The Lord Of The Rings Extended Editions, Ranked By How Much They Improve The Movie

Summary

• The extended editions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy add valuable scenes and depth to the original theatrical cuts.
• Each extended edition provides additional context to the characters and their relationships, enhancing the overall viewing experience.
• While some added scenes may not directly align with Tolkien’s books, the extended editions are worth the investment for fans of the franchise.

The Lord of the Rings extended editions are spectacular enhancements of the original theatrical cuts, but which is the best? Since Tolkien’s books were full of lore, songs, battles, and important interactions, Peter Jackson’s film trilogy could only scratch the surface. Of course, the director ultimately managed to create works of art, even though they were missing several critical moments. The theatrical cut of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was quickly accepted as the pinnacle of fantasy book-to-screen adaptations. Still, the extended editions took these works of art even further.

Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was already incredibly long, with a total runtime of 9 hours and 3 minutes. His extended editions, released a year after all three theatrical cuts had been available, extended this runtime by 2 hours and 33 minutes—so it would take 11 hours and 26 minutes to binge the Lord of Rings extended editions in their entirety. Of course, this is entirely worth the investment. The additional scenes include canon moments from the books, some fun embellishments, and much more—but which extended version provides the best experience?

3 The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

Fellowship Of The Ring Had The Least Additional Scenes

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring‘s extended edition included the least additional scenes, with about 30 minutes added to the original runtime. Still, these added a great deal of value to the overall film. The best and longest of these scenes is right at the beginning when the Hobbits of the Shire are introduced. For nearly three minutes, Bilbo’s voice could be heard explaining who the Hobbits were and what made their community so special. This dialogue was predominantly taken from Tolkien’s works, making the moment even more special.

Further added scenes in the Fellowship of the Ring extended editions came from Tolkien’s book, while others were of Jackson’s own invention. The scene in which Frodo and Sam visit the Green Dragon is similar to a moment from the books but doesn’t provide nearly as much exposition as Tolkien’s version. Frodo and Sam see Wood Elves in the Fellowship of the Ring book, which is notable because this was a dream of Sam’s. However, this wasn’t very important either, especially since Sam’s fascination with Elves was expressed once they arrived in Rivendell.

Perhaps the most valuable additional scenes in The Fellowship of the Ring are “The Midgewater Marshes” and “Gilraen’s Memorial” because they both serve Aragorn’s own development. In the first, the Hobbits travel through the Midgewater Marches with Strider, whom they had only recently met. While they camp, Frodo hears Aragorn singing a song about the tragic romance of Beren and Luthien, a mortal man and Elf woman—important because it foreshadows his love for Arwen. In the second scene, Aragorn visits a memorial for his mother, and Elrond hints at the importance of Aragorn’s destiny as king.

The parallel between Aragorn and Arwen’s romance with that of Beren and Luthien was important to the Lord of the Rings books but was mostly absent from Jackson’s theatrical cut.

The parallel between Aragorn and Arwen’s romance with that of Beren and Luthien was important to the Lord of the Rings books but was mostly absent from Jackson’s theatrical cut. The same is true for Aragorn’s history at Rivendell and his relationship with Elrond as a father figure after his mother brought him to Rivendell. For this reason, the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring markedly improved the original cut. However, with only a few scenes of improvement, this extended edition is easily ranked below Two Towers and Return of the King.

2 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of the King

The Return Of The King’s Additional Scenes Sometimes Took Things Too Far

The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King contained a whopping 13 additional scenes, adding about 51 minutes to the film’s runtime. Like in Fellowship of the Rings, it exposition scenes that add the most value. For example, after meeting with Denethor for the first time, Gandalf explains the history of Gondor to Pippin, something that was significantly reduced in the theatrical cut. This provides a great deal of context to Denethor’s character and sets up Aragorn’s return (the titular Return of the King).

Other important moments added to The Return of the King extended edition include “The Wizard’s Pupil,” which dives further into the context of Denethor and Faramir’s contentious relationship. While it was mentioned several times in the books, this is the only time the movie mentions that Denethor disapproved of Faramir’s interest in wisdom and research over war and battles. Shortly after this, we see “Peregrin of the Tower Guard,” which shows Faramir’s supreme kindness as he gives Pippin the armor he wore as a child.

