8) The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) (Dir. Peter Jackson)
How Peter Jackson ever got organised enough to begin production on three movies at once is perplexing to say the least, but to do such a thing in a fictional world where every bowl, helmet, sword, house, and item of clothing would have to be created from scratch… well, that’s ambition of a whole different kind. The Lord of the Rings is one of the best movie trilogies of all-time, composed of three sensational entries, each of which are crafted with an intricate emphasis on both details and depth.
The entire project took 4 years to film and was produced on a gargantuan budget of $285 million. Should it have failed, this ordeal would no doubt have come to be known as one of the cinema’s greatest blunders. But the world came out in their millions to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Jackson’s wonderful creation. Not to skimp out when it comes to home releases either, Jackson’s DVD/Blu-ray versions of these movies are perhaps, too, the most ambitious of their kind: the bonus features are truly epic, including a making of documentary that spans almost twenty hours and covers every aspect of production.
