Where was The Lord of the Rings filmed? Interesting facts about the film. Excursion to the filming locations of the Lord of the Rings trilogy

• The film is based on the novel by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien “The Lord of the Rings” (1954-1955).
• New Line Cinema insisted on a two-minute prologue for the film, and the introduction ended up being 7.5 minutes long.
• There were supposed to be 144 extra hobbits at Bilbo's party to match the book's text, but to save money, only 100 were hired.
• In the English version, Gandalf was voiced in some scenes by actor John Astin, the father of actor Sean Astin, who played Sam.
• Stuart Townsend began filming as Aragorn, but was fired four days later because Peter Jackson decided that the role needed an older actor.
• It was planned to take the famous musician David Bowie for the role of Elrond.
• J. R. R. Tolkien spent more than fourteen years writing The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the book was first published in 1954.
• Howard Shore worked on the film's score for a total of about two years.
• Ian Holm, who played Bilbo Baggins, voiced Frodo Baggins in the BBC Radio dramatization of The Lord of the Rings in 1981.
• John Astin, Sean Astin's father, auditioned for the role of Gandalf.
• Eight of the nine members of the Brotherhood received a tattoo of the elven symbol "9". Elijah Wood has a tattoo on his lower abdomen, Sean Astin and Billy Boyd have a tattoo on his ankle, Orlando Bloom has a tattoo on his forearm, and Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan and Sean Bean have a tattoo on his shoulder. John Rhys-Davies refused to get a tattoo. Peter Jackson also got a tattoo of the elf symbol "10".
• Producer Tim Sanders left the project after filming began.
• Daniel Day-Lewis turned down the role of Aragorn.
• When composing the film's score, Howard Shore drew inspiration from the compositions of Richard Wagner.
• The creators did their best to lure into the project two artists who made drawings for Tolkien’s works - Alan Lee and John Howe. Lee received a package containing Peter Jackson's film Heavenly Creatures (1994), as well as a letter outlining his intentions for making the film. Just three hours after receiving the package, Lee agreed to take part in the film. The producers called John at his home in Switzerland. Due to the time difference, John was woken up at 2 am, but despite such a late call, John agreed to participate in the project.
• In the prologue, John Howe and Alan Lee can be seen among the nine human kings.
• John Howe designed the appearance of the Morian orcs.
• Originally, the voiceover for the prologue was to be read by Elijah Wood. However, later the creators decided that the story of the ring should be told by an older character. Ian McKellen recorded the monologue, but according to the creators, he was not quite right for the role. Ultimately, it was decided that the voiceover would be read by Cate Blanchett, who played Galadriel.
• The Hobbiton Bridge was built by the New Zealand Army from polystyrene.
• There are 111 candles on Bilbo Baggins' birthday cake. The cake itself was made from polystyrene. Lit candles caused the entire structure to catch fire.
• Two sets of Bilbo Baggins's house were built: the first is ordinary, the second is a third smaller than the first, as tall as Ian McKellen.
• Several visitors to the Prancing Pony walked on stilts to highlight the difference in height between humans and hobbits.
• The large trees in Lothlorien Forest were made of rubber.
• The final fight was filmed in unbearable heat. Many of the actors who played the Urukhai were carried off the set due to heat stroke.
• The filming locations were heavily guarded, with at least three people arrested trying to enter the set.
• From the very beginning, Tolkien's descendants reacted negatively to the idea of ​​​​a film adaptation of the book. But since Tolkien sold the rights in 1968 for $15,000, they could not influence the course of filming. As soon as Tolkien's grandson, Simon, came out in support of the film adaptation, which immediately led to a deterioration in relations with other relatives.
• The Lord of the Rings trilogy contributed approximately $200,000,000 to the New Zealand economy. The New Zealand government even created a special Lord of the Rings Ministry whose task was to explore the possibilities that the film's production offered.
• Fans were invited to have their names mentioned in the end credits of the extended version of the film. This pleasure cost $39.95.
• Although the film was rated PG in the UK, a special caption stated that the film contained scenes that may be inappropriate for children. After Jurassic Park (1993) and Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World (1997), The Fellowship of the Ring became the third film in history to receive such a title.
• For 13 weeks, the film was in the top ten highest-grossing films in the United States at the end of the week.
• In August 2002, the film set a record for DVD/VHS sales in the UK, selling over 2.4 million copies.
• Hobbiton was built a year before filming began to give it a natural look.
• 29 Dark Rider costumes were made.
• Throughout Elrond's council, leaves fall in the background. Half a dozen people were stationed above the set, scattering leaves at regular intervals. Many bags of fallen leaves were collected. Since the leaves turned black quite quickly, each leaf had to be repainted.
• A rubber doll with a scary face was superimposed over Ian Holm's face in the scene where Bilbo looks at the ring in Rivendell.
• The glowing floor that leads to the caves of Moria was painted with the same paint as the road signs.
• Galadriel's House Lothlórien was the largest miniature built for the trilogy.
• Large quantities of hair were imported to New Zealand to be made into wigs. Some of the hair was purchased in Russia.
• The New Zealand government entered into a special tax agreement with the creators after New Line studio threatened to move the film's production to another country.
• Despite the fact that the viewer meets Bilbo in Hobbiton, Ian Holm never filmed on location, having worked all his scenes against a blue screen.
• The sounds that a cave troll makes are in most cases a combination of the sounds of a walrus, a tiger and a horse.
• The script for each of the three films was largely rewritten during filming due to numerous suggestions and ideas added to it by various actors.
• Storyboards that were too complex to create on paper were made on computers. George Lucas and Rick McCallum gave Peter Jackson a lot of advice about computer storyboards.
• The film crew numbered about 3,000 people.
• It took about a year to design the hobbits' feet. About 1,800 feet were created for the four main hobbits alone. It took about an hour and a half to attach the artificial feet to the actors' legs.
• The scene in which the Brotherhood escapes from the Urukhai across the river was never filmed due to a flood that completely washed away the scenery.
• 28 separate hobbit houses were built for the Shire. None of them were like the other.
• In the production of big-budget films, having two or three crews filming at the same time is common practice. However, for this trilogy, sometimes five or six teams were filming simultaneously.
• There are 47 chimneys in Hobbiton.
• Weta Digital, who did the special effects for the film, is named after the Giant Weta, the largest insect in the world.
• Typically, on set, the director watches 20-25 minutes of footage every day. Since filming on The Lord of the Rings was carried out by several teams at once, the duration of the footage was 3-4 hours daily.
• Howard Shore hired a Maori choir to record the music for the chase scene in the caves of Moria.
• The trilogy's production budget was approximately $300 million, with another $200 million spent on promotion.
• In their free time from filming, most of the actors went surfing. Among them was Viggo Mortensen, who one day seriously injured his face. No matter how hard the make-up artists tried to hide the bruises on Viggo’s face, the result left much to be desired. Therefore, Peter Jackson decided to film the actor in such a way that only one part of his face was always visible. In the scene in the caves of Moria, where the Fellowship finds the grave of Gimli's relative, Aragorn only ever has one part of his face visible.
• Initially, Miramax studio expressed interest in the project, but they wanted to fit all the events into one film.
• Peter Jackson originally intended to include Tom Bombadil in the film, but his scene was never filmed due to time constraints.
• Orlando Bloom originally auditioned for the role of Faramir.
• The roles of extras were performed by soldiers of the New Zealand Army. However, they left the set ahead of schedule, going as peacekeepers to East Timor.
• The film's trailer appeared on the Internet on April 7, 2001 and was downloaded 1.6 million times within the first 24 hours.
• Sam Neill and Tom Baker were considered for the role of Gandalf.
• Christopher Lee has re-read the trilogy every year since its first publication, and he is the only person on the production team who met Tolkien in person.
• When Christopher Lee and John Ronald Tolkien corresponded, the latter would have been happy for Lee to play Gandalf in the film adaptation of the book. Years later, Christopher Lee tried to score the role of Gandalf in the film directed by Peter Jackson. However, he was offered the role of Saruman. Since Lee wanted to act in the film anyway, he accepted the offer.
• Christopher Lee also became the first actor officially cast in the trilogy, thanks in large part to his excellent knowledge of the works of John Ronald Tolkien. Moreover, make-up artists consulted Lee quite often about the appearance of various monsters.
• Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet turned down roles in the film.
• Initially, the creators wanted to make the orcs completely computer generated.
• The length of the rough version of the film was 4 hours 30 minutes.
• Especially for large-scale battles, a computer program “MASSIVE” was written, which allowed each of the 20,000 units to “think” and fight in their own style.
• Gandalf's height is about 210 centimeters. Hobbits are about 90-120 centimeters tall. To emphasize this huge difference in height, quite often Ian McKellen (Gandalf) was placed much closer to the camera than Elijah Wood (Frodo). However, this filming technique is effective if the camera does not move and the actors remain in place. Therefore, the creators had to develop a series of special platforms on which the actors were located, and which began to move simultaneously with the camera movements.
• During the filming of a fight scene, Viggo Mortensen had part of his tooth knocked out. Viggo wanted to glue the shard to the rest of his tooth so he could continue filming, but Peter Jackson decided to send the actor to the dentist during his lunch break.
• Every day, 1,460 eggs were served for breakfast to the film crew.
• More than 1,600 pairs of latex ears and feet were used for filming. Each pair was “cooked” in a special oven. Each pair of feet could only be used once, as they could not be removed from the actors' feet without damage.
• During filming, Liv Tyler left a pair of elf ears on the dashboard of her car. When she returned, they had already melted.
• Dominic Monaghan wore a special foam suit that made him look thicker. To avoid dehydration, he drank three liters of water daily.
• Sean Astin gained 30 pounds for the role of Sam.
• Viggo Mortensen performed all of his own stunts in the film.
• Orlando Bloom performed almost all of his own stunts in the film. While performing one of the tricks, he broke a rib.
• During filming, John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) developed an allergic reaction to his makeup.
• The map that Gandalf examines in Bilbo's house is an exact copy of the map drawn by Tolkien for The Hobbit.
• John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli, is the tallest of all the Brotherhood actors: his height is 185 centimeters.
• Peter Jackson gave Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis each a ring used for filming. However, the actors thought that they each received a single copy of the ring.
• Twenty minutes of the film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001. It was here that the actors first saw the completed scenes of the film.
• Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, was renamed Middle Earth for the film's premiere.
• Peter Jackson's children are mentioned in the end credits as cute hobbit children.
• Peter Jackson originally wanted to cast either Daniel Day-Lewis or Russell Crowe as Aragorn.
• Initially, the producers wanted to make two films. However, after a meeting with the head of the New Line Cinema studio, it was decided to rewrite the script for a trilogy.
• Cate Blanchett jokes that she only agreed to star in the film because she always wanted to have pointy ears.
• Ian McKellen tried to imitate John Ronald Tolkien for Gandalf's accent.
• The episode where Gandalf hits his head on the ceiling in Bilbo's house was not written into the script, but happened completely by accident during filming: Ian McKellen hit his head, but, without leaving the character, continued the scene. Peter Jackson liked this take so much that he included it in the film.
• Viggo Mortensen, who is fluent in English, Spanish and Danish, requested that more scenes of Aragorn speaking Elvish be added to the script.
• The orc smiths in Isengard were played by WETA Workshop employees who made the weapons for the film.
• The Elvish phrases heard in the film are not only quotes from the book, they were also compiled from John Ronald Tolkien's own Elvish dictionary. The actors speak Elvish, imitating Tolkien's pronunciation.
• Elves from Lothlorien have light blue eyes, while elves from Rivendell have dark blue eyes.
• Approximately 3,100 frames (78% of the entire film) underwent special color grading using 5D Colossus software and Imagica XE high-resolution scanners. Since only 78% of the film was shot digitally, it was impossible to make fully digital copies for theaters. Therefore, the digital footage was recorded onto matte matte negatives at 1.77:1 resolution along with the non-digital original negatives and printed onto Kodak anamorphic film at 2.39:1 aspect ratio using an optical film copier.
• When viewed in cinemas, many claimed that they saw a car in the background in the scene where Sam tells Frodo that this is the furthest he has ever gone from home. When the film was released on DVD, Peter Jackson watched the scene frame by frame and did not find any car. However, in the extra footage for the extended cut of the film, editor John Gilbert says that there was actually a car in the scene, and it was not removed from the frame because the filmmakers believed that no one would notice it. The car was removed from the frame when the film was released on DVD. In later magazine publications, Jackson admits that the car could be seen in the frame while watching the film in the cinema.
• The end credits of the extended version of the film are approximately 30 minutes long, due to the mention of many members of the official Lord of the Rings fan club in the credits.
• The portraits hanging over the fireplace in Bag End are based on the appearance of Peter Jackson and Frances Walsh.
• Viggo Mortensen always kept Aragorn's sword with him, which, according to him, helped him constantly be in character.
• When Frodo falls into the snow and loses the ring, the viewer sees a close-up of the ring with Frodo in the background. To achieve the double focus effect, a huge ring (6 inches (approximately 15 centimeters) in diameter) was made, which was used for filming this sequence.
• The Cry of the Dark Riders is by Frances Walsh.
• Filming was often carried out in remote locations, where the film crew and actors traveled by helicopter. Sean Bean (Boromir) is afraid of flying, and therefore did not agree to fly. To film the scene where the brotherhood crosses the snowy mountains, Bean spent two hours each day climbing while dressed as Boromir.
• While filming scenes on the River Anduin, Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies fell overboard from their boats.
• Peter Jackson shot many scenes exactly as he did in the animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (1978).
• The Gollum in this film is different from the Gollum in subsequent films, because the Gollum scenes for The Fellowship of the Ring were filmed based on an earlier design. Gollum is only shown briefly, partly due to differences in appearance from subsequent films, and partly to whet the audience's interest in the sequel.
• Reels containing theatrical copies of the film were labeled "Changing Seasons".
• Peter Jackson originally wanted British actors to play the hobbits.
• Viggo Mortensen got so used to the role that in a conversation with Peter Jackson, the latter addressed him as Aragorn, and Viggo didn’t even notice it.
• During filming, Christopher Lee broke his left arm after hitting a hotel door.
• When hobbits are present in the frame, they always move from the left corner of the screen to the right.
• During Bilbo's birthday party, Pippin can be seen playing the guitar.
• Originally Dominic Monaghan
• Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role of Frodo.
• Peter Jackson originally wanted Lucy Lawless to play Galadriel and Uma Thurman to play Arwen. However, the actresses became pregnant, and the roles went to Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler, respectively.
• The butterfly to which Gandalf whispers something was born shortly before filming began and died some time after the scene was filmed.
• Dominic Monaghan suffered from hay fever while filming the cornfield scene.
• When Bilbo finds the ring at the beginning of the film, Gollum shouts "my treasure", but Andy Serkis was not present on the set, so Dominic Monaghan had to shout this phrase.
• During his birthday party, Bilbo gives a small speech. When filming the reaction shots of the numerous hobbits gathered for the party, the speech was made not by Ian Holm, but by Dominic Monaghan.
• When Pippin asks about second breakfast, he gets hit on the head with an apple. Viggo Mortensen threw apples at Billy Boyd. 16 takes were filmed. According to Billy, Viggo enjoyed himself immensely while filming the scene.
• Andy Serkis, who played Gollum, voiced the dark riders before they reach the Shire, before Gandalf's return, and when Arwen rides with Frodo.
• During the council of Rivendell, when Boromir says that the ring must be taken to Gondor, the Gondor theme song plays in the background. In The Return of the King, when the heroes arrive in Gondor, the same orchestral music plays. According to Howard Shore, he did not initially intend to develop the background music in Rivendell into a full-fledged Gondor main theme.

