Here are some interesting comments on the new Lord of the Rings: Return of the King film by Peter Jackson

Without distracting from the flow of the film, Peter Jackson can pay homage to Tolkien’s book through subtle (and not so subtle) reference to the chapter titles (“Strider”, “Shortcut to Mushrooms”) as well as to Tolkien art—which isn’t surprising since Alan Lee and John Howe worked on the “look” and sets of the film, especially in such scenes as the first view of Aragorn, the hobbits hiding from the Black Rider beneath the tree roots, and the Fellowship on Caradhras.  None of this is too surprising from a fan of Tolkien as the director of the greatest film adaptation of our generation. 

But what is less obvious, though still very evident, is Jackson’s homage to other significant films from film history.  I am providing a short list (based on 3 viewings of LOTR:ROTK in the first week), most coming from ROTK though some are in FOTR and TTT, and I invite others to add to this list:

1)      Braveheart (or Spartacus)—Aragorn speaking to the men before the Black Gates

2)      Seventh Seal—reference to Wild Strawberries and cream by Sam

3)      Kagemusha—zig-zag line of warriors riding out of Edoras

4)      Terminator II (or Richard III [with Ian McKellen, coincidentally] or Alien 2)—Gollum falling into lava on Mount Doom

5)      Cliffhanger (or, strangely, North by Northwest)—Frodo being rescued by Sam at Mount Doom

6)      Ten Commandments—splitting of earth and orcs falling in at Black Gates

7)      Hunchback of Notre Dame (not animated version)—leader of orcs in front of Minas Tirith

8)      Little Big Man—makeup on Bilbo at the end

9)      Wizard of Oz—death of Witch King of Angmar, and Frodo and Sam dressed as orcs watching other orcs march out

10)  Pirates of the Caribbean, The Mummy, the Mummy Returns, and Scorpion King—skeleton army on Paths of the Dead and at Minas Tirith

11)  Clockwork Orange—way Frodo’s eyes look at the end when he is mad and looks like Alex in the Korova Milkbar

12)  Much Ado about Nothing (Branagh)—falling of flower pedals on newly crowned King Aragorn

13)  Road Warrior—Frodo being carried by the eagle

14)  Saving Private Ryan—crossing of amphibious boats into Osgiliath and battles in destroyed city (also reminiscent of Full Metal Jacket)

15)  Traffic—different color schemes for characters or places (green at Cirith Ungol, blue for Aragorn and Theoden at Dunharrow)

16)  Anything by Orson Welles—Jackson’s use of 3D space, especially Mount Doom and the Eye from the Black Gates, or Minas Tirith from Osgiliath.

17)  Seven Samurai—any battle scene shot in close-ups with moving camera (but this is almost cliché for all films since Kurosawa)

18)  2001: A Space Odyssey—Gandalf’s “death” vision in TTT

19)  Shining—Frodo’s vision underwater in the Dead Marshes in TTT

20)  Titanic—fate of orcs falling into water when Ents attack Isengard, especially tipping over of large barge in TTT

21)  Vertigo—Frodo’s view of the road just before the Black Rider shows up in FOTR

22)  The Piano—Sam under water at the end in FOTR

23)  Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings—Proudfoot’s feet on table (Jackson himself admits this “reference”) in LOTR