4. Cinematography & Visual Effects
The Lord of the Rings remains one of the most visually astonishing films ever made, blending old and new styles into a delightful mix of incredible eye candy. Famous Tolkien artists Alan Lee and John Howe helped give the film an incredibly realistic yet still fantastical look while Weta Workshop, headed by Richard Taylor, created all sorts of ridiculously detailed costumes, props, prosthetics and miniatures. Jackson used the versatile environment of his native New Zealand to incredible effect, finding natural environments that perfectly captured Tolkien's world. He also employed forced perspective photography and scale doubles at a level that had never really been attempted before, while groundbreaking computer effects were used when something was determined to be impossible using practical methods. This blending of different styles of filmmaking worked flawlessly, and a decade after the release of the last installment, it has barely aged at all visually. The filmmakers devote such care to recreating Tolkien's world that what you see on the screen might be more impressive than what you read on the page.