The small town of Matamatu, which is located in the Waikato region, is now a place of real tourist pilgrimage. After all, it is in the vicinity of this city that the Shire is a wonderful land where the people of hobbits live. Waikato, with its small farms, rolling green hills and thickets of heather, was the ideal location for this filming. Most of the scenery is still preserved in the outskirts of the city, so here you can see hobbit holes with green round doors, a huge one where Bilbo Baggins celebrated his birthday and other memorable places from the film.

In the vicinity of Wellington (the capital of New Zealand), filming lasted three whole years. Here you can see the incredible landscapes that surrounded the elven valley of Rivendell in the film, and nearby the plains on which Orthanc stood. A walk through the Wairarapa Hills takes you to the grim peaks of Pitangirua, the Path of the Dead from the third film.

Not far from the famous resort city of Queenstown, which is located in a unique natural area, the golden forests of Lorien were filmed - the place where the beautiful elf mistress Galadriel reigns. And ten kilometers from this city there is a wonderful national park, Deer Park Heights, where the Rohans and orcs were filmed.

Rohan and Mordor

Canterbury is the largest of the South Islands. On its beautiful plains in the film the Rohan city of Edoras from the second part of the epic was located; it was here that Theoden’s palace called Meduseld stood.

Southland is one of New Zealand's most picturesque areas and is home to the Fiordland National Park. The Hutt River, which flows through this region, became the great Anduin in the film, along which the film's sailors floated as they left the golden forests of Lórien.

