Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ★★★★ 2003 (PG-13)

Jackson's triumphant last chapter of the superb Tolkien trilogy brings the story to a satisfying close. After the climactic battle for Helm's Deep in “The Two Towers,” Rohan's forces, along with most of the original members of the Fellowship, must come to the aid of Minas Tirith, the capital city of Gondor, and Sauron's next target. They also attempt to distract Sauron from Frodo and Sam, whoencounter even worse hardships, including misplaced trust, deceit, and giant spiders, on their way to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring. Although the two main plots are very different in scope and dynamics, each is equally adept at maintaining depth and character development, while keeping the plot moving along. As with the first two installments, the photography is breathtaking. 200m/C VHS, DVD . US Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Ian McKellen, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Liv Tyler, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, John Noble, Ian Holm, Sean Bean, Lawrence Makoare, Marton Csokas; D: Peter Jackson; W: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens; C: Andrew Lesnie; M: Howard Shore. Oscars ‘03: Adapt. Screenplay, Art Dir./Set Dec., Costume Des., Director (Jackson), Film, Film Editing, Makeup, Song (“Into the West”), Sound, Visual FX, Orig. Score; British Acad. ‘03: Adapt. Screenplay, Cinematog., Film, Visual FX; Directors Guild ‘03: Director (Jackson); Golden Globes ‘04: Director (Jackson), Film—Drama, Song (“Into the West”), Orig. Score; L.A. Film Critics ‘03: Director (Jackson); N.Y. Film Critics ‘03: Film; Screen Actors Guild ‘03: Cast.