Peter Jackson names his favorite Lord of the Rings movie

One does not simply pick their favorite Lord of the Rings movie. Oh, we do? Well, Peter Jackson does, too, giving his definitive pick that will no doubt divide Lord of the Rings fans. No, it’s not Ralph Bakshi’s movie, but instead The Two Towers.

Speaking with Letterboxd, Peter Jackson said that as of now, his favorite movie of the Lord of the Rings saga is the second installment. “The Two Towers, I think. But if I see them again I might have a totally different one.” But Jackson was careful to note that he’s not just sitting around his hobbit-hole watching his own flicks, adding, “I can’t watch my own films. I just, I mean, one day…I sort of enjoy it more as more time goes by, so one day I’ll watch them again. I hope you enjoy ’em!” If only he could shake them from his memory…

Considering this interview was with Letterboxd, it’s worth noting that The Two Towers isn’t the highest-rated Lord of the Rings movie. Instead, that honor expectedly goes to original trilogy capper The Return of the King, which has a 4.5 rating from 2.3 million logs. The Two Towers, meanwhile, trails with a 4.4 from the same amount of views. Coming in at third is 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring, which also has a 4.4 but from nearly 3 million logs. Interestingly, his follow-up Hobbit trilogy gets broken up by Rankin/Bass’ 1977 version, just beating out The Battle of the Five Armies.

The Two Towers would end up with six Academy Award nominations, taking home Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Editing. It would also land a nod for Best Picture, although I maintain that this had more to do with leftover love for The Fellowship of the Ring. Something similar could be said of The Return of the King, which, since it represented the trilogy as a whole, ended up sweeping the 76th Academy Awards with 11 Oscars. Come on, don’t even try to claim that “Into the West” is better than “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”!

Peter Jackson will serve as a producer on the upcoming The Hunt for Gollum spin-off, with Andy Serkis serving as director.

What stands as your favorite Lord of the Rings movie? Give us your definitive ranking below!