As the jewel in the trilogy's crown, possibly the greatest movie ever made.

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2005)

Brilliant in every way. Yes, it's long, but every time I see it (and I have the extended version of all three movies), upon reaching the end my only thought is, "My God, I have to start at the beginning of 'Fellowship' again. It has had just that profound an effect on me. Yes, I have read the books (both before and after seeing the movies), and they are truly great literature. Peter Jackson did the very best any director of film could do with such a massive amount of information--the actual re-creation of a whole world. I don't think anybody else could have done a better job. They deserved every award they won, and should have won more, as far as I'm concerned. The long debate over the acting awards... well, as Elijah has put it so many times, it really was an ensemble piece from start to finish, so how in the world could you pick any one out of the main group? Sean Astin was the obvious hero in "Return", and probably had the best chance of an individual award, but the whole cast was superlative. The actor who really changed my whole view on acting and actors, though, was Elijah Wood. An amazing person, a hugely difficult role, as the arc of his acting started up and had to go down to the very depths by the end. He did a truly incredible job and appears to embody the almost 'elvish' qualities of Frodo in his own personal life. An actor and a man of real worth. I will look forward to seeing his career advance as the years pass. This could go on and on, but in summary, the whole trilogy (with "Return of the King" as the jewel in the crown) must go down in history as the greatest epic ever made. ("Gone With the Wind" used to be my favorite. It now has the almost-revered second position.) A once-in-a-lifetime experience for any movie-goer.