This was a good look behind the scenes of the film, and I'm for sure going to browse it again and again, but I really wanted it to have more detail. It is in the end fairly surface-level.
If I could dream, I'd have loved to have much more detail on the time line, more detail on how the shoot worked daily in practice, more detail on... Well, everything. For that, it's just too short a book.

I fell in love with the Lord of the Rings movies at the ripe old age of 11. It wasn't typical for a middle schooler to sing elvish on the bus to school, but lo and behold that never stopped me. This book was a Bible to me. I read it over and over again until the spine gave way and then I bought myself another copy that I was slightly more careful with. The artistry, skill, and talent that went into making these movies was unprecedented and this book gives wonderful incite into each facet of it. I particularly love the prosthetics section. Reading about how they made ears and feet and full orc costumes is fascinating and I'll never forget that they went through so much KY Jelly that they eventually just bought the recipe and started manufacturing "Weta Lube" since it was the only thing to make the orcs look authentically sweaty. The hair and make-up section is a great read as well, going into detail on all the wigs needed to help create each character. If you are a Lord of the Rings fan, a special effects make-up enthusiast, or simply someone who can appreciate artistic talent and skill, this is a wonderful read, from cover to cover.

The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy is like a wonderfully large colorful journal of what it was like working on the set of this magnificent trilogy for those many, many months. With a foreword by Ian McKellen, a.k.a. Gandalf, author Brian Sibley does an excellent job of keeping the reader locked in with the many different happenings that took place during the shooting of the trilogy. With some wonderful color photos of cast and sets, as well as illustrations and drawings, there is a never-ending supply of detail and information about the trilogy, like the fact that 48,000 pieces of armor were designed and made. It is a fantastic book that belongs on the shelf of any fan’s, and makes a great Christmas present for anyone who is interested in Lord of the Rings.

Originally published on December 9th, 2002.

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Look, LOTR movie guides like this are my guilty pleasure reads. I've read and own a lot of them. That said, I really liked this one. Brian Sibley described actually being in the room with the cast and crew, instead of writing it all from a third-person perspective. I enjoyed that. It's a little vague about stuff in The Return of The King since the book was published before the movie came out. But overall it's a fun read.

I loved how you could, in a way, go behind the scenes. My favourite illustrations were on page 87 and 97.

This is a brilliant companion guide to have if you are a fan of Lord ofthe Rings as it includes some inside secrets and describes how they did some of the effects and their first premiere. This book does have a lot of reading in it and if you are looking for a guide that is like Harry Potter Film Wizardry then this book isn't for you. The book is more for adults but it can be enjoyed by any Lord of the Rings fan.

loved it

Un gran hallazgo en el mercado de las pulgas de Bogotá por solo 23 pesos uruguayos.

Explains about the movie clearly!

Beautiful book, with gorgeous pictures

Absolutely fascinating. It's the kind of book you just sort of flip through, but I actually read it the whole way through and the amount of work, detail, passion, and love put into these movies is spellbinding.

Unexpectedly comprehensive, with interesting behind the scenes info.

However, it was way too superficial for my liking, and chapters were generally very short and brief.

I did enjoy most of it. Just the Gollum book, I will most likely not keep it on my shelf, as a single read through suffices, unlike the art books and Weapons & Warfare book.