The volcano Ruapehu was directed by Peter Jackson (the film's director) as Fire Mountain, or Orodruin. Everything in the film began and ended with the flame of this volcano. There is a whole walking route for fans of the film. Tourists can see many places familiar from the film, approach the Ohakune River, where Gollum fished, and see stunning mountain landscapes.

New Zealand's diverse climates, stunning nature and beauty make it the perfect location for filming a fantasy epic.

For fans of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and its prequel under the general title “The Hobbit,” there is no need to talk about who Tolkien is. As well as the fact that filming took place in New Zealand - the homeland of the director, Peter Jackson. But do fans of the hobbit adventures in Middle-earth know about Tolkien tourism? Let's go in order.

After the enchanting success of the trilogy about the destruction of the One Ring and the many adventures that befell the main characters, New Zealand has become a place of pilgrimage for Tolkien fans. Since most of the filming of the film took place either on the territory of nature reserves or on private farms, all the scenery (except Hobbiton) was demolished. Now we are reminded of the filming that took place here through the stories of the guides, their thick folders with photographs from the filming sites, and in some places the remaining iron crutches that could not be pulled out. But local residents found a gold mine and began to actively make money by offering tours of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. This is how Tolkien tourism was formed - the most unusual type of tourism.

If you decide to travel in the footsteps of the hobbits in New Zealand, then most likely your adventures will begin in Auckland, the country's largest city, located on the North Island. If you head south from Auckland, you can visit all the famous locations where The Lord of the Rings was filmed. To help respectable fans of the Tolkien universe, we have compiled a visual map indicating these very places. Well, let's take an unexpected journey through the modern map of Middle-earth :)

Matamata city or Hobbiton

The village where Bilbo, Frodo, Sam and their friends lived is located on the territory of the Alexander family's private farm, so a visit to the famous hobbit village will have to fork out a little. But it's worth it!

Welcome to Hobbiton!

View of Hobbiton

The colorful world of Tolkien's hobbits will open to you in all its glory. You will be able to walk along the streets of Hobbiton, see the very famous Bag End mink with the door ajar (you can’t approach the mink itself, it’s a very valuable decoration), take a photo near the yellow door of Sam’s mink, enjoy the fabulous landscapes of the Shire, and also visit the most famous inn in Middle-earth - “The Green Dragon”, where you will be served a Hobbit pint of local beer. And this, of course, is not all, but you will tell us about the rest when you yourself touch the world of hobbits from the Shire.

Mink Bag End

Mink Sema

View from the hobbit hole :)

Interior of the Green Dragon tavern

Healthy! Hobbiton Movie Set organizes tours of the Hobbiton setting.

Mordor - Tongariro National Park

The Tongariro Nature Reserve includes three active volcanoes: Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. The largest of them is Ngauruhoe, but this mountain is not visible in the film. The fact is that Ngauruhoe is a shrine for the local Maori, and out of respect for their traditions, Peter Jackson refused to remove this peak. The scenes on the slopes of Orodruin were filmed on the slopes of the Ruapehu volcano, and the mountain itself was rendered using computer graphics.

Ngauruhoe volcano

Tongariro Game Reserve

Stone views of Mordor

Do you recognize a still from the movie?)

Rivendell - Kaitoke Park

Episodes in the land of the elves, the Anduin River and battle scenes at the Fords of Isen (in the upper reaches of the Hutt River) were filmed in this park. Nowadays, the only reminders of the filming of “The Lord of the Rings” in this park are commemorative plaques and wooden posts with elven writings (Rivendell from “The Hobbit” was filmed entirely in the studio). But the atmosphere of the elven forest in this park is very strong.

Edoras is the capital of Rohan or Mount Sunday.

The palace of King Rohan - Meduseld, you will not find here. After filming, all the scenery was dismantled and the mountain regained its former appearance. But, almost every guide to Middle-earth, in addition to interesting stories, also has a number of Mediterranean props in stock: swords, masks, various costumes. An interesting photo session is guaranteed for you!

River Bruinen and the Gates of Argonath

Remember the two huge stone statues on the border of Gondor that depicted the two sons of Elendil - Isildur and Anarion? Have you forgotten the scene of Frodo being chased by the Nazgul, where Frodo managed to cross the Bruinen River, but the Nazgul did not? These and many other equally exciting scenes from The Lord of the Rings were filmed in the Queenstown region.

