The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King (newmovietop.blogspot.com)

Ok. We all know The Lord Of The Rings The Return Of The King is one of the best movie ever made. And it managed to become 2nd film to crosses the 1 billion $ mark. The Lord of the RingsThe Return Of The King is a 2003 epic fantasy film , written by J. R. R. Tolkien and directed by Peter Jackson.It is the third installment in The Lord of the Rings film series, preceded by TheFellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002). This trilogy Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with an overall budget of $281 million the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all three films done simultaneously and entirely in New Zealand. The series was a major financial success, with the films collectively being among the highest-grossing film series of all time.

 The films were critically acclaimed and heavily awarded, winning 17 out of 30 total Academy Award nominations. Especially ; The Return Of The King won all 11 Academy Awards for which it was nominated(in 76 Academy Award), therefore holding the record for highest Oscar sweep With Titanic (1997) and Ben-Hur(1959). The wins included the awards for Best Picture, the first and only time a fantasy film has done so.

The Lord of the Rings; The Return Of The King received rave reviews and universal acclaim, and became one of the greatest critical and box-office successes of all time. It was only the second film to gross $1 billion worldwide against its budget $ 94 million. becoming the highest grossing film released by New Line Cinema, as well as the biggest financial success for Time Warner in general, until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($1.31 billion) surpassed The Return of the King‍ '​s final gross in 2011. The film was the highest-grossing film of 2003 and, by the end of its theatrical run, the second highest-grossing film in history.

 The Two Towers  story continues in this Film. As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth Gandolf and King Théoden rally their forces to help defend Gondor. Aragorn finally claims the throne of Gondor and, with the aid of Legolas and Gimli summons the Army of the Dead, to help him defeat Sauron. After a long journey, Frodo, Sam, and Gollum arrive in the land of Mordor, seeking to destroy the Ring in the place in which Sauron created it: the volcanic fires of Mount Doom.

The Lord of the Rings; The Return Of The King directed by Peter Jackson, Produced byBarrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, and Peter Jackson.And music by Howard Shore, Edited by Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen and Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie. Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Stephen Sinclair, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. Film released in 1 December 2003 in Wellington, 17 December 2003 in U.S.A and 18 December 2003 in New Zealand with 201 minutes running time. Here is the movie trailer.

Plot

Gandalf leads Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and King Théoden to Isengard where they reunite with Merry and Pippin, who helped the Ents destroy Saruman’s forces. Gandalf retrieves Saruman’s palantír which is viewed by a curious Pippin, allowing Sauron to attack the Hobbit’s mind. Gandalf deduces Sauron will attack Gondor’s capital Minas Tirith, riding there with Pippin. They meet Lord Denethor, who is Boromir’s father. Pippin declares his service to Denethor after Boromir died protecting him. Frodo, Sam ,and Gollum witness the fortress' lord, the Witch-king of Angmar leading an Orc army to drive Denethor’s youngest son Faramir, and his men from Osgiliath. The three soon begin climbing an enormous stairway in the cliff face that would take them to Mordor. Sam keeps a suspicious eye on Gollum and in Gondor Pippin secretly lights distress beacons to signal Théoden to assemble the Rohirrim for battle while Gandalf helps Faramir and men reach Minas Tirith.

While helping Théoden gather his forces, Aragorn is approached by Elrond who tells him that Arwen is dying after she returned to Riverdell upon seeing a vision of her son that convinced her to stay on Middle Earth. Elrond then gives Aragorn the sword Andúril, Isildur's sword Narsil reforged, so he can reclaim his birthright while gaining reinforcements from the Dead Men of Dunharrow. Aragon, Legolas, and Gimli travels to the Paths of the Dead, recruiting the Army of the Dead with the promise to release them from their curse once they fulfil their oath they made to Isildur. Denethor falls into madness when he believes a wounded Faramir is dead , leaving Gandalf to command the city defences against the Orc army under Gothmog.

 But as Gothmog's forces eventually force their way into the city, Denethor tries to kill himself and Faramir on a bonfire. Pippin alerts Gandalf and they save Faramir while Denethor throws himself off the top of Minas Tirith as Théoden and the Rohirrim arrive. Initially having the advantage at the start of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Rohirrim end up being overwhelmed by the Oliphaunt-riding Haradrim while the Witch-king mortally wounds Théoden. Though Théoden’s niece Éowyn, having posed as a male soldier, slays the Witch-King with Merry's help, Théoden dies of his wounds. Aragorn arrives with the Army of the Dead, quickly wiping out the Orcs and winning the battle.After the fight Aragon released The Death Army free and agree to lead a united front to match towards the Black Gate as a distraction so Frodo and Sam get to Mount Doom.

