Frodo Baggins .......... Elijah Wood
Gandalf ................ Ian McKellen
Arwen .................. Liv Tyler
Aragorn ................ Viggo Mortensen
Sam .................... Sean Astin
Galadriel .............. Cate Blanchett
Gimli .................. John Rhys-Davies
Pippin ................. Billy Boyd
Merry .................. Dominic Monaghan
Legolas ................ Orlando Bloom
Saruman ................ Christopher Lee
Elrond ................. Hugo Weaving
Boromir ................ Sean Bean
Bilbo Baggins .......... Ian Holm
Gollum ................. Andy Serkis
Celeborn ............... Marton Csokas
Haldir ................. Craig Parker
Lurtz .................. Lawrence Makoare
The book of the 20th Century has become the motion picture event of the 21st Century: A groundbreaking epic of good versus evil, extraordinary heroes, wondrous creatures and dark armies of terror. New Line presents a grand trilogy of live-action feature films -- starting with The Fellowship of the Ring -- that takes audiences inside Tolkien's living, breathing mythology, the world that is Middle-earth.
Generations of more than 50 million people around the globe, in 25 different languages have grown up with this epic history. The legend has inspired an entire genre of movies, fiction, and has influenced some of the greatest artists of our time. It has made dreamers out of children and adults, and has recently been named the number one most popular book of the century. But it has never been told in its entirety on the screen.
Using the power of contemporary cinema technology, New Line Cinema is proud to transform J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings into a history-making motion picture event. New Line presents a grand trilogy of live-action feature films -- The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King -- that takes audiences inside Tolkien's living, breathing mythology, the world that is Middle-earth.
The Lord of the Rings collectively re-tells the story of Frodo Baggins, who battles against the Dark Lord, Sauron to save Middle-earth from the grip of evil. In the films, Frodo and The Fellowship embark on a desperate journey to rid the earth of the source of Sauron's greatest strength, the One Ring, a ring of such power that it cannot be destroyed. His extraordinary adventures across the treacherous landscape of Middle-earth reveal how the power of friendship and courage can hold the forces of darkness at bay.
By shooting all three films consecutively during one massive production and post-production schedule, New Line Cinema made history. Never before had such a monumental undertaking been contemplated or executed. The commitment of time, resources and manpower were unheard of as all three films and more than 1,000 effects shots were being produced concurrently with the same director and core cast. Helmer Peter Jackson, whose visionary style of filmmaking and emotional acuity won accolades for his Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners, brought his deep love for the source material to the project.
The film features a strong international cast that includes (in alphabetical order) Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davis, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, and Elijah Wood. But the real star of the film is the story itself -- a classic hero's quest in which the smallest of beings changes the course of the future with the vastness of his courage.
Set in a mythic pre-history, The Lord of the Rings tells the saga of a desperate battle against encroaching evil - a perilous quest to save humanity which falls upon the shoulders of a young hobbit, Frodo Baggins, who has inherited a seemingly innocent magic ring from his elderly cousin Bilbo.
However Frodo soon learns that the ring's original maker, the Dark Lord Sauron, is desperately seeking it - for it is a ring of great evil which will enable Sauron to enslave the people of this land known as Middle Earth. A hurriedly assembled fellowship of wizard, elf, dwarf and men accompany Frodo and his friends on a harrowing mission across Middle Earth in an attempt to destroy the ring by casting it into the volcanic fires in the Crack of Doom. Against them rages the monstrous power of Sauron, whose sinister emissaries ruthlessly pursue Frodo and his companions, while the omnipotent power of the ring attempts to corrupt the fellowship from within.
Tolkien's trilogy, first published in the mid-1950s, was intended as a sequel to The Hobbit, the Oxford University professor's first literary success. The novels were set in the Third Age of Middle-earth, an invented prehistory era populated with hobbits, elves, trolls, orcs and men. The books' good-versus-evil struggle focuses on Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit who embarks on a harrowing quest across Middle-earth, hoping to destroy the Magic Ring of Invisibility before it falls into the hands of the Dark Lord Sauron, a sinister tyrant bent on enslaving humanity.
The Lord of the Rings is set in a mythical world populated by several different races or types of "people." These are Hobbits (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Bilbo); Elves (Elrond, Arwen, and Legolas); Dwarves (Gimli); and Humans (Aragorn, Gandalf, Boromir, Denethor, Theoden, Faramir and Eowyn).
This long-awaited screen presentation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy was shot exclusively in New Zealand over a period of 438 days, with post-production adding the same length of time again. At three years in the making, this is the largest production ever to be mounted in the Southern Hemisphere.
Written by Oscar-nominated screenwriters Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, with Philippa Boyens and Stephen Sinclair, this technically challenging production assembled an international cast, utilizing over 20,000 extras' days, employing a crew of 2,500 (including award-winning high profile technicians from both within and outside of New Zealand), and features 77 speaking parts and 1200 state-of-the-art computer generated effects shots. Budget for the three films was reported to be $270 million.
Peter Jackson's Wellington-based production company, Wingnut Films Limited, together with the special effects company WETA Limited, were involved in developing and designing this realization of the Tolkien classic for more than two years. During this time a stunning array of miniatures, creatures, prosthetic effects and armor were created to bring the grandeur and spectacle of Tolkien's richly evocative Middle-earth to life on the screen.
Geologically a young country, New Zealand is a wild mix of diverse terrain, which brings with it a sense of grandeur and antiquity. Peter Jackson used the peace and tranquility of New Zealand's rolling pastoral farmland, the rugged beauty of the North Island's volcanic plateaus, and the majesty of the South Island's snow capped Southern Alps to bring the screen his interpretation of how Britain, Tolkien's Middle-earth, might have looked 7,000 years ago.
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Winner of "11" Academy Awards
The third movie to date, 2006. To win that many awards
