Below is an analysis of the differences between the extended DVD version of the 2003 motion-picture adaptation and J.R.R. Tolkien’s original works. Generally, it follows the order of the scenes in the movie. At the end is a short author’s commentary about the film. For an excellent evaluation of the theatrical version of the film, I recommend the following Movie-goer’s Guide courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Arda website (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/).
Just what book are we
watching?
In
the movie… In The Return
of the King extended edition we see the confrontation of Saruman and
Shelob’s lair. Indeed, for nearly
the first two hours of the film we watch Sam and Frodo deal with Shelob and the
In the books… All of these scenes take place at the end of The Two Towers. The novel ends with “The Choices of Master Samwise”—a chilling clincher in which he must decide whether to brave the orc-tower and rescue Frodo.
’Cause
he’s got high hopes
In the movie… Before following Gollum into the the mountain pass to Mordor, Sam expresses concern about the food supply; he states that they need to ration it so there will be enough for the return journey home.
In the books… Sam and Frodo do indeed worry about food and water when the are in the parched wastes of Mordor, but they aren’t thinking of the journey home—they know they will be lucky even to reach their goal of Mount Doom.
You’re a
tree. You’re really old. We get it already.
In the movie… When Gandalf’s party rides from Helm’s Deep to Isengard, they are greeted with “Ah, young Master Gandalf” by Treebeard the Ent.
In the books… Treebeard does not address Gandalf this way. He seems to be aware that Gandalf is an ancient Power, probably older than the Ents. The first Ents appeared in the First Age when the Maiar spirits returned to Middle-earth after the awakeing of the Elves, and it was the Elves who taught them to talk. As a Maia spirit in corporeal form, Gandalf (his true Valinorean name was Olórin) was considerably older than Treebeard. That said, in The Two Towers Treebeard does refer to “young Saruman” in passing, though this may be because Treebeard doesn’t realize that Saruman is more than just a wicked wizard. Furthermore, Celeborn and Galadriel hail Treebeard as “Eldest” in The Return of the King, but this may be in reference to the antiquity of Fangorn, a lingering remnant of the old woods that covered Middle-earth even before the awakening of Elves. Treebeard, as the embodiment of Fangorn, may truly be the eldest—though he has not been a speaking, sentient entity as long as the Elves.
Who wants to see
those pesky hobbits beat Saruman anyway?
In
the movie… Treebeard has Saruman and Grima bottled up in the
In the books… Grima was not originally with Saruman. It took Grima many days to ride from Edoras to Isengard, and by the time he arrive the Ents had already won their victory. Treebeard plucked up Grima and put him away in Orthanc with Saruman. Most of the first part of the movie scene is in Tolkien’s book, though Tolkien plays up more the persuasive power of Saruman’s voice. Saruman speaks to the heroes not from atop the tower but from a balcony some stories up. Gandalf does eventually expel Saruman from the wizards’ order (Istari) and destroy his staff after revealing himself as the new White Wizard, but there is no fireball. The death of Saruman does not occur at Isengard, but rather at the very end of the third book in the Shire. We learn toward the end of the third novel that Saruman used his voice to persuade Treebeard to let him and Grima leave Isengard. Blaming the hobbits for his misfortune, Saruman recruits a gang of bandits and takes over the Shire, instituting a mafia-like occupation under the name Sharkey. It is there that Saruman gives Grima a harsh tongue-lashing, Grima stabs Saruman in the back, and enraged hobbits riddle Grima with arrows.
You know what would
make the palantír chapter better?
Pointlessly moving the setting!
In the movie… Saruman’s palantír falls with him from the top of the tower and rolls into the muck. Pippin fishes it out, and Gandalf swiftly takes it from him, since he knows what and how dangerous it is. The heroes then return all the way to Edoras for a funeral celebration with the Riders of Rohan. While spending the night in Theoden’s royal hall, Pippin can’t resist taking a peak at the strange orb Gandalf took from him. When he slips it away from Gandalf, Pippin is thrown into a wordless convulsion. Gandalf wakes up and knocks the palantír away from Pippin; Aragorn briefly picks it up but swoons under its power. Gandalf reclaims possession of the palantír. After interviewing Pippin and learning the hobbit’s vision of Sauron’s plans, Gandalf decides the next day that he should go to Minas Tirith and bring Pippin with him. Merry chastises Pippin because, thanks to his curiosity, Sauron now thinks that Pippin has the Ring. (This is preposterous in the movies, since in The Two Towers film one of the Nazgul clearly saw Frodo holding the Ring at Osgiliath, and there was no way the Ring could get to another hobbit hundreds of miles to the West just a few days later.)
In the books… In a fateful act of spite, it is Grima who hurls the palantír out of a high window in Orthanc, apparently trying to hit Gandalf (or Saruman?) below. Pippin is the first to pick it up, but Gandalf swiftly takes it away from him. Although Gandalf does not yet know what it is, he does know that Saruman kept a trove of dangerous artifacts inside Orthanc. After expelling Saruman from the wizards’ order and leaving him and Grima under the watch of the Ents, Gandalf leads his party back toward Helm’s Deep. At some point in between, they camp out in the open countryside for the night. That is where Pippin gets an itch to see the magic crystal. He is possessed by it, and Gandalf does save him from it. Pippin is interrogated by Sauron while he holds it, a conversation Pippin reports to his friends—which is how Gandalf figures out the crystal is a palantír, thus finally learning how Saruman came under Sauron’s sway and how they coordinated their efforts. Aragorn does not swoon under the power of the palantír: to the contrary, Gandalf surrenders possession of it to its rightful owner Aragorn, who holds it and later uses it quite effectively. Suddenly, a flying Nazgul appears overhead, probably sent sometime earlier by Sauron to check up on why Saruman had fallen out of communication. Unlike in the movie, Sauron believed that Saruman had captured the hobbit with the Ring, so when his flying Nazgul returned to Mordor to report that Isengard had fallen Sauron had every reason to believe the Ring was in the possession of his foes in the West. When the flying Nazgul escapes, Gandalf immediately snatches up Pippin and rides off with him to Minas Tirith.
Legolas, dude, what
frat are you gonna rush?
In the movie… The heroes return to Theoden’s hall in Edoras for a funeral celebration for those who died at Helm’s Deep. Merry and Pippin sing and dance. Aragorn and Gandalf talk pensively. But bestest of all, Gimli and Legolas engage in a drinking contest. Legolas eventually complains of a tingling sensation in his hands, but Gimli is so besotted that he passes out.
In the books… Theoden returns first to Helm’s Deep to gather his remaining forces there, which he leads to the gathering point at Dunharrow. Aragorn and his friends go straight to Dunharrow, which has been left under the governance of Éowyn. There is no funeral celebration at Edoras, and certain no drinking contest. Furthermore, nothing in Tolkien’s books suggests that Elves are immune to the effects of alcohol. Indeed, in The Hobbit an Elf jailor is quite the drunkard and passes out after imbibing too much.
One is the loneliest
Dúnadan you ever knew
In the movie… Aragorn is a solitary representative of the Dúnedain (indeed, no other Men are ever identified as such). His only true kinship appears to be with Elves: for example, he is thrilled when the Lórien Wood-elf Haldir shows up at Helm’s Deep with an army from Rivendell (this is in the second movie).
In
the books… Aragorn is
the chieftain of the Dúnedain of the North, the surviving descendants of the
lost
What does Rohan owe
Gondor? Oh, that’s right, our
whole bloody country!
In the movie… Theoden of Rohan is still peeved that his people were compelled to fight against Saruman alone, without aid from Gondor. When asked if Rohan will go to Gondor’s aid, Theoden hesitates and asks what Rohan owes Gondor.
In
the books… The Riders
of Rohan are the Eorlings (“sons of Eorl”) who originated in the
Look to the Black
Ships. Just don’t ask how I know
to look.
In the movie… Before leaving Edoras with Pippin to go to Minas Tirith, Gandalf tells Aragorn that he cannot follow him: he must take a different path and look to the Black Ships (which are not explained). Later, when he is with the army gathered at Dunharrow, Aragorn comes to realize that Gandalf meant for him to venture through the realm of the dead under the Dimholt.
In the books… Gandalf is long gone by the time Aragorn is at Dunharrow and decides to travel the Paths of the Dead. Gandalf does not admonish Aragorn to take this route, nor does he know about the Black Ships threatening the south of Gondor. There is an old prophecy that the rightful king would need to venture the Paths of the Dead, and it is the company of the Grey Company and the sons of Elrond that reminds Aragorn of this prophecy. As for the Black Ships, they belong to the Corsairs of Umbar, a people of the far south long hostile to Gondor. Indeed, over a thousand years earlier Gondorian rebels had seized control of Umbar and waged a vicious civil war. By the time of the War of the Ring, the Corsairs of Umbar were a piratical people under the sway of Sauron, and their Black Fleet transported an army of Southrons to attack southern Gondor while Mordor’s hosts assailed Minas Tirith. It was the threat of the Black Fleet and the Southron army that compelled Gondor’s southern fiefs to reserve most of their soldiers for home defense, sending only a “tithe” to Minas Tirith.
She’s having my
baby
In the movie… Arwen is on her way to take the Elf-ship away from Middle-earth when she suddenly has a vision of a little boy that she would bear for Aragorn. She rushes back to Rivendell to confront her father for concealing this fact from her when he convinced her to leave Middle-earth, and then makes the decision to remain in Middle-earth with Aragorn. At that point Elrond realizes that she has lost her Elvish spirit and accepts that she is now a part of Middle-earth. Arwen begs Elrond to have the shards of Narsil reforged for Aragorn. While the smiths of Rivendell pound Narsil back together, Arwen’s voice recites a rhyme that “the crownless again shall be king.”
In the books… Arwen is not often featured in the narrative. Most of what we know of her comes from “The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen” in the appendices of the third book. We know that Arwen was capable of farsight and watched over Aragorn during his long journeys, but no vision of her future son with him is described. Aragorn’s son with Arwen was named Eldarion, and he is mentioned only briefly and in little detail by Tolkien in the appendices. Arwen was compelled to choose between her Elvish nature and joining with Aragorn, and her father did indeed try to persuade her to leave Middle-earth to join her people across the Sea, but this was all years in the past by the time of the War of the Ring. By the time of the story in the books, Arwen already has made her choice to cleave to Aragorn, there was no talk of her leaving Middle-earth, and she had already forsaken her Elvish nature for a mortal life with Aragorn. Furthermore, Arwen did not beg Elrond to reforge Narsil for Aragorn; Elrond and Aragorn apparently decided this on their own before he left with the Fellowship of the Ring. The “crownless again shall be king” rhyme is not from Arwen but rather was a little doggerel that Gandalf wrote in a letter for Frodo which he left for him in Bree in the first book.
Why exactly did I bring
you along, Pippin?
In the movie… Gandalf brings Pippin before Denethor, the Ruling Steward of Gondor, in Minas Tirith. Gandalf instructs Pippin not to speak, and he chews out Pippin when the hobbit subsequently blathers to Denethor and pledges him service to make up for the death of his son Boromir.
In the books… Gandalf knows that the shrewd Denethor will demand to interview Pippin, so the wizard instructs the hobbit on how to behave. When Pippin pledges service to Denethor, Gandalf is pleased and praises the hobbit (though in the film Faramir later offers praise to Pippin uses Gandalf’s lines from the book). Far from chewing out Pippin, Gandalf says that the hobbit did quite well for himself, even though he admits that Denethor was able to discern much more than Pippin meant.
Who needs slow,
thoughtful character development when you can slam it all into one scene?
In the movie… Gandalf and Denethor immediately collide. Denethor is cold to Gandalf, and Gandalf accuses Denethor of abandoning the defense of his realm (“Where are Gondor’s troops?”). Denethor somehow already knows about Aragorn and accuses Gandalf of plotting to surplant Denethor with this Ranger of the North. It is clear from the very start of the encounter that Denethor is mentally unhinged because of the death of his son Boromir.
In the books… The conflict between Gandalf and Denethor is more gradual and subtle. Denethor is portrayed as greatly grieved by the death of Boromir, but he is not immediately insane. Far from abandoning the defense of his realm, Denethor had already summoned soldiers from Gondor’s southern fiefs to Minas Tirith and dispatched a party with the Red Arrow to Rohan. Shortly after Gandalf and Pippin arrive, some troops reach the city—most notably Prince Imrahil leading nearly a thousand men from Dol Amroth. The defenders of Minas Tirith are disappointed by how few troops from the south show up, noting that fear of the Black Fleet of Umbar and the Southrons of Harad compel them to hold back most of their men, but this is hardly Denethor’s fault. Denethor does not openly quarrel with Gandalf at first, but as the days pass they come to fiercely disagree. It becomes clear that Denethor has rejected Faramir because he believes his younger son is too much under the influence of Gandalf. It is only during his death scene, when he plans to burn himself and Faramir alive on a funeral pyre, that he openly accuses Gandalf of trying to surplant him with Aragorn. However, Denethor had long suspected Gandalf’s motives. In Denethor’s youth his father Ecthelion favored a young captain called Thorongil, who was really Aragorn in disguise. When Denethor later became steward and discovered Thorongil’s true identity, he was ever after suspicious of Gandalf.
If the audience
can’t cope with three Elven-rings they certainly can’t handle two
palantíri
In
the movie… Denethor cryptically asks of Gandalf, “Do you
think the eyes of the
In
the books… Denethor has
great insight about Gandalf’s plans and the power of Mordor because he
has been using another palantír, located in the White Tower of Ecthelion. A total of seven “seeing stones”
were made long ago: one of them was captured by Sauron’s forces a
thousand years before the War of the Ring, one of them was in Orthanc (and thus
came into Saruman’s possession), one remained in the Tower Hills west of
the Shire, and three were lost forever centuries in the past, but one always
remained in Minas Tirith. By using this
palantír, Denethor was shown by Sauron the extent of Mordor’s power, and
it drove him to despair and madness.
Only the Stewards knew of the stone in the
Who needs the
memorable, colorful, important characters anyway?
In the movie… Pippin joins the Tower Guard of Minas Tirith, but we never see him with his new comrades.
In the books… Pippin in instructed by a guardsman named Beregond, who becomes somewhat of a major character. Beregond has an adolescent son named Bergil, who becomes Pippin’s companion around town. Beregond is a brave warrior who single-handedly holds off the servants of Denethor trying to ready the funeral pyre for Faramir while Pippin goes to get Gandalf. Beregond sadly is compelled to slay several of the servants before Gandalf arrives, and this is technically a crime for which he must answer later. When Aragorn becomes king, he passes judgment upon Beregond for the killing: he is banished from Minas Tirith, but rewarded by being appointed captain of the guard for Faramir, whose life he saved. Alas, Beregond was apparently considered too inconsequential to be included in the movie…after all, the film absolutely needed every single minute of wide-eyed staring by Elijah Wood or gratuitous hack-and-slash combat with Gothmog.
Gandalf meets
Toynbee: Gondorian history as a gradual process
In the movie… Gandalf explains to Pippin that the line of kings in Gondor failed gradually over the centuries as they became more interested in genealogies and constructing monuments than seeing to the health of their realm.
In the books… Gondor lost its last king in a very specific and non-gradual manner. In the decades after the head Ringwraith, the Witch-king of Angmar, conquered Minas Ithil and seized the palantír located there, he began issuing to Gondor’s king challenges to single combat. At first King Earnur ignored them, but after a few years he seems to have changed his mind. Turning over his crown to a Ruling Steward for safekeeping, Earnur rode off to do single combat against the Witch-king. He never came back, and ever since Gondor awaited the return of the king.
Whoa, somebody better
get Mordor a bottle of TUMS
In the movie… As Frodo and Sam follow Gollum into the secret mountain pass into Mordor, they come across an unidentified stronghold. Suddenly, the sky crackles and for some strange reason the fortress belches a gigantic spurt of green energy. Its gates open up, and an army of orcs marches out. A flying Nazgul, later identified as the Witch-king of Angmar, emerges from above the fortress.
In
the books… To reach the
pass of Cirith Ungol, Sam and Frodo must go past Minas Morgul—formerly
the Gondorian city of
What, the movie is
only 3 ½ hours long??? Let’s make
up new crap for Sam and Frodo!
In the movie… Sam is deeply suspicious of Gollum’s intentions and threatens him physically, at one point giving him a thrashing. Gollum sneaks into Sam’s pack that night, steals the remaining food, sprinkles crumbles on Sam’s clothes, and tosses the food down the mountain. When Sam awakes and confronts Gollum, Frodo comes to Gollum’s aid. Gollum points to the crumbs on Sam’s clothes and accuses him of eating all the remaining food. Frodo takes Gollum’s side and tells Sam to go home. Tearfully, Sam leaves Frodo and begins to make his way back down the mountain. After a while, he comes across the spilled food and angrily climbs back up after Frodo and Gollum.
In the books… These scenes are entirely the invention of the screenwriters, and in general they make absolutely no sense. In the books Sam definitely is distrustful of Gollum, and by the end of the third book he is sorely tempted to kill Gollum with his sword, but Sam doesn’t beat up Gollum. Frodo does indeed have considerably empathy for Gollum, but he never takes his side and certainly never turns against Sam. The very idea of telling Sam to “go home” by himself is ludicrous: Sam would have to go back past Minas Morgul (where the hobbits just saw a huge orc army marching!) and then cross through a war zone for a couple hundred miles, followed by a lengthy trek across a vast wilderness (without any supplies). I can’t make up my mind what is sillier—Frodo telling Sam to go home, or Sam actually trying to go home!
A gratuitous action
scene at Osgiliath went over so well in the last film, let’s do it
again…
In the movie… Faramir and his men are holding the ruins of Osgiliath. After the army of Mordor marches to war, a host of orcs launch a night attack on Osgiliath by sailing across the river on boats. The surprise assault forces Faramir to retreat.
In the books… Osgiliath was lost centuries ago to the forces of Mordor. Shortly before the Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir and Faramir in a daring mission succeeded in destroying the bridges across the river; Mordor continued to hold the east bank, while Gondor held the west bank. After meeting Frodo and Sam (and setting them free to continue their quest), Faramir sent his Rangers to reinforce the river defenses while he himself returned to Minas Tirith. The attack on Gondor’s west-bank defenses did not come until after Faramir returned to Minas Tirith, spoke with Gandalf and Pippin, and was dispatched back to the outer defensive line by Denethor.
How many hobbits does
it take to light an unnecessary signal beacon?
In the movie… Gandalf realizes that Denethor has lost his mind and will not ready the defenses of Minas Tirith. The wizard asks Pippin to sneak to the top of the city’s signal beacon and light the bonfire. The hobbit manages to scale to the precarious wood tower and lights the blaze, which triggers a chain reaction of signal flares along a series of hill-forts all the way to Rohan. It is a visually stunning sequence, even if several of the signal forts are located on ridiculously high, impassable, snowy peaks.
In the books… Gandalf doesn’t have to ask Pippin to light the beacon because Denethor already ordered it days earlier—indeed, Gandalf and Pippin spotted the beacons as they road across Anórien to Minas Tirith.
Can Peter Jackson
manage to botch Tolkien’s world twice in one exchange? You betcha!
In the movie… Aragorn is waiting atop Edoras and spots the signal beacon from Gondor. He rushes to King Theoden and announces that Gondor calls for aid. Theoden pauses in thought for several moments and then decides to go to the defense of Minas Tirith. “Muster the Rohirrim!” he commands.
In the books… Theoden did not have to pause to consider helping Gondor. First, he was grateful personally to Aragorn for his bravery at Helm’s Deep. Second, the call for help did not merely come in the form of a beacon: rather, messengers from Minas Tirith came in person bearing the Red Arrow, symbol of the centuries-old alliance between Rohan and Gondor. Immediately Theoden agreed to come to Gondor’s aid. Lastly, Theoden never would muster the “Rohirrim”—that word is the term applied to the Riders of Rohan by the Elves and Dúnedain. The Riders of Rohan call themselves “Eorlings” (sons of Eorl) and refer to their land as the Riddermark.
Is dermatological
care covered by the Mordor health plan?
In the movie… The Orcs of Mordor are commanded by one hulking specimen with hideously deformed pinkish flesh. The credits identify that this is supposed to be Gothmog. Gothmog occasionally confers with the Witch-king of Angmar, the chief Ringwraith, but mainly it is Gothmog who commands the army attacking Minas Tirith.
In the books… Gothmog is mentioned exactly once—he is the lieutenant who takes over command of Mordor’s army after the Witch-king is destroyed. We do not even know what races he is, whether an orc, troll, or a wicked Man. Apparently the Witch-king wasn’t frightening enough, so Peter Jackson and company needed to invent a bigger part for Gothmog.
When you are riding
as fast as you can, make sure you carry along a hobbit for dead weight
In the movie… Faramir races back to Minas Tirith from Osgiliath, perused all the while by flying Nazgul. Gandalf rides out of the city upon Shadowfax with Pippin, and he drives away the Nazgul by unleashing holy light from his staff. Safely inside the city, Faramir meets briefly with Gandalf and Pippin to talk about Frodo and Sam, and then he reports to his father Denethor. Denethor angrily reproaches Faramir for failing to live up to Boromir, and the deranged old man even hallucinates seeing Boromir behind Faramir for a moment.
In the books… When Faramir rides back to Minas Tirith from the outlying river defenses, he is persued by a flying Nazgul. Gandalf rides out to save him, but without Pippin who watches from the city walls and cheers on the White Rider. Faramir does meet with Denethor, but Gandalf is with him at the time. Denethor does not hallucinate seeing Boromir, though he does reproach Faramir for not being the equal of his elder brother.
Theirs was not to
reason why / Theirs was but to do and die
In the movie… Denethor orders Faramir to lead a suicidal charge against Mordor’s position in Osgiliath to “retake the river in Pelennor”; the bulk of the text spoken by Denethor and Faramir comes out of the book (though not the actual mission). Faramir leads a massive squadron of heavy cavalry in a charge against the orcs hiding with bows amidst the rubble.
In
the books… Denethor
merely orders Faramir to return to the outlying defenses (the
“Rammas”) on the west bank of the
Gondorian Idol: Where
are Randy, Simon, and Paula when you need them?
In the movie… Denethor devours his dinner while Faramir leads the suicidal charge on Osgiliath. He asks Pippin to sing for him (the dialogue is taken straight from the book), and the hobbit reluctantly sings a somber tune.
In the books… Denethor does ask Pippin if he can sing, but before the hobbit is called upon to do so Denethor is distracted by discussions of strategy and planning. The song Pippin sings in the movie actually come from Chapter 3 of The Fellowship of the Ring. It is the last stanza of a “walking song” written by Bilbo Baggins, a humble air which the hobbits hum as they travel rather than a sullen dirge like in the movie.
More swords than you
can shake a hobbit at
In the movie… At Dunharrow, Éowyn takes Merry to a tent and arms him for war, giving him a suit of armor and a sword. Merry runs off to play with the new sword, apparently forgetting that Galadriel gave him and Pippin magic Elvish daggers in Lothlorien and that Aragorn gave him a short sword at Weathertop. Éomer makes fun of Merry after he leaves and tells his sister not to encourage him, and she in return chews out her brother for doubting Merry’s right to fight.
In the books… Éowyn does indeed arm Merry at Dunharrow, giving him leather armor and a small shield. However, she specifically does not give him a sword, for she notes that he already bears a fine sword—the barrow-blade he and the other hobbits acquired at the Barrow Downs on their way to Bree back in the first book. Éomer does not qurrel with his sister over Merry.
I hope Elrond got
frequent-flyer miles
In the movie… The night before the army of Rohan at Dunharrow rides to Minas Tirith, Elrond appears in King Theoden’s tent. Aragorn is brought to him for a private conversation. Elrond reveals that Arwen is dying, that her life is now somehow tied to the fate of Middle-earth. Elrond also warns Aragorn about the Corsairs in the south and advises him to take the path under the Dimholt, where he can call to his service an undefeatable army. Aragorn looks aghast and calls them “thieves and murderers” but accepts the necessity. Elrond presents Aragorn with the sword Narsil reforged as Andúril. In Elvish, they say together: “I give hope to Men. I keep none for myself.”
In the books… Elrond does not come to Dunharrow. However, his twin sons Elladan and Elrohir do come to Rohan with the Grey Company and stay with Aragorn during the rest of the War of the Ring. Nowhere in Tolkien’s books is it ever implied that Arwen is dying and that Aragorn can only save her by saving Middle-earth. However, Tolkien does make it clear that a victory for Sauron would ruin Middle-earth for the Elves, and Arwen no longer can leave its shores for the Undying Lands of the Uttermost West. Elrond does not ever warn Aragorn about the Corsairs of Umbar, though Aragorn himself probably has a strong hunch that they are ravaging southern Gondor. Elrond does indirectly advise Aragorn to travel the Paths of the Dead, by telling the Grey Company to remind Aragorn of the old prophecy on that topic. Aragorn knows that the Paths of the Dead are haunted by the Oathbreakers, Men of the White Mountains who at the end of the Second Age failed to live up to their promise to join Elendil and Isildur in battle against Sauron; Isildur cursed them for their treason, and when the Men died their spirits were bound under the Dimholt until given a chance to fulfill their ancient broken oath. Aragorn would consider them traitors, not thieves or murderers. As for Narsil, it was reforged as Andúril in the first book and given to Aragorn before he left with the Fellowship of the Ring. Finally, the quote spoken by Elrond and Aragorn does appear in Tolkien’s narrative, but in a more poignant manner: “I gave hope to the Dúnedain; I have kept none for myself” were the last words Aragorn’s longsuffering mother Gilraen the Fair said to him before he departed from her for the last time.
Everytime we say
goodbye / I die just a little bit…
In the movie… When Éowyn spots Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas leave for the Dimholt on the night before Rohan’s army rides for Minas Tirith, she accuses Aragorn of abandoning the men and her. She reveals her love for him, which Aragorn gently rejects. Aragorn does not explain to her where he is going, and she is heartbroken (probably out of confusion).
In the books… Aragorn leads his Grey Company, along with Gimli and Legolas, to the Paths of the Dead. Éowyn tries to dissuade him from what she perceives as a suicidal course of action, and then begs to join him when he proves undeterable. Aragorn refuses to take her away from her place among her people. She is heartbroken to realize that Aragorn does not love her, and she decides to ride to war hoping for death and release from her sorrow.
Dúnadan Jones and the
Raiders of the Lost Arkenstone
In the movie… Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas alone venture into the dungeon beneath the Dimholt. Even their horses panic and run away. The three heroes make their way under the mountain, where the find a vast city of the dead. Aragorn confronts the ghostly King of the Dead and parries his spectral blade with the power of Narsil reforged. Revealing himself as the rightful heir of Isildur, he demands the Dead help him fight for Gondor. The ghosts vanish, and the mountain suddenly begins to collapse. The three companions rush out of the falling cavern and are caught up in a torrent of hundreds of human skulls pouring out of the walls. As boulders crash down around them, they barely escape out through the other side of the mountain. Aragorn is devastated that the Dead have refused him, but then the King of the Dead suddenly appears and agrees to fight.
In
the books… Aragorn leads
his friends and the Grey Company through the Paths of the Dead under the
Dwimorberg. They come across the body of
a long-dead Lord of Rohan who ventured into the Dwimorberg to find the lost
treasures of the Men of the
How to destroy one of
Tolkien’s best surprises in one easy step
In the movie… As the Riders of Rohan depart Dunharrow for Minas Tirith, Merry begs to come along. Theoden rejects his offer and says that no rider can be spared to carry him as extra weight. As riders charge past, he is scooped up by Éowyn onto her horse. Her face is hardly obscured by her helmet, and Merry recognizes her immediately.
In the books… Theoden declines Merry’s request more gently than in the movie, but the end result is the same. However, a young knight whose face is covered by a full helmet stops by Merry and offers to smuggle him along. The knight identifies himself as Dernhelm, and Merry travels with him hidden among his packs. Merry has no idea who Dernhelm is, and never sees him without his helmet. Merry remains with Dernhelm during the battle of Pelennor Fields outside Minas Tirith.
There must have been
a few transporters hidden in the Paths of the Dead
In the movie… Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas emerge from the pass under the Dimholt by the river that runs downs from Minas Tirith. They spot a flotilla of black ships waiting there.
In
the books… Aragorn and
his company emerge by the
*Thwack!* Take that,
Ruling Steward of the most powerful kingdom in Middle-earth!
In the movie… Faramir is carried back to palace courtyard in Minas Tirith on a stretcher after his suicidal charge against Osgiliath failed. Denethor immediately spirals into madness, booming that everyone should flee for their lives. Apparently the only reason Denethor loses his mind is grief for his sons. Gandalf beats the Ruling Steward of Gondor with his staff and seizes command from him.
In the books… Faramir is brought back to Minas Tirith, mortally wounded by a poisoned dart. He was rescued by Prince Imrahil, who at Gandalf and Denethor’s request mounted a sortie to relieve the outlying river defenses. Denethor surrenders to despair, for (unbeknownst to anyone else) he has looked again into his palantír and has seen the imminent arrival of the Black Fleet, which he reasonably presumes carries Gondor’s southern enemies (he cannot know that the fleet actually bears Aragorn and his allies). Gripped by despair and grief, Denethor abandons command to mourn for his son, leaving Gandalf to take charge in his absence. Gandalf does not beat Denethor, and never would dream of assaulting the Ruling Steward in his own city. Furthermore, Gandalf would never seize command: his charge as one of the Istari is to guide the Free Peoples to resist the Shadow, and he is forbidden to set himself up as a ruler (a sacred duty that Saruman forgot at his own peril).