Taking Faramir’s story even further in The Return of the King, the scenes added to the extended edition also include those in which the man begins to fall in love with Eowyn. While these still fall short compared to the Lord of the Rings books, the romance between these two brings a more satisfying ending to their stories. Both lost a great deal during Sauron’s rise to power, but finding one another implies a happy ending. On this same note, the scene “The Houses of Healing” considers the consequences of Eowyn’s battle with the Witch-king, which left her injured on the battlefield.

While many canon book scenes were added to the extended edition of The Return of the King, this installment had the most moments added that were not in Tolkien’s works.

While many canon book scenes were added to the extended edition of The Return of the King, this installment had the most moments added that were not in Tolkien’s works. The first added scene, “The Voice of Saruman,” is a variation of several book scenes and resolves the otherwise unanswered question of what happened to Saruman. However, the wizard’s death by falling off Orthanc was an invention of Jackson’s, and was ultimately better off left out. The same is true for “The Witch King’s Hour” and “The Mouth of Sauron,” which sees the Witch-king shatter Gandalf’s staff and Aragorn kill the Mouth of Sauron.

Wormtongue kills Saruman in the
Return of the King
book, but this doesn’t happen until after the One Ring is destroyed, during an event called ”
The Scouring of the Shire
.”

While these are undoubtedly exciting scenes, and bringing in the Mouth of Sauron would have been a good touch, much of this didn’t happen in The Lord of the Rings. There is much debate about whether the Witch-king could have destroyed Gandalf’s staff since the newly dubbed White Wizard should have been far more powerful. While the scene involving the Mouth of Sauron happened in the Return of the King book, Aragorn never beheaded the Dark Lord’s messenger, and doing so would have been out of his character. These additions went a bit too far, keeping Return of the King‘s extended edition from ranking higher.

1 The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers

The Two Towers Extended Edition Was Stuffed Full Of Valuable Scenes

The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers contains 14 additional scenes—the most of the extended trilogy. Combined, these scenes add about 41 minutes to the film’s runtime, and just about every moment of this is entirely worth it. A great deal of what was added came directly from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, provided further context to characters and their histories, or simply embedding that beautiful Tolkien flavor into the film.

The first additional scene in Two Towers sees Sam and Frodo making their way through their long journey. There’s a sequence straight from the book in which they use some Elven rope that Galadriel gave to Sam. While not particularly important, there was a running joke in Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring that Sam had forgotten to bring rope, making this a rather charming scene. Similarly, “The Song of the Entwives,” which saw Treebeard sing a song for Merry and Pippin, was an excellent touch. Tolkien’s works were full of songs and poems, most of which didn’t make it to Jackson’s films.

Other largely unimportant but still valuable canon moments in the Two Towers extended edition include “Ent Draft,” which sees Pippin grow taller after drinking water from Fanghorn Forest, and “One of the Dúnedain,” in which Eowyn gives Aragorn some comically awful stew while she learns more about the Man’s past (and age). These scenes add a touch of levity to the film, which grows increasingly dark as it progresses while tying into the sorts of memorable moments from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books.

“Sons of the Steward,” though something of a creative liberty, was also an excellent scene, exploring the relationship between Faramir and Boromir and the overall dynamic of Gondor’s house of Stewards.

There are many highly important added scenes in this cut of Two Towers, which make this edition the best of the franchise. “The Heir of Númenor” sees Gandalf discuss the threat that Aragorn is to Sauron, providing further exposition regarding the rightful King’s position in the line of Númenor. “Sons of the Steward,” though something of a creative liberty, was also an excellent scene, exploring the relationship between Faramir and Boromir and the overall dynamic of Gondor’s house of Stewards.

“Fangorn comes to Helm’s Deep” is a scene that would have been far better off left in the theatrical cut since it sees the Ents create a forest near Helm’s Deep that serves as an obstacle for the Orcs. These trees suddenly appeared in the theatrical version of Two Towers, but there was no explanation regarding where they had come from. This scene, which also saw Ents killing Orcs as they tried to escape, reveals the importance of the Hobbit’s efforts with Treebeard in Rohan’s victory.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers may be the best example of this, but all these extended editions are entirely worth the time to watch.

Overall, the Lord of the Rings movies, including Two Towers, were beautifully constructed, utilizing the limited runtime as best possible to bring Tolkien’s iconic story to the screen. However, there is spectacular value in watching the extended editions. These scenes explain confusing aspects of the story and further establish the balance of darkness and beauty that Tolkien’s work is known for. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers may be the best example of this, but all these extended editions are entirely worth the time to watch.