There can be no triumph without loss. No victory without suffering. No freedom without sacrifice.
As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. Yet, the sole hope for triumph over evil lies with a brave hobbit, Frodo, who, accompanied by his loyal friend Sam and the hideous, wretched Gollum, ventures deep into the very dark heart of Mordor on his seemingly impossible quest to destroy the Ring of Power.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is a adventure, fantasy and action film directed by Peter Jackson, released on December 17, 2003 with a runtime of 3h 21m. It stars Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Sean Astin. Viewers rate it 8.5 out of 10 across 27,297 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
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Behind the Scenes
Elijah Wood
as Frodo
Ian McKellen
as Gandalf
Viggo Mortensen
as Aragorn
Sean Astin
as Sam
Andy Serkis
as Gollum / Smeagol
Dominic Monaghan
as Merry
Billy Boyd
as Pippin
John Noble
as Denethor
David Wenham
as Faramir
Miranda Otto
as Éowyn
Bernard Hill
as Théoden
John Rhys-Davies
as Gimli
Directed by Peter Jackson, written by J. R. R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, produced by Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne and Fran Walsh.
Average viewer score of 8.5/10 from 27,297 ratings.
And so all good things come to an end. For three years in a row, Peter Jackson has banished our winter blues with the individual instalments of his Tolkien trilogy, effectively shifting the focus of our cinematic excitement from the summer months to the end of the year. But now that his epic has been unveiled in its entirety, what will be the lasting effects of his achievement? Well, grand-scale fantasy filmmaking…
Reviewed on July 20, 2013
Too much CGI, redundancy, clichés and drawn out “looks of love” for my tastes. RELEASED 2003 and directed by Peter Jackson, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” adapts the third part of JRR Tolkien’s popular fantasy trilogy about adventures on Middle-Earth: Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) continue to try to make their way to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Meanwhile…
Reviewed on March 11, 2018
Great finale to a great trilogy. The action and battle sequences were amazing and even though I've seen this a few times over the years, still thrilling to the end. I didn't even mind the multiple endings as I had in the past, nice each character got their due. **4.75/5**
Reviewed on September 21, 2020
An outstanding end to the trilogy. I expected a lot from <em>'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'</em> so I am delighted to see it produce on so many levels. I, funnily enough, wouldn't actually say it's necessarily the most perfect execution - what with the plot coincidences and extreme character armour. But that doesn't matter one jot whatsoever, as the story wraps up in arguably the best way - at…
Reviewed on February 19, 2021
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is available to stream on HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV and HBO Max, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand and Plex. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) includes Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin and Andy Serkis. The film was directed by Peter Jackson. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was released on December 17, 2003 and runs for 3h 21m.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) holds an average rating of 8.5 out of 10 from 27,297 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy adventure, fantasy and action films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