Meanwhile, Gollum manipulates Frodo into leaving Sam behind before they arrive to the tunnel leading to Mordor. Gollum then leaves Frodo to get killed by the giant spider Shelob. Though Sam returns and drives Shelob off, he takes Frodo's sword Sting and the Ring for safekeeping, believing him to be dead. Realizing Frodo is alive Sam saves him from Orcs. The Hobbits' are attacked by Gollum after they reach Mount Doom. Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power, refusing to destroy it. However, Gollum attacks Frodo, biting his finger off to reclaim the Ring in a struggle that sends Gollum falling to his death with the Ring in hand. 

As Sam saves Frodo, the Ring and Sauron are both destroyed, causing an eruption that consumes Mordor and wipes out most of the fleeing Orcs. Gandalf flies in with eagles to rescue the Hobbits, who later reawaken in Rivendell and reunite with the surviving Fellowship members. Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and taking Arwen as his queen before all present at his coronation bowing before Frodo and the other Hobbits. They return to Shire and Sam marries Rosie. Frodo, unable to cope with the traumas of his journey, departs Middle Earth with Gandolf and Bilbo and leaves Red Book of Westmarch that details their adventures for sam.

Here is the ending.

Cast

·         Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins

·         Sean Astin as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee

·         Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

·         Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey

·         Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf

·         Liv Tyler as Arwen Undomiel

·         John Rhys-Davies as Gimli

·         Bernard Hill as Théoden

·         Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin"

·         Miranda Otto as Éowyn

·         Hugo Weaving as Elrond

·         Andy Serkis as Gollum

·         Cate Blanchett as Galadriel

·         David Wenham as Faramir

·         John Noble as Denethor II

Denethor, the Steward of Gonder, was a more tragic character in the book. Also Battle of the Pelennor Fields is altered: Faramir never goes on a suicide mission, and the conflict is a simplification of the siege of Osgiliath. Extra dialogue in Merry and Pippin's first scene at Isengard reuniting them with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli was added. There is also the final confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman, in which Saruman is stabbed to death by Wormtongue, who is killed by Legolas in turn. The scenes between the end of the Pelennor battle and Black Gate battle are extended.

Production and filming

Jackson found The Return of the King the easiest of the films to make, because it contained the climax of the story, unlike the other two films. Filming took place under multiple units across New Zealand, between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000, with pick up shoots for six weeks in 2003 before the film's release. Middle-earth as envisioned by Jackson was primarily designed by Alan Lee and John Howe, former Tolkien illustrators, and created by Weta Workshop, who handled all the trilogy's weapons, armour, miniatures, prosthetics and creatures, as well as the Art Department which built the sets. The film has the most extensive list of re-shoots given for the trilogy. Jackson took his time to re-shoot Aragorn's coronation and re-shot scenes in and around Mount Doom, and Théoden's death, right after Bernard Hill was meant to wrap.

The Return of the King contains 1,488 visual effect shots, nearly three times the number from the first film and almost twice that of the second. Visual effects work began with Alan Lee and Mark Lewis compositing various photographs of New Zealand landscape to create the digital arena of the Pelennor Fields in November 2002. The music was composed by Howard Shore, who previously composed the first two parts of the trilogy. Shore watched the assembly cut of the film, and had to write seven minutes of music per day to keep up with the schedule.

Critical Response And Box office

The film earned total of $1,119,929,521 worldwide adainst it budget $ 94 million. It was the highest-grossing 2003 film and It was the second film in history to earn over $1 billion, making it the second highest grossing film at the time. Also it is the the highest-grossing installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The substantial increase in initial box office totals caused optimistic studio executives to forecast that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King would surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in total earnings. If this proved to be true, then this would be the first blockbuster movie trilogy for each successive film to earn more at the box office than its predecessor, when all three films were blockbuster successes.

The Return of the King holds a 95% "Fresh" rating on the aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 261 reviews, with an average score of 8.7. The film holds a score of 94 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 41 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave three and a half stars out of four and Richard Corliss of Time named it the best film of the year. The main criticism of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was its running time, particularly the epilogue; even rave reviews for the film commented on its length. In 2007, Total Film named The Return of the King the third best film of the past decade behind The Matrix and Fight Club.

Awards

The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Make-up, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. At the 76th Academy Awards in 2004, the film won all the categories for which it was nominated and it holds the record for highest Academy Award totals along with Titanic and Ben Hur. The film also won four Golden Globes, five BAFTAs, two MTV Movie Awards, two Grammy Awards, nine Saturn Awards.

