J.R.R. Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringsnovel was known for its huge scope and wide range of characters, which Peter Jackson’sReturn of the Kingmoviepartially adapted, but it left out some key elements.The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingwas the third Warner Bros. picture in itsLord of the Ringstrilogy, preceded byThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingandThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Jackson’s closer to the LotR trilogy left a powerful impression on viewers, but it was at the expense of a few of the novel’s highlights.
Jackson couldn’t include every detail in the novel. The theatrical version ofReturn of the Kinghad a blistering runtime as it was. Nonetheless, Jackson created an extended edition of his movie for fans like him, which included many scenes he had cut from the theatrical edition. Even consideringThe Return of the King’sextended edition, the final part of Jackson’s trilogy was not a totally faithful depiction of the end of the Third Age inTolkien’s Middle-earth. Some of Jackson’s changes made more sense than others, but together, they created one of the highest-grossing fantasy movies ever.
10Jackson’s Movie Cut The Prince Of Dol Amroth
Imrahil Was Important In The Book
Prince Imrahil, the Prince of Dol Amroth, had a big presence inThe Lord of the Ringsnovel but was completely cut from the movie.The Prince of Dol Amroth was a Dúnadan of Gondor, which in and of itself would have been an important concept to work into the movie. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, a group of the Númenórean-descended Dúnedain, but there wasn’t much explanation of this complex concept in the movie, leading many to misunderstand the Dúnedain.
Granted, not all the intricacies of Tolkien’s lore could make their way into the movie. There were, after all, multiple appendices documenting thousands of years worth of history included inThe Lord of the Rings. But in the case of Prince Imrahil, perhaps a little exception could have been made, andmore could have been revealed about Gondorian society, allowing for Imrahil’s inclusion.
Gimli Wasn’t Used For Comic Relief In The Book
Gimli was one of the sturdiest members of the Fellowship of the Ring in the book but he was more of a comic relief character inThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.Gimli was the Dwarvish representativeof the book and he was suitably heroic.The movie sold him shortto a certain extent by giving him funny lines. These funny lines made for a winning movie and an endlessly popular character, but they didn’t encourage viewers to take Gimli seriously as a warrior.
Are Dwarves Immortal In Lord Of The Rings? How They Age In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lore
Many of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy races had superhuman lifespans, and Dwarves were one race that lived longer than humans in The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien had probably intended for his readers to take Gimli fairly seriously.The tone ofLord of the Ringswas fairly seriousoverall, but characters like the Hobbits and Tom Bombadil brought levity and humor to the dark story, so levity was obviously one of the core components of Tolkien’s story. That makes Gimli’s comic role inReturn of the Kingmore Tolkienian.
8The Movie Didn’t Show Gimli And Legolas Traveling
Gimli And Legolas Extended Their Bromance In The Book
Gimli and Legolas probably had the second most important bromance inThe Lord of the Rings, withFrodo and Sam’s relationshiptaking first place. Gimli and Legolas made friends throughout the novel and this was fully solidified by part three,The Return of the King. In the third part of the novel,Gimli and Legolas made good on their promises to each other to travelto their respective bucket list locations. Gimli took Legolas to the Glittering Caves of Aglarond, which would have been intriguing to see on screen as it foreshadowed Gimli’s later colonizing of this realm.
Gimli became Lord of the Glittering Caves, cementing his status as one of the greatest Dwarves Middle-earth had ever seen. Legolas also took Gimli on his travels to Fangorn Forest, proving that their friendship surpassed all boundaries inLord of the Rings, including centuries of racial conflict and distrust.More of this bromance would have been enjoyableinReturn of the King, but it is understandable if it wasn’t Jackson’s priority.
7The Movie Downplayed Faramir And Éowyn’s Romance
Faramir and Éowyn’s romance didn’t appear inReturn of the King’stheatrical addition at all. However, the extended edition made some amends here, including some detail on their relationship.Faramir and Éowyn had a tough time, despite being Gondorian and Rohirrim nobility, respectively. They struggled, despite being two of the stories' biggest heroes, so when they found each other at the end of the story, it was a relief for them and readers both. Faramir and Éowyn truly represented the best of each of their respective worlds - Gondor and Rohan.
With Gondor symbolic of the ancient friendship between Men and Elves, and the Rohirrim symbolizing Men at their purest, the union of Faramir and Éowyn was no less than the marriage of Tolkien’s two most honorable human civilizations.Gondor and Rohan were age-old allies, but drama blighted their bond in the lead-up toReturn of the King.So, for them to come together so victoriously, in the form of Faramir and Éowyn’s marriage, was a major resolution of Tolkien’s story.
6Saruman Died Impaled On His Own Machinery
Saruman’s Soul Flew Away In The Book
Gríma Wormtongue saw to Saruman’s passingin bothThe Lord of the Ringsbook andThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, butSaruman’s death was different in the movie. It was a good thing Jackson decided to include Saruman’s death at all, having originally decided to cut it from his trilogy. Jackson first plotted to show Saruman dying inThe Two Towers, then deleted the scene. It took campaigning from fans and Saruman actor Christopher Lee to get the scene returned to the trilogy, which it eventually did, in the form of a scene inReturn of the King’sextended edition.
Saruman’s death in this scene consisted of him being stabbed by Wormtongue atop Orthanc and falling to his death, ending up impaled on his own machinery.The book saved Saruman’s death till near its very endwhen he appeared just as shriveled up as his dark soul, which departed in a sinister cloud after his heart failed. This was a little more descriptive of his fall from grace, but at least Jackson showed his death at all, as opposed to ignoring Saruman’s fate.
5Aragorn Killed The Mouth Of Sauron In The Movie
Aragorn Wasn’t This Violent In The Book
Aragorn beheaded the Mouth of Sauronin a shock move in a scene that never appeared in the theatrical edition ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This was additional content added toReturn of the Kings’extended edition that was perhaps best left on the cutting room floor. Fantasy masterTolkien championed peace in his novel, and Aragorn’s competence as a leader had more to do with his diplomacy than his ability to chop heads off.
The Mouth of Sauron was a diplomat seeking to speak to another diplomat, and Aragorn’s betrayal of this unspoken truce inReturn of the Kingwas a kingly faux pas.
AlthoughAragorn was an outstanding soldier, gratuitous violence was out of character for him. The Mouth of Sauron was a diplomat seeking to speak to another diplomat, and Aragorn’s betrayal of this unspoken truce inReturn of the Kingwas a kingly faux pas that could have triggered another century of feuding if Frodo hadn’t toppled Sauron successfully. Mostly, it lacked compassion (to say the least), which was one of Aragorn’s strong suits in the book.
4Denethor Was Worthy Of Pippin’s Oath In The Book
The Movie Portrayed Denethor As A Villain
Denethor was a vile specimen of humanityin Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which was a miracle of filmmaking but a misrepresentation of the scarred but noble king of the novel. It also made Pippin’s allegiance to him a little meaningless, compared to the complex relationship that the two developed in the novel. Pippin swearing fealty to an abusive father didn’t do either Pippin or Denethor justice. Conversely, Tolkien described Pippin’s oath to Denethor as an almost inexplicable act of bravery and wisdom.
Pippin swearing fealty to an abusive father didn’t do either Pippin or Denethor justice.
Pippin’s character judgment was on point in the novel- he had seen past Denethor’s resentment to perceive the noble heart of all of Gondor, carried on the shoulders of an old, tired man. Pippin’s allegiance to Denethor was one of the founding pillars of the Hobbits' future greatness and recognition in Middle-earth. It was a shame this didn’t come through in the movie, but John Noble’s despicable Denethor may be just as much of a treat.
3Peter Jackson’s Movie Took The Eye Of Sauron Literally
Sauron’s Eye Was Metaphorical In The Book
InThe Return of the Kingmovie,Sauron was a huge, disembodied eyeflickering between the two peaks of Barad-dûr like so much filament in a halogen bulb, but he was a blackened demon lord in the book.The Lord of the Rings’eponymous villain had “four fingers on the black hand.” Meanwhile, his body was “an image of malice and hatred made visible.”
The all-seeing eye was powerful and unforgettable imagery, recalling the oppressive Big Brother of George Orwell’s dystopian 1984, watching and dominating everything.
The Silmarillionconfirmed that “the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure,” which was intended metaphorically, considering the clear signs of Sauron’s physical body throughoutThe Lord of the Rings.Jackson used creative licenseto take this literally, resulting in one of cinema’s most iconic villains. The all-seeing eye was powerful and unforgettable imagery, recalling the oppressive Big Brother of George Orwell’s dystopian 1984, watching and dominating everything.
2Frodo Didn’t Send Sam Away In The Book
Sam Stayed With Frodo Through Thick And Thin In The Book
Frodo and Sam shared a beautiful friendship in bothThe Lord of the Ringsbook andThe Return of the Kingmovie, but they fell out in the movie, which would never have happened in the same way in the book. In the Warner Bros. movie, theOne Ring was affecting Frodo’s mental state, and he sent Sam away in anger. Frodo wouldn’t have done that in the book. More extraordinarily, Sam actually left Frodo, as Frodo advised.
What Happened To Frodo After Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King
The Lord of the Rings movies simplified Frodo’s ending, but Tolkien’s works go into more detail about what happened after the One Ring was destroyed.
Sam was even less likely to leave Frodo than Frodo was to send him away. This could seem like a traitorously unfaithful take on Tolkien’s beloved book. However,Jackson’s change here didn’t disrupt the unbreakable bond between the two Hobbitsbecause Jackson made it abundantly clear that only something as toxic as the One Ring could have driven them apart. In this sense, Frodo and Sam’s temporary separation played nicely into the wider themes of the movie.
1Return Of The King Cut Out The Scouring Of The Shire
The climax ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingwas Frodo’s defeat of Sauron, with the movie winding down after that, but the action didn’t stop there in the book. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin returned home in what should have been triumph, but they were instead met with Saruman’s invasion of the Shire. Foreseen by Sam in Galadriel’s mirror, this event was known as the Scouring of the Shire.Jackson’s decision to cut the Scouring of the Shire made lots of sensedramatically. In a way, the question of the entire trilogy had been whether Frodo and Sam would survive.
This provided the focal dramatic tension of Jackson’s adventure trilogy, throwing two provincial civilians into an unprecedented military mission.The Hobbits faced certain doombut were saved by a sudden, unexpected turn of events. Tolkien called this eucatastrophe, coining a phrase that would endure. Jackson captured the emotionally grueling whiplash of this relief immaculately, so throwing the Hobbits back into more danger afterward would have reduced it. Equally, it would be great to see an interpretation ofThe Lord of the Ringsthat tackled the thematically important Scouring of the Shire.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
