The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide

by Brian Sibley

The mythos, landscapes and characters that Tolkien created are nothing short of spectacular, and it has taken four decades for cinema technology to reach the necessary level of sophistication to bring them to life. Now, Peter Jackson has accomplished the extraordinary feat to make three motion pictures simultaneously to capture Tolkien's vision in its entirety.
For the past several years, Peter Jackson and his team of dedicated film-makers have been working day and night to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece of epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings, to the screen. They have filmed all over the spectacular landscapes of New Zealand, and drawn upon the skills of a small army of artists - including digital wizards, medieval weapons experts, stone sculptors, linguists, costumers, make-up designers, blacksmiths and model builders - together with a cast of internationally renowned actors, and literally thousands of extras, to make this ambitious dream come true. And the boundaries of special effects have been pushed up to, and beyond, their limits to make The Lord of the Rings Trilogy a ground-breaking, and visually stunning, cinematic experience.
Designed as a celebration of the films, The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide is a lavishly illustrated behind-the-scenes guide which includes full-colour photos of the cast, locations, sets, monsters and costumes, together with exclusive interviews with Peter Jackson and all the principal cast. It also features an entertaining overview of the conception, design and filming of the trilogy over the last five years that will give the reader a privileged insight into the making of the most important movie trilogy of the decade.

Genres: Fantasy, Reference, Media Tie In, Film, Fiction, Art, Classics

120 pages, Hardcover

First published November 6, 2001

About the author

Brian Sibley is an English writer, broadcaster, and award-winning dramatist.

The author of over 100 hours of radio drama and hundreds of documentaries and features for the BBC, he is best known for his acclaimed 1981 radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, co-written with Michael Bakewell, as well as dramatizations of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels, and Richard Adams’s Watership Down.

Sibley has also written numerous original plays for radio, presented popular BBC programmes including Kaleidoscope and Talking Pictures, and produced documentaries on figures ranging from Lewis Carroll and Ray Bradbury to Julie Andrews and Walt Disney.

His contributions to broadcasting have earned him accolades such as the Sony Radio Award and the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Adaptation.

In print, Sibley is the author of many acclaimed film “making of” books, including Harry Potter: Film Wizardry, The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy, and Peter Jackson: A Filmmaker’s Journey, as well as companion volumes for The Hobbit films, The Golden Compass, and Disney classics. His literary works range from Shadowlands to children’s books like The Frightful Food Feud and Osric the Extraordinary Owl, with stories appearing in official Winnie-the-Pooh collections.

A noted Disney historian, Sibley has contributed essays to The Walt Disney Film Archives and recorded DVD commentaries for classic films. He is the editor of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fall of Númenor, winner of the Tolkien Society’s Best Book award in 2023.

Sibley has served as President and Chair of The Lewis Carroll Society and is an honorary member of The Magic Circle, the Tolkien Society, and The Children’s Books History Society.

Reviews

[Fiona Altschuler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this book on more on the two last movies (it focused very closely on the Fellowship: It never even mentions Gollum or Eowyn!) but besides that, this was amazing. Just the right balance of pictures and information. None of the actors said anything too awful — at least, there was no one as bad as Emma Watson among this cast, which was a relief!

[Elsa Altschuler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was great!

[Thex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great inside look of how the movie was made.

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more detail on the actors and locations especially would have been appreciated but nonetheless, it is still a great guide for any LOTR fan (like me!!!)

[Justiina (vuosisadantarina) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oikein viihyttävä ja nopeelukuinen katsaus Sormusten herra -elokuvatrilogian tekoon. Paljon mielenkiintoisia yksityiskohtia, erityisesti Tolkienin tarinoiden maineikkaimpien kuvittajien puheenvuorot olivat kiinnostavia - ja ylipäätään heidän roolinsa elokuvien teossa. Vähän olisin silti kaivannut enemmän konkretiaa ja syvemmälle pureutumista koko kirjalta.

[Annon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Jackson

"He's cool as an elf, he's got the heart of a hobbit and he's mad like a wizard" - Orlando Bloom

[Heart Hear Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naprawdę świetna!
Pozycja obowiązkowa dla wszystkich fanów zarówno książkowej jak i filmowej wersji trylogii „Władca pierścieni”.
Zanim przystąpiłam do lektury, wydawało mi się, że będzie to książka dotycząca głównie aspektów technicznych, napisana w sposób pozbawiony emocji, sucha.
Bynajmniej! Książka Briana Sibleya jest niezwykle ciepła oraz pełna uczuć!
Dzięki niej poznajemy sekrety z planu LOTR, dowiadujemy się między innymi, jakie relacje łączyły poszczególnych aktorów czy odkrywamy trudności, z którymi musieli się mierzyć.
Fantastyczna, naprawdę fantastyczna pozycja!
A moment, w którym zostają opisane chwile przemian aktorów w grane przez nie postaci, chyba na zawsze pozostanie w mojej pamięci…

[millie ᝰ.ᐟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i had so much fun reading this! it was written 2 years before fellowship was even released. it was so fun to hear the actors talk about what they thought the reception to the films would be like. they really didn't know how important these films would come to be. it's beautiful!

[Sandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not one mention of Gollum which makes this worth only one star.

[Clélia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pour les fans 😁😁

[vercinakos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great behind the scenes book 😌 sweet reading

[Peter Toth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a movie tie-in and backstage guidebook that tells us a lot of details about how the 3 LOTR movies were made. Published just before the movie release of the first of the 3 films, the "Fellowship of the Ring". It contains many interesting tidbits about the cast, the incredibly hard work and preparation that had to go into creating Middle-Earth and the locations, characters, details so that they appear as authentical as possible to the original idea of Tolkien.
Huge kudos to Peter Jackson and his whole team for making these movies, and influencing not just the current generation, but hopefully future fans of LOTR and fantasy in general as well. I remain a whole-hearted fan of their work and this book helps to get into the mood with great, full page pictures, original and concept art illustrations and also the information content about the actors and the different stages of the work that was needed. Totally recommended for fans of the movies and the books too.

[Kiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun collection of background and behind-the-scenes info about the Fellowship of the Ring movie (not the whole trilogy). I enjoyed reading about the efforts to bring this story to the big screen and especially the insights into Peter Jackson's thoughts and methods. I was charmed to learn that he was born in New Zealand and that he first read the Lord of the Rings on a long train journey from Wellington to Auckland (the same one I'll do in March!). There are actor/character profiles for the star-studded cast with other neat bits about what each person enjoyed most about filming this movie and the camaraderie that grew up between them.

This book came out before the second two movies were released (although they were filmed simultaneously), so there are some rather amusing mysterious comments about what's to come in The Two Towers (ooooh!). :)

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

The is a coffee table book with big, beautiful pictures taken from the movie "The Fellowship of the Ring", but most of the narrative sounds like a tribute to the director, Peter Jackson. I suppose it depends on what you are looking for. I found the information about the making of props and makeup efforts interesting. What I found odd was that the two major women stars of the movie got only scant treatment. Of course, most of the action in the first movie is done by the males, but I noticed the slight.

I doubt I will read this book again, but I might leaf through to enjoy the pictures.

[Nuno · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large but short book, I'd recommend it to the fans who want to have as much material regarding the films as possible. It contains some nice pictures and interesting information, mostly on the first film (apparently it was released before "The Two Towers"), along with some commentary by the actors or production people. It's fun to read, but ends very quickly.

[Jaydeblue · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, but I wish there would have been more. More behind-the scenes stories, more pictures of props and sets, just more of everything (other than the lists of projects worked on by everyone involved). I also wish the book had covered the whole trilogy, instead of just focusing on the first movie.

[Jeff Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was written in 2001, before the release of either The Two Towers or The Return of the King, but since all the movies were actually filmed concurrently, it has some great insight into the methods used from everything to recruiting actors to set and costume design to props and costumes and more. Highly recommend for LOTR fans.

[Alexis Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

You may be wondering, why is it taking her so long to read Heart of Darkness when it's literally 72 pages?

Don't worry, I used Heart of Darkness as a bookmark for this book!

And you know what, summer is the time to go to the library and find a hundred different books on subjects that interest me... but then I never read them. So I'm glad I impulsively checked this one out.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit I forgot completely that I’d actually read this book earlier this year... great visuals, would have liked a bit more information to be honest. Actually really helpful if you’re an art person there are a few great reference images for the landscapes and characters.

[Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm blown away by how much I enjoyed this book. The storyline was nothing short of amazing. The author's writing style and character development were top-notch. I'm already recommending it to all my friends.

[George Foord · Rating 3 out of 5]

A interesting read but any lotr would of known the contents before hand.

[Kiriazem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirjassa oli paljon hienoja kuvia, joista saattoi tarkastella haltia-asujen yksityiskohtia, joita ei ehdi katsomaan leffan pyöriessä. Nämä olivatkin kirjan parasta antia.

[Stephanie Ziebarth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is not particularly well written, but it contains wonderful insider information. As a fan of the Lord of the Rings, I enjoyed it.

[EvaLecturas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Michela · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have only seen the fellowship then you will enjoy this book. It's more of an introduction to the films than anything else. It was a fine read.

[Hali Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, light read! I recommend it to anyone who is a fan and wants a new book to lie on the floor and waller around reading.

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

For anyone who has seen Jackson's video blog, there is virtually nothing in this book. This is a coffee table size book except it's very thin at only 119 pages. There are some nice color photos of the major actors, some information about the casting, sets, makeup and costumes but the book was produced before any of the movies were released so there were a LOT of things that they couldn't, or didn't want to, show in the book. They mentioned Gollum only to say that he wasn't included in the book and neither was Andy Serkis. How does the official movie guide totally leave out a major character? There are also some contradictions of later articles and interviews. For example, after filming had started, Stuart Townsend was replaced by Viggo Mortensen and they blamed "creative differences" in the book. But later they claimed that he was too young for the role.

All, and I do mean ALL, of the actors' comments are just saying how very very well everyone got along on the set and how much they love each other. Ian McKellen speculates about them all getting tattoos, which apparently they did because there was a photo of them sometime later on Instagram.

[Jelka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the pictures. The text felt a little bit to surface level and polished. This book reads like it had been created as part of the merchandise for the movies.

[Jessika Caruso · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fascinating to learn the inside scoop on movie-making, especially the first film in this breathtakingly beautiful trilogy. This book only covers The Fellowship of the Ring, so characters in the second and third films are not mentioned. This book contains a section about the filmmaking from Peter Jackson, comments from each actors, and full page quality color images. A cherished keepsake to read again and again; not just for your coffee table!

[Ana Monteiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Lord of the Rings movies came out in the early 2000s, I was absolutely obsessed. As I also was with the books (my review in https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...).
The movies were masterpieces, and I found a superior talent in their aesthetic options, atmosphere choices and looks. The video “making off” is eye-opening in all the ways they went out of their way to achieve a particular result, and these books are in the same line. From the conceptual design of the tiniest detail to the epic effects, all contributed to the result, and sometimes, the subtlest of aspects changed how we perceive the action.
I bought all the illustrated big-format books about the making of the trilogy and was immersed in them for quite some time. They will always be 5 stars.