My Favorite Movies: Number 59

Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

I feel like I can never give this epic tale the justice it deserves. This series turned me onto the fantasy genre, as I had never been much of a fan. To this day I have never seen a Star Wars film, and I didn’t see a single Lord of the Rings film until 2006. But, once I experienced this world I was hooked and couldn’t get enough. I watched all three films in three back to back to back days.

We have extraordinary characters in extraordinary circumstances, yet through it all we are able to explore their characters. A lot of people love the story lines, the fantastical journey of Frodo and the people that help him achieve his task of destroying that ring. Some people love the visuals, the scenery, the costumes, the make up, the set pieces, the elaborate world translated on screen by Peter Jackson. To me the best thing about this trilogy is the depth of the characters.

Make no mistake about it, while this is a fantasy series, in it’s essence it is a Human Story;  each character is explored no matter how big or small their role was, and with each installation we learned more about each character. Characters changed, they grew, they struggled, they faltered, and they overcame.  This degree of character depth is something you don’t find in films very often, and something that is very difficult to achieve in films of this genre with this many characters and parallel story lines.

What makes that character depth even more impressive, is that this wasn’t an art film or a dramatic period piece, this was an over the top blockbuster of the grandest scale. There were elaborate worlds of Middle-Earth created with immaculate set design, award winning technical achievements in special effects, and large scale battle scenes that make Braveheart look like an animated Ninja Turtles fight. And calling these battle scenes isn’t giving it justice; these are battle sequences during which there is a range of emotion and adrenaline that is unparalleled.  

Another thing I love about this series, is that each installation had its own tone/feel and contained storyline, while together the three films are telling one story – That’s not easy.   

Ultimately, this series elevated the fantasy genre to be palatable for the general public.

This is an ambitious film series, with complex themes, and serious exploration into the humanity of characters in all shapes and sizes.  It’s not often that you see achievements of this scale in acting, directing, editing, set design, costume design, and special effects to go along with quality story telling and magnificent imagery.

For three installations we were able to escape into Middle-Earth, we all shared Frodo’s journey, we all felt his emotions. We felt for Samwise, we couldn’t get a pulse on Golem’s intentions, we rooted for Legolas with every arrow pulled from his quiver, and we loved Gandolf the grey (and the white). We loved these characters, and we loved this world, and we loved these films.