How can Pippin prove
his worth? Through gratuitous violence,
of course!
In the movie… As the army of Mordor besieges Minas Tirith, a siege tower debouches a horde of orcs onto the top of the walls. Pippin wanders into the fray and sees Gandalf, who tells him a battle is no place for a hobbit. When Gandalf is nearly overwhelmed, though, Pippin rushes to his defense and slays an orc. The moral? The value of a small person is not in his heart or spirit, his innocence or decency, but in his ability to poke bigger creatures with a sharp metal object.
In the books… The orcs never overrun the top wall of Minas Tirith with a siege tower, and Pippin does not join Gandalf in melee combat. He does intentionally seek out Gandalf when he learns that Denethor is planning on burning himself and his son alive on a funeral pyre, but he does not find Gandalf until after the besiegers are driven away from the city gate.
George Lucas called,
and he wants his CGI critters back
In the movie… The orc general Gothmog rides a hyena-like creature onto the battlefield. The massive battering ram called Grond is pulled by gigantic beasts that look something like monstrous yaks.
In the books… Tolkien’s books never specifically describe these creatures. However, at numerous times Tolkien’s books mention that Sauron had brought a variety of strange and twisted animals and beasts into his service, or created them through his foul magic. It is a fair stretch of imagination on the filmmakers’ part to dream up these beasts.
The Dead Boat / Soon
will be making another run
In the movie… Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas confront the pirate ships by themselves. When Aragorn tells Legolas to shoot a warning shot, Gimli deftly tips the Elf’s bow so that the arrow lands squarely in the chest of one of the pirate sailors. After the pirates shout the obligatory “You and what army?” threat (allowing Aragorn the corny response, “This one”), the Army of the Dead overrun the ships and seize the fleet. The ghosts apparently sit back for a nice cruise up the river to Minas Tirith, although who exactly is sailing the ships (since the only corporeal entities are Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas) is uncertain.
In
the books… As Aragorn,
the Grey Company, and the Army of the Dead ride across southern Gondor, they
drive back the invading Southrons of Harad, who flee in panic before the undead
host. The soldiers of southern Gondor
who were held back from Minas Tirith in order to defend their homeland fall in
behind Aragorn’s advance. The Army
of the Dead chases the invaders all the way back to the Black Fleet at Pelargir
on the
Why rely on mood and
atmosphere when you can beat the audience over the head with a giant spider?
In the movie… After Frodo tells Sam to go home, Gollum leads Frodo into a web-filled lair and then slips away. He lurks in the shadows, taunting him. A giant spider emerges and chases Frodo, who uses the star-glass given to him by Galadriel to protect him as he flees and the sword Sting given to him by his uncle Bilbo to cut himself free from the spider webs. Gollum jumps Frodo as he emerges from the spider’s cavern, and in the scuffle Frodo tosses Gollum off the cliff into darkness. Frodo collapses in exhaustion, but he is revived by a vision of the Lady Galadriel in her garden at Lothlorien.
In the books… Frodo and Sam are always together. After leading them into Shelob’s lair, Gollum simply vanishes. Gollum had secretly approached Shelob, whom he meant years earlier in his wanderings around Mordor, some days earlier, offering to bring her the hobbits as fresh meat. Frodo and Sam make their way through the long, dark pass, aware that they are being stalked by a creature with many eyes, but they use the light of Galadriel’s star-glass to guide them to the exit at the other side. When they find it blocked by thick webs, Frodo uses Sting to cut their way out. Frodo does not have any vision of Lothlorien, but he and Sam frequently think back to the Lady Galadriel and are cheered by the happy memory.
Good thing Sauron
forgot about the northern road into Gondor
In the movie… The Riders of Rohan, with Éowyn openly carrying Merry on her horse, travel east across the open countryside to Gondor. They arrive to join the battle for Minas Tirith apparently unmolested by the enemy.
In
the books… Éowyn,
disguised as Dernhelm, carries along Merry secretly (though eventually he is
discovered by the commander of her cavalry unit). The Riders of Rohan attempt to take the road
east to Gondor, but they find the way blocked by a huge Mordor army. Sauron knows well that the Rohirrim might
come to the aid of Minas Tirith, and he has taken steps to prevent it. The day is saved when the Rohirrim encounter
the Woses, wild men who live in the
Now that’s what
I call the Big Bad Wolf
In the movie… When the forces of Mordor are unable to break through the front gate of Minas Tirith, they bring up a massive wolf-head battering ram called Grond. The enormous fiery ram breaks through the gate, and a troop of trolls burst into the city. Gandalf inspires the defenders to hold their ground and battle the trolls.
In the books… The Mordor host does indeed bring up a fiery wolf-head battering ram called Grond, named after the huge mace wielded by the evil spirit Morgoth in the First Age. Grond is able to break through the mithril-reinforced gates of Minas Tirith when the Witch-king of Angmar, leader of the Nazgul and commander of the Mordor host, casts a “blasting spell” upon the ram. The great ram is moved by trolls, but when the gate breaks open only the Witch-king rides through and only Gandalf is there to face him.
Sam vs. Shelob
In the movie… As Frodo escapes the spider’s lair and approaches the tower through the pass, he is ambushed by Shelob and stung by her barb, which is in her backside like a wasp’s stinger. Sam reappears and wounds Shelob with Sting, then drives her away with the light of the star-glass given to Frodo by Galadriel.
In the books… Sam never leaves Frodo. Gollum ambushes Sam and distracts him while Shelob attacks Frodo. Shelob bites Frodo; at no point does Tolkien describe Shelob as having a wasp-like stinger. When Gollum pauses to gloat, Sam turns the tables on him, bruises his arm, and chases him away. Sam picks up Frodo’s sword Sting and his star-glass and battles Shelob, wounding her with the elvish blade. Holding aloft the star-glass, he is suddenly possessed (possibly by Galadriel?) and speaks an elvish prayer to Elbereth, the Elves’ patron spirit (Vala). Driven away by the holy light, Shelob limps off to nurse her wounds.
The One Choice of
Master Samwise
In the movie… Sam believes Frodo to be dead. Orcs come from the tower and take away Frodo’s body, revealing that he is only paralyzed by the spider’s venom. Sam follows after the orcs to try to rescue Frodo. Sam carries Sting and Frodo’s star-glass, but the fate of the Ring is unknown.
In
the books… Sam faces
several choices after Frodo is captured.
Since he believes that Frodo is dead, Sam takes Sting, the star-glass,
and the Ring, intending to carry on in Frodo’s place. Like in the movie, he learns from the orcs
that Frodo is merely paralyzed. Sam must
then choose whether to risk everything and try to rescue Frodo, or to leave
Frodo to his fate and to try to get the Ring to
I guess Evil really
is more powerful than Good
In the movie… After the forces of Mordor overrun the gate of Minas Tirith, Gandalf orders a retreat to the second level of the city. Pippin rushes up to Gandalf and reports that Faramir is going to be burned alive with Denethor, and without hesitation Gandalf scoops up Pippin and rides to the city’s tombs. Their ride is interrupted by the Witch-king of Angmar riding upon his winged mount. The Witch-king challenges Gandalf, drawing a fiery sword and somehow shattering Gandalf’s white staff. However, the Witch-king is compelled to leave before destroying Gandalf when the horns of the Riders of Rohan sound in the near distance.
