Synopsis:

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is considered by me to be the greatest movie trilogy ever made. In terms of production value, quality of writing, consistency of action and other factors, no other massive Hollywood production has topped it. With that said, the theatrical and extended versions of the movies have their share of strengths and weaknesses. Not all of the scenes in the extended cuts are necessary, and some actually take away from the story to some degree. The purpose of this fan edit is to take to best qualities of both the theatrical and extended cuts and combine them into a film that can be watched in a massive theater. Something that can be seen as a piece of cinema as opposed to a miniseries.

Intentions:

I started with the extended version of Two Towers and began by cutting out scenes I thought were unnecessary. Anything that didn't add something meaningful to the story I removed.

Change List:

Cuts: ***Because the deleted flashback scenes (Sons of the Steward, Aragorn’s Leavetaking) were incorporated into the composite edition of Fellowship, they won’t be included here*** The Heir of Numenor – Probably the most pointless deleted scene in the whole trilogy. It’s just Gandalf telling Aragorn stuff that we already know. Also it looks like it was shot in somebody’s basement. Ent Draft – Pippin drinks water from the base of a living tree and grows taller. Then Treebeard rescues him and Merry after they get swallowed by a tree. Nothing of importance here. Also removed the bit that references it in the Flotsam and Jetsam scene. The Ring of Barahir – Grima tells Saruman about Aragorn’s ring. Saruman doesn’t seem to care much about it, so why should we? One of the Dunedain – Eowyn makes some nasty stew for Aragorn and she learns that he is eighty-seven. The face Aragorn makes when he drinks it is freaking hilarious. Removed it because it makes Aragorn less relatable. Also I like the new transition that happens because it emphasizes that he is torn between Eowyn and Arwen. The Final Tally – Gimli and Legolas compare their body counts during the battle. Cut it mainly because of the “nervous system” line. Flotsam and Jetsam now serves as the only “after the battle” scene. Farewell to Faramir - Faramir leads Frodo, Sam and Gollum out of Osgiliath. Removed this because it is too early for the hobbits to learn about Shelob. Also Faramir is abusive to Gollum past the point when it is necessary. Removed the list of fan club members from the end credits.