There have been many films in history that elicit an intimate, visceral reaction from their audiences. In fact, being able to achieve this is the hallmark of a great film. Sometimes though, a perfect storm is created where everything just fits perfectly. The result of that storm is a movie that cannot really be rated in the traditional sense. It is simply a movie (or movies) that is just right. Of course, the topic today will be none other than The Lord of the Rings, the trilogy that took the box office by storm when they came out.
Looking back at those films, and all the other films that have come out since, nothing has come close to matching the sheer quality of Peter Jackson’s masterpieces. Quality is rightly the correct word to use when speaking of these films as every scene drips with a refined touch. The set design is outstanding and those who are watching for the first time will undoubtedly drop their jaws and stare at the beauty of some of New Zealand’s diverse landscapes. The franchise has done wonders for the country’s tourism too and many tourists will travel to New Zealand to marvel at The Shire set or try to find the exact rock that the Fellowship passed by in the iconic scene.
One only must look at the sheer number of records that the series has set and continues to hold to this very day. The films are still the highest-grossing movie trilogy of all time, emphasising how popular they were at the time of the release. The third and final instalment of the series delivered an epic conclusion to the fantasy saga and ended up with a staggering 11 Oscar wins at the Academy Awards. This is a feat that no other film has managed to top, and it is hard to see if any ever will.
But why exactly are the films so loved? Putting aside the wonderful world that Tolkien created, much of its success can be put down to the director, Peter Jackson. The Lord of the Rings ushered in a new era of filmmaking, as every film saw increasingly impressive accomplishments in the areas of special effects, motion capture and practical effects. No other film had gone to the level The Lord of the Rings had gone to before, and there is no doubt that it set the bar for the standards of future films.
Films like The Lord of the Rings have been directly responsible for the growth of the film industry, which has seen a consistent rise in recent years as more exciting blockbusters come out. This mirrors other industries like gambling, you can gamble at sites just like these, which is experiencing a projection like that of the film industry. Now that COVID is assumingly over and production on films is in full swing again, this trend shows no sign of stopping. While The Lord of the Rings may be over, fans can look forward to a new chapter in the franchise which will be arriving on Prime Video in 2022.