In the books… After Grond shatters the gate of Minas Tirith, the Witch-king rides into the city on a demonic black horse. Gandalf stands alone to face him, for no one else could abide the fearsome leader of the Ringwraiths. The Witch-king does indeed draw a fiery sword, but he cannot shatter Gandalf’s staff. After all, rod of Gandalf the White is the symbol of his power as one of the Istari, the protectors sent to Middle-earth by the divine Valar. When the horns of the Riders of Rohan sound in the near distance, the Witch-king rides away to lead his army against them. Only when the Witch-king is gone does Pippin report to Gandalf about Faramir and Denethor. Gandalf hesitates because he faces an awful choice: he knows that he is needed to pursue and negate the power of the Witch-king, and if he doesn’t there will be a terrible cost. Nonetheless, he rides off with Pippin to the tombs of Rath Dínen to save Faramir.
And so passes
Denethor the Flaming Doofus
In the movie… Gandalf and Pippin atop Shadowfax burst into the city tombs. Denethor utters warnings of doom and defeat, and then sets the pyre alight. Gandalf knocks Denethor off with his staff, while Pippin leaps onto the pyre to push Faramir free. Shadowfax rears up and knocks Denethor back onto the pyre. Denethor catches on fire, runs out of the tomb, streaks across the mountain outcropping that runs through the upper level of the city, and jumps off the edge, plummeting in a ball of fire.
In the books… Pippin’s friend Beregond defends the door to the tombs, and he has already killed several of Denethor’s servants who have tried to force their way in. Gandalf ends the fighting and enters the tomb, where he finds Faramir lying atop the pyre and Denethor waiting for fire to be brought to him. When Denethor draws a sword to try to forcibly take one of the torches, Gandalf disarms him. Gandalf then pulls Faramir to safety away from the pyre. Denethor confronts Gandalf, revealing to him that he believes Gandalf has been using him as a bulwark against Morder while plotting to surplant him with Aragorn. Denethor reveals his own palantír, which long had been kept in secret in the tower of the stewards. Gandalf now realizes what has driven Denethor, once a powerful and wise ruler, to despair—just like Saruman. Denethor suddenly grabs a torch and leaps onto the pyre with the palantír, burning himself to death. Ever after when anyone gazed into his Seeing Stone, all that was seen was a pair of shriveled hands burning in flames.
Too bad the Riders of
Rohan didn’t have tow-cables to go for the legs
In the movie… After the Riders of Rohan overrun the orcs, they are counterattacked by a squadron of Mumakil. The riders fight back by galloping between the legs of the giant elephants. Éowyn hands the reins of her horse to Merry and, wielding a sword in each hand, hamstrings the hind legs of one mumak. Éomer neutralizes another mumak by hurling a spear into the chest of its driver. Later, Legolas single-handedly defeats the mumakil by climbing atop the beast, killing the drivers and the animal, cutting loose the heavy tower on its back, and then colliding the collapsing wreckage into the adjacent animal. Legolas leaps to safety by surfing down the trunk of the dying mumak.
In the books… Mumakil are present at the battle of Pelennor Fields, but Tolkien does not describe any specific attack by them against the Riders of Rohan. And most certainly, Legolas does NOT trunk-surf.
Can Peter Jackson
squeeze another unnecessary swordfight into the screenplay? Oh, most surely.
In the movie… Éowyn duels one-on-one with Gothmog but neither prevails. Later on, Aragorn and Gimli arrive on the scene and slay Gothmog just before he can finish off Éowyn when she is wounded.
In the books… Gothmog is mentioned just once by Tolkien. He doesn’t actually do anything, certainly not a duel.
Imagine there’s
a heaven / It’s easy if you try
In the movie… Gandalf and Pippin stand atop the walls of Minas Tirith and look out over the desperate battle raging below. When Pippin expresses his fear that they are doomed, Gandalf reassures him by describing what the afterlife is like—a blessed transition from life to death, reaching a distant and beautiful shore in a land of immortality.
In the books… Gandalf does not give Pippin any such reassurances. What Gandalf describes in the film only applies to immortal beings, like himself and Elves. Only their spirits may find their way to the Halls of Mandos in the Undying Lands of Aman, where they can live again. Gandalf does not know what afterlife awaits hobbits or Men, for their fate is known only by God (Ilúvatar, the “Father of All”).
I am woman / Hear me roar
In the movie… The Witch-king of Angmar descends upon a winged mount and attacks King Theoden, leaving him stricken upon the field. Éowyn stands in front of the fallen king and confronts the chief Nazgul. She cuts off the head of his winged mount, and so the Witch-king advances upon her on foot. The Witch-king wields a mace and a sword, and he wears a helmet in the shape of a crown. He shatters Éowyn’s shield and is nearly ready to dispatch her, boasting that he can be slain by no man. Then, out of nowhere the Witch-king is stabbed in the leg by Merry, wielding an unidentified weapon (it could be the short sword given to him in the first movie by Aragorn, the Noldorin dagger given to him by Galadriel in the first extended edition DVD, or it could be the sword given to him by Éowyn earlier in this movie). While the Nazgul is distracted by the blow, Éowyn pulls off her helmet and, not surprisingly, reveals that she is no man. She drives her sword into his helmet, and the Witch-king implodes like a collapsing star.
In
the books… The bulk of the
fight occurs as shown in the movie.
However, the Witch-king does not wear a crown-shaped helmet. Rather, he is depicted as a faceless specter
with fiery eyes and a crown floating above them. When he boasts that he can be harmed by no
man, he is repeating an ancient prophecy uttered 1,500 years earlier by the
High-elf prince Glorfindel, the same who rescued Frodo from the Nazgul at the
river outside Rivendell. The scene is
described through the eyes of Merry, who is surprised when Dernhelm takes off the
helmet and is revealed to be Éowyn.
Though he is afraid of the Nazgul, he resolves not to let her die alone
and unaided. He stabs the Witch-king in
the back of the leg with his barrow-blade, a magical Westernesse dagger crafted
thousands of years earlier specifically to harm such evil creatures that the
hobbits recovered from the Barrow Downs in the first book. The Witch-king is so
powerful that even the magic dagger is destroyed and Merry’s arm badly
injured.
The cleaning power of
undead scrubbing bubbles
In the movie… Interspersed throughout the action scenes of the battle for Minas Tirith, Aragorn’s captured ships arrive at the city. The orcs have been expecting the “pirate scum” and are upset that the ships are lead. Suddenly, the Army of the Dead flies from the ships and sweeps away all before them. The ghosts blast across the battlefield and swiftly scrub clean Minas Tirith, flushing away all the remaining bad guys. The Dead completely win the battle on their own, and every death in the battle up to that point (including King Theoden) is just an accident of bad timing. After the sudden victory, Aragorn releases the Dead from their oath.
In the books… The Black Fleet is not expected at Minas Tirith. The hosts of Mordor believe the Corsairs of Umbar are helping the Southrons/Haradrim attack southern Gondor. The defenders of Minas Tirith are distraught to see the Black Ships, because they believe that it means the Corsairs are coming to reinforce the Mordor army. Then, Aragorn unfurrels his banner, the royal White Tree upon a black field, which Arwen herself made and had the Grey Company deliver to him. The defenders are cheered to see the banner, and they are reinforced by Aragorn and his friends, the Grey Company, and the forces of southern Gondor gathered by Aragorn on his ride to Pelargir. The battle is not immediately won; it is a hard-fought contest in which every sacrifice is given meaning. The Army of the Dead makes no appearance at Pelennor Fields; Aragorn releases the ghosts from their oath after they capture the Black Fleet at Pelargir.
