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An [[The Film of the Book|adaptation]] of [[JRRJ. TolkienR. (Creator)R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' into [[Movie Multipack|three films]] (directed by [[Peter Jackson]]) with great commercial and critical success. The movies were filmed together and released one year apart for the holiday seasons 2001-2003.
 
One of the biggest movie projects ever undertaken, the overall budget was around $285 million and principal filming for all three films took place over 18 months in Jackson's native New Zealand. The entire project took eight years, factoring in the early pre-production and the fact that additional pick-ups were filmed in between each films release. The trilogy was a great financial success, with the films being the 19th, 10th, and 3rd (8th, 4th, and 2nd following the third film's release) highest-grossing films of all time, respectively, unadjusted for inflation. The films were critically acclaimed, winning 17 out of 30 [[Academy Award|Academy Awards]] nominated in total, and received wide praise for the cast and for the innovative practical and digital special effects. ''Return of the King'' is the first (and currently only) fantasy movie to ever be awarded the Best Picture Oscar.
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** This is actually a [[Shout-Out]] to the [[Sergei Eisenstein]] film ''[[Ivan the Terrible]]'', where Ivan uses a similar device to blow up one of his enemies' walls. If you watch the film, the shot-angles are even similar.
* [[Action Film Quiet Drama Scene]]: The heartwarming and peaceful scenes of The Shire in ''Fellowship of the Ring'' (especially in the Director's Cut), filled with laughter, friendship and happy children (what a warrior lays down his life to protect) is what makes us actually care whether or not Frodo and the Fellowship defeat [[The Lord of the Rings]] or not.
* [[Action Girl]]: Éowyn aside, Arwen also has [[A Day in Thethe Limelight|a moment in the limelight]] in the first film.
** [[Word of God]] reveals that Arwen was initially slated to appear at Helm's Deep to fight alongside the heroes. It was eventually realized that this may be pushing it a little too far (even Liv Tyler hated the idea), and in the end she was replaced by Haldir.
* [[Actor Allusion]]: In the first movie, [[Hugo Weaving|Elrond]] sure liked expressing his [[The Matrix|disgust]] of [[Transformers|the human race]].
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*** Denethor could apply as well, while his actions are more or less the same, the book actually gives him reason to despair in the end while the movie manages to keep it much more ambiguous.
* [[Advantage Ball]]: Rather than worry about such things as [[Hollywood Tactics|tactical realism]], advantage in battle seems to be principally a matter of who makes the most [[Big Entrance|badass entrance]], regardless of such matters as numbers and equipment.
* [[Age Cut]]: Averted in the ''Fellowship Of the Ring'' when Elrond talks to Gandalf about an incident thousands of years in the past. We cut to a shot of Elrond in the past and he looks exactly the same, since [[We Are Asas Mayflies|elves are immortal]].
* [[Agony of the Feet]]: Sean Astin stepped on a big piece of broken glass when wading into the river, and Viggo broke his toe kicking a helmet (see [[Throw It In]]).
* [[All-Star Cast]]: A staggering list of recognizable names in the cast, not to mention that these movies made recognizable the names of every actor in them whose names hadn't been beforehand.
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* [[Awesome Moment of Crowning]]: ''The Return Of The King'' was pretty much all about getting to this moment, since Aragorn was the rightful ruler all along. And in the end of the movie, the coronation gets a good five minutes and a reunion for Aragorn and Arwen, which makes it an almost perfect [[Awesome Moment of Crowning]].
** With equal parts [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] AND [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] when the new king turns to the hobbits and says [[Kneel Before Frodo|"My friends, you bow to no one."]]
* [[Backed Byby the Pentagon]]: The New Zealand army in this case. Heck, parts of Mordor were from old mine fields (that were swept beforehand), since they had enough ash to make the look needed.
* [[Back-to-Back Badasses]]: In the film adaptation, during the battle of Helm's Deep, Aragorn and Gimli fought the Uruk-hai while the main gate is repaired.
* [[Badass Army]]:
** The Elven army is implied to be one of these in the films given how disciplined and co-ordinated they are.
*** Not because they're inherently ''better'', mind you, they've just had [[We Are Asas Mayflies|literally thousands of years of training and combat experience]].
