The Lord of the Rings - Cut List

Note: Many of our most significant changes have to do with adjustments to scene and storyline arrangement, not necessarily full fledged cuts. I tried to do my best to represent which editions of the films we pulled scenes from.

EE = Extended Edition

TE = Theatrical Edition

Part One: Concerning Hobbits

• Cut opening prologue

• Primarily EE scenes and imagery up to "Keep it secret, keep it safe"

• Cut Gandalf's travels and research in Gondor

• Moved Gandalf and Saruman confrontation to Part Two

• Cut the Rider looking over landscape

• EE scenes to end

Part Two: The Nine

• TE Gandalf and Saruman confrontation, EE scenes to end

Part Three: The Fellowship of the Ring

• No cuts - EE scenes

Part Four: The Horn of Gondor

• Cut establishing imagery from opening Saruman scene and reordered to open

• Alternate TE and EE imagery among scenes leading the Fellowship to Lothlorien

• TE scenes in Lothlorien

• Mirror scene leads directly to parting gifts, with EE scenes carrying us to the end

Part Five: The King of the Golden Hall

• Moved all of Frodo and Sam's storyline to Part Seven

• Open with EE scenes of Eomer finding Theodred and returning him to Edoras

• TE scenes up to "They're taking the hobbits to Isengard"

• EE scenes up to the burning of the Rohan village, then TE scenes up to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli entering Fangorn. It's then EE scenes to the end

• Moved Merry and Pippin's storyline after the beginning of their escape to Part Six

• Cut Gandalf and co.'s perspective of their approach to Edoras. Maintained Eowyn's perspective and the perspective of those within the Golden Hall whenever possible

• Cut Eowyn's funeral song

Part Six: The Light of the Evenstar

• Open with EE of Merry and Pippin escaping to Fangorn

• EE up to Gandalf riding away from Edoras, TE up to the evacuation of Edoras

• Theatrical scene of Merry and Pippin with Treebeard, then EE of a later scene

• EE through Elrond imagery

• RotK TE scene of Arwen's decision to turn around moved up

• Following Arwen scenes, TE scenes to end

Part Seven: The Ringbearers

• This part is entirely Frodo and Sam's storyline

• EE scenes up to "Nothing ever dampens your spirits...", then TE scenes up to end of Dead Marshes, EE up through hiding from Nazgul, then TE up to their capture

• Cut Galadriel's narration scene and the map scene with Faramir

• Alternate TE and EE in following scene, and included EE Faramir flashback to Borimir and Denethor in Osgiliath

• TE through to their approach to Osgiliath, then EE through to the end

Part Eight: The Battle of Helm's Deep

• All three narrative threads of The Two Towers are basically now up to speed and are interwoven as they are in the movie, aside from the scenes already shown in Part Seven

• TE up to "So it begins", then EE through majority of episode. Return to TE after Faramir says "Then it is forfeit" - TE up to end

Part Nine: Fool of a Took

• Open with TE opening, then move to EE for Orthanc scenes

• Did significant trimming to Saruman's death scene and added score

• TE after leaving Orthanc up to Minas Tirith

• Added in sound design of horse hooves for Gandalf and Pippin's journey

• Cut scene of Smeagol/Gollum looking at his reflection in the water

• EE scene after meeting Denethor, then back to TE through to end of episode

Part Ten: The Blood of Gondor

• Open with scene from Fellowship, in the sword room at Rivendell. Recolored the image and treated the sound

• TE siege of Osgiliath, combined the two battle sequences into one.

• Original continuity remains the same up to the Rohanian camp.

• Remain in TE scenes, but replaced Aragorn's dream of Arwen to a flashback/dream of him and Borimir. Again, treated the color and sound to reflect the dreaminess, and cut out all wide shots and shots of characters that are not Aragorn and Borimir

• TE scenes. Cut the skull avalanche in the cave. Go from "What say you" to the Witch King and say with TE scenes to the end

Part Eleven: A Light in Dark Places

• Almost entirely TE scene.

• Moved scenes to maintain continuity of Shelob's Lair scenes

• Moved scenes to maintain continuity of Eowyn's showdown with the Witch King

• Cut out the cutaway to Merry's approach to Witch King

• Cut down the battle after Aragorn and co.'s arrival - including Legolas taking down the Oliphaunt single handedly

Part Twelve: The End of All Things

• No cuts - TE scenes