Icons Unearthed: The Lord of the Rings

After several failed attempts to adapt the books and one half-successful animated movie, an unlikely hero takes on the film deemed by many to be impossible.

Filming begins to take a toll on the cast and crew. As injuries pile up, the most demanding scene in the trilogy nearly breaks them.

The trilogy hinges on the technological magic being developed at WETA but internal strife threatens to bring the whole thing crashing down.

The studio that backed the films takes a gamble too far. Peter Jackson struggles in vain to avoid the burden of directing.

Peter Jackson pushes the bounds both on the page and on screen. But will audiences like what they see?