RotK spoilers: The Sauruman Problem

[Tom Cashel]

I'll say it again...I love the books, and I love the Scouring as an ending, but what works in print just does not work on film.

It would amount to an hour-long epilogue.

 

[Dimwhit]

I'll say it again...I love the books, and I love the Scouring as an ending, but what works in print just does not work on film.

It would amount to an hour-long epilogue.

Yeah, I pretty much agree. Though having read the books, yet not remembering a page of them, I'm much easier to please, I suppose. I'm not hindered with comparing the movie to the book.

 

[KenM]

Since that won't be in the movie, they were going to put the scene with Wormtongue and Sauruman at the end of Two towers, then they decided to put it at the start of Rotk, now its cut and won't be in until RotK EE.

 

[rbingham2000]

Ah yes, the Scouring of the Shire...

This is where...

Spoiler

Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin return to the Shire to find it enslaved by Wormtongue and Saruman. The hobbits, mad as all hell over returning to this after going through hell to destroy the Ring, raise a resistance force and clean house on Saruman's forces. But when Frodo, in his mercy, allows Saruman to go free, Wormtongue, a true rat bastard if I ever saw one, betrays and kills his former master and tries to get the hell out of Dodge.

Wormtongue doesn't get far, however, and the hobbit resistance force wastes no time in getting medieval on Wormtongue's ass. They turn the bastard into a pincushion with their archers, if I recall correctly...

 

[kengar]

I've been pondering the whole Pippin/Palantir issue. In other words, without the "Voice of Saruman" scene, why does Gandalf take off with Pippin to Gondor? The only thing I can come up with that doesn't jar continuity-wise is that Treebeard meets Gandalf, et al at the edge of the forest or by Helm's Deep, bringing the hobbits with him (instead of their meeting at Isengard). Gandalf realizes that the attack on Minas Tirith is imminent and he cannot wait for Rohan to muster (just like in books) he hops on Shadowfax and -this is where I have trouble- takes Pip with him. Why would he burden Shadowfax with another rider (even just a hobbit) if it were unnecessary? What would necessitate Pippin riding ahead with Gandalf other than the Palantir scene or one that would require as much exposition?

I'm stumped.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I've been pondering the whole Pippin/Palantir issue. In other words, without the "Voice of Saruman" scene, why does Gandalf take off with Pippin to Gondor? The only thing I can come up with that doesn't jar continuity-wise is that Treebeard meets Gandalf, et al at the edge of the forest or by Helm's Deep, bringing the hobbits with him (instead of their meeting at Isengard). Gandalf realizes that the attack on Minas Tirith is imminent and he cannot wait for Rohan to muster (just like in books) he hops on Shadowfax and -this is where I have trouble- takes Pip with him. Why would he burden Shadowfax with another rider (even just a hobbit) if it were unnecessary? What would necessitate Pippin riding ahead with Gandalf other than the Palantir scene or one that would require as much exposition?

I'm stumped.

I could have sworn I've seen a picture in Theoden's hall with the main characters all around some pillar...possible the palantir is brought there somehow, and then Pipin looks in?

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I wonder if the Return of the King will be like seeing Matrix Revolutions again? A sad and dissapointing end to what should have been a great series. Fellowship of the Ring blew my mind. It was amazing and bought both DVD sets and watched it 100+ times. Two Towers was ok, I didn't buy the initial DVD, as the movie wasn't that great. Too much cut, too much Arwyn nonsence added, and horrid writing that destroyed the characters of Theoden & Faramir. It just wasn't that great a movie, at least for me, who expected the PJ to be true to the spirit of the second book and not butcher whatever was needed to make Aragorn seem even greater. I wish I had skipped the theater showing and just waited for the Extended DVD which has a lot of the stuff I thought was left out to the detriment of the story, but which will still have the bad characterization and over Arwynization of the story. With Return of the King...I'll wait until next November and watch the extended DVD edition when my brother buys it. I wouldn't be suprised if the final battle is Arwyn and Frodo fighting Sauron with swords...

 

[KenM]

One of my friends was very disapointed with TTT because it was not excatly like the book. His own words. I never read the book. But read summaries of it. I understand that PJ had to make changes to make it filmible. It was the hardest one to film. I hear the extras on the extended DVD will explan why they did what they did.

 

[EricNoah]

I'm not at all concerned about missing the Scouring -- we didn't spend enough time in the Shire to really "know" it well enough to be shocked by how much it changes, the characters affected, and to see how different the four hobbits are on their return. If it were a long series instead of a movie, sure, do that.

I am a little concerned about the apparent loss of Saruman -- there's no resolution there if we don't get to see it. I guess having it on DVD is the next best thing, but we got to see Gandalf have the crap beat out of him by the "big S" -- I'd like to see his come-upance. And it also establishes that Theoden is really and truly finally out of Saruman's grip.

 

[KenM]

I also heard that part of the reason Christopher Lee is so mad is because Peter Jackson or anyone from New Line did not tell Him themselves that the scene was cut, He read it on the net.