and 5 December 2012 for Xbox 360 via Xbox LIVE Arcade. Guardians of Middle-earth delivers a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game set in Middle-earth and crafted specifically for the console systems. Gamers team up as the most powerful heroes from the greatest fantasy epic of all time, bringing up to 10 players together in strategic five versus five competitive multiplayer battle arenas in the epic setting of Middle-earth. Players can develop and master more than 20 iconic guardians, including Gandalf, Sauron, Gollum and many more, forming memorable and unlikely alliances with and against friends. Gamers can connect via an in-game voice communication system, as well as access a comprehensive online stat and leader board system where they can track friends’ victories and defeats. The game featured tie-ins to the released The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey motion picture which released on 14 December 2012.
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Bibliography[edit]
Sibley, Brian (2006), Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey, London: HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-717558-2.
External links[edit]
Official website
The Hobbit (official studio blog)
The Hobbit (film series) at the Tolkien Gateway

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

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The Hobbit:
 An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit- An Unexpected Journey.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Produced by
Carolynne Cunningham
Zane Weiner
Fran Walsh
Peter Jackson
 
Screenplay by
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Peter Jackson
Guillermo del Toro
 
Based on
The Hobbit
 by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring
Ian McKellen
Martin Freeman
Richard Armitage
James Nesbitt
Ken Stott
Cate Blanchett
Ian Holm
Christopher Lee
Hugo Weaving
Elijah Wood
Andy Serkis
Benedict Cumberbatch
 
Music by
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie
Editing by
Jabez Olssen
Studio
New Line Cinema
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
WingNut Films
 
Distributed by
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)
28 November 2012 (Wellington premiere)
12 December 2012 (New Zealand)
13 December 2012 (United Kingdom)
14 December 2012 (United States)
 
Running time
169 minutes[1]
182 minutes (Extended Edition)
Country
New Zealand
United Kingdom
United States[2]
 
Language
English
Budget
$200–315 million[3]
Box office
$1,017,003,568[4]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a 2012 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is the first installment of a three-part film series based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. It will be followed by The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and There and Back Again (2014). The three films together will act as prequels to Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
The story is set in Middle-earth sixty years before The Lord of the Rings, and portions of the film are adapted from the appendices to Tolkien's The Return of the King.[5] An Unexpected Journey tells the tale of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on a quest across Middle-earth to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. The film premiered in New Zealand on 28 November 2012 and was released internationally from 12 December 2012.[6]
The film's screenplay was written by Peter Jackson, his longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (who also co-wrote The Lord of the Rings), and Guillermo del Toro, who was originally chosen to direct the film before leaving the project in 2010.
The Hobbit has grossed over $1 billion at the box office, surpassing both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers nominally.[7] The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.[8] It was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 High frame rate
3.2 Score
4 Distribution 4.1 Marketing
4.2 Theatrical release
4.3 Home media
5 Reception 5.1 Box office
5.2 Critical response
5.3 Accolades
6 References
7 External links
Plot[edit]
Approaching his 111th birthday, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins begins writing down the full story of his adventure 60 years earlier for the benefit of his nephew Frodo. Long before Bilbo's involvement, the Dwarf king Thrór brings an era of prosperity for his kin under the Lonely Mountain until the arrival of the dragon Smaug. Destroying the nearby town of Dale, Smaug drives the Dwarves out of their mountain and takes their hoard of gold. Thrór's grandson Thorin sees King Thranduil and his Wood-elves on a nearby hillside, and is dismayed when they take their leave rather than aid his people, resulting in Thorin's everlasting hatred of Elves.
In the Shire, 50-year-old Bilbo is tricked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey into hosting a party for Thorin and his company of dwarves: Balin, Dwalin, Fíli, Kíli, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin, Glóin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Gandalf's aim is to recruit Bilbo as the company's "burglar" to aid them in their quest to enter the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo is unwilling to accept at first, but has a change of heart after they leave without him. Traveling onward, the company is captured by three trolls. Bilbo stalls the trolls from eating them until dawn, when Gandalf exposes the trolls to sunlight, which turns them to stone. They search the trolls' cave and find treasure and Elven blades. Thorin and Gandalf each take an Elf-made blade—Orcrist and Glamdring, respectively—with the latter finding an Elven shortsword, which he gives to Bilbo.
The company meets the wizard Radagast the Brown, who tells them of an encounter at Dol Guldur with the Necromancer, a sorcerer who has been corrupting Greenwood with dark magic. The company is then chased by orcs on wargs. Radagast covers the company's escape as Gandalf leads the company through a stone passage to Rivendell. There, Lord Elrond discloses a hidden indication of a secret door on the company's map of the Lonely Mountain, which will be visible only on Durin's Day. Gandalf later approaches the White Council—consisting of Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman the White—about his involvement with the dwarves. He also presents a Morgul blade Radagast obtained from Dol Guldur as a sign that the Necromancer is linked to the Witch-king of Angmar, despite Saruman's skepticism. When Saruman presses concern to the more present matter of the dwarves and Smaug, requesting that Gandalf put an end to the quest, Gandalf secretly reveals to Galadriel he had anticipated this and had the dwarves move forward on their quest without him.
Without Gandalf, the company journeys into the Misty Mountains, where they find themselves amid a colossal battle between stone giants. They take refuge in a cave and are captured by Goblins, who take them to their leader, the Great Goblin. Bilbo becomes separated from the dwarves and falls into a cave where he encounters Gollum, who accidentally drops a golden ring while killing a stray goblin to eat. Pocketing the ring, Bilbo finds himself confronted by Gollum. They play a riddle game, wagering that Bilbo will be shown the way out if he wins or eaten by Gollum if he loses. Bilbo eventually wins by asking Gollum what he has in his pocket. Noticing his ring is lost, Gollum suspects that Bilbo possesses it and attacks the hobbit. Bilbo discovers that the ring grants him invisibility, but when he has a chance to kill Gollum, Bilbo spares his life, evading him and escaping while Gollum curses the hobbit for stealing his precious.
Meanwhile, the Great Goblin reveals to the dwarves that Azog, an Orc war-chief who beheaded Thrór and lost his forearm to Thorin in battle outside the Dwarven kingdom of Moria, has placed a bounty on Thorin's head. Gandalf arrives and leads the dwarves in an escape and kills the Great Goblin. Bilbo, sparing the pursuing Gollum, exits the mountain and rejoins the company, keeping secret his newly obtained ring. The company is ambushed by Azog and his hunting party, and takes refuge in trees. Thorin charges Azog, but is knocked unconscious and left defenseless on the ground. Bilbo saves Thorin from the orcs just as the company is rescued by eagles, who fly them to the safety of the Carrock. Gandalf manages to bring Thorin back alive after the company was rescued by the eagles. In the distance, the company sees the Lonely Mountain, where the sleeping Smaug is awakened by the knocking sound of a thrush.
Cast[edit]
Further information: Cast of The Hobbit film series
Before filming began on March 21, 2011, the principal actors trained in sword fighting, riding, and boating for a month. Jackson hoped such activities would allow the cast to bond so chemistry would be evident on screen as well as getting them used to life in Wellington.[9] Some of the films' cast and their respective characters include:
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins: A hobbit hired by the wizard Gandalf to accompany 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon.[10] Peter Jackson said in an interview with NME that Freeman was his only choice to take the role of Bilbo Baggins as he felt that he had the necessary qualities that were needed to play Bilbo.[11] Because of prior commitments to Sherlock, Freeman was initially unable to accept the role. However, Jackson, because he was set on casting him as the role, reworked his entire shooting schedule to accommodate him.[12]
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: A wizard who recruits Bilbo and helps to arrange the quest to reclaim the Dwarves' lost treasure in Erebor. Gandalf was also portrayed by McKellen in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[13]
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: An Elf and the co-ruler of Lothlórien along with her husband, Lord Celeborn. Galadriel does not appear in the novel The Hobbit. She was also portrayed by Blanchett in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. She herself is a ring bearer, yet does not hold one of such evil and power.[14] Ian McKellen has suggested that Galadriel has, or once had, a romantic relationship with Gandalf.[15]
Hugo Weaving as Elrond: The Elven Lord of Rivendell. Elrond gives shelter to Bilbo's party, despite Thorin's great suspicion of Elves. Elrond was also portrayed by Weaving in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[16]
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: Head of Gandalf's Order of Wizards and the White Council. Saruman was also portrayed by Lee in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[17]
Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown: A wizard of Gandalf's Order. During the production of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, McCoy had been contacted about playing the role of Bilbo and was kept in place as a potential Bilbo for six months before Jackson went with Ian Holm.[18] On October 23, 2010 it was announced that he was in negotiations to play a major role as a "wizard",[19] leading to speculation he could appear as Radagast the Brown.[20] This was later confirmed by the actor.[21] He was officially added to the cast on December 7, 2010.[22]
Ian Holm as an old Bilbo Baggins: Bilbo was also portrayed by Holm in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. His scenes take place directly before the events of The Lord of the Rings.[23]
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: A hobbit and favourite relative of Bilbo Baggins. His scenes take place shortly before the events of The Lord of the Rings.[24]
Andy Serkis as Gollum: A wretched creature corrupted by the One Ring. Serkis portrayed Gollum through motion capture, as he did in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[25] Serkis also acted as second unit director of the trilogy.[26]
Manu Bennett as Azog the Defiler: The Orc chieftain of Moria who beheaded King Thrór in the battle of Azanulbizar. He now hunts Thorin and Company, having taken an oath to break the line of Durin. He leads a band of Hunter Orcs and rides a huge white warg. He is shown as a large pale orc who, having had his left arm cut off, now wears a metal prosthetic hand and forearm.
Lee Pace as the Elvenking Thranduil, ruler of the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood.
Benedict Cumberbatch as The Necromancer of Dol Guldur: A mysterious sorcerer with the ability to summon the spirits of the dead. Cumberbatch provided performance capture for the character's brief appearance in this film, and will also voice him in the subsequent installments.[27]
Barry Humphries as the Great Goblin: The ruler of the underground caverns of Goblin Town in the Misty Mountains.
John Rawls as Yazneg: An Orc lieutenant and second-in-command of Azog's hunter party.
The Company of DwarvesRichard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Company of Dwarves who have set out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. On his casting, Jackson was quoted as saying, "Richard is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakenshield. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle Earth is in such good hands."[10]
Graham McTavish as Dwalin. On his casting, McTavish stated, "I think that I would be very lucky indeed if ever again in my career, I was offered an opportunity that was going to be so iconic in its influence and scale with regards to The Hobbit. I can't think of anything comparable."[28]
Ken Stott as Balin, brother of Dwalin. He is described in the novel as "always their look-out man". On the casting of Stott, Jackson commented, "Fran and I have long been fans of Ken's work and are excited he will be joining us on this journey."[22]
Aidan Turner as Kíli, nephew of Thorin and brother of Fíli. On his casting, Jackson stated, "Aidan is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I'm sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kíli."[29][30]
Dean O'Gorman as Fíli. English actor Robert Kazinsky had originally been cast as Kíli's brother Fíli,[29] but left the film on April 24, 2011 "for personal reasons".[31] Jackson said that he would have time to cast a replacement due to focusing on filming scenes with Bilbo without dwarves.[31] On April 30, 2011, Jackson announced via Facebook that O'Gorman had been hired as Kazinsky's replacement.[32] Jackson stated, "Dean's a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with."[32]
Mark Hadlow as Dori, brother of Nori and Ori. He is described in the novel as "a decent fellow, despite his grumbling", while Thorin described him as being the strongest member of the Company. Hadlow is a long-time collaborator of Jackson's, having previously worked with him on films such as Meet the Feebles and King Kong. On his casting, Jackson said, "I have worked with Mark Hadlow on many projects; he is a fantastic actor. I am thrilled to be working with [him] on these movies."[29][30] Hadlow also plays Bert the Stone-troll.
Jed Brophy as Nori, brother of Dori and Ori. Brophy has collaborated with Jackson on several films, including Braindead, Heavenly Creatures, and all three Lord of the Rings films as various creatures.
Adam Brown as Ori, brother of Dori and Nori. The role will mark Brown's first film appearance.[33] Commenting on Brown's casting, Jackson was quoted as saying, "Adam is a wonderfully expressive actor and has a unique screen presence. I look forward to seeing him bring Ori to life."[34]
John Callen as Óin, brother of Glóin. On getting a role in the films, Callen stated, "I did wonder about my casting and how they had made the choice—maybe the long hair and the beard sold it, I thought. But now that has all gone. Given that Óin is almost 200 years old I can presume only that it was the age."[35]
Peter Hambleton as Glóin, brother of Óin and (afterward) father of Gimli, who was portrayed in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy by actor John Rhys-Davies. Hambleton also plays William the Stone-troll.
William Kircher as Bifur, cousin of Bofur and Bombur. Kircher described Bifur as an "oddball" – both a "maniac fighter" and an "incredibly gentle" toymaker.[36] The remnant of a goblin-axe in Bifur's forehead renders him incapable of speech, leaving him to communicate via gestures and grunts. Kircher also plays Tom the Stone-troll.
James Nesbitt as Bofur, brother of Bombur and cousin of Bifur, described as "a disarmingly forthright, funny and occasionally brave Dwarf." On October 15, 2010, Deadline Hollywood reported that Nesbitt was in negotiations for a part in the film.[37] On November 1, 2010, Jackson confirmed that he had been added to the cast.[34] Jackson was quoted as saying, "James's charm, warmth and wit are legendary as is his range as an actor in both comedic and dramatic roles. We feel very lucky to be able to welcome him as one of our cast."[34]
Stephen Hunter as Bombur, brother of Bofur and cousin of Bifur; described in the novel as fat and clumsy. On being cast in the role, Hunter said, "Being cast in The Hobbit is really exciting and really an honour. I auditioned for the original Lord of the Rings way back when I signed with my agent in New Zealand. When I saw the films I thought, 'Man, I so want to do The Hobbit.'"[38]
The cast also includes: Bret McKenzie as Lindir, an Elf of Rivendell; Kiran Shah as the Goblin scribe, a scribe and messenger for the Great Goblin; Jeffrey Thomas as Thrór, former King of Durin's Folk and grandfather of Thorin Oakenshield and Michael Mizrahi as Thráin II, a Dwarven king and Thorin's father.
The director Peter Jackson makes a cameo in the film as an Erebor Dwarf running from the dragon Smaug.
Production[edit]
Further information: Development of The Hobbit film series and Production of The Hobbit film series
A film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit (1937) was in development for several years after the critical and financial success of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), co-written, co-produced, and directed by Peter Jackson. Jackson was initially going to produce a two-film adaptation of The Hobbit, which was to be directed by Guillermo del Toro.[39] Del Toro left the project in May 2010, after about two years of working with Jackson and his production team, due to delays caused in part by financial problems at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[40] Jackson was announced as director that October.[40]
The Hobbit films were produced back to back, like The Lord of the Rings films. Principal photography for The Hobbit films began on 21 March 2011 in New Zealand[41] and ended on 6 July 2012, after 266 days of filming.[42] Pick-ups for An Unexpected Journey were filmed in July 2012 as well.[43] Work on the film was expected to be completed on 26 November, just two days prior to the film's Wellington premiere.[44]
High frame rate[edit]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey used a shooting and projection frame rate of 48 frames per second, becoming the first feature film with a wide release to do so.[45] The new projection rate was advertised as "High Frame Rate" to the general public. However, the majority of cinemas projected the film at the industry standard 24 fps after the film was converted.[46][47]
Score[edit]
Main article: Music of The Hobbit film series
The musical score for An Unexpected Journey was composed by Howard Shore. It was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and featured several vocal soloists. The original song "Song of the Lonely Mountain", sung by Neil Finn, served as the end title theme. The album received nominations for various awards and peaked in the top ten charts in Korea and the United States.
Distribution[edit]
Marketing[edit]

