The King makes his return in filmmaker Peter Jackson's stunning conclusion to "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy," arriving on DVD and VHS on May 25, 2004. The home video debut of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" will be available on a two-disc DVD and VHS for $29.95 and $24.97, respectively. A special extended edition of "The Return of the King" will follow as planned in time for the holidays.
Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure of good versus evil, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" will be released separately in both widescreen and fullscreen versions, each including a second disc offering hours of additional content. Disc Two will feature behind-the-scenes specials, featurettes, theatrical trailers, TV spots, "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy" supertrailer, a preview of the upcoming "The Lord of the Rings"-based video game from Electronic Arts and a link to exclusive online content about the motion picture trilogy.
"`The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' is the crowning glory of a truly unparalleled filmmaking achievement," said Stephen Einhorn, president and chief operating officer of New Line Home Entertainment. "The two-DVD edition includes the award-winning theatrical epic as well as hours of behind-the-scenes bonus materials."
With current domestic and worldwide box office receipts at more than $364.1 million and $1 billion, respectively, and rising, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is the most successful box office film of the trilogy. The film currently ranks as the second highest-grossing worldwide theatrical release of all time, becoming the second film ever to earn more than $1 billion and the first to hit this mark in only ten weeks.
After appearing on over 270 national critics' year-end top ten lists -- occupying the number one spot on nearly 100 of them, including Time, Entertainment Weekly, The Wall Street Journal and New York Daily News -- "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" swept the 76th Annual Academy Awards(R), winning every one of the 11 categories in which it was nominated:
- Best Picture, Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne and Fran Walsh, Producers
- Director, Peter Jackson
- Adapted Screenplay, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson
- Costume Design, Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor
- Art Direction, Grant Major (Art Direction); Dan Hennah and Alan Lee (Set Decoration)
- Film Editing, Jamie Selkirk
- Original Score, Howard Shore
- Original Song, "Into The West," Music and Lyrics by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox; Performed By Annie Lennox
- Makeup, Richard Taylor and Peter King
- Visual Effects, Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke
- Sound Mixing, Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek