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The Lord Of The Rings - The Return of The King - Extended Version (2004) Certificate 12

The Lord Of The Rings - The Return of The King - Extended Version

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Rated 4.5 stars
Average rating
(85%)
 
Starring: Elijah Wood | Ian McKellen | Viggo Mortensen | Liv Tyler | Sean Astin | Billy Boyd | Dominic Monaghan | Andy Serkis | Karl Urban
Director: Peter Jackson
Studio: ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO
Genres: Action/Adventure | Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Languages: English
Released: December 10, 2004

THE RETURN OF THE KING, the third and final film in Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, finds Middle-earth on the cusp of great change. Weary hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) venture further into the dark realm of Mordor, guided by the increasingly desperate Gollum (Andy Serkis), the two-faced former owner of the Ring that Frodo must destroy in the fires of Mount Doom. Meanwhile Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) contend with the deranged ruler Denethor (John Noble) at the once-mighty city of Minas Tirith, as Merry (Dominic Monaghan) joins Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and the Riders of Rohan to hold back the forces of Sauron. Amidst the chaos, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) must rise to his destiny, aided by Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) in assembling allies for a massive battle that will decide the fate of Middle-earth. With RETURN, Jackson brings J.R.R. Tolkien's world-renowned tale to a stunning conclusion. As with THE TWO TOWERS, the director deftly weaves various storylines together in one remarkable scene after another. Spectacular visuals complement Jackson's sharp focus on the characters and their emotional battles. While the special effects help to create huge battles and frightening creatures on a previously unseen scale, they never outshine the excellent ensemble of actors who bring the heart of the story home. A truly astounding work of filmmaking, THE RETURN OF THE KING skillfully concludes one of the greatest trilogies in cinema history.

Highest rated reviews

25 out of 26 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5 stars
YES THE EXTRA SCENES ARE WORTH IT

Carl Hunt from Isle of Wight, 12th August, 2005

Quite simply the best Trilogy there's ever been and for a fan like me, the extra scenes were only making thins better. I just can't understand people who've reviewed this saying that they make no difference!!! There's an extra half hour for gods sake!! I found that what had been edited was mostly humorous moments and character building that was non vital to the plot, so it got axed, but what an excellent film it is with the extra included and I think made entirely different in doing so. Even if you've seen the original take my word and watch this (or infact watch all of the extended versions) it wont disappoint...a classicly emotion stirring, sword slashing fantasy extravaganza!

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12 out of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5 stars
BEST FILM EVER...or at least one of them!

Ian from Epsom, UK, 7th March, 2005

Excellent film...apart from the 6 endings which could have been cut to 2, then the added scenes could have been included in the theatrical release. A must for everyone list.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5 stars
The best bar none

Rafique from London, 26th July, 2007

The best fantasy epic ever made.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5 stars
You bow to no-one...

Melisa Tupou from Harrow, UK, 17th March, 2006

Brilliant...amazing...truely awe inspiring...the list can go ever on... This version of the trilogy is just stunning. The muliple stories come together and the finale is just mind-blowing - with not one, but 2 massive battle scenes. It's the ultimate good vs evil struggle!! Jackson, his crew and New Zealand have done justice to Tolkien's work and have impressed most of the known world. It's no small achievement...and the extra discs give you some understanding of the extraordinary lengths these little kiwis went to to produce this truely brilliant film. You have to see it....it's a classic!!!

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Most recent reviews

1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 0 stars
What a waste of time

weephew from , 6th February, 2010

More than 4 hours of people charging on horses and screaming. Indescipherable lines. Where is the story? Rent something else and do yourself a favour.

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Rated 5 stars
King of All Movies

Crookshanks from , 12th January, 2010

Words cannot describe just how good this triology really is and I can never get tired of watching these film as they just enthrall me every time I view them and now I just want to read the novels again! I loved how the film starts with Smeagol's corruption, so for those who didn't know how he was consumed can hear the tale. The battle scenes were just jaw dropping and awesome to behold. The scenes with Faramir and Denethor were highly emotional and literally moved me to tears! In fact most of the ending moved me to tears! This is the power of Jackson's epic, beautiful movie making at its best. Trust me you'll want to watch it time and time again! I look forward to the Hobbit now and hope they make the Silmarillion into movie form too.

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Rated 4 stars
lord of the bores

lushlips from , 29th June, 2009

this film was too long and too boring i loved lord of the rings one and two but three ruined it all for me

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*** May contain spoilers ***


Rated 3 stars
Trilogy Review

Garybaldy from , 29th April, 2009

I don't think i'm the only one who was disappointed with the Two Towers and Return Of The King and nobody seemed to know why? Until now because i'm going to tell you...... Tolkien ran out of ideas after 'Fellowship', it had structure, plot and the right chemistry between characters. So it wasn't Peter Jackson's fault that the sequels didn't quite match up. I think Tolkien was a bit indulgent! In my opinion the best character relationships is between Gandalf and the hobbits which is missed in Towers and most of Return (but resumes a bit with him and Pippin). Theres something cloying about the atmosphere of Fellowship that really makes convincing fantasy. The other two just don't have that. They also have superfluous characters; i honestly think the whole Rohan saga could have been cut right out and not been missed at all. Theoden: dull. Eowen: boring. Eomer: naff. Pointless characters badly acted. The speeches get worse and worse! Tolkien could have come up with something better than a giant spider (female??) for part of the final act in Return; bit of an off-cut from The Hobbit, no? The beginning of Return, however, is brilliant. The terrifying back story of Gollum was probably the main reason i went back to the cinema to see it again....or was i STILL trying to capture the magic i felt from Fellowship!? Anyway, its a great prologue. The end of the film is awful, but you knew that. I'd still recommend the extended versions of all the films because some of the best bits are in there.......

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