 

Air New Zealand B-777-300 with "The Airline of Middle-earth" livery to promote the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, at London Heathrow Airport
The first trailer for An Unexpected Journey was first screened before the Jackson-produced The Adventures of Tintin in the US on 21 December 2011,[48] and released on the Internet on the same day.[49] Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times said, "While it was all too fleeting there was enough in it to stir the heart of fans."[50] Jen Chaney of The Washington Post stated, "Visually and tonally, this preview for [An Unexpected Journey] looks like a perfect match for the Frodo Baggins tales that released in 2001, 2002 and 2003. […] But plot isn't the main matter at hand in the trailer… This clip is all about reacquainting us with Middle-earth."[49]
Jackson, Freeman, McKellen, Armitage, Serkis, Wood, and co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens appeared at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International promoting the film and screening 12 minutes of footage.[51]
On 8 October 2012, Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown announced that for the week of the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the capital of New Zealand would be renamed the "Middle of Middle-earth".[52]
Theatrical release[edit]

 

 A standee outside the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand at the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey took place on 28 November 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand,[53] with a full theatrical release in New Zealand on 12 December. The film was released 13 December 2012 in Europe, 14 December 2012 in India, Canada and United States,[54][55] and 26 December 2012 (Boxing Day) in Australia. It was also screened at the 65th Royal Film Performance in London on 12 December 2012.[56]
Around 100,000 people lined the red carpet on Courtenay Place for the film's premiere, and the entire event was broadcast live on TV in New Zealand, as well as streaming over the internet.[57]
Home media[edit]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on March 19, 2013,[58] with an extended edition with 13 minutes of additional footage scheduled to be released on November 5, 2013.[59][60] In the United Kingdom, the film was released on April 8, 2013.[61]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
An Unexpected Journey grossed $303,003,568 in the United States and Canada and $714 million elsewhere, bringing to a worldwide total of $1,017,003,568.[4] It is the fourth highest-grossing film of 2012,[62] and the 15th highest-grossing film of all time.[63] It scored a worldwide opening weekend of $222.6 million,[64] including $15.1 million from 452 IMAX theaters around the world, which was an IMAX opening-weekend record for December.[65]
United States and Canada
An Unexpected Journey earned $13.0 million during its midnight run, setting a December midnight record[66] (previously held by Avatar).[67] It then topped the box office on its opening day (Friday, December 14, 2012) earning $37.1 million[68] from 4,045 theaters (midnight earnings included), setting a December opening-day record (previously held by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).[69] By the end of its first weekend it grossed $84.62 million, finishing in first place and setting a December opening-weekend record (previously held by I Am Legend).[70] 3D showings accounted for 49% of weekend ticket sales while IMAX showings generated $10.1 million (12% of the weekend gross).[70] The film held onto the top spot for a second weekend, despite declining 57% to $36.7 million.[71] An Unexpected Journey remained at the top of the box office during its third weekend, dropping only 11% to $32.9 million.[72]
Other territories
An Unexpected Journey earned $11.2 million on its opening day (Wednesday, December 12, 2012) from 16 markets.[73] Through its first Sunday, it managed a 5-day opening-weekend gross of just under $138.0 million. It topped the box office outside North America on two consecutive weekends. In Sweden, it scored the second-largest 5-day opening with $6.20 million (behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2). Its three largest openings occurred in the UK, Ireland and Malta ($18.8 million), Russia and the CIS ($17.8 million), and Germany ($17.1 million).[74][75]
Critical response[edit]
After the New Zealand premiere, Television New Zealand noted that critical responses were "largely positive" but with "mixed responses to the film's technological advances",[76] while the BBC said that reviews for An Unexpected Journey had been "mixed."[77] After the film's international release, Forbes called reviews "unenthusiastic" and the Los Angeles Times said the critical consensus is that the film "stumbles".[78][79] The film holds a 65% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 267 reviews with an average score of 6.6/10.[80] The site's main consensus reads "Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth is an earnest, visually resplendent trip, but the film's deliberate pace robs the material of some of its majesty."[81] On aggregate review site Metacritic, the film has a score of 58 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews", based on collected reviews from 40 critics.[82] The main contention of debate was regarding the film's length, its controversial High Frame Rate, and whether or not the film matched the level of expectation built from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, while the film's visual style, special effects, music score and cast were praised, especially the performances of Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage and Andy Serkis.[83][84]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone criticised the film's use of "48 frames per second… Couple that with 3D and the movie looks so hyper-real that you see everything that's fake about it… The 169 minutes of screen time hurts, since the first 45 minutes of the film traps us in the hobbit home of the young Bilbo Baggins," but continued, "Once Bilbo and the dwarves set on their journey… things perk up considerably. Trolls, orcs, wolves and mountainous monsters made of remarkably pliable stone bring out the best in Jackson and his Rings co-screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens."[85] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph said in a 2-star review "Thank heavens for Andy Serkis, whose riddling return as Gollum steals the entire film. It is the only time the digital effects and smoother visuals underline, rather than undermine, the mythical drama of Bilbo's adventure. As a lover of cinema, Jackson’s film bored me rigid; as a lover of Tolkien, it broke my heart."[86] He felt the film was "so stuffed with extraneous faff and flummery that it often barely feels like Tolkien at all – more a dire, fan-written internet tribute."[87] Time Out magazine's Keith Uhlich praised the film as "A mesmerizing study in excess, Peter Jackson and company's long-awaited prequel to the Lord of the Rings saga is bursting with surplus characters, wall-to-wall special effects, unapologetically drawn-out story tangents and double the frame rate (48 over 24) of the average movie."[88] The Guardian magazine's Peter Bradshaw commented on use of high frame rate technology and length of the film, writing "After 170 minutes I felt that I had had enough of a pretty good thing. The trilogy will test the stamina of the non-believers, and many might feel ... that the traditional filmic look of Lord of the Rings was better."[89] Richard Lawson from The Atlantic Wire commented on the film's "video game"-like visual effects, saying "this is a dismally unattractive movie, featuring too many shots that I'm sure were lovely at some point but are now ruined and chintzified by the terrible technology monster."[90]
Matthew Leyland of Total Film said in a five-star review that it is "Charming, spectacular, technically audacious… in short, everything you expect from a Peter Jackson movie. A feeling of familiarity does take hold in places, but this is an epically entertaining first course."[91] Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine awarded the film 3 stars out of 4, and called it "The first of an arguably gratuitous three-part cine-extravaganza."[92] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said that "Jackson and his colleagues have created a purist's delight… [And leads to] an undeniably exciting, action-packed climax." McCarthy did however feel that "Though there are elements in this new film that are as spectacular as much of the Rings trilogy was… there is much that is flat-footed and tedious as well, especially in the early going."[93] Kate Muir of The Times gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying Martin Freeman "perks up" the film as Bilbo Baggins and that Jackson's use of 48 frames per second 3D technology gives the film "lurid clarity".[94] In a four-star review, Dan Jolin of Empire felt "The Hobbit plays younger and lighter than Fellowship and its follow-ups, but does right by the faithful and has a strength in Martin Freeman’s Bilbo that may yet see this trilogy measure up to the last one". He gave the film 4 out of 5 stars stating "There is treasure here".[95]
According to CinemaScore polls the film received an A grade from audiences.[96]
Accolades[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by The Hobbit film series
The film received three Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling as well as praise from critics organization Broadcast Film Critics Association and from critics groups, such as the Houston Film Critics Society, Phoenix Film Critics Society and Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. The film's team won an Academy Scientific and Technical Award - the Scientific and Engineering Award for inventing a technique which has made huge advances in bringing to life computer-generated characters such as Gollum in the film to the screen.[97] In January 2013, it was announced The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was nominated in the Best Live Action Motion Picture category at the Cinema Audio Society Awards, awarded on February 16.[98]
An Unexpected Journey led the nominations at the 39th Saturn Awards with nine, more than The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring which earned eight nominations at the time of its release. These nominations included Best Director (Peter Jackson's eleventh Saturn Award nomination), Best Actor for Martin Freeman, Best Supporting Actor for Ian McKellen (his third nomination for playing Gandalf) and Best Music for Howard Shore.[99][100][101] It won Best Production Design for Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent and Simon Bright.
An Unexpected Journey also earned five nominations at the 18th Empire Awards, winning in two categories, Best Actor for Martin Freeman and Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film.[102][103][104] It also earned two nominations at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards in the categories Best Scared-as-S**t Performance and Best Hero for Martin Freeman.[105][106] Freeman won the latter award for his performance.[107] It has gathered 6 nominations at the 2013 SFX Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Peter Jackson and four acting nominations.
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97.Jump up ^ "The Hobbit picks up technical Oscar". BBC News. February 11, 2013.
98.Jump up ^ "The Hobbit and Les Miserables up for audio awards". 3 News NZ. January 9, 2013.
99.Jump up ^ "'The Hobbit' leads Saturn Awards with nine nomination".
100.Jump up ^ "The 39th Saturn Award Nominations".
101.Jump up ^ "Nominations for 39th annual Saturn Awards unveiled".
102.Jump up ^ O'Hara, Helen (1 March 2013). "Jameson Empire Awards 2013 Are Go!". Empire. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
103.Jump up ^ "Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy – The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey". Empire. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
104.Jump up ^ "Best Actor – Martin Freeman". Empire. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
105.Jump up ^ "2013 MTV Movie Awards Nominations: Full List". abc.com. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
106.Jump up ^ MTV Movie Awards Soars With New Best Hero Category Retrieved April 5, 2013
107.Jump up ^ Check out the winners for the MTV Movie Awards! Retrieved April 14, 2013
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Official website
The Hobbit Blog - The official blog of THE HOBBIT movies
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the Internet Movie Database
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at AllRovi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at Rotten Tomatoes
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at Metacritic
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at Box Office Mojo
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the Tolkien Gateway