Reference

1.       Wikipedia “The Lord of the Rings; The Return Of The King”.

Star Wars The Force Awakens

Star Wars The Force Awakens (Newmovietop.blogspot.com)

We all knows, Star Wars Force Awakens is one of the most anticipated movie ever in the history. And it is one of the greatest  movie  ever made. Star Wars The Force Awakens  was released on 14^th December 2015 to a enormous attention from audience as well as critics.Star Wars The Force Awakens is a 2015 American epic space opera film directed, co-produced, and co-written by J. J. Abrams. The film is the 7^th  installment in Star Wars main Series and The Force Awakens is set about 30 years after Return of the Jedi, and follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron's fight with the Resistance, led by veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, which descended from the Galactic Empire.

The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles on December 14, 2015. Critics compared it favorably to the original trilogy, praising its action sequences, characters, acting, special effects, musical score and emotional drama, though some criticized it as derivative. It received five Academy Award nominations, including Williams' first Star Wars nomination since Return of the Jedi, and four BAFTA Film Awards. The film was widely anticipated, and it has broken many box office records, attaining the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time and reaching $1 billion faster than any other film. As of Febuary 14^th , 2016, it has generated a global box office revenue of over $2billion, becoming the highest-grossing film in the franchise, as well as the third-highest of all time. Two sequels, Episode VIII and Episode IX, are scheduled for release on May 26, 2017 and in 2019, respectively.

• Things you must Know about Star Wars Episode VIII

The film is Directed by by J.J Abrams, Produced by J.J Abrams, Bryan Burk, and Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan rewrote an initial script by Michael Arndt. John Williams, composer for the previous six films, returned to compose its score and distributed by Walt Disney and Motion Pictures. Filming began in April 2014 in Abu Dhabi and Iceland, with principal photography also taking place in Ireland and Pinewood Studios in England. Star Wars The Force Awakens released on December 14 2015 in Los Angeles and 28 Desember 2015 in United States With 135 minutes Running time. As of Febuary 14^th, 2016, it has generated a global box office revenue of over $2billion and agains it’s budget  $ 200 million and becomes 3^rd  movie ever to pass $2 billion mark.This is the Star Wars Force Awakens  movie trailer.

Plot

30 years after the destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has disappeared. The First Order has risen from the fallen Galactic Empire and seeks to eliminate Luke and the Republic. The Resistance, backed by the Republic and led by Luke's twin sister, General Leia Organa, opposes them while searching for Luke to enlist his aid. Resistance pilot Poe Dameron meets village elder on the planet Jakku to obtain a map to Luke's location. Stormtroopers under the command of Kylo Ren destroy the village and capture Poe. Poe's droid BB-8 escapes with the map, and encounters a scavenger, Rey, at a junkyard settlement. Ren tortures Poe and learns of BB-8. Stormtrooper FN-2187, unable to kill for the First Order, frees Poe and they escape in a stolen TIE fighter; Poe dubs FN-2187 "Finn". They crash on Jakku, and Finn appears to be the only survivor. He encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike. They flee the planet in a stolen, rundown ship, the Millennium Falcon.

The Falcon breaks down, and is captured by a much larger ship, piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca, who reclaim their former vessel. Somehow five managed to escape in the Falcon. The criminals inform the First Order of Han's involvement. At the First Order's Starkiller Base, a planet converted to a superweapon capable of destroying star systems, Supreme Leader Snoke orders General Hux to use it for the first time. Snoke also questions Ren about the involvement of his father, Han Solo Ren protests that Han means nothing to him. The Falcon crew view BB-8's map and determine it is incomplete. Han explains that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi Order but went into exile after an apprentice turned to the dark side and destroyed all that Luke had built. They travel to the planet Takodana and meet with cantina owner Maz Kanata, who can help BB-8 reach the Resistance, but Finn wants to flee on his own. Rey is drawn to a vault and finds the lightsaber that belonged to Luke and his father Anakin Skywalker before him. She experiences disturbing visions and flees into the woods. Maz gives Finn the lightsaber for safekeeping.

Starkiller Base destroys the Republic capital and fleet. The First Order attacks Takodana in search of BB-8. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, but Rey is captured by Ren and taken to Starkiller Base. Ren interrogates Rey about the map, but she resists his mind-reading. Discovering she, too, can use the Force, she escapes her cell with a Jedi mind trick. Leia arrives at Takodana with C-3PO and reunites with Han and Chewbacca. At the Resistance base on D'Qar, BB-8 finds R2-D2 who has been inactive since Luke's disappearance.

As Starkiller Base prepares to fire on D'Qar, the Resistance devises a plan to destroy it by attacking a critical facility. Leia urges Han to return their son alive. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the base. They lower its shield, find Rey, set explosives, and encounter Ren. Han confronts Ren, calling him by his birth name, Ben, and implores him to abandon the dark side. Though conflicted, Ren kills Han. Enraged, Chewbacca shoots Ren in the side and sets off the explosives, allowing the Resistance X-wing fighters to attack and start a chain reaction that destroys Starkiller Base.

