The director needed to shoot in very different climatic and visual locations, from forests and lakes to mountains and dungeons. Therefore, it was decided to film in New Zealand, where all the above types of terrain can be found in a small area. And if you add government subsidies and the opportunity to cheaply lease land for building the Shire, the location becomes ideal. By the way, Hobbiton - the village built for filming - still exists today and is a tourist attraction. 

Filming Locations:

River Bruinen

In the Movie

The scene where Arwen comes to the tower when Frodo was wounded by the wraith and decides to take him to her father in Rivendell, but on the way they are chased. The Nazgûl try to kill the elf and the hobbit, but Arwen uses magic and with the power of nature washes away the pursuers with a flood of water.

In Reality

The scene was filmed on the Shotover River, which flows through Skippers Canyon in New Zealand. It is a small mountain river that in summer turns into almost a stream. That is why it was chosen for filming; it flows out of a gorge but immediately becomes shallow and is surrounded by very sloping banks, making the location ideal for filming a horse chase.

River Anduin

In the Movie

The scene where At the end of the film, while all the members of the Fellowship are dealing with the band of Uruk-hai orcs, Frodo gets into a boat to continue the journey alone and is about to cross the river, but Sam jumps in and does not let him go alone.

In Reality

The scene was filmed on Lake Mavora, New Zealand. Although in the film this is also the River Anduin, like the location with the ancient kings, it was filmed in a different place because they needed not a canyon view but gentle banks and a wide riverbed, and also with forest right by the bank, since the Fellowship encountered the orcs in the forest. The required view was found on Lake Mavora and it was decided to film there. Approximately the same place was used for filming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Tree Roots

In the Movie

The scene where the hobbits walk along the Great Road to meet Gandalf, but the Nazgûl overtake them; they jump off the road and hide in the roots of a huge tree, then escape and proceed to the meeting place through fields and a river crossing.

In Reality

The scene was filmed in a park in the center of Wellington, New Zealand. For this scene, a large artificial tree was created with a special root system in which four adult people could hide, on screen portraying hobbits.

The Shire

In the Movie

The scene where Gandalf rides his cart through the Shire; all the locals look at him askance, but along the way he meets Frodo Baggins, who is glad to see him. They continue together, and local children tag along and ask the wizard to perform a trick.

In Reality

The scene was filmed at the Hobbiton set, where a giant set of an entire hobbit town was built; it was an important location for the films 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit'. The set is located on a family farm about 8 km west of Hinuera and 10 km southwest of Matamata, in Waikato, New Zealand, and is now a popular tourist destination.

Isengard

In the Movie

The scene where Gandalf arrives in Isengard to inform the leader of his order, Saruman, that the Ring of Power has been found in the Shire and has been kept by the Hobbits all this time. The conversation begins during a walk through the gardens around the fortress, but ends inside the building.

In Reality

The scene was filmed in Harcourt Park; interestingly, it is a fairly small park located almost in the city center. There are many places for picnics and walks. In 1999, the park was little known, so very few people visited it, and filming could be done with minimal inconvenience, which the film crew took advantage of.

Ancient Kings, River Anduin

In the Movie

The scene where the Fellowship, still at full strength, sails in boats along the river and passes giant statues, and Aragorn explains to the hobbits that these are monuments built to the ancient kings - the Argonath, and they stand on the River Anduin.

In Reality

The scene was filmed on the mountainous and not very wide Kawarau River, which flows in the Gibbston area on the North Island of New Zealand. This river was chosen because it forms a deep canyon in the rocks, into which the monuments fit quite harmoniously, and also because of the unusual blue color of the water. Naturally, they were not built, but simply added using computer graphics.