Aragorn the combat
medic
In the movie… Éowyn is found dying on the battlefield by her brother and is brought into the city to be treated. For some unexplained reason, Aragorn himself comes to tend to her and is able to heal her. Later, Merry is found on the battlefield by Pippin, and though Merry looks beaten up apparently he doesn’t need any healing. Later, too, we learn that Faramir is in the same place of healing as Éowyn, but we don’t see his treatment—perhaps he just heals on his own.
In the books… Éowyn suffers from the “black breath”—a lethal condition inflicted by being too close to the power of the Ringwraiths. There is an ancient prophecy in Middle-earth that the hands of a king are the hands of a healer, and so Aragorn himself comes to the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith to tend to her. He impresses the healers of Minas Tirith by saving Éowyn’s life, as well as the lives of Faramir and Merry.
Sam must have leveled
up a lot since leaving the Shire
In the movie… Sam freely runs into the tower to confront the orcs who have captured Frodo. The first group of orcs sees him as a grunting, sword-wielding shadow, before he rushes up the stairs and kills them all in hand-to-hand combat. The orcs quarrel over the loot taken from Frodo, and most of the orcs kill each other. One of the last surviving orcs stalks over to Frodo and prepares to stab him to death, but Sam appears and kills the orc first. The viewer has no idea who has the Ring—ooooh, could it be that the orcs have it???
In
the books… The reader
knows that Sam has the Ring. Rather than
giving us a shallow, short-lived, and pointless whodunit about the fate of the
Ring, Tolkien instead explores how the Ring tempts Sam. Sam briefly uses the Ring to hide from the
orcs so that he can follow them into the
Hey, stranger
commanding an army of ghosts, want to be our king?
In the movie… Aragorn apparently waltzes into Minas Tirith after the Army of the Dead wins the battle of Pelennor Fields for him, and everybody seems to treat him like the king. Aragorn and his friends hold a debate about what course of action to take next, and they decide to march against the Black Gate of Mordor to challenge Sauron, in order to draw his forces away from Frodo and the Ring.
In the books… Aragorn, his friends, and the captains of the army do indeed hold a “last debate” about what course of action to take next, and they do indeed decide to march on Morannon, the Black Gate of Mordor, in order to distract Sauron and Mordor’s forces so that Frodo would have a better chance of making it to Mount Doom with the Ring. However, the debate is held in Aragorn’s tent, which is set up on Pelennor Fields near to where King Theoden was slain. Aragorn secretly slips into the city in order to treat Éowyn, Faramir, and Merry in the Houses of the Healing, but he refuses openly to walk into the city and claim the kingship. He insists on waiting until Faramir is well enough to receive him as steward, relinquish the steward’s office, and recognize him as the rightful king.
Oh my God, Sauron
killed Arwen…you bastard!
In the movie… Before marching on Mordor, Aragorn uses Saruman’s palantír to reveal himself to Sauron and to show him Narsil reforged. In return, Sauron shows Aragorn an image of Arwen lying dead. Aragorn drops the necklace Arwen gave to him in the first film, and it shatters on the floor.
In the books… Aragorn used the captured Seeing Stone to reveal himself and Narsil reforged to Sauron much earlier, before venturing into the Paths of the Dead. This was one reason why Sauron accelerated the attack on Minas Tirith before his forces were fully ready: Sauron presumed that Aragorn had the hobbt with the One Ring. Sauron never shows Aragorn an image of Arwen’s death, nor does Aragorn ever break Arwen’s Elfstone necklace.
Where there’s a
whip, there’s a botched scene
In the movie… Sam and Frodo make their way across Mordor dressed in the armor and garb of little orcs. They are caught while resting off the road by an orc army on the march, and are forced to join the column. Sam and Frodo escape from the orcs by feigning a quarrel, and when a general scuffle ensues they crawl away.
In the books… Sam and Frodo do indeed disguise themselves as little orcs in order to make their way across Mordor, and they are caught by a column of orcs and forced to join the march. They escape thanks to the decision of Aragorn to march on the Black Gate—all the orcs of Mordor are being rushed to Morannon, and when two hosts collide on the same road, Sam and Frodo are able to slip away in the confusion.
Spotlight dance on
Sauron
In the movie… Sauron is a great big flaming eye floating atop Barad-dur tower. When the Eye of Sauron probes Mordor, it literally is a spotlight beam scanning the land.
In the books… Sauron is a physical entity. If he were not, how could he actually wear a ring? Long ao Sauron possessed a fair form, even one like the Elves (some of whom he deceived and befriended in the Second Age). After his defeat at the end of the Second Age, his physical form was dispersed for a time. About a thousand years later, he regained physical form but it was now apparently vile. All that was ever revealed was his one red lidless eye. Tolkien does describe Sauron probing the land with his eye, but his visual search is probably meant to be metaphorical, not a literal searchlight.
I am the bad dental
hygiene of Sauron
In the movie… Aragorn’s army arrives at the Black Gate, and Aragorn rides forward to demand that Sauron himself come up to have justice done upon him for his evil deeds. (How a big floating fiery eye is supposed to come out is not specified.) Instead, out from the gate rides the Mouth of Sauron, some orc-like creature with rotting jagged teeth. Gandalf issues terms to Sauron’s negotiator. In return, the Mouth shows Frodo’s captured mithril coat and implies that Frodo was captured and tortured to death. Suddenly, Aragorn draws his sword and decapitates the Mouth of Sauron. End of negotiations.
In the books… The Mouth of Sauron is no orc but rather a wicked Man, one of the Black Numenoreans who in centuries passed were seduced by the power of sorcery and joined Sauron’s cause. He had so long been in Sauron’s service that he had even forgotten his own name. The Mouth of Sauron is indeed haughty but he is also fearful, and reminds the heroes that he is a herald and cannot rightfully be harmed. Gandalf promises that he will not be attacked. The Mouth shows tokens to the heroes, Frodo’s mithril shirt, his Lorien elvish cloak, and his barrow-blade, stating that Frodo has been captured and is still alive. When Pippin reacts to the sight of the items, Gandalf harshly silences him but then asks for Mordor’s terms to have Frodo released. The Mouth issues Sauron’s demands for the surrender of the lands of the West. Gandalf then reveals his power as the White Wizard, allowing him to snatch the items from the recoiling Mouth of Sauron, and on behalf of the peoples of the West he rejects Sauron’s terms.
Have a nice TRIP, see
you next FALL!
In
the movie… Sam and Frodo finally reach
In
the books… Sam and
Frodo finally reach the top of
The Last
In the movie… The orcs march out of the Black Gate. Aragorn’s army awaits them in one big mass atop a hill. Aragorn starts a one-man charge against them in the memory of Frodo, and Merry and Pippin follow after him ahead of the rest of the army. A big massive hack-and-slash ensues. Then, Gandalf’s messenger moth from the first film appears before the wizard, revealing that the Great Eagles have come to join the battle. Pippin sees the Eagles and cheers in joy when the start attacking the orcs. As the battle rages, Aragorn duels with a troll and is saved from being crushed only when the Ring is destroyed the Barad-dur tower crumbles. With the destruction of Sauron and the fall of his tower, the Black Gate collapses and all of his orcs and trolls are swallowed up by the earth in a great crevase that stops just short of the hill occupied by the good guys.
