LOTR Return of the King Extended DVD

[mrwoogieman]

I have the extended versions of the first two DVDs ($25 each at Costco ). My wife will usually walk by while I'm watching them and see Frodo and Sam wandering around the wilderness and she'll roll her eyes and say, 'Again?!'

 

I can't wait until the third one comes out!

[Zanarkand]

The Scouring was a great chapter in the book, and entirely integral to the story. It provided the climax to a major theme in the books, the maturation of the Hobbit society. But the scene was entirely wrong for the movie.

 

In the books, Hobbits as a society and as a race are initially very childlike. They're mostly concerned with food & fun, they're awfully isolationist, not participating in the wider world and not wanting to, and they're shielded from harm by the "adults" - the Dunedain (rangers) defend their borders. Most Hobbits don't even know that and don't care.

In fact, in the books Hobbits are described several times and being easily mistaken for human children. There's a whole scene in Minas Tirith between Pippin and young sons of other guardsmen where he tells them that he's like 23 and they can't believe it. A hobbit young man looks like a 10 year old human boy.

 

At the end of the books, thanks to the journeys and experiences of Frodo, Sam, Merry & Pippin, Hobbits "grow up". They find their place in the world, they participate in it, and they tend to their own defenses. There's a whole mess of stuff in the Appendices.

 

In the movie, it's just not required. Moviegoers are never told that Hobbit society is basically immature, only told that Hobbits themselves tend to be homebodies and are short. So the whole growing up theme is never introduced. Instead, Jackson went with the "even the smallest person can make a difference" theme, also important, and which plays better on screen.

[Ares]

The Scouring was a great chapter in the book, and entirely integral to the story. It provided the climax to a major theme in the books, the maturation of the Hobbit society. But the scene was entirely wrong for the movie.

 

In the books, Hobbits as a society and as a race are initially very childlike. They're mostly concerned with food & fun, they're awfully isolationist, not participating in the wider world and not wanting to, and they're shielded from harm by the "adults" - the Dunedain (rangers) defend their borders. Most Hobbits don't even know that and don't care.

In fact, in the books Hobbits are described several times and being easily mistaken for human children. There's a whole scene in Minas Tirith between Pippin and young sons of other guardsmen where he tells them that he's like 23 and they can't believe it. A hobbit young man looks like a 10 year old human boy.

 

At the end of the books, thanks to the journeys and experiences of Frodo, Sam, Merry & Pippin, Hobbits "grow up". They find their place in the world, they participate in it, and they tend to their own defenses. There's a whole mess of stuff in the Appendices.

 

In the movie, it's just not required. Moviegoers are never told that Hobbit society is basically immature, only told that Hobbits themselves tend to be homebodies and are short. So the whole growing up theme is never introduced. Instead, Jackson went with the "even the smallest person can make a difference" theme, also important, and which plays better on screen.

 

Exactly!

[CKB]

This is a fine rationale. Thanks! Maybe my question should be more of why the theme in question was 'dumbed' down, which I hadn't thought of, but makes more sense.

 

The Scouring was a great chapter in the book, and entirely integral to the story. It provided the climax to a major theme in the books, the maturation of the Hobbit society. But the scene was entirely wrong for the movie.

 

In the books, Hobbits as a society and as a race are initially very childlike. They're mostly concerned with food & fun, they're awfully isolationist, not participating in the wider world and not wanting to, and they're shielded from harm by the "adults" - the Dunedain (rangers) defend their borders. Most Hobbits don't even know that and don't care.

In fact, in the books Hobbits are described several times and being easily mistaken for human children. There's a whole scene in Minas Tirith between Pippin and young sons of other guardsmen where he tells them that he's like 23 and they can't believe it. A hobbit young man looks like a 10 year old human boy.

 

At the end of the books, thanks to the journeys and experiences of Frodo, Sam, Merry & Pippin, Hobbits "grow up". They find their place in the world, they participate in it, and they tend to their own defenses. There's a whole mess of stuff in the Appendices.

 

In the movie, it's just not required. Moviegoers are never told that Hobbit society is basically immature, only told that Hobbits themselves tend to be homebodies and are short. So the whole growing up theme is never introduced. Instead, Jackson went with the "even the smallest person can make a difference" theme, also important, and which plays better on screen.

[Zanarkand]

This is a fine rationale. Thanks! Maybe my question should be more of why the theme in question was 'dumbed' down, which I hadn't thought of, but makes more sense.

 

I remember back when Fellowship came out, my father & I had a spirited debate regarding if the Scouring would be in ROTK. I argued "no" even back then, for more or less the same reasons as above. Also theatrically it just wouldn't present well. Recall that in the Scouring chapter, Frodo is adamant that casualties should be avoided or at the very least minimized, because frankly he's had enough of that. So there's very little fighting and few deaths. After just having watched the massive battle at the Pelennor fields it would've looked ridiculous.

 

Jackson also didn't play up the jerkwad Elves. He made them kind of noble, but distant. If someone could figure out how to film parts of The Silmarillion, you'd find out that most of what's wrong with the world is really their fault.