Why the Lord of the Rings movies STILL looks so good! (The INSANE detail of Isengard)

The Lord of the Rings trilogy remains a testament to seamless integration of physical models and VFX, notably seen in Isengard/Orthanc's meticulous construction. Despite being over two decades old, the trilogy's VFX still holds up, maintaining realism and immersion. From the intricate details of Isengard to hybrid shots blending models and VFX, the films demonstrate a timeless quality in their visual effects!

[@ACOGLMT556]

Lord of the rings was movie making at its peak, everything has gone downhill since.

[@muellmanni1678]

Why? Because they are newer 😂😛?

[@ACOGLMT556]

@@muellmanni1678 because they heavily rely on cheaper CGI and take to many shortcuts so modern movies look like shit more then half the time. When everything is green screen the actors then also have a harder time selling the authenticity of the scene. The best movies will always be a combination of practical effects enhanced with good cgi

[@SScott-nr9vl]

Agreed I think Lord of the rings looks better than any marvel movie from the last 5 years

[@MultiGoban]

Hard to go uphill when you finish shooting the best movie of all time bro 😅

[@VictusG]

@@muellmanni1678Because it became about making money and not about making movies with passion.

[@muhammadbilalkhan9870]

It's amazing how good Lord of the rings is

[@halucca22]

I saw an exhibit of props from TTT in Toronto, and everything, EVERYTHING, was superbly detailed, whether it was featured or in the background. There was a hanging that was embroidered with the Two Trees, silver and gold, on silk chiffon. It was exquisite, and you can just barely glimpse it in the background in the scene where Elrond tells Arwen her fate if she stays with Aragorn. There was a swan in the hilt of the sword for Prince Imrahil, who wasn’t even shown in the films. Theoden’s sword Herugrim, with the horse heads on the hilt, just spectacular! ❤‼

[@MiddleEarthUpdates]

Sounds amazing!

[@Matt-dk3wl]

The Museum of Science in Boston back in 2004 had Orthanc there and I got to stand right under it. It was amazing. They had a lot of the other 'bigeatures' there too. What a great time the early 2000's were.

[@azzurriblue65]

The entire production team did an absolutely tremendous job. A testament to true craftsmanship and artistry. What a fantastic trilogy.

[@justinhowe3878]

I have no end of respect for the artists and craftspeople who make props, sets, and costumes for films, and those who do makeup and hair. I always notice this stuff and think what a wonderful job it is, how fun it sounds to get to do that kind of creative work. They're so imaginative and talented and without them, films wouldn't work. The best of what they do "disappears" into the background because the world feels so real and alive. Thanks all you wonderful unsung heroes of cinema!

[@dv4975]

Greatest movies ever made

[@yammt3148]

Those sweeping shots over the Minas Tirith model are still peak cinema.

[@iainballas]

Keep in mind: James Cameron had the idea for his "Avatar" movies for years before 2009. However, he didn't think it could be brought to life until he saw The Two Towers, and how good Golum's CGI was. Until then, he didn't think that VFX could handle creating a fully-immersive alien world. Peter Jackson's trilogy revolutionized cinematography as much as ILM did with star wars, at least if not more.

[@meerkat1954]

Neither holds a candle to the impact Jurassic Park had on VFX. That was the beginning of the CGI revolution.

[@jasse85]

@@meerkat1954 And to think they started working on LOTR only a few years after JP was released.

[@YY_Stories]

those movies are just a pinnacle of human artistic achievement

[@weltenleser]

the more I learn about the lotr trilogy, the more impressed I become

[@DarthHater100]

1:25 you can see Orthanc surrounded by trees, before the Orcs were ordered to deforest Isengard, at a later point in the movie. For these shots, they surrounded the miniature with essentially a giant photograph of Fall foliage, called a Translight. They use a similar technique for movies like Die Hard, where their entire set is surrounded by a wrap-around photograph of the city outside the windows. Even though for Orthanc, they didn't use the translight as background, they did use it so that the reflections in the waxy tower would accurately mirror the colors of its surroundings. It's this type of attention to detail which will always put LotR a cut above the rest.

[@corbeanuandrei6989]

It's simple, they cared about the project and didn't rush to release it in a month-half a year. Patience and devotion always make beautiful things happen.

[@kingslaphappy1533]

I agree and i did not realise how much they incorporated physical models into the visusl blend along with the cgi.

[@davidmcaninch4714]

Lord of the Rings is just perfect. *THE* best trilogy of all time!!!!! Too many awesome moments to count!!!!!!!! Harry Potter can’t be compared to this. Pirates of the Caribbean can’t be compared to this. Star Wars can’t even be compared to the awesomeness that is the Lord of the Rings!!!!!! I can’t say which one’s my favorite: Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, or even Return of the King. All 3 of these movies are amazing!!!!!! To watch the Extended Editions in theaters…that would be just a dream come true!!!!!!!! I don’t deny that they’re really long, we’re talking 12 hours in total, but it’d be worth it!!!!!!!!!!!

[@finmat95]

That's why it is an immortal masterpiece.

[@davidyoung5114]

I just heard that L.O.T.R. will be re-released into cinemas with additional footage added to each film. I really hope they get shown near my town, because I will be there! And the one(s) who created this segment failed to acknowledge the participation of Sir Christopher Lee as Saruman; having him play that part was pure genius, and added to the authenticity of the movies!

[@obamacare9681]

Props and practical effects will always look better than cgi

[@the_real_littlepinkhousefly]

I loved watching all the BTS videos on the DVDs eons ago when I bought them (both theatrical cuts and extended editions). It's mind-blowing how much detail they put into everything from hobbit holes to clothes to eating utensils. I also think it's awesome that Weta called their miniatures "bigatures" because they were larger, in most cases, than typical film miniatures. These movies are the best, and will be around for eons.

[@fluffybirdy7720]

Your channel is so underrated. Great video about a great film trilogy.

[@MiddleEarthUpdates]

Thank you!

[@carolynallisee2463]

A friend and I heard that Peter Jackson was going to make a Lord of the Rings film trilogy some years beforehand, and what we read made us both very excited. Seeing how he envisioned his films were going to be set our expectations very high, and I'm pleased to say, those expectations were exceeded by some margin. And yes, even now, so many years later, those films do not disappoint in any way!

[@hastekulvaati9681]

I was exciting when I heard Peter Jackson was making Lord of the Rings because of the magical clay world in Heavenly Creatures.

[@Benetkabc2nd]

As Isengard lover that is great! Thank you!

[@calmdown3842]

exactly and nowadays the movie makers change the whole plot and want the movie to be famous just like the books, the only movies that stayed true to the books are HP movies and LOTR are legendary, however, examples like Vampire Academy where the books were brilliant but the movie makers changed the ethnicity of the main characters, changed the plot and they want it to be famous?

[@MrACSRC]

No the HP movies were atrocious compared to the books IMO...

[@MrACSRC]

No the HP movies were atrocious compared to the Book IMHO

[@workhousefitness4424]

I love this movie trilogy. Has to be one of the best trilogies ever made

[@Fulgrim-gm2dg]

Same reason why my favourite movie of all time, Alien still mostly looks phenomenal (minus like, 2 scenes). Old school cinema magic using models, prosthetics, and incredible set design. These things are timeless as they are REAL, unlike CGI which cannot fool the human eye, not yet at least. I know the LOTR films used CGI as well, but Jackson tried to minimise it where he could and that's why the movies still look amazing.

[@DrToonhattan]

I wonder where this model is now. I hope it still exists.

[@darth_yoda]

I remember being an 19 old brat getting comfy in seats of my local theater for the release of Fellowship along side of a friend. We were both blown away by how beautiful the movie were back in 2001 that we DID the same for Two towers ending with us going for a cavalcade were we watch the two first ending with Return of the King midnight premier in the same theater and with the same seats we had for the two first movies :P It was awesome

[@Snow-Willow]

No matter how good CGI gets, it will NEVER stand up to good old fashioned practical effects, especially in the long run. I'm so glad that Jackson used them in as many places as he could because it shows in the longevity of these films and how well they hold up.

[@Qrtuop]

Great vid. Subscribed

[@MiddleEarthUpdates]

Thank you!

[@DevMeloy]

How films should still be made, CGI isn't supposed to be noticed.

[@DubiousDenarius]

Most of the time you don't notice it. You can bet on that.

