Yep, my latest Lord of the Rings rewatch is over, with The Return of the King under my belt once more. As the longest film in the trilogy and the one (in my opinion) that justifies that length the least, my mind can wander at times watching it, which is probably why I’d rank it as my least favorite of the three. However, that is only because, if you’re ranking three things, one of them by necessity is going to be at the bottom. That does not mean I’m not in love with the film, or that it isn’t still exquisite, because it is.
This is the one that brought it all home. Endings are a tall order, and at the time that the movie came out, something of this scale really hadn’t been done before. There was a lot that it had to live up to, both for fans of the books who were eager to see their favorite scenes brought to life and for movie-only fans who were anxious to see how the trilogy was going to resolve. And within that difficult job, I’d say Peter Jackson and co. stuck the landing, even if it can be a little confusing to count the succession of scenes that all feel like endings.
As I contemplate today, the main subject that comes to mind is, “Why Lord of the Rings?” What is it about this series that stirs my imagination and grabs my heart? And at its core, I think it’s love.
I’ve talked before about the careful production design, the beautiful score, the not-a-weak-link-among-‘em cast. Everyone involved in these films is giving it their all, gave years of their lives to shoot an entire trilogy at once (many of them traveling halfway around the world to do it,) believing in what they were creating long before the suits had a single film that they could sell. That’s because everyone, by all evidence, truly loved what they were doing here. Some were longtime book fans whose dreams were coming true, while others had never read the books before getting cast. But regardless of where they came to the production, they all got on board with the vision of the films—the scale of the story, the delicate business of creating a fantasy world that genuinely feels lived-in, and the enormous task of bringing these characters and their tale to life. In every aspect of the trilogy, you can see the love that went into it.
More than that, we see the love between the characters. Sam, Pippin, and Merry refusing to let Frodo journey off into danger without them. The growing friendship between Gimli and Legolas, defying the longstanding animosity between their races. Boromir giving his life to try and protect Merry and Pippin, Legolas and Gimli joining Aragorn in his vow to recover their captured friends. Gandalf’s love and affection for the halflings, especially Frodo. The love between these characters leaps off the screen and grabs you, and whether the scene is comical, intense, or heartbreaking, every moment of it feels genuine.
Those character relationships are further informed by the love between the cast. Sharing this massive undertaking together put all of these actors in a very particular club, and that bonded them for life. It’s why I love watching that Zoom reunion or seeing pictures of the four actors who played the hobbits still getting together to hang out. They were all acting onscreen, of course, but the friendships they forged were real.
Here are the moments that were my special favorites from The Return of the King this time around. Most of them, I think, are pretty tried-and-true classics, but that’s all right. Part of the reason I can watch these films over and over is because different moments stand out each time, but it’s also because certain moments never fail to move me.
· Legolas’s reactions during the “drinking competition”
· Merry and Pippin saying goodbye before Gandalf takes Pippin to Gondor
· “But he’s a liar!” – gaahh, poor Sam. My heart!
· Pippin’s. SONG. Every single time, I hold my breath watching this scene.
· “It is not this day!”, such a banger of a speech.
· Pippin finding Merry on the battlefield and promising to look after him.
· The four hobbits exchanging that heavy, knowing look when they sit down together back home at the Green Dragon.
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