11) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
There was, overall, something so excruciatingly sad about The Return of the King. This was the end of Peter Jackson’s journey through the world so painstakingly and lovingly created by Tolkien in his epic The Lord of the Rings. We had been on that journey with Jackson, and the level of dedication with which he had brought Middle Earth to the big screen was worthy of Tolkien’s own diligence, and almost equal to it, in certain ways. From the breath-taking landscapes, to the last brooch on every individual’s costume, The Lord of the Rings bordered on sheer, cinematic flawlessness. There had never been another series of films like it – and there never will be again.
Then, of course, there is the ending of the story itself. Many years after the demise of Sauron, and the return of the Fellowship members to their own lands, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are living peaceful and purposeful lives in their beloved Hobbiton. For Frodo, however, the traumas of the journey to Mordor, and of having been the ring-bearer, prove in the end to be inescapable, and he decides to leave Middle Earth for The Grey Havens, along with his Uncle Bilbo (who, of course, had also been a ring-bearer), Gandalf, and the Elves.
As they gather by the ship, Frodo takes his leave of the weeping Merry and Pippin, and then turns to Sam – faithful Sam, who followed Frodo to the ends of the earth, and who, throughout all the trials, hardships, danger and death that they had seen in many lands, had never thought of anything but Frodo, and his safety and wellbeing. It is this goodbye that is the hardest – for Frodo will finally be going where Sam can’t follow.
But actually, it is clear that there are many other goodbyes happening here. It is during this scene that there can be no doubt that we are witnessing not just the end of an era between the fictional characters, but between the cast members too. When Frodo and Sam embrace, it is absolutely certain that the tears of all of the characters/actors (not to mention the audience) are entirely real.
Frodo then goes aboard with Gandalf, and turns back to smile at his friends, his face young and unburdened again in a way that it hasn’t been since the earliest days of The Fellowship of the Ring. The ship sets sail, and against a glorious combination of Annie Lennox’s closing song Into the West with the original theme of the fellowship, Sam returns home to his family.
Obviously, these scenes are not original to Peter Jackson – they would not exist at all if it were not for the extraordinary storytelling of J.R.R. Tolkien. But the emotional power of this sequence is not just due to the bittersweet ending of a wonderful story, it is testament to Jackson’s achievement in creating a series of films that every single person who was involved with them – whether actor, writer, costume designer, crew or audience member – deeply cared about.
The end credits continue this spirit of devotion, with Alan Lee’s lovingly detailed pencil drawings of each character appearing slowly as the heartbreaking Into the West plays in full. In these moments, here at the close of the years in which we had the privilege of this indescribably moving cinematic experience, there is genuinely a sense that we really are at the end of all things.