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2013)

The Hobbit:
 The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug Teaser Poster.jpg
Teaser Poster
 
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Produced by
Peter Jackson
Carolynne Cunningham
Zane Weiner
Fran Walsh
 
Screenplay by
Peter Jackson
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Guillermo del Toro
 
Based on
The Hobbit
 by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring
Ian McKellen
Martin Freeman
Richard Armitage
Benedict Cumberbatch
Luke Evans
Lee Pace
Cate Blanchett
Orlando Bloom
Evangeline Lilly
Christopher Lee
Hugo Weaving
James Nesbitt
Ken Stott
Graham McTavish
Manu Bennett
Sylvester McCoy
Conan Stevens
Mikael Persbrandt
 
Music by
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie
Editing by
Jabez Olssen
Studio
New Line Cinema
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
WingNut Films
 
Distributed by
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)
November 2013 (TBC premiere)
12 December 2013 (New Zealand)
13 December 2013 (United Kingdom)
13 December 2013 (United States)
 
Running time
156 minutes
Country
New Zealand
United Kingdom
United States
 
Language
English
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is an upcoming 2013 epic fantasy adventure film co-written, produced and directed by Peter Jackson. It is the second installment of a three-part film series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, beginning with An Unexpected Journey (2012) and set to conclude with There and Back Again (2014). The three films together act as prequels to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series.
The storyline continues the events of An Unexpected Journey, in which the hobbit Bilbo Baggins travels with the wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield into the Kingdom of Erebor, taking them through Mirkwood, Esgaroth, and Dale to combat with the dragon Smaug. The film stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lee Pace, Hugo Weaving, Sylvester McCoy, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, and Evangeline Lilly.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is scheduled to premiere in November 2013 and will be released internationally from 11 December 2013.[1] Like its predecessor, the film used a shooting and projection frame rate of 48 frames per second. The new projection rate was advertised as "High Frame Rate" to the public.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Score
4 Distribution 4.1 Marketing
4.2 Theatrical release
5 References
6 External links
Plot[edit]
Hobbit Bilbo Baggins along with the wizard Gandalf and the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield and his 12 companions leave the Carrock after the events of the previous film. They continue East to the edge of the forest of Mirkwood where they encounter the skin-changer Beorn. Gandalf departs before the others enter Mirkwood where they are attacked by giant spiders and, except for Bilbo, are captured by Wood-elves. Bilbo helps the dwarves escape from the elves and they follow the forest river to Lake-town, where they meet the Master of the town, and Bard, a bowman and the descendant of the original Lord of Dale. After aquiring a boat and supplies from the town the company travels to the Lonely Mountain. They eventually find the hidden door into the mountain and Bilbo enters and encounters the dragon Smaug.
In the meantime Gandalf leads the White Council to drive the Necromancer out of Dol Guldur. Gandalf enters Dol Guldur where he discovers the true identity of the Necromancer.
Cast[edit]
Further information: Cast of The Hobbit film series
Some of the film's cast and their respective characters include:
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins: The titular "Hobbit", and the film's main protagonist. He was selected by Gandalf to travel with Thorin's Company to the Lonely Mountain as their "burglar".
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: A Wizard that selects Bilbo Baggins to help the dwarves to go to the Lonely Mountain. Also is a member of the White Council.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug[2] and the Necromancer:
Smaug the dragon (also known as Smaug the Terrible and Smaug the Magnificent) is the story's main antagonist and had accumulated wealth from the enormous fortress city of Erebor as well as several surrounding human settlements, whilst ruling the mountain over the years. While Smaug is shown to be violent in nature, creating a desolation of the surrounding lands for which the film is named, he is also sentient and speaks at length in the novel with Bilbo.The Necromancer is the ruler of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. A mysterious sorcerer with the ability to summon the spirits of the dead. The character had a brief appearance in An Unexpected Journey but will have a larger role in this film, and its sequel There and Back Again.Though both characters were voiced and motion-captured by Cumberbatch, they are separate entities in J.R.R. Tolkien's book and are working independently of each other in the films as well.Lee Pace as Thranduil: Referred to in the novel as "The Elvenking", he is the ruler of the realm of the northern part of Mirkwood. He is also the father of Legolas. In the novel, the Dwarves are captured by Thranduil's guards and locked in his dungeons when they refuse to divulge their intentions. In the early stages of production, the role had been linked to actor Doug Jones, but on 29 April 2011, Jackson reported on Facebook that the role had gone to Pace. On his casting, Jackson said, "Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He's going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately."[3][4]
Orlando Bloom as Legolas: The Elven Prince of Mirkwood and the son of Thranduil. On 4 December 2010, Deadline reported that Bloom had entered into negotiations to reprise the role of Legolas.[5] Bloom revealed on 25 April 2011 that he had been in contact with Jackson, who had given him a copy of the screenplay and said that there was a high probability that he would return. He was quoted as saying, "I'm going to bet on it... But I can't really talk too much about it because it's still sort of in the ether. But I would love to go back to work with Peter Jackson. It would be an honour."[6] On 27 May 2011, Peter Jackson announced via Facebook that Bloom would reprise his role as Legolas.[7]
Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel:[8] A female elf from Mirkwood. She is the Chief of the Guards for the Elvenking, Thranduil. Her name means "daughter of the wood". Peter Jackson has confirmed there will be no romantic connection to Legolas. Philipha Boyens stated that she was there so that there would be a female character in The Hobbit: "She's our redhead. We created her for that reason. To bring that energy into the film, that feminine energy. We believe it's completely within the spirit of Tolkien."[9] Lilly, who had been a fan of Tolkien's books since she was 13,[10] underwent training for swordplay and archery, as well as in the Elvish language for the role.[10][11]
Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman:[12] Bard of Esgaroth was a skilled archer and the heir of Girion, the last king of old Dale, described as "grim faced". Evans described playing the bowman as "really difficult to do", in regard to the physical nature of the part [13]
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: An Elf, the ruler of Lothlórien and a member of the White Council. The character returns from all the other films of Peter Jackson's Middle-earth film series. Galadriel does not appear in the novel, but she appears in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
Hugo Weaving as Elrond: A Half-elven, the ruler of Rivendell and a member of the White Council.
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: A Wizard, the ruler of Isengard and the leader of the White Council. Like Galadriel, this character does not appear in the novel, but he appears in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown: A Wizard and a member of the White Council. Radagast is mentioned by Gandalf in the novel, but does not make an appearance; he appears in The Lord of the Rings.
Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn: A skin-changer; a man who can assume the appearance of a great black bear. In the novel, he lives with his animal retinue (horses, dogs, and cows, among others) in a wooden house between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood. Beorn receives Gandalf, Bilbo, and the 13 Dwarves and aids them in their quest to reclaim the Dwarves' kingdom beneath Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. He is convinced of their trustworthiness after confirming their tale of encountering the Goblins of the Misty Mountains and Gandalf's slaying of their leader, the Great Goblin. On 3 December 2010, Swedish tabloid Nöjesbladet announced that Persbrandt had been cast in an unspecified role.[14] He was confirmed as Beorn on 7 December 2010. Jackson was quoted as saying, "The role of Beorn is an iconic one and Mikael was our first choice for the part. Since seeing him read for the role we can't imagine anyone else playing this character."[15]
Craig Hall as Galion: Elven King Thranduil's butler, whose fondness for drink allows for Bilbo and the dwarves' escape attempt.
Stephen Fry as Master of Lake-town:[12] The leader of the settlement of Men at Lake-town near the Lonely Mountain. According to Fry, "My character is an opportunity for sheer grossness... [Peter Jackson] had me eating testicles... gross appetites. I mustn't give too much away but I've got a bald cap and then on top of that a really bad combover wig and this wispy mustache and wispy beard and horrible blotchy skin and disgusting fingernails... And generally speaking a really unappetizing piece of work. And a coward to boot and very, very greedy."[16]
Ryan Gage as Alfrid: The Master of Laketown's "conniving" servant. Gage was originally cast to play Drogo Baggins, father of Frodo Baggins. According to Jackson, "Ryan is a great young actor who we originally cast in a small role, but we liked him so much, we promoted him to the much larger Alfrid part."
John Bell as Bain: Son of Bard, he is described as "confident and brave and ready to do battle if required even though he is still a boy."[17]
Manu Bennett as Azog: An Orc and the archenemy of Thorin Oakenshield.
Conan Stevens as Bolg: An Orc and the son of Azog.
Ben Mitchell as Narzug
The Company of DwarvesRichard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
Graham McTavish as Dwalin
Ken Stott as Balin
Aidan Turner as Kíli
Dean O'Gorman as Fíli
Mark Hadlow as Dori
Jed Brophy as Nori
Adam Brown as Ori
John Callen as Óin
Peter Hambleton as Glóin
William Kircher as Bifur
James Nesbitt as Bofur
Stephen Hunter as Bombur
Production[edit]
Further information: Development of The Hobbit film series and Production of The Hobbit film series
Most of filming was finished during 2012, ending in July 2012, but during May 2013, additional shooting for the film and the sequel began in New Zealand, which is set to last 10 weeks.[18][19][20]
Score[edit]
Main article: Music of The Hobbit film series

