Question: Why did the scourging of the Shire never take place in the film?
raywest
1st Aug 2017
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
3rd Apr 2017
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
19th Aug 2007
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: When Aragorn confronts the King of the Dead with Anduril (the reforged sword), The King of the Dead says, "That *something* was broken!" I am almost sure he says, "Blade" (referring to the reforged sword), but the subtitles on my Region 4 disc say, "Line" (presumably referring to Aragorn's ancestry). What does he really say? Do the subtitles on discs of a different region say otherwise?
Chosen answer: The King of the Dead says, "That line was broken." Aragorn replies, "It has been remade." Their comments are referring to Aragorn's royal lineage that was believed to have died out. The reforged sword symboilizes Aragorn's return as king. There is a video clip of this scene on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfh9Ypgfp7Q.
3rd Jun 2014
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: After Pippin touches the Palantir and he is lying on the ground, is he dead then brought to life by Gandalf? I was under the impression he was dead at first because he is lying with his eyes open then Gandalf closes his eyes with his hand. Why is he lying with his eyes open? Why does Gandalf put his hand over his eyes?
16th Dec 2013
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
22nd Nov 2012
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
23rd Nov 2008
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: This applies to all three movies. Why didn't they just release the Extended Versions in the theatre as opposed to releasing what was released in the theatre? Some things would have made a lot more sense (i.e. the breaking of the Evanstar in the theatrical release makes more sense in the Extended Version), and they are far truer to the books.
Answer: Longer films aren't as marketable or profitable as shorter ones. Studios have the final word on how long a movie is, often overriding the director's artistic intention. A movie's running time is determined by a number of factors including how long it's believed an audience is willing to sit through it, and the maximum number of showings possible per day in a theater. The more showings, the more tickets sold. With LotR, each movie was already quite long, and it's doubtful theater audiences would have been willing to sit through an even longer version. Also, with epic films like LotR, it is typical for the theatrical version to be released on DVD first. Much later, the "extended" version is offered, basically repackaging and reselling the movie to the same audience who bought the first DVD, further increasing the profits.
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Chosen answer: The film was already quite long and the plot was complicated with many characters. Adding the Shire scourge would be nearly impossible to incorporate without completely bogging down the story and the pacing. It was implied in one scene as a shadowy premonition that this could happen to the Shire if Sauron wasn't defeated.
raywest ★