1. Attention To Detail
What really pushed The Lord of the Rings above other franchises is the astonishing attention to detail employed by the entire crew during the production of the film. Peter Jackson insisted on making the film feel as if it were a depiction of actual historical events and the production design team went to incredible lengths to make everything feel like it was part of a real, historical world. If you have a few hours to kill, go watch the special features on the extended edition DVD's of the trilogy, which takes you behind the scenes and shows you the incredible attention paid to even the most insignificant details. The props department was so dedicated that not only did they handcraft thousands of swords, shields, chain mail suits, and helmets, all with their own distinguishing characteristics. That same level of care went into every level of production, with actors learning various fictional languages, VFX artists working around the clock, and Peter Jackson supposedly averaging four hours of sleep a night. Even more importantly than the technical qualities, incredible care and effort was put into the story, and the characters, and the emotional themes that made the novel so beloved to begin with. Rarely, if ever, has such incredible ambition and drive been exhibited on a project of this size. Generally, blockbusters are paycheck movies, not something that the moviemakers are particularly attached to emotionally. The Lord of the Rings however, was the definition of a passion project, and after devoting nearly eight years of incredible care to every conceivable aspect of the production, the filmmakers gave audiences everywhere one of the all-time great cinematic gifts.