Lord Of The Rings 3 Extended Version
Jamey Saldana
I do have a couple scenes that I think should have stayed in the theatrical cut. Them departing rivendell and Frodo asking what way to turn just after he was told to lead the way is truly a gem. In Two Towers, the flashback to Gondor with Farmarir and Boromir is some essential stuff!
I definitely prefer the theatrical for all the reasons listed. I appreciate the escapism of the extended versions, but like the OP says the theatricals hold your attention and convey the tension better. I seem to recall reading Peter Jackson prefers the theatrical too, not that that means anything about whether or not you should too.
I feel kind of guilty I never finished the third book. (I think I gave up once I saw the Rakin/Bass animated ROTK.) On the other hand, I reread The Hobbit many times in my teens, but LOTR does get a little ponderous.
Fellowship of the Ring, for example, in its theatrical incarnation feels very uneven to me, with the Mines of Moria scene seeming like a climax due to the overall faster pace/momentum of the film. It is then horribly distracting when you realize there is an hour left to the film. The Extended Edition, though slower, feels far more deliberate and what was originally intended.
Update November 18, 2023: The Lord of the Rings films have become classic films to watch over the Thanksgiving holiday, given the autumnal color palette, so with that in mind this article has been updated by Valerie Parker with more material about the Extended Cuts and some major highlights regarding each version.
The amount of material added to the extended editions varies from film to film. For example, despite the theatrical cuts of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers being essentially the same length, 30 additional minutes were added to Fellowship, while The Two Towers has about 45 minutes of new material. The biggest addition comes in The Return of the King, which, despite already being the longest film of the three, has nearly an hour of new material in the extended cut.
The additional material that can be found in the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings consist mainly of new and extended scenes that add further context to the overall story and adventure. These add context and richness to the story, giving a fuller view of the world of Middle Earth, its inhabitants, and their stories.
The extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring includes about a half-dozen complete scenes that were previously excluded from the theatrical cut of the film, as well as the extension of some scenes that were previously included. Some of the most significant new scenes or scene extensions include:
The extended editions of The Two Towers and The Return of the King continue the precedent set by The Fellowship of the Ring, as every new addition brings new support and depth to the characters and overall story of the films. The second two films in the trilogy include even more of these kinds of changes than Fellowship does.
As for The Return of the King, the final film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy features some of the most notable additions in its extended cut. There are, once again, about 15 new scenes with about two dozen extended sequences as well. However, some of the new scenes in The Return of the King are so crucial and have such an impact on the story that it is hard to imagine why they were cut in the first place.
Speaking on the overall effect of watching The Lord of the Rings, there are significant changes to the experience when watching the extended editions rather than the theatrical cuts. While the theatrical versions of the film still provide outstanding experiences (they were all Oscar-winning films, at the end of the day), the journey provided by the extended editions takes what was already working and adds even more greatness to the top of it.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings and its surrounding stories are enjoying the biggest moment they've had since the Peter Jackson films took over the world in 2001. There are new and old stories being told in spectacular formats, from Amazon's The Rings of Power and the upcoming animated War of the Rohirrim to an incredible new collection of tabletop games and massive Lego kits. The cast members have started attending fan conventions all over the world, especially the four Hobbits everyone loves so much, and the fashion trend known as cottagecore is frequently described as having "Hobbit" vibes.
Don Marshall, TikTok's "Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy," dedicates a significant amount of every day to educating and entertaining Tolkien fans. A quick look through his channel reveals someone eager to make sure Tolkien's works are something everyone can enjoy, and his efforts to breathe positivity and inclusion into the Tolkien fandom resulted in many members of the original cast wearing matching shirts in support of the Rings of Power cast.
"The goal is to get the attention of the folks at Warner Bros., Peter Jackson, the cast, anyone that has influence or the ability to show that we as Lord of the Rings fans want to see everything," Marshall said in a recent interview. "The Tolkien fandom is in such a cool place right now with Rings of Power having just come out and the announcement of the new Lord of the Rings movies. There's no better time to let Warner Bros. know we would absolutely buy a five-hour-long version of each movie or even a six-hour-long version of each movie. Is that a little bit extreme? Yes."
What, exactly, is missing from The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions? Tolkien fans have been assembling a list for years, from brief descriptions in interviews and commentary tracks to mentions from cast and crew who were there when it happened.
Some of these scenes are fairly minor but would be cool to see, like Gandalf spending more time with various Hobbits in the Shire before Bilbo's birthday or more time with the white horse Shadowfax. Others have a great deal more significance even if you're not the world's biggest Tolkien fan, like seeing a huge fight between Sauron and Elven High King Gil-galad at the beginning of the first film, which ends just as dark as you can imagine.
I asked some of the folks involved in trying to get this Second Extended Edition which scenes they would most like to see brought to a new release, and the answers honestly left me wanting them just as much. The answers came fast and furious.
"There was an Eowyn and Faramir wedding scene that got cut," Marshall said. "There was a kind of creepy sort of what-if scene where Frodo was going to turn in to Gollum. We know these extras exist, and I want to see all of it."
Said Sisto: "There's a part of the epilogue with Legolas and Gimli, where we see Gimli in the glittering caves. I don't know how far that epilogue goes, I would love if it went to the very, very end of the appendices, where it says Legolas and Gimli got on the last boat to Valinor."
Sisto added that he believes there's a long sequence where orcs ambush the Fellowship as they travel down the Anduin. But, he said, "I think my favorite thing would be the Faramir-Eowyn wedding. Faramir is my favorite character in the books and they kind of did him dirty in the second film. I'd like to see the wedding sort of redeem that."
While Graf echoes the call for many of the scenes above, he also hopes any potentially released scenes would go a little deeper. "I think one of the most fun things we could get would be additional behind the scenes content. The Appendices of the 6 Middle-earth films are, in my opinion, the greatest bonus features of all time. If there is more to see from the filming and production, it would be a wonderful treat for fans of the films."
The plan to raise attention is pretty straightforward. In addition to a lot of social media education about the things missing from the original Extended Edition, Marshall has a collection of merchandise available. The goal, as Marshall tells it, is to encourage fans to wear the shirts in places that might encourage conversation and help boost the visibility of this effort. The earnings from these efforts would go back into the effort to promote the Second Extended Edition, with plans that go up as high as buying a billboard somewhere that might get the attention of someone important.
If you've made it this far and feel like this effort has Snyder Cut vibes, you're not alone. In fact, Marshall and his crew are hoping to harvest the best parts of that effort to get an extended version of the Justice League movie and carefully edit the plan to remove the toxicity some DC fans introduced into the effort. Directly harassing individuals involved in these films has been actively discouraged by everyone planning this social push, and in general there are no plans to annoy anyone into meeting a set of demands. One of the many things the organizers of this effort agree on is that the way fans go about asking for this Second Extended Edition matters.
It's not just the heightened excitement around Tolkien's works that makes this project feel like a good idea. The truth is, the way we watch movies has changed quite a bit. In 2001, a 2 hour, 58 minute version of The Fellowship of the Ring was considered a little risky, and the idea of a 3 hour, 48 minute version of The Fellowship of the Ring in theaters was something only the most obsessed fans would go see. Many theaters were hesitant to take up space with the Extended Editions out of fear that not enough people would want to sit for that long without an intermission.
Today, with films like Avatar: The Way of Water coming in at 3 hours, 12 minutes and John Wick 4 coming in at 2 hours, 49 minutes, it's clear audiences are just fine with a longer film. And even if a Second Extended Edition doesn't get released in theaters, a more complete version of the films would be watched from home weekend after weekend.
Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring to ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Fellowship eventually splits up, and Frodo continues the quest with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, along with the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Boromir, and the wizard Gandalf, unite to save the Free Peoples of Middle-earth from the forces of Sauron and rally them in the War of the Ring to aid Frodo by distracting Sauron's attention.
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