The Hobbit:
 The Desolation of Smaug

Soundtrack album by Howard Shore

Recorded
2011–13
Label
WaterTower Music, Decca Records
Producer
Howard Shore, Peter Jackson (exec.), Fran Walsh (exec.), Philippa Boyens (exec.)
The musical score for The Desolation of Smaug was composed by Howard Shore. It will be performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The original motion picture soundtrack album is expected to release in late 2013, to coincide with the film's release.
Distribution[edit]
Marketing[edit]
Peter Jackson has provided the first details about the second film in the series at a live event held on 24 March 2013. The access code was attached to the DVD editions of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The live-broadcast event revealed some plot details; Jackson said that the role of Tauriel, acted by Evangeline Lilly, is a part of the elven guard and a bodyguard of the Elvenking, Thranduil. In addition, he revealed a scene from the film in which Gandalf and Radagast the Brown search for the Necromancer fortress and discover that the Ringwraiths have been released from their graves.[citation needed] The first trailer for the film was released in early June. A video blog containing behind the scenes footage was released on YouTube. Later on the second trailer, which was a slightly abridged version of the first, was revealed to the public. The third trailer was released on October 1st which had new footage.
Theatrical release[edit]
The film is set to be released internationally from 11 December 2013.[1] As part of an agreement between Warner Bros and New Line Cinema, the film's world premiere will not be held in Wellington, New Zealand, as it was for the previous film in the series.[21]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "The Hobbit Worldwide Release Dates". thehobbit.com. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
2.Jump up ^ Sims, Andrew (13 May 2013). "Benedict Cumberbatch reveals how he convinced Peter Jackson to motion capture Smaug". Hypable. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
3.Jump up ^ Jackson, Peter (30 April 2011). "Casting news!". Facebook. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
4.Jump up ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (2 May 2011). "Lee Pace cast in 'The Hobbit.' Our hopes for his comeback grow". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
5.Jump up ^ Fleming, Michael ‘Mike’ (4 December 2010). "Orlando Bloom Close To Legolas Reprise In 'The Hobbit?'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
6.Jump up ^ "Orlando Bloom Says It's A Good 'Bet' He'll Be In 'The Hobbit'". MTV. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
7.Jump up ^ "Orlando Bloom Joins the Cast of ‘The Hobbit’", Facebook.
8.Jump up ^ Sims, Andrew (5 June 2013). "'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug': First look at Evangeline Lilly as new character Tauriel". Hypable. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
9.Jump up ^ "Full transcript of Comic-Con Hobbit Panel Q&A!". TheOneRing.net. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
10.^ Jump up to: a b "Actress Evangeline Lilly discusses taking on the role of Tauriel in The Hobbit". Hobbit Movie News. September 19, 2011
11.Jump up ^ "Evangeline Lilly Reveals Her Fears About Her 'Hobbit' Character". Access Hollywood. October 3, 2011
12.^ Jump up to: a b Wood, Daniel (May 14, 2013). "The Hobbit: First look at Bard the Bowman, Tauriel and other new characters". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
13.Jump up ^ "6. Luke Evans Bringing the Brawn". Empire. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
14.Jump up ^ "Update: Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt cast in ‘The Hobbit'?". TheOneRing.net. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
15.Jump up ^ "TORN Exclusive: Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy, Mikael Persbrandt join cast of Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’". TheOneRing.net. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
16.Jump up ^ Papamichael, Stella (16 December 2011). "'Sherlock Holmes's Stephen Fry: 'I ate testicles for The Hobbit'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
17.Jump up ^ "John Bell discusses his role in ‘A shine of rainbows’ available now on DVD". Hollywood Teen 'Zine. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
18.Jump up ^ "The Hobbit filming to start again in NZ". Television New Zealand. May 20, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
19.Jump up ^ Gicas, Peter (May 22, 2013). "The Hobbit Trilogy Resumes Final Filming, Director Peter Jackson Posts Photo on Facebook". E!. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
20.Jump up ^ "Hobbit set fires up for new movie shoot". stuff.co.nz. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
21.Jump up ^ "No Welly premiere for second Hobbit film". stuff.co.nz. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
External links[edit]
Official website
The Hobbit Blog - The official blog of THE HOBBIT movies
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug at the Internet Movie Database
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug at the Tolkien Gateway

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The Hobbit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the novel. For the 2012 film, see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. For other uses, see Hobbit (disambiguation) and There and Back Again (disambiguation).

The Hobbit, or
 There and Back Again
Cover has a drawing of a winged dragon with a long tail at the bottom.
Cover of the 1937 first edition, from a drawing by Tolkien
 