The injured Ren pursues Finn and Rey to the surface. Finn battles Ren with the lightsaber, but is overpowered and badly wounded. Rey takes the lightsaber and fights Ren, overpowering him with the Force before they are separated by a fissure. Snoke orders Hux to evacuate and bring Ren to him, while Rey and Chewbacca escape with Finn in the Falcon. On D'Qar, the Resistance celebrates while Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han's death. R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, which Rey follows with R2-D2 and Chewbacca to an island on a distant planet. She finds Luke and presents him with his lightsaber.Here is the ending of the movie.

Plot credited:- Wikipedia “Star Wars The Force Awakens “

Cast

·           Harrison Ford as Han Solo.

·         Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

·         Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa.

·         Adam Driver as Kylo Ren.

·         John Boyega as Finn.

·         Daisy Ridley as Rey.

·         Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata.

·         Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron.

·         Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata.

·         Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke

Development

Star Wars creator George Lucas discussed ideas for a sequel trilogy several times after the conclusion of the original trilogy, but denied any intent to make it. In October 2012, he sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the Star Wars franchise, to The Walt Disney Company. As creative consultant on the film, Lucas attended early story meetings and advised on the details of the Star Wars universe but he later stated that Disney had discarded his story ideas. Several directors were considered and J. J. Abrams was named director in January 2013. Arndt worked on the script for eight months, but said he needed 18 more, so Arndt's exit from the project on October 24, 2013, and Kasdan and Abrams took over script duties and the first draft was completed in six weeks.

In May 2013, it was confirmed that Episode VII would be filmed in the United Kingdom. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne  agreed to produce Episode VII in the UK. He also committed £25 million ($37 million) of public money towards the film, claiming it was a boost for British culture and the film industry. Film editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon, film's costume designer was Michael Kaplan, cinematographer Daniel Mindel were also signed in.In February 2014, Abrams said filming would begin in May and last about three months. Principal photography would commence in May and be based at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. It also filmed in Iceland, U.A.E. emirate of Abu Dhabi. Skellig Michael island off the coast of County Kerry in Ireland etc.

Principal photography began in Abu Dhabi on May 16, 2014. In June, Harrison Ford fractured his leg while filming at Pinewood after a hydraulic door on the Millennium Falcon set fell on him, and was taken to a hospital. According to Abrams, Ford's ankle "went to a 90-degree angle. Abrams also fractured a vertebra in his own back when he was trying to help lift the door after Ford's accident. Principal photography ended on November 3, 2014. Abrams supervised post-production and editing of the film at Bad Robot Productions' headquarters in Santa Monica and gave the estimated running time of the film as 124–125 minutes.

In July 2013, John Williams was confirmed to compose the score. Recording sessions for The Force Awakens began in June 2015 at the Sony Pictures Studios' Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage in Culver City, with William Ross conducting most of the music. Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theatre, El Captain Theatre and Dolby Theatre on December 14, 2015. On November 28, 2014, Lucasfilm released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote The Force Awakens. It was also released on YouTube and the iTunes Store, generating a record 58.2 million views on YouTube in its first week.

On April 16, 2015, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting two minutes and the trailer was viewed over 88 million times within the first 24 hours of release, breaking the record. According to the Guinness World Records, the second teaser trailer amassed 30.65 million in 24 hours, setting a new world record for the "most viewed movie trailer on YouTube in 24 hours. Another trailer released in in August 2015 and it received 128 million views in 24 hours, a new record for the most views of a trailer in 24 hours.

Reception and Box office

As of February 16, 2016, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has grossed for a worldwide total of $2 billion, against a budget of $200 million. The film is currently the highest-grossing release of 2015, the highest-grossing film released by Walt Disney Studios, the highest-grossing film in North America, and the third-highest-grossing film of all time. It was the 24th film in cinematic history to surpass $1 billion worldwide, standing as the fastest film to surpass the mark, doing so in 12 days.And critis the 3rd movie ever to pass $2 billion mark in sales.  Upon it’s release  it broke many records. On its opening day, the film grossed $119.1 million from 14,300 screens, marking the biggest single and opening day record and the first time a film has earned more than $100 million in a single day.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and audiences. Rotten Tomatoes gave it score of 93% based on 324 reviews and a rating average of 8.2/10. Metacritic, assigned the film a weighted score of 81 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating " universal acclaim". CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an A grade, women, under-25s and under-18s gave it an "A+", while 98% of audiences gave it an "A" or "B". The Guardian also gave it five stars out of five.

Accolades

Still there are so many nominations for this movie. I am going to updates this section when it wins the Awards.

Sorce:-Wikipedia “Star Wars The Force Awakens”