In
the books… The Western
army is walking into an ambush. When the
Mouth of Sauron is rejected, a massive orc host pours out of the Black
Gate. Then, orcs and Easterlings appear
from hiding places in the nearby mountains and close in to surround
Aragorn’s army. The Men of the
West form up in a defensive position atop two hills, one led by Aragorn and one
by the Riders of Rohan. The Western
forces are not so foolish as to charge the enemy, but rather they form a wall
of spears and shields and desperately defend themselves. A band of hill-trolls charges the defensive
line, but no troll duels with Aragorn.
One troll does incapacitate Beregond, but Pippin proves that he can
equal Merry (who is NOT present for this battle, since he is still recovering
in Minas Tirith from his fight against the Witch-king) by using his
barrow-blade to slay the troll. Alas,
Pippin is pinned under the bulk of the falling troll, and the last thing he
remembers before passing out is hearing shouts that the Great Eagles have
come. Pippin thinks he must be imagining
it because that’s how old Bilbo’s story ended. Later after the fall of Sauron, Pippin and
Beregond are saved, and Pippin learns the Eagles really did come. When the Ring is destroyed, Sauron is forever
dispersed and his
The Return of the
King and Many, Many Endings
In
the movie… After being rescued from
In
the books… After being
rescued from
See you in hell,
Theoden
In the movie… King Theoden dies in the battle of Pelennor Fields, and we never hear of him again. Apparently, his beloved niece and nephew leave him to rot on the ground.
In the books… King Theoden is given a great funeral at Minas Tirith, where he is buried in honor as a hero. The site where his horse Snowmane was killed in battle becomes a flower-covered mound. It is at the funeral of Theoden that Eomer publicly announces the marriage of Eowyn and Faramir.
Homeward bound
In the movie… After the coronation, the hobbits get back to the Shire safe and sound. The four friends sit around a tavern and share a drink, and they exchange meaningful looks that aren’t altogether clear in meaning. Sam marries his sweetheart Rosie. Frodo finishes writing the book that Bilbo started about the adventures of the hobbits during their lifetimes. Frodo suffers fits of pain, and complains to Sam that it has been “four years since Weathertop” and he still feels the injury on its anniversary. He hands over the book to Sam and tells him that the blank pages are for him to finish.
In the books… The hobbits head back to home slowly after the coronation, for they have “many partings” to make. Gandalf rides back north with them for most of the way. At Isengard they greet Treebeard, who informs them that he let Saruman and Grima go free. Gandalf realizes that Saruman used the power of his voice to persuade Treebeard to let him go. As the party nears the Shire, Gandalf tells the hobbits that he will leave them for now because they have already learned everything they need to know from him. Indeed, the hobbits return to the Shire to find it taken over by Saruman’s gang, and together they are able to lead the rest of the hobbits in a rebellion. The gang of ruffians is defeated, Saruman and Grima are slain, and the Shire is freed. In later years, Pippin, Merry, and Sam all become longtime political leaders of the Shire. Sam does get married to Rosie Cotton. Frodo is badly broken by his ordeal, and he does suffer pain—but on the anniversary of being bitten by Shelob, not on the anniversary of being stabbed at Weathertop. Besides, it was only two-and-a-half years since Weathertop, not four. When Frodo is ready to leave the Shire, he does indeed turn over the “Red Book” to Sam with a few blank pages left for him to finish.
Who’s that
mystery Elf?
In the movie… Sam joins Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf journey to the Grey Havens, from whence the Elf-ships sail across the sea to the immortal lands. Merry and Pippin show up in time to say goodbye, and Frodo bids a tearful farewell to his friends. Joining Frodo and Bilbo on the ship are Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn, and some unidentified mystery Elf in the background.
In the books… Frodo does indeed join Bilbo and Gandalf on the Elf-ship sailing from the Grey Havens in Lindon to the Undying Lands of Aman. Gandalf let Merry and Pippin know about it so that they would follow after them and keep Sam company on the trip home. The three remaining hobbits do indeed weep to say farewell to Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf. Also going on the ship are Elrond, Galadriel, and many of the Noldor High-elves who yet remained in Middle-earth. Celeborn is NOT present—he remains in Lorien for some years after, ruling a kingdom that expands into part of Mirkwood, but without Galadriel the Elvish realm languishes and eventually he abandons his forest realm to join her across the sea. As for that mystery elf in the movie, it may be Círdan the Shipwright, the Lord of the Grey Havens—however, Círdan does NOT board this ship, but rather remains in Middle-earth until the last Elf-ship sets sail for Aman.
Thanks for sticking
with me to the end, Sam. Now go back to
your hovel!
In the movie… Sam returns to his home in the Shire, a little hobbit hole labeled #3 Bagshot Row. He is greeted by his wife and children and says in satisfaction, “I’m home.” What happened to Frodo’s luxurious Bag End is not revealed.
In the books… Sam does close the book with the famous line, “I’m home.” But his home is no longer #3 Bagshot Row, which was the little hole where he lived with his father the Old Gaffer. When Sam married Rosie and began having children, Frodo invited him to bring his family to live in the spacious Bag End. When Frodo decides to leave Middle-earth on the Elf-ship, he bequeaths Bag End to Sam and his family. Sam completes the “Red Book of Westmarch” that contains the stories told by Tolkien, and he lives a long and happy life in the Shire. But, it is said, that at the end of his days Sam, too, made a trip to the Grey Havens, where he was permitted, as the last of the Ringbearers, to join Frodo across the sea.
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Author’s Comments
I
was terribly disappointed by this expanded version of the final Lord of the Rings movie. Each and every additional scene was either
badly muddled compared to the narrative in the books (e.g., the death of
Saruman), oddly flat (Éowyn and Faramir in the Houses of the Healing), or
insultingly insipid (e.g., virtually everything else, from Gimli’s padded
comic relief to the torrent of skulls in the Paths of the Dead). The extended editions of the previous two
films were, arguably, improvements over the theatrical releases: while not
every additional scene was magical, the previous extended editions provided
additional footage that made the films more interesting. The
Return of the King extended edition, by contrast, is a crushing
disappointment—viewers are advised to stick with the original theatric
cut and leave the additional scenes on the cutting-room floor where they
deservedly belonged.
So
what can be said about The Lord of the
Rings trilogy as a whole and the place of The Return of the King in it?
First, let me say up-front that the trilogy is far better than the
average
What
is most distressing to me is that, as the film series progressed, each movie
drifted further from the source material.
Each subsequent movie contained graver alterations from Tolkien’s
books or grosser “improvements” from the filmmakers. Fellowship
contained quite a few minor alterations, some understandable simplifications,
and a few debatable though reasonable compression devices (e.g., making Arwen a
composite character with Glorfindel).
Compared to the second and third films, Fellowship is positively faithful to Tolkien’s book. Two
Towers introduces elements invented solely by Jackson and his co-writers,
such as the Elves at Helm’s Deep, the corruption of Faramir, and the
tricking of the Ents by the hobbits.
These changes, while ultimately maintaining Tolkien’s overall
storyline, seriously weaken the power of many of his themes. Return
continues the pattern, to the extent that in many ways the movie only vaguely
resembles Tolkien’s story. Return shares the same overall plot arc
and some of the same narrative, but the movie drains almost all of it of the
deeper meanings in Tolkien’s book.
For this reason, I am surprised that Return
won the Academy Award. As this review
points out, so much of it fails to make coherent sense, even in terms of the
plot established within the movies. Return holds up least-well compared to
the other films. Perhaps Peter Jackson
deserved some kind of “special achievement” Oscar for his trilogy
as a whole, but I contend it was a mistake to reward his cumulative work with
an Academy Award for this flawed film.
Many
fans of the film are forgiving of