** And even more so, the [[Army of the Dead]] mentioned above.
* [[Badass Boast]]: [[In the Name of Thethe Moon|"I am a servant of the Secret Fire]], wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn!"
** [[Memetic Mutation|"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"]]
* [[Badass Normal]]: Both Eomer and Eowyn. It must run in the family.
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** And Theoden's "DEATH!"
** An amusing example: when Boromir is teaching Merry and Pippin how to sword fight, they charge him shouting "For the Shire!"
* [[Battle in Thethe Rain]]: Helm's Deep.
* [[Beam Me Up, Scotty]]: People often don't remember Aragorn's speech before the Black Gates quite right--possibly they're remembering the version in the trailer, which was from a different take. Théoden's speeches get this too, to a lesser extent.
* [[Beauty Is Never Tarnished]]: Frodo is badly stabbed on Weathertop, and later loses a finger, Boromir catches several arrows in his chest, Aragorn spends the whole trilogy bloody, bruised and scraped. Practically all of the cast is harassed by either the Watcher in the Water or a cave troll. But all pretty boy Legolas gets over the course of the trilogy is a bruise and a little smudge of dirt. Éowyn made it through almost the entire Battle of the Pelennor Fields unscathed, with nary a cut or bruise... until the Witch-King smashes her shield with his gigantic flail.
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* [[Cavalier Consumption]]: Denethor is more interested in eating his chicken and tomatoes than he is in Faramir's safety.
* [[The Cavalry]]: Minas Tirith is about to be overwhelmed by an enormous horde of Orcs--and then the Rohirrim appear at the top of the hill, blowing their horns.
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: The small glass vial containing the Light of Eärendil, given to Frodo by Galadriel in the first film. [[It May Help You Onon Your Quest|It comes in handy]] in the third film, when {{spoiler|Frodo is lost in Shelob's lair}}. The elven rope given to Sam also comes in handy, though it's only given a bit of relevance in the extended edition. Given the length of time between the release of the film in theaters, this turned into a bit of a [[Brick Joke]].
** In the book ''all items'' received by the Fellowship in Lothlorien fit this trope (most notably the Elven cloaks and brooches). She even gives Sam a [[It May Help You Onon Your Quest|box of dirt]]. The movie keeps most of them with the exception of Boromir's belt (in the book it served to help Faramir realize that he indeed saw his dead brother and not just a vision).
** In the beginning of the second film, Saruman instructs his [[Mook|mooks]] to dam the river. At the end of the films, the Ents break the dam, dramatically destroying Saruman's army and [[Elaborate Underground Base]] in the ensuing flood.
** If counting where Bilbo and Frodo's sword, Sting, received its name in [[The Hobbit]] {{spoiler|killing the giant spiders of Mirkwood as they attacked the ensnared dwarves}}, it's perhaps one of these or a [[Brick Joke]] that Samwise uses Sting to kill Shelob.
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* [[Color Wash]]: Especially noticeable in day-for-night scenes. There's even a scene in ''Return of the King'' where Pippin is searching for Merry, that appears as a daylight scene in the theatrical version but was regraded to night for the extended version.
** An interesting example occurs with several shots used more than once (Green Dragon Inn exterior, Boromir's last stand, a certain close-up of Elrond) in different movies: frame-by-frame comparison shows exactly the same imagery with drastically different colors.
* [[Come Withwith Me If You Want to Live]]: Aragorn gets introduced this way in Bree, as a wilderness expert who can outrun the Nazgûl. More so in the film, since they set out that very morning after they outwit the Nazgûl ambush. Film-Aragorn fits the trope to a T:
{{quote| '''Frodo:''' Where are you taking us?<br />
'''Aragorn:''' [[Scarily Competent Tracker|Into the wild]].<br />
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* [[Cool Mask]]: The Witch-King.
* [[Cool Old Guy]]: Gandalf and Theoden.
* [[Cowboy Bebop Atat His Computer]]: Nazgûls = flying reptiles? So say every popular media on the subject. So distressingly common that Peter Jackson and [[Did Not Do the Research|many cast and crew]] bought into it. No wonder the Witch-King's dialogue with Eowyn was omitted... it makes no sense under this interpretation.
