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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Oscar™ Best Picture - Winning Movies

2003

Peter Jackson

Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin ...

8.2

186,558

Fantasy. Adventure. Action Sauron's forces have laid siege to Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, in their efforts to eliminate the race of men. The once-great kingdom, watched over by a fading steward, has never been in more desperate need of its king. But can Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) answer the call of his heritage and become what he was born to be? In no small measure, the fate of Middle-earth rests on his broad shoulders. With the final battle joined and ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Richard Corliss Time	"No one made a better movie this year [2003] (...) The glory of these three Rings is that they can't be compartmentalized into crafts, or even individual films. They are one grand, serious, mature epic"
		Claudia Puig USA Today	"The jewel in the crown of the masterful trilogy."
		Elvis Mitchell The New York Times	"'King' is a meticulous and prodigious vision (...) [It] is the product of impressive craft and energy"
		Todd McCarthy Variety	"The best of the lot. With epic conflict, staggering battles, striking landscapes and effects, and resolved character arcs (...) More than nine hours of masterful storytelling"
		Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times	"'The Return of the King' combines the simple and the spectacular to bring a towering adventure to a close (...) Some of its most memorable moments are its simplest"
		Ty Burr Boston Globe	"There are no small moments anywhere in it, and maybe there should have been - but it shows a great moviemaker in the full joy of his passion, and it's visionary enough to qualify as a working definition of cinema itself."
		Alan Morrison Empire	"Those who have walked beside these heroes every step of the way on such a long journey deserve the emotional pay-off as well as the action peaks, and they will be genuinely touched as the final credits roll (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		J. Hoberman Village Voice	"At once exhausting and riveting. It’s a technological marvel, and for those not with the program, a bit of a bore."
		FilmAffinity	"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" achieved an unprecedented sweep, winning all 11 of its nominations.
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"A fantastic spectacle (...) With enormous energy and a passionately exacting eye for detail, Jackson has made the regressive-romantic legend live again (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"'Return of the King' dispatches its characters to their destinies with a grand and eloquent confidence. This is the best of the three (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"
		Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"'King' pops your eyes, excites your senses and brings you in as close as a whisper for scenes of startling emotion (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"
		Keith Phipps AV Club	"Every gesture conveys a significance emphasized by Jackson's slow, portentous approach"

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