'The Lord of the Rings': its 3 outstanding scenes that can only be seen in the extended editions

The extended editions of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ set the standard for how this type of product should be made. ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, ‘The Two Towers’ and ‘The Return of the King’ integrate the sequences into the movie, some of them extended and others never seen before. Unlike other productions, Peter Jackson finished the scenes and special effects while asking composer Howard Shore to create additional music for all the extra footage. The result was three movies packed with valuable extra material: many scenes, yes, but MeriStation selected one per movie.

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The Elves Leave Middle-earth (‘Fellowship of the Ring’)

Before the Council of Elrond and the races of Middle-earth learn that the One Ring has been recovered, Frodo and Sam hear the choral voices of dozens of Elves singing a sad melody in quenya. Sensing the end, some elves travel to the Grey Havens to leave Middle-earth, never to return. This is one of the themes that appears throughout the trilogy, but this extended scene from ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’, serves to emphasize the dilemma of the Elves and the hopelessness of the future.

“They’re going to the harbor beyond the White Towers. To the Grey Havens,” Frodo explains. “They are leaving Middle-earth, never to return,” Sam replies that he doesn’t know why, but the situation makes him sad. The rest of the sequence adds some color to the journey and shows that sleeping outdoors is not the most comfortable thing in the world.

The Boromir and Faramir Flashback (‘The Two Towers’)

This is a crucial sequence because it helps to contextualize and clarify the motives of one and the other. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” Boromir behaves erratically because the seduction of the One Ring has imprisoned him. Although he tries to steal the artifact from Frodo at the end of the movie, the hero of Gondor redeems himself at the very end. One of the scenes added in the Extended Edition of The Two Towers changes the meaning of The Fellowship of the Ring and gives more context to the role of the character played by Sean Bean. Denethor, Boromir’s father and Seneschal of Gondor orders his son to go to the Council of Elrond to steal the One Ring, an order the soldier does not take kindly to, preferring to stay with his men. However, Denethor believes that his eldest son is the only one strong enough to withstand the power of Sauron’s weapon.

Another aspect to pay attention to in this scene is the relationship between Boromir and Faramir. The two are very close, but their father despises Faramir at every turn. Despite Boromir’s attempts to help his brother, Denethor does not have a kind word for him. This situation leads to the mistrust and insecurity that the character displays throughout the movie.

The Death of Saruman (‘The Return of the King’)

Christopher Lee was not happy that his character’s ending was cut for the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. After the fall of Isengard at the hands of the Ents, Saruman’s fate was sealed forever. While it was left out of the theatrical release, the Extended Edition tells exactly what happened to the Wizard and his lieutenant, the Sibylline Wormtongue. Indeed, Peter Jackson never filmed the The Scouring of the Shire, one of the chapters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s book in which Saruman conquers the Shire and establishes a regime of tyranny. Instead, the New Zealand director chose to hasten the death of Sauron’s minion.

Cornered at the top of the Tower of Isengard, Saruman tries to persuade Gandalf, Aragorn, Théoden and company to back down. As the conversation progresses, it becomes clear that the wizard will not relinquish his power. But his time is up: “Your staff is broken,” Gandalf the White tells him. Then the staff explodes into a thousand splinters. The King of Rohan tries to get Grima to leave the Wizard, but the Wizard speaks only evil words to him. Blinded by hatred, Wormtongue stabs him in the back. At that moment, Legolas fires his bow and kills Grima. Saruman, once the mightiest of the Order of Wizards, falls from the tower, his body mutilated on the wheel of a mill.

Lord of the Rings” Extended Trilogy Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital Formats Warner Bros. Discovery is working with Peter Jackson’s team to prepare three more films set in Middle-earth: ‘War of the Rohirrim’ is a feature-length anime that will debut in December 2024, while ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ will do so in 2026. The latter movie is live-action and will be starring and directed by Andy Serkis, the actor who played Sméagol in the classic trilogy and in ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. There is no word yet on the third project.