The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (Special Extended Edition)

Directed by: Peter Jackson | 240 minutes | action, drama, war, adventure, fantasy, horror | Actors: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, John Noble, David Wenham, Karl Urban, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Bruce Spence

The journey really comes to an end here. This long version of “The Return of the King” puts an end to the adventures of Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf in Middle-earth. What other beautiful things can we add to our world of experience?

Forty-eight minutes of material has been added and integrated into the film. These are often character moments that characters or their relationships with each other deepen, or loose ends that are tied up. The omission of the “Voice of Saruman” scene caused some controversy. It was the only scene of Christopher Lee, who plays the role of the wizard Saruman. Moreover, it was not shown how this charismatic villain from “The Two Towers” ​​came to an end. Jackson’s explanation was that the scene made the film too busy finishing old storylines while starting new developments. Where in “The Two Towers” ​​Saruman was the main villain, this role in “The Return of the King” had to be fulfilled by Sauron.

Still, it is no superfluous luxury to see the scene again now. On the contrary. Saruman’s storyline was never quite satisfactorily completed. This important character deserves more than just one sentence from Gandalf. Moreover, his last words have additional meaning for the (later) behavior of several other characters. The essence of the scene as it emerges in the book, namely the power and influence of Saruman’s voice, is well preserved. He accuses Theoden of weakness (at the battle of Helm’s Deep), which is clearly affected by this. Theoden’s last words on the battlefield, when he declares that he should not (now) be ashamed of joining his ancestors, become all the more powerful. Gandalf now clearly demonstrates that he is the superior wizard by breaking Saruman’s staff. A moment later mirrored in another added scene, where Gandalf has a confrontation with the ring spirits leader; the wizard king who had already promised us in the theatrical version that he would break the white wizard.

Another great added scene is the one with the “Mouth of Sauron” that our friends encounter at the Black Gate. Although this mouth is actually meant figuratively – he is Sauron’s spokesperson – Jackson has (also) given it a literal interpretation by showing only his (hideous) mouth. This figure destroys the last bit of hope that Aragorn and co. by showing Frodo’s mithril shirt and implying that he is dead. This adds drama and makes our friends’ latest actions even more meaningful. It is the ultimate tribute to Frodo when Aragorn now says the words “For Frodo” with tears in his eyes, before going on the attack.

The extra scenes in this part of the film make everything seem a bit more believable. Aragorn now confronts Sauron by showing him his sword through the palantir, after which Sauron sends his troops to the Black Gate. When Aragorn then beheads his ambassador, it is understandable that Sauron averts his gaze from the hobbit he has just seen in his country. Frodo and Sam’s journey into Mordor is now also a lot less short and easy than suggested in the theatrical release. This way they don’t suddenly have a free passage, but they encounter orcs that make it difficult for them. Everything is just that little bit more realistic.

Faramir’s battle at Osgiliath is now much better rendered. We gain insight into the strategy of his soldiers and the approaching orcs and there is a better build-up of tension. Distance shots from Osgiliath also give us a better overview of the location. The same effect has additional shots inserted during the storming of Minas Tirith.

We see good in-depth moments between characters, such as conversations between Merry and Eowyn, Gandalf and Pippin, and Faramir and Eowyn. The relationship of the latter two received no attention at all in the theatrical version. We now see how they meet in the Houses of Healing and offer each other comfort. This location is unfortunately a bit of a missed opportunity as far as Aragorn’s character is concerned. We see him taking care of Eowyn but nothing is said about his healing powers, which can only come from a king.

The new scene with Gandalf and the wizard king creates some mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is a tense confrontation, which is useful for continuity and instilling fear towards this enemy. On the other hand, the “cut” to Theoden’s arriving army now elicits less euphoria than before. By temporarily turning our attention away from the desperate Gondorians, the redemption offered by Theoden with his cavalry suddenly seems less urgent. It is also disappointing, and detrimental to the mystique of his character, that Gandalf is so easily defeated in the scene.

Other moments add little or nothing to the film, such as a longer battle between the orcs in Cirith Ungol’s tower, and Eowyn being chased by a stumbling orc leader. Gimli hasn’t really improved either. He’s gotten a few extra scenes that make him an even bigger clown than he already was. Redundant.

Quite a bit of original text from the book has been added, but while this is often stylish, it is sometimes a bit too descriptive. The scene where Gandalf tells Pippin about the history of Gondor is interesting but also a bit too static, especially because it is a fairly long monologue. Although we do get to see beautiful new shots of Minas Tirith at the same time.

As was the case with the “Extended Edition” of “The Two Towers”, not all the new scenes work equally well here (for that matter the long version of “The Fellowship of the Ring” was better balanced), but nevertheless this version, like its predecessors, is an improvement over the theatrical version.
There will be no additional material unfortunately, but we have nothing to complain about: thanks to Peter Jackson’s dedication, and that of his entire team, we can now enjoy about 11 hours of movie magic forever. Thank you!