Author
J. R. R. Tolkien
Illustrator
J. R. R. Tolkien
Cover artist
J. R. R. Tolkien
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Genre
Children's literature
Fantasy novel
Epic fantasy
Publisher
George Allen & Unwin (UK)
Publication date
21 September 1937
Media type
Print (hardback)
Pages
310
ISBN
n/a
Followed by
The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, is a fantasy novel and children's book by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction. The book remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children's literature.
Set in a time "Between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men",[1] The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.[2] The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom.[3] The story reaches its climax in the Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.
Personal growth and forms of heroism are central themes of the story. Along with motifs of warfare, these themes have led critics to view Tolkien's own experiences during World War I as instrumental in shaping the story. The author's scholarly knowledge of Germanic philology and interest in fairy tales are often noted as influences.
Encouraged by the book's critical and financial success, the publisher requested a sequel. As Tolkien's work on the successor The Lord of the Rings progressed, he made retrospective accommodations for it in The Hobbit. These few but significant changes were integrated into the second edition. Further editions followed with minor emendations, including those reflecting Tolkien's changing concept of the world into which Bilbo stumbled. The work has never been out of print. Its ongoing legacy encompasses many adaptations for stage, screen, radio, board games and video games. Several of these adaptations have received critical recognition on their own merits.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Characters
2 Plot
3 Concept and creation 3.1 Background
3.2 Influences
3.3 Publication 3.3.1 Revisions
3.3.2 Posthumous editions
3.4 Illustration and design
4 Genre
5 Style
6 Critical analysis 6.1 Themes
6.2 Interpretation
7 Reception
8 Legacy 8.1 The Lord of the Rings
8.2 In education
8.3 Adaptations
8.4 Collectors' market
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
Characters[edit]
Main article: List of The Hobbit characters
Bilbo Baggins, the titular protagonist, is a respectable, reserved hobbit.[4][5] During his adventure, Bilbo often refers to the contents of his larder at home and wishes he had more food. Until he finds a magic ring, he is more baggage than help. Gandalf, an itinerant wizard[6] introduces Bilbo to a company of thirteen dwarves. During the journey the wizard disappears on side errands dimly hinted at, only to appear again at key moments in the story. Thorin Oakenshield, the proud, pompous[7][8] head of the company of dwarves and heir to the destroyed dwarvish kingdom under the Lonely Mountain, makes many mistakes in his leadership, relying on Gandalf and Bilbo to get him out of trouble, but he proves himself a mighty warrior. Smaug is a dragon who long ago pillaged the dwarvish kingdom of Thorin's grandfather and sleeps upon the vast treasure.
The plot involves a host of other characters of varying importance, such as the twelve other dwarves of the company; two types of elves: both puckish and more serious warrior types;[9] Men; man-eating trolls; boulder-throwing giants; evil cave-dwelling goblins; forest-dwelling giant spiders who can speak; immense and heroic eagles who also speak; evil wolves, or wargs, who are allied with the goblins; Elrond the sage; Gollum, a strange creature inhabiting an underground lake; Beorn, a man who can assume bear form; and Bard the Bowman, a grim but honourable archer of Lake-town.[8][10]
Plot[edit]
Gandalf tricks Bilbo into hosting a party for Thorin and his band of dwarves, who sing of reclaiming the Lonely Mountain and its vast treasure from the dragon Smaug. When the music ends, Gandalf unveils a map showing a secret door into the Mountain and proposes that the dumbfounded Bilbo serve as the expedition's "burglar". The dwarves ridicule the idea, but Bilbo, indignant, joins in spite of himself.
The group travels into the wild, where Gandalf saves the company from trolls who are keen to eat the dwarfs and leads them to Rivendell, where Elrond reveals more secrets from the map, including the secret door that leads to the mountain caverns. Passing over the Misty Mountains, they are caught by goblins and driven deep underground. Although Gandalf rescues them, Bilbo gets separated from the others as they flee the goblins. Lost in the goblin tunnels, he stumbles across a mysterious ring and then encounters Gollum, who engages him in a game of riddles. As a reward for solving all riddles Gollum will show him the path out of the tunnels, but if Bilbo fails, his life will be forfeit. With the help of the ring, which confers invisibility, Bilbo escapes and rejoins the dwarves, improving his reputation with them. The goblins and Wargs give chase but the company are saved by eagles before resting in the house of Beorn.
The company enters the black forest of Mirkwood without Gandalf. In Mirkwood, Bilbo first saves the dwarves from giant spiders and then from the dungeons of the Wood-elves, helping the company escape downriver in barrels. Nearing the Lonely Mountain, the travellers are welcomed by the human inhabitants of Lake-town, who hope the dwarves will fulfil prophecies of Smaug's demise. The expedition travels to the Lonely Mountain and finds the secret door; Bilbo scouts the dragon's lair, stealing a great cup and learning of a weakness in Smaug's armour. Upon noticing the theft, the enraged dragon, deducing that Lake-town has aided the intruder, sets out to destroy the town. A noble thrush had overheard Bilbo's report of Smaug's vulnerability and reports it to the Lake-town defender, Bard, who slays the dragon.
When the dwarves take possession of the mountain, Bilbo finds the Arkenstone, an heirloom of Thorin's dynasty, and hides it. The Wood-elves and Lake-men besiege the mountain and request compensation for their aid, reparations for Lake-town's destruction, and settlement of old claims on the treasure. Thorin refuses, and, having summoned his kin from the mountains of the North, reinforces his position. Bilbo gives the Arkenstone to the Elvenking so that he can ransom it to head off a war, but Thorin is intransigent. He banishes Bilbo, and battle seems inevitable.
Gandalf reappears to warn all of an approaching army of goblins and Wargs. The dwarves, men and elves band together, but only with the timely arrival of the eagles and Beorn do they win the climactic Battle of Five Armies. Thorin is fatally wounded and reconciles with Bilbo before he dies. Bilbo accepts only a small portion of his share of the treasure, having no want or need for more, but still returns home as a very wealthy hobbit.
Concept and creation[edit]
Background[edit]
Further information: Hobbit (word)
In the early 1930s Tolkien was pursuing an academic career at Oxford as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, with a fellowship at Pembroke College. He had had several poems published in magazines and small collections, including Goblin Feet[11] and The Cat and the Fiddle: A Nursery Rhyme Undone and its Scandalous Secret Unlocked,[12] a reworking of the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle. His creative endeavours at this time also included letters from Father Christmas to his children—illustrated manuscripts that featured warring gnomes and goblins, and a helpful polar bear—alongside the creation of elven languages and an attendant mythology, which he had been creating since 1917. These works all saw posthumous publication.[13]
In a 1955 letter to W. H. Auden, Tolkien recollects that he began work on The Hobbit one day early in the 1930s, when he was marking School Certificate papers. He found a blank page. Suddenly inspired, he wrote the words, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." By late 1932 he had finished the story and then lent the manuscript to several friends, including C. S. Lewis[14] and a student of Tolkien's named Elaine Griffiths.[15] In 1936, when Griffiths was visited in Oxford by Susan Dagnall, a staff member of the publisher George Allen & Unwin, she is reported to have either lent Dagnall the book[15] or suggested she borrow it from Tolkien.[16] In any event, Dagnall was impressed by it, and showed the book to Stanley Unwin, who then asked his 10-year-old son Rayner to review it. Rayner's favourable comments settled Allen & Unwin's decision to publish Tolkien's book.[17]
Influences[edit]
One of the greatest influences on Tolkien was the 19th century Arts and Crafts polymath William Morris. Tolkien wished to imitate Morris's prose and poetry romances,[18] following the general style and approach of the work. The Desolation of Smaug as portraying dragons as detrimental to landscape, has been noted as an explicit motif borrowed from Morris.[19] Tolkien wrote also of being impressed as a boy by Samuel Rutherford Crockett's historical novel The Black Douglas and of basing the Necromancer—Sauron—on its villain, Gilles de Retz.[20] Incidents in both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are similar in narrative and style to the novel,[21] and its overall style and imagery have been suggested as having had an influence on Tolkien.[22]
Tolkien's portrayal of goblins in The Hobbit was particularly influenced by George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin.[23] However, MacDonald influenced Tolkien more profoundly than just to shape individual characters and episodes; his works further helped Tolkien form his whole thinking on the role of fantasy within his Christian faith.[24]
Tolkien's works incorporate much influence from Norse mythology reflecting his lifelong passion for those stories and his academic career in Germanic philology.[25] The Hobbit is no exception to this; the work shows influences from northern European literature, myths and languages[26] and the strong influence of Norse mythology, especially from the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. Examples include the names of some characters,[27] such as Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Dwalin, Balin, Dain, Nain, Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf (deriving from the Old Norse names Fíli, Kíli, Oin, Glói, Bivör, Bávörr, Bömburr, Dori, Nóri, Dvalinn, Bláin, Dain, Nain, Þorin Eikinskialdi and Gandálfr).[28] But whilst their names are from Old Norse, the characters of the dwarves are more directly taken from fairy tales such as Snow White and Snow-White and Rose-Red as collected by the Brothers Grimm. The latter of these tales may have also influenced the character of Beorn.[29]
Tolkien's use of descriptive personal and place names such as Misty Mountains and Bag End echoes the descriptive names used in Old Norse sagas.[30] The names of the dwarf-friendly ravens are also derived from Old Norse for 'raven' and 'rook',[31] but their characters are unlike the typical war-carrion from Old Norse and Old English literature.[32] Tolkien, however, is not simply skimming historical sources for effect: linguistic styles, especially the relationship between the modern and ancient, has been seen to be one of the major themes explored by the story.[33] Another characteristic of The Hobbit found in Old Norse sagas is maps accompanying the text of the story.[30] Several of the author's illustrations (including the dwarven map, the frontispiece and the dust jacket) make use of Anglo-Saxon runes, an English extension of the Germanic runic alphabets.
Themes found in Old English literature, and specifically in the poem Beowulf, have a heavy presence in defining the ancient world Bilbo stepped into. Tolkien, an accomplished Beowulf scholar, claims the poem to be among his "most valued sources" in writing The Hobbit.[34] Tolkien is credited with being the first critic to expound on Beowulf as a literary work with value beyond merely historical, and his 1936 lecture Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics is still required in some Old English courses. The Beowulf poem contains several elements that Tolkien borrowed for The Hobbit, including a monstrous, intelligent dragon.[35] Certain descriptions in The Hobbit seem to have been lifted straight out of Beowulf with some minor rewording, such as when each dragon stretches out its neck to sniff for intruders.[36] Likewise, Tolkien's descriptions of the lair as accessed through a secret passage mirror those in Beowulf. Other specific plot elements and features in The Hobbit that show similarities to Beowulf include the title thief as Bilbo is called by Gollum and later also by Smaug, and Smaug's personality which leads to the destruction of Lake-town.[37] Tolkien refines parts of Beowulf's plot that he appears to have found less than satisfactorily described, such as details about the cup-thief and the dragon's intellect and personality.[38]
Another influence from Old English sources is the appearance of named blades of renown, adorned in runes. It is in the use of his elf-blade that we see Bilbo finally taking his first independent heroic action. By his naming the blade "Sting" we see Bilbo's acceptance of the kinds of cultural and linguistic practices found in Beowulf, signifying his entrance into the ancient world in which he found himself.[39] This progression culminates in Bilbo stealing a cup from the dragon's hoard, rousing him to wrath—an incident directly mirroring Beowulf, and an action entirely determined by traditional narrative patterns. As Tolkien wrote, "...The episode of the theft arose naturally (and almost inevitably) from the circumstances. It is difficult to think of any other way of conducting the story at this point. I fancy the author of Beowulf would say much the same."[34]
The name of the wizard Radagast is widely recognised to be taken from the name of the Slavic deity Rodegast.[40]
The representation of the dwarves in The Hobbit by Tolkien was influenced by his own selective reading of medieval texts regarding the Jewish people and their history.[41] The dwarves' characteristics of being dispossessed of their ancient homeland at the Lonely Mountain, and living among other groups whilst retaining their own culture are all derived from the medieval image of Jews,[41][42] whilst their warlike nature stems from accounts in the Hebrew Bible.[41] The Dwarven calendar invented for The Hobbit reflects the Jewish calendar in beginning in late autumn.[41] And although Tolkien denied allegory, the dwarves taking Bilbo out of his complacent existence has been seen as an eloquent metaphor for the "impoverishment of Western society without Jews."[42]
Publication[edit]
See also: English-language editions of The Hobbit

Cover has stylized drawings of mountain peaks with snow on the tops and trees at the bottom.

 Dustcover of the first edition of The Hobbit, taken from a design by the author.
George Allen & Unwin Ltd. of London published the first edition of The Hobbit on 21 September 1937 with a print run of 1,500 copies, which sold out by December because of enthusiastic reviews.[43] This first printing was illustrated in black and white by Tolkien, who designed the dust jacket as well. Houghton Mifflin of Boston and New York reset type for an American edition, to be released early in 1938, in which four of the illustrations would be colour plates. Allen & Unwin decided to incorporate the colour illustrations into their second printing, released at the end of 1937.[44] Despite the book's popularity, paper rationing brought on by wartime conditions and not ending until 1949 meant that the Allen & Unwin edition of the book was often unavailable during this period.[45]
Subsequent editions in English were published in 1951, 1966, 1978 and 1995. The novel has been reprinted frequently by many publishers.[46] In addition, The Hobbit has been translated into over forty languages, with more than one published version for some languages.[47]
Revisions[edit]
In December 1937, The Hobbit's publisher, Stanley Unwin, asked Tolkien for a sequel. In response Tolkien provided drafts for The Silmarillion, but the editors rejected them, believing that the public wanted "more about hobbits".[48] Tolkien subsequently began work on The New Hobbit, which would eventually become The Lord of the Rings,[48] a course that would not only change the context of the original story, but lead to substantial changes to the character of Gollum.
In the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum willingly bets his magic ring on the outcome of the riddle-game, and he and Bilbo part amicably.[9] In the second edition edits, to reflect the new concept of the ring and its corrupting abilities, Tolkien made Gollum more aggressive towards Bilbo and distraught at losing the ring. The encounter ends with Gollum's curse, "Thief! Thief, Thief, Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!" This presages Gollum's portrayal in The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien sent this revised version of the chapter "Riddles in the Dark" to Unwin as an example of the kinds of changes needed to bring the book into conformity with The Lord of the Rings, but he heard nothing back for years. When he was sent galley proofs of a new edition, Tolkien was surprised to find the sample text had been incorporated.[49] In The Lord of the Rings, the original version of the riddle game is explained as a "lie" made up by Bilbo under the harmful influence of the Ring, whereas the revised version contains the "true" account.[50] The revised text became the second edition, published in 1951 in both the UK and the US.[51]
Tolkien began a new version in 1960, attempting to adjust the tone of The Hobbit to its sequel. He abandoned the new revision at chapter three after he received criticism that it "just wasn't The Hobbit", implying it had lost much of its light-hearted tone and quick pace.[52]
After an unauthorized paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings appeared from Ace Books in 1965, Houghton Mifflin and Ballantine asked Tolkien to refresh the text of The Hobbit to renew the US copyright.[53] This text became the 1966 third edition. Tolkien took the opportunity to align the narrative even more closely to The Lord of the Rings and to cosmological developments from his still unpublished Quenta Silmarillion as it stood at that time.[54] These small edits included, for example, changing the phrase "elves that are now called Gnomes" from the first[55] and second[56] editions on page 63, to "High Elves of the West, my kin" in the third edition.[57] Tolkien had used "gnome" in his earlier writing to refer to the second kindred of the High Elves—the Noldor (or "Deep Elves")—thinking "gnome", derived from the Greek gnosis (knowledge), was a good name for the wisest of the elves. However, because of its common denotation of a garden gnome, derived from the 16th-century Paracelsus, Tolkien abandoned the term.[58]
Posthumous editions[edit]
Since the author's death, two editions of The Hobbit have been published with commentary on the creation, emendation and development of the text. In The Annotated Hobbit Douglas Anderson provides the entire text of the published book, alongside commentary and illustrations. Later editions added the text of The Quest of Erebor. Anderson's commentary shows many of the sources Tolkien brought together in preparing the text, and chronicles in detail the changes Tolkien made to the various published editions. Alongside the annotations, the text is illustrated by pictures from many of the translated editions, including images by Tove Jansson.[59] The edition also presents a number of little-known texts such as the 1923 version of Tolkien's poem "Iumonna Gold Galdre Bewunden".
With The History of the Hobbit, published in two parts in 2007, John Rateliff provides the full text of the earliest and intermediary drafts of the book, alongside commentary that shows relationships to Tolkien's scholarly and creative works, both contemporary and later. Rateliff moreover provides the abandoned 1960s retelling and previously unpublished illustrations by Tolkien. The book keeps Rateliff's commentary separate from Tolkien's text, allowing the reader to read the original drafts as contained stories.[31]
Illustration and design[edit]
Tolkien's correspondence and publisher's records show that he was involved in the design and illustration of the entire book. All elements were the subject of considerable correspondence and fussing over by Tolkien. Rayner Unwin, in his publishing memoir, comments: "In 1937 alone Tolkien wrote 26 letters to George Allen & Unwin... detailed, fluent, often pungent, but infinitely polite and exasperatingly precise... I doubt any author today, however famous, would get such scrupulous attention."[60]

See caption.