** Nazgûls are the Ring Wraiths themselves, the flying reptiles are their mounts/steeds, described as "Fell Beasts".
** The "bow guy" is something else, too.
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*** His helmet was actually changed to the one seen in the movie, since his original helmet was ''even more'' similar in design to Sauron's, and they were afraid people would get confused. You can still see the original helmet in the video game, though.
* [[Creative Closing Credits]]
* [[Creator Cameo]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvgwXAky1t8 Peter Jackson makes several appearances] throughout the films. At one point he is [[Death Byby Cameo|shot to death]] by Legolas.
* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: {{spoiler|Ents vs. Isengard}}. {{spoiler|Army of the Dead vs. Forces of Sauron}}, unlike the book, which describes it as a long day of battle.
* [[Cut Apart]]: The first movie has closeups of sleeping hobbits mixed with Ringwraiths surrounding the beds. When the stabbing begins, we discover the beds are empty and the hobbits in another room.
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* [[Daylight Horror]]: The Ringwraiths are frightening at night. They prove to be just as frightening when they chase Arwen and a sickly Frodo across a bright green field in the middle of the day.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: The three movies seem to alternate between this and [[Lighter and Softer]] compared to the original book. They drop a couple of the more light-hearted scenes of the book (Tom Bombadil, for example) and focus more on the bloody battles (easier to do in a visual medium), while omitting some of the creepier book-scenes and adding a lot of comic relief.
* [[Death Byby Adaptation]]: {{spoiler|Haldir. (In the book, the elves don't even ''show up'' at Helm's Deep).}}
** Also {{spoiler|the Mouth of Sauron, whose fate is unknown in the books}}.
* [[Death of a Thousand Cuts]]: How the Fellowship {{spoiler|kills the cave troll in Moria}}.
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* [[Digital Head Swap]]: One of the techniques used to create the proper scale for the Hobbits.
* [[Disney Death]]: Alongside Frodo's examples from the book that made it into the film, we also have Aragorn's plunge off of the cliff in ''The Two Towers'', alongside Gollum's 'death' right after going through Shelob's tunnel.
* [[Disney Villain Death]]: Alongside examples from the book, we also have a couple unique to the films, those being {{spoiler|Saruman's (Uncut version only) and Denethor's deaths. Though it should be noted that unlike most versions of this trope, we actually see the [[Impaled Withwith Extreme Prejudice|result]] of Saruman's fall}}.
* [[The Dog Shot First]]: Inverted- see trope page.
* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: The eagles showing up in the final battle to keep the Ringwraiths at bay.
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'''Gimli:''' He fell. }}
* [[Helmets Are Hardly Heroic]]: Unless you are a Rider of Rohan, or an Elf soldier, or a Dwarf, or a soldier of Gondor.
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. <s>Anderson</s> Baggins. And yes, he's wearing a [[The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert|dress]] again. Sort of, anyway.
** It seems Sharpe has traded in his rifle for a sword and shield.
** Seems like somebody went from Flipper to carrying the [[Soul Jar]] of the [[Big Bad]].
** Elrond is [[The Matrix|Agent Smith]] and [[V for Vendetta|V]]. Not to mention [[Transformers|Megatron]].
** Gandalf is [[X -Men|Magneto, Master of Magnetism.]]
* [[The High Queen]]: Galadriel. In a case of [[Meta Casting]], she is played by [[Cate Blanchett]], famous for portraying [[Elizabeth I]], a [[Trope Codifier]] of High Queendom.
* [[Hilarious Outtakes]]: While Jackson and company are saving the gag reel for the high definition [[Limited Special Collectors Ultimate Edition]], a few bloopers have surfaced. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkNWF_75dWM&feature=related Sean Astin just wants a close-up].
* [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard]]: Sauron's demise becomes a [[Karmic Death]] when you realise it was his corruption and degradation of the innocent hobbits Smeagol and Frodo and their resulting conflict over the ring in Mount Doom that causes it to fall into the fire.