Dead Marshes - Lake Te Anau

Near Lake Te Anau, Peter Jackson filmed a scene with Frodo in the Dead Marshes (where Frodo falls under the spell of the dead and Sam rescues him)... This place is called Kepler's Mari. According to tourists, this place absolutely fits the description of the Dead Marshes from Tolkien’s book.

Material for the article: henneth-annun, tranio.travel, Hobbiton Movie Set

El sila erin lu e-govaned vin, dear reader, or, to translate the graceful Elvish greeting into rough human language: “The star has illuminated the hour of our meeting.” Today we will go on a tour of the filming locations of Peter Jackson’s epic saga based on the book series of the great Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien “The Lord of the Rings”. Unlike, for example, “Game of Thrones,” which was filmed in many European countries and even one African one, the War of the Ring trilogy was filmed in one country, New Zealand, where the film’s director himself is from. The island state, far from us, was ideal for personifying the fairy-tale country of Middle-earth on the screen due to the diversity of landscapes and the general “unusuality” of the local nature for European and American viewers. The landscapes from the series of films about the adventures of the Fellowship of the Ring sank into the souls of fans so much that today New Zealand is a kind of Mecca for Tolkien tourism, thanks to which a huge number of travelers from all over the world enter the country every year. Without much preamble (although, what just happened then?) we suggest you saddle up your faithful horse (well, or pony, if you are short and have hairy legs), sheathe your sword, fill your quiver with arrows and rush to the places where you filmed heroes of the Lord of the Rings saga! And remember the main rule: “Don’t dare throw the gnome!”

Where was the Hobbit Village filmed?

Where is: North Island, Waikato region, Matamata-Piako region.

Screen embodiment: the village of Hobbiton and other parts of the Shire.

Hobbiton film set

The place where we first meet the main character of the trilogy, the hobbit Frodo Baggins, simply had to be as cozy, calm and fabulous as possible. How could it be otherwise, if in the image of the Shire, the land of halflings, Tolkien expressed all his love for the quiet and calm English villages. To bring the Shire to life on screen, Peter Jackson decided to build the entire settlement on the family farm a year before filming began. This was done to make the place look as lived-in and cozy as possible, which the film’s art team managed to pull off brilliantly. The director himself said in an interview that “by allowing plants to sprout here and there, forming small gardens and vegetable gardens a year before the start of filming, we created an incredibly real place, not just a set.” After the filming of The Lord of the Rings, the site was used to create the Hobbit trilogy, and now operates as a tourist center, allowing anyone to live briefly in real Hobbit houses. The main thing is to remember that the ceilings here are not too high.

Mount Ngauruhoe and the Lord of the Rings trilogy

Where is: North Island, Tongariro volcanic complex.

Screen embodiment: Mount Doom.

Despite all its attractiveness, Hobbiton was not the first place to which the film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” introduced viewers. Middle-earth meets the viewer in the harshest of its lands, the land of the orcs Mordor, at the foot of Mount Doom. It was there, in a battle with the Dark Lord Sauron, that the son of the king of men, Isildur, cut off his enemy’s finger with the One Ring with a fragment of Narsil’s sword and laid the foundation for the future misadventures of the powerful artifact in Middle-earth. Mount Doom, where the ring was forged, is “played” in the film by the active stratovolcano Ngauruhoe, which erupted especially actively in the seventies of the twentieth century, and today does not show any signs of noticeable activity. Those wishing to visit this beautiful and slightly creepy place should remember that the sulfur fumes escaping from the vent can cause many problems for asthmatics.

Skippers Canyon

Where is: South Island, near the resort city of Queenstown.

Screen embodiment: Bruinen River.

The picturesque gorge in southern New Zealand was once the site of the Gold Rush. Local gold miners even called the river running along the bottom of the gorge, the Shotover, “the richest river in the world,” although no documentary evidence has survived that its waters were rich in grains of precious metal. In The Lord of the Rings, the canyon became the place where the Nazgul's pursuit of the wounded and close to death Frodo, who was being taken to Rivendell by the elf Arwen, Aragorn's lover, was interrupted. Now Skippers Canyon is famous throughout the world for its extremely dangerous, but very picturesque roads that run along the edges of the gorge.

Mount Olympus

Where is: South Island, near Boulder Lake.

Screen embodiment: southern valleys of Rivendell.