Runes and the English letter values assigned to them by Tolkien,[61] used in several of his original illustrations and designs for The Hobbit.
Even the maps, of which Tolkien originally proposed five, were considered and debated. He wished Thror's map to be tipped in (that is, glued in after the book has been bound) at first mention in the text, and with the moon-letters (Anglo-Saxon runes) on the reverse so they could be seen when held up to the light.[45] In the end the cost, as well as the shading of the maps, which would be difficult to reproduce, resulted in the final design of two maps as endpapers, Thror's map, and the Map of the Wilderland, both printed in black and red on the paper's cream background.[62]
Originally Allen & Unwin planned to illustrate the book only with the endpaper maps, but Tolkien's first tendered sketches so charmed the publisher's staff that they opted to include them without raising the book's price despite the extra cost. Thus encouraged, Tolkien supplied a second batch of illustrations. The publisher accepted all of these as well, giving the first edition ten black-and-white illustrations plus the two endpaper maps. The illustrated scenes were: The Hill: Hobbiton across the Water, The Trolls, The Mountain Path, The Misty Mountains looking West from the Eyrie towards Goblin Gate, Beorn's Hall, Mirkwood, The Elvenking's Gate, Lake Town, The Front Gate, and The Hall at Bag-End. All but one of the illustrations were a full page, and one, the Mirkwood illustration, required a separate plate.[63]
Satisfied with his skills, the publishers asked Tolkien to design a dust jacket. This project, too, became the subject of many iterations and much correspondence, with Tolkien always writing disparagingly of his own ability to draw. The runic inscription around the edges of the illustration are a phonetic transliteration of English, giving the title of the book and details of the author and publisher.[64] The original jacket design contained several shades of various colours, but Tolkien redrew it several times using fewer colours each time. His final design consisted of four colours. The publishers, mindful of the cost, removed the red from the sun to end up with only black, blue, and green ink on white stock.[65]
The publisher's production staff designed a binding, but Tolkien objected to several elements. Through several iterations, the final design ended up as mostly the author's. The spine shows Anglo Saxon runes: two "þ" (Thráin and Thrór) and one "D" (Door). The front and back covers were mirror images of each other, with an elongated dragon characteristic of Tolkien's style stamped along the lower edge, and with a sketch of the Misty Mountains stamped along the upper edge.[66]
Once illustrations were approved for the book, Tolkien proposed colour plates as well. The publisher would not relent on this, so Tolkien pinned his hopes on the American edition to be published about six months later. Houghton Mifflin rewarded these hopes with the replacement of the frontispiece (The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water) in colour and the addition of new colour plates: Rivendell, Bilbo Woke Up with the Early Sun in His Eyes, Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves and a Conversation with Smaug, which features a dwarvish curse written in Tolkien's invented script Tengwar, and signed with two "þ, "Th" runes.[67] The additional illustrations proved so appealing that George Allen & Unwin adopted the colour plates as well for their second printing, with exception of Bilbo Woke Up with the Early Sun in His Eyes.[68]
Different editions have been illustrated in diverse ways. Many follow the original scheme at least loosely, but many others are illustrated by other artists, especially the many translated editions. Some cheaper editions, particularly paperback, are not illustrated except with the maps. "The Children's Book Club" edition of 1942 includes the black-and-white pictures but no maps, an anomaly.[69]
Tolkien's use of runes, both as decorative devices and as magical signs within the story, has been cited as a major cause for the popularization of runes within "New Age" and esoteric literature,[70] stemming from Tolkien's popularity with the elements of counter-culture in the 1970s.[71]
Genre[edit]
The Hobbit takes cues from narrative models of children's literature, as shown by its omniscient narrator and characters that young children can relate to, such as the small, food-obsessed, and morally ambiguous Bilbo. The text emphasizes the relationship between time and narrative progress and it openly distinguishes "safe" from "dangerous" in its geography. Both are key elements of works intended for children,[72] as is the "home-away-home" (or there and back again) plot structure typical of the Bildungsroman.[73] While Tolkien later claimed to dislike the aspect of the narrative voice addressing the reader directly,[74] the narrative voice contributes significantly to the success of the novel.[75] Emer O'Sullivan, in her Comparative Children's Literature, notes The Hobbit as one of a handful of children's books that has been accepted into mainstream literature, alongside Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World (1991) and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (1997–2007).[76]
Tolkien intended The Hobbit as a "fairy-story" and wrote it in a tone suited to addressing children[77] although he said later that the book was not specifically written for children but had rather been created out of his interest in mythology and legend.[78] Many of the initial reviews refer to the work as a fairy story. However, according to Jack Zipes writing in "The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales", Bilbo is an atypical character for a fairy tale.[79] The work is much longer than Tolkien's ideal proposed in his essay On Fairy-Stories. Many fairy tale motifs, such as the repetition of similar events seen in the dwarves' arrival at Bilbo's and Beorn's homes, and folklore themes, such as trolls turning to stone, are to be found in the story.[80]
The book is popularly called (and often marketed as) a fantasy novel, but like Peter Pan and Wendy by J. M. Barrie and The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, both of which influenced Tolkien and contain fantasy elements, it is primarily identified as being children's literature.[81][82] The two genres are not mutually exclusive, so some definitions of high fantasy include works for children by authors such as L. Frank Baum and Lloyd Alexander alongside the works of Gene Wolfe and Jonathan Swift, which are more often considered adult literature. The Hobbit has been called "the most popular of all twentieth-century fantasies written for children."[83] Chance, however, considers the book to be a children's novel only in the sense that it appeals to the child in an adult reader.[84] Sullivan credits the first publication of The Hobbit as an important step in the development of high fantasy, and further credits the 1960s paperback debuts of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as essential to the creation of a mass market for fiction of this kind as well the fantasy genre's current status.[26]
Style[edit]
Tolkien's prose is unpretentious and straightforward, taking as given the existence of his imaginary world and describing its details in a matter-of-fact way, while often introducing the new and fantastic in an almost casual manner. This down-to-earth style, also found in later fantasy such as Richard Adams' Watership Down and Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn, accepts readers into the fictional world, rather than cajoling or attempting to convince them of its reality.[85] While The Hobbit is written in a simple, friendly language, each of its characters has a unique voice. The narrator, who occasionally interrupts the narrative flow with asides (a device common to both children's and Anglo-Saxon literature),[26] has his own linguistic style separate from those of the main characters.[86]
The basic form of the story is that of a quest,[87] told in episodes. For the most part of the book, each chapter introduces a different denizen of the Wilderland, some helpful and friendly towards the protagonists, and others threatening or dangerous. However the general tone is kept light-hearted, being interspersed with songs and humour. One example of the use of song to maintain tone is when Thorin and Company are kidnapped by goblins, who, when marching them into the underworld, sing:

Clap! Snap! the black crack!

Grip, grab! Pinch, nab!
 And down down to Goblin-town
You go, my lad!
This onomatopœic singing undercuts the dangerous scene with a sense of humour. Tolkien achieves balance of humour and danger through other means as well, as seen in the foolishness and Cockney dialect of the trolls and in the drunkenness of the elven captors.[88] The general form—that of a journey into strange lands, told in a light-hearted mood and interspersed with songs—may be following the model of The Icelandic Journals by William Morris, an important literary influence on Tolkien.[89]
Critical analysis[edit]
Themes[edit]
The evolution and maturation of the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is central to the story. This journey of maturation, where Bilbo gains a clear sense of identity and confidence in the outside world, may be seen as a Bildungsroman rather than a traditional quest.[90] The Jungian concept of individuation is also reflected through this theme of growing maturity and capability, with the author contrasting Bilbo's personal growth against the arrested development of the dwarves.[3] Thus, while Gandalf exerts a parental influence over Bilbo early on, it is Bilbo who gradually takes over leadership of the party, a fact the dwarves could not bear to acknowledge.[91] The analogue of the "underworld" and the hero returning from it with a boon (such as the ring, or Elvish blades) that benefits his society is seen to fit the mythic archetypes regarding initiation and male coming-of-age as described by Joseph Campbell.[88] Chance compares the development and growth of Bilbo against other characters to the concepts of just kingship versus sinful kingship derived from the Ancrene Wisse (which Tolkien had written on in 1929) and a Christian understanding of Beowulf.[92]
The overcoming of greed and selfishness has been seen as the central moral of the story.[93] Whilst greed is a recurring theme in the novel, with many of the episodes stemming from one or more of the characters' simple desire for food (be it trolls eating dwarves or dwarves eating Wood-elf fare) or a desire for beautiful objects, such as gold and jewels,[94] it is only by the Arkenstone's influence upon Thorin that greed, and its attendant vices "coveting" and "malignancy", come fully to the fore in the story and provide the moral crux of the tale. Bilbo steals the Arkenstone—a most ancient relic of the dwarves—and attempts to ransom it to Thorin for peace. However, Thorin turns on the Hobbit as a traitor, disregarding all the promises and "at your services" he had previously bestowed.[95] In the end Bilbo gives up the precious stone and most of his share of the treasure to help those in greater need. Tolkien also explores the motif of jewels that inspire intense greed that corrupts those who covet them in the Silmarillion, and there are connections between the words "Arkenstone" and "Silmaril" in Tolkien's invented etymologies.[96]
The Hobbit employs themes of animism. An important concept in anthropology and child development, animism is the idea that all things—including inanimate objects and natural events, such as storms or purses, as well as living things like animals and plants—possess human-like intelligence. John D. Rateliff calls this the "Doctor Dolittle Theme" in The History of the Hobbit, and cites the multitude of talking animals as indicative of this theme. These talking creatures include ravens, a thrush, spiders and the dragon Smaug, alongside the anthropomorphic goblins and elves. Patrick Curry notes that animism is also found in Tolkien's other works, and mentions the "roots of mountains" and "feet of trees" in The Hobbit as a linguistic shifting in level from the inanimate to animate.[97] Tolkien saw the idea of animism as closely linked to the emergence of human language and myth: "...The first men to talk of 'trees and stars' saw things very differently. To them, the world was alive with mythological beings... To them the whole of creation was 'myth-woven and elf-patterned'."[98]
Interpretation[edit]
As in plot and setting, Tolkien brings his literary theories to bear in forming characters and their interactions. He portrays Bilbo as a modern anachronism exploring an essentially antique world. Bilbo is able to negotiate and interact within this antique world because language and tradition make connections between the two worlds. For example, Gollum's riddles are taken from old historical sources, while those of Bilbo come from modern nursery books. It is the form of the riddle game, familiar to both, which allows Gollum and Bilbo to engage each other, rather than the content of the riddles themselves. This idea of a superficial contrast between characters' individual linguistic style, tone and sphere of interest, leading to an understanding of the deeper unity between the ancient and modern, is a recurring theme in The Hobbit.[33]
Smaug is the main antagonist. In many ways the Smaug episode reflects and references the dragon of Beowulf, and Tolkien uses the episode to put into practice some of the ground-breaking literary theories he had developed about the Old English poem in its portrayal of the dragon as having bestial intelligence.[35] Tolkien greatly prefers this motif over the later medieval trend of using the dragon as a symbolic or allegorical figure, such as in the legend of St. George.[99] Smaug the dragon with his golden hoard may be seen as an example of the traditional relationship between evil and metallurgy as collated in the depiction of Pandæmonium with its "Belched fire and rolling smoke" in Milton's Paradise Lost.[100] Of all the characters, Smaug's speech is the most modern, using idioms such as "Don't let your imagination run away with you!"
Just as Tolkien's literary theories have been seen to influence the tale, so have Tolkien's experiences. The Hobbit may be read as Tolkien's parable of World War I with the hero being plucked from his rural home and thrown into a far-off war where traditional types of heroism are shown to be futile.[101] The tale as such explores the theme of heroism. As Janet Croft notes, Tolkien's literary reaction to war at this time differed from most post-war writers by eschewing irony as a method for distancing events and instead using mythology to mediate his experiences.[102] Similarities to the works of other writers who faced the Great War are seen in The Hobbit, including portraying warfare as anti-pastoral: in "The Desolation of Smaug", both the area under the influence of Smaug before his demise and the setting for The Battle of the Five Armies later are described as barren, damaged landscapes.[103] The Hobbit makes a warning against repeating the tragedies of World War I,[104] and Tolkien's attitude as a veteran may well be summed up by Bilbo's comment: "Victory after all, I suppose! Well, it seems a very gloomy business."[102]
Reception[edit]
On first publication in October 1937, The Hobbit was met with almost unanimously favourable reviews from publications both in the UK and the US, including The Times, Catholic World and The New York Post. C. S. Lewis, friend of Tolkien (and later author of The Chronicles of Narnia between 1949–1954), writing in The Times reports:

The truth is that in this book a number of good things, never before united, have come together: a fund of humour, an understanding of children, and a happy fusion of the scholar's with the poet's grasp of mythology... The professor has the air of inventing nothing. He has studied trolls and dragons at first hand and describes them with that fidelity that is worth oceans of glib "originality."
Lewis compares the book to Alice in Wonderland in that both children and adults may find different things to enjoy in it, and places it alongside Flatland, Phantastes, and The Wind in the Willows.[105] W. H. Auden, in his review of the sequel The Fellowship of the Ring calls The Hobbit "one of the best children's stories of this century".[106] Auden was later to correspond with Tolkien, and they became friends. The Hobbit was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction of the year (1938). More recently, the book has been recognized as "Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)" in the Children's Books of the Century poll in Books for Keeps.[107]
Publication of the sequel The Lord of the Rings altered many critics' reception of the work. Instead of approaching The Hobbit as a children's book in its own right, critics such as Randell Helms picked up on the idea of The Hobbit as being a "prelude", relegating the story to a dry-run for the later work. Countering a presentist interpretation are those who say this approach misses out on much of the original's value as a children's book and as a work of high fantasy in its own right, and that it disregards the book's influence on these genres.[26] Commentators such as Paul Kocher,[108] John D. Rateliff[109] and C. W. Sullivan[26] encourage readers to treat the works separately, both because The Hobbit was conceived, published, and received independently of the later work, and also to prevent the reader from having false expectations of tone and style dashed.
Legacy[edit]
The Lord of the Rings[edit]
While The Hobbit has been adapted and elaborated upon in many ways, its sequel The Lord of the Rings is often claimed to be its greatest legacy. The plots share the same basic structure progressing in the same sequence: the stories begin at Bag End, the home of Bilbo Baggins; Bilbo hosts a party that sets the novel's main plot into motion; Gandalf sends the protagonist into a quest eastward; Elrond offers a haven and advice; the adventurers escape dangerous creatures underground (Goblin Town/Moria); they engage another group of elves (The Elf King's realm/Lothlórien); they traverse a desolate region (Desolation of Smaug/the Dead Marshes); they are received and nourished by a small settlement of men (Lake-town/Ithilien); they fight in a massive battle (The Battle of Five Armies/Battle of Pelennor Fields); their journey climaxes within an infamous mountain peak (Lonely Mountain/Orodruin); a descendant of kings is restored to his ancestral throne (Bard/Aragorn); and the questing party returns home to find it in a deteriorated condition (having possessions auctioned off/the scouring of the Shire).[110]
The Lord of the Rings contains several more supporting scenes, and has a more sophisticated plot structure, following the paths of multiple characters. Tolkien wrote the later story in much less humorous tones and infused it with more complex moral and philosophical themes. The differences between the two stories can cause difficulties when readers, expecting them to be similar, find that they are not.[110] Many of the thematic and stylistic differences arose because Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a story for children, and The Lord of the Rings for the same audience, who had subsequently grown up since its publication. Further, Tolkien's concept of Middle-earth was to continually change and slowly evolve throughout his life and writings.[111]
In education[edit]
The style and themes of the book have been seen to help stretch young readers' literacy skills, preparing them to approach the works of Dickens and Shakespeare. By contrast, offering advanced younger readers modern teenage-oriented fiction may not exercise their reading skills, while the material may contain themes more suited to adolescents.[112] As one of several books that have been recommended for 11–14 year old boys to encourage literacy in that demographic, The Hobbit is promoted as "the original and still the best fantasy ever written."[113]
Several teaching guides and books of study notes have been published to help teachers and students gain the most from the book. The Hobbit introduces literary concepts, notably allegory, to young readers, as the work has been seen to have allegorical aspects reflecting the life and times of the author.[103] Meanwhile the author himself rejected an allegorical reading of his work.[114] This tension can help introduce readers to readerly and writerly interpretations, to tenets of New Criticism, and critical tools from Freudian analysis, such as sublimation, in approaching literary works.[115]
Another approach to critique taken in the classroom has been to propose the insignificance of female characters in the story as sexist. While Bilbo may be seen as a literary symbol of small folk of any gender,[116] a gender-conscious approach can help students establish notions of a "socially symbolic text" where meaning is generated by tendentious readings of a given work.[117] By this interpretation, it is ironic that the first authorized adaptation was a stage production in a girls' school.[46]
Adaptations[edit]
Main article: Adaptations of The Hobbit

 

Gollum as depicted in the 1989 comic-book adaptation by David Wenzel
The first authorized adaptation of The Hobbit appeared in March 1953, a stage production by St. Margaret's School, Edinburgh.[46] The Hobbit has since been adapted for other media many times.
The first motion picture adaptation of The Hobbit, a 12-minute film of cartoon stills, was commissioned from Gene Deitch by William L. Snyder in 1966, as related by Deitch himself.[118][119] This film was publicly screened in New York City.[118][120] In 1969 (over 30 years after first publication), Tolkien sold the film and merchandising rights to The Hobbit to United Artists under an agreement stipulating a lump sum payment of £10,000[121][122] plus a 7.5% royalty after costs, payable to Allen & Unwin and the author.[123] In 1976 (three years after the author's death) United Artists sold the rights to Saul Zaentz Company, who trade as Tolkien Enterprises. Since then all "authorized" adaptations have been signed-off by Tolkien Enterprises. In 1997 Tolkien Enterprises licensed the film rights to Miramax, which assigned them in 1998 to New Line Cinema.[124] The heirs of Tolkien, including his son Christopher Tolkien, filed suit against New Line Cinema in February 2008 seeking payment of profits and to be "entitled to cancel... all future rights of New Line... to produce, distribute, and/or exploit future films based upon the Trilogy and/or the Films... and/or... films based on The Hobbit."[125][126] In September 2009, he and New Line reached an undisclosed settlement, and he has withdrawn his legal objection to The Hobbit films.[127]
The BBC Radio 4 series The Hobbit radio drama was an adaptation by Michael Kilgarriff, broadcast in eight parts (four hours in total) from September to November 1968. It starred Anthony Jackson as narrator, Paul Daneman as Bilbo and Heron Carvic as Gandalf. The series was released on audio cassette in 1988 and on CD in 1997.[128]
The Hobbit, an animated version of the story produced by Rankin/Bass, debuted as a television movie in the United States in 1977. In 1978, Romeo Muller won a Peabody Award for his teleplay for The Hobbit. The film was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but lost to Star Wars. The adaptation has been called "execrable"[47] and confusing for those not already familiar with the plot.[129] The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of a three-part live-action film version, co-produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and New Line Cinema and produced and directed by Peter Jackson, was released 14 December 2012,[130][131] and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are scheduled for release in late 2013, and late 2014, respectively.[132]
A three-part comic-book adaptation with script by Chuck Dixon and Sean Deming and illustrated by David Wenzel was published by Eclipse Comics in 1989. In 1990 a one-volume edition was released by Unwin Paperbacks. The cover was artwork by the original illustrator David Wenzel. A reprint collected in one volume was released by Del Rey Books in 2001. Its cover, illustrated by Donato Giancola, was awarded the Association of Science Fiction Artists Award for Best Cover Illustration in 2002.[133]
ME Games Ltd (formerly Middle-earth Play-by-Mail), which has won several Origin Awards, uses the Battle of Five Armies as an introductory scenario to the full game and includes characters and armies from the book.[134]
Several computer and video games, both licensed and unlicensed, have been based on the story. One of the most successful was The Hobbit, an award-winning computer game published in 1982 by Beam Software and published by Melbourne House with compatibility for most computers available at the time. A copy of the novel was included in each game package.[135] The game does not retell the story, but rather sits alongside it, using the book's narrative to both structure and motivate gameplay.[136] The game won the Golden Joystick Award for Strategy Game of the Year in 1983[137] and was responsible for popularizing the phrase, "Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold."[138]
Collectors' market[edit]
While reliable figures are difficult to obtain, estimated global sales of The Hobbit run between 35[97] and 100[139] million copies since 1937. In the UK The Hobbit has not retreated from the top 5,000 books of Nielsen BookScan since 1995, when the index began, achieving a three-year sales peak rising from 33,084 (2000) to 142,541 (2001), 126,771 (2002) and 61,229 (2003), ranking it at the 3rd position in Nielsens' "Evergreen" book list.[140] The enduring popularity of The Hobbit makes early printings of the book attractive collectors' items. The first printing of the first English-language edition can sell for between £6,000 and £20,000 at auction,[141][142] although the price for a signed first edition has reached over £60,000.[139]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Middle-earth portal
Early American editions of The Hobbit
English-language editions of The Hobbit
"The Quest of Erebor", Tolkien's retconned backstory for the novel published in Unfinished Tales
Translations of The Hobbit
The Hobbit (film series) 2013 release
The Hobbit (1977 film)

Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Eaton, Anne T. (13 March 1938). "A Delightfully Imaginative Journey". The New York Times.
2.Jump up ^ Langford, David (2001). "Lord of the Royalties". SFX magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Matthews, Dorothy (1975). "The Psychological Journey of Bilbo Baggins". A Tolkien Compass. Open Court Publishing. pp. 27–40. ISBN 978-0-87548-303-0.
4.Jump up ^ Martin, Ann (2006). Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in Bed: Modernism's Fairy Tales. University of Toronto Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-8020-9086-9. "... —prefigure the largely bourgeois preoccupations of J.R.R. Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit."
5.Jump up ^ Beetz, Kirk H., ed. (1996). Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction Analysis. 8 volumes set. Beacham Publishers. p. 1924. ISBN 0-933833-42-3. "At the beginning of The Hobbit ... Bilbo Baggins seems little more than a conservative but good-natured innocent."
6.Jump up ^ Bolman, Lee G.; Deal, Terrence E. (2006). The Wizard and the Warrior: Leading with Passion and Power. John Wiley & Sons. p. 88. ISBN 0-7879-7413-7. "But their chief role was to offer sage advice: Merlin as a tutor and counselor to King Arthur; Gandalf through stories and wisdom in his itinerant travels throughout the countryside."
7.Jump up ^ Helms, Randel (1981). Tolkien and the Silmarils (1st ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 86. ISBN 0-395-29469-X. "As apt a description of Thorin Oakenshield as of the dwarf-lord of Nogrod; but yet when we see Thorin in person, ... there is a notable addition, a comic pomposity altogether suitable to what Tolkien intends in The Hobbit..."
8.^ Jump up to: a b Pienciak, Anne (1986). "The Characters". J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Barron's Educational Series. pp. 14–30. ISBN 0-8120-3523-2.
9.^ Jump up to: a b Tolkien 2003, p. 120
10.Jump up ^ Stevens, David; Stevens, Carol (2008). "The Hobbit". In Bloom, Harold. J.R.R. Tolkien. Chelsea House. pp. 17–26. ISBN 978-1-60413-146-8.
11.Jump up ^ Oxford Poetry (1915) Blackwells
12.Jump up ^ Yorkshire Poetry, Leeds, vol. 2, no. 19, October–November 1923
13.Jump up ^ Rateliff 2007, pp. xxx–xxxi
14.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1977, p. 181
15.^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter 1981, p. 294
16.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1977, p. 184
17.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1977, p. 192
18.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1981, p. 7
19.Jump up ^ Rateliff 2007, p. vol.2 p.485
20.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1981, p. 391, quoted by Lobdell 2004, p. 6
21.Jump up ^ Tolkien 1988, p. 150
22.Jump up ^ Lobdell 2004, pp. 6–7
23.Jump up ^ Tolkien 2003, pp. 108
24.Jump up ^ Drout 2007, pp. 399–400
25.Jump up ^ Lazo, Andrew (2008). "Gathered Round Northern Fires". In Chance, Jane. Tolkien and the Invention of Myth: A Reader. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 191–226. ISBN 0-8131-2301-1.
26.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Sullivan, C. W.; C. W. Sullivan (1996). "High Fantasy". In Hunt, Peter. International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Taylor & Francis. pp. 309–310. ISBN 0-415-08856-9.
27.Jump up ^ Drout 2007, pp. 469–479
28.Jump up ^ Rateliff 2007, p. vol.2 p.866–871
29.Jump up ^ Tolkien 2003, pp. 78
30.^ Jump up to: a b Solopova 2009, pp. 21–22
31.^ Jump up to: a b Fisher, Jason (3 2008). "The History of the Hobbit (review)". Mythlore (101/102).
32.Jump up ^ St. Clair 2000, p. 39. "Unlike the raven servants of the god of war, Roac is against war with the men of Dale and the Elves. Further, the birds carry the good news of Smaug’s fall over the countryside. In The Hobbit, they do not function as scavengers after battle as ravens usually do in medieval Norse and English works."
33.^ Jump up to: a b Shippey, Tom (2001). J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. HarperCollins. p. 41. ISBN 0-261-10401-2.
34.^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter 1981, p. 31
35.^ Jump up to: a b Steele, Felicia Jean (2006). "Dreaming of dragons: Tolkien's impact on Heaney's Beowulf". Mythlore (95/96).
36.Jump up ^ Faraci, Mary (2002). "'I wish to speak' (Tolkien's voice in his Beowulf essay)". In Chance, Jane. Tolkien the Medievalist. Routledge. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0-415-28944-0.
37.Jump up ^ Solopova 2009, p. 37
38.Jump up ^ Purtill, Richard L. (2006). Lord of the Elves and Eldils. Ignatius Press. pp. 53–55. ISBN 1-58617-084-8.
39.Jump up ^ McDonald, R. Andrew; Whetter, K. S. (2006). "'In the hilt is fame': resonances of medieval swords and sword-lore in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings". Mythlore (95/96).
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41.^ Jump up to: a b c d Rateliff 2007, pp. 79–80
42.^ Jump up to: a b Edwards, Owen Dudley (2008). British Children's Fiction in the Second World War. Edinburgh University Press. p. 458. ISBN 0-7486-1651-9.
43.Jump up ^ Hammond & Anderson 1993, p. 8
44.Jump up ^ Hammond & Anderson 1993, pp. 18–23
45.^ Jump up to: a b Tolkien 2003, p. 22
46.^ Jump up to: a b c Tolkien 2003, pp. 384–386
47.^ Jump up to: a b Tolkien 2003, p. 23
48.^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter 1977, p. 195
49.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1977, p. 215
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51.Jump up ^ Tolkien 2003, pp. 18–23
52.Jump up ^ Rateliff 2007, p. 781, 811–12
53.Jump up ^ Rateliff 2007, p. 765
54.Jump up ^ Tolkien 2003, p. 218
55.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937). The Hobbit. London: George Allen & Unwin. p. 63.
56.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1951). The Hobbit. London: George Allen & Unwin. p. 63.
57.Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1966). The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 62. ISBN 0-395-07122-4.
58.Jump up ^ Tolkien, Christopher (1983). The History of Middle-earth: Vol 1 "The Book of Lost Tales 1". George Allen & Unwin. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-04-823238-6.
59.Jump up ^ An example, alongside other illustrations can be seen at: Houghton Mifflin
60.Jump up ^ Tolkien 2003, p. 14
61.Jump up ^ Tolkien 2003, pp. 378–379
62.Jump up ^ Hammond & Anderson 1993, p. 18
63.Jump up ^ Hammond & Anderson 1993, p. 10–11
64.Jump up ^ Flieger, Verlyn (2005). Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology. Kent State University Press. p. 67. ISBN 0-87338-824-0.
65.Jump up ^ Hammond & Anderson 1993, p. 12–13
66.Jump up ^ Hammond & Anderson 1993, p. 14
67.Jump up ^ Rateliff 2007, p. 602
68.Jump up ^ Hammond & Anderson 1993, p. 20
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72.Jump up ^ Poveda, Jaume Alberdo (2003–2004). "Narrative Models in Tolkien's Stories of Middle-earth" (PDF). Journal of English Studies 4: 7–22. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
73.Jump up ^ Gamble, Nikki; Yates, Sally (2002). Exploring Children's Literature: Teaching the Language and Reading of Fiction. Sage. p. 43. ISBN 0-7619-4046-4.
74.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1977, p. 193
75.Jump up ^ Rateliff 2007, p. 64
76.Jump up ^ O'Sullivan, Emer (2005). Comparative Children's Literature. Routledge. p. 20. ISBN 0-415-30551-9.
77.Jump up ^ Carpenter 1981, p. 159
78.Jump up ^ Sammons, Martha C. (2010). War of the Fantasy Worlds: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien on Art and Imagination. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 6. ISBN 0-313-36282-3.
79.Jump up ^ Zipes, Jack (2000). The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. Oxford University Press. p. 525. ISBN 0-19-860115-8.
80.Jump up ^ St. Clair, Gloriana. "Tolkien's Cauldron: Northern Literature and The Lord of the Rings". Carnegie Mellon. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
81.Jump up ^ Hunt, Peter; Hunt, Tristram (2000). Children's Literature. John Wiley & Sons. p. 173 et seq. ISBN 0-631-21141-1.
82.Jump up ^ Kümmerling-Meibauer, Bettina (1999). Klassiker der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur [The Classics of Children's and Juvenile Literature] (in German). 2 volumes set. Metzler. pp. 1078–1079. ISBN 3-476-01235-2.
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84.Jump up ^ Chance 2001, p. 50
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References[edit]
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1988) [1937]. Anderson, Douglas A., ed. The Annotated Hobbit. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-3954-7690-9.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2003) [1937]. Anderson, Douglas A., ed. The Annotated Hobbit. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-713727-3.
Carpenter, Humphrey (1977), Tolkien: A Biography, New York: Ballantine Books, ISBN 0-04-928037-6
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
Chance, Jane (2001). Tolkien's Art. Kentucky University Press. ISBN 0-618-47885-X.
Drout, Michael D. C., ed. (2006). J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Routledge. ISBN 0-4159-6942-5.
Grenby, Matthew (2008). Children's Literature. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-618-47885-X.
Hammond, Wayne G.; Anderson, Douglas A. (1993), J. R. R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography, New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books, ISBN 0-938768-42-5
Lobdell, Jared C. (2004). The World of the Rings: Language, Religion, and Adventure in Tolkien. Open Court. ISBN 0-8126-9569-0.
Rateliff, John D. (2007). The History of the Hobbit. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-723555-1.
Solopova, Elizabeth (2009), Languages, Myths and History: An Introduction to the Linguistic and Literary Background of J.R.R. Tolkien's Fiction, New York City: North Landing Books, ISBN 0-9816607-1-1
St. Clair, Gloriana (2000). "Tolkien's Cauldron: Northern Literature and The Lord of the Rings". Carnegie Mellon University.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Hobbit
The official Harper-Collins Tolkien website
Collection of edition covers, 1937–2007
The Hobbit covers around the globe – gallery
Every UK edition of The Hobbit
Guide to U.S. editions of Tolkien books including The Hobbit
1966 Gene Deitch 12 minute version of The Hobbit

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Categories: The Hobbit
1937 novels
British novels adapted into films
Middle-earth books
Dragons in popular culture
1930s fantasy novels
British fantasy novels
Monomyths
BILBY Award winning works
Allen & Unwin books




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