[@seed_drill7135]

You didn’t notice it in LOTR, it was blatantly obvious in the terrible Hobbit trilogy.

[@DevMeloy]

@@seed_drill7135 yup.

[@CaptainBloodsail]

Wasnt terrible but definetly nowhere as good as the lord id the ring films​@@seed_drill7135

[@bigbonerecords.4080]

We're waiting for the silmarilion movie

[@arg3646]

The BEST 💯💯💯💯💯

[@SirSpaceboots]

just rewatched it all, actually doesn't hold anymore imo VFX wise

[@mgim7274]

Better than marvel movies today

[@AndSendMe]

I still hear Saruman's line when I see that shot in the thumbnail: "I have SEEN it!"

[@fjLKA]

"A Palantir is a dangerous tool Saruman."

[@SebastienGendron-uk4po]

@@fjLKA Why....why should we fear to use it?

[@Matthewwithers33]

Bigatures

[@MiddleEarthUpdates]

Indeed!

[@romangamingboy6083]

How much of the budget cost probably like 1 billion

[@dan-lee]

No.. ROP still have bigger budget than LOTR. That's why jackson take LOTR production in New Zealand because they cheaper in cost.

[@Kaldisti]

damn, I thought to be more realistic, Peter Jackson moved to Middle-Earth to make the movies

[@CelestialNihil]

How to make a good movie: 1. don't let it reflect world, time and politics we live in

[@btCharlie_]

Like a good boy that I am, I rewatch LotR now and then, and really the single one thing that aged rather poorly in terms of visuals is the CGI keying of characters with fluffy hair, like Frodo. This is perhaps most obvious in scenes when Frodo and Sam are in Mordor whenever they're overlayed on top of volcano footage. Around their hair, the weird 2000s-photoshop-esque blur is very obvious to a modern day viewer. I wonder if that particular aspect could be improved when upscaling it with AI 🤔 I honestly have never noticed anything else to look bad enough to warrant a comment.

[@tomashule2369]

Marvel should learn from Petter

[@faustomadebr]

CGI is used to make things look real, so real stuff will always look better.

[@keaton718]

The creaziest part about all the great CGI in movies as old as LORT is that it isn't CGI at all. Today I bet they could do it all with CGI but I bet it still would cost more than practical effects, for movies as long as LOTR extended editions. CGI used to be so much harder to do, like back then I bet most movies would contract out individual shots to different effects studios, because it took so much time that no one effects studio could handle it all, so in the credits for a movie back then you'd see dozens of CGI effects companies listed. These days Disney would do it all in-house.

[@onenote6619]

LoTR paid attention. The Hobbit really didn't. And it shows.

[@user-ly6pl3bk7j]

When everything is made by AI, it enters an uncanny valley that looks fake.

[@Emankind]

So weird that the LOTR looks do good and The Hobbit so bad

[@criert135]

Because The Hobbit overused CGI instead of models, sets, animatronics and prosthetics

[@FarkYouCCB]

but where are they taking the hobbits

[@MiddleEarthUpdates]

To Isengard!

[@Pocketkid2]

Almost as good as the Star Wars prequels!

[@criert135]

lol, the prequels are a joke in comparison

[@Blink_____]

That sea of skulls effect in ROTK didn't age well. at all

[@TheBabyCaleb]

It doesn’t look terrible to me.

[@Blink_____]

@@TheBabyCaleb It doesn't look "terrible", but anyone with a discerning eye can tell what it is.

[@topher9507]

You do realize they made like 10s of thousands of little bitty skulls for that.

[@Blink_____]

@@topher9507 The compositing for the entire scene is very apparent in HD

[@sergeyt2947]

Lotr was good because all elements were good. Including story. And this is the reason "hunt for gollum" will be bad.

[@Fseb-uj1ih]

Some scenes kinda look shit today

[@user-ib5gz5zl6f]

Because it used no fucking cgi. It did not look like a video game

[@DubiousDenarius]

The trilogy used plenty of CGI. And, if you watch the behind the scenes documentaries, they didn't even hide it. On the contrary, they were proud of what they achieved with computer graphics. Unlilke many later movies that try to convince you they are all practical when, in fact, they are chock full of VFX shots.