The windy, inhospitable valleys of the elven kingdom became the site of the first test of psychological stability of the Fellowship of the Ring, when all nine of its members had to hastily hide under boulders, put out fires and try not to breathe while black ravens, scouts for the traitor magician Saruman, flew over their heads. In the real world, Mount Olympus is not only a picturesque peak, but also one of New Zealand's most popular ski resorts, where extreme sports enthusiasts from all over the world try their hand at the local snow-covered slopes.

Mount Owen

Where is: South Island, Tasman region.

Screen embodiment: Dimrill Dale.

The valley on the eastern slope of the Misty Mountains welcomed the Fellowship of the Ring into its arms and allowed them to take a short break after being rescued from the dungeons of Moria, where, covering the retreat of his comrades, Gandalf fell into the endless abyss of the dark abyss, dragged along by the demon Balrog. Mount Owen was ideal for the film crew because it was replete with caves, and besides, it was located in the middle of the picturesque Kahurangi National Park (which, by the way, acted as the main location for filming the Battle of Azanulbizar in the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but that was already much later), so that nature at the foot of the mountain really allowed for a little respite from the gloomy and oppressive vaults of the Dwarf kingdom.

Mount Sunday

Where is: South Island, Canterbury region, Rangitata Valley.

Screen embodiment: Edoras.

The capital of the horse breeding state of Rohan, the city of Edoras, was built by the filmmakers from scratch on Mount Sunday, in an area called Mount Potts. It took builders nine months to construct the Golden Chamber and its surrounding buildings. An interesting fact is that, unlike Hobbiton, this set had to be dismantled at the end of filming so as not to spoil the pristine beauty of these wild lands. The city is remembered by fans of The Lord of the Rings for the scene of the arrival of Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf at the royal palace in order to persuade Theoden to help the kingdom of Gondor in the war, followed by the expulsion of Saruman from the mind of the old king. In addition, it is here that the viewer first becomes acquainted with such important figures for the trilogy as King Theoden himself, his nephew Eomer and niece Eowyn, the vile traitor Grimaud Wormtongue and many others. The land on which Mount Sunday is located is private, but you can still get to it, even though Edoras itself and the Golden Chambers are no longer there, but the magnificent views of the wide valleys and mountain peaks in the distance have not gone away.

Marie Kepler

Where is: South Island, Southland region, near the town of Te Anau.

Screen embodiment: Deadfalls.

Marie Kepler embodied one of the most mysterious, mystical and gloomy places in all of Middle-earth: the battlefield of Dagorlad, filled with the corpses of people, elves and orcs, which over time turned into a deserted wetland in which dirty water washes rotting reeds, sparse patches of grass and heavy, viscous, oily earth. It was here that Frodo, Sam and Gollum traveled to Mordor, where the first fell into the water and almost drowned, enchanted by the lights above the mounds. If not for the timely help of the faithful squire Samwise the Brave, Frodo Baggins would have been another face in the swamps, over which the faint lights of the “candles of the dead” danced. Kepler's real Maries are part of Lake Manapouri and don't tell any sad stories about past battles, but they do an excellent job of creating a gloomy mood.

Putangirua Peaks

Where is: North Island, Wellington region.

Screen embodiment: Paths of the Dead.

When the situation of Gondor became threatening, and the Battle of Minas Tirith seemed a pointless attempt to delay the inevitable, Aragorn was forced to call upon the aid of the Dead of Dunharrow, an army of ghosts who had once betrayed Isildur and were cursed by him. But calling the oathbreakers to account for their deeds was not so easy; first, the Stone of Erech had to be reached along the dark Paths of the Dead, where mere mortals should not tread if they want to save their lives. It’s good that Aragorn is not a mere mortal, but the real king of Gondor. The gloomy walls of mountain paths are embodied on the screen by the peaks of Putangirua, located next to the Aorangi mountain ridge, massive stone pillars, which over thousands of years of erosion have built a tangled labyrinth in which it is easy to get lost if you do not know the way.

Mount Ruapehu

Where is: North Island, south of the Taupo volcanic zone.

Screen embodiment: Gates of Mordor.

The second active New Zealand stratovolcano in our selection, like its brother, embodied part of the lands of Mordor, among which the scenes at the gates of Sauron’s kingdom were especially striking. It was on the sharp stones at the foot of Ruapehu that Frodo saved Sam, who had fallen from the hill, from the Easterling warriors, pretending to be a stone (literally). The volcano is famous for being the highest point of the North Island, as well as for its more “restless” character than Ngauruhoe: volcanic activity was last noticed in 2016. Getting to Ruapehu is very simple - in the vicinity of the mountain and directly on it there are two ski resorts, the ski season for which is usually open from June to October. Access there is open to everyone, and people interested in rock climbing can try their hand at conquering the peaks of Ruapehu.