* [[Hooked Up Afterwards]]: Faramir and Éowyn, as the book chapter of them meeting and falling in love over time was cut, but restored in the extended edition.
* [[Homage Shot]]: [[Peter Jackson]] shot one bit at Bilbo's birthday party in ''Fellowship of the Ring'' ("Proudfeet!") as an exact copy of a shot in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s animated ''[[The Lord of the Rings (Animationanimation)|Lord of the Rings]]''. Jackson even helpfully points this out in the commentary. A circle-round shot of the four hobbits at Weathertop is also lifted from the original, although the camera moves much faster and Aragorn is absent. Same goes for the four hobbits hiding under a root by the wayside with the Nazgûl leaning in above them.
** The scene at the black gates of Mordor appears to be an homage to the ''Wizard Of Oz''.
* [[Hopeless Suitor]]: Éowyn for Aragorn
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** "You will taste '''''man-flesh!"'''''
** "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!"
* [[Impaled Withwith Extreme Prejudice]]: Several characters.
* [[Insane Troll Logic]]: In ''The Two Towers'', there is the following exchange where it's used twice in a row:
{{quote| '''Pippin''': If we go south, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect.<br />
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'''Gimli:''' ...Aye, that I could do. }}
*** Note that these are their final lines of dialogue in the trilogy.
* [[It May Help You Onon Your Quest]]: Galadriel's gifts. All of them. Even moreso in the book, where she gives Sam a [[It May Help You Onon Your Quest|box of dirt]] with a mallorn nut in it. It helps.
* [[I Want Them Alive]]: and '''''un-'''''spoiled.
* [[Jabba Table Manners]]: The Steward of Gondor messily gobbling down his dinner as he apathetically sends his youngest son to his death in the film.
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* [[Limited Special Collectors Ultimate Edition]]: Arguably the most infamous example.
* [[Live Action Adaptation]]
* [[The Man in Thethe Mirror Talks Back]]: When Gollum talks to Smeagol, it's via some variation on this mechanism. (Most noticeable in ''The Return Of The King''.)
* [[Manly Tears]]: {{spoiler|Boromir's}} [[Final Speech]]:
{{quote| I would have gone with you to the end, my brother...my captain...my king.}}
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*** In a subversion, the orc army gets a [[Oh Crap]] when Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn get off the boats and charge at them. They [[Oh Crap]] BEFORE seeing that these three dudes brought an army of ghosts with them, at which point they simply panic.
*** Similarly:
{{quote| '''Corsair''': Boarded?! By [[You and What Army?|you and whose army?]]<br />
'''Aragorn''': ''This'' army. }}
** And then there's Gandalf giving a big speech to the Gondorians about how they can fight whatever comes through the gate. When the first thing through is three huge trolls, Gandalf gets a look on his face like, "Well, I wasn't expecting ''that''."
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* [[Offscreen Teleportation]]: Gandalf manages to move from Bilbo's party to Bag End in ''Fellowship'' before Bilbo himself gets there, even though he is seen sitting in the audience while Bilbo is running home, made invisible by the Ring. All without crossing paths with him, either. He ''is'' a wizard, but not even the most powerful beings in Middle-Earth can manage actual teleportation.
** This is a bit better explained in the extended edition, where it shows Bilbo spending some time packing up for his journey after returning from the party; Gandalf simply shows up while Bilbo is getting ready to leave.
* [[Off Withwith His Head]]: Done several times, including to the Mouth of Sauron instead of the [[Death Glare]] from the book.
* [[One-Dimensional Thinking]]: The Nazgûl at the Fords of Bruinen in the first movie. Instead of just riding back into the forest [[What an Idiot!|they ride downstream where the wave is sure to catch them.]]
** Justified. Flowing water canonically disorients and confuses them almost to the point of helplessness. Only the presence of the One Ring combined with the will of their Captain managed to get them in the stream in the first place, and after that their horses were the ones in control.
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* [[One-Way Visor]]: The Mouth of Sauron in the return of the King Extended Edition.
* [[Onrushing Army]]: The orcs ''love'' to charge. As do any humans fighting with them. Aragorn and his army do it too at the climax of ''Return Of The King''.
