Current Events > Watching LotR Return of the King (extended)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Two Towers was really good

Goof

Great movie

yes

They're making Pippin the fuckup AGAIN

"In fact its better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took" lmao

One of the pillars was literally above the clouds how anyone supposed to see that

Doe posted...

They're making Pippin the fuckup AGAIN

Tbf he is the youngest and most impulsive of the hobbits.

See or hear from you in a week?

I always say that this one especially is best to watch theatrical first. One of the best fist pump surprises is that ruined in the extended version. Otherwise its excellent.

AFAIK there just isn't a theatrical version is this 4k quality

I have heard there's some particular extended footage about ghosts or something in this movie that people don't like

Gandalf is a warlord

Doe posted...

I have heard there's some particular extended footage about ghosts or something in this movie that people don't like

I dont think theres extra ghost footage but they ruin the surprise of the trio arriving at the battle by boats. I was so pumped when watching that in theater.

I just finished the audio book for Return of the King. I need to watch the movie now. I think I'll go get some lunch and then do that.

Supposedly Peter Jackson hated the army of the dead, which I always found strange, considering he boosted their screentime considerably over the source material.

I just wrapped up a LotR reread myself, and once again I'm finding myself lamenting (among other minor nitpicks) that book characters like Prince Imrahil and Elrond's sons didn't make the cut.

"I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you"

I teared up

masterpug53 posted...

Supposedly Peter Jackson hated the army of the dead, which I always found strange, considering he boosted their screentime considerably over the source material.

I just wrapped up a LotR reread myself, and once again I'm finding myself lamenting (among other minor nitpicks) that book characters like Prince Imrahil and Elrond's sons didn't make the cut.

Imrahil's absence is particularly disappointing because he had a rather major role in the battle. I guess he was excluded because there were already so many characters, and they also wanted to portray Gondor as truly on the brink with one leader totally incapacitated and the other having succumbed to madness. Imrahil's presence would have brought some order to Gondor's army that maybe they just didn't think made sense thematically for what they were going for. I would have liked to see him though because I thought he was one of the cooler side characters in the book.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


The short, short answer is fairly different, but not nearly enough that it derails the main plot or makes the climax of the story feel weird or unearned (like, say, Game of Thrones). I'll always have minor nitpicks with the LotR movies as a book purist by heart, but overall they're honestly some of the best feature-length blockbuster adaptations one could hope to get, imo.

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There are some pretty substantial differences. I think it's most notable in the characterization though. Characters such as Frodo, Gimli, and Aragorn are portrayed very differently between book and movie, though you could likely find examples for all the main characters. I think for the most part, the areas where the films deviated worked out. The Battle of Helm's Deep is a good example of that. It is significantly different and shorter in the book.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I think it depends on how engrossed you are with Middle-earth. There's a lot of information to digest. Tolkien's prose isn't too challenging, though certainly moreso than the typical fantasy author. There are also a few moments where characters will recite a song for multiple lines and that may not be for everybody. Though I'd recommend trying The Hobbit again at the very least because that one should be a pretty easy read for most people.