Who is Peter Jackson?
Peter Jackson was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Both his parents were immigrants from England. Jackson started his film-making career at a young age and made home movies on his parents’ cameras. He never had any formal training, but he explored using a variety of cameras, seeing what worked and what didn’t. He left school at the age of 16, so he could get a job and support his filming aspirations. Jackson directed his first film in 1987. He continued making films after this, and in the mid-90s, he decided to take on the now cult classic ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. Filming for the three films took over eight years to complete and was all done in New Zealand.
What movies has Peter Jackson made?
With a career spanning over 40 years, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Peter Jackson has made many movies that have gathered a great deal of critical and commercial success. Such a long career means that there are definable eras for his movies, ranging from his early splatter phase which focuses on gore and violence to his more epic adventures in the noughties and 2010’s.
Here’s every film Peter Jackson has directed along with the year it was released and a brief description:
Bad Taste (1987) – Aliens invade the fictional New Zealand village of Kaihoro to harvest humans for their intergalactic fast-food franchise.
Meet the Feebles (1989) – A muppets style parody, a group of puppets experience the sleazier side of show business while seeking fame.
Braindead (1992) – Regarded as one of the goriest films of all time, a man turns into a zombie after being bitten by a hybrid rat-monkey creature.
Heavenly Creatures (1994) – Peter Jackson’s first movie to be nominated for an Oscar, this film is based on the 1954 Parker-Hulme case.
The Frighteners (1996) – After losing his wife, an architect turned necromancer communicates with ghosts.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) – Widely regarded as one of the most influential films of all time, young Frodo Baggins sets on a quest to destroy the one ring.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) – The highest-grossing film of 2002, this entry follows Frodo as he continues on his quest and intercuts different ongoing stories.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) – The final entry in the trilogy, Frodo attempts to destroy the ring while Gandalf and his crew attempt to defeat Sauron and his legions.
King Kong (2005) – The second remake of the 1933 film, King Kong follows a film crew who capture the titular giant gorilla and bring him back to New York to present him as the 8th Wonder of the World.
The Lovely Bones (2009) – This film follows a girl who lives in the “in-between”, helping her family to heal while enacting her revenge on the man who sent her there.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) – Jackson’s return to the Lord of the Rings franchise. This prequel series follows Frodo Baggins’ uncle Bilbo Baggins who – sixty years prior – went on a quest to take back the lonely mountain from the dragon Smaug.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) – Being chased down, Bilbo comes across the titular giant dragon who hoards an immense amount of gold and trinkets. Bilbo and his Dwarven army attempt to kill Smaug.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) – After failing to kill Smaug, this final Hobbit film follows Bilbo and his army trying to hunt him down as well as dealing with a subsequent conflict.