* [[Orcus Onon His Throne]]: Sauron is a rather less sketchy figure than in the novels; he is instead a ''literal'' flaming eye, on top of Barad-Dur. Peter Jackson originally planned for Sauron to [[One-Winged Angel|take physical form]] in the battle in front of the Black Gate, but thankfully thought better of it.
* [[The Other Darrin]]: A very odd instance of this trope, as Andy Serkis plays Gollum in all three films, but the CG model used for the first film has quite a different face from that used in the other two. As Gollum is only seen in long shots (and very dark lighting) in the first film, it's not glaringly obvious, but it is noticeable.
* [[The Other Marty]]: Stuart Townsend was cast as Aragorn, but was replaced by Viggo Mortensen a few days before filming supposedly for [[Word of God|being too young]].
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* [[Skeleton Government]]
* [[Solemn Ending Theme]]: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOykCYDMKBs May It Be]'' for the first movie, "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkXbzffVl44 Gollum's Song]" for the second.
* [[Spared Byby the Adaptation]]: In the book, one of the Ents is set on fire during parley with Saruman and presumably dies. In the film, it is lucky enough to be ignited just before Isengard is flooded and douses its head in the rising waters.
* [[Split Personality]]: Gollum and Smeagol
** [[Split Personality Makeover]]: Most notably with their voices, but there are subtle visual differences as well. (Smeagol's pupils are far more dilated than Gollum's, for instance.)
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* [[Stern Chase]]: The Nazgûl. <small>"They will never stop hunting you."</small> Also, the Three Hunters.
* [[Storming the Castle]]: The Tower of Cirith Ungol.
* [[Stranger in Aa Familiar Land]]: The Hobbits after returning to the Shire. Merry and Pippin stare longingly at their military uniforms, while Frodo is burdened by his wounds and his experience as a Ringbearer. Sam is best able to cope with being back home, but shares a private toast with the others at the Green Dragon.
* [[Stupid Statement Dance Mix]]: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE-1RPDqJAY They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard]"
** "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr_01rYKQLg Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew.]"
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* [[Starring Special Effects]]: Gollum, particularly in ''The Two Towers''.
* [[Suicidal Gotcha]]: Gandalf jumping from the top of Orthanc onto Gwaihir's back.
* [[Sweet Onon Polly Oliver]]: An out-of-universe example: As revealed in the DVD supplementals, Viggo Mortenson apparently dated a female extra that was costumed as one of the (male) Rohan warriors. The other cast members never let him hear the end of it.
* [[Take the Wheel]]: In a rare medieval example, Eowyn makes Merry take her horse's reins mid-battle.
* [[Talking to Himself]]: John Rhys-Davis plays Gimli and voices Treebeard.
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** Stuart Townsend was actually cast as Aragorn and in New Zealand filming. A couple of days in they realized it wasn't going to work out and called up Viggo Mortensen. [http://www.herr-der-ringe-film.de/v2/media/archiv/hdr/townsend02.jpg There's even a still of him in character.] um... Yeah.
*** Jackson didn't realize until four days into filming that Aragorn should be an older, mature type.
** Sean Astin lobbied for his father, [[The Addams Family (TV)|John Astin]], to be given the part of Gandalf.
** When Mirimax was unable to finance the original two films, they tried to get them meshed into one two-hour movie. Thankfully, Jackson understandably considered this to be "cutting out half the good stuff." Apparently it was suggested that they:
*** Shorten Rivendell and Moria
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** Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Gandalf, but turned it down because he didn't like the first script. (Another version of this says he "didn't understand the story".) Russell Crowe was another actor who turned down a role from this movie (as Aragorn) because he didn't like the shooting schedule.
** [[Christopher Lee]] originally auditioned for the role of Gandalf.
* [[What Happened to Thethe Mouse?]]: Though it's somewhat justified by their presence not existing in the book, what '''happened''' to the elven army at Helm's Deep? Are they '''all''' victims of [[Death Byby Adaptation]]?
** The supplementary book "The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare" states that they died to a man.
** Saruman and Wormtongue's unexplained disappearance in the theatrical cut of ''RotK'' is another example. Rectified in the extended cut.
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