The epic battle begins in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (Peter Jackson, 2001-3)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
August 12-14, 6:00
Tickets: $12, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk beginning at 9:30 am
212-708-9400
www.moma.org
www.lordoftherings.net
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (Peter Jackson, 2001)
Tuesday, August 12, 6:00
MoMA’s series of films looking at the more recent history of Warner Bros., “A View from the Vaults,” concludes this week with Peter Jackson’s exhilarating and exhausting Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the first part of the Australian director’s fantastical adventure epic based on the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, Elijah Wood stars as Luke Skywalker, a young man who is suddenly thrust into the middle of the ultimate battle of good vs. evil. He is mentored by a strange little creature called Yoda (Ian Holm), and he is tutored by an old man with special powers, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Sir Ian McKellen). Obi-Wan has had a falling-out with the formerly good but now bad Darth Vader (Christopher Lee). Meanwhile, Luke is joined by hot young stud Han Solo (Viggo Mortensen), who promises to protect him as he falls for the beautiful princess in white, Leia (Liv Tyler). Comic relief is supplied by R2D2 (Dominic Monaghan) and C3PO (Billy Boyd). Jackson’s film, which was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards and won four (Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, and Best Original Song), is a whole lot of fun, even if you haven’t read the books. And to think that it was made by the man who once gave us the infantile, disgusting, hysterical Meet the Feebles.
Gollum (Andy Serkis) is after “the precious.” in THE TWO TOWERS
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (Peter Jackson, 2002)
Wednesday, August 13, 6:00
Peter Jackson continues Tolkien’s immortal tale as Frodo (Elijah Wood) is off to see the wizard (Christopher Lee) at Mordor, where he can destroy evil by throwing the Ring into a fiery volcano. In addition to loyal Samwise (Sean Astin), Frodo is joined by a creature called Gollum (Andy Serkis), which is what you come up with when you mix Yoda with Steve Buscemi. Throw in a bunch of Ents and Orcs, the kingdoms of Rohan and Gondor, and lots of great music and special effects and you have a three-hour film — which earned six more Oscar nods, winning two (Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects) — that surpasses the first part and will leave you unwilling to wait another whole year for the conclusion.
Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Samwise (Sean Astin) have one last chance in THE RETURN OF THE KING
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson, 2003)
Thursday, August 14, 6:00
Peter Jackson remains faithful to J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision in the thrilling conclusion to one of the great cinematic trilogies of all time. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are on their way to Mordor to cast the evil ring into the fires of Mt. Doom, but their guide, Gollom (Andy Serkis), has other plans for “the precious.” Meanwhile, Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen, who was once married to Exene Cervenka) are preparing to do battle in a sure-suicide mission. This is a grand adventure movie that, although it lags during the anticlimactic wrap-up, is well worth its epic length (nearly three and a half hours). The finale captured another eleven Academy Award nominations, winning them all, including, at last, a Best Director victory for Jackson as well as Best Picture. Fortunately, the MoMA series stops here, not including the 2012 critical and popular prequel flop, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.