There have been so many people wanting to visit New Zealand after the release of Peter Jackson’s famous trilogy that local authorities are now actively attracting tourists who want to plunge into the world of Middle-earth. There are even separate excursion routes to the filming locations of The Lord of the Rings, so that you don’t miss anything interesting. So if you can't wait to visit the plains of Rohan, the mountain peaks of Mordor or the emerald fields of the Shire, you know which country you need to buy tickets to.

Here in Auckland I came across an excellent map listing the locations where the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed. I have already shown the heart of the Shire - the town of Hobbiton, which we will all soon see in the new "Hobbit", and the elven forests from the South Island. Due to the availability of air tickets and free tourist visas for Russian citizens, today I am posting links on the topic for amateurs and fans. Tolkienists, go ahead!

Don't judge me strictly if I'm wrong somewhere. I love the author with all my heart and admire his works, however, I cannot, like some of my friends, notice the wrong color of the plumage of the elven arrows in the flickering of the battle scene.

Hobbiton

So, let's start with the mecca of any roleplayer who respects the One Ring. It takes about two and a half hours to drive from Auckland to the farm where Peter Jackson filmed the Shire for all his films. This pleasure costs 60NZD excluding the road from Auckland. You can rent a car, or you can take a bus: there are plenty of tour operators. In detail, with photographs.

Anduin River

Filmed on the Waiau River. Open spaces, water surface, the banks of the Anduin River overgrown with dense forests.

Mangawhero River

Gollum fished here.

The same location is Mordor. Frodo and Sam pass by a ruined pillar.

Whakapapa skifield

Here Isildur cut off Sauron's ringed finger.

In the same place: Frodo and Sam caught Gollum and he led the hobbits to the Emyn Muil

Tukino skifield on Mt Ruapehu

Frodo, Sam and Gollum look out at Mordor before them before beginning to look for a way around it.

Dimholt Road

Putangirua Pinnacles

Aragorn, Legolas and the Dwarf Gimli ride to meet the army of the Dead

Still from the film

Dimrill Dale

Mount Owen

The Fellowship of the Ring (without Gandalf) flees Moria.

Elven Valleys in Rivendell

Mount Olympus/Boulder Lake

The Fellowship of the Ring is hiding here from Saruman's black ravens.

Ered Nimrais

Mount Gunn, next to the Franz Josef Glacier (Mount Gunn, Franz Josef Glacier)

Smoke signals light up on the tops of the White Mountains, carrying news from Gondor to Rohan.

Edoras

Mount Sunday

The capital of Rohan and the home of Meduseld, the castle of King Theoden.

• Bruinen Creek (Ford of Bruinen)

Skippers Canyon

Arwen wets the Nazgûl, causing a flash flood to fall on their heads.

Isengard

Dan's Paddock

Gandalf rides to Isengard through the valley of Nan Curunír.

Overnight in Ithilien

Twelve Mile Delta

Frodo, Sam and Gollum watch the battle between Faramir's warriors from Gondor and their enemies from Harad. Then Sam and Gollum discuss cooking fish.

Still from the film

Kawarau Bridge

The Fellowship of the Ring sails through the King's Gate on the River Anduin.

North Mavora Lake

Members of the Fellowship of the Ring sneak along the lakeshore at the end of a rafting trip down the River Anduin. The hobbits are hiding from the Urukhai.

Still from the film

Suspension bridge over the Mararoa River at South Mavora Lake

The Fellowship of the Ring leaves Lothlórien.

Still from the film

Mavor was filmed in the Fangorn Forest. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli follow the trail of Merry and Pippin after discovering the charred corpses of orcs left behind by the Riders of Rohan.

South of Rivendell

Northwest Lakes, near St Paul's Dome

The Fellowship of the Ring is moving south from Rivendell, as you might guess.

Fangorn Forest

Bog Pine Paddock

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet Gandalf.

Dead Marshes

Marie Kepler (Kepler Mire)

Gollum leads Frodo and Sam through the swamps, saving Frodo from the spell of the dead floating here and there.

I hope this keeps you New Zealand and Google Maps travelers occupied for a while.

http://staskulesh.com/2012/07/lotr/