Synopsis:

Return of the King is in some ways the best film of the trilogy, and in other ways the worst films of the trilogy. Especially the extended edition. This edit is here to balance the extended edition out.

Intentions:

I will edit with trilogy with this goal in mind: To create the best experience and the definitive version for first time viewers, as well as people who already have seen the originals and the extended cuts.

Change List:

- Removed Saruman's fireball, Gandalf uncerimoniously breaks his staff - Removed the awkward line by Theoden: You were not always as you are now - Gimli and Legolas' drinking game has no clear victor. A dwarf will not go down so easily - Cut Arwen's sudden turn into a mortal being. It makes no sense and diminishes her sacrifice - Faramir leaves immediately after his father tells him to retake Osgiliath. This has to be done in order to fix Sam and Frodo's departure - During the reveal of Aragorn's sword, no mention of Arwen's dying - Elrond does not mention an army bigger than any other. We keep mystery. - No ghost blowing by Gimli. We like his comedy, but this delves into slapstick territory. It also diminishes the army of the dead themselves if they are played for laughs - No skull avalanche. Instead we see a handful of skulls rolling down. One turns upright in slowmotion. What does this mean? - Cut 'We fight' and the Ghost King. We need to keep the battle a surprise. - Cut 'you and what army' scene for obvious reasons. Instead we go to the breadcrumbs scene now. This immediately is followed by Gollum leading Frodo into the cave. This means Sam never leaves Frodo, he just doesn't realise what Gollum is up to while he's having his mental breakdown. Regraded the scene to match the cave. - Cut Sam leaving and tumbling down like an idiot, only to realise 'Huh? I guess I didn't eat this bread after all?!' - Gandalf and the Witchking confrontation completely re-edited. No staff breaking. A rooster crows in the background like in the books. Used some visual trickery to keep Gandalf in the shot when the Witchking flies away. - Completely re-graded the whole Battle of Pellenor. The ghost army is not ugly green anymore. - Kept Legolas killing the Mumakil. Rediculous? Yes. But it leads to one of cinema's best jokes in history. - Cut all overhead shots of the ghost army. It makes them look less god like and makes it feel like they're aiding and our heroes still need to do some fighting themselves. - Cut Gimli telling Aragorn not to keep his word with the Army of the Dead. - Aragorn confronts Sauron. The victor of this mind battle is left ambiguous. Sauron shows Aragorn his nightmares, but Aragorn shows Sauron his legendary blade. In fact, I think Aragorn is the winner here. - Aragorn does NOT cut of the Mouth of Sauron's head. Afterwards I inserted the Mouth of Sauron in all shots of our heroes retreating. - Placed Gimli's line about negotiations to when the gates open. Thanks to Belgarath for this terrific suggestion! - Removed the shot of Sauron CLEARLY seeing the hobbits in Mordor. They now immediately drop, suggesting that Sauron did not see them, but only feels like there's something there.

Additional Notes:

Book accuracy is not as important as keeping the film cinematically correct.

Special Thanks:

Artisdead for the terrific poster!