I really enjoy this discussion, and the nuances between the formats. Being sick the last couple days, I cheered myself up with the Extended Edition, which I had surprisingly never seen before. It was not until I was thinking about it afterward that I realized how so many little tweaks had reduced the profoundness and emotion of the
books. The 2 changes that were the most jarring to me:
Faramir
This perhaps began when I stumbled on an interpretation of the allure of
the ring as desire for power usurped. In my last reading, that gave so much meaning to every interaction with the ring. Of course, Faramir's is unique. Tragic from the get-go, being estranged from his father because he is simply not his brother, it would have been justifiable if he had seen the ring as an opportunity. But he didn't, and instead recognized the danger. Faramir is one of my favorite characters, and his honor for his restraint can't be overstated. Of course the film doesn't completely ruin him, but changed him profoundly. The argument I have heard is that it isn't realistic, based on how almost all others had a visible struggle with desire, this makes him more relatable, more human. The thing they seem to miss is that not only was Faramir more meek than
Boromir, but he was a pupil of
Gandalf. Gandalf seems to be very aware of the nature of Ea and the physics of
Arda, and would have likely tried to share them with an eager pupil. One of the laws seems to be that power usurped will corrupt, regardless of motive. It seems fully plausible to me that Faramir embody the character
Tolkien intended, and the films missed
the mark.
Scouring
Runtime constraints, I get it. But it adds so much profoundness to the story. Also, even
Bilbo came back to disarray and distrust of his neighbors, and it makes so much more sense than holding time still. As I have heard others say, as soon as
Saruman learned of the
halflings he started his subtle destruction. I think the films make him a one-dimensional villain as he comes across as a lapdog for
Sauron. In the books, obviously, it takes until the end to uproot all the deceit and corruption bred by his ambition, as well as the stain of
Mordor on all things post-war. Then we have the interaction of the Shire-folk with the tyrants and each other. First we have
Frodo the peacemaker, advocating for no unnecessary killing, even of Saruman. I thought this was profound, especially since early on he told Gandalf that Bilbo should have killed
Gollum when he had the chance. Then we have the other
Hobbits from the Fellowship. It's amazing how we get to see them put affairs in order by utilizing their new skill and confidence, as well as their roles as "Messengers of
Gondor" rather than requiring the services of their allies. There is something deeply empowering about that. Also, it would seem that
Sam's newfound wisdom from his experience, combined with the fact that he was instrumental in rebuilding
the Shire, had something to do with him being Mayor for 12 years. There is just a huge amount of meaningful stuff that we miss out from this chapter being omitted.