The Decision That SAVED The Lord of the Rings

🔵 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲:   / pentexproductions   🔵

This video essay looks at The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and explains how the decision to remove one scene saved not only Return of the King, but the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a whole.

While some changes were made to the end scene of Return of the King at Mount Doom, with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum, the real change was to remove the deleted scene of the Aragorn vs Sauron fight.

Including the scene where Aragorn fights Sauron would have, in my opinion, ruined not just Return of the King, but the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a whole.

This LOTR video essay uses behind the scenes footage, Peter Jackson interviews, and DVD special features from the LOTR: Extended Edition DVD Box Set to explain in detail the decision that saved the Lord of the Rings.

00:00 – Introduction
00:58 – The small change: Part I (Frodo at Mount Doom)
02:55 – The small change: Part II (Saved in the edit)
04:32 – The big change (The decision that saved the Lord of the Rings)
06:43 – Why including the scene would have ruined LOTR
11:20 – Some fun behind the scenes stuff
12:01 – Conclusion

***

If you want to see more Lord of the Rings movie essays then please subscribe and let me know you liked it!

Tweet Pentex:   / pentexp  

***

Opening music: Early Avril, Unicorn Heads (YouTube Audio Library)
Ambient music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free...

***

SOURCES

How Star Wars was Saved in the Edit (RocketJump):    • How Star Wars was saved in the edit  

Return of the King (Extended Edition) DVD special features:
• From Book to Script: Forging the Final Chapter
• Abandoned Concept: Aragorn Battles Sauron
• Filming “The Return of the King”: Cameras in Middle-earth
• Christopher Lee interview: From Book to Script (Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) DVD special feature