Favorite Movie of All Time: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

I used to keep a small piece of paper in my wallet that had a list of my “Top 10″ movies of all time. I would produce this list whenever someone would ask me what my favorites were. On occasion, I would have to seriously consider swapping out one for another, but like I said this was only on occasion. So very few movies have really made an impact in my life over the past 20 years or so, so that this list became rather dated. I ended up putting the list away, as I found that it seemed useless to even try and keep track any more of the” best of the best”. The movies that were being churned out by Hollywood lacked that special something that movies used to have. After watching a movie, I would often think to myself, “Now, why wasn’t that just a thirty minute television program? I have just wasted ninety minutes of my life that I will never get back”. In 2001, that all changed.

When Peter Jackson directed the first in a series of three movies based on the J.R.R. Tolkein books of The Hobbit, I knew that I needed to update that little scrap of paper that I had put away years ago. All three of the movies, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, were amazing in every aspect. The location, the cast, the cinematography, the story; everything. Although it is a very difficult decision to say which of these movies is the better one, I have settled on the last, The Return of the King. This movie is currently my favorite of all time.

Overall, I found it so refreshing that this movie was not done in typical Hollywood style. I love the fact that every detail was considered, and ends were tied. This is something that draws the viewer in and holds on to them until the end, when they say “wow – that was intense”, and then leaves them wondering how it could possibly get any better than this. With these three movies, it actually does seem to get a little better with each section of the story. Perhaps I should not say “better”, but more real. I felt as if I could completely relate to what was happening in the story. We all face good and bad, and we all must overcome the evil that is around us at all times. We know that good always overcomes evil, that light always vanquishes darkness. But with this story, you are not quite sure that is going to be the case. The evil is so strong, you wonder how it will ever be overcome.

The filming location was truly out of this world. Being filmed in New Zealand was one of the points that really made the movie for me. Could this have all been done on a set, probably. Would it have had the same impact, absolutely not. The cast in The Return of the King were so believable, so real, that it was hard to believe that they would actually take off their costumes and make-up at the end of a shooting and go out to a restuarant in town for dinner. You would truly believe that they would congregate around a tent or a make-shift shelter and roast something over an open fire while downing a mug of grog for dinner.

The three scenes in Return of the King that stand out the most for me: 1) The epic battle scene to gain control over Minas Tirith is one of the most intense and engrossing scenes in any movie. 2) A most moving and heroic speech is given by Aragorn while his army is at the Black Gate, while awaiting certain death. 3) When it looks as if all hope is lost for Frodo and Samwise while they are on the edge of Mount Doom, Samwise musters up all of the strength in his heart and tells Frodo that while he cannot carry the ring, he can carry him! And he does just that!

I now have a new list that I carry in my wallet. On it are written three movie titles. You now know which movie is at the top, and you probably also know what the other two titles are. The reviews of the different author drama can be checked at the site. The phil dragash’s lotr reading is the most immersive for the interested audience to watch or read the book.